Romans Week 15, October 23, 2022

Introduction

Romans 4:23–25 ESV

23 But the words “it was counted to him” were not written for his sake alone, 24 but for ours also. It will be counted to us who believe in him who raised from the dead Jesus our Lord, 25 who was delivered up for our trespasses and raised for our justification.

Faith

Faith is a curious topic isn't it? On one hand cult leaders throughout history have been rightly criticized and called out for encouraging blind faith. And the worst hypocrites, the worst individuals in history are those who have used faith to call people to blindly make choices. So faith can be portrayed as something negative can't it? But, to the same end faith is a necessary art of living. We exercise faith when we sit in a chair. We exercise faith wouldn't we trust a friend. We exercise faith when we go to work or come home. We exercise faith in so many areas of our life you exercised faith in your car this morning you exercised faith in the Pew this morning you exercised faith in the producers of the Donuts you ate or cereal you consumed. Each of us exercise faith every day as we live. We have to because we do not have the time or capacity to thoroughly test everything. We have to place our faith in something in order to survive anything.

And yet when we look at the life of Abraham we think to ourselves wow what crazy faith! We think how could someone believe that God would give a 100 year old man and a 90 year old woman kids?!! We think god asked them to believe in some freaky big faith! We think god asked them to believe in something that if you or i said that god had promised a elderly couple that they would have kids in this day and age you would have asked me to check again with God you would have asked me to say Are you sure because that sounds crazy. God asked Abraham to believe in his capacity to do something crazy supernatural the reality is God asks us for faith as well.

Now what you and I have to come to grips with is the reality that faith is a part of our lives today we all trust someone and something. new line new line let me illustrate this in some way shape or form

Abraham Lincoln. Everyone of us have heard about this tall man who declared slaves free. Each one of us have probably heard the story of his assassination. We've probably read about it in school.

Abraham Lincoln. He was a real person right? How do you know? Abraham Lincoln emancipated slaves led the country through a good chunk of the civil war and died at the hand of an assassin.

But how do we know these things are facts? We exercise a certain level of faith in the sources we've gotten them from. We exercise a certain level of faith in others. We exercise a certain level of faith and what we've heard and how we've heard it. We exercise a lot of faith when we think about Abraham Lincoln.

In much the same way God calls us to exercise faith when we think about his work in the gospel. The life death and resurrection of Jesus are profound historical truths that God gives us the opportunity to accept or reject. But as much as we accept or reject the life and actions of Abraham Lincoln, it takes us faith to accept or reject the life and actions of Jesus.

There's actually a fascinating parallel between what God asked of Abraham and what God asks of us.

A comparison of Abraham’s faith and our faith

Object

With Abraham God made promises about his future his descendants and his blessing.

With us God makes promises about our future he promises to give us forgiveness for our sins and eternal life.

Evidence

With Abraham God manifested his power by resurrecting the power of an elderly couple to have children. With us God manifested his power resurrecting his son from the dead.

Perspective

This is an especially cool truth that I'm thankful for! Abraham had to look forward anticipating what God would do someday. He had to anticipate by faith is supernatural event he had not yet seen. We get to look back seeing records of something that already happened. Something that is historically verifiable. Is just as much verifiable that Abraham Lincoln lived and was killed by an Assassin's bullet as it is that Jesus lived and died and was resurrected from the dead.

Result

Abraham’s faith resulted in Abraham being credited as righteous. Our faith results in righteousness as well.

The amazing thing is this Abraham was asked to believe something he had never seen. We are asked to push our faith in something that multiple witnesses have confirmed and written apart over the years period Abraham had to look forward in faith in the same way that the writer to the Hebrews writes about in Chapter 11.

We get to look back with faith and fact.

In much the same way that live in our lives we get to look back in faith remembering the ways that God has kept his promises over the years how is sustain does and provided for us and healed us and more... We get to look back to the cross to see what Jesus has done for us.

But it's like Jesus and his conversation with the doubting Thomas. Remember what he said in John:

John 20:29 ESV

29 Jesus said to him, “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”

Think about the different ways that people interact with faith in the world.

Four different responses to faith/the Gospel

Some people like Abraham and others had to look forward in faith believing in something that they could not yet see.

Still others believe after seeing. They hear a presentation of the gospel whether it's a conversation with a friend or reading scripture or really anything and they respond to that truth with faith. Because you have to respond to truth with faith in order to accept it or make use of it.

And then there are those who have received a revelation they have received some presentation of the gospel or knowledge of God and have chosen to reject it. Or they've chosen to suppress it. Or they've grown up in the church and rejected God. In short these are people who have received a knowledge of the truth and a revelation of God and have rejected it. Paul talks about these people and Romans chapter one.

And last but not least there are those who have not heard the gospel message. They simply live without knowledge of the truth.

My hope is that you leave with such an incredible view of the power of the gospel that you want to tell it to everyone that you encounter. That after you spend time in Romans you are so in awe of what God has done that you've got to tell it to everyone you see. It's like when you go and visit somewhere grand like the Grand Canyon or the mountains or the ocean and you leave struck by how incredible it is. You just want to describe it as much as possible so that someone who hasn't seen what you've seen can see it through your eyes and words. That's why Paul devotes the book of Romans to telling us about the wonder that is the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Two sides of salvation

Romans 4:25 ESV

25 who was delivered up for our trespasses and raised for our justification.

This last verse here is fascinating! It shows both parts of the salvation coin as it were. In the first sense Jesus was sacrificed for our sin which is extraordinary. And it's effective because he was perfect. As the writer to the Hebrews makes a big deal out of Jesus was a perfect sacrifice and therefore he is perfectly capable of atoning for our sins.

But here's the thing anyone could claim to die for the sins of someone else. Anyone could claim to be dying and paying a debt for someone else's sins. Of course they wouldn't do it quite as perfectly as Jesus did because they would not be sinless

The test in many ways for someone who claimed to be making an extraordinary sacrifice with supernatural effectiveness would be whether they were resurrected...

Remember one time Jesus was criticized for offering forgiveness of sins to a paralyzed man. The Pharisees rightly criticized him for this because no one can forgive sins unless he is God. But then Jesus responded to their criticism by showing his capacity to do the supernatural.

Mark 2:10–11 ESV

10 But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins”—he said to the paralytic— 11 “I say to you, rise, pick up your bed, and go home.”

The man got up and walked home.

If Jesus has the power to give working legs to a paralyzed man then he has the power to forgive sins. If he has the power to resurrect the health of someone permanently disabled he has the power to forgive sins.

If we believe in the resurrection of Jesus then let us find courage and faith to talk about the gospel of Jesus wherever we are. If we do not believe in the resurrection of Jesus to let us take time to go through a book study or find resources to wrestle with that answer. If you truly believe Jesus was resurrected from the dead and the power of the gospel is unstoppable. And the power of the gospel deserves to be shared.

Conclusion—What’s the strength of your faith?

The Missionary George Muller wrote this:

Romans III. Conclusion: Abraham Lives!

“Faith does not operate in the realm of the possible,” Müller wrote. “There is no glory for God in that which is humanly possible. Faith begins where man’s power ends”

It is where and when we find ourselves at the end of our abilities that we experience the power of faith. It is then we learn the truth of verses like

Philippians 4:19 ESV

19 And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus.

We don’t really know this verse as true until we face a moment where we truly depend on God to provide.

Life Application

Would you like to amaze Jesus?

There are two times in the gospels where Jesus is recorded as being amazed and both of those have to do with faith.

Remember in Luke Chapter 7 a Roman centurion servant was sick and dying this centurion who was a gentile of course asked the Jewish leaders to get Jesus and ask him to come but when Jesus was on the way the centurion sent us servant asking to for Jesus to just say the word and his servant would be healed.

Luke 7:7 ESV

7 Therefore I did not presume to come to you. But say the word, and let my servant be healed.

Apparently in humility the centurion thought better of asking Jesus to have to walk all the way to him and he believed that Jesus could instead just say the word for his servants healing. Jesus was amazed by the faith of the of this man

Luke 7:9 ESV

9 When Jesus heard these things, he marveled at him, and turning to the crowd that followed him, said, “I tell you, not even in Israel have I found such faith.”

Think about this Jesus had already spent quite a while teaching and healing throughout Israel and yet he says in this moment he is not found such faith in all of Israel. A person with a humble faith that says Jesus you don't need to touch me or come near to me or inconvenience yourself all I need is your word and I believe it will happen. That's the kind of faith that amazed Jesus. That's the kind of faith that we want to imitate :)

Remember when Jesus returned to his hometown in Nazareth in mark chapter six. He experienced skepticism and hostility from people who knew him and for some reason that we don't fully understand he was kept from doing some miraculous works because of their lack of faith. They were skeptical at what Jesus could do and that lack of faith amazed Jesus.

Mark 6:6 ESV

6 And he marveled because of their unbelief. And he went about among the villages teaching.

So both great faith and little faith both amazed Jesus. The biggest thing that God responds to is faith. He's not looking for someone to be a genetic descendant of Abraham. He was not looking for someone to fastidiously keep all his commands. He's looking for someone to trust him by faith. To demonstrate the faith of the centurion.

Story of Christy on a slope at Turkey Run with me standing beside her asking her to trust me.

If Jesus stood beside you throughout your week what would he think of your faith? What would he think of your faith and how you manage your money? What would he think of your faith in how you live at work or school? What would he think of your face when he hears you talk about your future? What would he think of your faith when he hears you talk about your problems?

Let us be people this week who amaze God by our great faith. Let us be people who choose to trust God that whatever he puts in our lives we will find peace trusting him.