Romans 4 Intro

Let me invite you to take your copy of God's Word and turn to Romans chapter 4.

Romans 4 · chapter mention

It's very good to be back with you this morning.

I forgot about how many children this church has.

I'm glad for each and every one of them.

We've been working verse by verse through the book of Romans as I've had the occasion to preach.

And the plan for this week was Romans chapter 4 verses 1 through 12.

Romans 4:1–12

When the bulletins were produced on Thursday, folded and stapled very carefully by yours truly, this was the plan.

But then I began to write the introduction to Romans chapter 4.

Romans 4 · chapter mention

We've been thinking a lot in these early chapters of the book of Romans about justification by grace alone,

through faith alone, in Christ alone.

I've said to you repeatedly, that's the theme of this letter.

And it begins in Romans chapter 1 and verse 16.

Romans 1 · chapter mention

There Paul says he's not ashamed of the gospel, for it's the power of God for salvation to all who believe.

For the righteous shall live by faith.

And it begins to expound upon that.

Why? Why do we need this alien righteousness, this righteousness that comes from God?

And he begins to lay that out for us in verse 18 of chapter 1.

And then he begins to think about and write about the relationship between the gospel and the Jewish people and the Gentile people.

But again, driving this point all along.

Justification comes by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone.

And I've said to you, I think this is timely for our church, because if we don't get clear the gospel,

if we're not redundantly clear on the gospel, then we're going to get distracted by other things.

And so, as I come to chapter 4, and I'm looking to expound on these first 12 verses,

if you're there now, you may have in your Bible a subheading similar to mine,

Abraham justified by faith.

He's going to go make an Old Testament argument to us about justification coming through faith from Abraham.

And then he makes an argument from the mouth of David.

And I begin to think, why are we still talking about this?

And so I start to write an introduction to set you up for that.

And it's an introduction that became a sermon itself in the process.

I thought yesterday, I really need to do this first, and then we'll get back into Romans chapter 4.

Romans 4 · chapter mention

So, go with me, if you will, to 2 Timothy chapter 3.

2 Timothy 3 · chapter mention

I want to talk in brief about the five solas of the Protestant Reformation,

and then draw our attention more narrowly to sola scriptura.

The Bible alone is God's final authority.

In Latin, 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, sola Christus.

And this salvation and all things that exist for the glory of God alone.

Soli Deo Gloria.

We are Protestants.

And this is not an insignificant declaration.

More than 500 years ago, the Protestant Reformation began, and we are still protesting.

Not just against Roman Catholicism, but also against any world system that says,

you can be saved by your works.

Which they all do.

That is the mantra of our day.

We are not Protestants in theory or by name only.

It's not a tip of the hat to our history.

A little more than five years ago, the leadership of your church had to stand against our own denomination's campus ministry.

Because they thought it a good idea to partner with the Catholic organization on campus for an evangelistic event.

And we cried, no.

No.

No.

Justification comes by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone.

Let us not be unclear about this.

Let us not be a people who are distracted by lesser in-house disagreements.

We need to grip tightly to the solas.

For there is much work to be done.

Beloved, the boldest thing you can do is not take to social media to decry or defend

every disparate view.

The boldest thing you can do is preach the good news of Jesus Christ to your children,

to your spouse and other family members, to your neighbors and co-workers,

and to one another.

We are Protestants.

We are Protestants.

And we are at our best when we hold fast to the solas.

We do not innovate.

We hold.

We do not waver.

We hold.

We do not become distracted.

We hold.

We hold.

We hold.

We contend for the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints.

And so you may see, as I begin to write an introduction,

my concern is that you might get bored with the message of justification by grace alone,

through faith alone, in Christ alone.

My concern is that we have in us a desire to be innovative,

to expand and to explore.

And I want to call us this morning to the old ways.

If you want to think of it as boring, go right on ahead.

But the text, back to the text, back to the text, back to the text.

May we never grow tired of hearing the gospel proclaimed.

Now, I want to be clear.

The Protestant Reformation was not the beginning of Christianity.

Christianity.

God has had a people that he has sovereignly rescued from the fall

by a promise that has been fulfilled in Christ.

The truth of God had not been lost to the world to be rediscovered by an Augustinian monk

by the name of Martin Luther in the 16th century.

The truth of God had been preserved by God,

although largely lost to the Western world,

buried in a Latin translation and by Roman Catholic tradition and papal infallibility,

which at very best obscured the truth and at very worst replaced it.

God had long been working among his people in Europe

to ignite the purifying flame of the Protestant Reformation.

A popular analogy goes that God had been stacking the kindling for centuries

and that he used Martin Luther's writing as a spark to ignite the fire

that burned so brightly across Europe to purify the church.

Faithful men, known and unknown, were used of God.

Men like John Wycliffe, who in the 14th century defied Rome

and translated the Bible from Latin into English.

They were all fallible men, but they were men used of God.

Our history traces through redemptive history

by way of the church we see in the book of Acts,

through the Reformers and the Puritans to today.

The events of the Reformation were significant

and we would not exist as a people for God's possession if not for them.

I am not saying that God couldn't have established a church in the Americas

without the Reformation,

but I am saying that God chose to start a church in the Americas

with the Reformation,

and we should want to know our history.

We do not want to be known for what we are against,

but sometimes to be clear about what you are for,

you must state what you are against.

The Protestant Reformation began as an attempt to bring correction

to the Roman Catholic Church,

but upon Rome's rejection of the plain teaching of Scripture,

the Reformers abandoned Rome.

We are Protestants,

and we will protest any teaching,

not just Roman Catholic teaching,

any teaching against justification

by grace alone,

through faith alone,

in Jesus Christ alone.

We must be clear on this.

Luther once said,

the time for silence is past,

and the time to speak has come.

So let's talk just a bit about Martin Luther

before we get into our text today,

and the event that happened on October 31st, 1517,

as well as the events that followed.

Martin Luther was training to be a lawyer,

and he was deeply troubled by the status of his soul.

In a lightning storm,

ironically praying to Saint Anne,

Luther promised that if he survived the storm,

he would become a monk.

It was seen as the highest devotion to God in his day.

Well, he did survive the storm,

and he kept his promise.

He became an Augustinian monk.

Still troubled by the state of his soul,

he was tasked with translating the book of Romans,

and not far into chapter 1,

he came to verse 17,

and the phrase,

the righteous shall live by faith.

See, the trouble of his soul was that he thought,

I can never do enough.

I am not measuring up to God's law,

and he was right about this.

But then he saw the good news,

that the righteous shall live by faith.

On October 31st of 1517,

Luther nailed a document that we know as the 95 Theses

to the Wittenberg church door,

which outlined 95 reasons

that the selling of indulgences was not biblical.

You see, the Roman Catholic Church had constructed,

as all worldly moral systems do,

a system of works-based salvation,

do good and good will follow.

And they had monetized it

in order to build a massive building.

At the end of February

to the beginning of March of 1518,

the 95 Theses were translated into German

without Luther's permission

by a printer and widely distributed.

A lot of people want to give Luther all the credit.

He did write the document,

but didn't intend for it to be widely distributed.

Luther was excommunicated from the Catholic Church

in January of 1521,

and he was then summoned to the Diet of Worms

in April 17th of 1521,

where he was asked the questions,

Do you acknowledge the authorship of books

that had been brought to the Diet

and bore your name?

And will you stand by them

or retract anything in them?

Luther asked for 24 hours

to consider his response,

and it was at the end of this 24-hour period

on April 18th of 1521

where he said the following famous words,

Unless I am convinced

by the testimony of Scripture

or by clear reason,

for I trust neither Pope nor Council alone,

since it is well known

that they have often erred

and contradicted themselves,

I am bound by the Scriptures

I have cited,

for my conscience is captive

to the Word of God.

I cannot and will not recant anything,

since to act against one's conscience

is neither safe nor right.

I cannot do otherwise.

Here I stand.

May God help me.

Martin Luther was declared a heretic

and traitor to the state

and sentenced to death.

But a kidnapping was staged

and he was hidden away in a castle

where he promptly translated

the New Testament

into German

in a matter of months.

Why?

Because he believed

in sola scriptura.

He saw the great importance

of putting the Bible

into the people's hands.

And so let's look at 2 Timothy chapter 3,

2 Timothy 3:14

verse 14,

and into chapter 4,

and verse 4 briefly this morning.

Before we read it,

I would like to remind you,

as I do each Lord's Day, beloved,

that this is God's Word to us,

written for His glory

and our good.

We would all do well

to listen to it

in order to believe its promises

and obey its commands.

Paul writes to Timothy,

but as for you,

continue in what you have learned

and have firmly believed,

knowing from whom you learned it.

And now from childhood

you have been acquainted

with the sacred writings

which are able to make you wise

for salvation

through faith in Christ Jesus.

All scripture is breathed out by God

and profitable for teaching,

for reproof,

for correction,

and for training in righteousness,

that the man of God

may be complete,

equipped for every good one.

I charge you in the presence of God

and of Christ Jesus

who is to judge the living and the dead

and by His appearing and His kingdom

preach the word.

Be ready in season and out of season.

Reprove, rebuke, and exhort

with complete patience and teaching.

For the time is coming

when people will not endure sound teaching,

but having itching ears,

they will accumulate for themselves

teachers to suit their own passions

and will turn away from listening

to the truth

and wander off into myths.

So a brief outline for this morning.

Number one,

the scripture alone is God's final authority.

Number two,

the scripture alone is God's final authority

for justification.

And number three,

the scripture alone is God's final authority

for sanctification.

So firstly,

the scripture alone is God's final authority.

We'll take the text a bit out of order.

Look at chapter four,

verses one through four.

Here we see Paul give to Timothy

a simple charge.

A big charge,

but a simple one.

Two,

verse two,

preach the word.

Be ready,

all the time is what he's saying,

to bring about the correction

and the encouragement

that the church is going to need.

And at the end of verse two,

he says,

with complete patience

and teaching.

Do this work of preaching the word

with patience

and careful attention.

Do it in season and out of season.

Do it in various forms and fashions.

It's important that you do this work,

Timothy,

because,

verse three tells us,

a time is coming,

and I say to you,

and is here,

when people don't want to hear

sound teaching.

They don't want to sit

under the plain explanation

of scripture.

They want it entrapped

with lots of frivolities.

Beloved,

I will tell you,

I am so tired of seeing

the kind of youth group shenanigans

that go on around us in church.

It is absolute silliness

that goes on

in the churches of our age.

Why is this allowed to happen?

Why is it tolerated?

I just look at these things

and I go,

you all would leave immediately

if I did some of the things

I see happening.

Why do these guys get away

with this stuff?

It's because the people,

they're gathering for themselves,

they're accumulating teachers.

There's lots of them

piled up

that are suiting their passions,

their desire to be entertained,

their desire to live the lives

that they want to live,

to make a Christ

of their own creation.

They're gathering teachers

that will support

this very thing,

not men that will just boldly

proclaim what the text says.

And they're wandering off

into myths,

away from the truth.

If there was ever a day

to cry,

Sola Scriptura,

this is that day.

Now the doctrine of Sola Scriptura

is known

as the formal principle.

When the Supreme Court

is trying a difficult case,

they look to other legal decisions

and laws

to see what unites them

or norms them.

They look for precedent.

They look to consensus

among legal decisions

and laws

as an appeal

to an authority

that is greater

than themselves.

If you keep up

with Supreme Court decisions,

you'll hear much

of this language.

Martin Luther,

during the Reformation,

pulled in his legal training

when referring

to Scripture

as the norm

of norms

that cannot

be normed.

Stating,

it is the absolute

authority

because it is from

God himself.

Nothing else

can change

the meaning

of the Scripture.

The text,

it stands

on its own.

The norm

of norms

that cannot be normed

or,

in the Latin,

if you want to nerd

with me for a moment,

norma normus

non normata,

which is cooler to say.

Norma normus

non normata.

All this to say,

we believe

in Sola Scriptura

and saying that

is to say

that we believe

that the Bible

is God's

final

authority.

It is a

closed canon.

We're not looking

for extra

revelatory

information.

God has spoken

in

his

word.

If somebody

says to me,

God told me,

I say,

book,

chapter,

and verse,

please.

How has God

told you?

from the text,

I would love

to see it

there.

Now,

to say that

Scripture is the

final authority

is not to be

misunderstood,

that Scripture

is the only

authority.

The Bible

should not be

read alone.

Martin Luther

once said,

the Scripture's

authority is not

a naked

authority.

So we have

helps as we

open up

the text.

I'm glad for this.

I don't sit

in a cave

just with

the text.

We have

some helps

and some

ways that

we can

bring

understanding

and bearing

to the text.

We have

church history.

We're making

a bit of an

appeal to that

today,

aren't we?

Not as an

ultimate

authority,

but as

an authority.

What has

the church

believed

about this,

one doctrine

or another?

If we find

ourselves coming

up with some

novel idea

about the

Bible,

it may

be,

likely is,

dangerous.

Something new

to be discovered.

Hmm.

If perhaps no

Christian in the

history of the

church has

thought what

you think

could be a

problem for

your theology,

what has

time taught

us about

any given

doctrine?

And we see

helps from

church history

in the form

of creeds,

confessions,

and catechisms.

These tools

are a great

way to

discover what

the church

has believed

historically.

We have

used here

the Apostles

Creed.

That's

found embedded

in the

Heidelberg

Catechism.

The Heidelberg

Catechism,

as we've been

reciting it

together on

Sunday mornings,

has been

explaining

the Apostles

Creed,

what is meant

by that.

And you

will note,

if you ever

look at any

of these

confessions,

at the

footnoting

that's right

there in

your bulletin

for the

Scripture

reference,

right?

The Bible

being the

ultimate

authority,

right?

The Norma

Normas

Non

Normata,

right?

The confession

is not on the

same level

as the

Scripture,

but helps

us to

understand

what the

Scripture

teaches

on any

given

doctrine.

These are

helpful

things to

us.

They ought

to be

taken up

and

considered

carefully

as they

read the

text.

Jeremiah

Jeremiah 6 · chapter mention

chapter 6

and verse

16,

there God

says,

stand by

the roads

and look

and ask

for the

ancient

paths

where the

good way

is and

walk in

it and

find rest

for your

souls.

Isn't that

good?

Stand by

the roads

and look

and ask

for the

ancient

paths

where the

good way

is and

walk in

it and

find rest

for your

souls.

But then

God says

in Jeremiah

Jeremiah 6 · chapter mention

chapter 6

and verse

16 of

Israel,

but they

said,

we will

not walk

in it.

And I

pray that

we would

be ones

who say

we will

walk in

it,

right,

the good

way and

find rest

for our

souls.

You also

have,

along with

the Scripture

as a way

of reading

it and

understanding

it,

the teaching

of your

leaders.

The author

of Hebrews

says in

Hebrews 13

and verse

7,

remember

your

leaders,

those who

spoke to

you the

word of

God,

those who

worked to

faithfully

unpack the

text for

you,

those who

are considering

the culture

in which we

live and

the needs

of our

fellowship and

are working

prayerfully to

get out ahead

of you and

help equip you

for the days

in which we

live.

So the

Scripture

alone is

God's

final

authority.

Paul says

this to

Timothy,

you need

to continue

to preach

the word

because people

aren't going

to want to

hear it,

but keep

doing it

anyway.

And as

we'll see

at the very

end of

chapter 3,

it's because

God is

himself its

source and

it is a

sufficient

text.

Second

point,

the Scripture

alone is

God's

final

authority

for

justification.

If you're

unfamiliar with

this term,

it means

to be

declared

righteous,

holy,

without

wrong,

with all

the law

keeping

required of

you before

God.

You can see

why we use

the word

justification.

We're not

trying to be

churchy,

but it summarizes

a big

idea.

We will

all stand

before the

judgment of

God one

day.

We will

either be

sent to

eternal

punishment as

a reprobate,

or we

will be

seen as

justified,

as having

all of our

sins expunged

from our

record and

being given

righteousness

by Christ.

And the

Scripture

alone is

God's

authority

for

justification.

We see

this in

verse 14

and 15

of chapter

3.

There's this

exhortation

there to

Timothy to

continue in

what he

had learned,

what he

had learned

from Paul

and how

as a

child he

was acquainted

with the

writings by

his mother

and his

grandmother.

And at

the end of

verse 15,

Paul there

says,

which are

able to

make you

wise for

salvation

through faith

in Christ

Jesus.

The Scripture

teaches us that

we are saved

by grace

alone,

through faith

alone,

in Jesus

Christ

alone.

And we

must hear

this message.

It must be

taken up and

read.

It must be

proclaimed to

us.

We must

hear the

good news

of the

word that

we might

be saved.

I was

really grateful

for a bit

of an

anecdote.

Many years

ago I went

together for

the gospel

with some

men from

our church

and a

man named

Ash Harris

who some

of you

know was

there with

us.

And at

the beginning

as a

curiosity,

most of

the men

at this

conference

are leaders

in churches

or seminary

students.

And they

had us all

stand up

and then be

seated as

questions were

asked about

how it was

we heard

the gospel.

And I was

very encouraged

as a

pastor of,

a father of

children,

a pastor of

a church

full of

children,

that the

predominant

group that

sat,

sat when

the question

was asked

if your

parents shared

the gospel

with you

and you

came to

faith in

Christ because

of that

proclamation,

sit down.

And I mean

the stadium

was like

kind of

sitting.

A massive

number of

the people

in that

room came

to faith

because of

the faithful

preaching of

the gospel

by their

parents being

encouraged

parents.

But then I

was especially

encouraged as

Ash Harris did

not sit for

that or

many other

invitations to

sit and

finally he was

part of the

group of

like,

okay,

well any

other way I

can't think

of,

go ahead and

sit down.

And so I

just leaned

over and

said,

Ash,

when did

you first

hear the

gospel?

And Ash

first heard

the gospel

when he

was deployed

in Iraq

and had

been handed

a New

Testament

by a

military

chaplain

handing him

out and

Ash said,

this seems

important and

stuck it in

his pocket.

And he'd

come back

from a

particular

mission that

was rattling

to him and

he sat in the

shade of a

Humvee and

he opened up

the book of

John and

began to

read about

the word

made flesh.

And Ash

became a

Christian through

the reading

of the text.

So whether

it's proclaimed

from our

mouths or

taken up

and read,

the scripture

is what

teaches us

how it is

we come

to faith

in Christ.

Paul writes

in Romans 10,

I'll look forward

to unpacking

this in

some time,

a year

maybe.

How then

will they

call on him

in whom

they have

not believed?

And how

are they to

believe in

whom they

have never

heard?

And how

are they to

hear without

someone

preaching?

And how

are they to

preach unless

they are

sent?

As it is

written,

how beautiful

are the

feet of

those who

preach the

good news.

But they

have not all

obeyed the

gospel,

for Isaiah

says,

Lord,

who has

believed

what he

has heard

from us?

So faith

comes from

hearing,

and hearing

through the

word of

Christ.

Psalm 19,

Psalms 19:7

verse 7 and

following,

the law of

the Lord is

perfect,

reviving the

soul.

The testimony

of the Lord

is sure,

making wise

the simple.

The precepts

of the Lord

are right,

rejoicing the

heart.

The commandment

of the Lord

is pure,

enlightening the

eyes.

The fear of

the Lord is

clean,

enduring forever.

The rules of

the Lord are

true and

righteous

altogether.

More to be

desired are

they than

gold,

even much

fine gold,

sweeter also

than honey and

drippings of

the honeycomb.

moreover,

by them

is your

servant warned,

and keeping

them there

is great

reward.

The Bible,

like sola

scriptura,

the Bible

alone is

God's

authority

for

justification.

It is

the way

in which

we are

made wise

for salvation

through faith

in Christ

Jesus.

Beloved,

we should be

a people

of the book

for our

sake,

for the sake

of others.

Thirdly,

the scripture

alone is

God's

final authority

for

sanctification.

Look at

verses 16

and 17.

For growing

up in the

faith,

having been

justified,

how is it

that we

then pursue

holiness?

We're given

the spirit

of Christ

that we

might

understand,

apply,

and be

empowered

to live

the word

of Christ.

Christ.

Here Paul

writes,

all scripture

breathed out

by God,

exhaled

by God,

he's the

very source

of it,

and it's

profitable

for teaching,

reproof,

correction,

and training

in righteousness,

in holiness,

in right

living,

in law

keeping.

It's

profitable

for these

things,

and it's

profitable

to the

extent,

he qualifies,

that the

man of

God may

be complete,

equipped for

every good

work.

Not some

good work.

We don't

need extra

revelation to

tell us

those things.

For every

good work,

it's a

sufficient

guide for

all

holiness.

Again,

Martin

Luther,

he said,

a simple

layman

armed

with

scripture

is to

be

believed

above

a

pope

or

a

council

without

it.

Scripture

is

powerful,

sharper

than any

two-edged

sword,

piercing

to the

joint

and the

marrow.

It lays

bare our

hearts.

It shows

us where

we need

to repent

and pray

for the

grace to

pursue

holiness

in Christ.

So we

should want

to hear

it.

We should

want to

hear its

corrections.

It should

be sweet

to us

to be

shown our

sin that

we might

repent

and pursue

Christ.

Psalm

Psalms 119:9

119,

verse 9

and following,

how can a

young man

keep his

way pure?

By

guarding it

according to

your word.

With my

whole heart

I seek

you.

Let me

not wander

from your

commandments.

I have

stored up

your word

in my

heart

that I

might not

sin

against you.

So the

word is

of great

importance

and working

through it

with care

matters

greatly.

Coming

back

to what

may feel

like the

simple truth

of the

gospel.

We say

to you

beloved,

especially

men,

the hill

we need

to die

on.

The

justification

by grace

alone,

through faith

alone,

in Christ

alone.

Everything

else

is subservient

to this.

Things to

discuss and

consider,

but not

the hill

to die

on.

I am

grateful that

when we

began meeting

as a church

almost 15

years ago,

God had

firmly

concreted in

our hearts

the doctrine

of the

sufficiency

of scripture.

I am so

glad that

God had

exposed us

to the

Reformation

and to

the Puritans,

that we

could cry

together as

young men

sola

scriptura.

I am

grateful that

God kindly

took us to

the text

and to

faithful Christians

of the past

that took

us to

the text.

I am

grateful that

our great

desire was

to see

Christ

magnified

through the

teaching,

understanding,

and living

of his

word.

I am

grateful that

God has

gathered a

people who

desire the

same.

I am

grateful that

the pressure

I feel from

you is a

pressure toward

faithfulness.

I am so

glad for that.

I don't

stand up here

in opposition

to you as

I try to be

faithful with

the text.

I know you

want faithfulness.

That's such

an encouragement

to me and I

know to the

other men

who preach

on Sundays.

You just

want us to

bring you

the text.

Keep at

that.

Pressure us

in that

way.

I am

grateful that

you would

take serious

issue with

me dressing

up as a

Disney character

on a Sunday

morning.

Ask me if

you don't know

what I'm

talking about.

Fire me

the Sunday

that I do

it.

That's how

you know I'm

ready to be

fired, right?

I show up.

I show up as

a Disney

character.

I am

grateful that

next week you

will gather

once again and

hear me Lord

willing proclaim

the excellencies

of a salvation

that is told to

us in the

scripture alone

and that comes

to us by

grace alone

through faith

alone in

Jesus Christ

alone to

the glory of

God alone.

so that was

my introduction

to Romans

Romans 4:1–12

chapter 4

verses 1

through 12.

I hadn't

quite written

all that but

I had written

a lot of

it and so

we'll pick

up the text

next week

Lord willing

but in

closing let

me read to

you a

poem by

Martin

Luther.

Feelings

come and

feelings go

and feelings

are deceiving.

My warrant

is the word

of God not

else is worth

believing.

Though all

my heart

should feel

condemned for

want of some

sweet token

there is one

greater than

my heart

whose word

cannot be

broken.

I'll trust

in God's

unchanging

word till

soul and

body sever

for though

all things

shall pass

away his

word shall

stand forever.

Let's pray

together.

Let's pray

together.