Romans: The Promise Realized Through Faith

Hi. You can all hear me?

Great.

My name's Alistair.

If I haven't met you before, I'm one of the pastors here at Watermark.

And I especially look after the university ministry

that we run out of Hong Kong University.

So hello to all you students out there.

It's an international Christian fellowship that we run

for international students who come from all over the world

to Hong Kong, to the university there.

And we meet as a Christian fellowship to encourage one another.

My relative recently bought an iPhone

through a service in the U.S. known as Craigslist.

And when she bought it, she kind of paid the money

and received the phone by mail and then opened it up,

tried to use it, only to find that it seemed to be locked.

And nothing that she could do could unlock this phone.

And so she tried to ask friends.

She tried to ask the Apple store.

And they said that she had to go and find something called

the activation lock ID from the owner of the phone.

And when she emailed the seller to ask for it,

they told her to get lost in not so many words.

She had bought a stolen phone.

And there's something that Apple does now for phones,

like I think iPhone 4S and later,

that is called activation lock,

where they will lock the phone remotely from their server

so that you cannot use it as a phone

until the original person who has the ID locked to that phone

puts their ID password in.

And so a stolen phone is basically a brick or a doorstop

and cannot be used.

She trusted in the wrong thing, in the wrong person.

She felt that this seller, whoever it was,

was a reputable person.

But instead, she was sold a stolen phone,

which was unable to be used.

I don't know if you're thinking of buying a phone.

Maybe some of you are.

And of course, here in Hong Kong,

there's maybe a couple of different ways

in which you could do that.

I see that on the streets,

there's always somebody selling an iPhone

of some description just with a whole batch of them,

a whole box of them.

And maybe they can offer you a discount.

Maybe it comes from Shenzhen.

I don't know where it comes from.

But you could do that,

or you could go to the Apple Store

and buy it from there.

Who would you trust?

We're going to be talking about trust this morning

because the passage that we read out before

talks about faith,

specifically the faith of Abraham,

but also faith more generally.

And so today, I'm going to talk about three things,

three questions that this passage raises for us.

The first one is,

what is faith?

What is faith?

And what is not faith?

The second question is,

well then, who should we trust?

Who should we have faith in?

What kind of person

would be worthy of having our faith?

And the third question I'm going to look at is,

how do we strengthen our faith?

How do we strengthen our faith?

Okay, so first of all,

what is faith?

What is faith after all?

And I'm going to say that faith is,

faith is not like a fluffy bunny,

but instead we should have faith

a little bit more like an astronaut.

I'm going to explain that.

Okay, this is what faith is not.

Faith is not what our world,

our society normally thinks that faith is,

which is a kind of a wishful thinking,

a vague hope,

a fuzzy feeling.

It's like a fluffy bunny version of faith,

because a fluffy bunny is cute,

it's comforting,

it's nice,

but it can't really help you.

It can't really do anything for you

if you are in trouble.

If you leave your keys

locked inside the house

and your bunny is in there,

then it can't get them for you.

It can't help you.

Our world thinks that faith means

something like this definition that I read,

to accept or believe something

on the basis of little or no evidence.

For example,

to take something on faith.

Please try to believe what I'm telling you.

Just take it on faith.

It's the kind of faith that is blind,

the kind of faith that doesn't care

about evidence or reality.

How different a picture of faith

we see in the Bible

when we see that Jesus

and the apostles

continue to exhort those listening

to believe on the basis

of the evidence that's presented.

Whether it's the miracles

that people saw Jesus do

with their very own eyes,

or the witness of the apostles

who saw Jesus die

and then rise again

with their very own eyes.

That's the evidence that's presented.

John calls it,

what our eyes have seen

and what our hands have touched.

This is what we declare to you.

A better modern word

to describe what faith is,

I think,

would be reliance.

Reliance.

Faith is relying on somebody

or something.

The Apollo 13 mission

in 1970

went to the moon,

or was scheduled

to go to the moon,

and it was aborted

when an oxygen tank exploded

and vented all of the oxygen

in that part of the spacecraft

out into space.

And so,

with the main section damaged,

the astronauts

had to trust

the ground crew

and the engineers

that they were there,

that they were doing

all the correct calculations

needed

to bring them home.

And at the same time,

the crew had to trust

what the astronauts

were reporting,

that they would keep calm

and continue to work,

knowing

that one mistake,

and they would never

be coming home again.

The astronauts

had faith

in their instruments,

as well as in

the engineers

and the ground crew

back home.

And this faith

that they had

wasn't a wishful thinking,

a vague hope

kind of faith.

No, their faith

in the engineering crew

was complete.

In fact,

they trusted them

with their lives.

Sometimes we

spiritualize faith.

But,

and when we

spiritualize faith,

we think that it means

that we don't have

to act

or do anything.

And that God

does the acting

for us.

But actually,

God has given us

lives to live.

Hands

that work

and brains

and minds

that think

and to make decisions.

And often what we want

is life to be easy

and for God

to make the decision

for us

so that I don't

have to choose.

But what God

wants

is for us

to make decisions

in line

with faith.

Us to make decisions

in accordance

with His will.

The astronauts

had faith

in ground control

and

what they did

with that faith

was they didn't

just kind of

sit back

and expect

the shuttlecraft

to take them

back by themselves,

by itself.

No,

they listened.

They took that faith

and they put it

into action

by listening

to what was said

and then acting on it.

And we'll see

that Abraham

has the same kind of faith.

He does the same thing.

But now we're

in a better position,

I think,

to understand

why Paul writes

in Romans 4,

Romans 4:13

verse 13,

for the promise

to Abraham

and his offspring

that he would be

heir of the world

did not come

through law

but through

the righteousness

of faith.

And then in verse 16,

he writes,

this is why

it depends on faith

in order that

the promise

may rest on grace

and be guaranteed

to all his offspring.

Did you hear that?

Well,

the reason

why

it,

the promise,

depends on faith

is in order

that the promise

may rest on grace

and be guaranteed

to all his offspring.

A guarantee

is a promise

with certainty.

In our world,

it's often

something that's

written out.

in Australia,

where I come from,

the,

the,

the,

housing situation,

I know it's,

it's bad

talking about

housing situation

for you guys

here in Hong Kong

is the same as well

but the housing situation

is so bad

in Australia

that most

people cannot afford,

most young people

cannot afford

to buy their own house

and so

they don't,

they don't even

earn enough

to get a loan

big enough

to get

their first place,

their first property

and so

what is a common practice

is that

the parents

will

guarantee

the loan

and so

enable

their children

to be able

to borrow more

than they would

otherwise be able to

to be able to

pay off the loan

and that guarantee

has

the written force

of law.

As they write it,

as the parents

write that down,

a guarantee

for their children,

they are guaranteeing

to pay

if

their children

cannot

and the bank

takes that

and trust them

because

they have assets

that can be

sold

and all that

kind of thing.

So that's what

a guarantee is.

It's something that is,

it's a promise

that is made

certain.

So

can faith

really

provide

that kind of guarantee?

if we think of faith

as believing

something with

little or no evidence

or something

that we just

kind of take on

as faith,

then no,

because that kind

of faith

doesn't guarantee

anything.

That's the wishful

thinking,

fluffy bunny

kind of faith.

The reason,

though,

the reason why

faith is able

to guarantee

the promise

to us

is precisely

because

it doesn't

rely on us.

You see,

that kind of

wishful thinking

faith

relies on

you as a person.

Your faith

and what you

think

or what you hope

or what you wish

would happen.

The faith the Bible

is talking about

is a faith

on something

external.

faith

on something

that is bigger

than you.

If faith

rested upon us,

then no,

it wouldn't

be a guarantee

of anything.

But in the Bible,

faith rests

upon God

and God

is the guarantor

of the promise.

Think again

about the astronauts.

They had to trust

ground control.

If they wanted

to get home,

then they were told

that they had to

fire the engines

at an exact

point in time

for exactly

four minutes

and 24 seconds.

Not one second

more,

not one second

less.

And they took

that advice

and they put it

into action.

And they fired

the engines

for that amount

of time

and it was so

accurate,

they only needed

two minor adjustments

afterwards

to be able

to make it

home safely.

let me tell you

a secret

about faith.

Faith is only

as strong

as its object.

Or faith

receives its

strength

from the strength

of its object.

That is,

you can have

a great faith

in something

that could

let you down

because it's

inherently

untrustworthy.

in Australia

just like in

Hong Kong

many people

read the

horoscopes

and consult

them

week after

week.

Maybe like

two-thirds

of people

read them

and consult

them.

And they

have great

faith in

them.

And they

might even

live their

lives by

them.

But does it

make any

difference to

them?

Or does it

help them

in any

way?

having faith

in a promise

is about

trusting

someone's

word.

So that

leads us

to the

second

question

that I

asked.

Who should

we trust?

What kind

of a person

is worthy

of our

faith?

If having

faith in a

promise is

about trusting

someone's

word,

then we

know if

someone's

word is

trustworthy

based on

their

character.

What did

the astronauts

have to do?

They had to

trust the

word, the

calculations,

the instructions

that they were

given from

ground control.

And why did

they trust

them?

Well, because

they knew

them.

They knew

their character.

They knew

the training

that they'd

had with

them.

And they

knew their

track record

as well.

They knew

that they

weren't the

first people

to go to

the moon

and come

back safely.

And so

they trusted

the information

they were

given.

The kind

person

who can

be trusted

to keep

his promise

or her

promise

is someone

who makes

worthy promises

carefully,

deliberately,

and then

keeps them,

even at

great personal

cost.

Robertson McQuilken

served as the

president of

Columbia Bible

College.

And he was a

successful speaker

and writer

and was in

the heights

of his

career as

the president.

And when he

discovered that

his wife,

Muriel, was

in the early

stages of

Alzheimer's

disease, then

he took on

more and more

of Muriel's

care as she

felt secure

only with him

until he

ended up

resigning

from his

position,

walking away

from his

power,

prestige,

his ministry,

his wealth,

and became a

full-time

carrier for

her.

And he

says, he

talks about

this decision,

and he

says,

this decision

was made,

in a way,

42 years

ago, when

I promised

to care for

Muriel in

sickness and

in health,

till death

do us part.

So, as a

matter of my

word, integrity

has something to

do with it.

But so does

fairness.

She has cared

for me fully

and sacrificially

all these

years.

If I cared

for her for

the next 40

years, I

would not be

out of her

debt.

Duty can

be grim

and stoic,

but there's

more.

I love

Muriel.

She is a

delight to

me.

I don't

have to

care for

her.

I get

to.

It is a

high honor

to care

for so

wonderful a

person.

Robertson

McCorken is

someone who

takes his

promise to

his wife

to the

utmost

seriousness.

He

promised to

love her

for better

or for

worse,

in sickness

and in

health.

And he

didn't do

it grudgingly,

but joyfully,

even at

great personal

cost.

It's a man

who keeps

his word.

Does God

keep his

promise to

us, even

at great

personal cost?

He did.

as he

saw and

looked and

saw a

world that

was lost,

without God,

without hope,

without love,

he comes to

Abraham and

makes a

promise to

him to

bless the

world through

him.

And in

order to

keep that

promise to

Abraham, to

bring blessing

to the world

through Abraham's

line, his

own son was

born into

that line,

born to

die for the

children of

earth so

that a new

people might

be born,

the people

of the

promise.

In the

garden of

Gethsemane,

where Jesus

was, the

night before

he was

betrayed,

Gethsemane

tells us that

it was of

great personal

cost to

God.

The eternal

relationship between

father and son was

about to be

ripped apart in a

way that even

Jesus feared.

And so he

prayed to the

father to take

this cup from

him, the cup of

suffering, to

take it away.

But because God

was committed to

keeping that

promise, he

continued with

the plan.

Because Jesus

was committed to

keeping that

promise, he

went to the

cross, carrying

our unrighteousness

so that we

might be made

righteous.

This is what the

Bible calls

grace.

That God would

make and keep

his promise to

us and

rescue us from

our sins at

great personal

cost.

And so we learn

something of the

character of God

here.

This is the kind

of God who keeps

his promises.

promises.

And this is

why faith in

God is the

guarantee of

that promise.

Because God

guarantees his

promise.

God is our

guarantee.

I said before,

the reason why

faith is able to

guarantee the

promise to us is

precisely because it

does not rely on

us.

And so we don't

rely on ourselves.

In fact, that is

what Paul has been

talking about for the

first three chapters

of the book of

Romans.

Those who rely on

themselves, on

their own good

works, on their

law keeping, they

are the ones who

are headed for

disaster.

The law of Moses

cannot guarantee

the way to God.

That's the way that

the Jews were

following.

The way of

Islam, too, which

teaches that a

Muslim must do

certain works, the

five pillars, to

gain as much

blessings as

possible, to be

acceptable for God,

cannot guarantee

the way.

Because it's all

dependent on

whether you do

the works.

And if your

heart isn't

right, you

won't make it.

Following our,

having faith in

our own, our own

talents and

gifts, well, that's

the way of our

society as well,

which teaches us

that to truly

succeed in

society today, we

must work and

achieve greatness by

our gifts, our

talents, and our

efforts.

What do you rely

on?

Who do you rely

on?

In your day-to-day

walk, do you rely

on your abilities,

your gifts, your

strengths?

Christianity says

that if righteousness

had to come through

adherence to the

law, then no one

would be saved,

because through the

law came judgment

and condemnation.

The promise

instead comes

through grace,

guaranteed because

it doesn't rely on

us.

If it did rely

on us, then

we are

unreliable.

Our good works

are unreliable.

Our hearts

are unreliable.

We know that

even within

ourselves.

So don't

trust in

yourself, in

your efforts and

your works.

If you do

trust in

yourself, in

your own

goodness, to

get right with

God, then God

will judge you

according to your

goodness, and he

will judge it

against his

holiness.

But if you

have faith in

Jesus, then he

stands in front

of you.

His righteous

life covers

you.

And God, whose

standard of

holiness is

perfection, is

satisfied with

his righteousness,

with his

sacrifice.

If you have

faith in Jesus,

then you're

included in it.

You're included

in his

righteousness.

righteousness.

And so I

hope that what

I've been

saying will

help you to

understand that

faith is a

reliance on

something that

is much bigger

than us.

In fact, we

don't even rely

on faith.

We rely on

God.

That's what

faith is.

Who would you

rather have

faith in?

A street

seller who

might sell

you a stolen

phone?

or someone

who actually

works at the

Apple store?

Do you have

faith in your

own ability to

be good enough

for God?

I tell you,

I don't.

But I do

have faith that

God will keep

his promise,

the promise

that he's

guaranteed.

He will

fulfill it and

bring me safely

to him.

Let's get to

my third

question.

how do we

get a

stronger

faith?

Don Carson

tells this

story of

a boat

that is

ready to

cross this

river to

get to the

other side.

There's two

men, they're

journeying, and

they want to

get to the

inn, which is

on the other

side of the

river.

They get to

the boat, and

one of them

says,

we're heading

up.

It's a

stormy night,

and it's

windy, and

the storm's

buffeting, but

the guy says,

don't worry, I

know this guy,

he's going to

have a boat

ready for us.

He's done this

many times before,

and we'll be

able to get

across safely.

And so they

get there, and

when they see it,

they see this boat

tied to the

jetty there,

and it's being

rocked about by

all the waves,

the wind, and

everything.

And the other

guy says, are

you sure?

Like, I'm a

little scared,

actually.

Will we

actually make it

across if we

jump on this

boat?

And the guy

says, no, no,

look, don't

worry, don't

worry.

This guy, he's

an expert boat

builder.

His boat has

survived many

storms, and it

will survive this

one as well.

And the second

guy says, well,

okay, I really

don't know about

this, but

we don't have

any choice, let's

go.

So then they

both get on

the boat, and

the boat makes

it safely to the

other side, through

the storm, and

they both get

off.

Now, Don

Carson asks a

question at this

point.

He says, which

man had the

stronger faith?

And it's clear.

It was the first

man who knew the

owner of the

boat and was

confident in the

boat, and he

got on without

a worry.

The other guy

was scared, he

wasn't sure, and

so on.

And then Don

asks a second

question.

Which man made

it across to

the other

side?

Well, it was

the ones who

got in the

boat, both

of them.

Because what

saved them was

not the quality

or the strength

of their faith.

What saved them

was the quality

and workmanship

of the boat,

which enabled

them to get to

the other side.

That's how it

is with us and

faith and God.

God.

It's not the

quality and the

strength of faith

that I might

have that enables

me to do

wonderful things.

It is the God

that we serve, the

God who came and

died for us, the

God whose character

is revealed to

us.

It's because of

him and his

character and his

glory that we can

get to the other

side.

So then, how

is it that one

man had stronger

faith?

Well, he knew

the boatmaker

better.

How did Abraham

strengthen his

faith?

We read the

answer in

verse 20,

hang on,

where are we?

Verse 19 and

20.

See, verse 19

says, he didn't

weaken in faith

when he

considered his

circumstances, his

own body, his

wife, his aged

wife.

But instead, he

grew strong in

his faith, verse

20, as he gave

glory to God.

In other words,

he grew strong in

his faith as he

knew God better

and better and

gave the glory to

him.

What it meant

for Abraham to

grow strong in

his faith was

to learn to

trust and rely

and to see that

God was one who

kept his promises.

God promised to

bless Abraham, to

look after him, to

give him land,

nation, and

people.

And Abraham

watched those

promises come true

one by one.

And as he did, he

kept walking in

that way, walking

in those footsteps to

continue to trust,

in God.

And that's why his

faith grew stronger

over time.

Abraham kept

exercising the

faith muscle.

He kept having

faith.

And in all those

years, you know,

Abraham waited a

really long time.

I don't know how

long you think

you've waited for a

prayer.

prayer.

But it was 25

years between

when God told

Abraham that he

would have many

children and when

he actually had the

son of the

promise, Isaac.

back.

And in all those

years, Abraham was

walking faithfully, in

step with God.

And it would have

been hard for him to

have faith.

And yet, by

exercising that

faith muscle,

Abraham's faith

grew and then

kept growing.

And then he saw

that God was

faithful and he

grew again.

We grow in faith

when we go

through trials.

When do you

find it the most

difficult to have

faith?

For me, I think

I find it the

hardest when I

feel disappointed

by life.

And by

extension,

disappointed in

God as well.

Because he didn't

give me the life

that I wanted.

And we

grow in our

faith when we

go through trials.

And in my

story, when life

wasn't going well,

when I'd land

in...

To understand

something about

how Sydney works,

it's a big place.

It's four times the

size of Hong Kong

by land mass.

Ten times if you

count in the

mountains, regions

and so on.

So it's like several

cities at once.

And so when I was

posted in different

places,

what I didn't

realise was that

it was like moving

to another city.

And I didn't realise

that it would mean

that I'd be cut off

from all of my

friends and

connections and so

on.

And so when I was

in a place,

isolated,

alone,

unsupported,

feeling only kind

of the difficulty

of working in a new

environment and

I'd been told

quite often

that when you go

into work in

ministry,

that persecution

will come.

It's just that

you don't expect it

to come from

within the church.

So when that

all happened,

then I became

convinced that I

was abandoned

by my friends,

the diocese that

I was a part of,

even by God.

And I found it

nearly impossible

to pray,

except for just

this one prayer.

God, get me out

of here.

And so,

you know,

I fell into this

deep, dark depression

and when life

is not going well,

you ask God,

what are you doing?

Like the psalmist,

I cried out,

how long, O Lord?

And in that moment,

your faith is shaken.

You aren't sure

whether God loves you.

You aren't sure

whether He even

remembers you.

And a friend

asked me at that time,

what do you think

God is teaching you

through this time?

Apart from wanting

to punch Him

in the nose,

I couldn't think

of a possible reason.

That's the whole point

why I was

feeling that way.

I couldn't think

of a possible reason

for God to put me

through that situation.

That might be

your situation.

How would Abraham

have felt

in the long years

while he waited

for God to fulfill

his promise?

Five years,

ten years,

fifteen years,

twenty years.

You know,

God only spoke

to Abraham

three times

in those years,

including his initial call.

And the fourth time

was after twenty-four years

when he told him,

finally,

this is when

it's going to happen.

the key is

to see your life

as an interconnected

whole

that God cares about.

The key is to understand

and to remember

God's character,

who He is

and what He's done

and the promise

that He makes

and that He keeps.

Paul Miller,

in a book,

He talks about

how to see

your life

as an interconnected

whole

and how you

deal with

disappointment.

And he's faced that

because he had

a disabled daughter

and it's a 25-year

journey for him

as well

with her.

And he says this,

first of all,

don't demand

that the story

goes your way.

Secondly,

look for the storyteller

in your story.

And thirdly,

stay in the story.

Don't shut down

when it goes

the wrong way.

What he's saying is,

for him,

when he grappled

with having

a disabled daughter,

first of all,

he felt

kind of anger

and denial

that this was

really happening.

And then,

he tried to do

everything that he could

in his power

to fix her,

to help her recover,

to do all these,

to do what he could.

And then,

when that failed,

because he'd been

relying on himself,

he fell into despair.

It was only after

many years,

as he and his wife

continued to pray,

continued to trust God,

they began to see

answers to their prayers,

not in,

not in a miraculous

kind of healing,

but in little steps,

being able to talk,

being able to function,

and so on.

But also,

in the growth

that they personally

experienced,

of seeing

their daughter

grow

and develop,

slowly.

And they said

that she's taught her

more than

having kind of

a normal family

could ever have.

The normal family

just got completely

kind of trashed

and ruined,

so they say.

But it enabled them

to trust

and to lean

on God

and to stop

believing

that they were

the saviors

of their own lives.

I think something

similar

has happened

in my life.

I still don't know

what God was doing,

putting me

through that situation.

But one thing

that's different

is I want to find out.

I'm excited

to find out,

to see what God

has in store for me

as I think

about my life,

not just in

compartments

that are disconnected

to one another,

but as a whole

kind of life story

that God is weaving

through my life.

So for you,

consider

God's character.

I think about

the way that God

was abandoned

for me.

And so that meant

that I would never

be abandoned.

Make your faith

like that

of an astronaut

where they knew

and trusted

the instruments

and the people

that were back home

and they continued on

and they carried out

their mission.

Don't be

a fluffy astronaut.

Be instead

one who

continues on

and

trusts

and

continues

to grasp

and to grip

hold of

the grace

of God.

At work,

you might get

persecuted

for being a Christian.

Maybe your boss

wants you to do

something you know

isn't right

and in faith

you say no

and you're mistreated

because of it

or worse,

you get fired

and you ask,

what is God doing?

Is he trying to teach

me something in this?

Faith looks

beyond the short term

to see what God

is doing

in the bigger

picture

because in the short run

there is pain

but in the long run

we know that people

with integrity

are valued

and people want to do

business with people

with integrity

or if you're in a school

where it's definitely

not cool

to be a Christian,

people laugh at you

or think you're crazy

or you're stuck up

and yet

you stick to your guns,

you stick to your beliefs

and eventually

God shows you

who your true friends are,

the ones who stick with you

through good and bad.

Watch the stories

that God is weaving

into your life.

Remember,

don't demand the story

goes your way.

Look for the storyteller

in your life

and stay in the story.

If things go wrong,

we're so tempted

to just check out

and think,

well,

God obviously

has abandoned me,

he obviously

doesn't care for me,

I'm just going to do

my own thing

from now on.

That is not

a true picture

of the character of God.

The true picture

of the character of God

comes from the cross

where we see

that God

kept his promise

even at great

personal cost

to himself.

And so as we remember that,

then that encourages us

or let us encourage

one another

to continue

to stick with God

the way that he

has stuck with us.

Let's pray.

Father,

we ask that

you would help us

to be like you

in your faithfulness.

We ask that

you would help us

to understand

and know more

of your character,

to get to know you more

so that we can

trust and love you more.

We think of Abraham

who,

for 25 years,

was wandering

through the hills

and the desert

trusting in your word,

trusting in your promise

and that you came

through for him.

and we think of

Jesus

who,

because he wanted

to fulfill

that promise,

went to the cross

for our sakes

and took our

unrighteousness

and made us righteous.

And Father,

in our own lives,

we know that there are

many things that hurt

and can damage us

and yet we look to you

as one who's promised

to bring us

to greater and greater glory.

And so we ask that

you would help us

to trust in you,

to look to you,

to be the one

who weaves our story together.

And so we ask that

you would help us

then to trust

and rely not in ourselves,

not on our strength,

but in yours.

Amen.