Romans 4:17 - Meaning and Application

After showing when Abraham was counted righteous by faith, and why, Paul now describes and praises Abraham’s faith. He does this for Abraham’s honor and for our example, since we call Abraham our father in the faith.

First, notice whom Abraham believed, God who gives life to the dead. Faith always rests on God himself. No other foundation can be laid. Abraham looked especially at what in God would best support his faith in the promise.

God is the one who gives life to the dead. The promise said Abraham would become the father of many nations, even though he and Sarah were as good as dead in body (Hebrews 11:11, Hebrews 11:12). So Abraham looked to God as One who could breathe life into dry bones. The God who gives life to the dead can do anything. He can give a child to an old man, and he can bring Gentiles, who are dead in sin, into spiritual life (Ephesians 2:1). Compare Ephesians 1:19, Ephesians 1:20.

Paul also says God calls things that do not exist as though they did. That means he creates all things by his powerful word, as at the beginning (Genesis 1:3; 2 Corinthians 4:6). The saving of sinners, and the welcoming of the Gentiles who were not a people, are gracious examples of God calling what was not as though it were. He gives being to what did not exist. This shows God’s rule and absolute power, and that is a strong support for faith when every other support fails.

It is wise faith to fasten on what in God fits the difficulty we face. Faith looks especially at the part of God’s character that answers our objections most directly. That is true faith, to rest on God’s complete ability to do what nothing else can do. So Abraham became the father of many nations before God, the One he believed, that is, in God’s sight and reckoning. Or, in a sense, Abraham became like the God he believed, since God is the Father of all his people. By faith in God, we are accepted by him and made more like him.

Second, notice how Abraham believed. Paul greatly magnifies the strength of Abraham’s faith in several ways. Against hope, he believed in hope (Romans 4:18). There was a natural hope against him. Every argument from sight, reason, and experience was against him. No outward cause seemed to support his hope at all. Yet against all those reasons for doubt, he still believed, because he had a hope from God. His hope rose from considering God’s complete power. God enabled him to believe this way so that he would stand as a pattern of strong faith for all generations.

It was fitting that the one who would be the father of all believers should have faith above the ordinary. In him, faith was lifted to a very high level, so later believers would be guided, lifted up, and strengthened by his example. Or Paul may mean the promise itself, the one Abraham believed, from Genesis 15:5, “So shall your offspring be,” as countless as the stars. This was the promise Abraham believed when it was credited to him as righteousness (Romans 4:6). It is worth noticing that this part of Abraham’s faith was against hope, against the thoughts and whispers of unbelief. He had just been thinking he would die childless, with his servant as heir (Romans 4:2, Romans 4:3). That earlier unbelief made his later faith stand out all the more, as faith against hope.

Third, though his faith was strong, he did not dwell on his own dead body (Romans 4:19). His body was now as good as dead for having children, though God later gave him enough life and strength to have children by Keturah. When God means to give some special blessing, some promised child, he often first puts the matter itself and every path to it under a sentence of death. Joseph had to be enslaved and imprisoned before he was raised up.

Abraham did not keep fixing his mind on that obstacle. He did speak the words, “Can a child be born to a man who is a hundred years old?” (Genesis 17:17). But that was the speech of amazement and a desire for more understanding, not the speech of distrust. His faith passed beyond that difficulty and focused on the faithfulness of the promise. That kept his faith alive. A weak faith keeps staring at the size of the problem. People may call that practical wisdom, but it is really weakness of faith to keep looking into every difficulty that stands against God’s promise.

Fourth, Abraham did not stagger at the promise of God through unbelief (Romans 4:20). He did not stagger because he did not dwell on the discouraging signs from outward causes. The word means he did not dispute with himself. He did not hold a private debate over whether to believe or not. He did not hesitate or stumble over the promise. Instead, with holy boldness, he committed everything to it. He treated the promise as settled, not as a question open for debate, and he did not remain in suspense. He did not stagger through unbelief. Unbelief lies underneath all our wavering at God’s promises. The promise does not fail. Our faith does.

Fifth, he was strong in faith, giving glory to God, he was strengthened in faith. His faith grew stronger through use. Though weak faith will not be rejected, like a bruised reed not broken or a smoldering wick not put out, strong faith is praised and honored. The strength of Abraham’s faith showed itself in the victory it won over fear. In this way he gave glory to God. Unbelief dishonors God by treating him as a liar (1 John 5:10), but faith honors God by sealing this truth, that he is true (John 3:33). Abraham’s faith gave God honor for his wisdom, power, holiness, goodness, and especially his faithfulness, because Abraham rested on the word God had spoken. Among people, we say that trusting someone gives him credit and honors him, because you take his word. In the same way, Abraham gave glory to God by trusting him. Our Lord Jesus never praised anything so highly as great faith (Matthew 8:10; Matthew 15:28), and that is because great faith gives great honor to God.

Sixth, Abraham was fully persuaded that what God had promised, he was able to perform. The word means he was carried along with full confidence and assurance, like a ship coming into harbor with full sail.

Abraham saw storms of doubt, fear, and temptation that could rise against God’s promise. Many people would have drawn back, waited for easier times, and hoped for a more favorable sign from reason and outward sense. But Abraham took God as his pilot, and the promise as his chart and compass. He resolved to push through, like a bold traveler at sea who sets every sail and keeps moving despite wind and cloud.

He trusted the strength of his ship and, more than that, the wisdom and faithfulness of his pilot. In that way, he made it safely to harbor and came home greatly enriched. That is the kind of full confidence Abraham had, and it rested on God’s almighty power, that is, on the truth that God was able to do what he had promised.

Most of our wavering comes from not trusting God’s power. So, if we want to stand firm, we must believe not only that God is faithful, but also that he is able to keep his promise. For that reason, it says that Abraham’s faith was counted to him as righteousness (Romans 4:22). Because he staked everything on God’s promise with such confidence, God kindly accepted him, and even exceeded what Abraham expected.

This way of honoring God, by firmly relying on his bare promise, fit God’s plan and glorified him greatly. So God counted it as righteousness and justified Abraham, meaning he accepted him as right with himself, even though there was nothing in the act itself that could earn such acceptance. This helps us see why faith is chosen as the chief condition of our justification, that is, being declared right with God. Faith gives God more glory than any other grace, because it trusts him fully.