void – Ministry of Grace Church

Romans 4:14

For if those who are of the law are heirs, faith is made void and the promise made of no effect,

Truth to Learn

Righteousness comes either by faith or by works, not both.

Behind the Words

The word translated “void” is kenoō, which means “to make empty, to neutralize, or to make false.” It is expressed here in the passive voice indicating what is done to faith.

“Made of no effect” is translated from the Greek word katargeō. This is made up of kata, used as an intensifier and argeō, meaning “to be idle.” Hence it means “to render totally inactive, to be completely idle, or to become absolutely useless.” It is expressed here in the passive voice indicating what is done to the promise.

Meaning Explained

Paul now argues the other side of the fence. Having shown that it is through faith that God reckons righteousness, he now makes a counter statement regarding righteousness through obedience.

He says that if righteousness, being an heir of the world (which was promised to Abraham), is achieved by obedience (obeying the law or any other set of rules), then nothing is accomplished by faith, and God’s promise is useless. After all, what value is there in a promised gift to someone if someone else can attain the same thing by working for it?

Do you understand? What value is there in a promise regarding any unearned future gift if that same thing can be earned? Paul says it makes faith “void.” That is, faith would become void of any meaning, hollow, and empty if righteousness can be earned by works. Not only that, but Paul says that the promise that God made to Abraham would be “of no effect.” It would become absolutely useless and serve no purpose at all.

What Paul is demonstrating is how righteousness by faith and righteousness by obedience are complete opposites. You can’t have both and you can’t have a combination of the two, it has to be one or the other. Either a person is made righteous by obedience or he is made righteous by faith. This is particularly significant when you consider what Paul told us previously:

As it is written: “There is none righteous, no, not one; there is none who understands; there is none who seeks after God. They have all turned aside; they have together become unprofitable; there is none who does good, no, not one.” (Romans 3:10-12)

Faith is a matter of believing, while obedience to the law is a matter of doing. Since none of us is righteous based on our doing (works), our only hope for righteousness (and salvation) is through faith. This renders that righteousness very precious because it can’t be earned; it can only be given to us:

For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, (Ephesians 2:8)

Let’s thank God for this precious righteousness by faith!

Application

If you believe that Christ’s death on the cross paid for your sins, then God has declared you to be righteous; you are saved from your sins. How precious does that salvation feel now?

In God’s service, for His glory,

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Romans 3:31

Do we then make void the law through faith? Certainly not! On the contrary, we establish the law.

Truth to Learn

Living by faith upholds the law, it doesn’t destroy it.

Behind the Words

The Greek word translated “we make void” is a form of the verb katargeō. This is a compound word made up of kata, used as an intensifier and argeō, meaning “to be idle.” Hence, this verb means “to render completely idle, useless, or ineffective.”

“Certainly not!” is from the Greek words mē genoito, which we have looked at before. The word mē represents a qualified negation (ou represents absolute negation) and genoito means “to cause to be.” Therefore, a literal translation of these two words is “May it not be!”

The verb translated “we establish” is a form of histēmi, meaning “to cause to stand” or “to establish.”

Meaning Explained

This rhetorical question is one of transition for the Apostle Paul. He knows that any devout Jew would be spiritually put off balance by his previous arguments because the Jews have been taught from childhood that obeying the Law is the only way to be justified. They would very likely be asking themselves, “But what about the Law? Does it mean nothing?” There are even those people today who say that justification by faith only leads to licentiousness because it does away with the Law (both the Law of Moses and the moral law).

Paul does not agree. In fact, he declares, “May it not be!” He realizes that justification by faith alone not only does not negate the Law, in fact it establishes it as true and right. You see, by the Law God demonstrated that there is a penalty to be paid for sin and that the Law had to be satisfied in order for anyone to be justified. Jesus Christ came to show that only He could perfectly satisfy the law and that He is the fulfillment of the Law. He is the Passover lamb. He is the lamb without spot or blemish that was demanded by the Law to be the offering in payment for sins. He, the One who satisfied the Law, is the only offering that could be made to pay for our sins. And His payment is made possible to us only if we believe that He is the sinless Lamb of God who has given Himself in payment for our sins. We can’t satisfy the Law by obedience to it but by faith in the one who did satisfy it.

This is precisely what Paul is showing to the Jewish Christians in Rome and to all Christians throughout the ages. When we believe Jesus Christ died on the cross as our Lord and Savior, we are justified by faith, and we actually establish the Law as good and right and holy.

Having now satisfied the assertion that the Law is good and right, in the coming chapter Paul will proceed to use the patriarch Abraham as the example of righteousness by faith apart from the Law. After all, Abraham was declared righteous by God some three hundred years before Moses received the law on Mt. Sinai. Abraham was even declared righteous by God years before the sign of circumcision.

Application

When we get saved by faith, we aren’t required to keep the law or rules of a church in order to stay saved. Instead, we are to walk by faith, doing the good works that God has ordained for us to do as His children and ambassadors. Do your actions and good works reflect the glory of your Heavenly Father?

In God’s service, for His glory,

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Ministry of Grace Church

Tag: void

Romans 4:14 – Precious Promise

Romans 3:31 – Established, Not Nullified