Romans 4:9-25 "The Promise Granted Through Faith"

Good morning, Calvary Chapel Lake City!

This week in Mid-Week service we will be continuing in our Calvary Chapel Distinctives class.

I’m really pleased with how mid-week service in Genesis and Distinctive is going.

If you haven’t checked it out yet, I invite you to attend… and we have childcare available if you have little ones…

You can have a little parenting break mid-week… and get spiritually fed. It’s a win win! Come join us!

Well… let’s continue our study in the Paul’s Epistle to the Romans… Please open your Bibles to Romans 4. Romans 4:9-25 today.

Thus far we have looked at Paul’s introduction, and followed by Romans 1:18- 3:20 which focused on “The Bad News… that We’re All Guilty” before God.

The “condemnation” section of this letter.

Currently we are in the Justification portion of the letter… Romans 3:21-5:21, where Paul focuses on “The Good News… God Has Given Us His Righteousness” through faith in Jesus Christ.

In Romans 3:21-26, we ascended to the pinnacle in Romans… where Paul laid out how God can be both a just judge… and a justifier of sinful man… at no sacrifice to His justice or holiness…

And, this is accomplished through faith in Jesus who satisfied or propitiated God’s wrath on sin.

Through faith, we are declared righteous… redeemed from the slavery of sin… and restored back into fellowship with God.

That’s the best Christmas gift you’re ever going to get!

It seems to me… that in Chapter 3:21-26… Paul has already won the court case…

… he has proven that God is just and he is the justifier of sinners.

But then in Chapter 4… Paul seems to make sure every point is covered to solidify his position… especially to the Jews.

Chapter 4 is an important Chapter of Romans… an often overlooked chapter of Romans…

Where Paul hammers home the point that Abraham and David (key Jewish figures) were justified by faith apart from works…

And today… we continue where Paul will further his case…

… showing that Abraham was justified by faith before he received the religious rite of circumcision…

Now… we already discussed circumcision at the end of Chapter 2, but oh joyful day… we get to talk about circumcision again today!…

Though much more abbreviated than last time.

Beyond religious rites.... Paul will also further illustrate that way back in the Old Testament… faith was apart from the law…

And, Abraham stands as an example… to Jews and anyone today mis-led by works based justification… that is was not his works, but his faith in God and His promise that led to God declaring him righteous.

The title of our message today is “The Promise Granted Through Faith.”

Let’s Pray!

Please stand, in reverence for God’s word… as I read our passage today.

Romans 4:9-25 “Does this blessedness then come upon the circumcised only, or upon the uncircumcised also? For we say that faith was accounted to Abraham for righteousness. 10 How then was it accounted? While he was circumcised, or uncircumcised? Not while circumcised, but while uncircumcised. 11 And he received the sign of circumcision, a seal of the righteousness of the faith which he had while still uncircumcised, that he might be the father of all those who believe, though they are uncircumcised, that righteousness might be imputed to them also, 12 and the father of circumcision to those who not only are of the circumcision, but who also walk in the steps of the faith which our father Abraham had while still uncircumcised.

13 For the promise that he would be the heir of the world was not to Abraham or to his seed through the law, but through the righteousness of faith. 14 For if those who are of the law are heirs, faith is made void and the promise made of no effect, 15 because the law brings about wrath; for where there is no law there is no transgression.

16 Therefore it is of faith that it might be according to grace, so that the promise might be sure to all the seed, not only to those who are of the law, but also to those who are of the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all 17 (as it is written, “I have made you a father of many nations”) in the presence of Him whom he believed—God, who gives life to the dead and calls those things which do not exist as though they did; 18 who, contrary to hope, in hope believed, so that he became the father of many nations, according to what was spoken, “So shall your descendants be.” 19 And not being weak in faith, he did not consider his own body, already dead (since he was about a hundred years old), and the deadness of Sarah’s womb. 20 He did not waver at the promise of God through unbelief, but was strengthened in faith, giving glory to God, 21 and being fully convinced that what He had promised He was also able to perform. 22 And therefore “it was accounted to him for righteousness.”

23 Now it was not written for his sake alone that it was imputed to him, 24 but also for us. It shall be imputed to us who believe in Him who raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead, 25 who was delivered up because of our offenses, and was raised because of our justification.”

Praise God for His word. Please be seated!

In V9 Paul begins with a question, “Does this blessedness then come upon the circumcised only, or upon the uncircumcised also?”

If we look back to the previous verse, we get the context of the blessedness Paul is referring to.

In vv 7-8 Paul quoted Ps 32:1-2 where David wrote, “Blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven, And whose sins are covered; 8 Blessed is the man to whom the LORD shall not impute sin.”

“This blessedness” is the blessedness David personally experienced for having faith in God to cleanse him from his sins… which were many.

David had plenty of blunders in life.

The Bible is a very honest book… never shielding it’s heroes from their failures… they were forgiven, but they still felt the weight of their sin through consequences.

There were no unjustly Presidential Pardons… overriding Federal Judges and justice… like Joe Biden just did.

Did you all hear about this?

The Federal Judge overseeing Hunter Biden’s case was livid and wrote…

… that the reasons listed in the Presidential Statement for the pardon “stand in tension with the case record,” and though the President has the power to pardon, “nowhere does the Constitution give the President the authority to rewrite history.”

It’s corruption at it’s finest.

The Bible and God are not like this.

David committed adultery a capital offense that required death (Lev 20:10)… and he committed murder by proxy…

And, while David repented… and experienced God’s forgiveness… he also paid for his sin.

There was death… the death of his son with Bathsheba, but the covenant would not be broken with David…

… through their second child would come Solomon… and through that lineage would come Messiah Jesus.

And David suffered losing his rule… and his concubines… his own son attempted to overthrow him… the list is long.

Forgiven, but there was still a price he paid.

And in Ps 32, when David contemplated God’s great forgiveness… in this Psalm there is NO mention of David working for God’s forgiveness… and Paul picked up on this omission…

… and very insightfully wrote in Rom 4:6 “David also describes the blessedness of the man to whom God imputes righteousness apart from works...”

“apart from works”.... such a great insight from Paul as he looked at Psalm 32.

David didn’t work… ‘God imputed righteousness apart from works...”

And that’s the best description of “this blessedness” that Paul refers to in V9.

I looked back at last weeks sermon… just to count how many times I emphasized “righteousness apart from works.”

I counted the word “faith” 86x in that message… “works” 51x… “justified” 24x…

I said “justified by faith” or “through faith” 5x… and “not by works” or “apart from works” 6x…

I hope you woke up dreaming about these things this past week… crying out in the middle of the night… “I’m justified by faith apart from works!”

I don’t really wish that… that would be weird, but I do hope the message sunk in.

It’s critical to understand that God does NOT expect you to earn your salvation… and then to maintain it through perfection or lose it.

That would be like God handing you three tennis balls and telling you… “This is your salvation… now to keep it you have to juggle these balls the rest of your life.”

I’d be a wreck… I can’t juggle three balls to save my life.

Marrying the free gift of God and works is a terrible burden and a misrepresentation of Scripture.

And in Chapter 4 of Romans… Paul tackles this issue proving that pre-law… and pre-circumcision… Abraham was justified before God through faith alone.

And, David reflected on how blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven… to whom the Lord does not impute iniquity…

all “apart from works.”

Which… did our Federal government grabbed this as their mantra for the past four years… “apart from work”… “not by work”… “sit at home and not work.”

Did you all here about that 60-page report?

Only 6% of federal employees work from an office full-time, and if you exclude security and maintenance personnel… that number drops to 1%.

And yet we are spending $15 billion tax dollars a year to maintain almost vacant buildings.

The report states 1/3 are fully remote. And, shocking… “some aren’t actually working...”

Now, if 1/3 are kind of working from home… and only 1% are working at the office… that leaves almost 2/3’s unaccounted for.

What are they doing?

So many corrupt Federal employees are going to be beside themselves on January 20th… when Trump takes office…

… and Federal employees are held accountable to work…

And, if they don’t like it… the message already going out is, “Quit.”

I love it.

If our Government were a private company… it would be bankrupt… and it’s reputation would be down the drain…

Which is essentially what has happened to our Nation the past four years.

So happy for the upcoming turn around.

Scripture declares…

And, this is a good one for the trickle down effect from President to Federal Employees… Pro 29:12 “If a ruler pays attention to lies, All his servants become wicked.”

Pretty much sums it up.

How many lies have our leaders bought into?… influencing our government workers… and much of the people at large.

And, how much wickedness has been sewn and corruption reaped?

We sowed to the wind… and we are reaping the whirlwind.

And, I’m ready for change. That day is coming… yes Jan 20th… but even more… when Jesus returns.

Ps 33:12 declares, “Blessed in the nation whose God is the Lord.”

Are you ready for that day! Let’s be busy about His business until He returns.

Ok… enough rant…

Back to Romans… Romans 4 is such a freeing chapter for anyone who has been lied to about adding works to justification.

In Paul’s day…Jews carried this burden… thinking they had to uphold the law perfectly to be righteous.

The scribes and Pharisees strived outwardly to keep the law perfectly… and even they fell short…

Jesus said, “… unless your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven.”

Even the best of the best religious leaders didn’t measure up by works…

And, in our day… there are many religious equivalents.

There are websites that index cults and number them in the hundreds… maybe even into the thousands because they list “liberal Christianity” as one category.

… Catholicism appears on the list for many reasons, chief of with is for insisting that salvation comes by faith plus works (religious rites, sacraments, or human endeavor).

So often cults… will deny Jesus as God… deny the Trinity… and demand works…

… and they stand as a sign that we are in the last days… because of the sheer number of them that have been established since the 1800’s, and more in the 1900’s and they are growing…

They are a fulfillment of Scriptures that speaks about false prophets, false teachers and false Christs (1 Tim 4:1, 2 Pet 2:1-3)… and it will get worse during the tribulation (Matt 24:24).

And, as we proceed in Chapter 4 of Romans… I want you to keep this in mind… because while there is a very Jewish context to what Paul writes… there is a parallel with any modern equivalent of works based righteousness.

Paul has a profound message in Chapter 4… first elucidating that the timeline of Abraham’s justification was prior to circumcision…

Let’s read vv 9-10 again, “Does this blessedness then come upon the circumcised only, [the circumcised meaning the Jews…] or upon the uncircumcised [meaning Gentiles] also?

Are only Jews blessed to have God impute righteousness apart from works… or are Gentiles also eligible for this blessing?

Salvation by faith apart from works is for all who believe…

Paul wrote in Rom 3:28-29 “… we conclude that a man is justified by faith apart from the deeds of the law. 29 Or is He the God of the Jews only? Is He not also the God of the Gentiles? Yes, of the Gentiles also.”

In Romans 1:16, Paul declared the Gospel is for all mankind, “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek.”

Jew and Gentile alike.

Continuing in Rom 4:9… “For we say that faith was accounted to Abraham for righteousness. 10 How then was it accounted? While he was circumcised, or uncircumcised? Not while circumcised, but while uncircumcised.”

Abraham was declared righteous in Gen 15:6 and he was circumcised about 14 years later in Gen 17 at age 99…

Very profound indeed… especially for religious Jews of Paul’s day.

It was NOT the sign of the covenant… the ritual of circumcision that earned Abraham the grace of being declared righteous.

It was his faith in God… apart from works. Very eye opening for Jews…

This is a light bulb going off moment for them.

Circumcision, the cutting away of the flesh of the foreskin… was a sign of the covenant between Abraham and God…

And, many Jews were mis-led to think that their nation heritage as a Jew and going this religious rite earned them righteousness, but it didn’t according to what we just read.

When God initiated the ritual of circumcision, He said the covenant or agreement between Him and the Jews “shall be in your flesh for an everlasting covenant.” (Gen 17:13)

Circumcision was a sign of the covenant.

But, circumcision was always intended to be deeper then just physically removing the flesh…

The male… who was to be the spiritual leader of the home… daily would have a reminder that they had “cut off” the flesh…

Thus they were “set apart” from the flesh… they were not to live for sensation… but were separated from the flesh and the world…

… they were to put aside evil and corruption… and to be wholly dedicated to God.

And that highly Jewish religious ritual of circumcision was performed in Gen 17 to Abraham… to Ismael… and all the men of his house… which was a “bad day at work”… all 14 years after Gen 15…

… and even longer… even about 29 years prior to circumcision, Scripture declares Abraham had faith in God…

All the way back in Gen 12…

Heb 11:8 declares “By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to the place which he would receive as an inheritance.”

Abraham’s faith was always the basis for his justification… his works served as the barometer for his justification…

Works never saved… they were simply the measuring instrument… for his justification.

And then in vv 11-12 Paul writes, “And he received the sign of circumcision, a seal [as in a token or a proof] of the righteousness of the faith which he had while still uncircumcised [faith came first], that he might be the father of all those who believe [Abraham is called the “father of faith’], though they are uncircumcised [speaking about Gentiles], that righteousness might be imputed to them also, 12 and the father of circumcision to those who not only are of the circumcision [Jews], but who also walk in the steps of the faith which our father Abraham had while still uncircumcised.”

Paul is saying that anyone who has faith in Jesus… whether Jew or Gentile… has Abraham as a Father.

Which would have been revolutionary to Jews and Gentiles in Paul’s day because Gentiles who converted to Judaism were instructed to call Abraham “your father” in Synagogue.

Only blood born Jews could call Abraham “our father.” How uplifting this must have been to Gentile converts.

They were treated like second-class citizens even if they converted to Judaism.

People of faith are God’s chosen people. Not as in replacement theology… that’s a terrible misinterpretation… the church never replaced Israel…

But, spiritually speaking… a descendent of Abraham follows in his footsteps…

… follows in his model of walking in faith… in truly trusting God… which he did from the beginning of his calling… decades prior to circumcision

God desires authenticity and faith… and not trying to earn salvation by keeping the law.

Remember what Paul wrote in Rom 2:28-29 “For he is not a Jew who is one outwardly, nor is circumcision that which is outward in the flesh; 29 but he is a Jew who is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the Spirit, not in the letter...”

In the early church… there were members of the church in Galatia who insisted that Christians conform to OT Mosaic Law and Jewish customs.

They were called Judaizers (Jewish or Gentile Christians who adopted Jewish customs and forced them upon others)…

Judaizer comes from a Greek verb meaning “to live according to Jewish customs.”

They put great pressure on early Christians to be circumcised in the Jewish tradition… and unless you did so you could not be saved.

This is a classic example of “legalism.”

Paul dealt with this in Acts 15 when he was in Antioch… Acts 15:1 reads, “And certain men came down from Judea and taught the brethren, “Unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved.”

Which led to Paul and Barnabas having a heated discussion with them… some intense fellowship.

The Jerusalem Council convened and Peter testified that “Gentiles should hear the word of the gospel and believe.”

Salvation by faith alone.

Further in Acts 15:10-11 Peter said, “… why do you test God by putting a yoke on the neck of the disciples which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear? [the yoke was trying to keep the law perfectly… Jesus called this a “heavy burden, hard to bear” in Matt 23:4] 11 But we believe that through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ we [Jews] shall be saved in the same manner as they.” [Gentiles]

In Galatia, the same issue arose. The epistle to the Galatians was written to call early Christians back the Mosaic Law to grace… away from legalism to faith.

In Gal 2, Paul emphatically asked Peter (who was influenced by this error… though not a Judaizer), “why do you compel Gentiles to live as Jews?”

Paul wrote, in Gal 2:16 “… a man is not justified by the works of the law but by faith in Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Christ Jesus, that we might be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the law; for by the works of the law no flesh shall be justified.”

Further in Gal 5:3-4 Paul warned not to return to the philosophy of faith plus works of the law “… I testify again to every man who becomes circumcised that he is a debtor to keep the whole law. 4 You have become estranged from Christ, you who attempt to be justified by law; you have fallen from grace.”

Returning to the law ruins grace… your work becomes debt.

As Paul wrote in Rom 4:4 “Now to him who works, the wages are not counted as grace but as debt.”

And, this may seem like an ancient issue, but it’s not.

Legalism is alive and well… and there are many groups today who have beliefs similar to the Judaizers.

Very similar to Judaizers… is the modern Hebrew Roots Movement, their 119 Ministries, and they have a strong connection to the “Cepher Bible” which has 87 books… unlike our Bible which has 66 books.

They claim to have found the missing books!

They produced a bible by unqualified scholars and without a qualified process of translation…

… added books they deemed “missing”… and contradicted the opinions of most biblical scholars.

And they call it “A Comprehensive Restoration of Sacred Scripture.”

Essentially, your 66 book Bible is not good enough! We have the secret books.

So many people get misled by groups like this.

You can pick up a Cephar Bible for $95. And I say, “Buyer beware.”

Other modern Judaizer groups include… and I want you to hear these as a warning to avoid them… the Sacred Name Movement which also has birthed several subgroups (the Assemblies of Yahweh, the Assembly of Yahweh, the House of Yahweh, and Yahweh’s Restoration Ministry.)

How many thousands of people are in bondage to the law still today?

Romans 4 is so important to combat this. Paul wrote in Rom 4:5 “to him who does not work but believes on Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is accounted for righteousness...”

And, one more group… probably the group you or I have the most likelihood of encountering… is The Roman Catholic Church…

They too follow this error because they teach a doctrine that mixes law and grace.

At the Council of Trent, a Roman Catholic council that took place from 1545–1553… the Catholic Church explicitly denied the idea of salvation by faith alone.

They declared that both Scripture and tradition were equally authoritative for the Roman Catholic Church.

And that Salvation came by sacramental grace and a righteousness based on grace and works.

And, whenever you hear any group add to faith in Jesus Christ for Salvation… this is legalism.

It’s not the true Gospel.

Faith plus baptism is a big one…

Faith plus the baptism with the Holy Spirit as evidence by speaking in tongues is a big one…

faith plus keeping sacraments is a big one…

These are all faith plus works. Very prevalent today.

It’s the juggling of the three balls perfectly… it’s earning merit from God… and then maintaining merit… and it’s a yoke of bondage.

Chapter 4 of Romans… takes us all the way back to Genesis and to the life of Abraham… justified by faith apart from works.

There’s a grace-filled freeing simplicity when you finally understand…

Justification is not about what you do… it’s about what Jesus did on the cross… and your faith in Him.

Well, continuing on… after Paul establishes that Abraham’s was declared righteous 14 years prior to circumcision… that justification was NOT by religious rites… He then writes in V13…

“For the promise that he would be the heir of the world was not to Abraham or to his seed through the law, but through the righteousness of faith.”

This is a difficult verse to grasp. Commentators are divided over the meaning of “heir” and “seed”… so we’ll spend a moment here and then pick up the pace.

“For the promise”… God made a promise to Abraham… what we call the “Abrahamic covenant”…

God first declared to Abram in Gen 12:3 “… in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed...”

All in the world… Jews and Gentiles alike would be blessed through Abraham…

This looks beyond Abraham simply being the Father of the Jewish Nation…

In Gen 17:5… God told Abraham he would be “a father of many nations”… the very meaning of his name… “Father of a multitude”…

Not just the Jewish nation… he is the “father of all those who believe...” V11 of Rom 4…

The blessing that came through Abraham to the world was fulfilled ultimately in that Jesus… Messiah came through Abraham’s lineage.

And, so… “the promise” points to Messiah… and to justification that is available to anyone who looks to Him in faith.

And the promise is that Abraham “would be the heir of the world”… interesting phrase…

The promise declares Abraham and his seed would be the heir of the world… they would inherit the Gk. kosmos… the world…

In some sense this looks to the promises of Gen 17… where Abraham received the promise that nations and kings would come from him… this was an everlasting covenant… and the land of Canaan would be an everlasting possession…

And, even there we see the promise stretches out beyond Abraham and his sons… to the everlasting.

And, there would be THE Heir of all things… truly the heir of the universe… Jesus Christ… who was THE Descendant of Abraham.

Which leads us to the word “seed” in V13…

Certainly that encompasses Issac and Jacob… Abraham’s seed to whom the promise was also reiterated…

… to Isaac in Gen 26:4… “in your seed all the nations of the earth [Jews & Gentiles] shall be blessed...”

… to Jacob, in Gen 28:14… “… in your seed all the families of the earth shall be blessed...”

Most commentators keep it simple and leave the interpretation there… and that’s probably correct…

But some take it a bit further… as Paul also uses this phrase to refer to believers in general… Gal 3:29 “And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.”

And, Paul also used this expression in a very important passage for THE Descendant… the SEED.

Gal 3:16 reads, “Now to Abraham and his Seed were the promises made. He does not say, “And to seeds,” as of many, but as of one, “And to your Seed,” who is Christ.”

Israel had always recognized that there would come one Seed… one individual… the Messiah… from whom the blessing of salvation would come.

And, while several scholars reject the Messianic view here in Rom 4… whichever way you see it… the promise for sure was “not… through the law, but through the righteousness of faith.” (which is the main point)

In the time of the Patriarchs… The law hadn’t even been given yet…Abraham, Isaac and Jacob all lived pre-Mosaic Law.

Gal 3:17 states the law came 430 after the promise… that is from the time the promise was reiterated to Jacob to about three months after the Exodus.

They didn’t have a written law to follow…

I’m not sure how or why people try to go back to the law now…

This is why we teach the entirety of the Bible so chapters like Romans 4 don’t get missed.

Because in it… the person trying to be a Christian and uphold the law can clearly see that Abraham’s faith made him righteous… never the law.

And one step further, the promise/ the covenant was based on God… it was a unilateral covenant (Gen 15:17 only God passed through the sacrifice)… meaning it was entirely based on Him upholding His end of the deal… of keeping the covenant…

… it was unconditional… there were no conditions… no strings attached…

… the promise was not based on the Patriarchs maintaining the covenant through good works.

And, if the covenant were based on keeping the law… the whole thing would come crashing down because it would all fail… because no one could then… or can today uphold the law.

And, this is what Paul drives at in vv 14-15…

Rom 4:14-15 “For if those who are of the law are heirs, faith is made void and the promise made of no effect, 15 because the law brings about wrath; for where there is no law there is no transgression.”

“… those who are of the law...” in Paul’s day namely were the Jews, BUT truly anyone who attempted to appropriate Justification through keeping the law (like Judaizers… or people today who add anything to faith.

If you believe it’s faith + anything to be justified… pay attention.

V14 in NLT reads, “If God’s promise is only for those who obey the law, then faith is not necessary and the promise is pointless.”

If one could keep the law and be justified… then faith wouldn’t be necessary… it would be “made void” meaning “to empty.”

Because faith is a principle that stands opposite to the law… faith requires believing… law requires doing.

Of course the word “If” stands… and in a modern rendering we would put “IF” in ALL CAPS… because it’s a conditional clause.

And, it’s an impossible condition to meet. We need faith because we cannot keep the law.

Paul in describing the purpose of the law concluded, “Therefore the law was our tutor to bring us to Christ, that we might be justified by faith.” (Gal 3:24)

Gal 3:19-25 is another fantastic passage for any legalist today.

And, if the promise was only for those kept the law… the promise would be of “no effect” lit. “to render inoperative or abolished.”

The promise would be worthless because it would be conditional upon our good works… and Paul already established in Rom 3… “There is none who does good, no, not one.”

Which was not just Paul’s own thinking, but a quote established in OT Scripture.

Faith and the promise would be set aside IF the law had to be upheld to be justified… because V15 (again in NLT) “For the law always brings punishment on those who try to obey it. (The only way to avoid breaking the law is to have no law to break!)”

Paul is pointing out the impossibility of keeping the law…

We can’t do it for a day… barely for an hour… especially not in our heart… some wicked thought creeps in… some gossip… some lust… some unrighteous frustration…

And, then the law demands… if it’s a just law… a punishment for breaking the law.

Note that in V15, Paul did not say… “where there is not law there is no sin.”

He wrote “there is no transgression.”

“no violation.” You can still sin (miss the mark) even if you are not aware of a law.

Even in our modern jurisprudence system, there is a legal principle… "ignorance of the law is no excuse"…

One cannot claim they didn't know the law to defend their actions.

And, let me remind you that Paul also established there is another law beyond the written law… the ‘law of conscience.’

In Romans 2… Paul established there were moral Gentiles who’s lives testified there was a moral code present within themselves…

So, even if the written law was done away with… God still has written morality into the very fiber of our being… thus there is no way to avoid breaking His law… His moral code…

Faith is the ONLY way to be justified.... which we see in Paul’s conclusion here in Romans 4…

V16 is a key point of this chapter as it begins with the word “Therefore...”

Rom 4:16 “Therefore it is of faith that it might be according to grace, so that the promise might be sure to all the seed, not only to those who are of the law, but also to those who are of the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all…”

The promise of being justified by having faith in Messiah… is according to grace… it’s a free gift… availed by faith.

And, this is the only way the promise could be “sure.”

Note that word “sure” in V16. You’re Bible translation may read “guaranteed.”

By def. “firm, secure, steadfast.”

If justification depended on good works in keeping the law… we would feel entirely insecure… we would alway wonder if we had done enough to be deserving of being declared righteous.

Some of us would be walking around with our yellow note pads and our bic pens… with two columns to note our good and bad needs.

We’d work hard and strive to ensure the good outweighed the bad… but the problem would be with even just one tarnish on the record… we’d never be entirely sure if we were truly justified.

Praise God for justification through faith and not works!

And, note that the verse reads the promise is “sure to all”… Jews and Gentiles alike… all who have faith in Jesus Christ.

And, then in V17… Paul backs his conclusion citing scripture… always good to back your conclusions with scriptural authority.

V17 begins “As it is written...” and Paul quotes Gen 17:5 “I have made you a father of many nations”

Abraham is the father of all who believe Messiah.

And the King James, New King James, NASB, the NET bible… and perhaps some other translations have this quote in parenthesis to better connect the end of V17 with the close of V16…

“Abraham is the father of us all [end of V16]… in the presence (or sight) of Him [God] whom he [Abraham] believed.”

Believed… not worked through religious rites… or good works.

And then Paul describes God at the end of V17 in this way… “who gives life to the dead and calls those things which do not exist as though they did...”

God is in the business of restoration. Of taking things that are non-existing and making them existing.

Of taking physically and spiritually broken people and renewing them.

And in the closing verses of Romans 4:18-25, Paul uses the life of Abraham as an example of how Abraham had faith in God’s promise… and therefore it was accounted to him for righteousness.

In Gen 12, Abram was 75 years old, and Sarai was 65 years old when God first promised he would be a “great nation”…

That age is already what we read in V18 “contrary to hope”… by age 45 fertility is unlikely for most women…

The oldest woman on modern record to conceive naturally was 59 years old.

But, despite Sarai’s age… Abram believed in God’s promise…

And then in V19… Paul cites 25 years later… Abraham is now 100 years old and Sarah 90…

His body was “dead” so to speak in the likelihood of being able to father a child…

And Sarah was barren.

But what is that to God… in vv 20-21, we read that Abraham still believed God’s promise…

And, Sarah is written into the “Faith Hall of Fame” Heb 11:11 “By faith Sarah herself also received strength to conceive seed, and she bore a child when she was past the age, because she judged Him faithful who had promised.”

But with the focus still on Abraham… Paul concluded V22 And therefore “it was accounted to him for righteousness.”

Abraham, and Sarah, not perfect… not without moments of taking matters into their own hands, like the Hagar, incident…

Remained believing in the promise of God… and that’s how righteousness was put onto their account.

And, then wrapping up… and worship team you can come… this historical narrative of Abraham was not written for his sake alone… it is written for us well…

vv 23-25 “Now it was not written for his sake alone that it was imputed to him [imputed righteousness], 24 but also for us. It shall be imputed to us who believe in Him who raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead, who was delivered up because of our offenses, and was raised because of our justification.”

Chapter 4 stands as a record that our faith is counted for righteousness when we too believe in God.

The difference between Abraham and us… is Abraham was called to believe in a future promise…

We are called and have the privilege to look back and believe in an accomplished and established fact.

That Jesus Christ died on the cross for the sin of the world…

And rose again proving that His sacrifice was accepted by the Father and all He promised was true.

The price was paid… His work is finished… and through faith in Him, we are cleansed.

Amen? Let’s Pray!

What a glorious passage to settle us in justification by faith alone, and not by works. Praise God for His word!

Our prayer team is coming forward if you need prayer. If you’ve never verbally prayed to express your trust in Jesus Christ… consider doing that now.

May our Great God and Savior Jesus Christ bless and keep you and cause His face to shine upon you in this week ahead.