45 Preaching/Teaching Romans 4: A Faith that Pleases God!

Intro:

Faith and the reformation

5 pillars

Faith

Word

Grace

Christ

Word

Non negotiable

Belief is something I am wired for

This is one of my strengths

What is your faith in

This week I was listening to a Steve Jobs commencement address. Jobs himself was not a Christian, but he talked about how he had faith in something bigger than himself, it was one of the main reasons he was able to make it in life and keep believing.

Steve jobs had faith in himself and a worldly vision

Today I want us to put our faith in Christ

But people all over the world have faith in something. Today we are going to talk about having FAITH in Jesus Christ.

Why we must put our faith in the lord Jesus.

1. Why we must walk by Faith:

Faith has always been the way to please God (Old Dudes) (1-8).

“Faith is helplessness reaching out in total dependence upon God.”

-Mounce.

Who wants to please God?

ILLUSTRATION—As a young man, I badly wanted to please my dad. I would do whatever I could to please him. I wanted so badly for him to be pleased with it. I think one of the reasons I worked so hard at basketball is that I wanted my dad to be pleased. I would spend countless hours playing, and now I love basketball, but I wonder if I did because my dad loved it so much. And I wanted to please him. The one person we should want to please is God. Getting my dad's approval was good, but man the approval of God who would not want that.

But more than that, we were created to be GOD PLEASERS. 

Romans 4:1–2 NASB95

What then shall we say that Abraham, our forefather according to the flesh, has found? For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about, but not before God.

It starts with a few rhetorical questions. If we could earn our salvation, we would brag about it. 

First Case Study = ABRAHAM.

Father Abraham had many sons. Abraham was the first Jewish person. God told Abraham, "I am going to create my people from you, and you are the first one." Now think about this: You are 100 years old, and God says, "Out of your offspring, I am going to make a great nation." How in the world is that going to happen? There are not many 100-year-olds who have kids. This guy is Father Abraham. How was he made right before God? Was it because he went to church each week? Was it because he was a good father? Was it because he obeyed his parents? NO!

Romans 4:3 NASB95

For what does the Scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.”

It was because Abraham believed in this incredibly tremendous promise. This promise that seemed impossible but was spoken by God, he believed. How do we get right with God? We believe in the promises of God.

Romans 4:4–5 NASB95

Now to the one who works, his wage is not credited as a favor, but as what is due. But to the one who does not work, but believes in Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is credited as righteousness,

“Faith is helplessness reaching out in total dependence upon God.”-Mounce.

(4-5) Observation of the difference between Faith and works.

Works we get what is due, death is what we deserve (4)Faith-believes, Faith is credited as righteousness (5)If we think it works, does it = prideful? If you think you can work your way to heaven = become prideful. Abraham knows it was by Faith. 

Second Case Study = David

Romans 4:6 NASB95

just as David also speaks of the blessing on the man to whom God credits righteousness apart from works:

How could it get any bigger than Abraham? Who are some of the big names in the Bible? (have people name some)? David is another Giant character in the Bible, the greatest King Israel had ever seen. Abraham was made right before God, but so was DavidDavid was a man after God's own heart. His younger years were almost flawless; he led Israel to victory after victory, and then suddenly, he did not just have a little fall but a significant one. He committed adultery and had the lady's husband murdered. Does it get any more evil than that? This man who had this Godly legacy fell a great fall. He blew it!

Do you ever blow it? David wrote many of the Psalms in the Bible, and after that great sin, David wrote a Psalm and then wrote it down, and it said this. 

Romans 4:7–8 NASB95

“Blessed are those whose lawless deeds have been forgiven, And whose sins have been covered. “Blessed is the man whose sin the Lord will not take into account.”

Why was David blessed, because he was forgiven! Why was he forgiven because he had Faith in God? David was pleasing to God because of his BELIEF IN GOD!

David said we are blessed because we are forgiven. Are you blessed?

One of our problems is the Christian cold. Friends, are you a God-pleaser?

Are you copying the people of old and walking by Faith?

As I was working on this point, I wondered, "What if I tried to please God as much as I tried to please my dad growing up?"

2. Why we must walk by Faith:

because it is the fuel for our works (9-12).

We are not saved by works.

We are saved for works.

There were a lot of works Abraham did. But any of those works he did were fueled by the faith he had.

One of our core values is we value relationship > Religion.

We can’t have a relationship without faith.

Romans 4:9 NASB95

Is this blessing then on the circumcised, or on the uncircumcised also? For we say, “Faith was credited to Abraham as righteousness.”

Circumcision was the sign from the O.T.

Genesis 17:10–11 ““This is My covenant, which you shall keep, between Me and you and your descendants after you: every male among you shall be circumcised. “And you shall be circumcised in the flesh of your foreskin, and it shall be the sign of the covenant between Me and you.”

This was a sign that you were Jewish and even greater that you belonged to the people of God.

There are two main ways you can look at works.

God accepts me because I am circumcised. In other words Gods’ love for me because of my works. If we go this route where do we stop. Does God love me more or at ll only if I earn it. How do I earn it, going to church, giving money, helping the poor, being nice to people.

Because I am accepted I will do good. In other words I don’t do good to earn God’s favor. I do good because I already have God’s favor. And why do I have God’s favor because I have faith in Jesus Christ. God’s Love is unconditional.

Abraham reminds us that we are loved unconditionally.

Romans 4:10–11 NASB95

How then was it credited? While he was circumcised, or uncircumcised? Not while circumcised, but while uncircumcised; and he received the sign of circumcision, a seal of the righteousness of the faith which he had while uncircumcised, so that he might be the father of all who believe without being circumcised, that righteousness might be credited to them,

This verse tells us that Abraham was made right before he did any works. He He received the approval of God and was not circumcised for 14 years.

When I was a freshman in college and trusted Jesus Christ, I was made perfect right there. I had done nothing, and I was declared right because of my faith. I had done nothing.

Romans 4:12 NASB95

and the father of circumcision to those who not only are of the circumcision, but who also follow in the steps of the faith of our father Abraham which he had while uncircumcised.

Why is this such great news. Because it does not matter if you grow up in church, or out of church, in America or out of America, does not matter you socio economic level, if you put your faith in Jesus you have faith and now your faith fuels you.

Works are good, if they are fueled by our faith.

When Heather and I worked campus ministry we played in the mud stock volleyball tournament. Basically it was sand volleyball except the sand was mud. It was an injury waiting to happen. After the game people were covered in mud head to toe. Here is the reality with MUD if you want to get clean of the mud how do you wash it off. Would it not be crazy if you let the mud get hard and tried to scrape it off. If we try to scrape it off we just get dirtier. It’s the same way with Jesus, he is the one who cleans us off. If you are a follower of Jesus wasn’t it the greatest feeling in the world when we first came to Jesus and he made us right. But you know what I have found is that as believers we need to keep coming to him everyday. Everyday we need to come it will fuel us to want to good works not as a way to pay him back but as a way to say THANK YOU.

Application:

I think a great relationship today is to see the connection of circumcision to baptism.

But someone who does not get this faith piece would say, I have to get baptized to be made right with God.

But what we should say is baptism does not make us right with God. but I want to get baptized because I am already made right with God through faith.

Do you have faith?

Is your faith fueling your works?

What works is your faith fueling right now?

Do you need to get baptized to showoff your faith.

Maybe right now the greatest work you can do for your faith is just grow.

3. Why we must walk by Faith:

because it is greater than any vision the world has to offer (17-18).

There are a lot of great visions this world has to offer.

Early I referenced Steve Jobs, think about the vision he had. It was pretty BIG.

The greatest worldly vision is dim in compared to God’s vision.

When God initiates with Abraham he shares his vision with him.

It is called the Abrahamic Covenent, and it is one of the most important verses in the entirel Bible. If you know this verse you can easily explain the rest of theBible.

Genesis 12:2–3 NASB95

And I will make you a great nation, And I will bless you, And make your name great; And so you shall be a blessing; And I will bless those who bless you, And the one who curses you I will curse. And in you all the families of the earth will be blessed.”

God is going to bless Abraham so that he would be a blessing to the entire world.

Our Problem = we have loved the first part, we loved to be blessed, and we should, but this blessing isn’t just for us God blesses us so that we can bless others.

We have what I like to call the Christian cold.

Bless you.

Bless you.

Bless you.

But God in turns blesses us to be a blessing to others.

Steve Jobs gave himself to the vision of APPLE and many others have done that as well.

But here is the thing apple is relatively young.

People have given their lives for God’s vision for forever. As a matter of fact people are still giving their life for this vision that God spoke to Abraham thousands of years ago.

Robert and Dianna have given their life to this vision that because God has blessed them through Jesus they want the whole world to know. Robert at one point got Malignent Melanoma. His board said he needed to come back to MD Anderson. A doctor told him that if he went back to the Philippines he would die within a year because of the sun exposure. He and Dianna felt like they were to come back, 40 years ago he is still kicking.

Why would he do that? Because he has been blessed so much by God that he can’t help blessing others.

I have seen people in this church bless others, why because they have been a blessing.

This blessing is meant for the entire world.

This vision is so great that people are not just living for it, people are still willingly dying for it.

Romans 4:17–18 NASB95

(as it is written, “A father of many nations have I made you”) in the presence of Him whom he believed, even God, who gives life to the dead and calls into being that which does not exist. In hope against hope he believed, so that he might become a father of many nations according to that which had been spoken, “So shall your descendants be.”

This vision is being fulfilled right before our eyes and here is what it will look like in heaven.

Revelation 7:9 NASB95

After these things I looked, and behold, a great multitude which no one could count, from every nation and all tribes and peoples and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, and palm branches were in their hands;

Why Faith in Jesus-

Because we please God

Because it fuels our works

Because it is greater than any vision the world has to offer.

Remember how we said the OT points to Jesus. Well Abraham had so much faith in God at one moment that he was willing to do the untinkable. Abraham was willing to do whatever God asked him. God asked Abraham to offer his son on the altar. Why in the world would God ask that. Think about it, your Abraham, your 100 years old and now you are like I can see how I am going to be the father of many nations. This promise is actually going to happen.

Then God tells Abrham WHAT!!!!

Abraham I want to make sure you love me more than anything else.

Abrham was willing to bring his son and right before he was going to do the unthinkable God says.

Genesis 22:12 NASB95

He said, “Do not stretch out your hand against the lad, and do nothing to him; for now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your son, your only son, from Me.”

Later God would send his son and he would actually allow his son to be sacrificed on behalf of you and me.

Ask the worship team to come up

If you have never done this before, today could be your day!

Today will we live by faith, as I shared earlier, I wanted to please my dad

Will we live to be God pleasers. If you have faith you are already pleasing to God, will you live that out this week.

How are you going to walk by faith this week.