Romans 4:21 And being fully persuaded that, what he had promised, he was able also to perform.
Moving into chapter 4 of Romans we are met with a concept that carries through this chapter. As we see in verse 21 above, the word promised appears. Promise or promised appears 5 times in this chapter. A promise is a declaration by a party that they will do or not do something. What we see here is reference to promises that God made primarily to Abraham. To not see these promises will cause confusion and error when coming to this chapter. We must also take into account what Paul has taught us in chapter 3. We see that God has an orderly arrangement in creation whereby He uses certain means to accomplishes His will. He set forth Christ in due time to be a propitiation. Because that propitiation has occurred the righteousness of God has been manifested. This righteousness could not be manifest prior to this propitiation, the grounds for righteousness. This chapter will primarily use Abraham as an example. To say that he was declared righteous previous to the propitiation is to go against Paul’s argument in Romans 3:25 that God was forbearing to past sins. To say that the merit of Christ’s sacrifice existed before that due time is to go against Paul’s teaching/the word of God. What we see are a series of promises that God made to Abraham, specifically that righteousness would come in time as Jesus would say in John 8:
John 8:56 Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day: and he saw it, and was glad.
Paul would give us further insight into what God had told him all those years ago.
Galatians 3:8 And the scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the heathen through faith, preached before the gospel unto Abraham, saying, In thee shall all nations be blessed.
God preached the gospel to Abraham. The gospel message is that righteousness would come by another. This idea of righteousness is the dividing line between truth and untruth as Paul would say of the Jews in Romans 10:
Romans 10:2 For I bear them record that they have a zeal of God, but not according to knowledge. 3 For they being ignorant of God’s righteousness, and going about to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God.
Paul acknowledged their zeal for God, but also acknowledged their ignorance in regard to this righteousness of God and how it would come to be. Let us not be ignorant in our entrance into this next chapter of Romans and see how God would promise to Abraham the coming of righteousness in the story of the gospel and how God was able to perform that very promise He made to Abraham all those years ago. The primary promise was that of a seed.
Genesis 22:18 And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because thou hast obeyed my voice.
Galatians 3:16 Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to thy seed, which is Christ.
Galatians 3:29 And if ye be Christ’s, then are ye Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.
We see the promise of a seed. Think about this. Adam had no seed until he was brought forth. The fruit of his disobedience could not be passed on until he sinned that day in the garden. Christ in the same way could have no seed until He came. The fruit of His obedience could not be passed on until His obedience existed.
Looking at Hebrews 11 we see some interesting words from the writer.
Hebrews 11:39 And these all, having obtained a good report through faith, received not the promise: 40 God having provided some better thing for us, that they without us should not be made perfect.
All these, including Abraham, received not the promise. The promised righteousness was not received by Abraham in his life. You may ask then when did he receive the promise, the results of what God had promised to him? Verse 40 tells us the answer, Abraham received it when you and I received it. When was the merit of the Messiah bestowed to the seed of the Savior? It was at the cross when the wrath of God was satisfied and when righteousness was earned and established and imputed. All were made perfect at once as verse 40 above says. They, those prior to Christ, should not be made perfect without us, those after the cross.