Title: “Faith Alone” Script: Romans 4:16ff.
Type: Series/Expository Where: GNBC 3-7-21
Intro: Many people mistakenly think there is conflict between “faith” and “reason”. In their minds, “faith” is a synonym for credulity and even superstition, or even an excuse for irrationality. The British humanist, Bertrand Russell once quipped disparagingly : “Faith is a conviction that cannot be shaken by contrary evidence.” But is that really true? No! Although faith does go beyond reason, it always has a firmly rational basis. Faith is believing or trusting in a person or entity or object, and its reasonableness depends on the trustworthiness of that individual or item. It is always reasonable to trust the trustworthy, and there is no One more trustworthy than God! This is the lesson the patriarch Abraham learned in Genesis ( ). It is the lesson we all need to learn today. Our understanding should actually be easier than the patriarch, since we live after the life, death, and resurrection of Christ, Who proved His complete trustworthiness as the sole object of our faith. (From Stott, Romans, p. 133)
Prop: Examining Romans 4:16ff will demonstrate to us the necessity of faith for Justification.
BG: 1. Key word in Romans 4 is “reckoned”. From the verb “lego” – not Waffles! Means to put one’s mind together, calculations. Is God’s act of Justification. Declares God’s imputed righteousness and declared freedom from guilt. 2. References to Gen. 15 & 17.
Prop: Let’s Examine Romans 4:16ff to see the necessity of Justification by Faith.
I. 1st We See Faith’s Foundation vv.16-17
A. True Faith Only Works with Grace.
1. Justifying faith is narrowly defined. Read v. 16 – very narrow definition of faith given here. Justifying faith must operate with grace in order to be efficacious. “in accordance with grace” – grace – charis – can mean joy, favor, acceptance, a kindness granted. When we by faith, trust in the perfect work of Jesus Christ, God grants us favor and acceptance.
2. Illust: Many people will attempt to offer you help when going through difficult time by telling you the platitude: “Just have faith.” My response to that statement is: “In who or in what?” Some cosmic force? In faith? In myself? “In my dog?” “In the US government?” “In science?” No! “Just have faith.” Is confusing nonsense. In order for faith to be meritorious, in must be in someone or something that is credible and capable. Look to Christ!
B. Faith is Required by All.
1. The Apostle enumerates the universality of those who may experience saving faith. First he says it is for those “Of the Law” as well as “Those of the faith of Abraham”. Who does he mean by these designations? A. “Of the Law” means those Jews who have believed in Christ. b. The other group is Gentiles who have trusted Christ. Abram’s faith was a faith that operated before or without the Law, just as Gentiles did and do.
2. So again, notice the qualifying statement in this verse. “Of the faith of Abraham who is the father of us all.” Not just any “faith” that qualifies one before God. Rather, it is believing and having the same faith as Abraham had in focus. Illust: The Rabbis of Paul’s day had a phrase used to say: “What is written of Abraham is also written of his children.” What did they mean? The merits Abraham received by faith are equally applied to his children when they by faith believe on the same God the same truths.
C. This Faith is in God’s Power. V. 17
1. Abraham’s faith was not an abstraction. Rather, it was concrete-like in its solidity. It was focused on the unique power of God: “Who gives life to the dead”. In this context hope is used in two different senses. Hope in human ability and power (cf. vv. 19-21) versus hope in God's promise (cf. v. 17).
a. Nothing baffles 21st century man more than nothingness and death. Nothing causes the proud proclamations of modern existentialists and humanists more angst than their dread of the abyss of nothingness! We have seen this with crystal clarity in our world surrounding the Covid crisis. Death is the one event, in the end, which we have no control over and from which we cannot escape. So what do we do? We don our masks, we refuse to see our loved ones, we separate ourselves, we pray for vaccines and praise “Science”, we completely uproot the rhythm of our lives so that we may have one more day on this earth. Illust: Woody Allen epitomized this inability to cope with the prospect of death when he once said: “It’s not that I am afraid to die…I just don’t want to be there when it happens!” (Stott, p. 133)
b. Friend, nothingness and death are no problem for God! May I remind you that He made this world out of nothingness by the power of His spoken word! Ps. 33:9 “For he spoke, and it came to be; he commanded, and it stood firm.” And may I also remind you that it was out of death that He raised the Lord Jesus! Both the creation and the resurrection were and are the two greatest displays of God’s power. Remember the proclamation of the prophet Jeremiah 32:17 “Oh, Lord GOD! Behold, You Yourself have made the heavens and the earth by Your great power and by Your outstretched arm! Nothing is too difficult for You”
C. Applic:
II. 2nd We See Faith’s Focus vv. 18-19
A. Faith Looks to the Future. v. 18
1. Faith and Hope look forward.
a. There is a type of “blurred line” between the concepts of faith and hope. Gal. 2:16 says: ““We also have believed in Christ Jesus, in order to be justified by faith in Christ and not by works of the law, because by works of the law no one will be justified” (v. 16).”
b. Abraham, the old covenant saint died in faith, looking forward to the coming of the Messiah. He longed for the day when they would be able to realize Christ’s altar of salvation. He looked forward to the day when He would become a living heir in the kingdom of God. Friend, we New Covenant saints live in that day! Those of us who know Jesus are privileged to know this truth and experience it in Christ.
c. Today’s passage tells us that by faith Christians can partake of this altar because it is the altar of final atonement. On the Day of Atonement, the animals were burned outside the gate, prefiguring the day when our Savior would suffer on Golgotha, outside the boundaries of Jerusalem
2. Faith is Fulfilled in the Future.
a. Abraham believed God. He looked forward. He was not constrained by either his past or his present. His past was long and his present was unchanged.
b. Abraham believed against all hope and in all hope. God made a promise to Abraham that his descendants would be as numerous as the stars in the sky (Gen. 15:5) when as yet, not a single one had been born! Now how would you have reacted at that point? I am pretty sure I would not have responded well.
3. With the eyes of Faith we Look towars the Future and are not constrained by our present predicament.
a. Illust: 20 yrs. ago had a young woman in the church pursuing advanced degree at the U of I. We were having a special speaker come in for a weekend conference on love and relationships. Young lady came up to me: “Pastor, I am volunteering for the nursery for the entire weekend.” (After I was revived and got up off the ground!) I noticed a tone in that request. Not joyful volunteering, more a note of dejection and doubt. I asked her, “Say, Laura, that’s greatly appreciated.” “But can I ask you why?” Voice quivered with emotion. Tears welled up in her eyes. “Pastor, there’s never been anyone interested in me and there never will be.” “O Laura, don’t sell God short.” Within abut 1.5 months she was dating the man she would marry. What was her problem? She allowed her present and future to be constrained by her past.
b. Notice Abraham’s response: He did not become weak in his faith. He did not doubt due to unbelief. He became strong in faith.
B. Faith Looks Away from Self. v. 19
1. The Apostle tells us that faith is not fulfilled in self. We are to have no confidence in the flesh and in ourself.
a. Had Abraham looked to himself and Sara for confidence there would have been no hope. Their bodies were as good as dead for the purpose of child bearing! Abraham and Sara were only getting older and still no children. If there was no child at 75 yrs. of age, how in the world could believe for one at 99 yrs?! The couple were facing two very stubborn problems: 1. Abraham couldn’t beget a child and 2. Sara couldn’t conceive! They weren’t just dead…they were doubly dead for the task! Oh, but friend, God loves those type of odds! God loves to prove himself strong to those who love Him.
b. Illust: Don’t forget, God was the God of Gideon back in Judges 6-8. Let me ask you. If someone offered you a bet with your success being 1:400 would you take those odds? Of course not! Gideon had 32k soldiers to go up against a Midianite army that outnumbered him 4:1. Well, if that wasn’t tough enough, God lowered the amount of soldiers Gideon was to take into battle to 300! That lowered the odds to 1:400 ! Why? Because then, EVERYONE would know that God won the victory! Why did God allow Abraham and Sara to percolate (Better than ferment!) 25 years? So EVERYONE would know that He did it!
2. Faith Looks Away from Others.
a. Faith looks away from the scorn of others. In Gen. 17 God gives the Covenant of Circumcision to Abram and then does a seemingly strange thing: changes his name to Abraham! Now think about that. Abram meant “Exalted father”. Right! You’re 99 yrs. of age and have exactly 1 son and not by your wife! Abram probably saw a lot of people roll their eyes as they thought, “Exalted father, and he’s 99 and only has one child? Yeah, sure!” God appears the next day and gives new name! Abraham comes out of tent next morning: “I have a new name. God gave it to me last night.” Everyone is waiting, thinking, “Maybe he’s finally going to take a name that reflects reality!” Then Abram says, “My new name is Abraham, father of a multitude!” Maybe some of his servants turned their backs quickly and put their hands over their mouths to suppress their laughter. They thought, “The old man is losing it!” But Abraham believed God and His promise, even though it was humanly impossible ever to be fulfilled. Yet, we look back in history and was fulfilled both in the flesh and more important, spiritually through the descendants of the Seed of Abraham, Jesus Christ, with the gospel going around the world to every nation. But Abraham didn’t live to see any of this. He “died in faith, without receiving the promises” But his vision and his faith was focused AWAY from SELF and FORWARD UPON CHRIST!
b. Faith looks away from trusting any other than Christ. v.19b – Sara’s womb was dead. There is no hope for a 90 yrs. old woman to conceive. Your faith is not fulfilled in your friends. It’s fulfilled in trusting Christ alone! Illust: Summer of 1985. Had been a Christian about a year. Always worried about what my Christian friends thought and did. Wanted their approval. Kerry Bowman preaching: Specific call on life. 300 young adults. I will go forward if Glen and Doug go forward. (I am Glen’s God and I am Doug’s. Am I your God?)
C. Applic: If you ever need an argument for children having a sin nature, look no further than to a magnifying glass! Seriously. When kids, parents had one. My brother and I took outside in the sunlight. Adjusted the focal point. Then tried on grass. Then beetles and ants. Then each other! The point is, the sun was already there. The magnifying glass didn’t change one bit. However, changing the focal point harnessed the power of the sun. Friend, our faith needs to be focused. God is there. We are here. Yet, when we focus our faith on the Lord Jesus Christ and trust Him fully, He has the power to forgive our sins, reckon us as righteous and give us life over death!
III. 3rd We See Faith’s Finality vv. 20-25
A. Faith Gives Glory to God.
1. Biblical faith glorifies God. Abraham was strengthened in his faith the Paul says here by “giving glory to God”. When we are struggling with doubts and fears, faith looks to Christ’s promises and believes them! I known, some of you may be thinking, “But my faith is so weak sometimes.” “I don’t have nearly the type of faith Abraham did!”
2. Faith Gives God glory in the midst of sinful failings.
a. Let me remind you: “Gen. 15:5 that emphasized the surety of God's promise to Abraham about a son (cf. vv. 19-22). Remember that Isaac was born years after the promise, after Abraham tried to give Sarah away (twice, cf. Gen. 12:10-19; 20:1-7), after Abraham had a son with Hagar, Sarah's Egyptian handmaid (cf. Gen. 16:1-16) after both Sarah (cf. Gen. 18:12) and Abraham (cf. Gen. 17:17) laughed at the promise given! Did Abraham and Sarah have perfect faith? Not on your life! But, I thank God, salvation does not require perfect faith, but the object of your faith must be and PTL, Jesus is!
b. “All things around us are in opposition to the promises of God: He promises immortality; we are surrounded with mortality and corruption: He declares that he counts us just; we are covered with sins: He testifies that he is propitious and kind to us; outward judgments threaten his wrath. What then is to be done? We must with closed eyes pass by ourselves and all things connected with us, that nothing may hinder or prevent us from believing that God is true.” (Calvin, Rom. 1:20)
B. Faith is in God’s Promises. V. 21-25
1. Trust God’s Promises in the Face of Distraction and Opposition.
a. Illust: 1999 JFK Jr. flew his small airplane from NYC to his family home in MA for a wedding. On board were his wife Carolyn and her sister. Though Kennedy was a licensed pilot, he had not yet been approved for instrument flight (using only instruments to navigate). Takeoff was delayed until dark. Kennedy should have waited for daylight or sought a more experienced pilot. JFK Jr. took off into the darkness, never reaching destination. No survivors. Investigators determined that the crash was likely caused by disorientation from flying over open water at night without any landmarks or visible horizon and that JFK Jr. trusted his sight over his instrument panel. All of us face the temptation to walk according to sight instead of faith. Faith in Christ will keep us from crashing. Human reason will fail us at times, but God never fails. His Word keeps us on the right course as long as we obey it.
b. v. 21-22. tells us that Justifying faith is in God’s promises. Friend, genuine faith is not some vague abstraction. Genuine faith adheres to God’s promises despite a whirlwind of external distractions that seek to imperil it.
2. Faith IN Christ Brings God’s Righteousness.
a. vv. 22,23,24, we see that old accounting term used again: “reckoned”. V.22 gives us the culmination of Paul’s point: result of Abraham’s faith: “Therefore it was also credited to him as righteousness.” Paul repeats that verse in 4:3, 5, 9, and here. He alludes to it in 4:6, 8, 11, and 13. He has repeatedly mentioned “faith” or “believe,” often in contrast to human works.
b. Paul wanted his readers to know w/o a shadow of doubt, that by faith alone in God’s promise we are saved, and not by any works or merit added to it. Since God’s salvation is by grace through faith apart from works, we can join Abraham (in 4:21), “being fully assured that what God has promised, He’s able also to perform.”
C. Applic: Conclusion: In 1947 a rumor spread that the Ford Motor Company would give a Ford in exchange for every copper penny dated 1943. The rumor spread so fast that Ford offices throughout the country were jammed with thousands of requests for information. The U.S. mint also received a large volume of inquiries. It all turned out to be a hoax. The statistics of the mint show that in 1943 there were over one billion pennies minted from steel-zinc, but due to a copper shortage, the number of copper pennies was exactly zero. There has been a rumor abroad in the human race for centuries that entrance into heaven can be obtained by good works. But it’s not true. The fact is, there are no works made on earth that are acceptable in heaven. All of our works are tainted by sin. The only righteousness that gains entrance to heaven is the righteousness of Jesus Christ graciously imputed to sinners who believe in Him (Steven Cole, Donald Grey Barnhouse, Let Me Illustrate [Revell], p. 356).
