20250119 Romans 4:9-17 Only by the Gift of Faith

Welcome to Vertical Church

The release of the hostages

Martin Luther King Day

Inauguration Day

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 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. molly

We believe in the authority of the Bible - Scripture alone is the Word of God, We are a bible teaching church

We are evangelical - we believe that we are saved by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone.

We are a 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

This month we are taking a moment to look at verses that support our belief in Scripture Alone

Last week we read 2 Timothy 3:16. This morning we’ll look at Psalm 19:7-14

Psalm 19:7–14 LSB

7 The law of Yahweh is perfect, restoring the soul; The testimony of Yahweh is sure, making wise the simple. 8 The precepts of Yahweh are right, rejoicing the heart; The commandment of Yahweh is pure, enlightening the eyes. 9 The fear of Yahweh is clean, enduring forever; The judgments of Yahweh are true; they are righteous altogether. 10 They are more desirable than gold, even more than much fine gold; Sweeter also than honey and the drippings of the honeycomb. 11 Moreover, by them Your slave is warned; In keeping them there is great reward. 12 Who can discern his errors? Acquit me of hidden faults. 13 Also keep back Your slave from presumptuous sins; Let them not rule over me; Then I will be blameless, And I shall be acquitted of great transgression. 14 Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart Be acceptable in Your sight, O Yahweh, my rock and my Redeemer.

Call to Worship - 1 Timothy 2:1-6

1 Timothy 2:1–6 LSB

1 First of all, then, I exhort that petitions and prayers, requests and thanksgivings, be made for all men, 2 for kings and all who are in authority, so that we may lead a tranquil and quiet life in all godliness and dignity. 3 This is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, 4 who desires all men to be saved and to come to the full knowledge of the truth. 5 For there is one God, and one mediator also between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, 6 who gave Himself as a ransom for all, the witness for this proper time.

Scripture Reading - Romans 4:9-17

Romans 4:9–17 LSB

9 Therefore, is this blessing on the circumcised, or on the uncircumcised also? For we say, “Faith was counted to Abraham as righteousness.” 10 How then was it counted? 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 uncircumcised, so that he might be the father of all who believe without being circumcised, that righteousness might be counted to them, 12 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. 13 For the promise to Abraham or to his seed that he would be heir of the world was not through the Law, but through the righteousness of faith. 14 For if those who are of the Law are heirs, faith has been made empty and the promise has been abolished; 15 for the Law brings about wrath, but where there is no law, there also is no trespass. 16 For this reason it is by faith, in order that it may be according to grace, so that the promise will be guaranteed 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, “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.

Introduction: Romans 4:9-17 Only by the Gift of Faith

The book of Romans is the fifth epistle that Paul wrote, but it is placed first among the epistles because it is of first importance. It is Paul’s magnum opus. Romans is of the most primary importance because it is all about the gospel of Jesus Christ. In his other letters, Paul is correcting something that is wrong in a local church. But the majority of the book is an explanation of salvation. Romans is all about expounding the gospel of God. Paul wrote Romans while in Corinth, either at the end of 56 AD or the beginning of 57 AD. At the end of Paul’s first missionary journey, he wrote one letter – Galatians. During the second missionary journey, he wrote two letters – 1 and 2 Thessalonians. And during the third missionary journey, he wrote three letters –1 and 2 Corinthians and Romans. One on the first, two on the second, and three on the third. The apostle Paul had never been to Rome, nor met the people to whom he is writing. But he is burdened that the church there be firmly established in the truth of the gospel. I am going to give you eight words that will summarize the entire book of Romans. First is the introduction in Romans 1:1-17. Then condemnation in 1:18-3:20. Then justification from 3:21 to the end of chapter 5. Then sanctification in chapters 7 and 8. Next is glorification at the end of chapter 8. Then election in chapters 9-11. Next is transformation in chapter 12-16. Then, finally, at the end of chapter 16 is the conclusion. Those eight words – introduction, condemnation, justification, sanctification, glorification, election, transformation, and conclusion – outline the book of Romans. The Implications of Justification We find ourselves in the third section, which focuses upon the doctrine of justification. It immediately follows the section on condemnation, because justification is the reversal of condemnation. Paul began with the bad news of condemnation, and now he comes to the good news of justification. In Romans 3:21-26, we noted that Paul gave us the basic instruction for justification – what it is, how it was secured, and how it is received. We learned that justification is (1) apart from the Law, (2) witnessed by the Old Testament, (3) provided by God, (4) received by faith, (5) needed by all, (6) declared by God, (7) given as a gift, (8) purchased by Jesus, and (9) designed by God.

I want you to turn to Romans 4, and I want us to step back into the doctrine of justification. Paul has laid for us the doctrine of condemnation of the entire human race, who is under the wrath of God because of their ungodliness and unrighteousness. Beginning in Chapter 3 and verse 21 Paul begins to build his case for justification. The word justification means that God credits to the account the perfect righteousness of his Son Jesus Christ to those who believe in him, that God imputes – reckons to the account of guilty, hell bound sinners, who have no righteousness of their own whatsoever, the perfect righteousness of Christ, and it is on the basis of faith. As we come to Chapter 4, where we left off, we left off at verse 8, we’re going to pick up with verse 9. Romans 4 is really ground zero for justification by faith. This is where Paul presents his argument for justification by faith. And I want to just give you the flyover. I think it’s helpful to see the big picture of a chapter in the Bible without us being lost in the forest. I want us to see the big picture, and there’s four things that I want you to see by way of overview. The first three are negative; the fourth is positive. Paul will begin this chapter by telling us how someone is not justified. Then he will tell us how someone is justified before God. So the first three are negative. In verses 1 through 8 we are not justified by good works. I am going to come back to all this, but I want you to get the skeleton of this chapter. Then, in verses 9 through 12, we are not justified by ceremonial rites. And then in verses 13 through 15, we are not justified by law-keeping. And then, finally, he gets to the positive, and in verses 16 through 17 we are justified by faith alone.

In verses 1-8 of Romans 4 Paul has told us that Abraham and David were justified, made righteous, forgiven, their sins were covered, they received God’s blessings BY FAITH

And all this is from God, who gives us the new birth, we are born from above and made spiritually alive. At this new birth we are given the ability to believe, and we then by faith, receive Christ for who He is, Savior and King, and at the same moment we are declared righteousness, we are clothed in the righteousness of Christ, adopted into God’s family, and made sons of God.

(1) We are not saved by religious ceremony (9-12)

Romans 4:9–12 LSB

9 Therefore, is this blessing on the circumcised, or on the uncircumcised also? For we say, “Faith was counted to Abraham as righteousness.” 10 How then was it counted? 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 uncircumcised, so that he might be the father of all who believe without being circumcised, that righteousness might be counted to them, 12 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.

The questions - how was Abraham blessed? How was he made righteous? When did it happen?

The answer - For Abraham it was before. For us it was before. While we were spiritually dead God made us alive. Before baptism, before communion, before church membership,

Circumcision is a sign, it is the fruit not the see, it is the result not the cause of salvation. And so it is with any religious act we might make, even prayer. We are not save because we pray, we pray because God has opened our hearts and we respond with prayer.

The implication - Abraham is the father of all who believe and we are to follow in the steps of faith

Are we trying to earn God’s love or are we resting in the gift of faith?

(2) We are not saved by keeping the commandments (13-15)

Romans 4:13–15 LSB

13 For the promise to Abraham or to his seed that he would be heir of the world was not through the Law, but through the righteousness of faith. 14 For if those who are of the Law are heirs, faith has been made empty and the promise has been abolished; 15 for the Law brings about wrath, but where there is no law, there also is no trespass.

The statement - For… the promise is through faith

The implications - God has made a promise He did not keep and the Law shows us why we need God’s promise: we cannot keep the Law, our sin brings wrath, and the Law is good in that it has revealed our sinfulness and need for Christ. We know we are sinful and the Law points us to Christ and how we can deal with our sin

Romans Received through Faith

If God had not set any standards or imposed obligations on us, then we would be autonomous. We would be free to do whatever we want to do. As Russian novelist Fyodor Dostoyevsky said, “If there is no God, all things are permissible.” We live in a society that seeks to banish the very concept of sin from human consciousness, but in order to do that we must first banish God from the equation.

In setting forth the shorter catechism, the Westminster divines provided a simple definition of sin. The question in the catechism asks, “What is sin?” The answer given is, “Sin is any want of conformity there unto or transgression of the law of God.

(3) We are saved by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone (16-17)

Romans 4:16–17 LSB

16 For this reason it is by faith, in order that it may be according to grace, so that the promise will be guaranteed 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, “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.

For this reason

The reason - we can’t save ourselves - we need God’s grace, we need Christ’s righteousness, we need the power of the Holy Spirit to produce spiritual life

The promise - is guaranteed

The recipients - all nations

God gives life to the dead and creates new life out, who creates light where there was only

Benediction

And now may the Lord, who is the strength of His people, be your Shepherd and carry you forever. Amen.