Transcript
The book of Romans. And as you can see I cannot do too much damage today, there is only one verse, but you know. I know you were looking at the clock thinking how is he going to fit this in? But, only one verse, Romans chapter 4 verse 17. Paul says, According as it has been written – a quote from Genesis chapter 17 verse 5, I have appointed you father of many nations; before God, whom he believed. That is Abraham believing God when he made that statement. He believed the One making alive the dead ones, (and secondly) and calling the things not existing as though they are existing.
Romans chapter 4 is the same theme that Paul wrote in Galatians chapter 4, it is about justification. In Romans he is establishing doctrine. And he has established for us, first of all, the proof of justification by faith in verses 1 through 8 is because of Abraham. Verse 3 says (in Genesis chapter 15 verse 6) that Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him for righteousness. Because he believed God, therefore his account was credited with righteousness.
We also see David in verses 6 through 8. David was living and existing during the times of the law. In fact, for his sin, which is murder and adultery there was no sacrifice to be made because the penalty is death. And it is interesting that David, King David threw himself down in front of the throne of God and pleaded for mercy and God granted mercy on him by faith.
In verses 9 through 16 we saw the problem of justification by faith. The Jews have a problem by not including circumcision and the keeping of the law as part of the Christian life. Whether it be for salvation or for the life of following Christ thereafter. They have a problem with it. Still do to this day. So Paul in verses 9 through 12 addressed the issue of the covenant – that circumcision was a sign and a seal of God’s promise which is to come.
In verses 13 through 16, the condemnation of the law. “If you keep the law,” he says, “then that cancels out faith and that cancels out the promise.” If you have to work for it, then there is no faith, and there is no promise. It is based on your own efforts. And he says those who are keeping the law are making God be indebted to them. It can never be that way. The law has not made faith void and the promises canceled.
But he says, the character of the law, verse 15, For the law is working wrath: for where no law is, neither is there transgression. So everywhere the law is – it in and of itself is establishing sin. And we will see later in the book of Romans, Paul says, “Every time I read the law I sin more.” It is that old human sin nature. When the parent tells the child, “Do not do this.” Okay, by telling me what you do not want me to do, you are telling me what I am going to do, rather than not do it. It is part of the sin nature. So Paul says, The more I tried to keep the law the more I sinned. The law works wrath. It manifests and reveals sin.
The character of the promise in verse 16, On account of this it is from out of faith, in order that it might be according to grace; for the purpose of the promise might be established to all the seed; not to the one only from out of the law, but to the one also who is from out of the faith of Abraham; who is the father of us all. If a person believes in Jesus Christ the way Abraham believed, Abraham is the father of us all. He is the head of our denomination. But it is for both. God drawing the law keepers out to receive His gift of salvation by faith, by God’s grace. The Jews claimed Abraham as their father, both their physical decendancy as well as the religious decendancy.
But Jesus, in John chapter 8 put that straight. You might be a physical descendent of Abraham but spiritually, He says, you are of your father the devil. And it is almost unfathomable for a Jew to believe that they are keeping the law and God will not accept them. But a pagan Gentile who has never kept the law gets to enter into heaven just based on faith and trust and belief in Jesus Christ. It boggles their mind.
And, again, like we said the first hour it is because religion is so ingrained in us. Religion is man’s effort to reach God. Whereas, in reality God sent His Son to reach us. Luke chapter 19 verse 10 says that God sent Jesus to seek and to save that which was lost. You and I today are saved this morning because He came looking for us. He convicted us of our need of Christ. He manifested to us what He provided through His death on the cross, it is part of the gift.
But in verse 17, which is really the clincher for this entire section, the two primary principles that God produces. First of all, the quote from Genesis chapter 17 verse 5, that God says, I have appointed you father of many nations. Now when God appoints somebody to be the father of many nations, that is it. That is the way it is. Abraham’s part? He said, “Okay. Whatever you say.” That is it. Before God, whom he believed. He said, “I believe You, God.”
But then there are two things about God that are mentioned in this text and sometimes they are taken out of context. So we are going to put it in context this morning. First of all, God is the one making alive the dead ones. Right away you might be thinking of people who have physically died. He is making reference to Hebrews chapter 11 verse 12 where it says about Abraham, He did not consider the deadness of Sarah’s womb but believed in the One who could raise up the dead. See, God allows things to get so bad so that He can step in and manifest who He is.
Remember in John chapter 11 with Lazarus. They sent word to Jesus, Whom you love is dying. His attitude was, “Good, I will wait a couple of days.” When He got word that he was dead He decides to come into town. In essence Mary and Martha, paraphrasing, said, “You are a little late.” Had you been here my brother would not have died. Well, that is possibly true, you know. But Jesus said He did this on purpose to manifest His glory.
See, there comes a time in every situation, especially with physical death there comes a time when we just say, “Okay, God cannot do anything now. I have prayed all my life for children, but now I am beyond the bearing age of having children. So it is impossible for God to work.” God waited for Sarah’s womb to be dead, unable to produce life, so that the Lord can produce life through a dead womb and it will be the manifestation of His power and glory because it was humanly impossible. Neither Sarah nor Abraham could take credit.
You see, spiritually He does the same thing. We are told by Paul in Ephesians chapter 2 that we are dead in our trespasses and sins. It causes separation. That is what death means, a separation. When a person experiences physical death, they do not cease to exist, they separate from their physical body. The spirit continues to exist forever. Death means separation. So, spiritual death in that we are dead in our trespasses and sins, it means our sins have separated us from God. We are separate from Him. Not only here, but if we die in our sins, we will be separate from Him forever. We will be the one saying, My God, my God why have you forsaken me. Where are You? You left me.
But Paul says in Ephesians chapter 2, When we were dead in our trespasses and sins we were made alive in Christ through His resurrection. That is kind of interesting. It is all resurrection language in Ephesians chapter 2. That Christ raised us up together with Him, to live with Him. Spiritually He raised us up from the spiritual dead. Removed all the barriers that are between us and God, and made us alive.
We were discussing earlier between our hours of meeting here and discussion about how blind people can be to the truth. People are dead. Spiritually dead. Cannot see it, cannot know it, unless God reveals it. So Paul says that when you are born again it is literally a new birth. You are raised from the spiritual dead. Christ’s Spirit raises you from out of the dead. And now His Spirit lives in you. You have life forever, eternal life, with Him. God is able to make alive dead things. And you and I were dead, spiritually He made us alive.
Secondly, He also is the One calling the things not existing as existing. I have heard that before. People have even generated seminars around just those phrases. That if you speak the word of faith, you can bring something out of nothing because that is what God did. Its specific reference is to creation, God spoke things out of nothing. They did not exist and He spoke them into existence. Genesis chapter 1 is supposed to be a testimony to us about our salvation. We know two things about creation. Number one, God spoke everything into existence. Wow. A lot of power. A lot of superiority. (Number two) but we know from Hebrews chapter 1 that He also by His word holds it all together and causes the epics of history to move along until the end. So He is the Creator and He is the Sustainer. All of that is supposed to be a testimony to us that we who were spiritually dead, that Jesus called us from out of the spiritual dead, and raised us up with Him. Things that did not exist now exist because of Christ. It has nothing to do with religion. Has nothing to do with anything that I did prior to being saved.
The same God who called things that exist out of nothing, by the word of His mouth Paul says in II Corinthians chapters 4 through 7, that God spoke. The same God that said, Let there be light, is the same God that shined in our hearts with the knowledge of Jesus Christ. And He spoke and we became alive.
That is also why the Scriptures tell us – not just the words on the page, the ink on the page, but it tells us when under the influence of God’s Spirit that the word of God is sharper than any two-edged sword. Powerful. Cuts through all the human elements and is a critic of the motives and intentions of a person’s heart.
I was reading this week, I am getting prepared to write on the word conviction. I always try to pick words that people do not want to hear. So conviction. It was interesting, I read one post where a man says that if you are going to a church and you leave and there is no conviction, you are in the wrong place. Yet we try to pick a place that we like, there is no conviction. “I want to leave feeling good about myself, start a new week.” But do you realize that all week long, while we focus on Christ we are still being exposed to the spirit of the world. We have been influenced by the world, even a little bit. So when we come to hear God’s word or we take up God’s word at home and read it, yeah, we should be convicted. Because God’s Spirit is bringing us back to the truth and God’s Spirit is convicting us about influences that are in our lives that have come from the world, and not from God. There has to be conviction for it to be the Spirit of God.
Now guilt and conviction are two different things. I call – conviction comes when you give the word of God and guilt comes when you pass the offering plate. [laughter] So those are the two differences.
God is the one that takes dead things and makes them alive. God is the one who out of nothing that exists makes something to exist. That is what happens to us by faith, not by works. He creates in us the new life and salvation through Jesus Christ. And from then on He is constantly showing us, as we wait and we wait and we wait for His Spirit to provide in this earthly realm for us. He waits until things get worse so that He can manifest to us personally His sustaining power, but also to everybody around us.
I mentioned earlier that someone said about their father when he was dying that he taught us how to live and he taught us how to die. The Lord teaches us how to live and He teaches us how to suffer. Because with Him there is no problem. He is sustaining us. We are not going anywhere. Just causes difficulty for the flesh.
But when God speaks His word it is the same God who said, Let there be light and God produces life in us. God changes and transforms us. He took and takes relationships that did not exist in the past with Him and made them alive and living and continues to change and transform by the power of His word so that we might understand Him and trust Him more. You see, salvation does not come from works. Creation did not come from works, God spoke it into existence.
All of the promises of God comes from the God who produces everything by the power of His word. The only thing we can do is come before Him and say, “God I believe.” I believe You can do that. I cannot save myself. I cannot change myself. I can only fall before You, call out for Your mercy. Just speak the word. Bring me alive. Bring me into that relationship with Christ and then continue to change and transform me until I go to be with You. All based on God’s promise. He is the one who is able. He wants us to believe.
Let’s close with prayer.
