32 | Romans | Romans 4:18-20 | Faith Glorifies God

INTRODUCTION

This morning, as we continue in Romans …

… coming near the end of Romans 4

… my 3-fold hope for you in our study of Romans.

1) I want you to learn the book of Romans.

2) I want you to enjoy the God of grace and faith.

3) Finally, and more to the point of chapter 4, I pray that you will see that salvation, our hope of redemption, is by grace alone through faith alone.

Historic, Orthodox, Protestant Baptists

The emphasis is on Protestant.

The best description of Protestant is found in the 5 Solas.

All of salvation and every blessing of grace is …

… by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone, according to scripture alone, to the glory of God alone.

Faith Alone

Reasons for Sola Fide

Just as Abraham trusted in God’s promise despite impossible circumstances …

Romans 3:23 — We are already unrighteous, so works don’t work.

Romans 3:29–30 — Faith alone unites both the Jew and the Gentile under grace.

Romans 4:4 — Faith alone receives grace as a gift, not wage.

Romans 4:16 — Faith alone guarantees the promise. Otherwise, our hope would be as fickle as our obedience.

Center of our passage this morning in v20-21: Read

Romans 4:20 — Faith alone glorifies God.

5:00

Thus far, most of our focus on faith has been faith as a utility—faith as an instrument by which to get something else.

Faith is that means by which the believer takes hold of grace.

But, this morning we find the true end of faith.

The ultimate end and most glorious reason for faith …

… is the glory of God.

Faith, which is oriented toward God, seeks the glory of God himself.

Is your faith oriented toward God?

Is your hope in him fully?

Have you heard God’s promise—his gospel promise of rescue and eternal life …

… so that you live your life today in light of that promise

… to the glory of God alone.

Can it be said of your life:

This man, this woman’s life could only be lived …

… by one who has an eternal and unshakable hope!

This man, this woman’s life could only be lived …

… by one who trusts in a glorious Redeemer!

PRAY

6:30

Last week, in v16, we learned that the promise depends on faith because only then is it guaranteed.

Today, beginning in v18, we see that the promise depends on faith because it gives glory to God (v20).

We will begin by considering Abraham’s hope …

… and then turn to consider how hope in God turns to glory for God.

FAITH HOPES IS GOD ALONE

Read v18.

What did Abraham hope?

That he would become father of many nations (heir of the world - v13).

He hoped in God’s promise: “So shall your offspring be.” (v18)

Now, see how faith works.

Did Abraham have offspring yet?

No! He had no heir and his wife was barren.

At this time, Abraham had only two things:

He had great need.

On his own he despaired of all hope.

And he had a great promise.

As the Lord, by grace alone, comes to Abraham with a promise that he would become a great nation.

So, his hope was against hope.

So, again, what did Abraham have?

He did not have an heir.

He had only promise.

A promise that he clung to by faith alone.

Abraham looked forward to the fulfillment of God’s promise.

10:00

Why did he have hope?

Is it because he finally had a child after all these years of despair and loss?

No! That is not how faith works.

All Abraham had was a promise.

So, why did Abraham believe?

Because faith clings to promise.

Faith takes hold of grace.

So, faith is irrational?

Is faith mere hopefulness?

Does faith have no rational substance?

What ground does faith stand on?

When faith clings to promise …

… is faith nothing more than wishful words?

Consider who speaks the words of grace.

Consider, who is this God who has spoken this promise.

11:00

Read v17.

Because God makes dead things alive.

And because God calls into existence the things that do not exist.

Read v19.

He saw with his eyes, but he heard with his ears.

as good as dead — dead things alive

barrenness of Sarah — things that do not exist

13:00

You see, faith hopes in God alone.

Faith, which clings to promise, stands on more than mere words.

It stands on the character, the power and the glory, of the one who speaks the words of promise.

So, great faith bears witness to great glory.

APPLY

Where is your hope placed?

Is it in what you see or in what God has spoken?

Faith clings to God’s Word even when all visible evidence seems to contradict it.

16:00

Read Romans 4:20–21.

The more that faith becomes “fully convinced”, the more …

FAITH GLORIFIES GOD ALONE

Faith that glorifies God gives weight to the greatness of God above all things.

It is a faith that knows not only with the eyes but also with the ears.

It is a faith that sees deadness and barrenness all around us, but hears a promise of life and abundance.

2 Corinthians 4:16–18 ESV

So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.

Faith sees reality.

It does not deny reality.

Faith says, this moment will not have the final word.

Faith sees reality beyond this light momentary affliction …

… into the eternal weight of glory.

The word of promise which God has spoken is the greater word.

Yes, there is suffering.

Yes, there is hardship.

Yes, apart from the Lord there is no hope.

But the Lord has spoken. And the Lord will act.

So, faith alone bursts forth to the glory of God alone!

This is why the 5 Solas of the Protestant Reformation are such a beautiful and grounding expression of our faith.

What begins by the announcement of God’s grace alone …

… which is taken hold of by faith alone

… leads to that great hope and joy of our soul

… which is the glory of God alone.

So, the faith which hopes in God alone …

… gives glory to God alone.

21:00

APPLY

I have been thinking a lot about fear of late.

Fear is a horrible way to live.

It is, on the one hand, paralyzing and strength sapping.

And yet, because it is the fear of loss …

… though paralyzed and sapped of strength

… on the other hand, it causes us to fret with labor and worried frenzy …

… to mitigate every perceived danger.

Fear is the constant state of both fight and flight.

23:00

Fear is doing two things.

First, fear sees present and momentary pleasures and comforts and tries to hold onto them against every possible assault.

It is exhausting to try to hold on to this fleeting world.

Second, fear becomes despair when all that is feared is realized.

When we suffer loss, we say things like: “I’ve lost everything. I am as good as dead and my life has become barren.”

But faith doesn’t look at this moment, it looks into a future that we have not yet seen.

It neither clings to any momentary, fleeting comfort …

… nor despairs when all seems lost.

Fear is interrupted by the word of God’s promise.

Fear is interrupted by the announcement of grace.

Faith takes hold of this grace …

… by letting go of fear

… with all of its fits and rage, clinging to momentary comforts

… with its momentary loss and despair

… and clinging to a future hope.

Because the believer lives not only with his eyes but also with his ears …

… he lives in light of the glory of God and all that the hope of his glorious promise.

You who are fearful:

Are you exhausted? You are right to despair of yourself and grieve the barreness of your circumstances.

Isaiah 40:31 ESV

but they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.

This is what I want you to see about faith in God’s promise.

They shall walk and not faint.

What does the walk of one who has ever reason to be afraid and yet walks by faith look like?

27:00

THE LIFE OF FAITH IN FUTURE GLORY GIVES GOD GLORY TODAY

What is the gospel? It is the news.

It is the heralding of promised grace, to be received by faith.

Just as Abraham trusted in God’s promise despite impossible circumstances …

Not improbable—impossible.

Abraham as good as dead. Sarah was barren.

We are dead in sin. We are barren of righteousness.

… we are called to trust in God’s announcement of grace in the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Our sin has left us spiritually dead, but God has spoken a greater word …

… through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus

… we are counted righteousness by faith.

Like Abraham, we do not trust in what we see …

… our own works, efforts, or righteousness—but in the finished work of Christ.

Faith turns from the despair of sin and the tyranny of the law …

… to see the hope of the promise.

When we place our faith in the Lord, we glorify God, acknowledging that he alone is able to save.

This is the faith that brings life, secures our hope, and guarantees the promise of eternal life.

30:00

Faith stands on something, but it also looks toward something.

Faith stands on the finished work of Jesus Christ and his cross and resurrection …

… as we will consider more fully next week.

But faith also looks forward to the consummation of our faith.

Faith believes God as we look forward to Revelation 21.

What does this mean?

It means that there is nothing that I suffer in this life in pursuit of the glory of God …

… and in faith in his salvation

… that will not be redeemed.

He will wipe away the tear. Death will be no more.

All these are the former things—the things we see now and we feel with such sorrow.

But there be a day in which they will truly be the former things.

And we will be with him. We will behold his glory.

It is by a life that is lived as though this hope is the most real, substantial and lasting reality …

… it is this life that glorifies God.

The greater the suffering, the more difficult the impossibility, the more fearful the loss …

… the greater the glory of our God when we cling to him “in hope that believes against hope.”

33:00

APPLY

Faith that glorifies God is not based on what we see but on what God has promised ...

… calling us to trust him fully

… even when circumstances seem hopeless.

True faith hears God’s Word, believes in his future grace, and lives today in light of his promises.

It’s that “lives today” that I want you to see.

It’s the walk and not faith.

God is glorious. This is eternally and unchangeably true.

The heavens declare the glory of God.

Psalm 73:25–26 ESV

Whom have I in heaven but you? And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you. My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.

When is he your strength and portion?

He will be my strength? He will be my portion when forever finally gets here?

Faith glorifies God not only in the future by today.

Because it creates a life fully convinced that God is able ot do what he has promised.

Is your faith oriented toward God?

Is your hope in him fully?

Have you heard God’s promise—his gospel promise of eternal life …

… so that you live your life today in light of that promise

… to the glory of God alone.

Can it be said of your life, that life could only be lived …

… by a one who has an eternal and unshakable hope?

37:00