Romans 4
The Doctrine of Justification by Faith Illustrated from the O.T. • Sermon • Submitted
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Romans 4
Romans 4
Romans 4:1-12
Introduction:
The past couple of weeks we have been looking at the indispensable doctrine of justification by faith alone. Last week to be more specific we looked at the very clear fact from Romans chapter 3 that;
“God’s righteousness always stands. Despite none of us having any righteousness to stand on of our own. Our only hope of being found Righteous is not found in anything that we can do, but in our faith in Jesus Christ.”
By God’s grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone. None of us, nor anyone that has lived in human history other than Jesus Christ Himself has ever wielded our own saving power. It is all a gift from God.
Chapter 3 started showing us a theme that carries not just through out Paul’s letters, but through out the entirety of the New Testament, and a theology that we cannot escape in the Old Testament either.
That is that our justification is by faith alone in Christ alone, and even that faith which brings us to God is a gift of divine grace, and not a work of our own. So, clear and absolute is this theology that to ignore it or even insinuate that it means something other than what it says outright, is to walk in the territory of heresy according to not only men such as Charles Spurgeon, but the early church father’s, and the apostles themselves.
Our role is obedience and that obedience is out of response of the faith given us as a gift from God, according to Ephesians 2, Romans 3, 4,5; 11 . Not by any work of our own lest any man should boast.
Meanwhile, the gift of freewill is not null and void, it works in harmony with God’s pursuing grace, as faith is given us.
Also worth mention is that this is not just because God picks some and despises others. He picks some because He is God and knows His children even before we are born according to what He shows us in His word.
Furthermore, we know that He is not in the habit of being inefficient, so he isn’t going to render faith unto a person that is going to reject Him. To do so would suggest that God does not know His children as He said He does in His Word, while at the same time saying that Christ is not capable of always fulfilling the will of His Father, and therefore can lose us from His grip. The Gospel of John recorded Jesus as saying that He always fulfills the will of the Father, no one can be plucked from His hand, and that it is the Father’s will that Jesus would not lose even one.
To believe in such a way as to say to give his faith to all regardless of their response is to believe that both the Old Testament and the New Testament are not infallible, and is to believe that God is not capable of doing exactly what He says He does.
So, right off the bat we can see the problem with the error of Arminianism, but we can also see the fault in the Calvinist belief of limited atonement, as there is not an absence of free will, but instead a God that is so intimate with His children that He knows in advance which ones are His. We know this to be true in light of what we will read in Romans 6, but also in light of Hebrews 10; and 1 Peter 3:18. Christ died once for all.
While He did die for all, not all will come to Him, nor will He call every individual to Himself by giving them the faith required in order to be justified by Him. Why? Because God is not in the business of being inefficient.
And so, we will start looking today at chapter four. Where Paul begins using the Old Testament, the Old Covenant, to confirm the New Covenant.
And while we will still ultimately be looking at Justification by faith, we will be looking in particular at illustrations that Paul used from the Old Testament in order to help the church in Rome understand this essential doctrine.
So, if you are able, please stand with me for the reading of God’s word this morning.
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.
3 For what does the Scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness.”
4 Now to the one who works, his wages are not counted as a gift but as his due.
5 And to the one who does not work but believes in him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted as righteousness,
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.”
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.
Let us pray!
(Pray)
As I studied not just the first 12 verses but the entirety of the chapter, I began to see Paul placing things in two’s. Starting off with two clear questions.
The first question being; “What did Abraham’s flesh earn him?” and the second question being; “was it by works that Abraham was justified?”
The first question; “What did Abraham’s flesh earn him?” is nothing! Nothing at all by which he could rightfully boast about before God.
And the second question of; “was it by works that Abraham was justified?” The answer is clearly; No! it was by his faith. According to Genesis 15:6
6 And he believed the Lord, and he counted it to him as righteousness.
So, nothing according to Abraham’s flesh; meaning by any of his natural efforts or legal obedience, made Abraham righteous before God, it was through faith alone.
Paul argues, If works were the ground for Abraham’s justification, he would have a case for being able to boast; but it is clear that he had none in the sight of God, even if He could brag before all the rest of creation, according to Paul in our passage today. It follows that Abraham could not have been justified by his works.” And to this the entire Word of God agrees.
This sort of poses a problem for the Roman Catholic, and the Protestant Arminian. Abraham’s prayers, sacrifices, even the sacrifice of his own flesh, did not count him as righteous before God. Righteousness before God was found only through faith in God.
The problem this poses for the more modern Romish expositors and Arminian Protestants is that many of them believe and teach that this means God accepted Abraham’s act of believing as a substitute for complete obedience.
But, this notion is at complete odds with the message of the entire Roman letter, and the Apostle Paul’s teachings as a whole. In other words, Abraham’s act of believing, which is their way of saying that believing in and of itself is a work, was a way of getting around not being totally obedient.
This idea is at odds because, the whole argument Paul is making is that, faith is set in direct opposition to works, where the matter of justification is concerned.
In fact, John in chapter 6 of his gospel in vs 29; and in 1 John 3:23, speaks to the act of believing as the obedient result of true belief in what God has commanded.
1 John 3:23 says
23 And this is his commandment, that we believe in the name of his Son Jesus Christ and love one another, just as he has commanded us.
And so, the meaning here is plainly that Abraham believed in the promises which embraced Christ Himself. Promises such as Genesis 12:3
3 I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”
and promises like that found in Genesis 15:5
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.”
All these promises set up for and embrace the coming Christ.
So, in no way form or fashion is it by our works that we are justified into salvation. It is by the grace of God alone, by which we are brought to faith, and in that faith alone are we justified.
Paul says basically that if it was something we earned then we are owed it, but we cannot earn it and so this salvation that every born again believer shares in is a free gift of God.
There is a common lie amongst those that believe that it is by works we are saved, and they share that not only with other ill informed professing Christian’s, but also with every false religion the world has ever known. And that is the lie that salvation is bought in installment plans. One good deed, one prayer at a time.
The word of God is clear. We are justified by faith. And as many of you remember from James, that faith does produce works. But, it is not by works we are justified before God, it is faith.
And so, Paul is not disagreeing in anyway with James here. Nor was James disagreeing with Paul concerning how we are saved. On the fact of faith alone being our justification, they are in total agreeance.
Furthermore, what we are seeing Paul do is offer Abraham as the true example of salvation, while at the same time providing evidence that works follow those justified by faith.
He then follows this example up with another Old Testament reference David through quoting the Psalm 32:1-2
1 Blessed is the one whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered.
2 Blessed is the man against whom the Lord counts no iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no deceit.
Paul in the Greek translates that last part as
8 blessed is the man against whom the Lord will not count his sin.”
David’s point is clear as he sings of God’s pardon apart from the works of men towards receiving righteousness.
Here in Romans 4 Paul shows us our justification by faith not as a new sort of justification, but as the standard set for justification through both Abraham, and David.
Not through prayer, nor through deed are we saved. These are simply natural responses and evidences of the free gift of faith God grants us by His grace, and by which we are saved.
As Paul moves into chapter 5 he continues his Old Testament comparison to drive the point home of justification by faith alone. Speaking in terms of the blessed effects of Justification.
1 Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.
2 Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God.
3 Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance,
4 and endurance produces character, and character produces hope,
5 and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.
6 For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly.
7 For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die—
8 but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
9 Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God.
10 For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life.
11 More than that, we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.
That first verse there in chapter five says “we have peace.” In the Greek
“ ἔχομεν εἰρήνην ” which is possessive meaning that we have peace, but it also expresses a possessive declaration, which is why some of the early transcripts translated it as more of a victorious declaration; “let us have peace.”
In other words we have peace and let us have it! We have something to boast about in our peace because it stands apart from anything that anyone of us can do, because we do not deserve it. Furthermore, it stands apart from anything we are worthy of, but, because of God’s free gift of grace, we have peace because of our justification through faith alone!
We have peace, and let us have it!
And so, now we see two forms of peace as we read the 5th chapter.
First we have peace because we have a change in God’s relation to us. We were once lost but now we are found, or as Paul says it in Romans 5:8
8 but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
We did nothing to deserve His love, and we can do nothing to deserve the restoration that is offered through Christ Jesus, and yet He does love us, and He loved us even unto the point of death on the cross. Dying in our place.
Once we are justified through faith, we have a peace because we know our eternity has changed, because our relationship with God has changed. We are adopted children of God!
Next we see that we have peace as a consequence of our change in relationship with God, which in turn results in a change on our part towards God.
This idea is seen again later on verses 18-20, but also in 2 Corinthians as well.
First God reconciles us to Himself by Jesus Christ (2 Cor. 5:18)
18 All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation;
So, God calls us, gives us faith, and we are justified. Our response is that of faithful and good works. A response of our reconciliation to Christ.
You see we do not do good works to be reconciled. The believer does good works because they are reconciled to the only name by which we are saved, Christ Jesus!
In other words; while every believer works and our lives change, this is a result of salvation, and not the thing that saves us.
So, we have peace and can glory, even boast in the triumphant hope of the glory of God. Even in the midst of our tribulations, we can and should remember we are reconciled, and rejoice saying; “we have peace!” Counting it all as joy my dear brothers and sisters because we rejoice in our reconciliation before God almighty!
How? (pause) Why?
Well the How is given to us Romans 5:2-5
2 Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God.
3 Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance,
4 and endurance produces character, and character produces hope,
5 and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.
And why this is possible;
6 For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly.
7 For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die—
8 but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
and so, we have two distinct ways of hope that happen in two distinct stages.
The first is immediately upon believing, as we now have access with God!
Next we have the evidence that is proved within our faith as we endure trials sent not to torture us, but to test and strengthen us..
And so we find these hopes by 1st looking away from ourselves and towards the person of Jesus Christ, seeing things objectively. Next we look subjectively upon ourselves, and will find peace in seeing what God has done in us.
The first being the assurance of our faith, and the second being the assurance of evidences of God’s good work in us.
Today, if you are saved, Paul says you should both have peace because salvation is permanent and assured. And you should be able to reaffirm that peace with the evidence of the changing work of the Holy Spirit in your life.
If either one of these points are points of concern for you, then I would love to speak and pray with you at the close of this mornings service. Whether here at the alter, or one on one after service.
Look, empty hope brings shame. If you are or were a gambler you know exactly what that is like. But hope in the assured brings peace!
Why?
Because of God’s love for us according to Jn 7:38; Titus 3:6.
And so, God’s word maybe hitting you in different places and in different ways this morning.
If you are unsure of your salvation, and this message is reminding you of that, and in your life there is no peace. Then I have a question for you. Why is that? Salvation is assured, so why are you in doubt?
Could it be that you are not saved? Are you realizing as you look at your life you find no peace where God is concerned?
If so, then again, please consider where you will be in eternity if tomorrow never comes for you. Please hear the word of God, and if you have ears to hear, then hear what God is saying and revealing through His word.
In contrast, even if you just finished one of the worst weeks of your life. Even if tried, tempted, and tested like never before, You are looking at the assurance of your faith in Christ and you find peace. And you should also, be able to look at the convicting, life changing work of the Holy Spirit of God in your life and say with out a doubt. I am a wretch and there is no way this is a product of me. And in that very real assessment once again find peace.
As the praise team works their way up here this morning. Where are you? Do you look and find reason to doubt? or is there the blessed assurance that Jesus is mine?
With every head bowed and every eye closed. As we get ready to pray and then sing in worship together, please take the opportunity to test your peace this morning. Test your hope. Has your walk with Christ been a sham? Do you find shame where there should be glory?
Maybe you have never even pretended to be a believer, and this morning you look at your life in light of what Christ has done, and know you are lost. This invitation is for you as well.
For those of you that do have the assurance of your salvation. Maybe it has been a while. Maybe you have never heard or understood the scripture this way, and you are saying; “pastor its been way to long since I have laid claim to the peace that is mine.” To day let your prayer be “let us have peace.” As you reflect on all that God has done ,and is doing in your life.
No matter where you are at this morning, this is one that is for you. And there is the assurance of peace in Christ Jesus.
So, as the worship team plays and sings. Let your hearts be focused on Christ, and let your peace be found in him.
Maybe you are saying; “I don’t know where to begin.” Then I want, and would love to talk and pray with you. But this is not going to be a time where we play intentionally emotional music and I guilt or pressure you. After all, it is the work of the Holy Spirit. Not a work of mine or anyone else up here.
So, while I plead with you this morning, I also understand that it is God’s work not mine. All I ask is that you obey God as we pray, and follow Him when and where He leads.
Come this morning as the Holy Spirit of God calls.
(Pause)
Let us pray....
Heather is going to lead the church in worship this morning. Every believer please join in, or pray for those that God maybe working on this morning.
And if you do want to come up, the alter call didn’t end when we said amen. Nor is it done when we shut this building down today. It is open whenever and where ever you are. If you want me to pray with you then call and myself and least one other will meet you.
Lets worship together in song.
