WWUTT 1218 The Promise for Us by Faith? (Romans 4:19-25)

Abraham believed God and it was counted to him as righteousness. And these words, it was counted, were not just meant for Abraham, but were also meant for us who believe by faith. When we understand the text.

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Here's our host, Pastor Gabe.

Romans 4 and the Promise of Righteousness by Faith

Thank you, Becky. All right, everyone, we're finishing Romans chapter four today. I'm going to begin by reading verse 16 and we'll go to the end of the chapter and then pick up where we left off yesterday.

The Apostle Paul wrote to the church in Rome, that is why it depends on faith in order that the promise may rest on grace and be guaranteed to all his offspring, not only to the adherent of the law, but also to the one who shares the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all.

As it is written, I have made you the father of many nations in the presence of the God in whom he believed, who gives life to the dead and calls into existence the things that do not exist. In hope, Abraham believed against hope that he should become the father of many nations as he had been told, so shall your offspring be.

He did not weaken in faith when he considered his own body, which was as good as dead, since he was about a hundred years old, or when he considered the barrenness of Sarah's womb. No unbelief made him waver concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God, fully convinced that God was able to do what he had promised.

That is why his faith was counted to him as righteousness, but the words it was counted to him were not written for his sake alone, but for ours also. It will be counted to us who believe in him who raised from the dead Jesus our Lord, who was delivered up for our trespasses and raised for our justification.

So yesterday it was about verse 19 I think that we concluded, he did not weaken in faith, the he here being Abraham of course, Abraham is our example of understanding that the righteousness that we receive is by faith and not by works.

Abraham did not weaken in faith when he considered his own body. Remember yesterday that we read from Genesis chapter 17 because it was there that God had promised Abraham he would be the father of many nations and the way Genesis 17 starts verse 1 it says when Abraham was 99 years old the Lord appeared to him and said I am God Almighty walk before me and be blameless that I may make my covenant between me and you and may multiply you greatly and Abraham fell on his face before God and God said to Abraham behold my covenant was is with you and you shall be the father of a multitude of nations.

Now the Apostle Paul talks about in Ephesians chapter 3 how this understanding of how God was going to bring Jews and Gentiles to himself together was a mystery before Christ like the Jews didn't understand how this was going to come about.

It wasn't until Christ came and what he accomplished on the cross and then what the apostles went out and preached that people began to understand it is by faith that Christ has brought the nations to himself.

The Jews thought it was going to be that Israel would be raised up as this Empire nation like it was under David like it was under Solomon and so whoever blessed Israel would likewise be blessed. That's what God even says to Abraham whoever blesses you I will bless.

So that's what everybody thought. Well this this many nations thing it must be through Israel whoever blesses Israel will likewise be blessed. But now this mystery has been revealed to us Paul says in Jesus Christ it is by faith in him that many nations have come into the presence of God.

He is the one who gathers not by the blessing of blessing Israel. It is the blessing of God through our Lord Jesus Christ. By faith in Christ Abraham has become the father of many nations. Behold my covenant is with you and you shall be a father of a multitude of nations.

No longer shall your name be called Abraham but you shall be called Abraham for I have made you the father of a multitude of nations. The name Abraham means father of a multitude. Abraham is father Abraham is father of a multitude.

And so we know that this has come to be through our Lord Jesus Christ not through Israel. It was through Israel that the Savior came our reconciliation with God. How God has gathered Jews and Gentiles together to himself and made us one nation a new nation a holy nations the way Peter puts it in first Peter 2 9.

God has done this through faith in Jesus Christ. So it is by the same faith that Abraham had in God that we have become this nation in the Holy Spirit. In hope he believed against hope that he should become the father of many nations as has been told to him.

So shall your offspring be. He did not weaken in faith when he considered his own body which was as good as dead. Since he was about a hundred years old 99 specifically when we read in Genesis 17 1 or when he considered the barrenness of Sarah's womb Sarah was unable to have children.

She was physically unable to have kids and yet when she became pregnant with Isaac if this had happened in a modern context and even with our modern medicine that we have any of our modern doctors and all of the knowledge that they have with all of the the science that is in front of them and our medical accomplishments and applying all of this to studying Sarah and how this woman who was 90 years old was able to get pregnant and have a child.

This woman who was barren and it says in Genesis that the way of women was no longer with her. If any of these medical doctors today had examined Sarah back then they would have said this is a miracle.

This is impossible. There is no physical way for this to have happened. Sarah could not have become pregnant. And yet she did. And how was that? How is it possible that she was able to become pregnant?

Because of what we read yesterday back in verse 17. God gives life to the dead and calls into existence the things that do not exist. Man doesn't do that. You don't do that no matter how much the word of faith heretics take this word and twist it and try to convince you that you can speak your reality into existence.

That's not what that verse means. That verse means it is God who gives life to the dead and calls into existence the things that do not exist. And so if you put faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, then he has risen you from the dead.

God raises you from the dead where previously you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked. But by faith in Christ, God has raised you from the dead. And he has called into existence the things that do not exist.

What are we talking about there? A heart that loves God. That didn't exist before you heard the gospel and believed by faith. And God called into existence into your heart saving faith where previously there was none.

Now this is the God who saves, who calls into existence the things that do not exist. It's how he created all things. He spoke into the void, into the nothing, said, let there be light. And there was light.

God created the heavens and the earth. He spoke light into existence. He spoke all the rest of creation into existence. And behold, God saw that it was very good. God is the one who does this, not man.

You do not speak your reality into existence. Your words have no power in this way. You believe in God by faith and he is the one who raises you from the dead. And so in verse 19, Abraham did not weaken in faith when he considered his own body, which was as good as dead since he was about 100 years old, or when he considered the barrenness of Sarah's womb.

For God is the one who raises the dead and brings into existence the things that do not exist. So this child that she was given, the child of the promise, was a miracle. No unbelief, verse 20, no unbelief made Abraham waver concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God.

And so likewise, since we're being told here that we are to be as our father Abraham, likewise, we must understand that we are to grow in this faith. Abraham matured in his faith. He grew in his faith.

He did not despair, but he continued to cling to God. And we need to do that as well. We need to grow in our faith. We need to grow in righteousness. We need to grow in our learning and understanding of God, which happens through his word.

Jesus prayed in John 17, 17, sanctify them in your truth. Your word is truth. To be sanctified is to be made more holy. And we grow in holiness and righteousness when we study the word of God, when we apply it on our hearts, when we put our faith in him, according to what is said in his word, and we do not doubt.

James 1, 6 says this. Well, let me go back to verse 5, James 1, 5. If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God who gives generously, calls into existence things that did not exist, right? He gives generously to all.

Where you were not wise, you are given the wisdom of God. He gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given to him. But let him ask in faith with no doubting. For the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind.

For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord. He is a double-minded man, unstable in all of his ways. There seems to be some sort of nobility in doubting. Like if you have a confidence in God, that's considered to be arrogant.

But if you want to be humble, if you want people to like you for your faith and not think that you're some kind of fuddy-duddy that's trying to bop everybody else over the head with your Bible, then you've got to have a little bit of doubt in your heart.

You've got to have a little bit of willingness and openness for God to surprise you, to throw something in there that you did not expect, so that you're not walking around acting like that you've got it all figured out, but you've got more things to learn.

So in order to have that kind of attitude, you've got to have a little bit of doubt. Nonsense. Because James explicitly tells us here, Ask God for wisdom, knowing that he is the one who gives generously to all without reproach, and he will give it to him.

But let him ask in faith with no doubting. For the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind. A person who's constantly changing, who is not fixed, who is dashed against rocks, who comes in and goes out and goes up and goes down.

See, that's exactly the person of doubt that is being described by those people who say that you have to have doubt. You have to be willing to be open-minded so God can surprise you and things can change.

See, that's a person who's being tossed by the wind, who's swirling around like the waves. That's a person who doubts. Let him ask of God without doubting, and it will be given. That person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord, the person who doubts, because he's a double-minded man, unstable in all of his ways.

Our stability is according to the Word of God. And we have confidence in this. It's not a confidence in ourselves. It's a confidence in what God has said and what he has promised according to his Word.

At the end of the Sermon on the Mount, the parable that Jesus gives is of the rich man and the foolish man. Or, sorry, it's not the rich man and the foolish man. It's the wise man and the foolish man.

The wise man built his house upon the rock. The foolish man built his house upon the sand. When the wind and the waves and the storms came against that house and beat against it, the one that was built on the rock stood firm.

The one that was built on the sand was destroyed and wiped away. And we need to have a life that is built on the rock of Christ, that is stable, it is sure, it is steadfast. These things don't come by doubting.

They come with confidence in Christ. Hebrews 10 .35 says,. Therefore do not throw away your confidence, which has a great reward. And it's not just confidence in the abstract. Like, all you need to do is just be sure of something.

Just be confident. And it will be yours. We have to have an object of our confidence, just like we have the object of our faith. And that object is Christ. Be confident in Christ. What God has promised according to his word.

And that promise that was given to Abraham will be given to us as well. We likewise become children of promise. No unbelief made Abraham waver concerning the promise of God. He grew strong in his faith and gave glory to God, fully convinced that God was able to do what he had promised.

Are you fully convinced that God will do what he has promised to you? That he will forgive you your sins? And has forgiven you of your sins if you're a follower of Jesus? That he will raise you from the dead?

That he has seated you in the heavenly places where Christ is? And when Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory. Colossians 4 .4. Do you have confidence in these things because God's word says that they are so?

Because you believe in Christ and these are all the promises that you receive as an heir to that promise. Believe, just as Abraham believed, fully convinced that God was able to do what he had promised.

So you must be as well, fully convinced in God. That is why his faith was counted to him as righteousness, as it says in verse 22. But the words, it was counted to him. Were not written for his sake alone, but for ours also.

It will be counted to us who believe in him, who raised from the dead, Jesus our Lord. It will be counted to us. We have the righteousness of God. We're able to stand in his presence. We can call upon his name.

He hears us. We have fellowship with him. We have the forgiveness of sins. We have the promise of eternal life in his imperishable kingdom, where death and destruction and even temptation and sin, evil, all of this stuff will be no more because all the former things will have passed away.

Let me read to you exactly where we get this from in Revelation chapter 21. Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.

And the description that we have here is of the church, the saints who have been sanctified and prepared for the bride groom. And I heard a loud voice, verse three, a loud voice coming from the throne and saying, behold, the dwelling place of God is with man.

He will dwell with them and they will be his people. And God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes and death shall be no more. Neither shall there be morning nor crying nor pain anymore for the former things have passed away.

That's the promise that we receive by faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. And Abraham believed in this same promise, not a promise of an earthly kingdom, but a promise of a heavenly one. And that's what I read to you on Monday out of Hebrews chapter 11.

As it is, they desire a better country. That is a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God for he has prepared for them a city. That's the old Testament faithful that's being referred to there.

And likewise, we receive that same promise. The words, it was counted to him were not written for his sake alone, but for ours also, it will be counted to us who believe in him, who raised from the dead Jesus, our Lord, who was delivered up for our trespasses and raised for our justification.

We are justified by faith in our Lord Jesus Christ and by no other way. It is not by our works. It is not by our keeping the law. It is by faith in Jesus. That's Romans chapter four. Let us pray. Heavenly father, we thank you for giving us your son and that by faith in him, we stand before you as justified because of what he did on the cross for us being offered up for our trespasses, atoning for our sins, rising again from the dead so that we who believe in him might stand before you as justified.

You see us as innocent, washed clean and being sanctified, being prepared for that day when we will join our Lord forever in glory. So may we walk in holiness before you forgive us our sins and our trespasses.

Let us not ever make excuse for continuing in those things, but we put them all off. As we put on the new righteousness of Christ, we take off the old garments. We no longer live in those. We live in this righteousness that has been given to us.

The same righteousness that Abraham received by faith we have received as children of that promise. Continue to guide us as we go. And may we walk in paths of righteousness before you, loving others and walking with others who likewise believe by faith.

It's in Jesus name we pray.

Amen. You've been listening to when we understand the text with Pastor Gabe Hughes, Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday. Gabe will be going through a new Testament study. Then on Thursday, we look at an old Testament book.

On Friday, we take questions from the listeners and viewers. Tomorrow we'll pick up on an Old Testament study when we understand the text.