Biblical Faith

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This morning we are returning to the book of Romans at the place where we left off last year - chapter 4. But let me begin with some words of introduction.

This New Testament letter by Paul is one of the greatest pieces of writing in history; and it has profoundly affected the world for good. It was when Augustine (of Hippo) read Romans that he was converted. Luther and John Wesley also came spiritually alive through Romans. Those three men in their witness for Jesus Christ (and in spite of their faults) have done so much for the social and spiritual health of the human race. But for those not here last year let me just put chapter 4 - the chapter we are looking at this morning - into context.

In chapter 1 of Romans Paul says that the pagan or secular world that rejects God, is in a mess - sexually and socially. In chapter 2 Paul then says that the religious world - and the best of it - the Jewish world - also is full of sin, albeit in a less dramatic and socially evident way. So in chapter 3, in the verses that just precede our chapter, Paul says that

"all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.

But this poses a problem.

Paul has been arguing in chapter 1 that everyone, deep down, knows there is a God. Everyone has sufficient evidence in the natural world to see that this amazing existence of space and time with billions of universes and incredible subatomic particles in the tiniest of molecules is not an accident but the work of a sovereign creator. So God is there and real. And in chapter 2 Paul has been arguing that God also reveals directly to human consciences certain moral truths about right and wrong. The problem that is posed starts with people too often living as though God is not real. This, then, enables them to ignore those moral truths. Aldous Huxley had the honesty to admit how it works:

I had motives [he wrote], for not wanting the world to have a meaning; consequently assumed that it had none, and was able without any difficulty to find satisfying reasons for this assumption … For myself, the philosophy of meaninglessness was essentially an instrument of liberation, sexual and political.

But that generates a deeper problem over the division and hostility we cause between God and ourselves. Quite contrary to what many atheists claim, the problem is not, "if there is a good God, why does he allow suffering?" No! The problem is, "if there is a good God, why is there not more suffering? If men and women act in defiance of those life giving moral truths, why does not God here and now ensure justice by punishing the wicked?" However, says Paul, this is where there is good news. For there is redemption or rescue through Jesus Christ and through what happened on that first Good Friday where Christ died bearing the punishment you and I deserve. So we read in verses 23-26 of Romans 3:

for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. God presented him as a sacrifice of atonement, through faith in his blood. He did this to demonstrate his justice, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished [so that is why there is not more suffering] - he did it to demonstrate his justice at the present time, so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus.

Well, that brings us to chapter 4 where Paul is going to talk about how, from our side, God accepts us back into fellowship with himself. It is, he says, not because of what we do, but simply as we accept through faith his free offer of forgiveness and acceptance. He is going to say we are "justified by faith." So much by way of introduction.

Let's now look at chapter 4, and I want to have three headings, first, GOD JUSTIFIES THE WICKED; secondly, NOT THROUGH RITUAL or LAW; but thirdly, THROUGH FAITH BY GRACE.

First, GOD JUSTIFIES THE WICKED

What does "justify" mean? What does "faith" mean? "Justify" here in Paul is used with the legal meaning of something like "acquit". So a judge or magistrate "acquits" or "justifies" a defendant when they are innocent but must convict them, and not acquit or justify them when they are guilty. To make things crystal clear, Paul starts off by citing Abraham as an example of being "justified by faith". You need, of course, to know a little about Abraham's life to understand this chapter. A short summary of his life is given in Hebrews 11.

So let me read to you one or two verses from Hebrews 11:

[Verse 8] By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going. [Verse 9] By faith he made his home in the promised land like a stranger in a foreign country; he lived in tents ... [Verse 11] By faith Abraham, even though he was past age - and Sarah herself was barren - was enabled to become a father because he considered him faithful who had made the promise. [Verse 12] And so from this one man, and he as good as dead, came descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as countless as the sand on the seashore.

You see, Ur of the Chaldees that Abraham left, was (at that time) a sea port of the Persian Gulf. It was like the London or New York of those days in the Ancient Near East. It was a thriving commercial centre. It was all this, therefore, that Abraham left behind, because God had called him to go. "And [he] went, even though he did not know where he was going." So that was part of Abraham's faith.

Who is in that sort of situation this morning? God is calling you to do something - maybe, like Abraham, to relocate to the other side of the world and work for him there. Maybe he is calling you to stay on Tyneside but take a stand for Jesus Christ at your work, and you do not know what on earth will happen, but you know God is calling you to act for him. Well, Paul's readers would have known all that about Abraham and more.

But Paul is trying to make the point that Abraham was in a right relationship with God and God was able to use him, not because he obeyed God and made those great sacrifices but because he trusted in God's faithfulness and goodness. Paul is arguing that his trustful reliance on God and his positive relationship with God enabled him to do what he did - to obey God in the way he obeyed. It was not the other way round - God rewarding his obedience with divine acceptance. So look at verses 1-3 of chapter 4:

What then shall we say that Abraham, our forefather, discovered in this matter? If, in fact, Abraham was justified by works, he had something to boast about - but not before God. What does the Scripture say? 'Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.

That quotation comes from Genesis 15, our Old Testament reading. You read, however, in the previous chapters of Genesis that when Abraham arrived in the Promised Land - in Palestine - things had not gone well. In fact, Abraham was tempted and failed badly. Isn't that often the way? Trials and temptations often seem to come your way when you launch out for God. It happened with Jesus. Right at the start of his ministry he was tempted by the Devil, but unlike Abraham Jesus did not fail - he resisted the Devil. But then after his failures God met with Abraham and for his encouragement said (as we heard in our Old Testament reading - (Genesis 15.1):

Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your very great reward.

And it is at that point we are told of the great sadness in Abraham's life. He and his wife were childless. But God makes a great promise to Abraham that he will have a child; and (Genesis 15.5-6):

He took him outside and said, 'Look up at the heavens and count the stars - if indeed you can count them.' Then he said to him, 'So shall your offspring be.' Abram believed the LORD, and he credited it to him as righteousness.

And do you see? There is nothing for Abraham to do -but to trust God that he would be true to his word. There was no obeying required this time, like leaving Ur of the Chaldees. Abraham just had to believe God and in his faithfulness and goodness. And on that basis, through faith or trust, he was (and we are) right with God (and all that that means). It is entirely by the grace of God. That acceptance or justification or forgiveness was (and is) not a reward for anything he did (or we do). It is all for what Christ has done for us on the Cross. Now look back at Romans 4 - and verse 4:

"Now when a man works, his wages are not credited to him as a gift, but as an obligation."

God accepts or justifies us not as a matter of "work" and "wages" - a reward for what we do. It is entirely a "gift". There is no obligation on God. So amazingly where there is faith in Christ, "God justifies the wicked."

Look at verse 5:

However, to the man who does not work but trusts God who justifies the wicked, his faith is credited as righteousness.

That is the gospel. God justifies the wicked where there is faith in God's goodness and love shown supremely in Christ. And then to prove that you can never be too bad to be justified and forgiven and receive God's blessing Paul cites David - a wicked man from time to time, if ever - an adulterer and a murderer - yet God forgave him and used him. Look at verses 6-8:

David says the same thing when he speaks of the blessedness of the man to whom God credits righteousness apart from works: 'Blessed are they whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered. Blessed is the man whose sin the Lord will never count against him.

And Abraham was no saint either, as we've seen, and even after he had that great moment of trust or faith in God's promise in Genesis 15 about a son. For when nothing happened, as you can read in Genesis 16, Abraham decided to try to help God along. He decided that he could get a son his way or rather his wife's way by having sex with her servant Hagar who would act as a surrogate. Genesis 16.4 says: "He slept with Hagar, and she conceived." Perhaps that is a warning for today and the issue of the Embryology Bill - I have written about that in this month's Coloured Supplement in the JPC Newsletter. Abraham shows that there are ways of getting children that are wrong and lead, as in the case of Hagar, to long term disaster. So, Abraham, the great man of faith, failed God from time to time and in big ways. We are to be warned, therefore, by Abraham; but also we are to learn from him that God justifies even the greatest believers by grace alone. For none of them were ever good enough to earn God's blessing and favour. So God justifies the wicked - which in some measure we all are.

Secondly, that JUSTIFICATION IS NOT THROUGH RITUAL or LAW

I won't read verses 9-12. But let me just say they underline the fact that God's blessings through justification are not just for some, but for all. They are not just for the religious people who like rituals and religious observances but for all types. Rituals or religious observances by themselves can never be the answer to getting right with God. So today you can come to church, read your Bible, be baptized and be confirmed. But by themselves they will not bring you to God. For the Jews the key ritual was male circumcision. Paul makes the point in these verses that Abraham was right with God through faith before he was circumcised. Abraham left Ur by faith and he trusted the promises of God for a son before his circumcision. So his relationship with God did not depend on circumcision. Circumcision, like Christian baptism now, was a seal of faith and of God's grace and working - not a cause for faith or for God's grace and working.

Verses 13-15 then make it clear that God's blessings from justification are not a reward for being law abiding. Look at verse 13:

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 … [And verse 15 says … ] "law brings wrath [that is to say, the law brings punishment. It certainly doesn't bring gifts]. And where there is no law there is no transgression [that is to say, the law defines sin as a crime. Much that is immoral is not criminal until there is a law against it].

So the law is irrelevant for getting right with God. But Paul is not against the law. Some people get this wrong. The last verse of Romans 3 (verse 31) says:

Do we, then, nullify the law by this faith? Not at all! Rather, we uphold the law.

In the Bible the law can refer to God's divine moral law, which you can discover in the Mosaic law, the prophets, the teaching of Jesus and the New Testament epistles. That is universal and for all time. Paul certainly upholds that moral law. He is not going to "nullify" it. But the application of that moral law in political codes will vary from culture to culture and generation to generation. And the Old Testament ceremonial law the New Testament says has now been fulfilled in Christ; so it can cease. God's divine moral law, however, is still binding. Paul is agreed.

But he is clear this moral law cannot bring salvation. It can guide us as to the lifestyle God's loves. It can show us that we need salvation. It can, when shaping political laws, restrain evil. But it can never change hearts. That only happens when you are right with God - "justified by faith" - and God gives you his Holy Spirit. So God justifies the wicked, not by ritual or law but...

Thirdly, ...THROUGH FAITH BY GRACE.

Look at verses 16-17:

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 a 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.

What is biblical faith? It is trustful commitment and reliance, first, on God's promise that we can now be at peace with him through the Cross of Christ; and then for everything else. And the fundamental belief in God is that, vese 17 ...

"he gives life to the dead and calls things that are not as though they were."

It is belief in the life-giving God of resurrecting and creative power. Is that the God you believe in? If you do, you should want to trust him and then obey him like Abraham did. Look now at verses 18-19:

"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."

All was against Abraham. Things seemed impossible. Making, and after making, his mistakes, "against all hope, Abraham in hope believed." This was not fanaticism because God had made the promises. It was not Abraham's wishful thinking. So often God will ask you to trust him for what seems impossible. But if God, and not your own silly hunch, is behind your call, you must trust God, even for the impossible.

The promise of salvation through Christ is certainly not your own silly hunch; of that you can be sure. So trust God for that. And God's specific call to action, like leaving Ur of the Chaldees or its modern equivalent, may start off seeming impossible, then difficult, then, remarkably, it is done. But how do you keep your faith in God strong and not waver? Look at verses 20-22:

"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. This is why "it was credited to him as righteousness."

This is so important. First, Abraham "gave glory to God". He praised God. And as you praise God for his life-giving resurrecting and creative power, faith is strengthened. That is why music and corporate praise is so important, so long as it is directing you to the God of Abraham "who gives life to the dead and calls things that are not as though they were."

Secondly, Abraham was "fully persuaded that God had power to do what he had promised." Music and praise is no good if your mind is not engaged. You need to be fully persuaded intellectually of God's love and faithfulness and righteousness and power. Certainly down the tracks you will never take those risky stands for God or make sacrifices unless you are convinced in your mind. Your mind matters. Faith is rational. You, like Abraham, need to be fully persuaded. Well, that is saving faith. It is rational commitment. You can know God loves you because Christ died for you to bear your sin. He, therefore, wants the best for you. And you can know he has that resurrecting and creative power because he raised Jesus from the dead. So trust him, and make a start this morning even, or especially, if you have never done so before.

I must conclude. I do so by reading verses 23-25:

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."


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