Romans 4:13-14

It was not through law that Abraham and his offspring received the promise that he would be heir of the world, but through the righteousness that comes by faith. For if those who live by law are heirs, faith has no value and the promise is worthless.

V13 — Those who receive the righteousness of Christ by faith will inherit the world. What an amazing thing to consider! The covenant promise of God was not for Abraham alone; it wasn’t for his physical descendants alone; it wasn’t only for folks before the time of Christ; it was for all who received the righteousness of Christ by faith; the covenant promise of God is for all believers, all who have faith in God’s promise. And what’s the promise? They will inherit the world. That’s not what God said to Abraham in Genesis. How does Paul make “All nations of the world will be blessed” into “heir of the world”? Perhaps Paul extrapolates this statement as further evidence that we can’t earn it. You don’t earn an inheritance; you’re born into it (or in this case, re-born into it). It’s a gift. Nothing you did brought you into the position of inheriting the world. What could anyone do to become heir of the world? Rather, believers are justified, considered righteous, and adopted as children of God and are therefore co-heirs with Christ of all creation!

V14 — If righteousness comes by law, then faith has no value and the promise is worthless. In v13-14, Paul points out to the Jewish Christians who thought Abraham was righteous by his own works of obedience that the justification Abraham received came some 400 years before Moses announced God’s divinely revealed law from Mt. Sinai. So, long before Moses gave God’s summary of His moral code to the people of God, God had declared Abraham to be just, which makes it very clear that obedience to God’s law is not the conduit or channel through which Abraham was declared accepted by God. Faith is.

Paul says that God displays His love by imputing Christ’s righteousness to us through faith, rather than by the law. Some people might say that the exclusive truth of Christianity, that Christ is the only way, makes God out to be selfish with His love. They might say, “Since the Christian God saves only those who have faith in Christ, His saving love is conditional!” They want to think that God loves everybody so much that He will save all people without condition. They don’t realize that God’s righteousness requires justice. They also don't realize that God provides the condition that He requires: faith. God doesn’t owe sinners anything, except eternal damnation. Paul takes this claim that God is selfish with His saving love if righteousness is by faith and refutes it with 2 statements: (1) faith would have no value; (2) the promise would be worthless.

1. How would faith have no value? If righteousness comes by obedience to the law, then whoever is a good person will be called righteous. Then salvation is by a person’s goodness or obedience, so God saves only those who obey Him. Because they obey Him, He saves them. In other words, they save themselves; they earn their salvation; they condition God’s love by their obedience. Thus faith has no place in the equation of salvation. Furthermore, as we have seen, the law can’t bring righteousness; it only brings wrath.
   
2. How would the promise be worthless? Remember Paul just spent 63 verses (about 2 whole chapters) explaining that all men are sinful and no one is righteous. So if righteousness comes by obedience to the law, and no one has obeyed the law, then no one inherits the world. Thus the promise would be worthless. It’d be like promising ten billion dollars to me if I win the next NASCAR race. Impossible.
   

Paul is saying that if salvation is based on a person’s goodness or obedience, then people save themselves, and God just waits, hoping they will obey, so He can pronounce His blessing on them. This is not the way it works. God doesn’t just anxiously await our decisions to see whether or not we will be obedient. He loved us first. He knew those who are His before creation; they hear His voice when He calls, because He opens their ears; and He justifies them through the channel of faith, not by their obedience.