Romans 4:16

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Therefore it is of faith that it might be according to grace, so that the promise might be sure to all the seed, not only to those who are of the law, but also to those who are of the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all.

Romans 4:16 (NKJV)

Therefore, the promise comes by faith, so that it may be by grace and may be guaranteed to all Abraham's offspring, n ot only to those who are of the law but also to those who have the faith of Abraham. He is the father of us all.

Romans 4:16 (NIV)

Therefore it is of faith, that it might be by grace; to the end the promise might be sure to all the seed; not to that only which is of the law, but to that also which is of the faith of Abraham; who is the father of us all.

Romans 4:16 (KJV)

So the promise is received by faith. It is given as a free gift. And we are all certain to receive it, whether or not we live according to the law of Moses, if we have faith like Abraham's. For Abraham is the father of all who believe.

Romans 4:16 (NLT)

That is why it depends on faith, in order that the promise may rest on grace and be guaranteed to all his offspring, n ot only to the adherent of the law but also to the one who shares the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all.

Romans 4:16 (ESV)

For this reason it is by faith, in order that it may be in accordance with grace, so that the promise will be guaranteed to all the descendants, not only to those who are of the Law, but also to those who are of the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all.

Romans 4:16 (NASB)

Scripture taken from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. www.lockman.org

For this reason it is by faith [that the blessing is received], so that it may be in accordance with grace [God's unmerited favor and mercy], so that the promise will be [legally] guaranteed to all the descendants [of Abraham].

Romans 4:16 (AMP)

Scripture quotations taken from the Amplified® Bible (AMP), Copyright © 2015 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. www.lockman.org

Therefore, [inheriting] the promise is the outcome of faith and depends [entirely] on faith, in order that it might be given as an act of grace (unmerited favor), to make it stable and valid and guaranteed to all his descendants.

Romans 4:16 (AMPC)

Scripture quotations taken from the Amplified® Bible (AMPC), Copyright © 1954, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1987 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. www.lockman.org

The fulfillment of God's promise depends entirely on trusting God and his way, and then simply embracing him and what he does. Abraham's family defined by faith is the true family.

Romans 4:16 (MSG)

Scripture quotations from The Message. Copyright © 1993, 2002, 2018 by Eugene H. Peterson. Used by permission of NavPress. All rights reserved. Represented by Tyndale House Publishers.

New Covenant Meaning

Faith and Grace Are the Two-Part Engine of the Promise

Paul states the mechanism with precision: the promise is of faith so that it might be according to grace. These are not two separate principles. They are cause and effect. The reason the promise is received through faith is specifically so that it remains in the domain of grace, not the domain of human earning. If the promise came through law-keeping, it would be a reward for performance. Then the promise would only be as stable as the human performance sustaining it. By making the promise come through faith, God guarantees that it rests entirely on His grace and therefore on His own faithfulness, not ours.

Bebaian: Guaranteed as a Legal Certainty

Paul uses the legal term bebaian (sure, firm, guaranteed) to describe what the faith-grace mechanism accomplishes for the promise. In Greek legal usage, bebaios described a title deed that was legally secure, a transaction that was binding. The promise, received through faith and grounded in grace, has the quality of a legally guaranteed title. It is not wishful hoping. It is the certainty that comes from the character and fidelity of the One who made the promise. The promise is sure to all the seed because it rests on what God has declared, not on what humans have performed.

The phrase "father of us all" at the end of verse 16 is Paul's declaration that the Abrahamic family is constituted by faith, not by ethnic or religious category. Abraham is not the father only of Jewish believers or of circumcised Gentiles. He is the father of all who share his faith. This opens the promise to every person who believes, regardless of their background. The design of faith as the mechanism was always intended to make the promise universally accessible. A promise received through law-keeping would always exclude those who could not keep the law. A promise received through faith is available to everyone who will simply believe.

Application for Your Life

The Reliability of the Promise Comes from Grace, Not from You

If you received God's promises through your own performance, then every time your performance faltered the promise would be in jeopardy. Romans 4:16 tells you why the design is faith: so that the promise is guaranteed. Your faith is not what guarantees it. God's grace is what guarantees it. Faith is simply the hand that receives what grace has already provided. The promise is as stable as God's grace, which is to say it is absolutely stable. You are not holding the promise in place by your spiritual consistency. He is.

You Are Abraham's Heir by Family, Not by Achievement

Romans 4:16 says the promise is sure to "all the seed, not only those who are of the law, but also those who are of the faith of Abraham." You qualify for the inheritance by sharing Abraham's faith, not by belonging to the right ethnic group or performing the right religious acts. This is the radical inclusivity of the gospel: the promise is yours because of who you believe in and what He has done, not because of who you are or what you have done.

Prayer Based on This Verse

Father, I receive the promise through faith. Not through effort, not through earning, not through performance. Through faith, so that it might be by grace, so that the promise might be guaranteed. I trust that the promise does not depend on the consistency of my performance but on the consistency of Your grace. I am Abraham's heir. The same faith that was credited to him as righteousness is the faith through which I receive everything You promised to his seed. The promise is sure. Not because I am reliable but because You are. I stand on it today. In Jesus' name. Amen.