Righteousness Comes by...

Can you believe that this is the last Wednesday night service… of the year? 2023 is almost over… Christmas day is a week and a half away… and I feel like we were just in this place… yesterday!

Time is flying by and the Christmas season is in full swing! And one of my favorite parts of this season is… gift giving.

I enjoy giving gifts to my family… I enjoy trying to think up the perfect gift… sometimes serious, sometimes funny… but something I hope they will enjoy and use in the days to come.

The best part of a gift is… is its status as being a gift! When a person gives you a gift, they don’t attach a bill to it saying, “Here is how you can pay for it.” If we did that, it would not be a gift.

A gift defined is something given voluntarily without payment in return, as to show favor toward someone, honor an occasion, or make a gesture of assistance; present.

What I want us to see here is important. Two things actually...

One… a gift is given WITHOUT payment in return. If the person receiving the gift is expected to pay for it, then it isn’t a gift.

Two… a gift is given for a reason. Per the definition those reasons might include to show favor, honor, gesture of assistance… maybe compassion, love, kindness, appreciation, etc.

A gift is a show of ________________. It is a response of the giver to the receiver.

Sometimes gifts can be hard to receive because we don’t feel like we deserve it.

That feeling comes from our programmed culture of earning what we have.

Don’t hear me wrong, I am a strong believer in work. We do what we can to provide for our families by showing up to the job and earning our wages.

But when it comes to a gift, it’s not so much about what we have earned… it is more about how the giver wants to bless us.

So all of this talk tonight about works and gifts is important as we dive back into the Book of Romans.

Paul is trying to reset some understanding regarding how the gift of God’s righteousness… works.

This gift is found in the life and ministry of Jesus. John 3:16 does well to detail this.

John 3:16 NIV

16 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

Travis Dumond did a great job talking about this gift on Sunday, but it plays into what we will be talking about this evening as well.

God LOVED so He GAVE. The earned wage of death is replaced with the gift of eternal life THROUGH what? Belief or faith!

Paul is trying to move the reader from a works-based reception of righteousness to a faith-based reception of righteousness THROUGH the gift of Jesus.

The world did not EARN the gift God gave us… but because God so loved the world… He gave well beyond what we deserved… and made a way for our forgiveness.

Paul Goes Back to Abraham.

Paul takes the reader way back to the stories they would have known very well. And he brings out some important details in the telling of the story.

Romans 4:1–8 NIV

1 What then shall we say that Abraham, our forefather according to the flesh, discovered in this matter? 2 If, in fact, Abraham was justified by works, he had something to boast about—but not before God. 3 What does Scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.” 4 Now to the one who works, wages are not credited as a gift but as an obligation. 5 However, to the one who does not work but trusts God who justifies the ungodly, their faith is credited as righteousness. 6 David says the same thing when he speaks of the blessedness of the one to whom God credits righteousness apart from works: 7 “Blessed are those whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered. 8 Blessed is the one whose sin the Lord will never count against them.”

Let’s break this down tonight starting with verse 2. IF Abraham was justified by works… he had something to boast about… but then Paul says “but not before God.” What does that mean?

His works might have been impressive in the eyes of men… but not in the eyes of the Lord. Why? BECAUSE NO AMOUNT OF WORKS CAN MOVE A PERSON FROM UNRIGHTEOUS TO RIGHTEOUS.

That is a barrier we simply cannot cross on our own! But many people try to do so through works. OR… after they have received Christ as their Savior, they boast in themselves as if they had something to do with their new spiritual status!

Abraham was NOT declared righteous because of his works, verse 3 said it was because of his what? FAITH. Abraham BELIEVED.

The next couple of verse work to reinforce the truth Paul just laid down.

The wages we earn are given out of obligation, not as a gift. And again… there is no way we can earn our way out of the sin mess we created.

Think about it. In Genesis, God placed humanity in perfection. Humanity stepped out of that reality when they chose sin.

We now live in the earned wage of that sin. We now live in the earned consequence of that sin. From this spiritual position, it is impossible for us to do enough good works to escape the wages of our sin. Works places the emphasis on what we can do.

BUT… God made a way that is not based off our works. It is based off faith and trust in Him.

Abraham’s belief in God was credited to him as righteousness. Today, our belief in God or faith in God moves us from what we have earned to what God desires to give us - eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

We are saved… because of what God has done. And we should NEVER FORGET THAT! AND… we need to remember that God’s salvation is available to ALL people.

Paul Reveals the Heart of God.

Romans 4:9–12 NIV

9 Is this blessedness only for the circumcised, or also for the uncircumcised? We have been saying that Abraham’s faith was credited to him as righteousness. 10 Under what circumstances was it credited? Was it after he was circumcised, or before? It was not after, but before! 11 And he received circumcision as a sign, a seal of the righteousness that he had by faith while he was still uncircumcised. So then, he is the father of all who believe but have not been circumcised, in order that righteousness might be credited to them. 12 And he is then also the father of the circumcised who not only are circumcised but who also follow in the footsteps of the faith that our father Abraham had before he was circumcised.

One of the things I love most about the Christmas season is… the gift that God gave us… is for all people. This manger scene is not a symbol for some… it is a message of hope to all people.

Abraham was declared righteous in the eyes of the Lord BEFORE circumcision was a thing. That became a sign later of what the Lord had done. In other words, the act of circumcision did not make him righteous - his faith did long before.

God’s desire is for all people to come back to Him… His hope is that all people would receive the gift He is offering through Jesus.

And there is no better season to declare this truth… than the Christmas season.

We see this scene before us and we remember the day Jesus came to this earth. He came to die for our sins… He came to be the sacrificial Lamb for our sins… NO ONE ELSE could have done this.

God has offered this world the greatest gift possible… a gift that is received not through works… but through believing.

And my prayer is… that throughout this Christmas season, His church would do what we can to make the world aware of this gift. There are a couple of ways we can do this.

One… no boasting of our “works.” Doing so only serves as a distraction to what the Lord is offering the world.

Two… don’t make determinations regarding who gets to hear the story based off what a person deserves. None of us deserve what Jesus did… God desires for all people to come to repentance

Three… keep the story of Jesus central to your Christmas celebrations.

Lastly… invite folks to be a part of our church Christmas celebrations.

Kids Christmas play this Sunday

Singspiration this Sunday night

Worship and candlelight communion Christmas Eve morning.

In closing… God has offered this world a tremendous gift that is received by faith. Can we do our part in making sure all people have the opportunity to receive the gift of Jesus this Christmas season?