Together on Mission

Introduction

The word “saint” always occurs in the plural in our Bible.

Why does that matter?

Because we are on mission “together.”

But sad news is that Lake County Baptist Churches haven’t grown in decades; we do move memberships.

Could it be because we are far from the idea of “saints.”

Is that because we lack understanding of how make church work?

Where can we expect to get understanding about this lack for building the Kingdom?

The Bible tells us the work of the pastor gives people understanding.

ps 119 130 “The revelation of your words brings light and gives understanding to the inexperienced.”

I think our reliance on independence causes some to say, “Well I don’t like that too much. Who is this fellow that thinks he can tell me, teach me, motivate me, lead me.....”

One translation even says “gives understanding to the simple;” and that really does not fit too well with the haughty.

Now, I am speaking from the experience of one who often wrestles with the sin of pride.

ILL - I love words. As a boy I loved using big words to impress people. I quickly learned that words do have power, however, if used to make myself “feel bigger or better” than others, thats a sort of pride. I recall my mother’s instruction to “get off your high horse.” Those words, while a cliche, are pretty easy to understand. They mean, “stop acting like you are better than other people.”

TRANS - Do you know that people that think they are better easily fall into the trap of thinking they have what it takes to “get into heaven.”

In part, that is one of the dangers of pride.

People with it are the least likely to see it in themselves.

But in the church, the danger is pride makes it impossible to work with others.

We need to tell folks, “get off your high horse.”

ILL - Recently a church heard what the Bible said about them, their pastor, deacons, and how church unity is so important. Many heard what God said, and some hearts were changed and some good things were happening. However, two men failed to drop their desires for what they wanted their church to be like. Sadly, even with many offers for reconciliation, pride won the day and both men dropped dead on the same day.

The Jews in Paul’s time needed someone to get them back to reality.

They thought Abraham was justified by his works. They thought Abraham was an example of righteousness by works of the Law.

Today we’re looking in Romans where Paul removes there blinders showing them Abraham is an example of righteousness not of works, but of faith.

We’ll ask how this same sin of pride keeps the “saints” from trusting God to enough to join with other believers and attempt to do it all alone.

At the end of our time, I will ask you to examine your heart because today I will open up God’s Word and let His light shine.

Will you hold on to your pride or are you willing to let the preaching of the Word of God change you today?

I suggest you make up your mind before we begin.

PRAY

Faith for Abraham

Open your Bible to Romans chapter four.

Rm 4:1-5 “What then will we say that Abraham, our forefather according to the flesh, has found? If Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about—but not before God. For what does the Scripture say? Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him for righteousness.

Get this, Paul is stressing Abraham was justified by faith prior to doing the great works of faith attributed to him.

BAK - Let’s put what Paul is quoting from Genesis into context.

With 318 men Abraham victoriously defeated four kings and saved Lot.

Then, sort of like Elijah after his victory with the prophets of Baal, Abraham seems downcast. He was victorious, yet afterward seems depressed.

Maybe Abraham was thinking, “I’ve been at this for 10 years and where is that promised baby to carry on my name?”

But then, God speaks:

gen 15 1 “Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield; your reward will be very great.”

Now these were pretty uplifting words for Abraham.

Abraham, still wondering about his heir, did go on about his age and worried Eliezer of Damascus would inherit his estate.

Yet, while we don’t know how long it took, a decade or whatnot, at some point Abraham really, finally, truly, did believe he’d get that heir and it was “credited to him as righteousness.”

Our text continues:

Now to the one who works, pay is not credited as a gift, but as something owed. But to the one who does not work, but believes on him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is credited for righteousness.”

God was happy, even appearing as a smoking pot with a blazing torch passing between pieces of a sacrifice assuring Abraham of His promise.

WORD - The word we read “credited” is the English translation of a word appearing 11 times in this chapter in many forms depending on your translation.

It might be counted, reckoned, considered, imputed, or computed. The word means that righteousness was credited too Abraham because of faith.

Paul shockingly proves salvation is by faith alone and not by works devastating long-held ideas taught for ages among the Jews.

But, Paul’s not finished shocking the people.

Next Paul says God will justify the ungodly, the wicked.

ILL - How many Christians expect the lost world to behave better. I mean, I hear so much about how bad people in politics, in public schools, in social media, in the news media conduct themselves and that they need Jesus.

I want to ask,

“How many of those people are you well enough aquatinted to share Jesus?”

I mean, we do more praying for saints to keep them out of heaven sooner than we do trusting God intentionally building relationships with lost people.

TRANS - Ok, off my soap box.

Faith alone, the doctrine does not fit well with the typical individualistic personality or even with lots of religious people.

We wrestle with sharing Jesus with people that are “wicked” and “ungodly” just like the Jews of Paul’s day.

How important we recall the words from the next chapter:

rm 5:6 “For while we were still helpless, at the right time, Christ died for the ungodly.”

Like a successful business examines where they need to improve, I think it helps churches to to take a look at how we’re not advancing God’s kingdom.

TRANS - We looked at:

Faith for Abraham, next we look at

David’s faith, then how

God taught faith is for all people, then see how

faith is for the church today, and finish up

how faith impacts the mission of the church.

Faith for David

You may know that David was the great king.

However, David was not without sin.

This great king sinned against Bathsheba and Uriah and this was forgiven.

David did not deserve righteousness, nonetheless, God gave it.

Rm 4:6-8 “Likewise, David also speaks of the blessing of the person to whom God credits righteousness apart from works: Blessed are those whose lawless acts are forgiven and whose sins are covered. Blessed is the person the Lord will never charge with sin.”

Paul’s using a principle the Jews knew from their own study of Rabbinical interpretation of Scripture.

The principle says when the same word is used in two Scriptures, you can use it to help understand both passages.

Paul is saying that the word in Psalm 32:2 and Genesis 15:6 we translate as “charge, credit, count....” is applied to David.

Paul has more to teach them using their own special king and Scripture; in particular that this crediting was because of faith.

David broke the three commandments:

coveting Bathsheba,

adultery, and

murder.

The OT had nothing to help David out of the mess he created. Nothing existed to help him with his premeditated sin.

That is why David cries out:

ps 51:16-17 “You do not want a sacrifice, or I would give it; you are not pleased with a burnt offering. The sacrifice pleasing to God is a broken spirit. You will not despise a broken and humbled heart, God.”

David had nothing, no blessing, no way to get right, no hope.

Paul is saying that David is “blessed” because there was nothing for him except his faith.

See, nothing existed to atone for David’s sin. It was because David called out to God, sought God’s heart, and believed God could forgive him.

TRANS - Today we know that it is only faith in Jesus to those who believe that credits righteousness.

Keep this in mind as we consider out next point.

Faith for Gentiles

We’ve looked at two men, Abraham and David, who the Jews knew and whom were considered Jews themselves.

It might sound like righteousness is only for Jews, but that could not be more wrong.

Paul makes this incredible argument.

Rm 4:9-12 “Is this blessing only for the circumcised, then? Or is it also for the uncircumcised? For we say, Faith was credited to Abraham for righteousness. In what way, then, was it credited—while he was circumcised, or uncircumcised? It was not while he was circumcised, but uncircumcised. And he received the sign of circumcision as a seal of the righteousness that he had by faith while still uncircumcised. This was to make him the father of all who believe but are not circumcised, so that righteousness may be credited to them also. And he became the father of the circumcised, who are not only circumcised but who also follow in the footsteps of the faith our father Abraham had while he was still uncircumcised.”

Recall in Genesis 15 the promise of an heir?

Then in chapter 16 Abraham is 86 years old when Hagar had his child.

Chapter 17 says Ishmael was 13 when Abraham, his father, and all his household were circumcised.

Abraham was credited righteousness 14 years or more prior to being circumcised.

Abraham was declared righteous when he was a Gentile and before he became a Jew.

That means “faith alone” was a Gentile thing before it was a Jewish one and that “faith alone” is for all people.

It says that Abraham is father of both groups of believers because of faith.

Faith brings Jesus followers together!

ILL - In our Lake County Baptist Association annual meeting this past October we were blessed to have a special speaker named Chris Cooper. Chris spoke to us about his very easy to use Bless Every Home software. Basically you download an app that gives you a map of your neighborhood. Each day 5 homes light up with the names of the family in that home and prompt you to pray for them. As people become disciples, their light changes color. What’s cool is this is not a Baptist or Methodist, Presbyterian or Anglican thing, but a Jesus thing that Christians can use. It’s a great tool for Christians to know where we need to take Jesus right in our own neighborhoods.

The Florida Baptist slogan is “Better Together.” Your Florida Baptist Catalyst is Jeff Singletary. Jeff and I worked together answering Midway Baptists’ questions. And they had some really difficult ones! Today Midway Baptist is part of our association. Thats one way we are “Better Together.”

One of the best things, and we have many, in the church is our unity. Doing our thing with everyone else doing their thing.

TRANS - From great men among the Jews to righteousness for all people, Paul makes a great argument for faith alone.

Let’s now shift focus a bit and ask what does the Bible here say to the church and her mission?

Faith of NT Church

ILL - Amazon is always searching for better and faster ways to deliver products to customers. Never satisfied with the status quo, Amazon has tried several alternatives to UPS and FedEx. The company has asked the Federal Aviation Administration for permission to deliver packages via aerial drones. In November 2014, they were testing cab drivers for delivery in San Francisco and Los Angeles.

Believers could learn from Amazon’s dedication. We need to continually be looking for new and different ways to make the greatest delivery of all: the gospel.

Like Paul, we should have no bounds on preaching the good news.

In this next bit of the text Paul explains the Law has little to do with Abraham’s justification.

Like Paul, the church must keep before ourselves that God has enough righteousness for everyone, even the worst of people!

Look at our text:

Rm 4:13-15 “For the promise to Abraham or to his descendants that he would inherit the world was not through the law, but through the righteousness that comes by faith. If those who are of the law are heirs, faith is made empty and the promise nullified, because the law produces wrath. And where there is no law, there is no transgression.”

The Law came about 430 years after Abraham. There was no way Abraham could had said he’d obey the Law because it didn’t exist at his time. To promise to obey something before it existed would make that promise obsolete before you claimed to obey it. A little confusing sure, but keep it simple by saying you can’t make a promise when you don’t know what you are promising.

On top of not being able to promise what you can’t, Paul reminds the people the Law brings wrath.

Nobody can keep the Law, well except Jesus.

The Law highlights our need for help.

The Law defeats us, but faith brings life.

ILL - If I walk into this church, will I hear how bad the world is or how great is our God? Will I hear how bad people, politics, and places are today? Or, will I hear how bad you were, or are today, and how God still is good to sinners?

What is the message people are hearing from FBC Tavares? What keeps this church from growing?

ILL - As AMS I get to talk with lots of pastors and leaders. Do want me to tell you the greatest roadblock to effective church missions? It is this, people sin by talking bad about the gift of God. Yep, church people sin just like Paul’s Jews in our text.

Are you familiar with the 10 up and 10 down principle? Is says you identify with people 10 years older and younger than yourself and past that requires special knowledge.

I can’t tell you the number of churches I know where God leads them to find a younger pastor who knows how to connect with his generation and then refuse to support that pastor’s vision.

Instead of thanking God for the gift, Ep 4:11 Jesus “gave… pastors”, most work to prevent change as if they way they’ve done church was working. Why then did God call a younger pastor?

The sin part, if your going to speak badly about someone don’t do it behind their back. That’s the sin of gossip. Also, when someone starts that, I tell them stop talking trash in my ears they’re not garbage dumpsters.

Paul helps us understand that faith is better than Law.

He proved this by using Scripture, not by saying, “You be better to, or I think I’d like,” nor by going behind their backs gossiping.

Paul spoke Scriptural truth and taught one of the most important doctrines of the NT church.

Faith was credited as righteousness to Abraham, to David. Faith proceeded the Jews and the Law.

Faith is for all people!

Faith on Mission

Paul’s taking to a group that really hoped to keep others out; they wanted racial purity! Not something that would fly to well in todays society. They didn’t want the “unsavory folks” in their mix.

Reminds me of a story I read.

ILL - When Ana Maria Moreta Folch had problems with her neighbors, she took matters into her own hands and had their mobile home bulldozed. Moreta Folch told a heavy equipment operator that she owned the trailer that Maria Gottfried and her family were living in. Moreta Folch showed the contractor a key, and told him that no one was living there so she wanted the home destroyed. Gottfried came home during the demolition and called the police. She said she had owned the trailer since 2006 and had never given her neighbor a key. According to the arrest warrant, Moreta Folch had the trailer bulldozed because she believed the people who had lived there were unsavory and she suspected that they had broken into her car. She told police she considered it a favor to her neighborhood. Moreta Folch was charged with criminal mischief and was released on bond.

Mrs. Folch didn’t want “those people” even living in her neighborhood. Paul has to remind the Jews who didn’t want “those people” in their group that the promise by faith is for all who have faith like Abraham.

Rm 4:16 “This is why the promise is by faith, so that it may be according to grace, to guarantee it to all the descendants—not only to the one who is of the law but also to the one who is of Abraham’s faith. He is the father of us all.”

This is the BIG IDEA, “salvation is by faith alone.

Are there people today who need to know Jesus?

What are you willing to do to get them to Jesus, to get them into this church, and give up so they can?

That is, unless you do your part, this church is not fully doing what you can to reach people. This church does need you just like you need your hand, your foot, even your bottom side. Every part of this body, of this church is necessary for you to reach people for Jesus.

Sure the pastor and staff will do their part. The ones already doing something will probably do what they can, but this church needs you too!

How radically sinful are you? How has God taken you, radically sinful and given you faith?

Jesus saves people not because of any special trait, work, or look, but because of His mercy.

It was faith alone for Abraham, for David, for Gentiles before the Law and even today.

What God has done is your story of faith. That’s what you bring to this church. That is what you have to offer, and not of yourself, but because it is God’s gift.

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