Romans (2)

Faith and Favor

Romans 4:1–8 NKJV

What then shall we say that Abraham our father has found according to the flesh? For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about, but not before God.

Romans 4:1–8 NKJV

For what does the Scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.” Now to him who works, the wages are not counted as grace but as debt. But to him who does not work but believes on Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is accounted for righteousness,

Focus on Verse 5 - just believe - Religious people have a difficult time with the Bible. Religious people will tell you it is all about your works and what you do. Paul tells us it is all about your faith and what you believe and who you believe.

Paul is not saying that once you are saved, you should no longer do good works or that good works are not expected of you. The difference between what Paul writes and what the religious people try to get you to believe is that Paul says faith is the foundation and works flow from that. We spend so much time and energy trying to get people to act right and live right but if we can get them to believe right, they will then live right.

We are not working for an identity but from an identity and it all starts with faith. In chapter 4 alone, the Greek word translated as faith or believe is found 13 times. Paul is making an emphatic and important statement about faith.

This section of Romans is the foundational piece of the doctrine of justification by faith. Paul moves from Abraham to David.

Romans 4:1–8 NKJV

just as David also describes the blessedness of the man to whom God imputes righteousness apart from works: “Blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven, And whose sins are covered; Blessed is the man to whom the Lord shall not impute sin.”

Romans 4:20–25 NKJV

He did not waver at the promise of God through unbelief, but was strengthened in faith, giving glory to God,

Romans 4:20–25 NKJV

and being fully convinced that what He had promised He was also able to perform. And therefore “it was accounted to him for righteousness.” Now it was not written for his sake alone that it was imputed to him, but also for us. It shall be imputed to us who believe in Him who raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead, who was delivered up because of our offenses, and was raised because of our justification.

Romans 5:1–5 NKJV

Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God. And not only that, but we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance; and perseverance, character; and character, hope. Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us.

Paul starts his doctrine of justification by faith by talking about Abraham. Abraham, he tells us is both the Father of the Jew and the Gentile who believe and trust in God.

What is faith? Faith is, simply, trusting God. Faith is so simple yet so profound and so powerful. Faith in God is the most powerful thing and most important thing we have in our lives.

Hebrews “Without faith it is impossible to please God. For one must first believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.”

Paul starts with Abraham, knowing if anyone ever had anything to boast about in themselves and their obedience, it is Abraham. Verse 2 tells us if Abraham was justified by his works he would have something to boast about, but not before God because even if He had been justified by works, it would be God who justified him.

But it does not say he was justified by his good works. What does it say?

ABRAHAM BELIEVED GOD and it was accounted to him as righteousness. This was before Abraham had ever done anything. God counted him as righteous simply because he believed him the report of the LORD.

FAITH IS THE ACCESS TO RIGHTEOUSNESS

Abram was 99 years old when God told him that He had made him a father of many nations. Notice, God did not say, “I will make you.” He said, “I have made you a father of many nations.” Abram had no children at this time and he and his wife were far beyond child-bearing years. But God spoke in past tense as though it was already done and Abram believed Him.

God does not look at your situation and try to figure it out. God is not trying to decide what He is going to do in your life, how he is going to get you out of debt, how he is going to heal you, how he is going to restore your, how he is going to restore your family, how he is going to break you free from addiction or break the chains of trauma in your life.

To God, it is already done and when we start looking at our situations from the eyes of God, we can stand up and declare, “I am healed” while we are still afflicted. We can say, “I am free” while we are still addicted. We can shout, “I am whole” while we are still broken.

When what you say lines up with what God has already spoken, that is when your faith becomes active and you will start yo see what you already believe.

GOD IS NOT WAITING ON PERFECT FAITH

Abraham’s faith was not perfect. Paul tells us in verse 20 that he did not waver at the promise of God. Abraham believed every word God spoke to him. If you go back to Genesis and read the story, you see God speaking to Abram and he believes God but one chapter later, He and Sarah decide God needs their help and takes matters into their own hands and he has a child with Hagar who gives birth to Ishmael.

So, when does God call Abraham righteous? Was it after he and Sarah had Isaac? Was it after Abraham was circumcised? Was it after he showed the great faith to take Isaac to the top of the mountain to sacrifice him to the LORD?

NO, God did not wait on Abraham to show great faith before he called him righteous. He called him righteous before he was circumcised. The circumcision was simply a sign of the covenant God had already made with him. He was called righteous before he and Hagar had Ishmael and before Sarah had Isaac. He was called righteous long before Isaac was taken to the top of the mountain.

God is not waiting on your faith to be perfect to call you righteous. He is not waiting on you to get everything right and not make mistakes. He is not waiting on you to show great faith. He calls you righteous the moment you put your faith in Him.

DAVID’S RIGHTEOUSNESS

How many know David was not perfect? How many know David sinned? Paul quotes Psalms 32 which David wrote after his sin with Bathsheba. Romans 4:7–8 ““Blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven, And whose sins are covered; Blessed is the man to whom the Lord shall not impute sin.””

Blessed means to have the favor of God placed on you. It does not come from a place of works or the achievement of works. David has sinned greatly and repented. And he writes that when God does not reckon the sin to you but covers the sin, that is the favor of God. You are now called blessed. David was not called blessed because of his good works because this moment was completely void of good works and solely reliant on the grace and goodness of God to impute righteousness on him.

Abraham not righteous because of obedience to the Law

It is not unlikely or difficult to attain righteousness by the works of the Law. It is impossible. Romans 4:13–15 “For the promise that he would be the heir of the world was not to Abraham or to his seed through the law, but through the righteousness of faith. For if those who are of the law are heirs, faith is made void and the promise made of no effect, because the law brings about wrath; for where there is no law there is no transgression.”

Abraham had no law. He lived over 600 years before the Law was given to Moses. There was no Law to obey yet Abraham was counted as righteous simply because he believed. He was in covenant with God not because of the Law but because of faith.

If righteousness was based on obedience to the Law, then faith plays no part and Paul says it makes both faith and the promise of no effect. If you can earn the promise, then it is not grace.

Romans 4:18 “who, contrary to hope, in hope believed, so that he became the father of many nations, according to what was spoken, “So shall your descendants be.””

Abraham had every reason to doubt. He had every reason to have no hope in being a father to one much less a father to many nations. He was 99 years old. The Bible says he did not consider his own body’s strength or lack of nor the deadness of Sarah’s womb. He simply believed God.

Abraham was just crazy enough to believe the word of the Lord.

Do we have any people in here crazy enough to believe something just because God said it?

Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of the Lord. If you say, “I don’t hear God,” get more Word. If you want more faith, you have to get more Word!!!!

Romans 4:20–22 “He did not waver at the promise of God through unbelief, but was strengthened in faith, giving glory to God, and being fully convinced that what He had promised He was also able to perform. And therefore “it was accounted to him for righteousness.””

Abraham believed God and it was accounted to him for righteousness.

So, righteousness is not something you earned. It was given to you when you believed. God called you righteous the moment you you heard the gospel and believed.

We look at people an think, well they are kind of saved, they might be saved, and they are really saved. God does not look at us that way.

God actually declared you righteous, he declared your sin debt paid in full. Jesus did not just partially pay for it on the cross. He did not just put a down payment on it. He said, “It is finished,” and declared it paid in full.

Faith is the access to the favor of God.

Romans 5:1–2 NKJV

Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.

Peace with God - God was never your enemy.. Romans 5:10 tells us we were God’s enemies. The Bible says “For God so loved the world,” so he was never our enemy. We were his. But now since we have been justified (just as if I had never sinned), we have peace with God.

“But I have sinned.” I am not saying you haven’t. But the Bible says where sin does abound, grace does much more abound. God is not sitting and looking at your account and looking at a sin debt stacked up against you. He is looking at the cross that says the blood of Jesus paid it all.

Having peace with God means you can lay down and rest at night knowing God is not just sitting up in heaven shaking his head and mad at you. Stop feeling like God is always mad at you. Religion will convince you that God is angry all the time, that every time you mess up He is out to get you. If God wanted to get you, he would have gotten you while you were living in sin. He could have taken you out at any time but He kept you because He loves you. His patience and His goodness waited on you to turn to Him. Now that you are His, you think He is out to get you?

I am not saying God just lets it slide. He chastises his children. He may take you out behind the woodshed but that is not because He is mad at you. It is because He loves you and wants to get you back on the right path.

Faith has made us righteous and Faith gives access to the favor of God. Paul says we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand. Grace is the unmerited kindness and favor of God. You no longer stand in condemnation or wrath. You now stand in favor.

What does favor look like?

Romans 5:17 NKJV

For if by the one man’s offense death reigned through the one, much more those who receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ.)

You walk in favor. There is something on your life that makes you stand out in a crowd. There is something different about you.

There are two families walking this earth. There is Adam’s family and Jesus’s family. the inheritance of Adam’s family is death.

The inheritance of Jesus’s family is to reign in life. How do we reign in life? We receive an abundance of grace. We receive grace upon grace. He does not just pour out a little bit of grace. God pours out an abundance of grace.

God’s supply of grace never runs out!!! There is grace when everything is good and grace when it is bad. There is grace in the morning and grace when we lay down to rest. There is grace when the bank account is good and grace when it is empty.

How many of us are thankful for the grace of God in our lives?

Through one man, Adam, the inheritance is death.

But how much more then, to those who receive the abundance of grace will reign in life?

REIGN WHERE ?? Not just in heaven some sweet bye and bye.

We hear the old songs that all talk about the sweet bye and bye and how our lives are going to be so hard until we get there.

“I’m coming up the rough side of the mountain” Why not just talk to the mountain and tell it to move?? Speak to the mountain like Jesus said.

Our lives are often limited to what we believe. If what we believe is messed up, your life will probably be messed up. But if we could just start believing the Word of the Lord, believing that we have received an abundance of grace, believing that God is for us and not against us, we might see our lives begin to change.

We have settled for living like paupers a lot of the time when God calls us kings. Revelation says we are a kingdom of kings and priests unto God. The Bible calls Jesus the King of Kings. If he is the King of kings, who are the other kings?

It is time to get out of this just holding on till Jesus comes mentality and start walking in what God has promised us. We bring Him no glory when we walk around defeated and depressed and on all kinds of anxiety medicine. We bring glory to God when we believe what he says and live the life more abundant that Jesus said is ours.

It all starts with faith. Saving faith is not a passive ascent. It is faith that moves mountains. It is faith that works.

Faith makes us righteous. Our righteousness declares us justified and our justification gives us access to the grace and favor of God which gives us the ability and authority to reign in life.