20250112 Romans 4:1-8 How Do You Deal With Your Guilt?

The Book of Romans  •  Sermon  •  Submitted   •  Presented
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Welcome to Vertical Church
Acts 2:42 (LSB)
And they were continually devoting themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to the prayers.
As a church we seek to uphold the values of the NT church as seen in Acts 2:42 -
We are Trinitarian - while God is one in essence, He is three in person: God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit
We believe in the sovereignty of God - sovereign over all creation, sovereign over the affairs of men, sovereign over salvation
We believe in the authority of the Bible, we are a Bible teaching church - Scripture alone is the Word of God
2 Timothy 3:16 LSB
16 All Scripture is God-breathed and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness,
We believe that the Church is not a building or a denomination but a people - those who are truly in Christ and embrace the truths that were embraced and confessed by the New Testament Church, the apostolic church.
We are evangelical - we believe that we are saved by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone.
We are called Vertical Church - we believe that all true worship and living is Vertical, God directed and for the glory of God alone.
Scripture Alone, Grace Alone, Faith Alone, Christ Alone, For the glory of God alone - join us on Sundays
Call to Worship - Psalm 32
Psalm 32 (LSB)
Of David. A Maskil. 1 How blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, Whose sin is covered! 2 How blessed is the man whose iniquity Yahweh will not take into account, And in whose spirit there is no deceit! 3 When I kept silent about my sin, my bones wasted away Through my groaning all day long. 4 For day and night Your hand was heavy upon me; My vitality was drained away as with the heat of summer. Selah. 5 I acknowledged my sin to You, And my iniquity I did not cover up; I said, “I will confess my transgressions to Yahweh;” And You forgave the iniquity of my sin. Selah.
6 Therefore, let every holy one pray to You at a time when You may be found; Surely in a flood of great waters they will not reach him. 7 You are my hiding place; You guard me from trouble; You surround me with songs of deliverance. Selah. 8 I will give you insight and teach you in the way which you should go; I will counsel you with My eye upon you. 9 Do not be as the horse or as the mule which have no understanding, Whose harness are bit and bridle to control them, Otherwise they will not come near you. 10 Many are the sorrows of the wicked, But he who trusts in Yahweh, lovingkindness shall surround him. 11 Be glad in Yahweh and rejoice, you righteous ones; And shout for joy, all you who are upright in heart.
Scripture Reading - Romans 4:1-8
Romans 4:1–8 LSB
1 What then shall we say that Abraham, our forefather according to the flesh, has found? 2 For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about—but not before God! 3 For what does the Scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness.” 4 Now to the one who works, his wage is not counted according to grace, but according to what is due. 5 But to the one who does not work, but believes upon Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted as righteousness, 6 just as David also speaks of the blessing on the man to whom God counts righteousness apart from works: 7 Blessed are those whose lawless deeds have been forgiven, And whose sins have been covered. 8 Blessed is the man whose sin the Lord will not take into account.”
Introduction: How Do You Deal With Your Guilt?
Do you have guilt? When we ask that question we often think in terms of the emotional. We are a culture built on feelings. And in this sense guilt or feelings of guilt become subjective. For many of us we would say that we don’t “feel” guilty.” But the book of Romans deals with the specific question of How do you deal with your guilt?, not from the subjective starting point of feelings but from the objective starting point of our standing before the Holy Creator who is perfectly righteous and and perfectly just.
Let’s review the first three chapters of Romans:
Romans 1:1–2 LSB
1 Paul, a slave of Christ Jesus, called as an apostle, having been set apart for the gospel of God, 2 which He promised beforehand through His prophets in the holy Scriptures,
Romans 1:16–17 LSB
16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. 17 For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, “But the righteous will live by faith.”
Romans 1:18–19 LSB
18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, 19 because that which is known about God is evident within them; for God made it evident to them.
Romans 3:10 LSB
10 as it is written, “There is none righteous, not even one;
Romans 3:23 LSB
23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
Romans 3:24 LSB
24 being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus;
And so, when Paul asks, How do you deal with your guilt?, when David in the Psalms asks, How d you deal with your guilt?, when the entire Bible asks, How do you deal with your guilt?, the ultimate answer to this is found in Christ, in a salvation that is by faith and a justification, a declaration of righteousness, a declaration of “not guilty” that is by faith and is a gift, the result of God’s grace
(1) The Law could not remove guilt
Hebrews 10:1–5 LSB
1 For the Law, since it has only a shadow of the good things to come and not the very form of things, can never, by the same sacrifices which they offer continually year by year, make perfect those who draw near. 2 Otherwise, would they not have ceased to be offered, because the worshipers, having once been cleansed, would no longer have consciousness of sins? 3 But in those sacrifices there is a reminder of sins year by year. 4 For it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins. 5 Therefore, when He comes into the world, He says, “Sacrifice and offering You have not desired, But a body You have prepared for Me;
(2) Only a salvation that produces faith can remove guilt
2.1 The justification of Abraham was by faith
Romans 4:1–4 LSB
1 What then shall we say that Abraham, our forefather according to the flesh, has found? 2 For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about—but not before God! 3 For what does the Scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness.” 4 Now to the one who works, his wage is not counted according to grace, but according to what is due.
Salvation from a legal perspective: Justification, legally declared righteous, legally declared Not Guilty
v2 - How do you boast before God? He who is without sin. cast the first stone. Imagine standing before Jesus and singing, I did it my way. If there is karaoke in heaven…
v4 - If salvation is by grace, why are you working? To earn God’s love or because you love God? Do you feel God owes you something that you can earn?
2.2 The righteousness of David was by faith
Romans 4:5–8 LSB
5 But to the one who does not work, but believes upon Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted as righteousness, 6 just as David also speaks of the blessing on the man to whom God counts righteousness apart from works: 7 Blessed are those whose lawless deeds have been forgiven, And whose sins have been covered. 8 Blessed is the man whose sin the Lord will not take into account.”
Righteousness: to be on the right side of the Law rather than the wrong side of the law. To be made right. To stand before the Lord and to be clothed in the righteousness of Christ because Jesus has given us His righteousness
The completeness of our salvation
The declaration of righteousness
The declaration of not guilty
The giving of forgiveness
The covering of sin by the righteousness of Christ
The giving of the punishment of our sin to Christ
The term blessed - the replacement of guilt with favor and blessing
Benediction
And may the God of peace Himself make you holy through and through. May your whole being, spirit, soul, and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. The One who calls you is faithful and He will accomplish it. Amen.
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