Romans 4:1-12

It's nice to be with you this morning. Please open up your copy of God's Word to Romans chapter 4.

Romans 4 · chapter mention

Our text for today's study will be Romans chapter 4, verses 1-12.

Romans 4:1–12

As we have studied Paul's letter to the Romans, it has been a concern that you all may grow tired of hearing Paul's argument that we are justified by grace alone through faith alone in Jesus Christ.

Alone? I hope not.

But Paul makes his case in mere minutes in the opening chapters of this book if we were to read it straight through.

But as we slow down to consider it in small bites, the lesson gets drawn out.

Two weeks ago, I preached what I felt was the necessary introduction as we began our study of chapter 4,

and we thought together about the five solas of the Reformation, Latin terms that were used in that day.

The Bible alone is God's final authority, sola scriptura.

And it is on its pages that we learn that we are saved by God's grace alone, sola gratia,

through faith alone, sola fide, in Jesus Christ alone, solus Christus,

and this salvation and all things exist for the glory of God alone, soli Deo Gloria.

We gave particular attention to the doctrine of sola scriptura those two weeks ago because I want you to want to stick to the text,

to really settle into our studies of long books like the book of Romans,

to relish in its teaching and trust that God knew what he was doing as these books were penned

and knows what he was doing as we open them and take them piece by piece together.

As we begin chapter 4, Paul continues to draw out his theme of justification by grace alone,

through faith alone, in Jesus Christ alone,

with a particular attention in these first 12 verses to faith alone, sola fide.

Notice the beginning of verse 1, chapter 4.

He then says,

What then shall we say?

Let me draw you back just a little bit to Romans chapter 3, verse 21 and 22.

Romans 3:21

And in response to the argument he's been making,

this what then shall we say in chapter 4 and verse 1,

Romans 3, 21 and 22,

But now, the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law.

Although the law and the prophets bear witness to it,

the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe.

For there is no distinction.

So whether Jew or Gentile, just everyone not Jewish,

we are justified, which means to be declared righteous through faith.

We are justified through faith, and through faith alone.

Paul will continue to make this point in the first 12 verses of chapter 4.

Now, normally, we tend to follow a pattern in our preaching,

which is a very old pattern of preaching.

Many of the great Puritan preachers followed this pattern,

and it goes like this.

Exegesis, that is, explain what the text says.

Doctrine, what doctrines does the text teach,

and then application.

So what do we do with these doctrines?

Exegesis, doctrine, application.

They would often title the sections of their sermons in this way,

and they would announce them as they came to them.

They would say, here is the exegesis, and go on to explain.

And then they would say, here is the doctrine, and so forth.

Now, we don't announce the sections like that as we preach,

but we normally follow a very similar pattern.

Now that I've told you about it, you're probably going to notice it quite often.

Exegesis, doctrine, application.

But sometimes that happens for each point of the sermon,

so often it'll go exegesis, doctrine, application, exegesis, doctrine, application,

and so forth for however many points there may be for that day's text.

Now today, though, I'm going to mix the outline up a little bit.

I have already stated the doctrine.

We are justified through faith alone.

That is the doctrine presented in this text, sola fide.

To be justified means that God has declared you morally perfect.

We use that term righteous.

He's declared you morally perfect.

Roman 3.26 states that God is just

and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus Christ.

So it is God who does the declaration.

You cannot declare yourself morally perfect.

And it is moral perfection that we are concerned with here.

This is not physical perfection.

People spend a lot of time pursuing that, whatever that means.

Or professional perfection, or any other way you may define perfection.

Here we are talking about the only thing that will matter in the end.

Moral perfection.

Have you kept God's law?

So this is the doctrine.

We are justified through faith alone.

So I now want to state the application.

And then I promise we will exegete the text.

So in brief, application as we approach these verses together.

Today you find yourself in one of either two categories.

Most simply, one of two categories.

First, today, you are either not justified.

Or, I hope you can guess it, justified.

You have either not been declared by God to be righteous, morally perfect.

Or you have been declared by God to be justified, morally perfect.

If you are not declared righteous by God, then when you pass from this life and stand before him,

he will cast you forever from his presence to a place of eternal punishment.

And the Bible says much about this, and oh, is there so much that could be said here.

But I simply this morning want you to hear.

Your soul is in a desperate state now and will be forever if you do not place saving faith in the person and work of Jesus Christ.

You are guilty and you will stand in judgment.

You are guilty and you must be forgiven if you will avoid this eternal punishment.

God in his great loving kindness has made it possible for your sins to be forgotten.

For you, excuse me, to be declared righteous.

I believe that as you have gathered with us today, that God is doing a work in your life.

I just say it matter of factly.

There are better places to be if you care nothing about the eternal state of your soul.

If you are living for this life, there are more fun things to be doing.

But I hope that you are concerned about the eternal state of your soul.

And that I believe that God is at work bringing you to this place on this day.

He's either given you parents who love you enough to bring you to church or a friend that has invited you.

Or he has compelled you to come on your own.

Any number of possible other reasons exist.

How it is you found yourself sitting and listening now to God's word.

But you are not here by accident.

Hear God's word to you this day.

Turn from your sin.

Flee to Christ.

Let this be the day of your salvation.

If you are declared righteous,

I believe this represents the majority of people who are here with us today.

If you are declared morally perfect by God,

you also need to heed the words of today's text.

Because perhaps you need to be reminded that if you are justified,

then you are justified by grace alone through faith alone.

We can be declared righteous and heir in two ways as we respond to this declaration.

We can first live as if the way we live doesn't matter at all.

The argument goes something like,

I am saved by faith alone.

So how I live is inconsequential as long as I have faith.

There's a lot of people in our day that live in this way.

Or secondly, and I think this is typically more true of us,

I know can tend to be true of me.

We can live as if we began by faith,

but now we must be continually justified by our works.

I forget sometimes.

And it is subtle and it creeps up

that I'm justified, declared righteous by God.

My salvation, my eternal standing with God,

does not depend on me,

but on Him and the work that He has accomplished.

Now both errors stem from forgetfulness

and a misunderstanding of the difference

between justification and sanctification.

Both justification and sanctification

are brought about by grace alone through faith alone.

God gives to us His Spirit

and declares us righteous in justification.

He removes the guilt of our sin

as He punished it in Christ as He hung on the cross.

He grants us the moral perfection of Christ

that was gained by His sinless life.

I like it when I hear someone say,

we are saved by works but not our own,

the works of another.

And they're talking about Jesus.

Jesus' perfect life.

When we are justified,

we become His.

He makes us His own.

In sanctification,

we are brought degree by degree,

bit by bit,

into conformity with who He has declared us to be

by the power of the Spirit within us.

He has declared that we are something,

and sanctification is bringing us to that reality.

Declared, not made righteous,

declared righteous.

Sanctification is the process by which

we are being made righteous,

which will be fully realized

when the Lord Jesus Christ returns.

We will be finally made perfect

in that very last day,

but we are meant to be moving in degree toward it

in between now and then.

If we rightly understand this,

then we will not live however we see fit,

but we'll want to see our lives

bear witness to our faith in Christ.

Evidence what we believe to be true

of who God has made us.

If we rightly understand this,

then we will,

when we fail to live as God would have us,

we will not lose all hope,

but we'll repent and press on.

I think many good,

God-fearing Christians

think they must have some

long extended time of penitence.

How sad must I feel

over my sin when I sin?

And this gets asked to me fairly regularly,

and here's the answer.

As long as it takes

to get you back to the cross,

back to the reality

that if you are in Christ,

then God has declared you righteous.

Grieve over your sin,

but only as long as it takes

for you to go back to the truth

of what God has accomplished

on your behalf

in the person and work

of Jesus Christ.

We cannot live as if how we live

does not matter.

Neither can we live

as if how we live

is all that matters.

Beloved, let us not forget

that we are saved

by the works

of the Lord Jesus Christ.

And that out of wonder,

love, and awe,

by grace alone,

through faith alone,

in the power of the Spirit,

let us press on

in holy endeavors.

because of what God

has done for us,

sola fide,

through faith,

let us press on

to holiness.

holiness.

This is the application.

Now to our text

and the exegesis.

Romans chapter 4,

Romans 4:1–12

verses 1 through 12.

Beloved,

this is God's word to us,

written for his glory

and our good,

so we would all do well

to listen to it

in order to believe

its promises

and to obey its commands.

What then shall we say

was gained by Abraham,

our forefather,

according to the flesh?

For if Abraham

was justified by works,

he has something

to boast about,

but not before God.

For what does

the scripture say?

Abraham believed God

and it was counted to him

as righteousness.

Now to the one who works,

his wages are not counted

as a gift,

but as his due.

And to the one

who does not work,

but believes in him

who justifies the ungodly,

his faith is counted

as righteousness.

Just as David also speaks

of the blessing

of the one to whom

God counts righteousness

apart from works.

Blessed are those

whose lawless deeds

are forgiven

and whose sins

are covered.

Blessed is the man

against whom the Lord

will not count his sin.

Is this blessing

then only for the circumcised

or also for the uncircumcised?

See there,

Jew and Gentile.

For we say that faith

was counted to Abraham

as righteousness.

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.

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

and to make them

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.

So,

simple outline for you

this morning.

Just three points.

Number one,

sola fide

cries Abraham.

Number two,

sola fide

cries David.

And number three,

sola fide

cries the church.

Number one,

sola fide

cries Abraham.

Paul appeals

to what the scripture

has to say

about Abraham.

What shall we say

was gained by Abraham?

If Abraham was justified

by works,

he has something

to boast about.

But what does

the scripture say?

Verse three,

Abraham believed God

and was counted

to him

as righteousness.

His belief,

his faith

was counted

as righteousness.

This is a quotation

from Genesis chapter 15

Genesis 15 · chapter mention

and verse six.

Paul's a good preacher.

He is using

the scripture

to help people

understand

the plan

of God.

So I would

like to ask you

to join me

in Genesis

Genesis 15 · chapter mention

chapter 15.

I think it'll

serve you well

to see those

first six verses

and I'll draw

your attention

to some neighboring

material as well.

So as you're getting there,

Genesis chapter 15,

Genesis 15 · chapter mention

it's back in

Genesis chapter 12

Genesis 12 · chapter mention

that God

calls Abraham,

then called

Abram,

and tells him,

Abram,

and I will make

of you

a great nation.

This is the beginning

of verse two

of chapter 12

and this will

be tied together

a bit later

as I read to you

from the book

of Galatians.

He there says,

part of the promise

he makes,

God makes

when he calls

Abram,

I will make of you

a great nation.

You will be the

father

of many

people.

back to

Romans chapter

Romans 4 · chapter mention

4.

And a number

of things

come to pass.

If you're not

familiar with the

story,

you should read

the story,

the things that

are happening.

Some significant

things happen

in between

chapter 12

and chapter

15.

There we read,

after these things,

beginning of

chapter 15,

the word of the

Lord came to

Abram in a vision.

Fear not,

Abram,

I am your shield,

your reward

shall be very

great.

But Abram

said,

O Lord God,

what will you

give me?

For I continue

childless,

and the heir of

my house is

Eleazar of

Damascus.

And Abram

said,

Behold,

you have given

me no offspring,

and a member

of my household

will be my

heir.

He's saying,

how am I going

to be the

father of

nations?

How is this

possible?

I don't have

a son.

Verse 4,

And behold,

the word of the

Lord came to

him,

this man shall

not be your

heir,

your very own

son shall be

your heir.

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.

Now,

Abram is very

old at this

point.

If my memory

is serving me

correct,

someone's going

to come up and

tell me that I'm

wrong at the

end of this,

I'm sure.

I believe he's

87.

Ben.

Something like

that.

He's in his

80s,

to be sure.

His wife,

Sarah,

is yet to be

pregnant.

So,

none of this

has actually

happened yet.

In a vision,

he goes out

and God

says to him,

look toward

heaven and

number the

stars.

If you're

able to

number them,

so shall

your offspring

be.

And then

verse 6,

which is what

Paul is

citing in

Romans chapter

Romans 4 · chapter mention

4,

and he

believed

the Lord.

He believed

the promise,

and God

counted it

to him

as

righteousness.

Now,

it is not

until

Genesis chapter

Genesis 17 · chapter mention

17

when

circumcision

comes up,

and this is

at least

13 years

later.

At least.

Probably more,

but it's at least

13 years

later.

So,

Abram's faith

is counted to

him as

righteousness

long before

the circumcision.

So,

what is it

that Abram

has to boast

in?

Nothing.

There's nothing

to boast in

at all.

Right?

He believed

the promise

of God,

and God

declared him

morally

perfect.

And Paul's

just going on

to explain

that back

in Romans

Romans 4 · chapter mention

chapter 4.

Now,

to the one

who works,

he's reasoning

with us.

If you work,

then you're

due your

wages.

It's good

to thank

your boss

for your

paycheck.

It's not a

bad thing

to do,

but I hope

that you

earned

your paycheck.

You traded

labor for

those wages.

They're not

counted as a

gift,

he says in

verse 4,

but as

your due.

Of course.

Typically,

a good boss

will say that,

oh,

no,

thank you

for working.

I appreciate

that.

But the

one who

does not

work,

but believes

in him

who justifies

the ungodly,

his faith

is counted

as righteousness.

So we are

justified

by faith

alone.

The point

is being

pressed.

Paul writes

later in

Ephesians

Ephesians 2:8

chapter 2,

verse 8 and

9,

for by grace

you have been

saved through

faith,

and this is

not your

own doing,

it is the

gift of

God,

not a

result of

work,

so that

no one

may boast.

Beloved,

if we have

anything to boast

in at all,

it is what

God has done

on our behalf

in the

personal work

of the

Lord Jesus

Christ.

We are

undeserving

of the

salvation

that is

ours.

Why do

we continue

to act

as if we

must

deserve it?

As if we

must earn

it?

May it

never be.

May we

press on in

holiness because

of who God

has declared

us to be

by grace

through faith.

So Abraham,

the story of

Abraham cries

out to us,

sola

fide.

But also

David,

Paul goes

on in

Romans 4

Romans 4:6

verse 6,

just as

David also,

he is just

reiterating,

he is driving

his point,

he is piling

up the

argument,

speaks of

the blessing

of the one

to whom God

counts righteous

apart from

works.

Blessed are

those whose

lawless deeds

are forgiven

and whose

sins are

covered.

Blessed is

the man

against whom

the Lord

will not

count his

sin.

This is

Psalm 32

Psalms 32:1

verses 1

and the

first half

ish of

verse 2.

David had

committed

egregious

sins.

David had

committed sins

that there

was no

reparation for

in the

law.

David had

no hope

of going

to the

temple

and giving

the forgiveness

of his

sins for

the sins

that he

had

committed.

So what

does he

do?

He throws

himself on

the mercy

of God.

By faith

he believes

that somehow

God's promises

will be true

and his sins

will be forgiven.

Turn to

Psalm 32.

Let's read

it in

its

entirety.

When Paul

cites these

texts it's

most likely

his original

hearers knew

the psalm.

He's pulling

out a piece

of it but

they would

have heard

it in its

entirety as

this letter

was read

to them.

Psalm 32.

Read all

11 verses.

Blessed is

the one

whose

transgression

is forgiven,

whose sin

is covered.

Blessed is

the man

against whom

the Lord

counts no

iniquity and

in whose

spirit

there is

no deceit.

For when

I kept

silent my

bones wasted

away through

my groaning

all day

long.

For day

and night

your hand

was heavy

upon me.

My strength

was dried

up as by

the heat

of summer.

He's under

the conviction

of his

sin.

He's not

crying out

to God

and it's

destroying

him.

I acknowledge

my sin

to you,

verse 5,

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.

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.

He's

talking there

about

judgment.

Water

was

frightening

to these

people.

In judgment

we will

not find

him.

Let us

cry now

while he

is to

be found.

Verse 7,

you are a

hiding place

for me.

You preserve

me from

trouble.

You surround

me with

shouts

of deliverance.

And then the

voice of the

psalm

changes.

It's now

God speaking.

He says,

I will

instruct

you

and teach

you

in the

way

you

should

go.

I will

counsel

you

with

my

eye

upon

you.

Be

not

like

a

horse

or a

mule

without

understanding

which

must

be

curbed

with

bit

and

bridle

or

it

will

not

stay

near

you.

Do

not

be

stubborn

like

a

horse

or

a

mule.

Many

are

the

sorrows

of

the

wicked

but

steadfast

love

surrounds

the

one

who

trusts

in

the

Lord.

Be

glad

in

the

Lord

and

rejoice

O

righteous

and

shout

for

joy

all

you

upright

in

heart.

Right?

So

David

throws

himself

on

the

mercy

of

God

and

understands

that

as

he

does

so

God

will

forgive

his

sins.

It

has

been

repeatedly

stated

that

we

are

justified

by

grace

alone

through

faith

alone

and

Jesus

Christ

alone.

But

how

can

it

be

that

those

people

who

lived

before

Christ

were

justified?

How

is this

true of

Abraham

and of

David

and of

many

other

saints?

The

author of

Hebrews

gives us

some help

in this

matter

beginning

in the

beginning

of chapter

11 of

Hebrews.

There he

says,

now faith

is the

assurance

of things

hoped

for.

The

conviction

of things

not

seen.

Wasn't

this

true of

Abraham

and of

David

and many

others

like them?

Verse 2

he says,

for by

it

the

people

of

old

received

their

commendation.

Then

verses 3

through 12

of

Hebrews

11,

we see

a list

of

people

like

Abel

and

Noah

and

Enoch

and

Abraham.

And

then

in

verse

13

he

says,

these

all

died

in

faith,

not

having

received

the

things

promised,

but

having

seen

them

and

greeted

them

from

afar,

and

having

acknowledged

that

they

were

strangers

and

exiles

on

the

earth.

For

people

who

speak

thus

make

it

clear

that

they

are

seeking

a

homeland.

If

they

had

been

thinking

of

that

land

from

which

they

had

gone

out,

they

would

have

had

opportunity

to

return.

But

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.

Faith,

future

promise.

Then

in

verses

17

through

38

we

get

more

of

these

people

of

old

listed.

And

in

verse

39

the

author

of

Hebrews

says,

And

all

these

though

commended

through

their

faith

did

not

receive

what

was

promised

since

God

had

provided

something

better

for

us

that

apart

from

us

they

should

not

be

made

perfect.

So

the

people

of

old

awaited

the

promise

of

the

coming

Christ

that

the

church

would

be

gathered

together

that

all

of

us

one

day

will

rejoice

together

in

the

presence

of

God.

Brings

us to

the

third

point.

Sola

fide

cries

the

church.

This

church

that this

letter was

written to

in Rome

and

us

today

is the

blessing

only for

the

circumcised

or also

the

uncircumcised.

Praise

be to

God.

The

answer

is

for

both.

I

think

some

of

you

may

be

ethnically

Jewish.

Most

of

us

are

not.

I'm

so

grateful

that

the

gospel

of

Jesus

Christ

is

for

all

of

us.

And

he

makes

this

argument.

When

was

the

righteousness

counted

to

Abraham?

Before

or

after

he

was

circumcised?

And

it

was

most

certainly

before.

As

I

said,

at

least

13

years

before.

There's

a

great

gap

of

time

from

the

beginning

of

Genesis

Genesis 15 · chapter mention

chapter

15

to

the

beginning

of

Genesis

Genesis 17 · chapter mention

chapter

17.

Not

justified

by works

of

the

law.

The

law

bears

witness

to

our

sinful

state

and

our

need

of

a

savior.

It

helps

us

be

aware

of

our

transgression.

Once

counted,

declared

righteous,

it

helps

us

to

know

how

we

ought

to

walk

to

please

our

God.

But

we

are

not

justified

by

works

of

the

law.

Galatians

Galatians 3 · chapter mention

chapter

3.

Last

text

for

today.

Verse

6

and

following.

There

Paul

says,

Abraham

believed

God

and it

was

counted

to

him

as

righteousness.

Genesis

15

6.

Know

then

that

it

is

those

of

faith

who

are

the

sons

of

Abraham.

And

the

scripture

foreseeing

that

God

would

justify

the

Gentiles

by

faith

preached

the

gospel

beforehand

to

Abraham

saying

in

you

shall

all

the

nations

be

blessed.

Remember

that

back

from

the

beginning

of

chapter

12?

In

you

shall

all

the

nations

be

blessed.

And

here

Paul

says

under

the

inspiration

of

the

spirit

that

this

was

the

scriptures

preaching

the

gospel.

That's

cool.

So cool.

Verse

9

Galatians 3

So then

those

who

are

of

faith

are

blessed

along

with

Abraham

the

man

of

faith.

For

all

who

rely

on

works

of

the

law

are

under

a

curse

for

it

is

written

curse

be

everyone

who

does

not

abide

by

all

things

written

in

the

book

of

the

law

and

do

them.

And

there

what

he's

saying

is

if

you're

!

counting

!

on

your

keeping

of

the

law

to

save

you've

broken

it

and

you're

cursed.

It

will

not

save

you.

Now

it

is

evident

that

no

one

is

justified

before

God

by

the

law

for

the

righteous

shall

live

by

faith.

The

Bible

alone

is

God's

final

authority

sola

scriptura

and

it

is

on

its

pages

that

we

learn

that

we

are

saved

by

God's

grace

alone

sola

gratia

through

faith

alone

sola

!

fide

in

Jesus

Christ

!

alone

solus

Christus

and

this

salvation

and

all

things

exist

for

the

glory

of

God

alone

solely

Deo

Gloria.

Now

in a few

minutes

the band's

going to

come

and

they're

going to

lead us

in

the song

In

Christ

Alone.

So I

just want

you to

take a

few

moments

and let

me

read

these

lyrics

to

you

that

you

might

sit

and

think

and

meditate

on

their

truth

and

then

we'll

sing

the

song

together

In

Christ

alone

my

hope is

found

He

is my

light

my

strength

my

song

this

cornerstone

this

solid

ground

firm

through the

fiercest

drought

and

storm

!

What

heights

of love

what

depths

of

peace

when

fears

are

stilled

when

strivings

cease

my

comforter

my

all

in all

here

in the

love

of

Christ

I

stand

in

Christ

alone

who

took

on

flesh

fullness

of

God

in

helpless

babe

this

gift

of

love

and

righteousness

scorned

by the

ones

he

came

to

save

till

on

that

cross

as

Jesus

died

the

wrath

of

God

was

satisfied

for

every

sin

on

him

was

laid

here

in the

death

of

Christ

I

live

there

in the

ground

his

body

lay

light

of

the

world

by

darkness

slain

then

bursting

forth

in

glorious

day

up