the (sometimes to be supplied · article — nominative plural masculine
of
ἐκek
G1537
literal or figurative · preposition
law
νόμουnomou
G3551
law (through the idea of prescriptive usage) · noun — genitive singular masculine
heirs
κληρονόμοι,klēronomoi
G2818
a sharer by lot · noun — nominative plural masculine
faith
πίστιςpistis
G4102
persuasion · noun — nominative singular feminine
void
κεκένωταιkekenōtai
G2758
to make empty · verb — perfect passive indicative, 3rd person singular
and
καὶkai
G2532
and · conjunction
promise
ἐπαγγελία·epangelia
G1860
an announcement (for information · noun — nominative singular feminine
effect
κατήργηταιkatērgētai
G2673
to be (render) entirely idle (useless) · verb — perfect passive indicative, 3rd person singular
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).
Cross-references
Galatians 3:18-24 For if the inheritance be of the law, it is no more of promise: but God gave it to Abraham by promise.
Philippians 3:9 And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousnes…
Hebrews 7:19 For the law made nothing perfect, but the bringing in of a better hope did; by the which we draw nigh unto God.
Isaiah 55:11 So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it…
Romans 3:31 Do we then make void the law through faith? God forbid: yea, we establish the law.
Romans 4:16 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…
Galatians 2:21 I do not frustrate the grace of God: for if righteousness come by the law, then Christ is dead in vain.
Hebrews 7:28 For the law maketh men high priests which have infirmity; but the word of the oath, which was since the law, maketh the Son, who is consecra…
Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).
Commentary
Matthew Henry on Romans 4:9-16
St. Paul observes in this paragraph when and why Abraham was thus justified; for he has several things to remark upon that. It was before he was circumcised, and before the giving of the law; and there was a reason for both.
I. It was before he was circumcised, Rom 4:10. His faith was counted to him for righteousness while he was in uncircumcision. It was imputed, Gen 15:6, and he was not circumcised till ch. 17. Abraham is expressly said to be justified by faith fourteen years, some say twenty-five years, before he was circumcised. Now this the apostle takes notice of in answer to the question (Rom 4:9), Cometh this blessedness then on the circumcision only, or on the uncircumcision also? A…
For if they which are of the law be heirs--If the blessing is to be earned by obedience to the law.
faith is made void--the whole divine method is subverted.
Adam Clarke on Romans 4:14
For, if they which are of the law be heirs - If the Jews only be heirs of the promise made to Abraham, and that on the ground of prior obedience to the law, then faith is made void - is entirely useless; and the promise, which was made to faith, is made of none effect.
John Gill on Romans 4:14
For if they which are of the law be heirs,.... That is, if the Jews who are under the law, and are seeking for righteousness and life by the works of it, should, on the account of their obedience to it, be heirs of the grace of life and of glory,
faith is made void; for if the right to the inheritance is by the works of the law, there is no room for faith; that can be of no use or service;
and the promise made of none effect: if salvation is by works, it is to no purpose for God to promise, or men to believe; for the thing promised depends not upon God's promise, but upon man's obedience to the law; and if that is not perfectly observed, as it cannot possibly be, then the promise of God st…
The apostle shows that there is something wicked in hoping for an inheritance by the law.
If only the circumcised are heirs, God has not fulfilled his promise to Abraham that he would be the father of many nations, and it will seem that the nations believed in God without any reason.
He had shown that faith is necessary, that it is older than circumcision, that it is more mighty than the Law, that it establisheth the Law. For if all sinned, it was necessary: if one being uncircumcised was justified, it is older: if the knowledge of sin is by the Law and yet it was without the Law made evident, it is more mighty: if it has testimony borne to it by the Law, and establisheth the Law, it is not opposed to it, but friendly and allied to it. Again, be shows upon other grounds too that it was not even possible by the Law to attain to the inheritance, and after having matched it with the circumcision, and gained it the victory, he brings it besides into contrast with the Law in these words, "For if they which are of the Law be heirs, faith is made void." To prevent them anyone from saying that one may have faith and also keep up the Law, he shows this to be impracticable. For he that clings to the Law, as if of saving force, does disparagement to faith's power; and so he says, "faith is made void," that is, there is no need of salvation by grace. For then it cannot show forth its own proper power; "and the promise is made of none effect." This is because the Jew might say, What need have I of faith? If then this held, the things that were promised, would be taken away along with faith. See how in all points he combats with them from the early times and from the Patriarch. For having shown from thence that righteousness and faith went together in the inheritance, he now shows that the promise did likewise. For to prevent the Jew from saying, What matters it to me if Abraham was justified by faith? Paul says, neither can what you are interested with, the promise of the inheritance, come into effect apart from it: which was what scared them most. But what promise is he speaking of? That of his being "the heir of the world," and that in him all should be blessed. And how does he say that this promise is made of none effect?...
The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).
Dictionary and topics
Bigotry · PAUL’S ARGUMENT AGAINST — PAUL’S ARGUMENT AGAINST
Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).
John Calvin on Romans 4:14-15
Romans 4:14-15
14. For if they which are of the law be heirs, faith is made void, and the promise made of none effect:
14. Si enim ii qui sunt ex Lege h?redes sunt, exinanita est fides et abolita est promissio:
15. Because the law worketh wrath: for where no law is, there is no transgression.
15. Nam Lex iram efficit; siquidem ubi non est Lex, neque etiam transgressio.
14. For if they who are of the law, etc. He takes his argument from what is impossible or absurd, that the favor which Abraham obtained from God, was not promised to him through any legal agreement, or through any regard to works; for if this condition had been interposed -- that God would favor those only with adoption w…
then faith is not necessary (literally faith is emptied): If works of obedience can be substituted for faith, then “faith is emptied” of its importance. Believing in God means acknowledging our unworthiness and depending entirely on God’s mercy.
