In his sermon on Romans 4:13–16, Stephen Davey explains Paul’s argument that salvation and the promise of inheriting God’s kingdom come not through law-keeping, but through faith grounded in God’s grace. Davey shows how Paul dismantles three false hopes—earning righteousness by good deeds, religious rituals, or rule-keeping—and focuses here on the final illusion: believing heaven can be gained by keeping the right rules. Using Abraham as Paul does, Davey notes that God’s promise was never tied to law, since Abraham received it centuries before the law existed. If salvation depended on rule-keeping, Paul argues, then faith would be emptied of meaning and God’s promise canceled. Davey illustrates that trusting the law actually brings condemnation, because law can only expose guilt—like a mirror revealing dirt but unable to cleanse it. The law serves as a tutor leading sinners to Christ, not a savior that can rescue them. Davey highlights Paul’s summary in verse 16: salvation rests on three beautiful words—faith, trusting what Christ has done; grace, receiving what we do not deserve; and promise, relying on what God guarantees. Because God’s promise is unconditional—an epaggelia, not a negotiated contract—it rests entirely on His character, not human performance. Davey concludes that those who try to earn salvation only nullify the gift and condemn themselves by the very law they trust, but those who receive God’s unconditional promise by faith in Christ are forgiven, enriched, and eternally secure.
Ruling Out the Law
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