Romans 4:20

My Notes

What Does Romans 4:20 Mean?

"He staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief; but was strong in faith, giving glory to God." Paul describes Abraham's faith as the model: no staggering (diakrinō — to waver, to hesitate, to be divided in mind) at God's promise. The promise was humanly impossible: a son from a century-old man and a ninety-year-old barren woman. The evidence said: impossible. The promise said: it's happening. And Abraham didn't stagger between the evidence and the promise. He chose the promise.

The phrase "strong in faith" (enedynamōthē tē pistei — empowered in faith) uses passive voice: Abraham was empowered in faith, not by his own strength but by the promise itself. The faith that doesn't stagger isn't self-generated willpower. It's power received from the one who made the promise.

Reflection Questions

• 1.What promise from God are you currently 'staggering' at because the evidence says it's impossible?
• 2.How does knowing Abraham was EMPOWERED in faith (passive, received) change your approach to believing the impossible?
• 3.Where does staggering between the promise and the evidence produce anxiety rather than glory?
• 4.What impossible promise in your life would give God the most glory if you stopped staggering and believed it?

Devotional

He didn't stagger. The evidence said: impossible. The promise said: it's happening. And Abraham — a hundred years old, looking at his own dead body and Sarah's dead womb — didn't waver between the two. He chose the promise.

Staggered not. Diakrinō — to be divided, to waver between two positions, to mentally oscillate. Abraham didn't ping-pong between 'God said it' and 'biology says no.' The promise was clear. The evidence was overwhelming in the other direction. And Abraham planted his feet on the promise and didn't move.

Through unbelief. The staggering — if it had happened — would have come through unbelief. Unbelief is the engine of staggering. When you give unbelief space, it creates the wavering. The back-and-forth. The 'maybe God said it, but look at the evidence.' Abraham shut down the unbelief before it could produce the stagger.

But was strong in faith. Enedynamōthē — empowered, strengthened, made mighty. And the verb is passive: Abraham was strengthened in faith. He didn't generate the strength. He received it. The promise that seemed impossible was the source of the power to believe it. The more impossible the promise looked, the more power it required — and the power came from the one who promised.

Giving glory to God. The result of unstaggering faith: God gets the glory. When Abraham believed the impossible promise, the glory for the fulfillment was pre-assigned to God. If Abraham had solved the problem himself (Ishmael was the attempt), the glory would have gone to human engineering. By believing the impossible and waiting for God to do it, Abraham ensured that when Isaac arrived, nobody could claim credit except God.

The model is clear: unstaggering faith in impossible promises produces glory for God. Staggering faith in possible things produces glory for you. The size of the impossibility determines the size of the glory. And Abraham's model — don't stagger, get empowered, give glory — is the template for everyone who holds a promise that the evidence says can't be true.

The evidence is real. The promise is more real. And the choice between them determines whether God gets the glory or you carry the anxiety.

Commentary

Trusted original commentary from respected historical Bible scholars and theologians.

Cross References

Related passages throughout Scripture