All right, first we read the
text in Genesis chapter 15 where Paul is referring to this in
Romans chapter 4, an experience that Abraham had with the Lord
in the Old Testament. Genesis 15, 1 through 7. After these things, the word
of the Lord came unto Abram, his name is Abram at that time,
in a vision, saying, Fear not, Abram, I am thy shield and thy
exceeding great reward. And Abram said, Lord God, what
wilt thou give me, seeing I go childless, and the steward of
my house is this Eliezer of Damascus?' And Abram said, Behold, to me
thou hast given no seed, and lo, one born in my house is mine
heir. And behold, the word of the Lord
came unto him, saying, This shall not be thine heir, that is, Elisha,
but he that shall come forth out of thine own bowels shall
be thine heir. And he brought him forth abroad,
and said, Look now toward heaven, and tell the stars, if thou be
able to number them. And he said unto him, So shall
thy seed be. Watch verse 6, it's our text. And he believed in the Lord,
and he counted it to him for righteousness. Alright, flipping
to Romans 4, 1 through 3. Paul's discussing the matter
of righteousness and the matter of justification. And so he brings
up the question of Abraham. What shall we say then that Abraham,
our father, as pertaining to the flesh, hath found? Or Abraham,
our fleshly father, hath found? For if Abraham were justified
by works, He hath to glory, but not before God. And what saith
the Scripture? Abraham believed God, and it
was counted unto him for righteousness. That's Genesis 15 and verse 6. Now, we'll begin with that passage
that we read from the book of Genesis. Let's remember something
about this man Abraham, his importance and his place in history. Abraham became, as it were, the
third fountainhead of the human race. First there was Adam, who
is the natural father of us all. Then the race was reduced to
but eight souls, Noah and his family. And he was then the new
fountainhead of restoring and replenishing the race of man. Genesis chapter 9 and verse 1. And then again, there were many
living upon the earth. and increasing in number. And in Genesis chapter 11, planning
new mischief against God. And so the Lord God confounded
their design, scattered them abroad upon the face of the earth. Genesis 11 and verse 8 and verse
9. Then God did a wonderful thing. He pitched upon this man by the
name of Abram. In Genesis chapter 11 and verse
27 through chapter 12 and verse 3, in a marvelous display of
divine and sovereign election, He chose Abraham to be the fountainhead
of a peculiar nation and a special, peculiar people under the Lord
God. Who said it better than Stephen? In Acts chapter 7 and verse 2,
the Lord God appeared under our father Abraham. The God of glory,
Stephen said, appeared under father Abraham when he was still
in Mesopotamia before he dwelt in Haran. Now this event, the
call of Abraham, marked a new era. It was a distinct work of
God in developing and carrying out his purpose leading up to
the appearance of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ the Messiah. And that it was a distinctive
point in the history of God's dealing with man can be seen
in the way that the prophets of God mention the importance
of Abraham as they bring it before the people. Here are some examples
in Nehemiah chapter 9 and verse 7. The prophet Nehemiah said
unto them, or rather unto God in prayer, you are the Lord our
God which did choose Abram and brought him forth out of the
air of the Chaldees and gave him the name Abraham. Then Joshua, in Joshua, reminded
the people what God had done. Joshua 24 and verse 3, I took
your father Abraham from the other side of the flood, led
him throughout the land of Canaan, multiplied his seed, and gave
him Isaac. Isaiah 51 has a mention of it
as well. In the second verse, look unto
Abraham your father, and unto Sarah that bare you, for I called
him alone, and I blessed him, and I increased him. The prophets take note of this
ethical work of God in the calling, the separating of Abraham. Now before we go a step further,
let us stop here and consider what Abraham was before the God
of glory appeared unto him when he was in Mesopotamia. Before he was called. Before
God appeared unto him. before God promised to make him
a father of many nations. Was he then known as Abram? Was he a God-fearing man? Was he a worshiper of the one
and only true God of heaven? And is this why God chose him? Because he was a good, decent,
upright man and a worshiper of God. Is that why God chose him
out? For the honor of being the father
of many nations? Did God in some way respect Abraham
and bless him because of that? I tell you, nay. Abraham descended
from a family of idolaters, as we learn in the Old Testament. He came from a family that served
other gods. And Joshua reminds them when
they were settled in Canaan. Here, if you will, Joshua 24
and verse 2. Your fathers dwelt on the other
side of the flood in old times, of olden times, Terah the father
of Abraham and the father of Nacor, and they served other
gods. That's what Abraham was, that's
the house that he descended out of, and God, or rather the prophets
remind the people of God that they should remember that Abraham,
whose name they would revere forever and ever, was born and
bred in idolatry. And he lived in it until God
appeared unto him and called him out by his electing grace. and delivered Abraham from the
worship of idols. He had his beginning as an idolater. By grace he became the friend
of God and was justified. He believed God and he had righteousness
imputed unto him. Just as the people, and we too,
should remember that God chose them when they were small and
when they were weak, the nation of Israel, He delivered them
out of their hopeless bondage in the land of Egypt. And they
must ever be reminded, as we must. Deuteronomy 10, 15. The Lord had a delight in your
fathers, to love them and to choose their seed after them. Even you, above all people, Moses
reminds them. So says the prophet Isaiah, again
in chapter 51 and verse 2, concerning Abraham, quote, I called him
alone, unquote. And what could the prophet mean
by the word alone? I called him alone. Can it mean him and only him? Out of his father's house did
I call? Or was it to encourage them that
blessings could follow from a very small and meager beginning, one
man, Abram, who became Abraham. Or was it that he might show
them by their number what God had made them from but one man
in the beginning, and that was Abraham? Now we want to consider
the case of Abraham from the text. Abraham believed God. And the second thing is, and
it was put to his account for righteousness. And then when
Paul writes the Roman epistle and the Galatian one also, Abraham
becomes Paul's model for justification and righteousness. It is in Romans
chapter 4. You find it again in Galatians
chapter 3. His proof case for justification
gratuitously by faith and by grace was Abraham. In fact, Abraham is used in the
New Testament writers in three ways. Here they are very quickly. A. Stephen, beginning with Abraham,
traces out the changes that God had made in dealing with His
people over the course of the ages. This was to answer the
charges that Stephen was preaching that Jesus of Nazareth would
change the customs that had been delivered unto them. And Stephen
shows. beginning with Abraham, the various
stages that God brought the people through. But then B, Paul uses
Abraham to show that justification is gratuitous, that it is only
by faith And then see, James holds up Abraham as a proof that
faith will be active. That those who have faith perform
good works to the glory of God. Faith without works is dead. But real faith manifests itself
in works. Now, in the passage in Genesis
15 and 6, you have what Paul quotes in Romans 4 and verse
3. And he, meaning Abraham, believed
in the Lord. That is, he believed the Lord,
and the Lord put it down to his account for righteousness. And we'll see that Paul expands
this in Romans chapter 4. John Owen, one of the authors
of the Puritan, said of Abraham, and said on Genesis 15 and verse
6, and I quote, The first express record of the justification of
any sinner is that of Abraham." The first one on record is that
of Abraham. Owen added, Abraham was not the
first in time or chronology to be justified, because Abel before
him lived by faith, Enoch lived by faith, and walked with God
and was not, for God took him And Noah found grace in the eyes
of the Lord in Genesis chapter 6 and verse 8. Two great principles
of the gospel are found in the experience of Abraham. even in the Old Testament. Number
one, his justification by faith. He believed God. We'll have more to say on that
shortly. He believed in God and he believed
God's Word and received God's revelation that he had made unto
him. Secondly, there's another grand
doctrine that is here, that was the imputation of righteousness
unto believing Abraham. It was imputed, it was reckoned,
it was credited unto the account of Abraham, so that upon The
principle here of first mention, that is, the first time a thing
or a doctrine is mentioned in the Scripture, it contains usually
the seed of the matter, which will be developed more in the
New Testament. And it applies all the way through
the Scripture, from the first mention we find, that truth is
set forth that is later built upon. You can see that in creation. You can see it in the fall of
man. You can see it in the suretyship
of the Lord Jesus Christ. You can see it in justification,
to name a few of the imminent ones in Scripture. Now, as great
as is the truth of Genesis chapter 15 and verse 6, it is still likely
that some merit mongers had done as Calvin said, quote, depraved
this text, unquote. If it had not been for Paul in
Romans chapter 4 in the New Testament writing, for some make Abraham's
fate to be his righteousness, others make it accepted as a
substitute for righteousness, and pleasing to God. And also
they make the righteousness to be the good and the honest character
of this man Abraham. And to say that Abraham was personally
in character righteous before God. God accepted that from Abraham. We've already seen that can't
be true because he was from an idolatrous family. In short,
there are some who are quite willing to make a savior out
of their faith and out of their believing. And they have that
to stand before God as their righteousness. They trust in
their trust. They trust in their faith. They believe in their belief. And they have faith in their
faith. The rest in their act of faith. Some think that is what is meant
here. Their error is that they make
a work out of their faith without ever realizing. And what they
do then is that they would have their personal act of faith,
the fact that they believe, the fact they put their faith in
the Lord Jesus Christ. They would have their act of
faith to be their righteousness in the stead of God, and in doing
so, they actually stop short of the Lord and Savior Jesus
Christ. In fact, they stop at their faith. They have faith in their faith. I ran across years ago a wonderful
writing of a man called Bell. I don't have any of his books.
I don't know where to get them. I read the quote in another book. The book is called View of the
Covenants. And in that book on page 226,
Mr. Bell said this, and I quote, Faith rests upon Christ alone. It, in effect, excludes itself
as a work in the matter of justification. It is not a thing upon which
the sinner rests, but it is his resting on the surety of the
Lord Jesus Christ." So, to make faith itself to be one's righteousness
or accept it as a substitute for righteousness is, as the
aforementioned Mr. Bell wrote, quote, is nothing
else but works under another name, unquote. And some people
really have done that. Therefore, we come to Romans
chapter 4 and the passage that we have from the apostle Paul's
application here of the doctrine of justification by faith, using
Abraham, working off of the experience of Abraham as his model, clearly
citing Genesis 15 and verse 6, to prove particularly and especially
unto the Jews of that day that justification is not by the work
of the law. There are three things to be
noted. All of them are related to Abraham here in Romans chapter
4. The first thing is for sure Abraham
was a justified man. Who would argue Who of the Jews
would dispute that Abraham stood just in the sight of God? This none dare deny. No Jew would
ever deny that Abraham was justified in the sight of God, especially
no Jew of that era. Secondly, Paul proves something
fatal to the Jew, and that's in verse 9 through verse 12 of
Romans chapter 4, and that is that Abraham, whom they called
their father, the father of the faith, we have Abraham to our
father. We be the children of Abraham. that this same Abraham was justified
prior to receiving circumcision. That's in verse 9 through 12
of Romans chapter 4. Faith was reckoned unto Abraham
when he was in uncircumcision, my brother, my sister. Thirdly,
In verses 13-15, And also, you'll find it in Galatians
3, 16 through 18, Paul shows that Abraham was justified apart
from and prior to the giving of the law. Not only was he justified
before he was circumcised, but he was justified prior to the
giving of the law. Years before the law came, Paul
says in Galatians 430 years, so that neither his justification
or the realization of the promise to Abraham was contingent upon
the law. It was not made. The promise
was not given through the law. Now, with that out of the way,
consider in Romans 4 and verse 3 a reference to Genesis 15 and
verse 6. It answers the question of Romans
4 and verse 1. What shall we then say that Abraham,
our fleshly father, according to the flesh, hath found? Now the subject which Paul has
in mind, which he is pursuing, is righteousness under justification,
which we most recently discussed, and which he most recently wrote
about back in chapter 3, verse 21 through 31. And the question
is especially directed toward the Jews, for as it was with
the father, so must it be with the children. As it was with
Abraham the father, so must it be with the children. The children
must be justified in the same way that the head and the progenitor
of the race. The children must have their
righteousness from the same fountain as the father and the head. Now the question is not one without
an answer. What was the case with Abraham? And the answer tells us, verse
3, Romans 4, Abraham believed God and it was counted are imputed,
or reckoned, or put to his credit for righteousness. He uses the
same word here, which the translators have translated three different
ways. Counted, imputed, and reckoned. to his account. First let me
say, as did John Brown, that in verse 3 and following of Romans
chapter 4, Paul is not declaring the first cause or the imminent
cause of justification, which is the good pleasure of God.
That's the first cause, God's purpose, God's desire, God's
decree to do it. Nor is He telling them what is
the ground of justification. He did that in chapter 3. It
is by Christ being set forth a propitiation for sin through
the grace of God. Rather, Paul is discussing here
the experimental means of justification. And the key to right understanding
of such a text as this is how many times faith stands as a
contrast to works and works of law and observance of law in
the New Testament. Let me just give you a few of
those where they are contrasted. So when Paul says, by faith,
he's not discounting God ordaining it or it being purchased by Christ,
but he's dealing with the actual coming to the experience of it. Listen to Romans 3.28 in the
contract. We conclude that a man is justified
by faith without the deeds of the law. Listen to Romans 3.27,
boasting is excluded not by the law of works but by the law of
faith. In Romans 4.13 we have another
one, the promise that Abraham would be heir of the world was
not to him or to his seed through the law, but through the righteousness
of faith. Way over in chapter 9. And verse
32, why did the Jews fail to attain righteousness? Because
they sought it not by faith, but by the works of the law. Paul tells the Apostle Peter
in Galatians 2 and verse 16, knowing that one is not justified
by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ,
even we who have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be
justified by the faith of Christ and not by the works of the law,
for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified." Again,
in Galatians 3, in verse 2, the Spirit is given. not in conjunction
with the law and the works of the law, but in conjunction with
the gospel and the hearing of faith. Another one in Galatians
3 and verse 11, that no man is justified by the law in the sight
of God, it is evident, for the just shall live by faith. There's that passage from Habakkuk
again. Remember Paul, Philippians 3
and verse 9, Paul's position is this, that I might be found
in him, not having mine own righteousness which is of the law, but that
righteousness which is through the faith of Christ. which is
of God by faith. Then consider the times we read
in the scripture of the righteousness of faith, the righteousness of
faith. So Abraham believed God And it
was counted, reckoned, imputed, credited to him for righteousness. Here's what we have. God spoke
to Abraham. God appeared unto Abraham in
glory and the God of glory. God spoke to Abraham. God made
a revelation unto Abraham. Abraham believed That revelation
that God made. God gave promise and Abraham
believed it. God made a revelation and Abraham
received it as being true because it was from God. One author put
it this way, quote, Abraham believed what God revealed to him. He
counted it true. He counted it true just because
God had revealed it unto him, unquote. In other words, he let
God be God and every man a liar. Now this is clearly stated that
Abraham believed God He took God at His word, what God said,
by grace and faith Abraham believed. Even in this, though, we must
tread carefully at the next phrase, lest we err. Notice, and it was
counted to him for righteousness. Abraham believed God and it was
counted to him for righteousness. And the question then, what is
meant by, what is referred to by the little word, it, in verse
3? It was counted to Abraham for
righteousness. Is it not clear here that the
it, in verse 3, can only refer to Abraham believing God or the
faith of Abraham. It is said, Abraham believed
God, and the next account is, and it was counted unto him for
righteousness. Counted him righteous did God,
for he believed God. See the end of verse 9. of Romans
4, for we say that faith was reckoned to Abraham for righteousness,
which is the same as saying Abraham was justified by faith. We say, that is, it is an undeniable
assertion that we make Abraham believed God, he was justified,
righteousness was put to his account, as seen from Moses in
Genesis 15 and verse 6. The Word of God had settled the
question once and for all. How was it with Abraham? He believed
God, And it was counted unto him for righteousness. Now, pardon
if there be any repetition here, but let us see again how it is
several times stated in the New Testament. The righteousness
of faith. And especially from the pen of
the Apostle Paul. Romans 3 and verse 22. The righteousness of God which
is by faith. You have it again in Romans 4
verse 13. The promise to Abraham was not through the law, but
through the righteousness of faith. Romans 9.30 again. The Gentiles have attained to
righteousness, even the righteousness which is of faith. You have it again in Romans 10
and verse 6. The righteousness which is by
faith speaketh on this wise, with the heart
man believes unto righteousness." Philippians 3, 9, Paul's explanation
again. Paul treasured that righteousness
which is of God by faith and disowned and disavowed his own
righteousness regarding it as dumb or filth or refuge. So we need to be cautious. Faith
is not our righteousness. They are not one and the same
thing. Abraham believed and righteousness
was put to his account. A righteous one is a justified
one and vice versa. And it is clear from Romans the
fourth chapter that the righteousness here that is in view is not the
work of the law nor the uprightness of Abraham's character, but it
is an imputed righteousness. Paul uses that word eleven times
in the fourth chapter of the book of Romans. Four, it is imputed
and it is reckoned and it is counted. Those are the ways that
it is imbued. Now, righteousness imputed unto
justification requires another thing, and that is the non-imputation
of sin. And in our justification there
is the non-imputation of sin. So that Paul sees a double blessedness
in Romans 4 and verse 6. Blessed is the man unto whom
the Lord imputes righteousness without works. Secondly, down
in verse 7, blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven,
whose sins are covered. And verse 8, blessed is the man
to whom the Lord will not impute sin. Blessed is the man unto
whom the Lord imputes righteousness, and blessed is the man unto whom
the Lord imputes not sin. In verse 9 and following, Paul
further shows what Abraham, our father, as pertaining unto the
flesh, had found. Verse 9, the question is asked,
this blessedness, oh this blessedness of having righteousness imputed
and sins not imputed. Then comes the question, this
blessedness, verse 9, is it for the circumcised or also for the
uncircumcised? For we say that faith was reckoned
unto Abraham. Then in verse 10, how, when,
in what circumstance, Was it reckoned to Abraham as regards
circumcision? Only one answer is possible and
Paul gives it. Before, prior to Abraham's circumcision,
prior to his faith and justification, both preceded his circumcision. He believed and was justified
before he was circumcised Therefore, the latter played no part in
the farmer whatsoever. Now, of course, faith must have
a proper object. It is not sitting in thin air
pulled out of thin air. It must have a firm foundation. For Abraham, that foundation
was the Word of God, the testimony of God, and the revelation of
God. Though he did not give being
to the faith of Abraham, this did not give being to the faith
of Abraham, but because the object of his faith Faith, therefore,
spies out the truth of God, and faith spies out Christ in the
gospel. When faith is granted or given
or worked by grace, it then is able to spy Christ out from a
room of impostors in the glorious gospel. Across the room, faith
can spy out and focus upon the Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Yes, faith has that solid bottom,
the Word of God, Christ, His death, the Gospel, and such like. Now time is about gone, so in
closing, let's make a couple of points down the home stretch
for this particular study. Number one, Paul tells us in
Romans chapter 4, This imputation of righteousness that he spoke
about being imputed to Abraham, but this imputation of righteousness
is not peculiar or unique or restricted to Abraham only. Romans 4, 5, To him that works
not, but believes on him that justifies the ungodly, his faith
is counted for righteousness. Back in Romans 3 and 22, the
righteousness of God by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and
upon all that believe. Down in Romans 4, 23 and 24,
not written for Abraham's sake alone, but to us also, to whom
it shall be imputed if we believe on him that raised up Jesus from
the dead. That is, this is one and the
only way to stand righteous before God. And Abraham is not unique
in this. It is so to all believing, electing
children of God. Then there's a second and a final
thing that we want to look at, and this is precious. I guess
we should have saved more time, but look with me at verse 16.
And if you don't get anything else this morning, catch verse
16, where Paul draws this conclusion. Therefore it is of faith that
it might be by grace, to the end the promise might be sure
to all the seed, not to that only which is of the law, but
to that also which is of the faith of Abraham, who is the
father of us all, as it is written, I have made thee a father of
many nations, before him who be believed, even God, who quickeneth
the dead, and calleth those things which be not as though they were. Now here's my point. Faith and
grace completely agree. They work completely together
without any conflict at all. You see it in Ephesians 2, 8
and 9, by grace through faith are you saved. Being of faith
It is a matter of grace, and vice versa. For it is by grace
that any believe. Grace gives being unto our faith. Faith does not bring us the grace
of God. Grace gives faith its being. And says Paul, it is of faith
in order that it might be of grace. And on this account, because
this is true, the promise is sure to all of the seed. And Abraham then is the father
of all of them that believe. Romans 4 and verse 11. He is the father of them that
believe. Abraham believed God And it was
counted, reckoned, imputed, credited to him for righteousness. And that's Paul's proof text
in Romans 4 and Galatians chapter 3.