Lessons from Abraham
Notes
Transcript
Lessons from Abraham
Lessons from Abraham
Ben Dunn- Brad’s dad might not be with us much longer
Bible Passage: Romans 4:1–25
Bible Passage: Romans 4:1–25
Imagine a vast and beautiful estate, owned by a kind and incredibly wealthy man. Two young men hope to one day inherit this estate.
The first young man, let's call him the Worker, is not related to the owner. He decides he will earn the estate. He shows up every day before dawn and works tirelessly. He mows the endless lawns, tends the gardens, repairs the fences, and memorizes every rule of the estate. He does everything perfectly, hoping that one day the owner will look at his flawless record and say, "You've done it. Your hard work has paid off. You have earned this. It is your due." His entire focus is on his own performance.
The second young man is the Owner's Son. His approach is completely different. He doesn't work to earn the inheritance—the inheritance is already his by promise, by relationship. He simply lives in the presence of his father, trusts his father's word, and loves him. His work on the estate isn't a desperate attempt to earn what he hopes for; it's a joyful response to what he already knows is his. He is an heir not because of his performance, but because of his position.
Which of these two truly has a claim to the inheritance? The one who tries to earn it as a wage, or the one who receives it as a gift through a trusting relationship?
This is the very picture the Apostle Paul wants to paint for us in Romans chapter 4. So many of us approach God like the Worker. We believe that if we just try hard enough, follow enough rules, and build up a good enough resume of religious deeds, that God will be obligated to reward us with salvation. But Paul is about to grab that whole way of thinking and turn it completely upside down. Using the life of Abraham—the ultimate father figure of faith—Paul will prove that no one can ever work their way into God's family. Instead, we are adopted as sons and daughters, made heirs of a glorious inheritance, through simple, trusting faith. As we explore this chapter, we will see this truth unfold in three distinct ways: Faith comes Before Works, it operates Beyond the Law, and it holds on Against all Odds.
1. Faith Before Works
1. Faith Before Works
Romans 4:1-8
1 What then shall we say was gained by Abraham, our forefather according to the flesh?
2 For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about, but not before God.
Paul shifts his attention to an illustration to drive home the point that you cannot be justified by works. His choice in Abraham is important. Abraham is the father of the Jewish nation. Both Jews and the largely gentile church would recognize him as a key person in the Old Testament.
Draws the attention of the church to how he’d be justified. Had it been dependent on the Law of the Old testament then works would be at the center of the discourse however, that is not the case look at verse three.
Romans 4:3
3 For what does the Scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness.”
Paul chooses to quote from Genesis 15 concerning how Abraham was justified. Let’s look at this text.
Genesis 15:1-6
1 After these things the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision: “Fear not, Abram, I am your shield; your reward shall be very great.”
2 But Abram said, “O Lord God, what will you give me, for I continue childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?”
3 And Abram said, “Behold, you have given me no offspring, and a member of my household will be my heir.”
4 And behold, the word of the Lord came to him: “This man shall not be your heir; your very own son shall be your heir.”
5 And he brought him outside and said, “Look toward heaven, and number the stars, if you are able to number them.” Then he said to him, “So shall your offspring be.”
6 And he believed the Lord, and he counted it to him as righteousness.
Abraham believed God and as a result it is his righteousness.
Then Paul ups the stakes a significantly. He say in verse four,
4 Now to the one who works, his wages are not counted as a gift but as his due.
In other words, hey church if you think your works will save you think again, your works are not gifts be wages and your dues.
Even more plainly, you think your works are worth something but they really aren’t your salvation is dependent on faith alone. Look at verse 5,
5 And to the one who does not work but believes in him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted as righteousness,
This is a powerful reminder that Salvation for the lost world is easy. It requires repentance and belief in the work of Jesus!
Then in Paul turns his attention to what David said in the book of Psalms, specifically Psalm 32:1-2, look at verse 6-8,
6 just as David also speaks of the blessing of the one to whom God counts righteousness apart from works:
7 “Blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven, and whose sins are covered;
8 blessed is the man against whom the Lord will not count his sin.”
The reality that our salvation is apart from us should lead us to glorious worship of the glorious king who passes over our sins through his gift of salvation through saving belief, faith in Jesus!
Saving faith must come before any good works. In fact, our good works are nothing more than actions taken out of gratitude and worship of the savior who has saved us!
The Wedding and the Ring
What comes first, the wedding or the wedding ring? The answer is obvious, right? No one in their right mind would put on a wedding ring and start acting married for five years in the hope that it would somehow cause them to become legally married. That’s completely backward. Everyone understands the ring doesn’t make you married; it shows you are married.
The "wedding" is the moment of commitment and trust. It’s the public vow, the "I do," where you place your faith in another person. The moment that vow is made, your legal and relational status changes instantly. You are married.
Living out the marriage—wearing the ring, sharing a home, loving and serving your spouse—these are the "works." They are the beautiful and necessary evidence that the wedding actually took place. They are the fruit of the relationship, not the root of it.
This is precisely the point Paul is making about Abraham. Religious people were trying to argue that good deeds and religious observance (like circumcision) were the way to become right with God. Paul says, "That's like trying to wear the ring to create the wedding." He points to Genesis 15 and says, "Look! Here is the 'I do' moment for Abraham." God made a promise, and Abraham simply said, "I believe you." In that instant, because of that faith, God declared him righteous.
The great works Abraham did later in his life weren't his attempt to earn God's favor; they were the "wedding ring." They were the outward proof of the inward faith that had already saved him. Our good works are vital, but they are the evidence of our faith, never the cause of our righteousness. Faith must come first.
So not only does faith come before works, second, you should note that
2. Faith Beyond the Law
2. Faith Beyond the Law
Romans 4:9-17
Look at how Paul follows up the reality that faith leads to righteousness over works in verse 9,
9 Is this blessing then only for the circumcised, or also for the uncircumcised? For we say that faith was counted to Abraham as righteousness.
10 How then was it counted to him? Was it before or after he had been circumcised? It was not after, but before he was circumcised.
Paul tells them, look, the dude we all look to as an example to us, Abraham. He was made righteous apart from works. He was given righteousness based on belief before he was ever circumcised. So, this uncircumcised man, received righteousness from God before he ever obeyed the law!
Then in verse 11 and 12 we see what circumcision purpose was look at what Paul says:
Romans 4:11-12
11 He received the sign of circumcision as a seal of the righteousness that he had by faith while he was still uncircumcised. The purpose was to make him the father of all who believe without being circumcised, so that righteousness would be counted to them as well,
12 and to make him the father of the circumcised who are not merely circumcised but who also walk in the footsteps of the faith that our father Abraham had before he was circumcised.
he received circumcision as a seal of the righteousness that he received “by faith.” Second, Paul really drives home that both Jews and gentiles are righteous through faith in Jesus alone. Their works cannot save. We are saved through faith alone!
13 For the promise to Abraham and his offspring that he would be heir of the world did not come through the law but through the righteousness of faith.
14 For if it is the adherents of the law who are to be the heirs, faith is null and the promise is void.
The promise to Abraham is to be heir of the world, came out of faith not the law.
If the law could save then there is no need for faith at all.
15 For the law brings wrath, but where there is no law there is no transgression.
in reality the law only brings wrath to the world. IT cannot save!
16 That is why it depends on faith, in order that the promise may rest on grace and be guaranteed to all his offspring—not only to the adherent of the law but also to the one who shares the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all,
Our salvation “rests on grace.” Faith is ultimately trusting in the work of Jesus and that God will give us a gift we do not deserve. That he will show us mercy and forgiveness!
17 as it is written, “I have made you the father of many nations”—in the presence of the God in whom he believed, who gives life to the dead and calls into existence the things that do not exist.
The promise comes from Genesis 17:5
5 No longer shall your name be called Abram, but your name shall be Abraham, for I have made you the father of a multitude of nations.
All Christians are ultimately a fulfillment of the promise given to Abraham. Paul is telling the Roman church that both gentile and jew who placed their faith in Jesus are children of Abraham.
The Adoption Papers and the House Rules
Imagine a couple goes to an orphanage to adopt a child. After a long process, the day finally comes. They stand before a judge, sign the official legal documents, and the judge declares, "This child is now legally your son." In that moment, everything changes for the child. He has a new name, a new family, and the promise of a full inheritance. His place in the family is sealed, not because of anything he has done, but by the gracious choice of his new parents. This legal declaration is the adoption.
Now, when they get to their new home, the parents show him a list on the refrigerator titled "Our Family's House Rules." It has things like:
Make your bed every morning.
Be kind to your siblings.
Finish your homework before playing video games.
Here is the crucial question: Does the child follow these rules in order to become a member of the family? Of course not. He is already a member of the family because of the adoption papers. He follows the house rules because that's how life works in his new family. The rules aren't the pathway into the family; they are the guidelines for living within the family. The adoption came first.
This is exactly Paul’s argument about faith and the Law.
The Adoption Papers = Justification by Faith. Paul says that in Genesis 15, when Abraham believed God, he was declared righteous. That was the "adoption" moment. His status with God was secured by faith alone.
The House Rules = The Law (specifically, circumcision). Years later, in Genesis 17, God gave Abraham the command to be circumcised. This was the outward sign, the "house rule," that marked him as belonging to God's covenant family.
The sign of circumcision didn't make him righteous, any more than making his bed would make the adopted boy a son. It was an outward sign of the inward reality that had already been established by faith. Paul’s point is that God's family has never been exclusively for those who follow a specific set of rules. The entry requirement has always been faith, a reality that is bigger than, and came before, the Law itself.
Not only do we see faith before works and faith beyond the law, now we see:
3. Faith Against Odds
3. Faith Against Odds
Romans 4:18-25
18 In hope he believed against hope, that he should become the father of many nations, as he had been told, “So shall your offspring be.”
19 He did not weaken in faith when he considered his own body, which was as good as dead (since he was about a hundred years old), or when he considered the barrenness of Sarah’s womb.
In this part, we see that Abraham believed against hope, against natural order since he was a man who was about a hundred years old and did not have any children. Yet he believes God! This is an incredible moment that we need to remember that even in moments where we believe that there is no way for us to get out or through the moment that God has repeatedly shown through the Bible that when it is his will and his way God does the impossible!
Did you know that your salvation is a miracle as significant, actually more significant than even the promise of a nearly one hundred year old man having a child born to him? When God saves you, he did the impossible! He made the dead alive!
Romans 4:20-21
20 No unbelief made him waver concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God,
21 fully convinced that God was able to do what he had promised.
Here is the beauty of it all. Abraham believed God and was “fully convinced that God was able to do what he promised.” When we fully believe that we are saved through Jesus alone and trust fully in the work of Jesus God is faithful to save every time! He does not waver nor do we have reason to doubt. We we believe fully convinced in Jesus we receive salvation and the righteousness of God like Abraham received righteousness. Look at verse 22,
Romans 4:22
22 That is why his faith was “counted to him as righteousness.”
It is because Abraham did not doubt and was fully convinced that his faith was counted to him as righteousness. The similarity between us and Abraham is fully outlined in the next three verses notice what Paul says in 23-25,
23 But the words “it was counted to him” were not written for his sake alone,
24 but for ours also. It will be counted to us who believe in him who raised from the dead Jesus our Lord,
25 who was delivered up for our trespasses and raised for our justification.
Have you believed?
Closing In the 19th century, a famous tightrope walker named Charles Blondin captivated the world by crossing a rope stretched over Niagara Falls. He walked across it forwards, backwards, on stilts, and even pushing a wheelbarrow. On one occasion, after successfully pushing the empty wheelbarrow across and back, he turned to the massive, cheering crowd. He shouted, "Do you believe I can push this wheelbarrow across with a person in it?" The crowd roared back, "Yes! We believe!" Blondin then pointed to the wheelbarrow and asked, "Who will get in?"
Suddenly, the cheering stopped. There was dead silence. It is one thing to believe that he could do it, to give intellectual agreement to a fact. It is another thing entirely to believe in him—to trust him enough to place your own life in his hands and get in the wheelbarrow.
Tonight, we have walked through Romans 4 and seen Paul's airtight case for justification by faith. We've seen that it's a faith that comes Before Works, demonstrated by Abraham who was declared righteous long before he did any great religious "work." We've seen it's a faith that goes Beyond the Law, as Abraham received this gift of righteousness before the sign of circumcision was ever given. And we've seen it's a faith that believes Against the Odds, trusting God's promise even when it seemed naturally impossible.
And Paul's final point, in verses 23-25, is that this entire account wasn't just written for Abraham's sake, but for ours. It was written for us, so that we would believe in the God who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead—the one who was delivered up for our trespasses and raised for our justification.
The message of the Gospel is Charles Blondin standing before you with the wheelbarrow. Jesus has already crossed the chasm of sin and death. He turns to you and asks, "Do you believe in me?" Many people in the world are like the crowd at Niagara Falls. They're happy to shout, "Yes, I believe the facts about you!" But Jesus's invitation is more personal. He asks, "Will you get in the wheelbarrow? Will you stop trying to walk the rope yourself, trusting in your own balance and good works, and instead place your entire life, your trust, your eternity, in my hands?"
The final question of the text is the only one that matters: Have you believed? Have you moved from being a spectator in the crowd to entrusting yourself completely to Christ? Have you gotten in the wheelbarrow?
