Exposition of Romans 4:9-17

You know, we are family. And being family doesn’t mean that nothing uncomfortable ever happens, it only means that we enjoy the safety of dealing with those uncomfortable situations in the context of our commitment to love each other no matter.

So I see that we have some visitors present with us today. I want to ask your patience while I sort through a couple issues that we need to work out. Know that what I’m about to say is relevant to our members, and simply illustrates our church’s commitment to navigate the bumps of life together in light of our good and holy God.

IF No Visitors Are Present:

I have been hearing the whispers of gossip and criticism in our church. And I want to say that because of the nature of such whispers, I don’t know from whom they are coming, nor can I know the context of how they were said. Which means that I cannot approach anyone on a personal level to deal with these issues. And perhaps this is why such whispers are so destructive because they quickly slip out and go beyond how we meant them. But I need to respond to these things nonetheless because they are so destructive to Christian unity.

So my first request of everyone is that we examine ourselves on these matters to determine whether or not they are relevant to us on an individual basis. For some, my comments will not be personally relevant, but I ask that you listen nonetheless because I think we all will benefit simply from being reminded about these things.

First I want to deal the issue of grumbling: we are making a lot of changes here and trying to work out how best to implement those changes. So it is inevitable that not everyone will agree with or like the changes that are being made. I feel that we have gone to great lengths to make ourselves open to constructive input and feedback.

One criticism that I’ve heard is that the walls are too white. And I can understand how someone could feel that way. After-all, compared to the beige color before, they are much brighter. So what would be the appropriate way to bring this to our attention? Well, we announced our intention to paint the walls in December of last year, and between December and March we had meetings that were open to anyone to give us feedback on painting the walls. Then in March, we brought color-samples and after services everyone was allowed to come forward and pick their favorites. Then the next Sunday we painted a sample portion of the wall and asked for feedback. These would be the appropriate outlets for voicing your feelings about the paint. And this is why I’m encouraging as much participation in the ministry as we can get, so that you all have an opportunity to participate in and shape the things we do that matter most to you.

But once we have agreed on color and people have volunteered their time, their money, and their labor to paint the walls, criticizing their ministry is sinful precisely because it is so hurtful and discouraging. People donated the paint for these halls. People lent the materials needed to paint. And people volunteered their time and labor to do the back-breaking work necessary to paint the halls. To those who have been criticizing this service of love, let me ask you this question: did you do the work to paint the halls or offer any encouraging words to those who did? If “yes”, then you can see how such grumbling might make the prior seem disingenuous. If “no”, then you can see how discouraging it is to hear only complaints when you have invested so much in something like this.

Another complaint that I’m hearing is about the length of my sermons. And I want you to know that I am putting a great deal of effort into improving on my ability to be concise. I don’t preach 75 - 85 minute sermons because I think there is something intrinsically “good” about such sermons, I preach them because, at my skill level, that is how long it takes me to preach the whole counsel of God. And I preach in reverence for the holiness of God’s word. I want to be clear: there are some preachers I’ve heard who can preach the whole counsel of God in much shorter time. D.A. Carson is an example. I heard him preach through Hebrews and I marveled how he moved so adeptly through the text. But he has also been preaching as long as I have been alive and is considered one of the preeminent scholars of the English speaking world.

But there are many preachers who start with a time-frame in mind and discard whatever pieces of God’s word don’t fit into those time constraints. And in so doing they fail to preach the whole counsel of God. The result, I think, of such ministry is plainly evident in Christendom today. And I will be honest with you: I think it is both reprehensible and desperately foolish that Christians today cannot bear with sermons that dive deeply into God’s word, but rather, place a premium on “time” over “eternity”.

So I want to be clear that when you grumble about the length of my sermon, you are grumbling against my service to God. Let that sink in for a moment. When taken in light of the metrics God uses to approve of someone’s ministry, if my preaching is acceptable in God’s sight, then you are grumbling against the accepted ministry of God’s word. Do we not believe that Jesus is present when his word is proclaimed? Do we not believe that Jesus demands that we “humbly receive the implanted word which is able to save our souls”? Then ask yourselves where you find the audacity to grumble about the length of God’s word? Does Scripture suggest that short snippets are good and long expositions are bad? We know Paul preached until people were falling asleep out of windows. Some of you appear not to be living in the reverence that you should be living in as those who claim to follow Jesus.

Now there are too many whispers floating around for me to address right now: complaints about the live stream setup and so on and so forth. For those, if you have feedback, please come and give me your suggestions. Some of your feedback might improve our setup, which is what we all want. I will be happy to hear your recommendations. But these whispers are hurting the people involved in these ministries. And please remember, I am the only paid minister in this church, but I am by no means the only person investing a significant amount of time and work into this church. Your words are hurting other people.

My last comment on this before I turn to my second request is to call to your mind the seriousness of grumbling:

1 Corinthians 10:10 CSB

10 And don’t grumble as some of them did, and were killed by the destroyer.

Our carnal mind doesn’t give a second thought to grumbling or complaining because we don’t bother to think about how God is at work among us. We think, “oh, it’s just David preaching”, or “oh, it’s just them painting”. But this is to think atheistically. It is to say that God is not also at work among us.

I am certainly willing to develop this point at greater depth if anyone disputes whether or not grumbling is permissible Christian conduct, but I think we’ll all agree that it is not something that can be reasoned from faith.

So my second request is that if you have stood back and grumbled with an unthankful heart about the work that God’s servants are doing in this Church to serve him - this does not just include me, but it includes the ministry of all those who are working hard and giving freely of their time, labor, and money, then Scripture commands you to repent of your sin.

Here is what repentance looks like:

First:

1 John 1:9 CSB

9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

I believe this specifically calls for confessing our sins to God. Acknowledge what you have done before his holy throne and come to him to receive mercy. There can be no doubt in light of the cross that God will remove the memory of our sins as far away as the East is from the West.

Second:

James 5:16 CSB

16 Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is very powerful in its effect.

I believe this calls for confessing our sins to one another, specifically to those we have hurt, maligned, or undermined. Sometimes we think things about people that aren’t kind, but those thoughts stay mostly with us and so we confess them to God, who works to wash our souls clean from those sins. But other times, we do harm because we let those unrighteous thoughts go broad. In those cases, I think we need to confess to one another because it is the act of both confessing and forgiving that brings true spiritual healing to these matters.

If you agree with my assessment of Scripture on these matters, then I encourage you to humbly do what your faith leads you to do.

At this point I want to ask if anyone here in this Church have anything to add from God’s word to this picture?

BREATHE

Okay, now, I understand that was a really heavy way to preface this sermon. But as God’s people we are different than the world precisely because we are committed to walking together in love on the basis of God’s truth. Sometimes it’s necessary to have uncomfortable conversations when we see ourselves straying from God’s path.

I do think this was timely because today’s sermon is all about grace. And I think in light of this rebuke, it is necessary for us now to spend the rest of our time contemplating the grace of God.

Welcome

So given the time we gave this morning to the ministry God pressed upon me to fulfill, I’m going to dispense for time’s sake with my usual personal remarks and simply give you your assignments and April challenge so that we can get right into our sermon.

Assignments

Romans 4:18-25.

Challenge

In the month of April I am going to challenge everyone to do the work we are called to first in prayer. I think the subject of prayer is simultaneously both under-emphasized and cheapened by our constant empty references to the subject. Yet prayer is one of the three spiritual disciplines that Jesus taught his disciples to practice (the others being “fasting” and “giving”).

So this month I want you to create a friends-prayer list. Take some time to think about the people in your life that you know. You don’t have to know them very well, but maybe you have some kind of regular contact or business with them. And I want you to spend at least one day every week this year praying for these people to come to God. Be bold in asking God to even add them to this Church family. Pray with wisdom over these individuals.

So given these, let’s now get into God’s word, which I believe is timely and I hope will be exceedingly encouraging to everyone.

Pause > > > Go Live

God’s Saving Promise

Our sermon today is centered on the powerful grace of God. We bring all the weight and fallenness that we walk through in this world to place it here, today, before God’s word, so that God can speak life to us.

And God’s faithful promises are the bedrock of today’s message, which reassures us of our victory over this world when we wrestle against various discouragements and struggles. When we come face to face with our own shortcomings, or the wounds inflicted on us by those we love; when we walk the dangerous road to success, where pride lurks to consume our soul; or when we look around ourselves and feel surrounded by purposelessness; in all of these things, God’s faithful promise is the bedrock upon which we stand to overcome this world by faith.

Exegesis

As we prepare to read this section there are two observations to remember:

Verse nine: Diatribe - interlocutor

Engaging someone who insists that God’s forgiveness is based on the form of the law

He is dealing with a question that arises from verses 6-8

Resuming his Abraham case study

Case-studies like these require us to pre-load the character’s whole narrative in our minds

They’re used to demonstrate points that are seen in another character’s story

Justification Before Circumcision

Now that Paul has made his point that God gifted Abraham right-standing in his presence on the basis of his faithful response to his promises, Paul needs to deal with another objection by which some people sort of “back into” works-based salvation.

So let’s look at this objection:

Romans 4:9 CSB

9 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.

“Is this blessing” (v. 9): One of the dangers in splitting any of Paul’s arguments apart is that, because they are so interconnected, there is always the danger of missing what we call “the referents”; to what is Paul referring when he says “this blessing”?

He’s referring to the blessings that David celebrates in the Psalms:

Romans 4:6–8 CSB

6 Likewise, David also speaks of the blessing of the person to whom God credits righteousness apart from works: 7 Blessed are those whose lawless acts are forgiven and whose sins are covered. 8 Blessed is the person the Lord will never charge with sin.

In these Psalms David celebrates the blessing of God’s forgiveness and grace by which God covers our sins with his faithful love and does not charge us with our sins because of his mercy. And it is this blessing that we celebrate as Christians precisely because we have looked at our failures in the face and seen our deficiencies for what they are. We know what we deserve, but we also see what we receive, and it is glorious!

Such are the glories of God’s grace!

“Only for the circumcised, then?” (v. 9): So are the glories of God’s grace that wash away our iniquities and remove our guilt only for the circumcised? In other words, are these blessings reserved exclusively for those who have the form of the law that was based on these promises?

“Or is it also for the uncircumcised?” (v. 9): Or are the glories of God’s promised grace also available to those who did not have the form of the law that was based on these promises?

We should be clear that Paul is pointing out how the substance of God’s promises are realized before the content of the law was given. And it is this order that demands the point Paul is making that righteousness comes by faith and not the law.

I point this out because Paul will then return to set right out understand of the law’s purpose in chapter seven. If the law isn’t to establish righteousness, why was it given? We’ve already seen glimpses of his answer peppered throughout the first two arguments, but for now it is sufficient to simply note that the substance of God’s promises are realized before the content of the law was given.

“For we say” (v. 9): Two brief observations are warranted here:

First, Paul is quoting his own writings as having the authority to establish Christian doctrine. I was tempted to overlook this point for time’s sake, but this speaks to the question of when something became Scripture. Were the writings of the apostles considered authoritative for Christian life after the Church processed and approved of them? Or were they immediately received as authoritative for Christian life? I believe we see internal evidence within both Scripture and Church history that as soon as an apostle wrote something, it was immediately received by all who had access to those writings as authoritative.

Second, this quote is how Paul returns his argument to his case study on Abraham’s righteousness by faith. This means that the argument Paul’s about to make is about how Abraham was made righteous by faith, which is no surprise to any of us at this point since it has become quite clear that this is the all-consuming subject of Paul’s letter.

“Faith was credited to Abraham for righteousness” (v. 9): Now I think it might be helpful to reemphasize a point I made last week here. I was talking to Mary at lunch after worship last Sunday, and she commented on the meaning of the word “credited”. In today’s vernacular, I could very well do some work, let’s say I cleaned Tyrone’s truck, and he might credit my account with a free meal. The term “credited” today does not exclude doing work, and neither did the term in Paul’s day.

This is why it is important to properly observe Paul’s argument:

Romans 4:4 CSB

4 Now to the one who works, pay is not credited as a gift, but as something owed.

Paul’s point in this whole case study on Abraham is that the exchange upon which Abraham was set right with God was not his observance of the Law - remember that first century theologians and before had speculated that Abraham had God’s law in his heart (2 Baruch) - instead, the exchange upon which Abraham was set right with God was based on his faith. For this reason Paul says Abraham’s right-standing with God was “gifted” to him.

So because Abraham was set right with God when he believed him, and not when he kept the Law, we understand that our right-standing with God is his gift to us.

This is Paul’s essential point.

Romans 4:10 CSB

10 In what way, then, was it credited—while he was circumcised, or uncircumcised? It was not while he was circumcised, but uncircumcised.

“In what way, then, was it credited” (v. 10): At this point it becomes clear just how important it is to recognize the point of these case studies. Paul is basing his conclusions on the Biblical narrative about Abraham’s life. He is asking his readers to recall to mind various points in Abraham’s story in order to draw gospel-conclusions from his life.

“While he was circumcised, or uncircumcised” (v. 10): So we draw forward the story of Abraham that we pre-loaded into our minds at the outset of this lesson and recall whether or not Abraham was made right with God while he was circumcised or uncircumcised.

“It was not while he was circumcised, but uncircumcised” (v. 10): The answer to this question is not very difficult to ascertain. Abraham was set right with God when he believed his promises, and in positively responding to God’s word, God gave him his blessings apart from anything else he had done or failed to do.

I don’t know about you, but I think this satisfies all the deepest desires of the human heart. We long to know our Maker, but whenever we approach him in our current fallen states, we immediately sense our unworthiness. Only those who have never darkened God’s presence miss this point. He is holy. He is perfect. He is mighty, powerful, and glorious.

But God has given us a way to be set right with him on the basis of his grace. We are set right with God when we positively respond to his promises and affirm them in our life. Though we constantly fall short of his glory, and sometimes we fail to live up to our calling, either because of deficiencies in our understanding, or weaknesses in our flesh, God’s faithful love covers our sins and his mercy removes our guilt.

Yet God remains perfectly righteous. And those who, though knowing God’s will and understanding his word, repudiate God by knowingly resisting his will and willfully living out the very things God condemns, will find themselves speechless when God judges their unbelief! And, although this point does not satisfy the desire of the wicked, who resent God’s righteousness, it very much satisfies the desire of those who love God for who he is, which is a holy and just God.

So this is very good news. This is how broken, weak, and inadequate people are set right with a perfectly holy and just God despite their own deficiencies!

Romans 4:11 CSB

11 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 received the sign of circumcision as a seal of the righteousness that he had by faith while still uncircumcised” (v. 11): In refuting common misunderstandings about God’s Law and covenants, Paul is also intentional to correct those misunderstandings and set them right.

So if the form and signs of God’s covenant are not what made someone right, but rather, it is the substance of God’s promises that sets those who positively respond to and affirm them, then what was the purpose of these signs?

The purpose of circumcision was to function as a seal of the righteousness that Abraham received by faith while still uncircumcised. And so we understand the purpose of all covenantal signs; they demarcate our faith in God’s promises! I simply cannot state this point strongly enough: we understand the purpose of all covenantal signs as demarcating our faith in God’s promises!

So I want to pose a question to this case study that Paul doesn’t: “what if Abraham had not been circumcised?” I think it is simple enough to understand that circumcision was a seal of something promised, which is now received in Christ. Therefore, those who are in Christ no longer have need of this seal because they have the substance. Alright. That is simple enough. But what if those who were kept under that seal and were still awaiting its substance refused the seal?

Genesis 17:14 CSB

14 If any male is not circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin, that man will be cut off from his people; he has broken my covenant.”

So we must be exceedingly exact in understanding Paul’s point, because misunderstanding his point can have catastrophic consequences. Paul is not saying that Jews were wrong throughout their history for getting circumcised. He is also not saying that the law was mistaken in requiring circumcision. He is speaking about the point of circumcision, which was a seal meant to keep alive the faith Abraham had at the outset until the substance of God’s promises were realized.

Let me repeat that point: Paul is speaking about the point of circumcision, which was a seal meant to keep alive the faith Abraham had at the outset until the substance of God’s promises were realized.

In missing this point, many today draw parallels between circumcision and baptism, and wrongly conclude that baptism is unnecessary, irrelevant, or even suspect. I believe this is mistaken because baptism is the sign of Christ’s resurrection, is it not? Does Scripture not teach us that baptism anticipates the promised resurrection? Indeed, it does, and we’ll see that point at length when we get to chapter six.

I think we can see why these points must be handled carefully and at whatever length they require.

“This was to make him the father of all who believe but are not circumcised” (v. 11): And this point, that the point of circumcision was to be a seal meant to keep alive the faith Abraham had until the substance of God’s promises were realized, this point becomes the basis by which God reconciles the whole world to himself.

I am awestruck and floored by God’s wisdom here.

God conceived of a family, not on the basis of lineage, law, or culture - the things that define human understandings of family - but on the basis of our relationship to him. In other words, what kind of family are we entering? You may recall this question for last week. We are entering the kind of family that is defined by its relationship - its response - to God.

“So that righteousness may be credited to them also” (v. 11): Now Paul explains the purpose of God’s plan: the story of Abraham wasn’t just by happenstance, but it was designed by God to make a point: the point was to show us that we are made right with God when we restore to him our trust so that we live according to his plan, having placed our full confidence in God to make everything right.

So I have to emphasize again the superiority of the righteousness that comes by faith: far from accommodating licentious behavior, faith is the means by which we enter the fullness of God’s will, which transcends the full scope of the law. Can you imagine a law-book that detailed the right response to every question of life, no matter how small? Such a book would be impossible to manage.

Within faith we reason from God the answer to life’s questions.

And this is why, when dealing with the question of Christian liberty and matters of the conscience, Paul says everything must be reasoned from faith:

Romans 14:23 CSB

23 But whoever doubts stands condemned if he eats, because his eating is not from faith, and everything that is not from faith is sin.

So if you cannot do or say something by reasoning it from God, then to do or say it is sin. And this is what I believe gives room within the greater family of God for the kind of diversity in conscience and convictions that we see, not because everyone’s opinions are equally right, but because for those who reason them from a position of sincere faith, their standing before God will be based on his grace, not their own rightness. But for those who do or say things not by faith, but who live in a manner that comes from their own will, and their own opinions, no matter how theologically right they are on so many things, they stand condemned because they are not living by faith.

Romans 4:12 CSB

12 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.

“And he became the father of the circumcised” (v. 12): So we see that Abraham was, indeed, the father of the circumcised. But not in the manner that the Jews thought. You see, the Jews thought that Abraham was their father through circumcision. And, although he was the father of the circumcised, it wasn’t their possession of the sign that made them his children, but their possession of the faith that was transferred in the sign that made them part of this covenant family.

“Who are not only circumcised but who also follow in the footsteps of the faith our father Abraham had while he was still uncircumcised” (v. 12): I separated this verse because I wanted to make another brief point: I’ve noted how there are some movements today who, in looking for a way to justify Jews where they are, have concluded that Abraham became the father of two equally valid “nations”: he was the father of the Jews through the law, and he was the father of the gentiles through faith. So the Jews are made righteous through the law, and the gentiles made righteous through faith.

But Paul refutes this idea by making his point clear: “Yes”, indeed, “Abraham is the father of the circumcised”, but not through their circumcision, but instead, through their faith as they walk in the footsteps of his faith.

I trust the significance of these things is immediately clear.

Humanity is made one by our responsive relationship to God.

Approaching the Throne of Grace

When I stand back and look at the wisdom of God to accomplish salvation, I truly marvel. I don’t simply resign myself to God’s plan of salvation, I wholeheartedly rejoice in the wisdom by which God has reconciled our fallen world to himself!

God has given us the means to approach his throne of Grace, being escorted into his presence by the glory of Christ’s very own righteousness. We come boldly before his throne of grace, not because of our work, but because we have seen the glory of the one upon whom our righteousness hangs, and we are moved to even boast in about our confidence in him! We trust wholly in Jesus’ name!

This is the confidence I believe we are called to walk in through all the various seasons of life. When we are doing well and running smooth, and when we have fallen and scrapped our knees. We stand in the glorious grace of Jesus Christ.