Romans 4:13-25

For the next seven Sundays I will be preaching from the Letter of Paul to the Romans. This is very dense theology. You might think I am crazy to tackle dense theology. It’s summer, after all! However, I have always shied away from preaching Romans. One of my mentors suggested that Romans is good for preachers to study for their own sake, to get their theology right. But the storytelling of the Old Testament and Gospels is more suitable for preaching.

Well, I am going to go in a new direction (for me) and dig in. Join me!

This Sunday we read Romans 4:13-25.

As always, it is best to read the surrounding material — at least try to read from Romans 1:1 up to Romans 4:25.

You will see that this is a letter Paul wrote to Christians in Rome. It is almost certainly one of the last letters he wrote. And his focus is clear: we are not justified (“set right”) with God by doing heroic deeds or even good works. We are justified by trusting that Jesus was sent by a good and merciful God to set us free. This trust alone — called faith — sets us right with God, each other, and ourselves.

Trace Paul’s use of Abraham as a model of faith. What does Paul highlight about Abraham?

Why do you suppose Paul (who was raised as a Jew, and a brilliant adherent of the Pharisee tradition) writes, “For the law brings wrath…” (Romans 4:15).

Have you ever tried to make yourself perfect? Have you ever vowed to stop doing things you know are wrong or hurtful (to others and/or yourself)? What usually happens?

How does Romans 4:13-25 offer an alternative to efforts at self-perfection?