Getting Right with God

Well, we've been journeying as a church over the last number of weeks through the story

of Abraham, and we've been looking at it through the perspective of Moses back in the record

that we have in Genesis.

This morning, we're going to be looking at it from a different perspective.

We're going to be looking at it through the lens of the Apostle Paul as he wrote in his

letter to the church at Rome.

Now, some of you may be wondering, why are we jumping forward into the New Testament?

And so I just want to give a brief explanation as to why.

The best way to understand anything in the Bible, any passage, is to look at it and read

it within its literary context, to understand what's said there in that passage and in the

surrounding area.

But it's also important that we set things in the wider context of the whole Bible and

look at the story of Abraham in light of the whole.

How does his story fit into the larger story of what God is doing in our world?

And so we want to take some time in the next couple of weeks to jump back and forth a little

bit between the Old Testament account of Abraham and the New Testament to see what's said by

the New Testament authors about Abraham.

Abraham.

And why do we do this?

One of the things that is a burden on my heart or weighs heavily on my heart as someone who preaches

and teaches, there are passages in the Word of God that say that those who preach and teach will be judged

more strictly.

There are passages that encourage those of us who do to watch what we teach very closely.

Because if we veer off and begin teaching things that are not true or not accurate from the Word of God,

then we become dangerous to our hearers.

And so with that weight, as part of my process to prepare to preach or teach,

I have very intentionally included consulting with good commentaries on the passages that I look at.

So these commentaries, basically the guys who write these, they'll look at what all the other people

have said about that particular passage in all the other commentaries and bring all that together.

And I think of it as a safeguard.

It's a way to check for me, is what I'm seeing in this passage what you guys in the larger church community

around the world are seeing?

Because it's totally possible for me to, by myself, misinterpret or misimply or get the wrong idea from a passage.

And so I want to check and see, is the larger church community as a whole also seeing that here?

Now, as good as these books are, these commentaries are the writings of men about the Bible.

Sometimes, I wonder though, if we have failed to appreciate just what we have in the New Testament writings.

And here's where I'm going with this.

The writers of the New Testament and even Jesus himself have a lot to say about the Old Testament,

about what happened there, what was written there.

And so, the writings of the New Testament are not just like these books, the words of men.

They are the words of men, but they have their source in God

and come to us through his spirit as the inspired word of God.

They're authoritative.

And so, when we look at the New Testament and what it says about those old stories,

like the stories of Abraham,

it's like we are reading the ultimate commentary

on what happened back in the Old Testament.

And the one example that I'll point to

is with Jesus.

Jesus had many run-ins with the religious leaders of his day.

And on one of those encounters,

this is what he said to the religious leaders.

He said,

You guys study the scriptures diligently

because you think that in them you have eternal life.

These are the very scriptures that testify about me.

Yet you refuse to come to me to have life.

One of the things that I take from that

is that it is entirely possible for us

to diligently study the Old Testament scriptures

and yet come to wrong conclusions,

to get it wrong,

to miss the whole point of what they're saying.

And Jesus was known for being someone

who corrected people's wrong ideas about the Old Testament.

He talked about how their ideas

of who the Messiah would be were wrong

and what the Messiah would do were off.

He corrected people's view on the law

and how it applies to our lives

on things like marriage and divorce

and a number of other things to name a few.

And so,

and really this kind of makes sense, doesn't it?

I mean,

who better to tell us

how to interpret and apply the Old Testament

than the Son of God himself?

And so,

as we look back into the Old Testament,

we want to do so

with the lens,

with the comments,

with the teaching

that Jesus himself

gives us

about what happened back there.

He is the commentary,

the commentator

on those old writings

that never fails,

that gets it right every time.

Not only he,

but the apostles as well

who wrote under the inspiration of the Spirit

and what they said

about what was written in the Old Testament,

it too

has the same kind of weight.

It's part of the ultimate commentary

to give us confidence,

to point us in the right direction

so that when we look at these Old Testament scriptures,

we don't end up coming

to all these weird

and wonky ideas

and conclusions

of what it means

and how it applies to our lives.

And so,

that's why for the next number of weeks

we're going to be going back and forth a little

between the old and the new.

We want to understand the story

through the lens

that God has given us

in the New Testament

through his Son

and through the apostles.

So this morning,

we're in Romans chapter 4.

Romans 4 · chapter mention

If you have your Bible with you,

please open it up

to Romans chapter 4.

Romans 4 · chapter mention

Paul has a lot to say here

in Romans chapter 4

Romans 4 · chapter mention

about the story of Abraham.

But before we get to that,

we first have to note

that what he says

comes in the context

of a larger message,

a larger point

that he's making.

And thank you, Charles,

for focusing our attention

on chapter 3

and some of what was there.

This is kind of the context

of what Paul is saying here

in chapter 4.

His whole aim in this letter

to the Romans

is to set forth

the gospel clearly

so that the people

that are in the church in Rome

would understand

the good news of Jesus.

This church is a mixed church.

It's got Jewish believers

and Gentile believers in it.

And so he's also

bringing everything together

in a way that

they would understand

how that applies to them

with their different backgrounds.

He spent the first

three chapters

as Charles

kind of led us

through a little bit,

focusing

and proclaiming

on the truth

that

the just wrath of God

is coming

upon our world

because of our sin.

As we heard this morning,

no one is righteous.

No one is exempt from this.

He takes great pains to say,

even if you're Jewish

and have observed the law

as best you can,

you are not exempt from this.

Jew and Gentile,

all of us,

the verse we've all heard,

for all have sinned

and fall short

of the glory of God,

says Paul.

And then as we heard,

read already,

he breaks in

with the good news.

But now,

there is a righteousness

from God

that can be given to us,

that we can receive

from God

by faith.

For all have sinned

and fall short

of the glory of God,

Romans 3.23,

and all are justified,

all are made right

with God

freely

by his grace

through the redemption

that came by Christ Jesus.

And we just

talked about

and reflected

on how Jesus

became that sacrifice

that we needed.

So that Paul can say

in verse 22

of chapter 3,

this righteousness,

this right standing

with God

is given through faith

in Jesus Christ

to all who believe,

whether Jew or Gentile.

There's no difference.

And so then he comes down

to verse 27

and he says,

where then is boasting?

It's excluded.

Verse 28,

for we maintain

that a person

is justified,

they're made right

with God

by faith,

apart from works

of the law.

Or is God

the God of Jews only?

Is he not

the God

of Gentiles too?

Yes,

of Gentiles too.

Since there is

only one God

who will justify,

who will make

right with himself

the circumcised

by faith

and the uncircumcised

through that same faith,

Jew and Gentile.

His main point here

is that there is

no ground

for bragging

or for boasting

to others

that you somehow

got a right standing

with God

through your own

good works,

through your own

observing of the law.

because a right standing

with God

is something

that God

gives as a gift

to those

who simply believe,

who have faith

in Jesus Christ,

his son.

And that's his main point

as we come into

chapter 4

that he is

trying to

make clear

drawing on the story

of Abraham.

Both Jew

and Gentile

are made right

with God

by faith,

by believing

the gospel

of Jesus

and not by works,

not by ritual,

not by anything else,

by faith alone.

So chapter 4

starting in verse 1.

What then shall we say

that Abraham,

our forefather,

discovered in this matter?

In this whole matter

of getting right with God,

what did Abraham discover?

Verse 2.

If in fact

Abraham was justified

by works,

he had something

to boast about,

but not before God.

What does scripture say?

Abraham believed God

and it was credited

to him

as righteousness.

And so even with Abraham,

our great forefather

of the faith,

he was not made right

with God

on the basis

of works.

He was made right

with God

on the basis

of faith.

And so he has

no reason to boast.

You remember

from the story,

Abraham blew it

many times.

He sinned.

He was a sinner

just like the rest of us.

He was a worshiper

of other gods

back in Ur

of the Chaldeans

when God called him.

That's not the basis

of why he's

in favor with God.

He came into this

right standing

with God

by faith.

And Paul,

he reminds us

of that place

in the Old Testament

in Genesis

where that's

stated very clearly.

What does the scripture say?

Abraham believed God

and it was credited

to him

as righteousness.

For those of you

who were here

on that Sunday,

God took Abraham

out

and pointed him

up to the sky.

He said,

look at the stars.

As innumerable

as the stars are,

if you could count them,

so shall your offspring

be beyond numbering.

And then right after that,

it says,

Abraham believed God

and it was credited

to him

as righteousness.

He took the Lord's word

at face value

and trusted

that God would

actually bring that about

for him

and his offspring.

and God credited it

to him

as righteousness.

He counted him

as having a right

standing with himself

even though in actuality

he didn't.

He was a sinner

just like the rest of us.

And so that's

Paul's main point here.

Abraham was

made right with God

on the basis

of his believing,

his faith.

Not on the basis

of what he did

and it's the same

for you and I.

We are made right

with God

on the basis

not of what we do

but on the basis

of our believing

the good news

of Jesus Christ.

Paul goes on

in verse 4

to help us

really understand

this

and clarify it.

Now to the one

who works,

wages are not credited

as a gift

but as an obligation.

However,

to the one

who does not work

but trusts God

who justifies

the ungodly,

their faith

is credited

as righteousness.

Paul says

you want to talk

about work?

This is how it works

with work.

When you go to work

you earn wages

and your wages

are given to you.

They're deposited

into your bank account

not as a gift

but as what

you are owed

from your employer

in return

for your work.

They're an obligation

but that's not

how it works

when it comes

to getting right

with God.

In fact,

it's almost

the opposite

says Paul.

When it comes

to getting right

with God

God gives

righteousness

a right standing

with himself

to those

who believe

and yet

do not work.

It's a gift.

However,

to the one

who does not work

but trusts God

their faith

is credited

as righteousness.

It's not something

you can earn.

You can't earn

a right standing

with God.

It's something

you receive

as a gift

on the basis

of belief

and faith.

Trust.

I love the way

that Paul describes

God here.

He is who trusts

but trusts God

who justifies

the ungodly.

He is the God

who is in the business

of making right

with himself

the ungodly.

Sinners

like you

like me

like Abraham.

This is the good news.

You don't have

to earn it.

In fact

it's those

who do not

try to earn it

but simply trust

that God

will give it

as a gift

who receive

this right standing

with God.

Paul goes on

to say that

David

King David

he saw

and recognized

that this is

how it was

with God.

He wrote

in the Psalms

blessed

are those

whose transgressions

are forgiven.

Blessed

is the one

whose sin

the Lord

will never

count against them.

This wasn't

just a thing

that God

did with Abraham.

This was something

that thousands

of years later

David recognized

too that God

was in the business

of blessing people

of forgiving them

of their sins

of not counting

against them

the wrong things

that they had

done.

Paul then

goes on

to ask

the question

when it

comes to

this wonderful

gift

of being

made right

with God

on the basis

of faith

who is this

gift for?

Verse 9

is this

blessedness

only

for the

circumcised

for the Jew

or also

for the

uncircumcised

for the Gentile?

We have

been saying

that Abraham's

faith was

credited to him

as righteousness.

Under what

circumstances

was it credited?

Paul's going

to make the

case here

that this

gift

of righteousness

of being

made right

with God

is for

both Jew

and Gentile

and how

is he going

to make

this case?

He's going

to make

it based

on the

story of

Abraham.

He says

look at

Abraham's

life.

At what

point,

in what

situation

did he

get a

right standing

with God?

Was it

after he

was circumcised

or was it

before?

It was

not after

but before.

says Paul

and he

received

circumcision

as a

sign,

a seal

of the

righteousness

that he

had by

faith

while he

was still

uncircumcised.

It wasn't

based on

the ritual

of circumcision

that Abraham

was made

right with

God

because

circumcision

hadn't even

entered the

picture yet.

It was

based on

faith

while he

was still

uncircumcised.

And so

what's

the

implications

of this?

Paul

actually

lays it

out for

us

in

verse

11.

So then

Abraham

is the

father

of all

who

believe

but have

not

been

circumcised

in order

that

righteousness

might be

credited

to them.

and he

is then

also

the

father

of

the

circumcised

who

not

only

are

circumcised

but who

also

follow

in the

footsteps

of the

faith

that our

father

Abraham

had

before

he

was

circumcised.

So

Abraham

came into

this right

standing

with God.

He got

right

with God

even

before

circumcision

this kind

of ritual

that God

gave

entered

the

picture.

His

faith

in the

promise

of God

was

credited

to him

as

righteousness

as a

right

standing

with

God

and in

the

same

way

those

of us

who

are

circumcised

or

uncircumcised

Jew

or Gentile

receive it

a right

standing

with God.

Let

these words

sink in.

Abraham

is the

father

of all

who

believe

but

have

not

been

circumcised.

And I

think the

way Paul

is using

circumcision

here is

to refer

to

who

are

not

Jewish.

Of

course

it was

practiced

in other

places

but this

is

primarily

what

he

means.

Abraham

is the

father

of all

who

believe

but

have

not

been

circumcised.

Do you

hear what

the Lord

is saying

there?

Maybe

a way

to say

it

differently.

All

who

believe

but have

not been

circumcised

are the

children

of Abraham.

He is

their

father.

But it's

not just

them

and Paul

is going

to go

on and

talk about

what this

means for

those of

us who

are

uncircumcised

Gentiles.

It's

not just

for them

it's

also

for the

Jewish

people

too.

Verse

12

He is

also

the

father

of

the

circumcised

but notice

the condition

that he

puts there

the

qualification.

He is

also

the

father

of

the

circumcised

who

not

only

are

circumcised

but

who

also

follow

in the

footsteps

of

the

faith

that

our

father

Abraham

had

before

he

was

circumcised.

So

circumcision

on its

own

is

not

enough.

They

have

to

have

that

if

they're

Jewish

they

will

and

they

have

to

have

the

faith

that

Abraham

had

just

as

he

did

to

be

considered

Abraham's

children

for him

to be

considered

their

father.

It's

for

both

Jew

and

Gentile

this

gift

of

being

made

right

with

God

and

it's

not

on

the

basis

of

this

ritual.

It's

not

on

the

basis

of

lineage

or

descent

or

race.

It's

on

the

basis

of

faith

for

Jew

or

Gentile.

Paul

goes

on

in

verse

13.

He

says

it

was

not

through

the

law

that

Abraham

and

his

offspring

received

the

promise

that

he

would

be

heir

of

the

world.

But

through

the

faith

for

if

those

who

depend

on

the

law

are

heirs

faith

means

nothing

and

the

promise

is

worthless

because

the

law

brings

wrath.

Here

again

Paul

makes

the

case

as

he

just

did.

It's

not

based

on

the

ritual.

It's

not

based

on

doing

certain

rituals.

It's

not

based

on

the

law.

It's

not

based

on

doing

good

works

or

not

doing

bad

things

that

we

get

a

right

standing

with

God

and

receive

what

he

has

promised.

The

law

had

not

even

been

given

yet

to

Abraham.

He

didn't

fully

understand

what

God's

standard

of

right

and

wrong

was.

And

yet

he

was

considered

righteous,

counted

righteous

by

God.

As

a

side

note,

Paul

says,

if

it

was

based

on

the

law,

it

would

be

hopeless.

He's

already

argued

that

in the

book.

We've

already

failed

to

live

up

to

God's

righteous

standard.

If it

was

based

on

that,

all

we'd

be

looking

forward

to

is

wrath.

God

the

law

brings

wrath.

We

wouldn't

receive

what

we've

been

promised

if

it

was

conditioned

upon

our

obedience

because

we

would

fail.

It's

not

through

the

law.

It's

not

through

works.

As we

noted

back in

Genesis

in the

story of

Abraham,

this

promise,

this

statement

that

Abraham

was

credited

righteousness

to him.

He

got a

right

standing

with

God.

That

came

before

he

was

ever

given

anything

to

do

by

God

in

connection

with

this

covenant.

Why?

God

did it

that way

on

purpose.

And

Paul

tells us

what that

purpose

is

in the

next

verse.

Therefore,

the

promise

comes

by

faith

so

that

it

may

be

by

grace

and

may

be

guaranteed

to

all

Abraham's

offspring.

The

promise

comes

by

faith

so

that

it

may

be

by

grace

and

may

be

guaranteed

to

all

Abraham's

offspring.

If

it

was

based

on

works,

we'd

be

in

trouble.

we

wouldn't

get

what

was

promised.

We

would

fail

the

test.

But

God

didn't

do it

that

way

and

he

didn't

do

it

on

purpose.

He

wanted

it

to

be

by

grace.

He

wanted

us

to

get

a

right

standing

with

him,

Abraham,

Isaac,

those

of us

who

later

will

believe

as

a

gift,

an

unearned,

undeserved

gift

of

grace.

And

he

did

it

that

way

also

so

that

it

would

be

guaranteed

because

if

we

had

to

continue

to

measure

up

and

somehow

earn

and

live

rightly

enough

to

get

what

was

promised,

there'd

be

no

guarantee,

there'd

be

no

certainty

that

we

would

actually

get

it

because

what

if

we

blow

it?

What

if

we

failed?

And

so

God

gave

the

promise

before

he

even

asked

Abraham

to

do

anything,

before

the

law

had

come

and

he

credited

righteousness

to

him

simply

on

the

basis

of

his

accepting

and

believing

what

the

Lord

said.

The

promise

comes

by

faith

so

that

it

may

be

by

grace

and

may

be

guaranteed

to

who?

To

all

Abraham's

offspring.

Who's

that?

Paul

tells us,

he goes

on to

say,

not only

to those

who are

of the

law,

but also

to those

who have

the faith

of

Abraham.

He

is the

father

of us

all.

Now we

have to

be careful

here because

there is a

wrong way

to read

this.

we

might

read

to

all

Abraham's

offspring,

not only

to those

who are

of the

law,

but also

to those

who have

the

faith,

to mean

that some

will get

a right

standing

with God

and inherit

all that's

been promised

on the

basis of

keeping

the law,

while others

will do

it by

faith.

That's not

what Paul

means.

He's already

spent this

whole letter

making it

clear.

That's not

the case.

you cannot

earn this

gift.

It's a

gift that

we don't

deserve.

And so

when he

says not

only to

those of

the law,

who is

he referring

to?

Those of

the law

refers to

the Jewish

people,

those who

received

the law.

Those who

are not

of the

law are

the Gentiles,

those who

didn't receive

that, who

aren't Jewish.

but in

both cases,

it's those

who have

the faith

of Abraham.

Do you

hear what

the Lord

is saying

here?

All

Abraham's

offspring,

not only

to those

of the

law,

but also

to those

who are

not of

the law,

but have

the faith

of Abraham.

Jew

and

Gentile.

Is this

what Paul

means?

That Jew

and Gentile

are Abraham's

children?

The context

seems to

say that it

is.

We saw

that back

in chapter

three already.

Is God

the God

of Jews

only?

Is he

not the

God of

Gentiles

too?

Yes,

of Gentiles

too.

He will

justify the

circumcised

by faith

and the

uncircumcised

through that

same faith.

Back in

verse

nine,

is the

blessing

is only

for the

circumcised

or is it

also for

the

uncircumcised?

It's for

both,

he said.

He is

the father

of all

who believe

but have

not been

circumcised

and also

the father

of those

who believe

and are

circumcised.

It's both

Jew and

Gentile.

And that's

what he's

saying here.

The promise

comes

by faith

to all

Abraham's

offspring,

those of

the law

and those

not of

the law

in both

cases

who have

faith

like

Abraham

did.

He is

the father

of us

all.

And here's

the big

confirmation

that we're

seeing that

right.

Jew and

Gentile,

verse 17,

as it is

written,

I have

made you

a father

of many

nations.

He is

our father

in the

sight of

God

in whom

he

believed.

You may

recall back

in the

story of

Abraham

as we

looked at

it earlier

that God

made a

promise that

Abraham

said,

I will

make you

the father

of a

multitude

of

nations.

Paul is

here saying

that's

fulfilled,

not in

the sense

that your

descendants will

branch off

into many

nations.

That's

fulfilled in

the sense

that all

who are

of the

faith that

you have

are counted

as your

offspring

from among

the nations

of the

world.

He is

our father

in the

sight of

God.

Just as

Abraham was

counted

righteous

though he

wasn't,

us

Gentiles

who believe

are counted

as Abraham's

children

or offspring

though we

aren't.

It's a

gift of

God.

The

promise

comes to

all

Abraham's

offspring

by faith

Jew

and

Gentile.

And what

is that

promise?

We've been

talking about

it.

The promise,

the promise,

the promise.

Well Paul

actually tells

us what the

promise is

in verse

13.

it was

not through

the law

that Abraham

and his

offspring

received the

promise that

what?

That he

would be

heir of

the world.

Do you

hear that?

The promise

that he

would be

heir of

the world.

And right

about now

we're wondering

is that a

translation

error?

it seems

as though

he's talking

about the

promise about

the land.

Did he

mean to

say land?

The original

word there is

the word for

world.

There's a

different word

for land

or earth.

What?

the promise

that he

would be

heir of

the world.

If you

remember

when Abraham

first came

into the

land

the Lord

said to

your

offspring

I will

give

this land.

He hadn't

even come

all the way

into the

land yet.

He hadn't

even seen

the whole

land yet.

This

land.

The land

where you're

standing

right now.

But then

the Lord

restated

that promise

again.

He said

as far

as your

eyes can

see.

From the

place where

you're

standing.

And the

promised

land

seems to

have

expanded

in its

scope.

And then

again the

Lord

tells him

I'm going

to give

this land

to your

offspring.

To you

and your

offspring.

And the

promise is

expanded again

back in

Genesis.

Not just

the land

that you

can see.

All the

way down

to the

river

of Egypt

and all

the way

over here

to the