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Romans 4.end
February 21st 2021
We’ll last week we stopped and parked on verse 15 where Paul wrote
15 Because (he says) the law worketh wrath: for where no law is, there is no transgression
This line appears to take us back to the first principles about our being dead to the Law. After that Paul told us that by faith the Law was instilled in us, and now he gives us a line that takes us back to the original argument that we are dead to the Law.
Context teaches us how to understand what could otherwise be seen as confusing and even conflicting messages.
By faith the Law of God – to love Him with our all and to love others as ourselves – is established. Christians live by these laws completely. And no others. To those we are dead. Here’s the deal, When it comes to laws written in stone, written on paper, posted on walls, we are, in fact, dead to them.
Here Paul reminds us as to why, saying
15 Because the law worketh wrath: for where no law is, there is no transgression
Posted laws work wrath – cause anger. There was a semi-busy street where I grew up as a kid had a one mile stretch of it with a 20 MPH speed limit. Prior to the stretch, and after it, the speed limit was 35, but for no reason – no school no hospital, no residential neighborhood, it was 20 MPH for about a mile.
I remember being in the car with my Dad when he got pulled over on that stretch and he and the police officer having a heated discussion about the ridiculousness of the law there – my dad angrily calling it a speed trap and the officers telling him no matter, it was the law.
Posted laws worketh wrath. Remember, they cause dismay, despair, anger, or rebellion.
(BTW, enough citizens challenged that stretch and one day it was changed to 35MPH).
So, Paul has made it clear that religious rules cause wrath, adding:
“for where no law is, there is no transgression.”
It’s one of my main arguments against organized religion – they operate by laws in stone and ink and therefore make people rebellious, proud or guilt ridden.
Again, God’s way is so much better – with Him writing His laws on the individual and lettering His Spirit police the individual for complicity rather than reverends and bishops.
So now let’s read on at verse through to the end of chapter four
Romans 4:16 Therefore (Paul says) 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 law, but to that also which is of the faith of Abraham; who is the father of us all,
17 (As it is written, I have made thee a father of many nations,) before him whom he believed, even God, who quickeneth the dead, and calleth those things which be not as though they were.
18 Who against hope believed in hope, that he might become the father of many nations, according to that which was spoken, So shall thy seed be.
19 And being not weak in faith, he considered not his own body now dead, when he was about an hundred years old, neither yet the deadness of Sara’s womb:
20 He staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief; but was strong in faith, giving glory to God;
21 And being fully persuaded that, what he had promised, he was able also to perform.
22 And therefore it was imputed to him for righteousness.
23 Now it was not written for his sake alone, that it was imputed to him;
24 But for us also, to whom it shall be imputed, if we believe on him that raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead;
25 Who was delivered for our offences, and was raised again for our justification.
Alright, back to Romans 4:16.
Remember, prior to this verse Paul has established the fact that if salvation came by works, then faith is made void. So now in verse 16, Paul writes.
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 only to that which is of the law, but to that also which is of the faith of Abraham; who is the father of us all,
Therefore, in the face of all I have written, Paul seems to say, the course of reasoning perfectly reveals that salvation is by faith . . . that it might be by grace . . .
OR!
Salvation is a matter of undeserved mercy.
In other words, if people were justified by obedience to the law, it would be by our own merits; but since that has been proven that this is impossible with any human being, it is now of mere unmerited favor wrought through faith (which God extends to all).
In the rest of verse 16 Paul returns to the reason why it seems he wrote the letter to the Romans in the first place – to help end the schism that existed between the once exiled Jewish converts from Rome (now back) and the Gentile converts.
He addresses this unfortunate schism AGAIN by saying:
“to the end the promise might be sure to all the seed; not only to that which is of the law (meaning the Jewish converts), but to those also which is of the faith of Abraham (the Gentiles); (and speaking of Abraham, again, he adds ) who is the father of us all,”
And then referencing Abraham, who is the father of faith to all nations and not just the Jews, Paul adds a parenthetical reference.
He seems to do this to reinforce the fact that Abraham is the father of faith, and the importance of faith in the New Covenant of Grace.
So, in verse 17, Paul begins this reference and says
17 (As it is written, “I have made thee a father of many nations,) before him whom he believed, even God, who quickeneth the dead, and calleth those things which be not as though they were.
Okay, this is a heavy verse out of the King James. One of the reasons for this is Paul quotes from the Septuagint (or the Greek translation of the Old Testament) and it is mixed in with his narrative.
To simplify this, let me refer to the ESV where verse 16 says:
“That is why it depends on faith, in order that the promise may rest on grace and be guaranteed to all his offspring—not only to the adherent of the law but also to the one who shares the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all,
Then 17
“As it is written, “I have made you the father of many nations”—in the presence of the God in whom he believed, who gives life to the dead and calls into existence the things that do not exist.” (Romans 4:16-17 ESV)
Paul is showing that when we go all the way back to God’s interaction with the Father of faith, that everything from the beginning was by faith! How does he do this?
He quotes a passage from Genesis (located here in this parenthetical reference) where
God said to Abraham:
“I have made you the father of many nations.”
What is so faith-filled about this line that Paul references?
God spoke to Abraham here in Genesis in the “past tense” . . . “I have made you – NOT “I will make you,” NOT “you will become,” but in the Greek, which is what Paul is quoting from, the phrase is in the past tense – “I have MADE you the Father of many nations.”
Passages like this prove that God is not learning what will be nor was He ever unaware of the final outcome of anything.
He MADE Abraham (past tense) the Father of many nations.
And when God said this or made this promise, so to speak, did Abraham BELIEVE Him? He did.
And being the Father of Faith, Abraham became not only the Father of the Jews (whom Paul is teaching) but of any and all who too have faith (in God’s promises) without seeing them fulfilled. Those who trust that what God says is reliable BEFORE they are revealed to them.
Like Abraham, we too have been the recipients of promises made past tense but yet delivered, right?
And like Abraham, we too, not being Jews but children in the household of faith, believe on them prior to our seeing them fulfilled.
Let me recite a few of these promises to you my brothers and sisters of faith, the thing that must be present to please God. First,
God has promised to supply every need we have.
Phillipians 4:19 says:
“But my God shall supply all your need (but there is a caveat to that as he adds) according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.”
So, God has already and will continue to supply all of a person’s needs. Not wants. Needs.
I have had to personally learn this the hard way, and I am certainly imperfect in the application, but God is wholly mindful of the needs of those who trust in Him. Give Him a chance to prove it!
We walk, we live, we thrive in faith and trust and reliance upon Him as we live on this globe. Give it all up, give it all over, give it all to Him and He will show that He provides.
Do we labor and work and act according to how He has gifted us? Of course! Of course. But He is the author of any and all success – not us. And along the way, He will always take care of every . . . need. According to his riches in glory by Jesus Christ.
In the Sermon on the Mount Jesus taught plainly:
Saying, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment?
26 Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they?
27 Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature?
28 And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin:
29 And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.
30 Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which to day is, and to morrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith?
31 Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed?
32 (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things.
33 But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.
34 Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.
Again, God has obligated Himself only to the extent of our needs. Recall what Jesus teaches here. Is it –
Take no thought of what kind of car you drive, where you’ll vacation, or the size of your home.
“No?”
No, he didn’t say that. So if you are wanting those things, your gonna have to work for them.
No, the teaching is to take no thought of what you eat, drink, or are clothed. These are needs.
Does He provide other needs? He does and will as we all need love, companionship, strength and salvation?
Yes. And He provided them all . . . if we are willing to receive them.
We may walk to the brink of our security, and for some even to the brink of comfort and sustenance. But He promises to provide for our every need. I want to tell you that we can trust in this. And its a promise of which we have no proof before hand. Another is
God has also promised that His grace is sufficient for us.
Paul went to the Lord with a problem, what he called a thorn in his flesh.
He prayed three times for the problem to be taken away. Let’s read exactly what Paul writes regarding this situation in 2nd Corinthians 12:7
“And lest I should be exalted above measure through the abundance of the revelations, there was given to me a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I should be exalted above measure.
8 For this thing I besought the Lord thrice, that it might depart from me.
9 And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.
10 Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ’s sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong.
What faith! Did you hear how Paul related to his specific infirmity or issue?
God has not only made provision for our salvation by His grace through faith, He is also GLORIFIED in such and HIS STRENGTH is made perfect in our weaknesses.
I have never seen this more amply proven than in my own life when the jack-ass named McCraney messes up over and over again.
But His grace – which is what we are all saved by from the start – is sufficient for any and all who look to Him in faith.
Isn’t that comforting? That it begins with His grace and it ends with His grace, all made possible by the life, death and resurrection of His Son.
God’s grace is sufficient for YOU. Your failing heart, your abiding flesh, your wickedness – whatever it is – God’s GRACE IS SUFFICIENT because in your weakness God is glorified!
Trust in the promise found in Ephesians 2:8-9?
“For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.”
Like Abraham, all of us trust in this promises yet proven. We enter into the heavenly realm with this trust and expectation that He will receive us fully and open armed no questions asked.
(beat)
God has also promised that His children will not be overtaken with temptation.
And instead of being overtaken, God also promises that a way of escape will be provided.
Now this brings us to point that cannot be avoided – God supplies the promises – all of them – but we have to also ask:
“Do we want his promises in our lives?” The promises are there if we want to believe and receive them, but we do not have to believe them or even want them to be operational.
“Does a person WANT God to take care of their every need?” Some don’t. So they take care of themselves.
Does God promise that His grace is sufficient for them and is it? Yes and yes.
But some people do not WANT or believe this promise – and set out to make His grace insufficient through works.
So, it is with this third promise of God to us given without proof. Think of it this way. We are like Daniel, tossed into a lion’s den.
The King who ordered this did not want it to happen but had to do it by virtue of the Law.
And this King said to Daniel, after he cast him into the den: (Daniel 6:16)
“Thy God whom thou servest continually, he will deliver thee.”
Do you think Daniel WANTED the God He served to deliver him? Of course. And God did. He provided a way for Daniel to escape untouched or harmed.
So, it is with each of us. The promise is found in 1st Corinthians 10:13, given almost 2000 years ago but just as applicable today:
It says:
“There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.”
But the freedom to choose our will over His may cause some to say “I don’t want to embrace this promise or his escapes. I want what I want.” And temptation trips them up.
But this does not change the fact that God provides a way to escape. For this reason James wrote:
James 1:14 But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed.
I am personally convinced that God gives all of us the means to escape but of our own lust we choose to be drawn away.
The goal is to learn to listen and to accept and want his escape routes. Because the true threat in what we call sin is not in God’s grace not being sufficient but in it leading to faithlessness and our turning from Him all together.
That’s the real threat of sin as it can in some cases harden the heart toward God and others, coating the Laws he has written in our hearts with Teflon and making us hard toward Him.
So whatever sin you might find yourself dealing with in your life remember to stay reliant on Him, to be open with Him, to stay humble in the face of the sin, admitting your faults to Him, and knowing that His grace is sufficient.
Want another one?
God has promised us victory over death.
Do you believe it? Absolute victory over death. In this promise there is really no reason to worry at the passing of a loved one – ever. The victory has been had and the reconciliation made for all. No parent has to mourn over the destination of their child – God is good. We mourn over the loss here, but not over their destination there.
We could go on and on – like His promise in Romans 10:9:
“That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.
Finally, as a promise that leads us right into the rest of the chapter,
Do we believe that in the midst of terrific trials, suffering, persecution, failure, and disappointment in the promise found in Romans 8:28 which says
“And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.”
We’re going to wrap up this chapter today showing how Father Abraham did trust in this very thing – in this heavenly promise.
So, referring to Abraham and his faith in the promises of God before they were fulfilled, Paul wrote in verse 17 that Abraham was told by God that He had MADE him a father of many nations, and that Abraham believed in this God who, as verse 17 says:
“who quickeneth the dead, and calleth those things which be not as though they were.
Now Paul calls God here the God who “quickeneth the dead” and the God who “calleth things which be not as though they are” to introduce us to more details in the setting and fulfillment of God’s promises to Abraham (which promises “were not” but were spoken of as if they were!)
And speaking of Abraham, Paul writes in verse 18
18 Who against hope believed in hope, that he might become the father of many nations, according to that which was spoken, So shall thy seed be.
Why does Paul describe Abraham as a person “who believed in hope when there was no hope?”
Abraham believed in the hope (promised by God) that he would have posterity beyond the stars in the sky when there was no hope remaining that this would be possible.
In Genesis 15:5 it reads:
“And God brought him forth abroad, and said, ‘Look now toward heaven, and tell the stars, if thou be able to number them:’ and God said unto Abraham, ‘So shall thy seed be.’ “
Do you realize how wonderful and far-reaching these words are? Have you considered the application these words carry in our lives as Christians?
It’s as if God is looking upon every single soul dead in insurmountable amounts of darkness and sin and says:
‘Look now toward the cross, and count your sins, if you are able to number them:’ and God says to all who believe Him, ‘So shall they all be forgiven.’ “
It’s as if we are looking at the grave of a loved one, and God says:
“Look now at the tomb as if empty, and think of this grave someday appearing in the same way because “so shall be your love one who has passed.”
Speaking about Abraham’s deadness, Paul adds in verse 19:
And being not weak in faith, he considered not his own body now dead, when he was about an hundred years old, neither yet the deadness of Sara’s womb:
So full of faith was Father Abraham that when he heard the promise of God he didn’t even considered the fact that, due to his age, his ability to create life was gone. That this was no obstacle for God.
In other words, genuine faith doesn’t look at the obstacles presented to us, it looks to the strength of God.
Does it seem like there is no possible way to see ourselves out of a situation? A trial? A sin? A lifestyle? You name it, God will give you life abundantly when you look to Him, no matter how impossible the facts may seem and – LISTEN – and He will see you through to a good end.
It may not be the end you design or imagine, but placing all your faith and trust in Him will bring about an end that He desires, and that is what we all really want anyway.
Believers can get to the point where NO THING – whether looming in the future or gumming up the present – has the power to bring fear or consternation as we can get to the point that no matter what occurs, we will recognized that God is in charge, He is at the helm, and we can
“know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.”
So there Abraham was, standing in a 100 year old body and married to a woman of 90 whose womb was just a dead as his sperm, and God promises him, while he’s gazing at the stars in the sky, saying, “So shall thy seed be.” And . . . (verse 20)
20 He (Abraham) staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief; but was strong in faith, giving glory to God;
Sometimes certain “critics” or uninformed believers like to strangely paint Abraham in a light other than being a man of faith.
This is primarily due to a passage in Genesis 17:17. Here God reaffirms the promise of posterity spoken to Abraham in Genesis 13 and 15. And says
And God said unto Abraham, As for Sarai thy wife, thou shalt not call her name Sarai, but Sarah shall her name be.
16 And I will bless her, and give thee a son also of her: yea, I will bless her, and she shall be a mother of nations; kings of people shall be of her.
17 Then Abraham fell upon his face, and laughed, and said in his heart, “Shall a child be born unto him that is an hundred years old? and shall Sarah, that is ninety years old, bear?”
For a number of reasons we know that the laughter of Abraham was laughter of joy – happiness – and not disbelief. The primary reasons we know this is because of the way the way the Apostolic Record describes him – like what Paul has been saying of him here in Romans 4 as Paul writes in verse 20 that Abraham “staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief; but was strong in faith, giving glory to God.”
Again, Abraham gave God the honor and the glory for the sweetness of His promises (the substance of things hoped for) long BEFORE it was made manifest or proven to him.
Here is yet another element or evidence of living faith – we praise God for the results (of His promises) before they are ever proven or occur.
Thank you God, I worship and glory in YOUR promises Lord,
your promise to provide me ALL my needs,
your promise to never leave me,
your promise to have saved me from certain death,
your promise of everlasting life,
your promise of raising me to new life in an eternal body,
your promise of giving me escape from temptation.
Your promise that your grace is sufficient for me, for my family, for all of humankind.
This firmness with which we believe his promises was foreshadowed in the firmness by which Abraham believed, as verse 21 says:
21 And being fully persuaded that, what he (God) had promised, he was able also to perform.
Remember, this was not the only time in which Abraham evidenced this confidence in God.
His faith was equally implicit and strong – in fact, doubly strong – when God commanded to sacrifice his son, Isaac – another act the world does not understand.
Speaking of this faith, the writer of Hebrews (11:19) mentions something important, saying that Abraham was:
“Accounting that God was able to raise him (Isaac) up, even from the dead.”
I call this a double portion of faith because Abraham was not only promised that he would have posterity as vast in number as the stars above but was then commanded to offer the source of this posterity – his miracle son Isaac – up on the alter.
That’s a unbelievable challenge to faith – and yet he did not stumble becausehe believed, according to Hebrews 11:19 that God was able to raise Isaac from the dead, just as he was able to create Isaac from two physically dead parents.
I want to point something out since we are here about Abrahams sacrifice of Isaac. When they packed the mules and headed up to the mountain Abraham stopped and told his men to wait at a location, saying
Genesis 22:5 “Abide ye here with the ass; and I and the lad will go yonder and worship, and (I and the lad) come again to you.”
Abraham knew that the living God would do something, one way or another, where he and the lad would return to the waiting men. Its right there in the text. That’s faith.
He had been promised offspring through Isaac. Therefore no matter what, Abraham trusted God.
Paul now concludes with another therefore (verse 22),
22 And therefore it (his faith – His belief in the promises of God) was imputed to him for righteousness.
Abraham was first given a promise that in light of the facts seemed impossible – He and his aged wife would have seemingly unlimited offspring.
Then His faith in this very promise of God was put to the test when God commanded that this only Son of his be put to death.
And once again, he believed even to the point that God would actually raise Isaac up from the dead to fulfill what he had already said.
Whoa! I mean, that is faith.
And what a picture the life and story of Abraham serves for all who are saved.
God promises that if we “believe in our heart and confess with our mouth we will be saved,” and then accepting this glorious promise as true by and through faith, our faith in His original promise is tested, presenting all of us who have first believed to ask, “Is there more than this?” “Am I missing something?”
“Will God really be true to these promises of grace merely by and through faith on His Son? Or do I need to do more?”
“Am I really His daughter? Am I really His son?” “Does He truly reward us by grace and not works?”
Paul ties the promises made to Abraham and his belief in them to us in the next verse (23-25) saying:
23 Now it (the righteousness Abraham received by faith) was not written for his sake alone, that it was imputed to him;
24 But for us also, to whom it (righteousness) shall be imputed, if we believe on him that raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead.
25 Who was delivered for our offences, and was raised again for our justification.
Abraham showed his faith in God by believing just what God revealed to him.
Faith, in our case, is belief in God just so far as he has revealed his will to us.
Nothing more, nothing less.
In my opinion, it is the absences of answers in God’s Word that undergird this faith as much as the promises themselves.
The faith of Abraham is the same in principle as the faith of Christians today – though it may have reference to different objects.
Abraham’s faith was on the fact that God would take his dead body and that of his wife and bring forth life. And for this faith righteousness was imputed to his account.
In the same way, God has promised us that if we look to Him who was “delivered for our offenses,” and “we believe on him that raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead,” and who was “raised again for our justification” we will be seen as righteous too. In some ways, we will go from being dead to being made abundantly alive!
Notice that the focus of our faith. Paul puts it this way:
But for us also, to whom (righteousness) shall be imputed, (if) we believe on him that raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead. Who was delivered for our offences, and was raised again for our justification.”
If we . . . believe . . . if we believe . . . IF we believe that
“God raised our LORD from the dead who was delivered for our offenses; and who was raised again for OUR justification.”
To believe in the resurrection is not enough, but it is the focal point because His life and death would have been imperfect if he had not been raised up from the dead.
But Paul adds that those who are imputed with righteousness also believe that “He was delivered up for our offences” AND that “He was raised again for our justification.”
That Jesus was delivered up for our offences and raised again for our justification.
Receive it, believe it and enter His Kingdom, by His grace through faith – that is good news.
Questions/Comments/Prayer
