The faith of Abraham Romans 4:1-8

Romans 3:28-31

“28 For we hold that one is justified by faith apart from works of the law. 29 Or is God the God of Jews only? Is he not the God of Gentiles also? Yes, of Gentiles also, 30 since God is one. He will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through faith. 31 Do we then overthrow the law by this faith? By no means! On the contrary, we uphold the law.”

Romans 4:1-8

Friday I had the wonderful pleasure of having lunch with the pastor from Trinity, Dan Rifenbark. He was curious about what I’ve been teaching you here and when I told him we’re going through Romans he said “you’re braver than I am”. I don’t think that bravery has anything to do with this book. Yes it’s a heavy hitting book, but it has a lot of meat and potatoes. One of the definitions of pastor I’ve seen is “feeder”, we are feeders of the flock, and I don’t know any tastier or more satisfying meal than steak and potatoes.

Romans 4:1- 3

Paul is going to use the Jews greatest forefather as the prime example of faith in God and the righteousness that would follow. Again the question of works is being addressed here, that if Abraham had been made righteous because of his works he would have something to brag about in front of all except God himself. Paul is quoting Genesis 15:6 “And he believed the LORD, and he counted it to him as righteousness.” also if you think about all the times that one of God’s people in the Old Testament was preaching to the un-circumcised, the first thing they would focus on was believe in God. You see, Abraham’s relationship with God is a prime example that even in the Old Testament God was more concerned with our hearts and minds, than our physical bodies. Abraham was made righteous not by his deeds, but by his faith in God. His deeds proved his commitment to God. Likewise our deeds should be reflecting our commitment to Christ.

Romans 4:4

We now see that the ones who believe that their deeds will save them, those deeds are not catalogued as gifts to God instead it is their duty to perform these things. We as humans have a tendency to believe that if we do certain things then we deserve something in return. The basis of love is to do something for another without expecting anything in return. That is why I believe that the law of faith can be so difficult for people to comprehend, we’re trained early on to get anything we must first do something. In the working world that is the very idea needed to be successful, but it’s a poor motive for spiritual living. Jesus Christ died on the cross without being asked to by any human; he gave himself entirely to us without us asking him to do it. That’s love, giving something in exchange for nothing, but in the end we will receive everything. Now let’s look at righteousness by faith.

Romans 4:5

Paul gives us the base of proper belief in Jesus, that it’s our faith in Jesus that will make us right with God the Father, that we can’t do anything to gain that gift from God unless we have faith in Christ. This isn’t to say that once you have faith in Jesus that you don’t have to do anything, it’s quite the opposite, that’s when the real work comes. The work of evangelism is a job for us all, to speak the loving word of our Lord Jesus to all who don’t know Him it’s our job to love the world and everybody in it.

As I said last week love is an action, happiness is a feeling. The word “Love” has become a word more closely resembling euphoria, which is a sensation of extreme happiness. We know this by the reckless use of the word. Look on Facebook especially when it comes to younger generations. It’s thrown around like confetti at a party.

So our works are to teach God’s love, Jesus’ sacrifice and to love one another. Then Paul goes onto to remind us of what David said in Psalms 32:1, 2.

Romans 4:6-8

Psalms 32:1-6

1 ¶ «A MASKIL OF DAVID.» Blessed is the one whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. 2 Blessed is the man against whom the LORD counts no iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no deceit. 3 For when I kept silent, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long. 4 For day and night your hand was heavy upon me; my strength was dried up as by the heat of summer. Selah 5 I acknowledged my sin to you, and I did not cover my iniquity; I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the LORD,” and you forgave the iniquity of my sin. Selah 6 Therefore let everyone who is godly offer prayer to you at a time when you may be found; surely in the rush of great waters, they shall not reach him.

Even David understood the heart of God even before Jesus. In there we see the basics for repenting of our sins, and asking for God’s forgiveness of them. Isn’t it amazing to think that even before Christ’s death on the cross that God loved us so much that he sent messengers before hand to prepare the way for Jesus thereby preparing a way for us? God has had our spiritual well being for us in his sights since the beginning and will in the end.