It Depends On Faith

Children’s Bible Page 1226

Introduction: My first baptism

When I was nine years old, I walked the aisle of our baptist church, I met with the pastor and answered questions about my understanding of Jesus’ death and resurrection to forgive us of our sins, the pastor baptized me and my sister on the same day.

But, when I was thirteen years old, I remember vividly the night at a Disciple Now weekend when God saved my soul.

You may think: well, what do you mean?

Didn’t your salvation happen when you were nine when you answered those questions and got baptized?

No it didn’t.

See, I was that kind of kid that always wanted to do the right thing.

I wanted to please and impress the adults in my life.

So, when I saw my sister pray a prayer with my parents, and walk the aisle, and plan to be baptized, I thought, well, I can do that too.

I know the right answers to the questions about the gospel.

And it seemed to make everyone happy, and I wanted to make people happy.

But, you see, understanding some facts, being able to answer the religious questions, and taking some actions like walking an aisle or being baptized are not the things that save you from the wrath of God toward your sin, and they are not the things that give you new life in Christ and the promise of eternal life with Him.

For the past few weeks, we have been in a section of Romans that is all about teaching that the salvation of our souls occurs when God declares us right with Him, and that only occurs by God’s grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ Jesus alone, to the glory of God alone.

And the authority of this message is from God’s word alone.

So, how are we to understand genuine faith? What is it? How do you know you have it?

God has been using the writing of Paul to answer these questions about genuine faith to be declared right with God by using the example of one of the most famous men in the Old Testament, Abraham.

Let’s look at:

Romans 4:13–25

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. 18 In hope he believed against hope, that he should become the father of many nations, as he had been told, “So shall your offspring be.” 19 He did not weaken in faith when he considered his own body, which was as good as dead (since he was about a hundred years old), or when he considered the barrenness of Sarah’s womb. 20 No unbelief made him waver concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God, 21 fully convinced that God was able to do what he had promised. 22 That is why his faith was “counted to him as righteousness.” 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.

1. God Fulfills His Promise Through Faith

You see, for the Jewish people who had grown up with the Old Testament law of God, it seemed so natural for them to believe that being made right with God was through obeying the commandments and rules of God found in His law.

And His law was first given to the Jewish people.

And the father of the Jewish people was named Abraham.

So, if there was anyone who the Jewish people believed had a good and right standing before God based on how great of a person he was, it would have been Abraham.

But, instead, the verses we walked through last week made very clear, there is only one way Abraham was made right with God, and it had nothing to do with God’s law.

The only way Abraham was declared right with God was by believing God’s promises to Him by faith.

That’s why verse 13 picks up by saying: 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.

When God made Abraham the father of this brand new people, that we know as the Jewish people, he promised Abraham that he would have children, they would be given the promised land of Canaan, and that all the nations of the earth would be blessed through him.

You see, when Adam sinned in the Garden of Eden, a curse was brought on all people due sin.

But through a descendant of Abraham, a blessing would come to all the nations of the earth.

And when God made that promise to Abraham, the Bible says, “Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness.”

How was Abraham declared right with God though He had previously been cursed like the rest of mankind?

By believing the promise of the one to come who would reverse the curse and bless all who place faith in Him.

Verse 14, it is not the adherents to the law who are to be heirs.

If it was, faith is null, and the promise is void.

Why do you need faith in the saving promise of God if you can save yourself by following the law?

But, no one can save themselves by following God’s law.

Verse 15, for the law brings wrath.

Why would God’s good commandments bring wrath? Not because the law is not good,

But because we are not good.

We all completely fail at obeying God’s good law, so all the law can bring upon us is wrath.

End of verse 15, but where there is no law there is no transgression.

That does not mean that before God gave people his law they did not sin or they were not accountable for their sin.

No, Paul is continuing to describe what the law does for people, it does not save anyone, it can only bring wrath, because the law makes clear to us our transgressions.

Before God ever gave the law, humankind still had a conscience and a great sense of right and wrong by worshipping and serving themselves and the things of earth instead of God.

But, the law makes us doubly guilty, because not only have we not worshipped God as we ought to, but we have knowingly crossed over the boundary markers God has clearly placed out for us through His law.

So, there is no hope to be saved and declared right with God through the law.

Our only hope is the righteousness that comes through faith in the promises of God.

That’s how Abraham was saved, that’s how anyone who has ever been saved has been saved.

And verses 16 and 17 tell us that those who have faith like Abraham did are the true spiritual descendants of Abraham by faith in God’s gracious promise no matter if they are an ethnic Jew of not.

That’s how the blessing of Abraham extends to all nations, because anyone who has saving faith like Abraham did are His spiritual children who will receive the full blessings and promises of God for eternity!

But what does this faith look like? What does it consist of?

You know, when you read a story in a book, your imagination begins to conceive of what the different characters look like,

But, if they make a movie based off the book, when you watch the movie, a lot of times you will think, oh, I didn’t think that character was going to look like that.

In the same way, I’m afraid many people believe they have saving faith, but if they were to take the time to actually see what this faith looks like and consists of, they would see that what they called faith was not saving faith at all.

So, what Paul does through the rest of this chapter is reveals what saving faith looks like and consists of by once again using the example of Abraham’s faith.

What does saving faith look like and consist of?

2. Faith Believes In The Power Of God

Notice at the end of verse 17, faith believes in the power of God.

Faith believes that God gives life to the dead and calls into existence the things that do not exist.

You may say at this point, hang on, I thought you just had to believe the gospel in order to be saved.

You do, and all these characteristics are included in believing the gospel.

For the gospel says in our sin we are dead spiritually, we are dead toward God, but saving faith believes God gives life to the dead.

Saving faith believes God raised Jesus from the dead, that he raises dead souls to be alive in him, and in the end, there will be a final resurrection of the dead to dwell with God for eternity.

Saving faith also believes God calls into existence the things that do not exist.

The very beginning of the gospel is that God created each one of us male and female in order to worship and obey God alone, in this world that God created out of nothing by His word.

Faith believes that God produces conviction of sin and belief in the heart that did not exist until God brought it to be.

The clearest picture of this faith in Abraham’s life was when God commanded Abraham to sacrifice His son, Isaac.

Hebrews 11:17–19

17 By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises was in the act of offering up his only son, 18 of whom it was said, “Through Isaac shall your offspring be named.” 19 He considered that God was able even to raise him from the dead, from which, figuratively speaking, he did receive him back.

Did you see it? He believed God could bring life from the dead.

And in the Genesis account, Abraham believed God could provide another offering other than Isaac even though they didn’t have one.

He believes God calls into existence the things that do not exist.

The gospel is not the gospel without God bringing life from the dead and bringing to existence what does not exist, in his creation of humanity to worship Him, and in his creation of conviction and belief in the heart where there was none.

3. Faith Believes In The Word Of God

Verse 18 - In hope he believed against hope, that he should become the father of many nations, as he had been told, “So shall your offspring be.”

Why in the world would a man believe that he would become the father of many nations when he had no children and He was old?

Here’s why, God said it, and He believed God’s word.

Why in the world would we guilty selfish sinners possibly believe that we will inherit the world along with the Holy God and rule and reign with Him for eternity?

Here’s why, God said it, and we believe it.

Faith believes in the word of God.

4. Faith Believes Even When It Cannot See

Verse 19 - He did not weaken in faith when he considered his own body, which was as good as dead (since he was about a hundred years old), or when he considered the barrenness of Sarah’s womb.

2 Corinthians 5:7

7 for we walk by faith, not by sight.

Abraham is 100 years old, he looks at himself in the mirror, and by all physical measures, having a baby is not happening.

Sarah, was 90 years old, had never gotten pregnant, God’s promise to Abraham came 25 years ago, and still, no baby.

Yeah, it’s just not looking like this thing is going to happen.

I just don’t see it.

And in the same way, the gospel tells me that I am a beloved child of God, declared righteous, filled with the Spirit of God, a new creation in Christ Jesus to do good works, one who has been freed from sin in order to be a slave to righteousness.

But man, I look in the mirror, and I just don’t see it.

I know my own heart.

I know my struggle with sin.

I know my temptations to doubt and go astray.

And here is the most encouraging thing to consider about Abraham’s characterization of faith,

The passage says he did not weaken when he considered his own body.

It goes on to say in verse 20 - no unbelief made him waver concerning the promise of God.

But for all of us who know the Old Testament account of Abraham,

We know that Sarai got impatient and told Abraham to sleep with one of their servants, Hagar, so that they could have a child by her, and Abraham did it!

So, how could Paul write that Abraham did not weaken in faith and that no unbelief made him waver concerning the promise of God?

Here’s how: Abraham’s faith was not characterized by perfect obedience.

Abraham’s faith was created and guaranteed by the perfect grace of God, and it is his faith that brought him back to God every time that he stumbled.

Tim Keller says it this way: The life of faith is not the perfect life; it is the life which clings on to what God has said he will do.

5. Faith Gives All Glory To God

Verses 20-21: No unbelief made him waver concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God, fully convinced that God was able to do what he had promised.

You see, when I answered those questions and got baptized at nine years old, I see now that my motivation was for my glory.

I wanted to do the right thing so that other people would be pleased with me and praise me.

But, when I lay on the church floor at age thirteen, it wasn’t about what anyone else thought, it was about a heart felt conviction that I had fallen far short of the glory of God.

It was about God’s great promise of grace and forgiveness through Jesus Christ.

And when I finally decided to get baptized at the age of 21, it wasn’t about anything by obedience to our glorious God.

You see, the foundational motivation to saving faith is that God receives all the glory in saving sinners and granting them faith to believe His promises.

Having unwavering faith does not mean you will never doubt and stumble,

But it does mean, you will always return to trust in salvation through God’s promise of forgiveness in Jesus Christ.

And as you grow in your faith, you exercise it more and more and it becomes strong as God’s grace empowers you to overcome sins and temptations.

6. Faith Believes Jesus Was Delivered Up For Our Sins

Verses 22-25: That is why his faith was “counted to him as righteousness.” But the words “it was counted to him” were not written for his sake alone, but for ours also. It will be counted to us who believe in him who raised from the dead Jesus our Lord, who was delivered up for our trespasses and raised for our justification.

Remember again, God is not using Abraham as an example of faith that we are to marvel at and say, “Well, I could never attain that kind of faith.”

No, God is giving us the example of Abraham’s saving faith and saying, “These are the same characteristics of your saving faith, if you are truly saved, because it is not first about the strength of your faith, but the strength of the one you are placing your faith in.”

You see, when it was written that Abraham believed God and it was counted to him as righteousness.

That is not only a statement about Abraham, but it is also a statement about anyone who would believe God in genuine faith, and God’s righteousness will be counted to all who have faith in Him.

And there is only one possible way that God’s righteousness could justifiably be credited to our account, and that is by Jesus be delivered up for our sins.

Think about it: God is completely holy, righteous, and just, meaning all that he does, he does with perfect integrity by the truth.

And our sin placed us under the just wrath of God.

And a perfectly just and righteous God must punish our sin to the full extent.

So, God sent Jesus, perfectly God and perfectly man, the only sinless one, and He delivered Jesus up to take on the full weight of punishment due our sins on the cross.

Though Jesus was sinless, He willingly to our place of punishment as an unrighteous sinner, so that we sinners could take the place of Jesus as having the very righteousness of God.

Faith believes that Jesus was delivered up for our sins.

Finally,

7. Faith Believes Jesus Our Lord Was Raised For Our Justification

1 Corinthians 15:3–4

3 For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, 4 that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures,

Genuine saving faith believes that Jesus died on the cross, and then He was raised from the dead by the power of God on that Sunday morning.

And Jesus’ resurrection is the guaranteed declaration that though the punishment for our sins put Jesus in the grave, Jesus paid the full wages of sin in death, the work of God’s punishment is complete, God the Father has perfectly accepted the sacrifice of God the Son, and so, Jesus was raised for our justification.

His resurrection was the ultimate sign that Jesus work in order to declare us right with God was fully completed.

Romans 10:9–10

9 because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved.

Genuine saving faith is not just some vague concept of believing in God or even knowing some facts about Jesus.

Genuine saving faith is about knowing what God has done in and through Jesus Christ our Lord in order to make us right with God, and entrusting our souls to the fact that the work that he did through the cross and resurrection, He did for you and for me.

Have you trusted Jesus with genuine faith?

Are you following Jesus as evidence of a persevering faith?

(Elder at couch)

Let’s pray.