The Faith of Abraham - Romans 4:18-25
INTRODUCTION:
The last four weeks you have been in the book of 1 Peter with Brian, this morning we are going to go back to Romans. There will be some other opportunities for Brian to finish up his series on 1 Peter. This morning we are going back to Romans 4 where we left off, we had gone through verse 17.
In chapter four Paul uses Abraham as an illustration for us, he is the supreme example in the Old Testament of saving faith. In this chapter Paul has made it very clear that man’s faith and God’s grace are both involved in salvation; however, they are not equal components in any way. We understand that even man’s faith is a provision of God’s gracious salvation. Paul declares this truth clearly in the book of Ephesians in his salvation by grace verses in chapter 2:8-10, “For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.” (Ephesians 2:8–10, NASB95)[1] Here Paul says that even our faith is not of ourselves, but it is a gift of God. Throughout this chapter Paul has shown us that salvation and justification or being declared righteous are a work of God and not a work of man. Through Abraham we have seen that salvation comes by faith not works and from grace not the Law. We are justified by faith without works, without ceremonies, or rites, or ritual, or by obeying the law or living a good life. Paul uses these closing verses of chapter 4 to conclude his illustration of Abraham by showing us Abraham’s example of faith, the result of his faith, and how that example of faith is then to be applied to our own lives. Let’s pray and then get into our passage for this morning.
--PRAY--
SCRIPTURE:
Turn in your Bibles this morning to Romans 4:18-25, Paul’s conclusion of the illustration of Abraham’s faith. Please, if you are able, stand in honor of the reading of God’s Word and follow along as I read.
Romans 4:18-25,
“In hope against hope he believed, so that he might become a father of many nations according to that which had been spoken, ‘So shall your descendants be.’ Without becoming weak in faith he contemplated his own body, now as good as dead since he was about a hundred years old, and the deadness of Sarah’s womb; yet, with respect to the promise of God, he did not waver in unbelief but grew strong in faith, giving glory to God, and being fully assured that what God had promised, He was able also to perform. Therefore it was also credited to him as righteousness. Now not for his sake only was it written that it was credited to him, but for our sake also, to whom it will be credited, as those who believe in Him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead, He who was delivered over because of our transgressions, and was raised because of our justification.” (Romans 4:18–25, NASB95)[2]
ABRAHAM’S FAITH (Romans 4:18-21)
As we enter into this final passage of chapter 4, Paul begins by giving us several qualities of Abraham’s faith, but these characteristics do not belong to Abraham alone, these are qualities that are seen in all whose faith is God-given, that is the faith given by God by His grace that leads to salvation. Let’s look at some of these characteristics of faith as they are seen in Abraham’s life.
First, Paul opened this passage by stating that, “In hope against hope he believed…” (Romans 4:18a, NASB95)[3] Faith and hope are related, but they are not the same thing. Hope can be seen two different ways, there is the hope of hopelessness and there is the hope of certainty. The hope of hopelessness might be illustrated by someone hoping that they pass a final examine in a class when they only attended a few classes and did not study at all, this would be the hope of hopelessness. The hope of certainty is the hope we see spoken of in the Bible, it is hoping for something that is sure to happen, like the return of Jesus for the church, this will happen, and we hope for it to happen soon. This is where faith comes into play, it is believing that what God said would happen will happen just as you hope it will. Hebrews describes this relationship between faith and hope in Hebrews 11:1 where is says, “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” (Hebrews 11:1, NASB95)[4] When from a human standpoint it seemed that Abraham’s hope to be the father of many nations seemed to be the hope of hopelessness, he believed it would happen because God said it would.
What was Abraham putting his faith in, what was the object of his faith? God, and in this instance, it was the promise that God had made that Abraham would be the father of many nations when he was yet childless and old. Abraham’s faith was in the faithfulness and omnipotence of God to fulfill His promise. Verse 18 goes on to say, “In hope against hope he believed, so that he might become a father of many nations according to that which had been spoken, ‘So shall your descendants be.’” (Romans 4:18, NASB95)[5] Back in Genesis 15 when the Lord appeared to Abraham, listen to what took place, “And He took him outside and said, ‘Now look toward the heavens, and count the stars, if you are able to count them.’ And He said to him, ‘So shall your descendants be.’ Then he [Abraham] believed in the Lord; and He reckoned it to him as righteousness.” (Genesis 15:5–6, NASB95)[6] What seemed impossible humanly speaking, Abraham believed because God had said it.
Second, Abraham did not become weak in faith. What does this mean? It means that he did not allow doubt to creep in and undermine his faith, or his belief. For many years Abraham had been trusting God, believing in God as Paul wrote in Romans 4:17, the God “who gives life to the dead and calls into being that which does not exist.” (Romans 4:17b, NASB95)[7] Never does the Scriptures say that Abraham saw God perform a miracle at this point, he never saw God raise someone from the dead, he never saw God call into being that which did not exist, but he believed that God was capable of doing such things. The author of Hebrews speaks of this quality of Abraham’s faith that is seen later in his life after Isaac, the son of promise was born. The author writes in Hebrews 11:17-19, “By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises was offering up his only begotten son; it was he to whom it was said, ‘In Isaac your descendants shall be called.’ He considered that God is able to raise people even from the dead, from which he also received him back as a type.” (Hebrews 11:17–19, NASB95)[8] Abraham’s faith was not weakened by doubt in God’s ability to fulfill what He promised.
Third, Paul declares that Abraham’s faith did not allow him to become discouraged when he considered his own natural weaknesses, he was an old man of about a hundred years old when God came to Abraham and promised a son through Sarah. Because Abraham believed that God would do what He promised, his faith did not falter even when he considered his old body dead, his natural procreative power was now gone. This fact did not lessen his faith because his faith was in the God who had created him and all things, this fact was not an issue for Almighty God.
Fourth, Abraham’s faith in God and His promise did not waver even when the circumstances surrounding the promise seemed impossible to fulfill. Not only was Abraham old, but Sarah was past the age of childbearing and she had been barren her whole life, “the deadness of Sarah’s womb” (Romans 4:19b NASB95)[9] was no more a hinderance to Abraham’s faith then was his own inability to produce a child at his age.
Fifth, Paul writes concerning Abraham’s faith, “yet, with respect to the promise of God, he did not waver in unbelief but grew strong in faith, giving glory to God,” (Romans 4:20, NASB95)[10] In other words, Abraham did not go back and forth between faith and doubt. It is easy to trust God when things are going well, but what about when things seem impossible, this is when doubt sets in. But not for Abraham and Sarah. In Hebrews 11 we are told that Sarah was a woman of faith and that she considered God faithful to fulfill His promise (Hebrews 11:11) But before she reached this level of faith where she completely trusted God, she had laughed when she overheard the Lord promise a son to Abraham through her. Abraham instead of wavering in unbelief, believed the Lord and grew strong in faith.
Often the Lord uses testing in our life to strengthen our faith. Abraham understood the seeming impossibility of him and Sarah producing a son, we see this understanding from our Scripture reading this morning in Genesis 15 where Abraham tells the Lord that his chief servant will be heir to his household if there is no son born before he dies. Abraham was admitting to the Lord that he could not see how the promise of an heir, much less a multitude of nations could be fulfilled. The Lord was testing Abraham’s faith and struggling faith is not doubt, just as temptation to sin is not sin itself. The very fact that he was trying to understand how God’s promise would be fulfilled does not mean that he doubted that God could do it. This struggle brought the resolve needed to just trust the promise to God, God had said it, He would do it.
Sixth, we read that the faith of Abraham was seen by his giving glory to God. This is the mark of true godly faith, it glorifies God, the One who gives faith receives all the credit. When we have faith in God it affirms God’s faithfulness and that what He has said is true, and this is the main way in which we glorify God. It is only by faith that we can truly praise Him and honor Him. John contrasts those who glorify God in faith and those who do not believe in God in 1 John 5:10, “The one who believes in the Son of God has the testimony in himself; the one who does not believe God has made Him a liar, because he has not believed in the testimony that God has given concerning His Son.” (1 John 5:10, NASB95)[11] I don’t know about you, but I do not want to be known as one who has called God a liar because of unbelief.
Finally, Abraham was fully persuaded that God’s promise was certain, that He would do just what He said He would do. We looked at Hebrews 11:1 earlier, lets look at again and verse 2 and insert Abraham’s name in it. “Now [Abraham’s] faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. For by it the men of old [Abraham] gained approval.” (Hebrews 11:1–2, NASB95)[12] Does that not say the same thing that Romans 4:21 states, “and being fully assured that what God had promised, He was able also to perform.” (Romans 4:21, NASB95)[13] This verse sums up for Abraham’s faith, his faith in God was complete and absolute.
THE RESULT OF ABRAHAM’S FAITH (Romans 4:22)
The heart of this passage, the heart of this entire chapter is found in verse 22, in response to Abraham’s faith it was credited by God to Abraham as righteousness. Let that sink in, what was impossible for Abraham to do in his own sinful flesh, he in no way or by any means was able to meet God’s standard of perfect righteousness, but the Good News of salvation is that God will take the faith of a sinner, the faith that God Himself has enabled a person to possess and count that faith as righteousness on the believing sinners behalf. This is the only way that we can be righteous in God’s eyes, it is only when in faith we accept salvation from God’s gracious hand, and through that acceptance comes the righteousness that only God can impart.
ABRAHAM’S FAITH – OUR EXAMPLE (Romans 4:23-25)
Paul goes on in verses 23-25 to apply what he has just taught about Abraham to us. You see the amazing truth about Abraham’s faith being credited to him as righteousness is that this very same principle applies to every person who in faith trust in God’s Son for salvation. Paul writes by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit that this truth that God credited Abraham’s faith as righteousness was not just written for his sake only, but for our sake also, because in the same way our faith in God’s Son will be reckoned to us as righteousness.
All Scripture is profitable, and no Scripture was given only for the time that it was written. Paul wrote to Timothy in 2 Timothy 3:16-17, “All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work.” (2 Timothy 3:16–17, NASB95)[14] Paul will say near the end of the book of Romans in chapter 15:4, “For whatever was written in earlier times was written for our instruction, so that through perseverance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.” (Romans 15:4, NASB95)[15]
As Abraham believed God and his faith was credited to him as righteousness, Paul writes that it will be credited to all those who believe in Him. In other words faith is the necessary requirement for salvation. We have looked at Hebrews 11 a couple of times this morning which makes very clear that the only persons who have ever been received by God are those who have come to Him by faith.
This is why the testimony of Abraham and his faith is so important for us today, because men, women, boys and girls are saved on exactly the same basis on which Abraham was saved and that is faith in God. The sacrificial work of Jesus Christ through His death on the cross and then His glorious resurrection was the provision for Abraham’s sin by which God saved him. Today we are blessed to have the full revelation of God available to us and we look back on what Jesus Christ did for us on the cross and by His resurrection. During the lifetime of Abraham and for many centuries after his life there was no written Word of God. He had to put His faith in what God had promised that the Redeemer would come through His descendants. Jesus told the disbelieving Jewish leaders of His day that “Your father Abraham rejoiced to see My day, and he saw it and was glad.” (John 8:56, NASB95)[16] Even though Abraham had limited revelation, he anticipated the Savior, the Redeemer and believed that God could raise the dead. How much more reason do men have today to believe in the Father who did raise Jesus our Lord from the dead, so that those who believe in Him should not perish, but have eternal life.
Paul goes on to spell out for us clearly what took place so that we could be declared righteous, so that we could be justified before God. Paul writes concerning Jesus Christ, “He who was delivered over because of our transgressions, and was raised because of our justification.” (Romans 4:25, NASB95)[17] God delivered Jesus Christ up to pay the penalty required for our transgressions, our sin. He bore our sin, yours and mine in his body and suffered the wrath of God against sin, He paid the full price for our sin, the debt was canceled. How do I know? Because God raised Him from the dead. If there is no resurrection, then there is no salvation, if there is no resurrection, then there is no justification. But if Jesus Christ was raised from the dead, and He was, then His death on the cross absolutely and perfectly satisfied the wrath of God against sin. The resurrection is God’s proof to you that Jesus Christ has dealt with the sin problem, that your sins have been paid for in full. God is now free to take anyone who puts his trust in Jesus Christ and not only forgive his sins, but also cover him in the perfect righteousness of Jesus Christ.
Paul is teaching us that justification or being declared righteous is by faith. In chapter 4 through the illustration of Abraham we have been learning what faith is. What is justifying faith? Paul has taught us that we are justified by faith without works, without ceremonies, without the Law. We are justified by faith, a faith that God enables us to possess by His grace, and we are justified by faith in the God of resurrection. The very foundation of our Christian faith is based upon not only the death of Jesus Christ but also the resurrection of Jesus Christ. If Jesus Christ had not risen from the dead, there would be no justification. Paul told the Corinthians in 1 Corinthians 15:17-19, “…and if Christ has not been raised, your faith is worthless; you are still in your sins. Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. If we have hoped in Christ in this life only, we are of all men most to be pitied.” (1 Corinthians 15:17–19, NASB95)[18] What about you this morning? I have just shared with you the greatest news of all time. Jesus Christ is risen, and God has testified concerning Him in this book (hold up Bible). Do you know if you walk out of this building today that you are justified before God? Jesus Christ died for you, He bore the penalty and wrath for your sin, your sin debt has been paid in full. Will you accept that gracious gift of forgiveness by faith this morning? God will credit your faith as righteousness, and you can leave this building knowing that you are righteous before God and through the righteousness of Jesus Christ you are accepted by God and have become a part of His family forever. No one can take that away from you.
For you here this morning who have already accepted the gracious gift of forgiveness, you are already declared righteous, you are already a part of God’s family forever. You have a mission, you need to be telling others the Good News. And as you do this remember we walk by faith, not by sight so keep your eyes on Jesus, our future hope. “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. For by it the men of old gained approval.” (Hebrews 11:1–2, NASB95)[19]
[1]New American Standard Bible : 1995 Update. La Habra, CA : The Lockman Foundation, 1995
[2]New American Standard Bible : 1995 Update. La Habra, CA : The Lockman Foundation, 1995
[3]New American Standard Bible : 1995 Update. La Habra, CA : The Lockman Foundation, 1995
[4]New American Standard Bible : 1995 Update. La Habra, CA : The Lockman Foundation, 1995
[5]New American Standard Bible : 1995 Update. La Habra, CA : The Lockman Foundation, 1995
[6]New American Standard Bible : 1995 Update. La Habra, CA : The Lockman Foundation, 1995
[7]New American Standard Bible : 1995 Update. La Habra, CA : The Lockman Foundation, 1995
[8]New American Standard Bible : 1995 Update. La Habra, CA : The Lockman Foundation, 1995
[9]New American Standard Bible : 1995 Update. La Habra, CA : The Lockman Foundation, 1995
[10]New American Standard Bible : 1995 Update. La Habra, CA : The Lockman Foundation, 1995
[11]New American Standard Bible : 1995 Update. La Habra, CA : The Lockman Foundation, 1995
[12]New American Standard Bible : 1995 Update. La Habra, CA : The Lockman Foundation, 1995
[13]New American Standard Bible : 1995 Update. La Habra, CA : The Lockman Foundation, 1995
[14]New American Standard Bible : 1995 Update. La Habra, CA : The Lockman Foundation, 1995
[15]New American Standard Bible : 1995 Update. La Habra, CA : The Lockman Foundation, 1995
[16]New American Standard Bible : 1995 Update. La Habra, CA : The Lockman Foundation, 1995
[17]New American Standard Bible : 1995 Update. La Habra, CA : The Lockman Foundation, 1995
[18]New American Standard Bible : 1995 Update. La Habra, CA : The Lockman Foundation, 1995
[19]New American Standard Bible : 1995 Update. La Habra, CA : The Lockman Foundation, 1995