Romans 4:13-17 | Good news of the Gospel

Intro

Hey Y’all, everybody good? Good good.

Do y’all ever have one of those days or weeks where you just kinda feel lost? I know a couple weeks ago, I got out of my quiet time rhythm. I felt out of wack, and when you do that, or at least me, you try to make up for it, you try to be extra holy or what ever. But i threw me off, and I was just kinda sitting there feeling like I had to earn my way back to God’s good graces. Y’all ever feel that, you know you are saved, but you sometimes feel like you still have to earn it?

I still feel like that sometimes. But I am thankful for the word of God and that it is a reminder of who is in Charge.

So the other day I was listening to a Preacher, actually last week I listened to two different preachers, Erik Reed and Matt Chandler, and they both started out there sermons talking about the first time someone heard the Gospel and understood it. Erik Reed was talking about how his church was supposed to be a place where the gospel was preached and how there was a cultural lack of knowledge with the gospel, that people had glossed over the gospel and basically just tried to keep a set of rules.

then Matt Chandler was talking about a funeral he did, where the story of the lady who had passed was one where she grew up in a very fundamentalist church and was married and was the organ player at the church and first understood the gospel and got saved while playing the organ during the invitation.

Both of the stories had this in common, the gospel was reduced down to a set of rules and regulations, that none of us could follow.

in Erik’s story the gospel caused no urgency because it had become a glossed over nominal part of the church culture where he was.

In Matt Chandler’s story, the gospel had been reduced down to a crushing set of rules that locked up a person in stead of freeing a person.

and so as I’m listening to these stories, I start to reflect on what we do here. And I asked myself, is there anyone here where that might be the case? Where either the gospel has just been glossed over and we are just more culturally christian and there is no urgency for other people to here the gospel, or on the flip side, has anyone here made the gospel in to a burden, in to a list of rules and regulations that just weigh a person down — that burdens a person instead of giving rest.

In either of those scenarios, the gospel is reduced.

So we need to ask ourselves, do we see the gospel as good news? Do we see the gospel as life giving. or do we see the gospel as a weight or a burden or do we see it as just a thing to put in our back pocket for a rainy day?

What do we see when we look in the mirror. Do we see burdens or apathy, or do you see life and renewal?

Have we truly experienced the gospel. Not one time or do we experience the gospel daily?

If you look through scripture the gospel is most preached to those in side the church, the gospel is preached to believers.

So that should tell us, we needed and still need the gospel.

The Gospel doesn’t go away after we have heard it, we need to keep hearing it.

So have you let the gospel do it’s work, have you truly let the gospel be good news?

So this is where we are going to be tonight, Romans 4:13-17, if you’ve got a bible great, flip over to Romans 4, if you don’t have a bible throw a hand up and we’ll get you one who needs one? Cool Cool.

look at me when you get there.

Aight Romans 4:13-17, y’all pray with me for our time in the word. and then let’s read this together .

Pray with me

The Promise v 13-15

Aight, lets read this together.

Romans 4:13–17 ESV

13 For the promise to Abraham and his offspring that he would be heir of the world did not come through the law but through the righteousness of faith. 14 For if it is the adherents of the law who are to be the heirs, faith is null and the promise is void. 15 For the law brings wrath, but where there is no law there is no transgression. 16 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, 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.

Okay so, what do we have going on here? We see some talk about Abraham and a promise.

who has watched the show parks and rec all the way through? Okay, I bienged it in seminary at night, and now we watch it before we go to bed at night just to decompress, but what i found I really like about the show is that, it has a great sense of continuity, there are a ton running jokes and gags that a you watch the show they get funnier, and if you rewatch it you see more of the running jokes and I really appreciated how clever that was. Like, lil Sebastian and ben just not getting or Jerry’s wife. But theres a ton of dumb stuff and jokes. but the continuity of the show along side the character development makes the show hilarious.

SO what we are seeing here in romans is continuity, not a joke, but we see a promise and we see Abraham.

All the way back in season 1, Genesis, we have God giving Abraham a Promise, and what is that Promise?

Let’s go back there, Gen. 17:4-8 , let me read this for you.

Genesis 17:4–8 ESV

4 “Behold, my covenant is with you, and you shall be the father of a multitude of nations. 5 No longer shall your name be called Abram, but your name shall be Abraham, for I have made you the father of a multitude of nations. 6 I will make you exceedingly fruitful, and I will make you into nations, and kings shall come from you. 7 And I will establish my covenant between me and you and your offspring after you throughout their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and to your offspring after you. 8 And I will give to you and to your offspring after you the land of your sojournings, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession, and I will be their God.”

So this is promise we see God give to Abraham, three proMoses good gives Abraham.

Abraham would be the father of many nations, Canaan will be there land, and God will be the God of all of his offspring. That is the promise, that is the covenant made with Abraham.

We see a ton of Covenants given throughout the old testament, and after Abraham they are given to his descendents. To his offspring.

So what Paul is saying here is, The Promise given to Abraham was a promise to be the keep of these people He has chosen, to be their Good. To save them, to create an everlasting covenant.

Despite what Abraham did, God was going to be there.

So in 2021, LL and I bought a house, an in doing that, you have to sign a contract with a bank, saying yup, I will pay back this money. but that promise is a two way street, the bank lets you live in the house, and you make the payments. But if you stop making payments on the house, they’re not going to let you keep living in the house, they’re gonna come get you. You didn’t follow the law of the contract. The contract becomes null and they kick you out the house, and take the house back and you get nothing.

But look what Paul is saying here in Romans, God didn’t give Abraham the Law then give him the promise, God didn’t say, here is list of rules if you can do these, I’ll make a promise with you. God said to Abraham, here is my promise, I will be your God. I am choosing you to be a people. You are going to be the people who will receive the everlasting covenant.

God Chose Abraham despite Abraham.

Look at Abraham’s life.

He was 75 years on when God called him. He lied about His wife, when God told him he was going to have a son, he didn’t believe God so he went and had a child with someone who was not his wife.

Like maybe don’t model your life on Abraham.

This is the guy God made the promise to, this is who God established His covenant with. This guy’s offspring will receive the ever lasting covenant.

Why? Because of Faith. Even with Abraham was unfaithful, God was faithful.

Faith Through Righteousness.

Paul is telling them look don’t forget the gospel. Do not forget the good news.

Christ has come and brought in the everlasting covenant. The good news is it isn’t up to you. God has chosen you.

That was the problem with the Lady in erik’s story, she had forgotten that God is the one doing the work in the Gospel.

It is good new for us, not because of us. The Good New is good news because of God.

The Promise Keeper

So that was the promise, so who is the promise keeper? It’s God.

God is the one keeping the promise.

Look at verses 16-17 Rom.4:16-17

Romans 4:16–17 ESV

16 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, 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.

The Gospel is for us, despite us.

Look at the history of the jewish People, the promise was kept.

Look at Abraham, he did dumb things and was not perfect.

Look at Moses, he was a murderer who did dumb things and the promise was kept.

Look at David, he was an adulterer and murderer and God called him a man after his own heart.

The story of the old testament is the story of the people of God being faithful and being unfaithful, and the Lord judging, rescuing and restoring the people.

But even in the new testament, look at Peter, he denied Christ 3 times, but the promise was kept.

God called Paul and he was a murderer and God kept his promise.

It is God’s faithfulness to us how the promise is kept.

This is the counter-cultural message of the Gospel. No one keeps promises like this.

Imagine the bank, I’ve got this mortgage, who is the bank going to be faithful to if I don’t make payments on the house? The bank is who they’re gonna be faithful to. They’re not gonna step in and make the payment for me.

What about your job, if you are hourly which probably most of you are, if you call out, you don’t get paid for that shift. They’re gonna be faithful to the company.

But God’s promise is not like that, he has made the promise, he is going to keep the promise. It isn’t contingent on anything you do. If it was, you couldn’t do it on your own.

That is why we call it being saved, because when you are saved from something it was something you couldn’t do anything about.

Imagine you are drowning, you need some one to save you. If you’re drowning, there is nothing you can do about it unless someone saves you.

God has saved you, that is the good news.

This is the Gospel

So what is the Gospel that Paul is reminding them of here?

The last phrase in this passage, is: “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.”

When you were born you were born in to this world, this fallen world corrupted by sin, you were born with a sin nature.

SO this world is broken and you are dead in sin.

Without something or someone intervening, you are dead in sin. Drowning and you have nothing to pull you out. You can’t pull yourself out. You can’t do anything.

You are dead in sin and destined for Hell.

The good news is, christ knows you can’t do anything to save yourself, and came and took what you deserved which was hell, and made a way for you to have relationship with God. Restored the way. You are a prisoner to sin, you were dead to sin, Christ brings liberty to the captive and life to the dead.

That is the good news for the unbeliever.

But like we said earlier, the gospel is preached to believers more than non believers.

The Good news is still for you. You still need the gospel.

The gospel remind you who saved you and brings you close to Him.

The Gospel brings you to the throne of God. The Gospel leads you back to the fire.

We are still gonna have our days, we are still gonna mess up and sin, we are still gonna be humans, our flesh is going to win from time to time.

The Gospel tells us that it is temporary and that God keeps his promises to take our burdens. That we get his yoke, and his yoke is easy, his burden is light.

The gospel gives us the ability and access to God. So that when we do goof and our flesh wins, we can go go straight to God.

That is the good news, we don’t have to rely on ourselves or sacrifices to have relationship with God, he gives it freely, all we do is trust that He will keep His promise.

So the Good News for believers is, he has done the hard thing, he has already paid your way. You don’t have to earn your way back, you just come back in the house.

That was the whole point of the Parable of the prodigal son Jesus gives in Luke 15.

The son goes and is a hellion and comes back to his fathers house and is welcomed back.

The Gospel for us, is that you can return home.

SO as believers keep your gaze on Christ, when you stumble and trust me you will, pick your head up and keep walking. The gospel is still good news, it would be awful news if it could go away, but it doesn’t. Keep pursing Christ. When you get off track come on back.

So what do we do with this?

If you are a follower of Christ, preach the gospel to yourself. If the gospel has truly transformed your life. Then it should do tow things, it should take the weight off of your shoulders for your salvation. The gospel is good news for sinners because you don’t have to make a way, Christ does that for you.

Then if you are a a follower of Christ, the gospel should change you and give you a sense of urgency to to spread the gospel. You should look more like christ today that the day you were saved. And remember sanctification, the process by which you are made more like Christ is a slow thing, baby steps is the average speed.

For most of us, we aren’t going to be theologians and professors. But what we need to be are faithful followers of Christ, followers who are deep in His word.

So ask yourself is the gospel real, and do you live like the gospel is good news or are you still trying to do it by yourself. Has the gospel been good news, and if it hasn’t rethink your relationship to the lord. You may need to have a conversation with him

For some of you, you might think you have screwed up to much to come back so you are just running, see the gospel as good news, come back to the fire.

For others, the gospel was a one time thing and now we over look it, people need the gospel, and part of having it is giving it away.

Fo others, you have never thought much about the good news, you may not be a follower of christ. If you aren’t this text is the gospel. That you are dead in your sins and destined to live in hell for all eternity a part from God. The Gospel is that Christ came in your place, thatHe took your place on the cross. The Gospel calls you to repent and believe in Christ. Apart form him, this life is worthless and meaningless.

If you have any questions, you something in you is saying, I need to the gospel, come talk to me, don’t sit on it, don’t wait. Eternity’s too long.

Come see Christ as Lord, come see Christ as king.

Y’all pray with me.