For if it is the adherents of the law who are to be the heirs, faith is null and the promise is void.
English Standard Version (ESV)
If righteousness and inheritance come through perfectly following the Law, then faith becomes meaningless, just an empty word. The very promise God made to Abraham, the core of His covenant, would be completely nullified.
For if it is the adherents of the law who are to be the heirs, faith is null and the promise is void.
English Standard Version (ESV)
Paul is arguing that Abraham's inheritance and God's promise were not based on keeping the Law, but on his faith. If the promise were truly tied to the Law, then faith would be irrelevant, and God's promise would be ineffective because no one can perfectly keep the Law. This sets the stage for explaining how the Law actually leads to wrath, not the fulfillment of God's promise.
Imagine a promise so precious it determines your eternal destiny. What happens if the very condition for receiving it is impossible to meet?
Paul is making a critical argument here: if inheritance comes through the Law, then both faith and the promise become meaningless.
Paul talks about 'adherents of the law.' Is he just talking about people who rigidly follow rules, or is there a deeper meaning?
When Paul speaks of 'adherents of the law' (or 'those of the law'), he's primarily referring to those who believe their standing before God, their heirship, comes through their adherence to the Mosaic Law.
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If the Law makes faith and promise void, how then is the promise secured? What's the alternative?
The core of Paul's argument is that the promise to Abraham—and by extension, to all believers—is grounded not in law-keeping, but in God's grace received through faith.
Paul is writing to a predominantly Gentile church in Rome, many of whom may have been tempted to view Jewish adherents of the Law as having a superior claim to God's promises. He argues forcefully that if the Law were the basis for heirship, both faith and God's promise would become meaningless.
c. 1446 BC
The Giving of the Law at Sinai
God gives the Mosaic Law to the Israelites through Moses, establishing a covenant based on obedience to its commands.
c. 1400-586 BC
The Era of the Judges and Kings
Israel experiences cycles of faithfulness and unfaithfulness to the Law, leading to periods of blessing and judgment, often marked by internal strife and external threats.
c. 950 BC
Dedication of Solomon's Temple
The magnificent Temple in Jerusalem is dedicated, symbolizing God's dwelling with His people and the central place of the Law and sacrifices.
586 BC
Fall of Jerusalem and Babylonian Exile
The Babylonians conquer Jerusalem, destroy the Temple, and deport many Israelites, illustrating the severe consequences of disobeying the Law.
c. 539 BC onwards
Return from Exile and Temple Reconstruction
Jews begin returning to Jerusalem and rebuilding the Temple and their society, with a renewed emphasis on adherence to the Law.
c. 20 BC - 10 AD
Herodian Temple Reconstruction
King Herod the Great undertakes a massive renovation and expansion of the Jerusalem Temple, reflecting a desire to uphold Jewish tradition and Law.
c. AD 50-60— this verse
Paul's Ministry and Letter to the Romans
The Apostle Paul, a former zealous adherent of the Law, writes his letter to the Roman church, articulating the theological implications of salvation by faith apart from the Law.
This passage directly parallels Romans 4:14 by stating that if the inheritance comes through the law, it is no longer by promise, highlighting the same tension between law and promise as the primary means of receiving God's blessings.
Galatians 3:21This verse reinforces the idea that the law cannot grant life or righteousness, directly supporting Paul's argument in Romans 4:14 that relying on the law for heirship nullifies both faith and the promise.
Romans 3:20This verse establishes the principle that no one will be declared righteous in God's sight by observing the law, which is the foundational reason why a law-based heirship would make faith and promise void.
Romans 9:16This verse echoes the sentiment of Romans 4:14 by emphasizing that 'it depends not on man's willing or running, but on God's mercy,' illustrating how an inheritance based on striving (law) is impossible, unlike one based on God's promise received by faith.
cambridgeRomans 4:14: "For if they which are of the law be heirs, faith is made void, and the promise made of none effect:"
14 . of the law ] Lit. out of the law . On the Gr. construction see on Romans 3:26 ( ad finem ).—“ Law ” here is without article, and possibly its reference is general; q. d. “If those who in any sense claim on grounds of a law , &c.” But it is far better to read (in English ) “ the law.” The lack of the article is quite natural where the thing is conspicuous and well known. heirs…
meyerRomans 4:14: "For if they which are of the law be heirs, faith is made void, and the promise made of none effect:"
Romans 4:14 . Here also νόμος is not (as Flatt and others take it) the moral law (to which however the saying may certainly be applied ), but the law of Moses , viewed in excluding antithesis to the πίστις . By οἱ ἐκ νόμου , “those of the law” (Luther), are meant those who belong to the law, are as such subjected to it; consequently the Jews at all events, but just so far as they a…
If righteousness and inheritance come through perfectly following the Law, then faith becomes meaningless, just an empty word. The very promise God made to Abraham, the core of His covenant, would be completely nullified.
Paul is arguing that Abraham's inheritance and God's promise were not based on keeping the Law, but on his faith. If the promise were truly tied to the Law, then faith would be irrelevant, and God's promise would be ineffective because no one can perfectly keep the Law. This sets the stage for explaining how the Law actually leads to wrath, not the fulfillment of God's promise.
Paul is arguing that Abraham's inheritance and God's promise were not based on keeping the Law, but on his faith. If the promise were truly tied to the Law, then faith would be irrelevant, and God's promise would be ineffective because no one can perfectly keep the Law. This sets the stage for explaining how the Law actually leads to wrath, not the fulfillment of God's promise.
"For if it is the adherents of the law who are to be the heirs, faith is null and the promise is void." — If righteousness and inheritance come through perfectly following the Law, then faith becomes meaningless, just an empty word. The very promise God made to Abraham, the core of His covenant, would be…
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Last reviewed October 2026