The Promise

Introduction

Well, It is a new year and we are finally back to Romans 4. In the next two sermons, we should be concluding the rest of the chapter. I am dividing up the rest of the verses into two sections following most commentators; however, they really are one theme. It is just impossible to fully deal with all of them in one sermon. Up to this point, we have established that Abraham was saved by faith and because of that he is the father of all those that believe. Paul is really circling back to vs 1 here. What is the result of Abraham’s experience? What did he find?

The key word for the rest of the chapter is really the word promise. Abraham because of his relationship with God by faith inherited the promise. In this section, Paul is beginning to transition to chapter 5 where we will see the things we inherit because of our faith in Jesus Christ.

Have you ever noticed that relationships with others have certain benefits to them? If you are a recluse you probably are not aware of the benefits and some never avail themselves of those benefits but that does not mean they don’t exist. It just means you don’t want them. Think about some of these benefits of our relationships:

reduced feelings of loneliness- No one really wants to be completely alone. Why do you think we put prisoners in solitary confinement? It isn’t just to keep them away from other prisoners for their safety. Solitary confinement is itself a punishment. Just being around people reduces those feelings of loneliness and when we don’t develop good strong relationships, we are more prone to struggling with it.

a sense of belonging- We all want purpose in life and a sense of belonging helps provide that purpose. Again being along can cause you to feel like life is meaningless. Whats the point of just getting up every morning, eating, working and going to sleep every night? But being part of something brings fulfillment. God intended us to find our greatest joys and happiness by belonging to relationships. That is true of human relationships but it is especially true of our divine relationship.

emotional support- having friends during a time of stress or trial can help bring emotional support. Knowing someone is there to be there with you, maybe cry with you, take some things off your plate during this time; all help bring the support we need.

These points are not the main focus of my message but they illustrate the point I am trying to make this morning. Relationships have benefits. For Abraham, that benefit was the promises of God. Think about it, God didn’t make promises to just anyone; God made promises to His people. You don’t make promises to just anyone. At least not as much. Your very marriage relationships are a promise you made to one person and did not make to another. So today, we are going to trace down this theme of God’s promise in Romans 4 because you can either inherit God’s promises by a faith-relationship with Him or you can inherit wrath by rejecting a relationship with Him.

What is the promise?

Romans 4:13 “For the promise, that he should be the heir of the world, was not to Abraham, or to his seed, through the law, but through the righteousness of faith.”

the promise- When we talk about a promise, it is a word or statement about something that hasn’t happened yet right? So in one sense, we have not yet received anything and yet in another sense we have received something. Before the promise was made we had no guarantee of anything, but after we now have a promise. The promise is only as good as the person promising and the thing that is promised.

1. Here the person making the promise is God 2 Corinthians 1:20 “For all the promises of God in him are yea, and in him Amen, unto the glory of God by us.” I did some meditating on this passage this week because a lot of people take this verse to say that every promise in the book is mine if I am in Christ. I do not believe that is what this verse is talking about. The context is dealing with the trustworthiness of God’s message through Paul. What I understand this verse to be saying is that every promise God makes He keeps in Christ. This does not mean every promise ever made by God is mine, but it does mean that every promise God makes to me can be trusted to be fulfilled.

2. The second part of the promise is the thing that is promised. In Abraham’s case, that is specifically laid out in the last part of the verse.

That he should be the heir of the world- Let’s look back at the promise actually made to Abraham to see what God promised him:

1. People (Genesis 13:16; 15:5)

2. Land (Genesis 15:18-21)

3. Blessing (Genesis 12:3)

4. Redeemer (Galatians 3:8,16)

If you’re paying attention you may notice a discrepancy between Genesis and Romans. In Genesis, God promised the land, but in Romans, Abraham is the heir of the world. Is this Paul adding to scripture? It is important to know what is promised to you if you are going to claim a promise right. If someone promised me they would mow my lawn, I can’t complain if they don’t also wash my car. So is Paul taking this promise too far. Let me give you three reasons why this promise is not being stretched beyond what God said:

all nations of the earth will be blessed- in some way the blessing of Abraham will impact every nation of the earth which shows the influence of his family extending to the ends of the earth.

through the redeemer- as we saw in Gal 3, Paul saw in this promise the salvation of the Gentiles. Back in Romans 4, we already saw that all who have faith are Abraham’s seed. But Gal ties this into the fact that we are in Christ who is the fulfillment of this promise. The Messianic kingdom is not merely a kingdom over the land of Israel but over the entire world. So we see the seed of Abraham inheriting the world.

The meek will inherit the earth- Matthew 5:5 “Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth.”

The land wasn’t Abraham’s salvation, rather it was the benefit of his relationship with God established by faith. Just like Abraham there are promises let to us because of our relationship with God by faith. If salvation is the door, the promises are the room. If salvation is the gate, our inheritance is the garden. Because of my salvation, I also receive 2 Peter 1:4 “Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.”

How is it received?

Romans 4:14–15 “For if they which are of the law be heirs, faith is made void, and the promise made of none effect: Because the law worketh wrath: for where no law is, there is no transgression.”

This has been Paul’s central theme for the entire chapter. How did Abraham receive these promises? By faith. He goes on to say that if inheriting the promise is a matter of law keeping, doing good, then there are three consequences:

Faith is pointless- If its all about what I do then, there is no point to worrying about faith or trusting God. I just need to merely do good, keep my head down and obey. Doesn’t sound like to much of a life to me. As Paul has said, “either it is grace through faith or it is works” It cannot be both. This is the problem with so many of the Christian churches who believe salvation is by faith, but then they add something else like baptism into the mix. Its one or the other.

Promises are wiped out- the end result is the inheritance is beyond our reach. God’s promises are worthless because they are impossible to achieve. Imagine a father who promises his high schooler, “If you graduate from University some day, I’ll buy you a sports car”, then years later, halfway through the degree, he adds the addendum “…but only if you get straight A’s”.

Wrath is produced- If the law is the standard, all we have to look forward to is wrath because we cannot keep the law. John 3:36 “He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him.” Some having a pretty simple understanding of what the law demands think they are doing pretty good. After all they have never murdered anyone, but Jesus legitimately points out that a heart of murder makes us just as guilty before God. We think we are doing good because we never committed adultery, but Jesus says that if you look at a woman with lust in your heart you are guilty of adultery. Understanding how God looks at sin leaves us in a much worse condition we think.

where no law is, there is no transgression- Some have taken this verse to mean that if you don’t know the law, you aren’t a sinner and so you get to go to heaven. Paul is not making this claim after all he has said Romans 5:13 “(For until the law sin was in the world: but sin is not imputed when there is no law.” and Romans 2:12–16 “For as many as have sinned without law shall also perish without law: and as many as have sinned in the law shall be judged by the law; (For not the hearers of the law are just before God, but the doers of the law shall be justified. For when the Gentiles, which have not the law, do by nature the things contained in the law, these, having not the law, are a law unto themselves: Which shew the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, and their thoughts the mean while accusing or else excusing one another;) In the day when God shall judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ according to my gospel.” He is not excusing the Gentiles who do not know the Mosiac law, Paul is making the case that the Jews are more guilty because they possessed law.

The Key to understanding this verse is that word transgression. Transgression is not fully synonymous with sin. A transgression refers to a specific type of sin and from Paul’s perspective is even worse than sin in general. Transgression refers to the violation of a known and written law. Luke 12:48 “But he that knew not, and did commit things worthy of stripes, shall be beaten with few stripes. For unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required: and to whom men have committed much, of him they will ask the more.” All men are condemned because of their sin, but the Jews face a greater condemnation because they had so much more information and still rejected Jesus. For them the law produces greater wrath not salvation.

Who receives it?

Romans 4:16 “Therefore it is of faith, that it might be by grace; to the end the promise might be sure to all the seed; not to that only which is of the law, but to that also which is of the faith of Abraham; who is the father of us all,”

This promise, the inheritance is given to those who believe. Notice the phrase the promise might be sure to all the seed. We have already established who the seed are: Romans 4:11 “And he received the sign of circumcision, a seal of the righteousness of the faith which he had yet being uncircumcised: that he might be the father of all them that believe, though they be not circumcised; that righteousness might be imputed unto them also:”

not to that only which is of the law- Here he is saying it isn’t just for the Jews who have the law, but it is to all who have faith in Jesus.

Conclusion

Paul is beginning to transition to his main topic in chapter 5 dealing with the benefits of justification by faith that is made available to all both Jews and Gentiles. Brothers and sisters, we have an inheritance given to us by God because of our faith in Jesus. Many of us live like we are Paupers when in reality we are children of the King. How many of us feel like we are barely hanging on to God like at any moment we could be thrown away by Him? That is not our inheritance. We do not receive wrath and condemnation Romans 8:1 “There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.”

Let us turn briefly to Ephesians:

Ephesians 1:3 “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ:”

Ephesians 2:5–7 “Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;) And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus: That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus.”

Ephesians 3:6 “That the Gentiles should be fellowheirs, and of the same body, and partakers of his promise in Christ by the gospel:”

We will unlock the benefits, the spiritual blessings, the inheritance of our relationship with God in the next few weeks, but I want to leave you with this truth: God has promised us a myriad of blessings in life as his children and it is time we started living like it. Next week, we will se Abraham’s faith response to God’s promise. But start searching for those blessings. Don’t be like a kid who has all the toys from Christmas locked away in his closet. If you have placed your faith in Jesus Christ, they are yours to enjoy and appropriate in your life.