Off The Clock

Secular -

A man is sitting on a park bench, violently waving a newspaper in the air every few seconds.

Another guy walks up and asks, "What are you doing?"

"Keeping the elephants away!" the man says.

"There aren't any elephants around here."

The man smiles and says, "Works pretty good, doesn't it?"

Just because you’ve always done it, doesn’t, necessarily, mean it has any value.

Historical/Cultural Context -

Paul wrote Romans to explain the gospel and to establish the theological foundation of the faith. It was written between A.D. 56-58.

Recap -

Last week we said that we are justified solely by God's grace through faith. This week Paul’s over arching principle is that even the saints of the Old Testament were justified solely by God’s grace through faith.

You may be saying, “but Pastor, Jesus hasn’t been crucified yet how can they be justified?”

Good question. You see the Old Testament saints looked forward to the promise using their faith to believe in God’s Grace that was to come and justified using their faith.

-[Prayer]-

Life Principle - When we abandon human effort and trust God’s promises, His grace replaces our spiritual striving.

Life Point- Salvation is a gift, not a wage

Exegetical -

Romans 4:1–8 BSB

What then shall we say that Abraham, our forefather according to the flesh, has discovered? If Abraham was indeed justified by works, he had something to boast about, but not before God. For what does the Scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.” Now the wages of the worker are not credited as a gift, but as an obligation. However, to the one who does not work, but believes in Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is credited as righteousness. And David speaks likewise of the blessedness of the man to whom God credits righteousness apart from works: “Blessed are they whose lawless acts are forgiven, whose sins are covered. Blessed is the man whose sin the Lord will never count against him.”

Homiletical -

Abraham is the pillar of the Judeo-Christian religion.

Paul is going to reveal the mystery and truth about faith in Christ through Abraham’s life

Verse 1 says that Abraham has discovered something. Something important and it wasn’t the law. It wasn’t by being a good little boy who followed all the rules to please daddy.

It was about faith. That Abraham Believed God and it was accounted to him as righteousness.

He was not justified by any works. He was justified by faith in God.

There are a lot of people who do the opposite of that today. Instead of resting in God’s salvation whereby we experience true peace. They work themselves into a life of rules and regulations they can’t keep perfectly. There used to be something called the Holiness movement, which is still around today in various denominations. You had to dress a certain way, you couldn’t wear jewelry, which including wedding rings, you had to have long sleeve shirts for boys and dresses for girls. Some went so far as saying you couldn’t go to the movies or have a TV.

Folks this is just religion. It aint relationship with Jesus.

Paul says when you work, that is not a gift it is an obligation. You don’t go to work and not expect to be paid. We can understand that

Paul says that no matter what kinds of work you do, if it is in hopes of earning salvation you need to give it up because it won’t work.

If, however, you pray, read scripture, and works for God because you are amazed by Him, because you love Him or because you love to spend time with Him then you’re right. It does much good for you. But if you are only seeking God because you want a certain thing from Him, you’re wrong and you need to repent.

He goes on to say in verse 5 that to the one who does not do works but simply believes and understands that he is worthy of nothing. Then like Abraham, that man’s faith is counted for righteousness.

Let me share a quote on this subject of a person’s faith being counted as righteousness, “It is not the one who has faith in his faith, but the one who has faith in the goodness, the provision, and the loving-kindness of the Lord who is righteous.”

Now Paul uses another witness to establish his teaching. He brings David into it by quoting the Psalm 32:1-2

Psalm 32:1–2 BSB

Blessed is he whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered. Blessed is the man whose iniquity the LORD does not count against him, in whose spirit there is no deceit.

iniquity, by the way, is our bent toward sin. We all have a bent toward different sins that entangle us. Blessed are we because God, through the shed blood of Jesus Christ, does not count it against us. We need to make sure we are repenting of our sins. Repenting meaning to turn away from the sin. Turn our hearts toward God.

Sodom and Gomorra were evil cities and when God called him and his family out of Sodom, his wife turned around when she was told not to do so, because her heart was in that place and she turned to a pillar of salt. She had a bent toward the sin of that place and she succumbed to it and she found out the consequence of it.

But David says that you and I are blessed because God no longer counts it against us. He has forgiven us and cleansed us of our iniquity.

Illustration -

Imagine two people walking into a bank.

The first is a day laborer. He punches the clock, works a grueling ten-hour shift, and steps up to the teller at 5:00 PM. When handed his pay, he doesn't break into tears of gratitude and say, "Thank you for this incredible gift!" He puts it in his wallet and walks out. Why? Because it wasn't a gift—it was an obligation. He earned it. This is how legalism treats God: holding out a checklist of rules, expecting Him to owe us salvation.

Now picture a second person walking into that same bank. She is hopelessly bankrupt, carrying a debt she could never work off. But the teller hands her a receipt stamped: "DEBT CLEARED — PAID IN FULL." Above it sits a massive deposit credited directly to her account as a pure gift from a benefactor she trusted. She didn't punch a clock. She simply believed the promise. Her response isn't pride or entitlement—it's overwhelming love, relief, and gratitude.

God isn't running a payroll department; He's granting an inheritance. Abraham was justified not because he handed God a completed task list, but because he trusted the Promiser. Stop trying to earn a wage from God, and start resting in the grace that covers your debt.

Life Point - Tear down your spiritual idols

Exegetical -

Romans 4:9–12 BSB

Is this blessing only on the circumcised, or also on the uncircumcised? We have been saying that Abraham’s faith was credited to him as righteousness. In what context was it credited? Was it after his circumcision, or before? It was not after, but before. And he received the sign of circumcision as a seal of the righteousness that he had by faith while he was still uncircumcised. So then, he is the father of all who believe but are not circumcised, in order that righteousness might be credited to them. And he is also the father of the circumcised who not only are circumcised, but who also walk in the footsteps of the faith that our father Abraham had before he was circumcised.

Homiletical -

Paul now takes it and hits them with a new revelation about this salvation through Jesus.

Because it is a gift, the question becomes, who is this gift for?

The Jewish folks at the time would say that because Abraham was their descendant that the gift is for them and not to any other nation. Well Paul is about to blow that ridiculousness out of the water.

The Jews put a heavy emphasis on the covenant sign that God gave them to show they are of the covenant. That being circumcision.

Paul asks the question, was this righteousness that Abraham received before he received the sign of the covenant or after? It was before.

Paul states that he is father of all who believe not just to the Jew and it is apart from the law. Apart from the Old Covenant.

These Jews were caught up in their dead religiosity. They were caught up in dead acts, and dead rituals.

You may be saying pastor I am glad we are Baptist because we don’t have those.

Oh really? Can communion or baptism or any number of things that people hold onto in the church become a dead ritual or a Holy Cow?

Yes, yes they can. It is our responsibility to make sure the things we practice do not become something that is worshipped over God.

For example, if a church had a sprinkler system and this was a big deal in the church something you don’t mess with. You know it was their Holy Cow.

Now let’s say a man comes over and says that one of the sprinkler heads would do better 5 feet the other direction. Well that could cause a church split. Why? because they have made that sprinkler system their Holy Cow, something never to be touched but to be left alone.

Someone is saying pastor that is a ridiculous example that would never happen.

Oh Really? Well let me tell you this exact thing happened at a church I was at and it was between two grown men who were both deacons. It almost caused a church split as some rallied behind the man who wanted to move the head 5ft. left and some rallied behind the man who wanted it 5ft to the right.

Ask yourself though, does this have any eternal value? Does it matter what color the carpet is? Does it matter what color a door is? Does it matter what the A/C is set at? Does it matter where that sprinkler head got moved?

Now ask yourself, “What are my Holy Cows?” and then repent of making something in the church or in your life a Holy Cow. Something that has no eternal value.

Life Point - God fulfills His promises

Exegetical -

Romans 4:13–25 BSB

For the promise to Abraham and his offspring that he would be heir of the world was not given through the law, but through the righteousness that comes by faith. For if those who live by the law are heirs, faith is useless and the promise is worthless, because the law brings wrath. And where there is no law, there is no transgression. Therefore, the promise comes by faith, so that it may rest on grace and may be guaranteed to all Abraham’s offspring—not only to those who are of the law, but also to those who are of the faith of Abraham. He is the father of us all. As it is written: “I have made you a father of many nations.” He is our father in the presence of God, in whom he believed, the God who gives life to the dead and calls into being what does not yet exist. Against all hope, Abraham in hope believed and so became the father of many nations, just as he had been told, “So shall your offspring be.” Without weakening in his faith, he acknowledged the decrepitness of his body (since he was about a hundred years old) and the lifelessness of Sarah’s womb. Yet he did not waver through disbelief in the promise of God, but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God, being fully persuaded that God was able to do what He had promised. This is why “it was credited to him as righteousness.” Now the words “it was credited to him” were written not only for Abraham, but also for us, to whom righteousness will be credited—for us who believe in Him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead. He was delivered over to death for our trespasses and was raised to life for our justification.

Homiletical -

Now Paul brings concluding remarks to His teaching that righteousness comes by Grace, through Faith and not of the law.

The promise was not given through the law but through trusting in God’s grace.

Think about this. When your child would break the law of the house, what did that bring? Well, it brought discipline, wrath you could say.

That is what the law brings us, because we can’t keep the law.

Abraham simply believed that he would have Isaac. Even when the evidence showed otherwise. Because he and Sarah were old and she was unable to conceive. He still held onto the promise given by God. Because of his faith in God it was credited to him as righteousness. He was fully persuaded that God would do what He had promised to do.

So to us we will have righteousness accredited to our accounts because we believe that God the Father raised Jesus our Lord from the dead.

Because we believe He was delivered over to death four sins and was raised to life for our justification.

God promised us a redeemer throughout the Old Testament, and he was not slack concerning His promise. Jesus came and redeemed us of all our sin.

Can you believe the Gospel today?

Life Principle– When we abandon human effort and trust God’s promises, His grace replaces our spiritual striving.

Call to Action – altar call….