Do you believe God? Now, I'm
not asking you if you believe in God, and I'm not asking you
if you believe there is a God. You know, the scripture says
that the devil and his demons believe and know that. My question
to you is simply, do you believe God? Do you believe what God
says in this book called the Bible? Do you believe what He
says and claims concerning Himself? Do you believe what God says
about His Son? Do you believe what God says
about you? Do you believe God? Now I want
you to first turn with me this morning to the book of Genesis
chapter 15. Genesis chapter 15. In verse
one of Genesis chapter 15, we read, after these things. After what things? After Abraham,
with only 318 men, defeated the four kings of the plains and
rescued Lot, his nephew, and those held captive of Sodom and
Gomorrah, recovering all their goods, after these things, after
the king of Sodom offered Abraham all the spoiled goods of Sodom
and Abraham told him, do you remember what Abraham said? Abraham
said, I have lifted up my hand unto the Lord, the most high
God, the possessor of heaven and earth. My God owns it all. He owns the cattle on a thousand
hills. And after Abraham, after these
things, after Abraham told the king of Sodom, I'll not take
a thread, even to a shoe latchet, not anything that belongs to
you or yours, so that you can say, I have made Abraham rich. You see, it was God that blessed
Abraham. After these things, the word
of the Lord came unto Abram in a vision, saying, Fear not, Abram,
I am thy shield and thy exceeding great reward. Now, I would have
you to first notice the phrase here which says, the Word of
the Lord came to Abram in a vision. Who is the Word of the Lord?
Why, of course, Jesus Christ is the Word of the Lord. He is
the Word. John 1 verse 1 tells us that,
"...in the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God,
and the Word was God." John Gill wrote and was convinced that
this was Christ who is the Word of God. This was Christ appearing
to Abraham in a human form that was visible to him. Matthew Henry
concurred. He said, if it was simply a word
from the Lord only, why did it come in a vision? Well, I suppose
that's a good question. In a day where masks and shields
have become common things for acclaimed protection, the believing
sinner is thankful and assured that Christ is their shield and
their protector. That's what the Hebrew word translated
in English for shield means. It means protector, defender,
and armor. Jesus Christ is our protector,
our defender, and our armor. And the Lord said, I am thy exceeding
great reward. You know, I was thinking as I
read that verse again, that is the key to understanding how
Abraham and every other chosen sinner receives the perfect righteousness
required by God in order to be saved. It's to believe God concerning
Jesus Christ. He is our salvation. That's what
I want you to take away from this message today. Salvation
is of the Lord and salvation is in the Lord Jesus Christ. Salvation is found in no other
place and in no other person. God does the saving and He, the
Lord Jesus, is the Savior. That's what you and I must believe
in order to have life. Now, Jesus Christ is our shield
and our exceeding great reward. To have Christ is to have life.
And to have life is to have Christ. Now, in Genesis chapter 12, if
you want to turn back there, you can. But in verse 3, the
Lord told Abraham this. He said, In thee shall all families
of the earth be blessed. Now look at verse 2 here in Genesis
15. And Abram said, Now what Abraham
is saying here is, what temporal blessing can you give me that
could eternally matter if you withhold from me the blessing
of a child? How can all families in the earth
in me be blessed? How can the promised Messiah
spring forth from my seed if I had no seed? Abraham here is
saying all wealth and all riches and all my victories in this
life, any honor bestowed upon me are nothing if I am deprived
of my Savior. That's the way every child of
God feels. Now in this conversation with
the Lord, Abraham seems to have an eye to and on the promised
seed, to the promised Messiah. It appears to be all or nothing
to him. If he didn't have the assurance
of his relationship to Christ, who is the promised seed, all
the wealth, the power, the honor and influence in the world meant
nothing to him. What Abraham is saying is, what
are all of these other things if I go childless? What are all
these physical blessings if I go Christless? That's a good question
for every man and woman to consider for themselves. Now, Abraham
continues in verse two by saying, if I go childless with Eleazar
of Damascus, the steward of my house, be my heir? Verse three,
and Abraham said, Behold to me, thou hast given no seed, and
lo, one born in my house is mine heir. Do you see Abraham's resolve
here? He's concerned with only one
thing, the promise that God made to him, not that God needed remind
him, but it does seem as though Abraham is nudging God a bit. And that's why he says, Behold
to me, thou hast given no seed, and lo, one born in my house
is mine heir. Now, many commentators believe
that this one, this phrase, one born in my house, refers to Eliezer,
who was undoubtedly the son of a servant that was born in Abraham's
house. That's very possible. I just
don't know. And the same commentators believe
that he's called Eliezer of Damascus because either his mother or
father, who were servants of Abraham, had some tie to the
place called Damascus. Again, I'm just not sure. Other
Bible scholars, commentators, seem to suggest that Abraham
here is contending with the Lord, saying that only one who is born
in his house of his begotten seed could rightly be his true
heir. They believe that Abraham is
saying that if Eliezer is his heir, it would bring reproach
and disgrace to God's promise to him. And again, I'm just not
sure what or who Abraham was referring to when he spoke of
one born in my house is mine heir. But I do know this. God makes it very clear to Abraham
in the very next verse, who will be and who won't be his heir.
Look at verse four. And behold, the word of the Lord
came unto him saying, this shall not be thine heir, speaking of
Beliezer, but he that shall come forth out of thine own bowels
shall be thine heir. Now friends, it's God that makes
heirs. concerning heirs, God says, this
one shall be and this one shall not be. Whatever men devise and
design and the settling of estates, in the end, it's God's counsel
that stands. Concerning Jacob and Esau, God
said the elder should serve the younger. And even though Jacob
received the birthright by deception, God's purpose stood firm and
sure. God's will and God's purpose
come to pass. It always does. Now I love what
God did next. Look at verse five. And he, the
Lord, brought him, Abraham, forth abroad and said, look now toward
heaven and tell the stars if thou be able to number them.
And God said unto Abraham, so shall thy seed be. You know, I was thinking upon
reading that verse, that's where we have to look. We have to look
toward heaven. Why? Because every good and perfect
gift is from above and cometh down from the Father of lights
with whom is no variableness and neither shadow of turning.
James 1 17. And the Lord said count the stars
that thou be able to number them. Do you know what? He wasn't able
to. Too many to count, too many to number. In heaven there be
a great multitude which no man can number. Revelation 7 9. And
God had told Abraham in Genesis 13 verse 16, He said, I'll make
thy seed as the dust of the earth, so that if a man can number the
dust of the earth, then shall thy seed also be numbered. But
no man can number the dust of the earth. just as no man can
number the stars in the sky. Abraham's seed, according to
the flesh, would be like the dust of the earth, but his spiritual
seed would be as the stars of heaven. You know, not only numerous,
but glorious and precious. Oh, so are the elect of God to
the Lord. Verse six, and he, Abraham, believed
in the Lord, and he counted it to him for righteousness. It was Abraham's faith. It was
Abraham believing God. That's what faith is. It's not
just believing in a God, and it's not just believing there
is a God. It is believing God. So I have
to ask, do you believe God? Do I believe God? Lord, help
me to believe you. and Lord help thou my unbelief.
Abraham believed God. He believed what God had promised
concerning the seed of the woman, and God accepted him, and God
justified him, and God forgave him, and He made him perfectly
righteous. And that's what Paul's talking
about in Romans chapter 4. Now, I want to ask you to turn
there with me. Romans chapter 4, if you would,
please. While you're turning, let me
again say, Abraham believed God. Do you? Do you believe God? Now please know and understand
that it was not Abraham's act of faith that gave him perfect
righteousness. It was Christ, the object of
his faith, that gave him that. It was not the promise that Abraham
believed, but it was Christ who was promised that made it so.
We've discussed many times how that the word righteousness in
the scripture means equity. We know what equity is. The Hebrew
word for equity means justness. In Christ, Abraham was made just. The word means evenness. The word means straightness.
It means to be upright. It means to be made honorable.
The Hebrew word for counted means to be imputed. It means to be
concluded and reckoned. It means to be laid to the charge
of. And the reason that it was laid
to his charge is because Abraham believed God. Do I believe God? Lord, I do. I do, but help thou
my unbelief. Abraham believed that Christ's
perfect righteousness was charged, it was counted, it was imputed,
and it was laid to his charge. And that term, imputed righteousness,
means the ascribing of virtue, the ascribing of equity and quality
to and in another. And that's what God did for those
who believe and trust in Christ. First, there is absolutely no
justification for Jew or Gentile before God in and by and through
the works of the law. Before diving into Romans chapter
4, I want to give you at least three things here that Paul teaches
in Romans chapter 3. Look back, if you're in Romans
4, look back a few verses to verse 20 of Romans 3. Absolutely
no justification for Jew or Gentile or any sinner before God by the
works of the law. Verse 20 says, Therefore by the
deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his
sight, for by the law is the knowledge of sin. And secondly,
all the righteousness that a man or a woman must have in order
to be reconciled to God. And it's got to be perfect righteousness.
In order to be reconciled to God, all the righteousness which
cannot be obtained by keeping the law. It's a gift of God. Look at verses 21 and 22 of Romans
3. But now the righteousness of
God, apart from the law, is manifested. being witnessed by the law and
the prophets, even the righteousness of God, which is, now watch,
by faith of Jesus Christ. It's by His faithfulness unto
all and upon all them that believe, for there is no difference. And
then thirdly, this perfect righteousness that's found only in Christ not
only justifies the sinner, but it honors the law, and it honors
the justice of God, and God remains just and the justifier of them
that believe. God's justice is not compromised. the Lord Jesus, verse 26 of Romans
3, to declare, I say at this time, his, Christ's righteousness,
that he might be just, not compromising God's law, and the justifier
of him who believes in Jesus. Okay, now Romans chapter four,
verse one. Paul asked, what shall we say
then that Abraham, our father, as pertaining to the flesh, hath
found? Paul asked this question, was
there any spiritual advantage that Abraham enjoyed according
to his flesh? Being the first man circumcised,
did he find the way of life through that act? Did the way of righteousness
and salvation come by the works of His flesh? That's what Paul's
asking. Did His circumcision availeth
anything? No, for in Jesus Christ neither
circumcision or uncircumcision availeth anything. Galatians
5 says. Now look at verse 2. For if Abraham
were justified by works, he hath whereof to glory. He has something
to boast in, but not before God. Now if Abraham was or could be
justified and made righteous by his works, he would have had
a reason to glory and boast about it. But even if that were so,
not before God." What does that mean? Well, that means that God
sees all. God looks on the heart. God saw
all Abraham's iniquity. God was aware of all Abraham's
failings. God knew all his infirmities.
Men cannot glory before an all-knowing God. God is omniscient. He knows
everything. All things are naked and open
unto the eyes of Him with whom we have to do. Man cannot by
his works keep the law. The law affords no way for man
to work out his own salvation with God. In Romans 8, verse
3, we read, "...for what the law could not do, and that it
was weak through the flesh." That's talking about our flesh.
What did God do? God sent in His own Son in the
likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the
flesh, that the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled
in us. How was this perfect righteousness
fulfilled in us? By God sending His Son in the
likeness of sinful flesh, yet without sin, to fulfill the law
and justice of God for us. Paul said in Galatians chapter
2, knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the
law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ. Even we have believed
in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of
Christ. There again, Christ's faithfulness.
And not by the works of the law, for by the works of the law shall
no flesh be justified. What I want you to see and the
point that Paul is driving home here in Romans chapter 4 is that
Abraham is held up to us as a picture and a pattern of true faith.
While this whole chapter in Romans 4 deals with Abraham's faith. Now if you would for just a moment
turn over a few pages with me to Galatians chapter 3 verse
7. I want you to see this. Galatians
chapter three, verse seven. Galatians three, verse seven. Verse seven, we read, know you
therefore that they who are of faith, the same are the children
of Abraham and the scripture foreseeing that God would justify
the Gentiles. By the way, that's you and me,
we're Gentiles. How's God gonna justify you and
I, the Gentiles that we are? through faith preached before
the gospel unto Abraham, saying, In you shall all nations be blessed."
Isn't that what we read in Genesis? What was the gospel that was
preached unto Abraham? You ever thought about that?
I'll tell you what it was. That in Him, that is in and by
and through Abraham's seed, all God's elect out of every nation,
out of every tribe, tongue, and people would be blessed. And
that seed is Christ. Oh, it's so important to understand
that Abraham was a sinner just like you and me. Yet he had a
righteousness and a holiness in God's sight while he was accepted
of God. He was justified before God. God looked upon Abraham and he
saw no sin. How can that be? How did he obtain
this righteousness and holiness? How was he justified and made
perfect before God? How could Abraham stand before
a thrice holy God and God find no sin in him and talk to him
as a man talks to his friend? Well, you know the answer. It's
found back in Romans 4, verse 3. For what saith the scripture,
Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness. What saith the scripture? The
scripture doesn't say that Abraham decided to follow Jesus. The
scripture doesn't say that Abraham let go and let God save him.
It doesn't say that Abraham kept the Sabbath or had some kind
of a spiritual experience or he came and knelt at the altar. What does the scripture say?
It says that Abraham believed God and it was counted to him
for righteousness. Abraham believed God. Do you? Do I? Well, that's the difference. You know, I have friends that
have never attended church and they'll say things like, oh,
I believe the Bible. Well, that's not the question.
The question is, do you believe God? Not do you believe something
about him? Not do you believe in him? The question is, do you believe
God? What think ye of Christ? In this Bible that men and women
claim to believe, God has been pleased to reveal Himself. He
has revealed His will, His covenant, His purpose, His mercy, and His
salvation. Eternal life is to know God. That's what the Lord Jesus said
in John chapter 17 verse 3. And this is life eternal, that
they might know Thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom
Thou hast sent. Friends, Abraham believed God. Do you believe God? God has not
left Himself without a witness. Now, there are two ways in which
God reveals Himself. He reveals Himself by His Word
and by His Son. The Lord gave us His Word. The
Bible is the Word of God. This book says, thus saith the
Lord. All scripture is given by inspiration
of God. That phrase, inspiration of God,
means divinely breathed. The Bible is God-breathed. God's
Word is profitable. It's profitable for reproof,
for correction and instruction in righteousness. The very thing
that we must have in order to be reconciled to God, this book
declares and reveals. Someone told me one time that
the Bible was a book written by men. Well, I don't know why
you believe in the Bible. It was just a book written by
men. And I told him, well, you're partly right. The Bible was written
by holy men of God that spake and wrote as they were moved
by the Holy Spirit of God, as God breathed. You know, most
everybody today has a Bible. My grandmother had one of those
big old family Bibles that she kept on her coffee table. You
remember those. And every now and then she would
open that Bible and she'd look in it and there'd be some old
pressed and dried flowers from a funeral of a loved one in it. There were newspaper clippings
of funerals and obituaries. But that big old Bible was just
nothing more than a scrapbook to my mamaw. I never saw her
read it. She didn't believe the words
of life that were written in that precious book. God reveals
Himself to us by His Word, and God reveals Himself unto us by
His Son. Hebrews 1 verse 1, God who at
sundry times and in divers manners spoke in times past unto the
fathers by the prophets by His Word, hath in these last days
spoken unto us by His Son. whom he hath appointed heir of
all things, and by whom also he made the world." Oh, friends,
God's Son actually came into the world and He spoke to us.
He said, I have manifested thy name unto the men which thou
gavest me. I'm so glad that He did. In 1 John 5, verse 20, the Apostle
John said this, And we know that the Son of God has come, and
hath given us an understanding, that we may know Him that is
true, and we are in Him that is true, even in His Son Jesus
Christ. This is true God and eternal
life. Has God given you an understanding
of these things? He did so that we might know
Him that is true, and know that we are in Him that is true. This
is true God and this is eternal life. Eternal life is not to
believe there is a God. Eternal life is not to know some
things about God. Eternal life is to believe God.
In Acts chapter 27, we find Paul on a ship and a storm rose and
the ship was about to sink and the men that were on that ship
wanted to jump off. You know, they felt they stood
a better chance of living in the sea than on the ship. And
you remember what Paul said to those men. He said, sirs, be
of good cheer. There stood by me this night
the angel of the Lord, whose I am and whom I serve. And he
said to me, Paul, not one person will be lost. Paul said the ship
would be destroyed, but not one person is going to be lost. You
know, as I was reading that story again the other day, I found
it very interesting what Paul said next. He didn't say, sirs,
I believe there is a God. He didn't say, sirs, I believe
in God. Do you know what he said? This
is what he said word for word. Sirs, I believe God that it shall
be exactly as he told me. Do you see the difference? Paul
said, I really believe what God said, so I'm going to stay on
the ship. That's true faith's confession. I believe God that
it shall be exactly as he told me. And it always is. Do you
believe God that way? God told Moses, I'm coming through
the land of Egypt at midnight. And when I do, the first morning,
every home is going to die unless you kill a lamb, roast it with
fire, eat the flesh, and put the blood on the door. And when
I come into the land and I see the blood, I'll pass over you. Do you know who God spared that
night? Those who believe God. Those
who put blood on the door, they lived, and the ones who didn't
died. You see, it's a matter of believing. Joshua sent the spies to Jericho. They providentially wound up
in the house of Rahab the harlot. You know the rest of the story.
She hid the spies, the men of God. She said, I know God is
with you, and I know God is going to allow you to take this land,
but will you have mercy on me? Will you spare me? And the men
said, Thou shalt bind this line of scarlet thread in the window
which thou didst let us down by, hanging out the window. And when we take the city, you
and your family stay in the house. Stay in the house. Don't go outside. If you go outside, you're done
for. Stay in the house. Friends, we've
got to stay in Christ. And it's that red, that scarlet
blood of His that saves us. Do you know what Rahab did? She
believed God, and she did exactly what God said to do. Faith is
to believe God. Abraham believed God, and it
was counted, it was imputed, it was reckoned, it was charged
to his account for righteousness. That's why Paul said that Christ
is the end of the law for righteousness. True faith believes that God
is faithful. He's faithful that promised.
Paul said, I know whom I have believed. Who did he believe? He believed Jesus Christ. Abraham
believed God. So in closing, let me ask you
the same questions I asked you in the beginning. Do you believe
what God says in this book? Do you believe what He says about
Himself? Do you believe what God says
about you? Do you believe what God says about His Son? Do you
believe God? If you do, God counts, God reckons,
God concludes, God charges to your account the perfect equity. And that equity is His perfect
righteousness. Abraham believed God and it was
counted unto him for righteousness. Well, what did Abraham believe?
He believed that Jesus Christ was made to be sin for him. That perfect one who knew no
sin was made sin. That we, the wretched sinners
that we are, might be made the righteousness of God in him.
Amen.