Untitled Sermon (10)

There is an expression in comedy, that timing is everything. What makes a joke funny is not only the punch line, but when you drop the punch line. The timing is everything!

Well what is true in comedy, is actually true in theology too. When we try to understand the Bible we need to understand not just what happened, but when it happened. The timing is everything.

This is true in the passage we are looking at this morning. What happened is important but when it happened is even more important.

In the passage we are looking at this morning the Apostle Paul, this foundational teacher of Christianity is illustrating the key point of his letter, he is really illustrating the key point of the Christian gospel, the Christian good news. He is explaining and illustrating that that all people’s from all backgrounds, from all nations, from all places, from all races, can all be made right with God because God will declare them righteous based on the righteousness of Christ! Please notice what I am saying, I am not saying that all people’s from all places, from all backgrounds, and all races can be right with God if they will just become righteous. I am not saying (and this is what most people think Christianity is saying) that you can be right with God if you quite doing wrong and you start to live a righteous life. I am not saying that you get righteous before God by being righteous before a Holy God. No, I am saying, really, more importantly Paul is saying that all peoples, from all places, and all backgrounds, and all races can be righteous before God if He gives them the righteousness of Jesus. I am saying that when a person believes in Jesus God credits Jesus righteousness to their account, he imputes it to them, he gives it to them, and when he gives it to them he declares them righteous and they are right before God. In other words the gospel is more like clothes than medicine. The gospel of Jesus, the good news of Jesus Christ is not that if you take God’s medicine from the Bible you will get better and become a better person. No, the gospel is that if you believe in Jesus, then God will clothe you in the righteousness of Jesus. The gospel starts

English Standard Version Chapter 4

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. 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.

English Standard Version Chapter 4

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. 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.

Who is this blessing for? Does it exclude (only) circumcised or uncircumcised?

The Blessing being spoken of is justification by faith (experienced by David).

At this point in the argument the question has a bit of a rhetorical flair? Paul has already answered the question he is posing several times (1:5, 16-17, 3:23-24, 3:28-29). So here he is pressing the point.

He asks the question and then lays down the premise he has been asking. He asks, who is this blessing for, and then he says we have shown it is for Abraham, now what does the blessing of Justification by Faith mean, what does it mean that Justification by Faith for Abraham mean, does it mean that Justification by faith excludes the Gentiles or includes them. The answer is that it includes them because Abraham was like them.

Paul shows this by asking a question about how Abraham was justified, was it before or after he was circumcised? If it was after then you might be able to argue that Justification by faith was only for circumcised people like him. But this is not how it went down, Abraham was justified by faith before he was circumcised, so circumcision could not be the cause of his blessing.

Circumcision was rather 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.

It also makes him the forefather of all who are not just circumcised but also walk by faith.

When you have a forefather like Abraham you realize that you are from a sinful people.

When you have a forefather like Abraham you realize that you are from a people of faith

When you have a forefather like Abraham you realize the place of signs and seals.

Circumcision came 13 years after faith

Obviously, then, the rite of circumcision, which many Jews rely on for salvation, contributes in no way to one’s status before God. It gives them no special standing before Him because they must be declared righteous on the basis of faith in God.

Witmer, J. A. (1985). Romans. In J. F. Walvoord & R. B. Zuck (Eds.), The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures (Vol. 2, p. 453). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.

Paul has proved that Abraham was not justified on account of his works in general and now proves that circumcision was neither the basis nor condition for Abraham’s acceptance.

Different cultures tend to see things differently (Danes smoke, the English will not mix bath - see Hanson book on conscience)

Hodge, C. (1993). Romans (). Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books.

The word translated blessedness means, more accurately, “declaration of blessedness”: “This declaration of blessedness, is it on—that is, is it about—the circumcision only?”

Different cultures tend to see things differently (Danes smoke, the English will not mix bath - see Hanson book on conscience)

Hodge, C. (1993). Romans (). Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books.

The phrase “righteousness of the faith” (kjv) is a concise expression for “righteousness which is attained by faith,” or

Hodge, C. (1993). Romans (). Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books.

The word “father” expresses community in nature or character and is often applied to the head or founder of any school or class of men whose character or course is determined by the relation to the person so designated: as in , “Jabal … was the father of those who live in tents,” and “Jubal … was the father of all who play the harp and flute.” Hence teachers, priests, and kings are often called “fathers.” Believers are called the children of Abraham because of this identity of religious nature or character, as he stands out in Scripture as the believer; because with him the covenant of grace, embracing all the children of God, whether Jews or Gentiles, was reenacted; and because they are his heirs, inheriting the blessings promised to him. As Abraham was the head and father of the theocratic people in the Old Testament, this relation was not disowned when the middle wall of partition was broken down and the Gentiles were introduced into the family of God. Abraham still remained the father of the faithful, for “those who believe are children of Abraham” ().

Abraham’s faith “is reckoned for righteousness” when God promised him a son (); but it is not until much later—twenty-nine years, according to the rabbis—that he is circumcised ()

Hodge, C. (1993). Romans (). Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books.

Moo, D. J. (1996). The Epistle to the Romans (p. 268). Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.Hodge, C. (1993). Romans (). Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books.

Paul tells us what this “sign” was in an appositive addition: “a seal of the righteousness of faith that was his when he was uncircumcised.” calls circumcision a “sign of the covenant.” In light of the tendency among Paul’s Jewish contemporaries to identify this covenant as the Mosaic covenant, Paul’s decision to connect the signatory value of circumcision with “the righteousness of faith” () is emphatic.

Moo, D. J. (1996). The Epistle to the Romans (p. 268). Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.Righteousness is counted in verse 11 whereas it is faith which is counted in verse 9.

Righteousness is counted in verse 11 whereas it is faith which is counted in verse 9.

You are part of a great family right now - not a false pride in a sinful family, or false shame that you do not have a notable family - you are now part of the greatest family of all time, Abraham’s family, Jesus’ family.

In any case, Paul uses the word to denote something that “confirms” the truth or reality of something else, as in , where Paul describes the Corinthian believers themselves as the “seal,” the confirmation and authentication, of his apostleship. In like manner, Abraham’s circumcision confirms his righteous status, a status that was his by virtue of his faith.

ABRAHAM IS THE FOREFATHER OF ALL WHO BELIEVE

Moo, D. J. (1996). The Epistle to the Romans (p. 269). Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.ABRAHAM IS THE FOREFATHER OF ALL WHO BELIEVE

ABRAHAM IS NOT THE FATHER OF ALL JEWS OR ALL GENTILES

Different cultures tend to see things differently (Danes smoke, the English will not mix bath - see Hanson book on conscience)

Seal??

The Characters of the OT are our Forefathers! - If your cultural heroes are your forefathers, like say George Washington or Martin Luther King Junior then you will find you need to airbrush the reality of their lives in order to hold on them as heroes you will get uncomfortable if someone says that your heroes don’t live up to your highest ideals. So if you find out Washington had slaves or MLK Jr was an adulteror then this will mess with you. You wont know what to do with your heroes you either have to airbrush them and minimize their sin or you need to find new heroes. And of course the reason you need to airbrush them or reject them is because of what they about you. You don’t want to support a slave holder, you don’t want to idolize an idolator. If you do that then you are a sinner, unrighteous, your conscience is pricked. But those who have men like Abraham as their forefather have a different attitude. You see those of us who primarily orient ourselves to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, find we are sinners just like them, and when we sin we hate it but it also comforts us it reminds us that God saves sinners. Our forefathers do not bolster our ego or our sense of ethnic pride but they do remind us that our whole lives are all based on grace.

Piper - Paul is consumed with Justification by faith because it is what kills boasting. Secondly, he wants to preserve the blessedness of imputed righteouness. Third it is for the uncircumcised. He wants - to show faith comes before and drives works - But as the sign and seal of the righteousness that comes by faith alone. Finally, he makes sure Justification is for all...It is all about God's heart for the nations, both Jews and all the other ethnic groups in the world - including Anglo-Saxons, African-Americans, Hispanic, Asian, Somali, Ethiopian, Turkish people, Kosovars, Kazaks, Uzbeks, Maninke, Sukumu.

It is all about God's heart for the nations, both Jews and all the other ethnic groups in the world - including Anglo-Saxons, African-Americans, Hispanic, Asian, Somali, Ethiopian, Turkish people, Kosovars, Kazaks, Uzbeks, Maninke, Sukumu.

I remember being in the largest cathedral in North America, a Catholic cathedral in the city of Montreal, and I watched people on their knees climbing up hundreds of stairs, wooden stairs, to ascend to the pinnacle of this place, go into the cathedral and go to a shrine that is there to a little priest who died a long time ago and his bones are there with a view to touching his bones, such a pilgrimage on one's knees and the touching of his bones gains merit for salvation. People do that. They develop those kinds of things. Even the Jews had done that in their history.

When Hezekiah came along in , brought about a revival in Israel, one of the things that he did was smash the brazen serpent that had been lifted up in the wilderness as a point of contact for faith, people turning to God and being healed from the snake bites if they would put their trust in God and God alone. When the Jews had taken that simple symbol and turned it into a fetish. They were actually believing had some kind of spiritual powers. One of the things that Hezekiah did was smash it because the Jewish people were burning incense to that bronze image.

I have been at the shrine of Guadalupe in Mexico and I've watched people crawl long, long distances on their knees. I've been to the steps in Rome, the church...the very church that Luther tried to ascend on his knees to earn his salvation. All these things prevent salvation, they do not accomplish it because there's a statement in chapter 4 verse 5 that is so foundational, “But to the one who does not work but believes in Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is credited as righteousness.” The statement that God justifies the ungodly, turns all works/righteousness systems inside out. God does not justify the godly, He justifies the ungodly. Salvation comes to those who recognize their ungodliness. That is the difference in the story of the prodigal son and his brother and the loving father. The o ne who received the robe, which could be an emblem of righteousness, was the one who recognized his wretchedness. The older brother who had no sense of his own sinfulness received no such gift from the father because God is in the business of justifying, declaring righteous, granting righteousness and forgiveness and salvation to the ungodly. - John MacArthur

Douglas Wilson

While we were in Kiev last week, another place we visited was the monastery of the caves, a warren of cells deep underground. The active monastery above ground is Russian Orthodox, and the holy things below constitute one of the most unholy things I have ever seen. But there are some WesternChristians who think of Orthodoxy as this beautiful thing, as the next big shiny object ecclesiastically speaking, and they really need to get an eyeful of the unvarnished version, and then sit down and think for a bit.https://i2.wp.com/dougwils.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/Monastery-Caves.jpg?resize=338%2C225&ssl=1

The paths through the caves were just over six feet tall, and maybe a yard wide. There were little alcoves along the sides, where dead bodies of monks were laid out in glass cases. These paths were crowded with devout women, kissing the cases, praying and singing. The bodies of the monks were doing their silent service as icons, communicating divine energies.

Along the way were little holes in the walls, about the size of a cantaloupe. These were the places where particularly pious monks had had themselves bricked in, buried alive underground, because that was something that somebody, at some point, had decided would impress God. Food would be passed into them through their little hole, and their waste could be passed out. Eventually, after their years of vain glory in the dark, they would die in there, and nobody had to mess with a burial. They had been buried years before. All of this for Jesus—the demands of Jesus are total, and somebody thought that this obviously must include the concept of the total waste.

The monastery had been founded long ago, in the eleventh century, and some Western Christians, enamored of an East they do not understand, might be tempted to think that this is a form of devotion that we scarcely see anymore, since it is obviously such an old timey thing. Sure, you can find all kinds of weird things in the antique pages of the history books. Right?

Except this devotion and macabre worship was being offered up in the year of our Lord 2017. And the place was crowded.

Someone else might object that every church, every theological tradition, has dirty deeds in their past to be ashamed of. What is the sense in hauling out some tawdry object from someone else’s past? Why not concentrate on our own? Since I am a Calvinist, wouldn’t it be more edifying if I focused on something like the Salem witch trials?

Okay, this need not detain us long. Two things about that. First, that hysteria broke out during a time when the royal charter of Massachusetts had lapsed, and the colony as a whole had no lawful mechanism for dealing with the Salem monstrosity. As soon as someone got back from England with a renewed charter, the local insanity was suppressed by the governor at the request of the Puritan ministers at large. I dare say that you have never heard about how the Puritans opposed the witch trials? So I do reject the idea that the Salem trials were in any way representative of the Puritans as a whole.

But it was a filthy business, nevertheless, and it was something that called for the deepest repentance—something that the judges from the witch trials themselves came to understand, all but one. That one was Nathaniel Hawthorne’s ancestor, by the way. And to whatever extent it doesrepresent us, to that same extent modern Calvinists are heartily ashamed of the whole thing, and repudiate it utterly. Here were professed Christians admitting spectral evidence, centuries before people learned how to handle such evidence on the Internet.

And so what would we make of some modern sophomoric Christians, bedazzled by the psalm singing, say, who joined themselves to a little microbrewery Calvinist denomination, one that met annually in Salem in order to leave wreaths on the grave of that one unrepentant judge? We mightask such purblind Christians to give some modest account of themselves. We might stare at them in that baleful Parkeresque “what fresh hell is this?” kind of way.

And that is the same kind of stink eye we should be using when other Christians adopt something ugly because they read a beautiful passage in a book by Alexander Schmemann. Rather than getting a new groove, it might be better to get a grip.

So let us be honest here. The idea that piety could ever be displayed through being walled up in a voluntary dungeon, in what should be described as a literal and ultimate prison of will worship, is an idea that is demented, pathological, demonic.

And there is more. There was icing on this particular will worship cake. When we were entering the caves, my companion Bubu, who was wearing shorts, was given an apron to tie around his waist in order to cover up his bare legs. I have never seen such a striking example of straining out a gnat and swallowing a camel in all my born days.

Down below, we had people praying through carcasses, and we had dried out bones lying on the floors behind the silent walls, and up top we had people policing bare knees, and also making sure all the women had head coverings before going down below to witness, hopefully with admiration in their hearts, the remnants of what can only be described as a spiritual insanity.

In the West, Orthodoxy can be seen as just another denomination, with a liturgy that is merely a bit gaudier than most. And it can be seen that way because it is functioning in a largely Protestantized culture. Nobody can see what happens when it has had a dominant influence on a culture for centuries. But that kind of thing is visible in principle—there are places in the world where it can still be witnessed, out in the open, and where nobody is embarrassed by it.

They lay the wreath on the grave of that one valiant witch trial judge who never backed down. What a man of God! Or perhaps we can make him a man of God if we light enough candles in front of his bones. Or if we kiss his casket enough. That might do it.

The Bible Knowledge Commentary 4:11–12

Obviously, then, the rite of circumcision, which many Jews rely on for salvation, contributes in no way to one’s status before God. It gives them no special standing before Him because they must be declared righteous on the basis of faith in God.

Excellent Outline from MacArthur -

And Paul chooses Abraham as a model of this and breaks the chapter in to three sections, really. First he talks about the fact that Abraham was saved by faith, not by works. We saw that in the opening section down through verse 8. In the middle section, Abraham was saved by grace not by Law. And in the final section, Abraham was saved by divine power, not human effort. In all three sections, looking at it from a different angle, Paul is basically saying the same thing. We've already looked at the first one, verses 1 to 8. Abraham was justified by faith not works.

MacArthur on Sacramentalism - Listen to some quotes from Roman Catholic theology. “The Sacraments confer grace immediately without the mediation of faith.” Here's another one, “All the Sacraments of the New Testament confer sanctifying grace on the receivers.” Here's another one, “Sacramental rites confer regeneration, forgiveness, the Holy Spirit and eternal life.”

Here's another one. “For the dispensing of this grace, it is necessary that the minister accomplish the sacramental sign in the proper manner.” The thing works if you do it in the right order. Here's another one. “Neither orthodox belief, nor moral worthiness is necessary for the validity of the Sacrament on the part of the recipient.” Here's another one. “Baptism confers the grace of justification.” Here's another one. “Council of Trent, the section on the decree of original sin, if anyone denies that by the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ which is conferred in infant Baptism, the guilt of original sin is forgiven, or even asserts that the whole of that which has the true and proper nature of sin is not taken away, let him be damned...anathema.” Damnation is pronounced on anyone who denies that grace...salvation grace, forgiveness of sin is not conferred in infant Baptism.

Here's another one. “We descend into the water full of sins and filth and we arise from it bearing fruit as we have in our hearts the fear of God and in our spirit, hope in Jesus.” Here's another one. “According to holy writ, Baptism has the power both eradicating sin and affecting inner sanctification.” And they're talking about water and not even immersion. They mean H20, for they say, quote: “This is reference to the material which is true and natural water.”

Here's another one. “Baptism effects the forgiveness of all punishments of sin, both the eternal and the temporal.” Here's another one. “Baptism is necessary for all men without exception for salvation.”