Confidently Assured

Present series in Romans. We're going to pick it up again after Christmas from Romans 5.

But we've basically gone through from chapter 1 and we're going to finish the end of chapter 4 this morning.

If you want to know what we have been doing, there is a sheet at the back by the door which has an outline of Romans 1 to 8.

And it'll give you the big picture or the main pointers the whole way through.

So you can have a look there.

Then next Sunday, as I said, Keith Wilson will be preaching.

And then following that, we start a new series of four talks.

And the title we are giving that is Pure.

So we're going to be looking at issues like marriage, singleness, living in an age of purity.

And the other one then is on homosexuality.

So the title is Pure.

I'm looking at each of those subjects.

And they will be followed up by evening discussions or question time.

So we'll have the talk in the morning.

And then on Sunday evening, you will be invited, if you wanted, to join in just further discussion and question based on those talks.

As I'm sure there will be lots of questions.

Well, Romans 4 is where we are this morning.

And we're going to read from verse 13 to 25.

And it's on page 1131.

Romans chapter 4, verses 13 to 25.

Romans 4:13–25

It was not through law that Abraham and his offspring received the promise that he would be heir of the world, but through the righteousness that comes by faith.

For if those who live by law are heirs, faith has no value and the promise is worthless, because law brings wrath.

And where there is no law, there is no transgression.

Therefore, the promise comes by faith, so that it may be by grace and may be guaranteed to all Abraham's offspring, not only to those who are of the law, but also to those who are of the faith of Abraham.

He is the father of us all.

As it is written, I have made you the father of many nations.

He is our father in the sight of God, in whom he believed, the God who gives life to the dead and calls things that are not as though they were.

Against all hope, Abraham in hope believed, and so became the father of many nations, just as it had been said to him, so shall your offspring be.

Without weakening in his faith, he faced the fact that his body was as good as dead, since he was about a hundred years old, and that Sarah's womb, his wife, was also dead.

Yet he did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God, but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God, being fully persuaded that God had power to do what he had promised.

That is why it was credited to him as righteousness.

The words it was credited to him were written not for him alone, but also for us, to whom God will credit righteousness, for us who believe in him, who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead.

He was delivered over to death for our sins, and was raised to life for our justification.

Well, let's pray as we look at that passage together.

Our Father God, we thank you for all that we have.

From what we have heard and seen this morning, we recognize there are so many people, so many children in this world,

who do not have the basic necessities of life.

But we thank you, Father, that we have things available to us.

We have food and water and homes.

And not least, we also have your word in our language, that we can understand and read for ourselves.

But yet, you have also promised that you would pour out your Holy Spirit to those who will ask.

And we ask that you would pour out your Spirit upon us, so that what we hear may change our lives.

That it would also help us to see how your word affects the world in which we live,

and the attitude that we should have on the world.

And how we should look forward to your eternal kingdom.

So, Lord, please help us.

And be with us as we look at your word together.

In Jesus' name.

Amen.

Amen.

Would you describe yourself as a very confident person?

Well, let's do a little test.

On a scale of 1 to 10, how confident are you that Liverpool are going to qualify for the Champions League?

Not too long ago, they were the defending champions.

But now, in the space of a few months, things are very unsure for the club.

On a more serious note, how confident are you that you are going to be living and working in Carigoline in the next 10 years?

A few years ago, we may have been very confident.

But with the recession, it makes things a little bit more uncertain.

How confident are you that you are going to be in good health next year?

Perhaps on the basis of how you feel today, you may be feeling very confident.

But we never know what a certain test is going to show up.

We all live in hope.

But life never guarantees any of these things.

So let me ask another question.

How confident are you that when you die, and we can be very confident we will die,

how confident are you that when you die, you will receive a rich welcome by God into his eternal paradise?

How sure are you this morning that you are going to be part of heaven?

That God is going to say, you can be part of my new creation?

Well, I think that answer will depend on how you feel the last week or the last month has gone.

If you've had a good week, you've been reading your Bible,

you've managed to pray, you've made a few people happy,

you've done a good deed for someone,

then you may feel very assured that, yeah, God is going to welcome me.

After all, I've sponsored a child for compassion.

On the other hand, if you've had a bad week,

and you can't even remember when the last time was you opened your Bible,

maybe you've had a big bust-up with your spouse,

you maybe even got a bit drunk at the weekend,

then maybe you're feeling a little bit unsure,

and you don't know if you're going to get to heaven.

Or perhaps, like me, you wonder,

what happens if I die in the middle of some sin?

Do you ever think that?

What if I die before I even had the opportunity to ask God to forgive me?

Would he let me in then?

Well, we all live in hope, don't we?

But can we be 100% confident

that we are going to receive a welcome into God's paradise?

Well, the Bible's answer is a very, very confident yes.

And it all starts with a promise that God has made.

In fact, chapter 4 is all about a promise.

And we're told what the promise is in verse 13.

It was not through law that Abraham and his offspring received the promise.

And what's the promise?

Here it is.

That he would be heir of the world.

Now, if you are an heir, you are going to receive something.

You inherit what has been promised to you.

And you really can't get anything better than this, can you?

The promise is to inherit the world.

That's astounding, isn't it?

That the world could be promised to one person.

But what does it mean to inherit the world?

Well, we need to go back in time to the beginning of the Bible story.

You see, very often we talk about the gospel and salvation in narrow terms.

We talk about Jesus dealing with our sins on the cross

and restoring our relationship back to God.

Now, as primary and as important as that is,

it's only the beginning of the story.

The gospel and salvation is much broader.

It's about not just restoring our relationship to God,

but it's about restoring and renewing the world.

So, go back to the beginning of the Bible story.

Go back to paradise in Genesis 1 and 2.

And that paints a picture for us of what paradise would look like.

In Genesis 1 and 2, we see that the world is perfect.

It's in order.

Everything works the way that it should do.

People are living under God's loving and caring rule.

They have everything that they need.

All is provided for them.

Adam and Eve are living in relationship with God.

And they're living in relationship with each other.

They know their roles and everything is good.

And not only that, they're in harmony with the world.

There's no death.

There's no disease.

There's no suffering.

There's no violence.

There's no need of any sponsorship program

because everybody is provided with all that they need.

The world is the way that it's meant to be.

But then as we move on in Genesis,

we come and we encounter a problem.

Man and woman, Adam and Eve,

they rebel against God.

They reject his loving rule.

And they replace God's authority

with their own authority.

And they say,

we want to rule the world the way we want to.

And what follows is what we might call

a cosmic curse.

People are cursed.

And as a result,

their relationship with God breaks.

They have to leave paradise.

They're shut out from God.

And their relationships with each other begin to break.

They begin to fight.

In fact, the first two brothers that existed in the world,

one of them killed the other.

But it's not just people who are cursed.

The world was also cursed.

It became disjointed and twisted.

The cogs that make everything go round the way it should be

begin to jam up.

And the brokenness and the pain that we see all around us today,

whether it's earthquakes, famines, flooding, wars, violence,

all of these are the results of the curse

that came upon the world and the people.

But then, and we need to turn to this,

in Genesis 12, God intervenes.

He had intervened once with Noah,

but things went from bad to worse.

And in Genesis 12,

God speaks and he makes a promise.

It's a promise to undo the curse

and to bring blessing.

So in Genesis chapter 12, verses 1 to 3,

Genesis 12:1–3

he comes to, well, he's called Abram here,

later to be called Abraham.

Genesis 12, verses 1 to 3,

Genesis 12:1–3

the Lord said to Abram,

leave your country, your people,

and your father's household,

and go to the land I will show you.

I will make you into a great nation,

and I will bless you.

I will make your name great,

and you will be a blessing.

I will bless those who bless you,

and whoever curses you, I will curse.

And all peoples,

all peoples on the earth

will be blessed through you.

Now, the rest of the Bible's story,

all the way from Genesis chapters 12,

Genesis 12 · chapter mention

right the way through to the end of Revelation,

is a working out of that promise.

It's a promise to restore man's relationship to God,

and the promise to renew the world.

It's a promise, as we've been reading,

to replace the curse with blessing.

This promise that God made

points forward to a new people.

He said he would be the father of a great nation.

This great nation,

these people of God,

who will live in God's paradise forever.

You see, it's all about reversing

everything that had gone wrong,

and re-establishing

the way the world should be.

And that's what it means

in Romans chapter 4, verse 13,

Romans 4:13

where God had made the promise to Abraham

to inherit the world.

He is saying to Abraham,

you can be part of God's new world order.

Be part of my paradise

where people will live once again

under his loving rule and care,

just like they did

at the very beginning of creation.

No suffering, no pain,

no wars and no violence.

Everything will be the way

that it was meant to be.

Now tell me,

could you get a better promise

than that?

I don't think we could.

Well, you see,

that all sounds great.

A wonderful promise.

A promise to inherit the world

and to live in God's paradise.

But who is this promise for?

Well, look at verse 13 again.

It was not through law

that Abraham and his offspring

received the promise.

So, the promise was made

to Abraham and his children.

Well, you say,

that's no good to me or to you

because I doubt

if there's anybody here

who can trace their family line

back to Abraham, is there?

Don't think so.

You see, it's not about

having a physical connection.

It's actually about

having a spiritual connection

with Abraham.

And we'll see how that works out.

Let's see how Abraham

received the promise.

Verse 13.

At the beginning,

it says it was not through law

or not through performance

that Abraham received the promise.

End of verse 13.

But through the righteousness

that comes by faith.

So, the promise wasn't received

because of something Abraham did

because he was one of the best people

in the world.

No, it was simply received by faith.

Trusting that God would do

what God said he would do.

Verse 14.

For if those who live by performance

are heirs,

faith has no value

and the promise is worthless.

You see,

we've heard the promise this morning

and I'm sure we all want the promise.

But we think the only way

to get the promise

is to earn it.

So our life becomes

a big religious performance,

a system of rules

that we impose on ourselves

and we impose on other people.

And we say,

well, if I'm a good person,

if I read my Bible,

if I go to church,

if I do all kinds of good deeds,

if I live a good moral life,

if I do sponsor a child,

then I deserve the promise.

But performance

will never give you the promise.

Performance will just destroy you

and break you.

As verse 15 says,

because law or performance

brings wrath.

We can never live up to its standard.

We can never be good enough.

It will only condemn us.

So the point is simple.

It's saying,

we have to have faith like Abraham.

And if we have faith like Abraham,

we too can receive the promise.

If we trust that God will do

what he said he will do,

we will also share in the inheritance.

Verse 16.

Therefore, the promise comes

by faith.

So if we want to have this promise,

we have to be people of faith,

but we also have to be people of grace.

Look at the rest of verse 16.

Therefore, the promise comes by faith

so that it may be by grace.

Now we often bandy that word around,

don't we, grace?

It's God's overwhelming generosity

towards us.

It's something that is unearned

and undeserved.

It's God's loving

and faithful intervention

in our lives.

So the promise

that comes from God

is something that originates

or is initiated by God

from him to us.

The promise is something

that God does for us.

It's something that he achieves for us.

Therefore,

we are people who are to rest

in that grace.

We don't try to earn it

or to achieve it.

It comes by grace

so that it may be,

verse 16, do you see,

may be guaranteed

to all Abraham's offspring.

And who are his children?

Who are those offspring?

Not only to those

who are of the law,

in other words,

those who are just Jews,

but also to those

who are of the faith

of Abraham.

He is the father of us all,

as it is written,

I have made you

a father of many nations.

So grace guarantees

the promise to us

because it's not dependent on us.

It's dependent on God

who makes the promise

but who also keeps the promise

and it can be our promise too

if we have the faith

and if we are resting

in the grace

that came to Abraham.

Now let's think this through

a little bit more.

What if the promise

depended

on me or you?

If it was all up to us?

Well, it would fail,

wouldn't it?

We would never receive

the promised inheritance.

But amazingly,

God not only makes

the promise to us,

but he is also the one

who is going to keep

the promise for us.

Look at verse 17.

Just one sentence in.

It says,

He is our father

in the sight of God

in whom he believed.

The God who gives life

to the dead

and calls things

that are not

as though they were.

Have you ever tried

to give life

to the dead?

Have you ever told

a corpse

to stand up,

instructed that corpse,

stand up

and go home?

Well, you'd be probably

locked up

if you tried to do that.

Jesus did it though,

didn't he?

He did it to a little girl.

He did it to Lazarus.

And it worked.

They did stand up

and they did go home.

Have you ever tried

to make something

out of nothing?

Things that are not

as though they were.

Commanded something

into existence.

Have you ever done that?

Well, Jesus did

when he created

the world.

He just spoke

and the world

came into existence.

So it's telling us

that Jesus can do

what we could never do.

He gives life

to the dead

and he creates

out of nothing.

And this same God

will also do the same

with the promise.

He will achieve for us

what we can never do

and that is

that he will keep

the promise for us

because we can't.

And Abraham

is our example here.

Look at verse 18.

Remember what God

had promised to Abraham?

He said he would be

the father

of a great nation.

Verse 18.

Against all hope,

Abraham in hope

believed

and so became

the father

of many nations

just as it had been

said to him

so shall your

offspring be.

Without weakening

in his faith

he faced the fact

that his body

was as good as dead

since he was about

a hundred years old

and that Sarah's womb

was also dead.

Now Abraham and Sarah

were well on in years.

They were making plans

for their retirement.

Perhaps they were even

checking out

their local nursing homes.

But whatever their future,

children

were not on their agenda.

But God had come to them

and he had made

a promise to them.

He said you would be

a father of a great nation.

Now when God made

that promise

to Abraham

he didn't say to him

right Abraham

be the father

of a great nation

and good luck to you.

See how you get on.

And if you've got troubles

well, you know

just see what you can do.

Check out the local

fertility clinic.

No, he didn't say

any of those things.

What God promised

God would fulfill.

He made the promise

that you would be

a father of a nation

and he will also

keep the promise.

He does

what we could never do.

He literally gave life

to a dead womb.

And he literally

created a nation

out of nothing.

God does the impossible.

He makes the promise

and he keeps the promise.

And that's exactly

what God will do for us.

He will achieve for us

what we can never do.

And how are we

to respond to it?

Well exactly in the same way

as Abraham did.

Verse 20.

Yet he did not waver

through unbelief

regarding the promise

of God

but was strengthened

in his faith

and gave glory to God

being fully persuaded

that God had the power

to do

what he had promised.

So it's all about faith

isn't it?

It's trusting that God

will do

what he said he will do.

It's not about trusting

in what we can do.

Abraham's faith

was in God's faithfulness.

And our faith

is also to be

in God's faithfulness

to keep the promise.

Suppose you receive

a letter

from a distant relative

and in the letter

you discover

that the detail

is all about a will

and you stand

to inherit

their estate.

it's quite a unique will

because what you're

going to inherit

is an old

16th century castle.

A marvelous building

except for there's a problem

it's been left to ruin.

But alongside

this promise

comes a list

of conditions

that you are obliged

to fulfill.

if you want

that 16th century castle

you must first

restore it

to its original

beauty

and design.

It's all yours.

But first

you're obliged

to restore it

to its original

beauty.

Now we know

that's all impossible

isn't it?

Because we haven't got

the financial resources

to do anything

to such a great

big building

nor the skills

nor expertise.

So in some ways

the promise

of the inheritance

is absolutely useless

because we could

never fulfill

the conditions.

Well God

has made a promise

to us

to inherit

the world

to live with him

to reign with him

to rule over

the entire universe

one day

in God's

eternal paradise.

But we can't

keep the conditions

of perfect obedience

and perfect loyalty.

we break it

every single day.

And that's why

God

makes the promise

and he says

I'm also going

to keep

the promise

for you

because you can't.

He keeps

the promise

for all those

who will have faith

that God will do

what he said

he will do.

Now for those of you

who know the story

of Abraham

you'll think

in these verses

here that he's

painted in a very

good light

that he wavered

he was unwavering

in his belief.

Now we know

the story

that he actually

didn't believe

fully

completely

that he would

have a child

he went off

with somebody else

and produced

another child

so was he

keeping

the promise?

you see

it's all

dependent

on God

even when

our faith

isn't what

it ought to be

and maybe

like me

your faith

fails

perhaps you

have times

of doubt

and you wonder

I really don't

think I'm a

Christian

or maybe

because of

some particular

behaviour

or habit

or some

sin

you just think

my faith

is completely

gone

there's no

way

he's going

to accept

me into

heaven

well let's

remember

that our

response of

faith

is not

in the

strength

of our

own faith

it's not

in our

ability

to keep

our faith

or in our

determination

or a

perseverance

to hold

on to

faith

no

our faith

is in the

perfect

performance

of Christ

who keeps

the conditions

for us

our faith

is in the

promise keeper

if it relied

on us

and our

good will

and our

good intention

it would

fail every

time

we can't

keep it

we can't

do it

but God

says

I will

keep it

for you

verse 21

being fully

persuaded

that God

has the

power to

do

what he

had

promised

you see

we cannot

keep it

it's only

he can

keep it

but you

say

how could

you be

so sure

can you

really be

so confident

that God

is going to

keep us

and make

sure that

we are

part of

his

eternal

kingdom

if only

you were

able to

see what

I was up

to this

week

if you

saw my

life

what it

was really

like

I'm

claiming

to be

a

Christian

but the

things

I've

said

the

things

I've

done

boy

you

wouldn't

want to

see

that

how

can we

be so

sure

well we

have been

given

proof

look at

the end

of verse

25

it tells

us there

that Jesus

was delivered

over to

death

for our

sins

and was

raised to

life

for our

justification

remember

God had

made the

promise to

Abraham

and to

his

offspring

that they

would inherit

the world

the problem

was Abraham

and Sarah

had no

children

they had

no

offspring

so God

had to

prove to

them that

he would

do what

he said

he would

do

so he

gave

old Abraham

and barren

Sarah

a son

and their

newborn

their first

born son

Isaac

was the

proof

that God

was going

to keep

his promise

now we

have an

even greater

proof

God has

sent his

son

his only

son

Jesus

Christ

who is

the ultimate

proof

that he

is going

to keep

the promise

for us

do you

see what

it says

at the

end

of

in verse

25

it says

he was

delivered

over to

death

for our

sins

if you

think that

your sin

is so

great

and so

big

that it

keeps you

out of

heaven

look back

to the

cross

and remember

that he

was delivered

over to

death

for our

sin

he took

the death

he took

the penalty

he took

the blame

for us

so that it

can never

ever be

held against

us

again

it

won't

break

the

promise

because

Christ

has

died

for

our

sin

but

not

only

did he

die

it

says

he

was

also

raised

to

life

for

our

justification

to put

us

right

so

through

the

resurrection

of

Christ

God

has

proved

to

us

that

he

would

do

what

he

said

he

would

do

the

resurrection

is

God's

proof

that

Jesus

death

on the

cross

was

sufficient

and

complete

God

raised

Christ

from

the

dead

to

say

what

he

did

was

good

enough

it's

all

over

it's

complete

it's

finished

he's

raised

him

to

life

and

if

your

faith

is

in

him

you

too

will

be

raised

to

life

so

let

me

say

this

to

us

all

this

morning

if

you're

a

Christian

here

and

you're

struggling

and

you're

thinking

my

sin

is

too

big

my

behavior

over

the

last

year

or

two

years

or

last

month

whatever

it

might

be

it

there's

no

way

I'm

going

to

get

to

heaven

well

if

you're

depending

on

yourself

you've

got

it

wrong

it's

all

dependent

on

God

and

if

we

want

proof

that

we

can

be

in

heaven

look

back

to

what

Jesus

has

done

he

died

for

you

he

took

the

ultimate

curse

for you

and for

me

that we

might

receive

his

blessings

through

his

resurrection

so by

faith in

Christ

we can

be

absolutely

confident

that

paradise

is

100%

guaranteed

for all

those

who have

faith

in

Christ

that

means

there

will

be

no

more

death

no

more

sadness

no

more

sickness

no

more

suffering

there

will

be

no

more

need

for

compassion

because

God

has

made

everything

new

and

everything

right

and

he

promises

that

to

you

and

to

me

today

if

we

have

faith

in

Christ

let's

pray

together

our

Father

God

we

thank

you

so

much

for

your

amazing

promise

the

promise

to

inherit

the

world

to

be

part

of

your

eternal

kingdom

and

we

thank

you

that

that

is

dependent

not

on

us

but

on

Christ

his

perfect

life

for

us

his

death

and

resurrection

for

us

thank

you

that

you

not

only

make

the

promise

but

that

you

keep

it

for

us

and

you

will

assure

and

guarantee

our

journey

through

this

life

and

into

your

eternal

paradise

thank

you

that

all

that

is

ours

and

I

pray

that

you

would

stir

each

one

of

us

that

we

would

want

to

see

others

have

that

same

faith

that

they

too

would

also

trust

in

you

and

become

your

children

and

gain

eternal

life

that

they

would

become

heirs

of

the

world

we

pray

this

in

Jesus

name

Amen

welcome

our

name

going

we're

going

to

sing

together

I like

to

sing

together

and

sing

together

I like

to

sing

into

our

name