Sons of Abraham

Sons of Abraham

Review – Paul’s message so far

The core message of Romans, and everything that we’ve been talking about so far is that God’s righteousness is revealed in The Gospel message.

It is necessary, both because it is such a familiar term to those with a long-history as Christians, and such a foreign term to those who are new to the teachings of the Christian faith, to briefly define “God’s righteousness.”  Both its familiarity and its foreignness make it difficult to understand.  

“God’s Righteousness” has three senses:

  1. God’s “right-ness” – God is right, He is good, He is Holy, He is perfect. 
  2. Us being “right with God” – How to be like Him: righteous.
  3. God’s work in history and our lives to make us right with Him.

And God’s righteousness, in all these senses, is most clearly revealed in the Gospel, because The Gospel shows how the three are related. And a brief summary of our series so far will help show how they are related.

God is righteous in judgement because: 

  • He is mad at injustice and unrighteousness![1]
  • God shows no partiality between Jew and non-Jew.[2]
    • He judges all according to their deeds.[3]
    • He judges all by the same standard.[4]
    • No one gets special treatment in this regard.[5]
  • Everyone is guilty, when judged by God’s impartial standard![6]
  • All are justified by Grace, apart from their work, as a gift, through Jesus’s redeeming work, to be received by faith.[7]

Summary so far:

The only way to be right with God (justified), is to trust (believe / have faith in) God’s sacrifice of Jesus’ blood, for us, in payment for the penalty of our sin against him. There is no other way.

Faith Alone

Our passage today is one of the key scriptures that teaches the great doctrine of Salvation by Faith Alone. This is very important for us. We have a tendency, a gravity in our flesh, as humans, to believe that salvation must be earned by our deeds. Even as Christians, we fall victim with trying to earn God’s favor. Paul asks the Galatians “Having begun by the Spirit, are you now trying to be perfected by the flesh?”[8]

The bible’s message of Salvation by Faith Alone teaches us to rely not on our work, but on God’s work.

The final proof: What about Abraham?

So Paul’s teaching in Romans has raised the following questions for the Jews at the time:

  • If God treats everyone impartially, what is the advantage of being Jewish?
  • What about the fact that we have the law?
  • Then are we any better off than the Gentiles?
  • And the final question: What about the fact that we are children of Abraham?

4:1 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.”

(“Forefather according to the flesh” means “our physical ancestor”.)

“What does the scripture say?” Paul is quoting Genesis 15, so let’s turn back there. And actually lets start in Chapter 12.

Genesis 12:1–4
12 Now the Lord said to Abram, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. 2 And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. 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.” 4 So Abram went, as the Lord had told him, and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he departed from Haran.

Now if it feels like I am plopping down in the middle of a story without much context, this is actually pretty much how the scripture reads as well!  It is as if God picked a seemingly random nobody, Abram, from a small pagan family, and said, “I pick you” for a massive blessing. And Abram believes God! He gets up and goes. And in the process does a really stupid thing: prostitutes his wife out to Pharaoh to save his own skin. It is as if Abram forgot God’s promise of protection.

Then 10 years later, God reiterates his promise, and then elaborates:

Genesis 15:5–6 (ESV)
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.” 6 And he believed the Lord, and he counted it to him as righteousness.

God goes on to promise Abram the land of Canaan, and performs a ceremony to seal the contract, during which Abram falls asleep, rather than performing what would have been his normal part in the ceremony.

Abram is counted as righteous, because he believes God and his promise, not because he is a particularly good person, or because of his work in the process.  

So Romans starts to come into focus:

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.”

Defining “Boasting”

What the word boasting mean here? What Paul means by boasting here is having something to hold over God. Bragging to God about our performance, cultural heritage, etc.  Telling him that we have done something to deserve forgiveness for our sin, or have done something that earns his love and acceptance. This is saying that if it was Abraham’s deeds that made him righteous, then the scripture doesn’t make any sense, because the scripture says Abraham’s belief was counted to him as righteousness, not “Abraham’s deeds” were counted as righteousness.

Defining “belief”

Another key word that always can use some clarification is “belief” or “faith”, which really are the same word. We need to understand that this word means “trust”.  We also need to understand that “belief” always have an object. We believe or have faith in something. We trust some one or some thing.

This is opposed to how I think our culture tends to use the word. I think our culture uses the word “belief” more like “opinion” in some cases, or more like “intellectual assent” or “agreement” in others. This is not like “believing” in aliens or fairies: a childlike suspension of reality for the fun of it. It is also not like “I believe in gravity” which may be true, but doesn’t alter the way I live my life much. 

It is more like “I believe in this chair that I am sitting in”, to use a classic example. I trust that when I sit in it, it will not break under me. If I did not believe that, I would not sit in it.  

“COUNTED TO HIM”

We’re going to see this word “counted” several times. It is a key word. It is important to understand what it means. In this context here, when we see “counted to him” we should understand it as “credited to an account”. Something declared about Abraham. And we see in context that it was credited to the account, without having earned it or deserved it. 

So, “boasting”, “belief”, and “counted”. Each is an important concept today.

Abraham did not boast to God about his good deeds (because he had none to boast about!) Rather, he believed God’s promise, and it was counted to him as righteousness.

Central point: Righteousness is a gift, not payment for your work

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, 

It is going to be difficult for me to feel like I’ve said enough about these two verses. These verses are so utterly critical for your entire faith.  There is so much wrapped in these verses that I feel like I could spend the rest of this sermon pleading with you to believe them. In fact I might. In fact I think I could say that I’m going to spend the rest of my life in ministry pleading with you to believe what these two verses say.

I want to warn you that we are all born with a desire to earn it. To do things on our own, apart from God’s help. The very nature of our Sinful condition is a pride of independence. Think for a minute: What do you think you have earned from God? I wonder if many of us feel like we should be earning a $70,000/year salary from God because of how we are performing our Christian duties. (Or maybe a six figure salary! Or maybe we’re just above the poverty line!) 

In fact, what you are “earning” is actually more debt. Your deeds are racking up a tab with God, not earning anything. The prophets say, because of our sinful condition, even our righteous deeds are like filthy rags.[9]

The only thing God owes any of us is his wrath for our ungodliness. 

But the good news for us is that we have a God who is rich in mercy, who has graciously provided us with a promise of not just mere cancelling of his wrath, but righteousness as a gift if we trust in Him. 

Paul goes on to quote the Psalms:

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.” 

Note that this does not say that the one who kept all the rules is the one who is blessed. It says that the one who is forgiven is blessed. Forgiveness is the opposite of earning.

Who was Abraham’s blessing for?  The entire world.

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.

This blessing of having lawless deeds are forgiven are for anyone in the entire world who believes. Remember the pieces of Genesis we looked at? It says that Abraham was counted as righteous by faith, about 13 years before God even mentioned circumcision, which doesn’t come until Genesis 17. 

 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. 

You are Abraham’s sons if you share his faith in god’s promise

13 For the promise to Abraham and his offspring that he would be heir of the world did not come through the law but through the righteousness of faith. 14 For if it is the adherents of the law who are to be the heirs, faith is null and the promise is void. 15 For the law brings wrath, but where there is no law there is no transgression. 

faith is null and void if works work.

If the blessing of God’s promise was able to be obtained through keeping the law, faith would be useless, and the promise would be cancelled, for a few reasons: 1) no one has ever done it, except for Jesus. 2) The very wording of the promise to Abraham has nothing in it for us to do! It is an unconditional promise!  God guarantees this promise to all who walk in the footsteps of Abraham’s faith in this unconditional promise.

Romans 4:16-22
16 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, 17 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. 18 In hope he believed against hope, that he should become the father of many nations, as he had been told, “So shall your offspring be.” 19 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. 20 No unbelief made him waver concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God, 21 fully convinced that God was able to do what he had promised. 22 That is why his faith was “counted to him as righteousness.” 

A brief comment on Verse 17

This is a popular and key verse among the heretic “Prosperity Gospel” preachers such as Kenneth Copeland, Joyce Meyer, and Joel Osteen, who urge us to “call into existence things that are not” through the force of our faith.[10] This is a horrible bastardization of this verse. It is actual blasphemy to take this verse the way these preachers tell you to. They are telling you to put yourself in God’s place. 

This glorious verse urges us to share in Abraham’s hope in God’s promise no matter how impossible it may appear to you. 

But take care that it is something God has actually promised. I have seen many disappointed or mad at God for failing to come through on something they claimed as a promise, that God has not promised. Usually this happens through incorrect understanding of the scriptures, or being led astray by incorrect teaching of the scriptures. I have seen both in our circles.

THIS IS HOW ABRAHAM IS TO BE OUR EXAMPLE. 

I am so glad Abraham was given to us as an example. Think of it. He was:

  • Son of a Pagan (a Gentile!)[11]
  • A law-breaker
    • Prostituted his wife Sarah TWICE[12]
    • Was sexually immoral (with Hagar the slave)[13]
    • (And these are just the recorded things…)
  • Lacking in faith from time to time![14]

This is why his response is so instructive to us. And we are truly His sons, and heirs of the promise, if we share his faith. What was his faith like?

Abraham considered his circumstances, and his ability, and despaired of making it happen on his own, so, he reasoned, God is going to do it despite me. “He gave God Glory…”, rather than giving himself glory for his performance and ability…

“No unbelief made him waver…” He did not worry about his lack of ability to perform, or whether he deserved it or not. He took God at God’s word.

Application:

Verse 24 and 25 show us how this section is significant for us:

23 But the words “it was counted to him” were not written for his sake alone, 24 but for ours also. It will be counted to us who believe in him who raised from the dead Jesus our Lord, 25 who was delivered up for our trespasses and raised for our justification.

These last three verses tell us to “listen up.” That this is no mere story. That the Old Testament record was written for our sake.  Here’s how it applies to us:

The futility of trying to put God in our debt

The problem Paul is addressing is the “boasting” toward God (in their work / self righteousness).  Paul is pressing home the point that you must believe that you are ungodly.  God only justifies the ungodly. He does not justify those who think they have earned justification.

You must believe that you are a sinner, that your ungodliness makes you an enemy of God (as Paul says in chapter 5). You must believe that in His mercy, God has chosen you, called you, justified you, and cleansed you from your unrighteousness, through HIS work in Jesus, not your work. He has counted you as righteous, when in fact you were not.

Your obedience to God’s commands now, like Abraham’s circumcision then, all come as a faith-filled response of gratitude to this amazing promise of God. Your work does not win you a good standing with God.

Baptism is an act of obedience, a faith-filled response of gratitude for God’s work in you through Jesus. it does not cleanse you from your sin or bring you into the family of God. God does that.

Your church membership is an act of obedience, a faith-filled response of gratitude for God’s work for you through Jesus. It does not win you a good standing with God.

Your active participation in the Great Commission is an act of obedience, a faith-filled response of gratitude for God’s work for you through Jesus. It does not win you a good standing with God.

Your financial giving… …does not win you a good standing with God.

Your good moral behavior… …does not win you a good standing with God.

Your repentance from sin… …does not win you a good standing with God.

Your daily devotion time is an act of obedience, a faith-filled response of gratitude for God’s work for you through Jesus. It does not win you a good standing with God.

Your prayer to receive Jesus as your Lord and Savior was an act of obedience, a faith-filled response of gratitude for God’s work for you through Jesus. It did not win you a good standing with God.

If you are trusting any of these things, or anything else, you are attempting to “boast before God” and you do not share the faith of Abraham, and are not his son or daughter.

Now, to those of you who are trying to win a good standing with God with good behavior, or religious acts, or service to the church: you know the frustration you feel, and the despair you feel from failure. The constant feeling that you are not measuring, or maybe that no one is noticing. Do you know why you feel that way? Because you aren’t measuring up.  As chapter 3 says, you are falling short. Your work will never be enough. No amount of prayer will be enough. You can not “believe hard enough” to earn it. Good standing with God is a gift that He gives freely.

If you do feel like you are a pretty good person and in fact maybe are measuring up, and in fact don’t deserve death in hell for your sin because your sin is not big of a deal, you are deceived. You need to pray. Ask God to show you the true condition of your soul.

The joy and relief of not having to work for it.

Oh what a relief it is to know that our performance will never measure up! How marvelous and wonderful to think of how great our savior’s love is for us, that even though we were His enemies, He did all the work needed to bring us back to Himself! 

This is what faith that gets counted as righteousness is all about. Faith that stops trying to earn salvation is faith that saves you.

We talked a lot about Abraham as our example today.  I want to close by reading you an excerpt from a book we recently read through as a music ministry called “Rhythms of Grace”. I think it captures this whole idea very well.

When we hear the word patriarch or the majestic phrase “the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob,” we tend to imagine stalwart, bearded saints, whose character and faithfulness make them worthy of mention. 

But in fact, they are broken ne’er-do-wells whose significance goes to highlight that God is the one who remains faithful through thick and thin. He makes and keeps his promises, and our forefathers believe through tears and darkness. 

The song of the patriarchs is a song born of weeping, of too much drink, of long suffering, of hopeless sojourns and agonizing compromise. It’s not a song of affluence and triumph. It’s not the song of the saintly, sung in white robes and accompanied by choirs of angels and pitch-perfect orchestration. It sounds far more like drunken sailors, wailing a hazy lament in a land far from home, who look to the stars and feel the haunting presence of the promise, clinging to that twilit hope in spite of their circumstances, in spite of the curse, in spite of themselves. God is going to keep his word. They weep for it. They gnash their teeth over it. One even gets into a brawl with God and demands it.[15]

May the Lord help us to share their faith. Let us cling to our hope in God’s promise, despite our circumstances. 

Pray for that with me!

Notes

  1. ^ Romans, Chapter 1
  2. ^ Romans 2:11
  3. ^ Romans 2:6
  4. ^ Romans 2:12-13
  5. ^ Romans 2:16
  6. ^ Romans 3:23
  7. ^ Romans 3:24-25
  8. ^ Galatians 3:3
  9. ^ Isaiah 64:6, Zechariah 3:3
  10. ^ For example, various devotionals by Joel Osteen, which I will not link here, and Joyce Meyer’s 2008 book “Me and My Big Mouth”. Both of these identified and explained well in Hank Hanegraaff’s excellent book “Christianity in Crisis”.
  11. ^ Joshua 24:2
  12. ^ Genesis 12:11-15, Genesis 20:2
  13. ^ Genesis 16:4
  14. ^ See the above points and verses as evidence! A man who believed that God was going to protect him and make him great would not have feared for his own protection.
  15. ^ Cosper, Mike (2013-03-31). Rhythms of Grace: How the Church's Worship Tells the Story of the Gospel (pp. 45-46). Crossway.