Fighting for Faith with Facts

Roman 4:1-8

GBCCR 5/24/26

Introduction

Catch- Bible knowledge can appear like Trivia

Trivial Pursuit is a Canadian board game in which winning is determined by a player's ability to answer trivia and popular culture questions

You get to win by knowing lots of random facts that do not really matter in life

What is the only bird that can swim but cannot fly? The Penguin.

In the Batman TV series, what was the name of the Batmobile's anti-theft device? The Bat-Beam.

Why are baseball umpires required to wear black underwear? In case their pants split.

And perhaps bible knowledge is treated the same way

How many books are in the Old Testament and new?

How old was Abraham when he went to sacrifice His son?

What happened in Genesis 12 vs genesis 15 v2 Joshua 24

I n a courtroom, details stop being trivia and become decisive

When guilt or innocence is being determined,

when you’re trying to figure out what is right

the basic and most important argument in legal systems and courtrooms is the issue of precedence.

Law firms spend many hours trying to discover how other situations and court cases apply to the current court situation

They look for incidents that will convince people of their way.

That is where trivia become so important… that knowledge will determine

And friends, there are some theological issues in the courtroom of life that are life and death

Your justification by faith alone is one of those.

Martin Luther called justification the doctrine by which ‘‘the church either stands or falls.” Calvin declared it the “hinge of the Reformation.”

It is the message for how you can stand right with God… whether God was happy with you this morning as you woke up

And Paul proves this important doctrine or teaching by referring to the facts of the so-called bible stories

Review

The phrase what then in verse 1 points us back to what has come before

We’ve seen how Paul is trying to put everyone on equal steps- humbling needing the gospel- the good news that Jesus died for sinners

In chapter 3 he showed all are sinners

Verse 27-31 saw the way to fight against pride by having our boasting removed through the gospel, through theology and the proper use of law

So let’s see how Paul reinforces this humility with historical evidence.

2 old cases to remind you of God’s goodness as you see your lack

Abraham’s faith points you to the justifying God (1-5)

Explanation

Abraham was the father of the Jewish people

He is the head of the family tree for them and thus called “of the flesh”

But it was also a status symbol for them

Remember how the Jews responded to Jesus saying

John 8:39- They answered him, “Abraham is our father.” Jesus said to them, “If you were Abraham’s children, you would be doing the works Abraham did,

The Jews thought so highly of Abraham because he benefited of them

Some even taught that Abraham stood guard at the gates of Gehenna, or hell, turning back any Israelite who happened that way. They claimed that it was Abraham’s merit that enabled Jewish ships to sail safely on the seas, that sent rain on their crops,

So Paul asks… was Abraham justified by His works?

Did he earn good for himself and his children by doing a enough work?

Remember, Abraham was before the law was written down.

So these works cannot be him following the laws properly, but Him doing right and wrong

If he did everything right, then he would have every reason to boast and we jews could boast in him

But to boast before God is unthinkable

1 Corinthians 1:28–29- God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, so that no human being might boast in the presence of God.

Remember, there were more righteous people than Abraham around during his day

Melchizedek king of Salem was priest of God Most High.

And Job probably lived at the same time

But God didn’t choose them to enact His great promise of seed to save the world

He Choose Abraham

And he wasn’t following God, Joshua spoke about their father Abraham saying

Joshua 24:2- And Joshua said to all the people, “Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel, ‘Long ago, your fathers lived beyond the Euphrates, Terah, the father of Abraham and of Nahor; and they served other gods.

He and his family were idolaters, worshipping many Gods

And those who speak so highly of Abraham must deal with the fact that he lied about his wife twice because he thought the kings would kill him to take her& he thought God was taking too long to give him a son and went in Hagar instead

& he thought God was taking too long to give him a son and went in Hagar instead

Abraham was a sinful man too

So in verse 3 Paul quotes from

Genesis 15:6- And he believed the LORD, and he counted it to him as righteousness.

Isn’t Paul such a good reminder to us… when something important is on the line, he asks, what does scripture say.

As you and I should keep doing

Abraham was imputed or credited righteousness

God gave Abraham the credit of being a good person when he wasn’t one

And it was due to the fact that He believed God

The verb can be confusing in English but could be translated kept on believing as we’ll look at in verse 20

Romans 4:20–21- No unbelief made him waver concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God, fully convinced that God was able to do what he had promised.

It is an enduring faith, but simple trust in what God has said

Paul makes clear that this faith is not a work that should get him credit

Faith is not a good work you get credit for

Verse 4 says the when you try to work for salvation, it gets reversed on you and you’re actually getting yourself in more debt

Like a scheme where someone thinks by buying 10,000 chocolate bars they can get rich reselling

But then those bars sit in a garage and instead of being an asset… they melt and the person only sees how much money he wasted

Thus it is with good words as Paul said

Galatians 5:2–3- Look: I, Paul, say to you that if you accept circumcision, Christ will be of no advantage to you. I testify again to every man who accepts circumcision that he is obligated to keep the whole law.

You just owe more when you try to be good enough for God

Instead, the way of salvation is trusting in the great God.

The language is important here

You have the one who doesn’t work for their salvation… who is not trying to boast in their success

But this person believes in Him, who is God

Notice he doesn’t say he believes

But He believes IN God

And there is something particular about this God

He is a god who justifies the ungodly

Ungodly means without worship or contrary to worship

These are the people of Romans 1 who suppress the truth with unrighteousness

Peter uses this same word to describe the evil people of Sodom and Gemorrah

2 Peter 2:6- if by turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah to ashes he condemned them to extinction, making them an example of what is going to happen to the ungodly;

But our God takes these sinners and saves them… he declares them as just and holy

And this faith is credited as a positive payment.

This does not mean that Abraham and God did a swap:

Abraham generously offered God his faith and in return for his faith God gave Abraham righteousness

That would turn ‘faith’ into a human ‘work’.

No, it means that faith is the channel by which the undeserved righteousness of God is credited to a sinner.

Illustration point- Abraham’s faith points you to the justifying God

We all know the high price of gas right now

And there is nothing we can do about it… but every once in a while, something pretty amazing comes along

I looked on my credit card website and saw a little link to get money for spending money

If I spent money at a certain gas station… they gave me money back…. So I’m like yes… give me that positive on my account

Now, can I boast and say oh yes… look at this money I earned…. No, I only brought my empty can and said, please fill it up

It costs me

And I’m just thankful for a little money back

And while this doesn’t come anywhere close to what God has done

You and I only bring our debt, only our sin to the equation

And as we just give more debt… God gives gracious gifts of our salvation

Abraham’s faith points you to the gift giving God

Application

Pastor Rick Holland wonderfully pointed out everyone is a legalistic Jew, or to put into a Christian context everyone by heart is a Roman Catholic seeking to justify themselves rather than have to rely upon the grace of God

We may believe we are justified by faith before God, but we try to be justified by works before mankind

Our family was just reading the classic Farmer Boy where Almanzo can’t wait until he’s older so he can show himself worthy… he wants to be justified in his parent’s eyes by how he takes care of the animals

So much of our culture determines our status by being able to accomplish tasks

Which leaves the retired as people off to the side, often not important.

But your standing with God isn’t propped up by productivity or by being needed.

The world will say, why are you here if you’re not doing something… you need to be useful

But Scripture says Rest in being counted righteous by faith

Then you are free to pursue meaningful service with others without pressure to prove yourself.

I’d encourage you to start each day in the scripture and prayer as you say,

thank you God I’m accepted by you today because of Jesus, not my work

Then pick one “grace practice” for the day:

Serve in one area here at church

call someone to encourage them,

write a note of thanks,

or take a slow walk and thank God for specific gifts.

On the other side… some of you feel like you have too much to do

when you feel like you’re failing, remember Abraham was justified by faith, not by flawless performance.

Let that relieve the “I’m not repentant enough” anxiety and be dependent on Christ in the chaos

Pray about your task list for the day and for your kids, admitting that God was good to soverignily decide you didn’t get it all done today

And some of you Christians are shocked to find sin in your life that you’re not telling anyone because you’re too embarrassed

You think that a Christian should not struggle in this way

And while, yes, you should hate sin, there is a difference between credited righteousness and infused righteousness

The Roman Catholics say righteousness is put in you and you have to keep it in you

The bible says God gives you the credit even though you’re not holy… and so do not be surprised when sin comes spilling out

You get to remember again what you first learned… he justifies the ungodly… your sin is there and needs repenting… the answer is the gospel

So confess you sins to God, but also to someone else who can direct you

Give me a call or send me an email and let’s chat about it.

Trans: The first example was the father of the Jewish nation, Abraham, but what about David, who was circumcised and living in the Jewish nation, didn’t he have the law to follow and be made righteous… Nope, the second piece of evidence is:

David’s forgiveness relieves the pressure to perform (6-8)

Explanation

Paul again goes to the bible, the words of David in

Psalm 32:1–2- Blessed is the one whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. Blessed is the man against whom the LORD counts no iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no deceit.

Remember, David was a man after God’s own heart

But David sinned greatly, especially with Uriah’s wife.

David knew he was a man who needed to have righteousness credited to Him

Blessed could be translated happy

One dictionary states this word implies very favorable circumstance and enjoyment

God is not a kill joy but He wants the happiness of His creation just like loving parents want their kids to smile

David shows the great depth of sin

3 different words are used here

Transgression = rebellion against god’s law

This verb is used elsewhere to speak of the guilt that Cain bore for murdering Abel (Gen 4:13) and to speak of the guilt that lawbreakers bear (Lev 5:1).

Sin is turning against our creator and provider

we are traitors like a US soldier joining North Korea

we have helped Satan bring conflict into our home or church by our anger

Sin means missing the mark

It was the word used to describe how the archer would miss the bullseye

No one is perfect, but that means everyone sins when compared with God

Missing the mark matters when a king is supposed to protect but 2 Samuel 11:1- Then it happened in the spring, at the time when kings go out to battle, that David sent Joab and his servants … But David stayed at Jerusalem.

This sin lead to

Iniquity focuses on something evil, perverted, disrespectful of God.

It also means “guilt”

The verb can be used to describe sin being carried or borne for others.

In Leviticus 16 a goat was sent into the wilderness on the day of atonement bore the iniquities of the people out of the camp (Lev 16:22)

James boice says: The first word describes our relationship to God: we have rebelled against him. The second word describes our relationship to God’s Law: we fall short and miss the mark. The third word describes the effect that sin has on us: we are crooked, perverse, and guilty before God

These trivia distinctions matter because

not everyone believes in sin

Today, right and wrong, good and evil, are not defined in absolute terms but are viewed subjective

Yet, this has quickly fallen by the wayside as people have realized a moral standard must exist.

We all should be condemned when we face God’s standard, but there is

The happiness of forgiveness

David matches these three words for sin with 3 joys of forgiveness.

Forgive= to carry away

Like Christian in Pilgrim’s Progress, who saw the great weight on his back and had it removed at the place of deliverance,

this is having one’s reality of guilt taken off

In Isaiah 53 the suffering servant, jesus, is the one who takes off that great weight and bears it

Covered refers to the blood of animals covering the doors in the exodus so that the Israelites were protected from the judgment they deserved.

The sinner doesn’t get what he deserves

He is protected by blood

Counts- our bookkeeping word, addressing those debts

When God forgives, those sins have a payment offsetting them.

our ledger should be red, but it is white as snow

like Abraham, David says he is not counted sinful, though he deserves the punishment.

So, Paul shows that justification by faith alone doesn’t flow through out the law and the prophets by showing that Abraham and David agreed, it has always been about faith, not works

Illustration point- David’s forgiveness relieves the pressure to perform

Legalism can take many forms… like play dough.. it is utterly adapable

It can be in the form of I’m better than, which we need to hear a poem

Now Judas don’t you come too close

I fear that I might see

That traitor’s look upon your face

Might look too much like me

Or it can come in a set of rules I place for myself to be right for the day

So saying, I need to witness to one person every day may get you to do a little more

But that is the motivation of clean your yard, or you will get scolded by the Homeowners Association

Vs the joyful but hard work of taking care of the property that you have finally been able to get

Legalism might get some people to do good works , but it will never get anyone excited about doing good works .

David’s forgiveness relieves the pressure to perform and thus gives you excited about good works because you do not have the pressure to show you’re good enough

Application

There are times when we look at our lives and say… there is no way God can forgive me now

But that is the pride of legalism saying… I must do something for the law to be forgiven

But David said you are utterly blessed when you need forgiveness, because God loves to forgive us

The gospel is about what God did for us in Christ , not about what we do for God

Too often people make Christianity an ethical system of trying to be better

But it is about while we were still sinners, Christ died for us

All of our practical doing is built on the foundation of what God has already done for us

Sin is easy to ignore if we look at in comparison to each other

We can deceive ourselves by comparing ourselves to others.

We may say, well, I’m not like those crazy people on the news or the latest trending crazy video

I’m Moral- I don’t drink or smoke. I go to church. I give money. I vote for the right candidates.”

And while these words do not cover every sin, David’s 3 fold use shows us

There is no sin that can go overlooked.

There are not minor sins that do not have large effect.

You deserve judgment! So, you need to be forgiven

There is only one truly blessed man.

The man of Psalm 1 who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffer

And we don’t always walk in God’s way.. only Jesus does

Psalm 32 is the path for people like us to be blessed by Jesus

And remember, who is the person you think could never come to Jesus for salvation

Maybe it’s that person with crazy crystals hanging around their neck

Or some of you told me about your neighbors who think you’re the crazy one.

But does God save based on how good we are?

Does God bring the best into His kingdom?

no, so anyone can be saved

You and I are called to be the beautiful feet to bring them the news that Jesus died for sinners like them.

Therefore

Since we have seen (Cohesion)- 2 pieces of evidence of God’s justifying work

Abraham’s faith points you to the justifying God so you cannot boast in anything else (1-5)

David's forgiveness relieves the pressure to perform so you can actually do good works (6-8)

We know we must (Resolution)-

The most important thing you can do is believe

Remember Satan mean the accuser. And he’s coming after you

That is why you are to daily put on the whole armor of God, which includes the shield of faith

But faith is not some ethereal thing… faith in trust in a person…trust in God as he has revealed himself

And you grow in your trust in God by knowing Him better by listening to what He has clearly communicated in His word

So, can I encourage you this week to know God better

That “bible Trivia” matters when you’re in t

Instead of running to what makes sense, to the news, to the advice of the world

Instead, go to your bible

And do not just open randomly wrongly expecting that some magical turn will make it more special

Search for scripture for what applies to you and speak to your heart

Grab a quick reference guide, pray for what may apply, and speak truth to your soul

Closing prayer