By Faith Alone

Well, it's been a sobering week, hasn't it, in world news, Australian news.

Capped off with the sudden death of Shane Warne.

Like I remember that ball that just landed outside off stump,

like almost off the crease and then came back and hit leg stump.

And some of you have no idea what I'm talking about,

but it's almost impossible what he did.

And death is awful, but when it comes as a shock,

it's just got that extra sting, doesn't it?

And people were paying tribute to him.

Daniel Andrews, you've probably heard.

They've already going to name a grandstand at the MCG in his honour.

As he now stands before the Lord of heaven and earth,

I wonder what the Lord will say about his life.

More to the point this morning,

are you ready to stand before the Lord?

God's word to us today in Romans 4

is going to give us a rock-solid place to stand

so that you do not have to fear that day.

In a sense, you can look forward to it.

Did you notice, as Romans 4 was being read,

how often the phrase counted, justify, occurred?

This passage is about justification.

It pictures God as judge,

and we either stand before him as innocent or guilty.

That's what this passage is about.

Either we're in right standing before God or we're not.

To count is a word used for the Old Testament sacrifices.

When the sacrifices offered, it was counted to the person.

So the question is, what will God count to your life

that will contribute to the final verdict of your life?

Because as God revealed his glory to Moses up on Mount Sinai,

one of the things that is part of God's glory is that he says this,

he will by no means clear the guilty.

He will not clear the guilty.

And here's the scandal of Christianity.

Verse 5 of chapter 4 has a shocking description of God.

It says, God, him who justifies the ungodly.

How is that possible?

How is righteousness counted to an ungodly person?

And as we heard last week, the good news of the gospel,

the scandal is resolved.

For God to be just and the justifier of the one with faith in Jesus

is that he himself bore the wrath.

He absorbed it himself, setting us free.

It's the one who does not work but believes in him

who justifies the ungodly.

His faith is counted as righteousness.

Does that sound right to you?

I know we're kind of used to hearing that

if you've grown up in evangelical churches,

but isn't that encouraging moral laziness?

We're talking about it at Bible study.

The one who doesn't work,

the one who just morally religious isn't working.

It's not that person, but the person who believes.

Maybe if someone is on death row and they've got...

Maybe God might lower the bar and go,

OK, there's nothing else you can do.

You're about to be executed.

But maybe I'll lower the bar.

Just have faith in me.

We might think, OK, God's being generous.

One last chance.

But what about someone who's got...

Someone like Abraham, who's got a life full of good deeds?

Like, Jews saw him as the example of fulfilling the law,

of being obedient to God, walking in faith.

Muslims looked to him as the father who surrendered to the will of God.

What about him?

This passage seems to be saying,

nothing of good he did counts to his righteousness.

Just his faith.

Can it really only be by faith and faith alone

that someone is saved and counted righteous?

We should really care about this question.

We will stand before the Lord one day.

Your life depends on this.

Can you be sure that it's faith that God wants from you?

Faith alone.

Paul pauses in chapter 4 to help us understand what faith is

and help us to have confidence that faith alone

really is what God wants from us.

And who better to look at than Abraham?

So Paul draws five main conclusions

that we're going to look at anyway

from one verse in the story of Abraham's life.

Genesis 15, verse 6.

Genesis 15:6

Abraham believed God

and it was counted to him as righteousness.

So the first thing,

as Marty helpfully brought out in the kids' talk,

the first thing Paul draws out of this verse

in verses 1 to 8

is the principle.

When God justifies a person,

he doesn't take into account anything

that person has done or ever will do.

So Genesis 15, verse 6,

Genesis 15:6

it is the first time the word believe

is used in the Bible

and it's connected to being counted as righteousness,

as righteous.

Even Abraham had nothing to boast about in himself

because nothing, it wasn't his own making.

The righteousness comes by faith.

So the principle explains verse 4 and 5.

Now the one who works,

his wages are not counted as a gift

but as his due.

So Marty's already brought this out

but I'm just going to throw another

small illustration out there.

Imagine your dad,

maybe back in the day,

asked you to wash his car,

he'll give you 20 bucks.

All right?

Good deal.

But you've got to do it properly.

20 bucks, wash the car

and you finish washing the car,

you do your best job

and later that night,

no 20 bucks.

It just so happens to be your birthday the next day

and inside the birthday card,

lo and behold,

is 20 bucks

and he goes,

happy birthday.

Would you consider that a gift?

I wouldn't.

Like, you owe me that,

where's my gift?

There is no gift.

It's only what I'm rightly owed,

thank you very much, Dad.

You agree to that.

If a person was to do any work,

religious or otherwise,

to earn their acceptance with God,

God owes you.

You've earned it.

It would be a payment,

not a gift.

You'd have something to boast in.

By the strength of my own flesh,

I did that.

You owe me.

And we've already seen verse 5,

God's righteousness as a gift

comes simply by trusting God's promise.

It wasn't after Abraham defeated his enemies

and rescued Lot.

It wasn't when he was circumcised.

It wasn't when he was obedient,

offering up Isaac.

It was way before then

that Abraham is counted as righteous,

simply by hearing God's promise and believing.

And Paul probably brings in David,

a psalm of David,

to give a second witness from Scripture

to underscore the point that this really is

what God wants from us,

faith alone.

In fact,

it's crucial

that he doesn't count what you do

towards your final verdict

or you'd be stuffed.

Blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven

and whose sins are covered.

Blessed is the man against whom the Lord

will never count his sin.

These are the words of David

who after the scandal with Bathsheba

and the murder of Uriah,

there's a bigger scandal.

God says to him after that,

the law,

he should have died.

And he says,

you will not die.

There's the scandal.

There's a bigger scandal.

How can God say that to him?

The first reason we can be sure

God only wants faith

is that God will only relate to you

on the basis of gift,

not payment.

God won't be in debt to anyone.

From him,

through him,

to him are all things.

What can you give to God

that he owes you?

Zilch.

Nothing.

God owes you nothing

except judgment.

Righteousness is a totally free gift.

He doesn't count what you do

and thank God for that.

He will only relate to you

on the basis

of his free gift,

not payment.

So you can be sure

it's by faith.

The second reason we have

that we can be sure

it's by faith

is in verses 9 to 12

where the word circumcision

appears a bazillion times

and you might get lost in it

but I think the point

is fairly clear.

And there's an enormous

effect that this has.

It's speaking,

it's really important,

this paragraph.

It speaks to us

if we're not Jews.

A Jewish person

would refer to circumcision

as a shorthand way

of saying

that they are

the children of the promise,

they're the children of Abraham.

They live under God's law,

they're heirs of God's promise

of blessing,

of inheriting the world.

But who are the descendants

of Abraham

who inherit this promise?

So Paul notes,

he argues from the fact

that Abraham is justified

by faith,

the rabbis thought,

29 years

before

he was circumcised.

Way before he was circumcised,

he was counted righteous.

The Jews thought circumcision

was a sign

that pointed forward

to the law.

Whereas Paul says no,

circumcision was a sign

that pointed back

to the righteousness

he already had

by faith.

So my wedding ring

signifies being married.

But putting on a ring

didn't make me married.

It was the promises,

it was the covenant

that was entered into

through the promises.

The ring just symbolises it.

So,

Abraham

Abraham is the father

of all those

who follow in his footsteps

in the faith

that he had.

Whether Jews

who had faith

and they expressed that faith

by keeping the law,

but it was the faith

that counted them

as descendants of Abraham.

Or whether non-Jews

who just had the faith

of Abraham.

That is who

is part of the spiritual family.

That is who inherits

the promise.

I think we can sometimes

think of the Old Testament

as like,

God set up the law,

okay,

obey the law

in order to be right

with me,

and that kind of failed.

So,

let's try Jesus instead.

Let's lower the bar

to faith.

That's not the story

of the Bible.

It has always been faith.

Abraham all the way through.

Being right with God

has always been by faith,

and that's why

we can be sure

that faith

is what God wants.

So,

what's the big deal

about being a child

of Abraham?

I've got the song

that Father Abraham

and many sons,

I don't know if you know it,

and then you do

this weird kind of

dancing thing.

I think it's kind of ironic

that you're so exhausted

by being a child

of Abraham

when the fact is

he wasn't justified

by works,

he's justified by faith.

But anyway,

that's beside the point.

Who cares if you're

a son of Abraham or not?

Verse 11 is why

it is so important to you.

He received the sign

of circumcision

as a seal of righteousness

he had by faith

while 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.

If you want

righteousness

counted to you,

you need to be

a child of Abraham

and walk

in the footsteps

of his faith.

God has always

given his promise

through faith.

The third reason

you can be sure

God wants faith alone

to be right with him

verses 13 to 16,

the promise

didn't come

through the law.

Jews thought

of Abraham

that it was

his obedience

that secured

the blessings

of God,

the blessings

in the promise.

So a child

of Abraham

needs to keep

the law

like Abraham

did.

But what would

happen if God's

promises came good

by both believing

and keeping the law?

Verse 14 tells us

what would happen.

If it is the adherence

of the law

who would be

the heirs,

faith is null

and the promise

is void.

So what's that saying?

Being void.

That word is used

in 1 Corinthians 15

1 Corinthians 15:14

verse 14.

Faith is in vain,

is void,

if Christ has not

been raised

from the dead.

It's basically saying

it won't come good.

It will fail

if it's based

on the law

as well as faith.

Why is that?

Verse 15.

Because the law

can't give you

righteousness.

What it can give you

is wrath.

The strange phrase

where there is no law

there is no transgression.

Sometimes I'm

driving along

and I just don't know

that it's a

a school zone

and I'm going

20km

over the limit.

Now that's bad.

That's dangerous.

But what's way worse

is if I see

those flashing signs

saying 40

slow down

and I still

choose

to transgress

and go 60.

Isn't that worse?

I think that's

what's going on here.

The law

can't

produce righteousness.

It says

here's what it is

to be righteous

and all Jews

have transgressed

that law

and so the wrath

is even greater.

Here's the positive news.

Verse 16.

That is why

it depends

on faith

in order

that the promise

may rest

on

grace

not works

and be

guaranteed

to all

his offspring.

for the promise

to take effect

if it required

your obedience

frankly

you would

stuff it up.

It would fail.

I would

stuff it up.

But it doesn't

rest on

our obedience.

It rests

on his

grace.

And if God

is committed

to keeping

his promise

it can't

fail.

It is

guaranteed.

If God

is determined

to freely

give his

promise

the inheritance

is guaranteed

to each

person

who believes.

Righteousness

is by faith

alone

so it depends

on God's

grace

alone

and so

the promise

is guaranteed.

At this point

I think

Paul gives us

a picture

of what faith

is.

What is

the faith

of Abraham

then?

What is

this faith

we're to

share in?

I think

we get

three lovely

phrases

and we

get a

picture

of what

faith is.

One of

the lovely

phrases

is verse

18.

In hope

Abraham

believed

against

hope.

So we'll

come back

to that.

Then we've

got verse

21.

Fully

convinced

that God

was able

to do

what he

had

promised.

So there's

two sides

to faith.

There's what

you don't

put your

faith in

and what

you do

put your

faith in.

When

Abraham

looked at

the evidence

and just

used common

sense,

if you want

to use

common sense,

he saw

his own

body which

was as

good as

dead.

Sorry for

anyone who's

approaching 100.

being about

100 years

old,

how's he

going to

produce an

heir?

How's

Sarah going

to produce

an heir

when she's

approaching 90?

The deadness

of her

womb.

All he

could see

with his

eyes said

that it

was not

possible to

have an

heir.

I think

maybe more

than just a

biological

impossibility,

I wonder

if they

consider

themselves under

the curse

of God.

I'm not

sure.

So looking

at just

evidence and

common sense,

there's no

hope.

But when

you consider

God staring

up into the

night sky

that the

Lord created

all this

out of

nothing,

if the

Lord of

heaven and

earth says

that something

is and

will be,

it's as

good as

if it

all exists.

this.

And here's

that third

description of

faith,

verse 17.

God who

gives life

to the

dead and

calls into

existence the

things that

do not

exist.

That is the

object of

our faith.

The God

who gives

life to

the dead

and calls

into existence

the things

that do

not exist.

against all

hope in

human reason

and common

sense,

he looked

at who

God is,

what God

promised,

and he

took God

at his

word.

And so

Paul,

in verses

23 to

25,

he connects

it to all

Christian faith,

all Christians.

Paul says

that what was

written about

Abraham wasn't

just written

for his sake,

it was written

for our sake

so that we

would hear it.

So that we

would know

for sure,

God is

speaking to

you and

me.

Jesus was

the one to

make good

the promises

to Abraham,

to bless all

the families

of the world.

So Abraham

believed the

God who

promised,

we believe

the God

who fulfilled

that promise

in Jesus

Christ,

to bless

the world.

To believe

the promise

in the gospel

is the same

faith as

Abraham's.

It requires

you to

believe that

God brings

life out

of death,

that God

will justify

the ungodly,

those who

deserve death

are given

life,

that it is

all God's

doing,

trusting that

God took the

initiative,

it is what

he does that

matters,

that he

offered up,

delivered up

his only son

for our

trespasses,

to never

count what

we do

against us,

and then

raised him

for our

justification.

The resurrection

declares loudly

to the whole

world that

Jesus is

right with

God,

he is

righteous.

If you want

to be righteous,

you need to be

bound up in

him,

and the way

to do that

is faith,

faith alone.

If you want

to be right

with God

as Jesus

is,

you need

to be

attached to

Jesus,

you need

to be

hidden in

Jesus.

So how

can we be

sure that

faith is

what God

wants?

As we

look at

Abraham,

because he

doesn't count

against us

the sin we

do,

he only

will give

us righteousness

as a free

gift.

It's always

been by faith

through all

history,

and the

promise is

guaranteed,

it can't

fail because

it doesn't

depend on

obedience,

it depends

on his

grace.

So I'd

like to

ask two

questions,

in case

there's a

few barriers

in your

mind,

having heard

all this.

Perhaps

the most

looming

question is

how do

I have

faith then?

How do

I have

it?

I think

at this

point,

our

language

in

Christian

circles

isn't

all too

helpful

when we

say

making a

decision

to

follow

Christ.

Your

willpower

doesn't

produce

faith.

You

can't

muster

it up.

Even

faith is

a gift

of God.

If you

think of

Abraham

when he

heard the

promise,

if you're

watching him,

the moment

God

declared him

righteous,

what would

you see

him do

to express

faith?

He's just

staring up

into the

sky.

You

wouldn't see

anything.

God saw

his heart.

What

produced the

faith is

what I'm

getting at.

Did he do

anything?

All we

would hear

is God's

word to

him,

so shall

your

offspring

be.

It was

those words

that produced

the faith

in Abraham.

So I'm

indebted to

the ex-principal

at Moore

College,

John Woodhouse,

who spoke

at our

camp just

before COVID,

wasn't it?

I can't

believe COVID

has been

wrapped around

with church

camp,

either side.

Just a

gift of

God to

us.

He's

helped

me,

he's

clarified in

my mind

at least,

where faith

comes from.

So here's

what he

says.

Where there

is the

word of

God and

faith in

God because

of that

word,

there is

the totality

of

Christianity.

That is

Christianity.

The

Christian life

of faith in

both Old

and New

Testaments

and in

the experience

of believers

down the

centuries and

across the

world,

is brought

into being

and nourished

and brought

to maturity

by God's

word.

I just

find that

incredibly

helpful.

You don't

produce the

faith, it's

the word of

God that

produces faith

in you.

Faith is

hearing and

receiving what

God says.

You can do

lots of

things.

You can

immerse

yourself in

God's

word, you

can surround

yourself with

God's people

so that you're

hearing God's

word, you

can think

critically about

what society

says life is

all about.

You can do

all those

things but

it's the

word of

God itself

that produces

the faith.

So it

calls us to

humbly and

sincerely engage

with God and

take him in

his word.

God's

word.

God's

word.

God's

God's

word.

Maybe you're

feeling overwhelmed

by the lack of

evidence of

faith in your

life.

You look at all

the evidence,

the mountain of

sin just in the

past week,

your failings,

the doubts and

fears that are

raging in your

mind and heart,

maybe the apathy,

the sufferings

you experience

and is God

judging me?

You consider your

impending death,

like I don't know

what it is for you.

you look at the

evidence and you

might be going,

I'm not sure

faith is there.

But it's

against all

hope.

Will you

hope in

the God who

gives life to

the dead?

Here's how

John Calvin

put it.

Let us also

remember that the

condition of us

all is the same

with that of

Abraham.

All things

around us are

in opposition

to the promises

of God.

He promises

immortality.

We are surrounded

by mortality

and corruption.

He declares

that he counts

us just.

We are covered

with sins.

He testifies

that he is

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

to us

that nothing

may hinder

or prevent

us from

believing

that God

is

true.

Against

all the

evidence of

your life

do you

look away

from yourself

look at what

Jesus has done

for you

and take God

at his word

when he says

justify

you are

justified

you are at

peace

with me

I give

you no

wrath

only grace

when you

look into

your future

all that's

in your

future

is the

hope

of glory

do we

take him

at his

word

against

all hope

in hope

do we

believe

his word

some

might be

fearing

that you

don't

have

enough

faith

to get

you over

the line

with

Abraham

set up

as the

model

of faith

who didn't

waver

no

unbelief

fully

convinced

yikes

I'm not

sure I've

got enough

faith

that doesn't

seem to

describe me

I'm

inconsistent

in my

faith

the quality

of my

faith

I don't

know

but do you

remember the

story of

Abraham

what follows

chapter 15

after a

decade or

so

still no

son

what does

he do

he sleeps

with his

maidservant

what an

idiot

sorry

he

takes

matters

into his

own

hand

trying to

produce the

promise

by his

own

efforts

God

speaks to

him

again

when he's

almost

100

years

old

in

chapter

17

and

this

time

he

is

a

promise

he

laughs

he

goes

come on

God

just

fulfill

your

promise

through

Ishmael

through

my

efforts

it's

not

that

Abraham

never

doubted

or that

he

always

lived

in

light

of

the

promise

I

think

a

commentator

put it

well

in

that

he

avoided

a

deep

seated

and

permanent

attitude

of

distrust

he

grew

strong

in

faith

over

time

he

had

to

learn

not

to

put

confidence

in

himself

that's

the

Christian

walk

that's

the

walk

we're

all

on

living

in

light

of

the

promise

that's

ours

not

in

light

of

the

evidence

with

our

eyes

his

justification

occurred

way

back

remember

on

that

starry

night

when

he

believed

God's

promise

to

him

in

that

moment

justification

was

sorted

he

was

right

with

God

it's

not

the

strength

of

your

faith

that

counts

it's

the

strength

of the

one

you

have

faith

in

that's

the

only

thing

that

matters

someone

used

the

illustration

and

I'm

just

going

to

steal

it

I

don't

know

who

to

attribute

this

to

but

if

you

imagine

the

Passover

in

Egypt

that

night

when

God

sent

the

death

of the

firstborn

son

over

if

you

imagine

that

night

and

you've

got

two

Israelite

families

and

they've

both

sacrificed

a

lamb

and

they've

painted

the

doorway

of

their

house

like

one

one

of

the

parents

might

have

been

sleeping

soundly

going

yeah

God

will

keep

his

promise

the

other

one

might

have

been

just

up

all

night

sweating

drops

I don't

know if

blood is

appropriate to

say but

absolutely

concerned

is an

understatement

that their

child is

going to

die

I'm

not

sure

if

anyone

got

much

sleep

that

night

did

all

that

fear

count

it

didn't

matter

that

doubt

if there

was any

doubt

that doesn't

count

what counted

was they took

God at his

word

and the

sacrifice

the blood

that's what

counted

they took

him in his

word

so the

question for

us is

is the

blood of

Jesus

your only

hope

is it

painted

over your

life

is the

blood of

Jesus

your only

hope

of being

right with

God

and receiving

blessing

from God

the strength

of your

faith doesn't

matter

but if you

think

it's the

strength of

Jesus

what he

has done

that matters

there's one

final reason

and I'm

finishing on

this

there's one

final reason

in this

passage

that we

can have

confidence

that it's

faith alone

that God

wants

to think

in our

hearts

and our

minds

and to

live in

such a

way that

says

that we

don't put

confidence

in ourselves

but in

Jesus

alone

that we

receive

righteousness

as a

gift

guaranteed

by his

grace

even with

the evidence

of our

lives

the sin

the doubt

the suffering

even

against all

that

if we

know we

can't earn

God's

blessing

by anything

we do

that's a

life of

humility

it's a

life where

there is

no boasting

you've got

nothing to

boast in

I've

contributed

nothing

not even

my faith

God's

word

produced

that

there is

no boasting

I think

that can

give us

confidence

that that

that is

the life

of faith

because

God gets

all the

glory from

beginning to

end

it's his

doing

to rely

on God's

promise

his grace

alone

boast

in Jesus

alone

he gets

all the

credit

it's his

resurrection

power

it's his

trustworthiness

it's his

sovereign

freedom

to give

freely

not because

he owes

you

it's his

grace

that makes

the promise

it's his

grace that

keeps the

promise

it's his

love that

offered up

his son

he gets

all the

glory

by faith

alone

and I

think

that's why

the life

of the

Christian

is

meant to

be

characterised

by singing

he gets

the praise

he gets

we boast

in him

alone

so I

think we're

going to

sing now

amazing

grace

he gets

all the

glory

when we

believe

that our

righteousness

is by

faith

alone

so

why don't

we sing

together

to

do

to

and

to

do

to

do

to

to