Welcome to Reign of Grace. This
program is brought to you by Reign of Grace Media Ministries,
an outreach ministry of Eager Avenue Grace Church in Albany,
Georgia. It is our pleasure and privilege
to present to you the gospel message of the sovereign grace
and glory of God in the person and work of the Lord Jesus Christ. We pray that today's program
will be a blessing to you. Thank you for listening. And
now for today's program. Welcome to our program. I'm glad
you could join us today. And if you'd like to follow along
in your Bibles, the past few weeks and today, I've been preaching
through the book of Romans chapter four, concerning issues of grace,
what real grace means, and issues of faith, issues of righteousness.
And today I'm going to pick up there around verses 10, 11, and
12 and places there. And I'll go back over some of
this, but I want to talk to you about the blessing of Abraham.
Now, the apostle Paul in these verses has gone back and used
Abraham, the father of the Jews, as we say, Abraham, the physical
father of the Jews, and sometimes known as the spiritual father
of spiritual Israel, using Abraham to show as an example that God
justifies the ungodly. And when we talk about the blessing
of Abraham, we're not talking about that applies to believers. We're not talking about the inheritance
of a physical land. that God gave Abraham's physical
descendants for a limited period of time, the promised land. The blessing of Abraham that
we're talking about in a spiritual sense and in an eternal sense
is salvation and all the blessings and all the benefits of salvation
that applied to Abraham. And we need to understand when
we talk about Abraham being the father of the faithful, the Bible
teaches us very clearly that there's only one father, true
father, and that is God the Father. We talk about the Trinity, God
the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit. Not three gods,
but one God in three persons. But Abraham is called the father
of the faithful in this sense only, in that he is in what we
might call, you might've heard the word archetype, that is the
supreme example or a supreme example of how God saves sinners. And so sometimes in the Bible,
there are times in the Bible that believers, those who come
to faith in Christ, those who are truly saved by God's grace,
are called the seed of Abraham. And that's not literally or physically,
but it just simply means that the way God saves his people
today is the way he saved Abraham. And not only did in here in Romans
4, did he use Abraham as an example, he also used King David. David
of old, the sweet psalmist of Israel. And verse six, for example,
look at Romans four and verse six. I dealt with this before,
but it said, even as David also described the blessedness of
the man unto whom God imputed righteousness without works. Now, Paul is by inspiration of
the Holy Spirit. The Apostle Paul is giving a
commentary, as it were, on words that David wrote by inspiration
of the Spirit over in the Psalms, specifically Psalm 32. And it
says in verse seven, saying, blessed are they whose iniquities
are forgiven and whose sins are covered. Blessed is the man to
whom the Lord will not impute sin. Now that word impute, imputeth,
impute, comes up there. and later here in a minute we're
going to talk about righteousness imputed. What does the word impute
mean? It means to charge or to account. It is a impute can be used in
a legal sense and a mercantile sense having to do with set buying
and selling. And what it is, think of it in
terms of this way. Think of it, sin, there are many
words in the New Testament for sin. One of the words has the
meaning of running up a debt. We call it the sin debt. And
Christ, before the foundation of the world, God chose a people
to save and gave to Christ and made Christ their surety. Now, a surety is one who stands
accountable, responsible to pay the debt of another person who
cannot pay that debt. And that's the case with all
of God's people. We're sinners and we owe a debt
to God's law and justice. We've run up a sin debt. We fell
in Adam. We're born dead in trespasses
and sins. And we stand in debt to the law. It's like a criminal today, somebody
goes out and robs a bank or something like that and they get caught
and they're charged or imputed with a crime. And they owe a
debt to the law, they owe a debt to the court, they owe a debt
to society. Many times when criminals are
sent to prison, we say they're paying their debt to society.
And so that's what sin is, a sin debt. Well, Christ as the surety
of God's elect, became responsible for their debt. Their debt was
imputed, charged to him. And so he became accountable,
responsible for that debt. And that's why he's called the
surety of the covenant. That means all of the conditions
of salvation, all of the conditions of paying that debt were laid
upon Christ, accounted to him. reckoned to him, charged to him. And somebody said, well, that
doesn't sound fair. Well, listen to me. Christ willingly
entered into that agreement with his father. Remember in John
chapter 10, I believe it is, he talks about how he laid down
his life of his own will. No man taketh it from him, he
said. And so he willingly did this. and He guaranteed the payment
of the debt. He's the surety. Now that's what
justification is. That's what it's about. It's
paying the debt in full. It means that my sins are all
forgiven, pardoned, purged away because Christ paid the debt
with the price of His blood. That's the redemption price.
The blood of Jesus Christ cleanses me from all sin. The blood is
the payment. What can wash away my sins? Nothing
but the blood of Jesus. And so we need to understand
that. Now, in justification, not only are my sins forgiven
on a just ground, the blood of Christ, but in his obedience
unto death as my surety and my substitute and my redeemer, he
brought forth righteousness which God requires. You see, God requires
righteousness. The condition for salvation is
righteousness. And we don't have it. And we
can't work it. We cannot earn it. There's none
righteous, no not one. There's none that doeth good,
no not one. So Christ, in His death, paid my sin debt, and
worked forth a perfect righteousness that God has imputed to me. And
that's what he's talking about here. Look back at Romans 4.
He said, David said this in verse 8, blessed is the man to whom
the Lord will not impute sin. You see, I'm a sinner, but God
does not impute or charge my sins to me. He charged them to
Christ. God would be unjust to charge my sins to me when he's
already charged them to Christ and Christ paid the debt. That's
why I don't owe a debt to God's law and justice now. My debt
is fully paid. Jesus paid it all, all the debt
I owe. Sin had left a crimson stain.
He washed it white as snow. That's what the whole gospel
is about. So look at verse nine. He says here, cometh this blessedness
then upon the circumcision only or upon the uncircumcision also. For we say that faith was reckoned
to Abraham for righteousness. Now the question is this, this
blessedness of the non-imputation of sins, that's what it is. Blessed
is the man to whom the Lord imputeth not iniquity. That's the non-imputation
of sins. If God didn't impute him to me,
who did he impute him to? Who did he charge him to? Who
stood surety for me? Jesus Christ. And he's the one
and only surety. There's no other. Now this blessedness
is the non-imputation of sin. We read it all the time over
in Romans chapter eight. I think it's verse 33 when he
says, he says, who shall lay anything to the charge of God's
elect? And that's who this is for. This
is for the elect. It's not for everybody without
exception. And the elect are not some elite group of people.
They're sinners saved by grace. Who are the elect? They are those
who are brought to faith in Christ and repentance of dead works.
They look to Christ for righteousness, for forgiveness, for blessing,
benefits, for eternal life and salvation and glory. They look
to Christ. They don't look to themselves.
They don't look to other people. They look to Christ alone. Looking
unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith. And so that's who
the elect are. Do you believe in the Lord Jesus
Christ? That's who the elect are. If
you believe on him as he's revealed and distinguished in the Bible.
Not a counterfeit Christ. So this blessedness, the non-imputation
of sins, but it also includes the imputation of righteousness. Not only is my debt paid, but
I have a perfect righteousness accounted to me that stands the
test of God's law. It's the righteousness of Christ
imputed to me. It's called the righteousness
of God in Romans 117. The gospel being the power of
God unto salvation, for therein is the righteousness of God revealed.
And so I have a perfect righteousness that I had no part in producing. You see, it's all of grace. God,
as he said back here in verse four or five, he says, God justifies
the ungodly. the ungodly. So if I'm justified,
if I'm saved by God's grace, if I'm justified, if I'm forgiven,
if I'm counted righteous in God's sight, and that's not fake now,
I'm a sinner in myself, but as far as my standing before God,
or my standing before God, I am perfectly righteous in Christ. That's why Paul wrote In Philippians
chapter three, I believe it's verse eight, verse nine, when
he said, that I may know him and be found in him, in Christ,
not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law by my works,
but that which is through the faithfulness of Christ, the righteousness
which I've received by God-given faith. And that's what he means
by that. So there's the perfect righteousness.
And I didn't have anything to do with it as far as producing
it, it's all Christ. It's all Christ. But notice back
again in verse nine now, the question, cometh this blessedness
then upon the circumcision only or upon the uncircumcision also? Talking about the blessing of
Abraham, the blessing that David partook of, the blessing that
every believer partakes of. And is it for the circumcision
only? That's the Jews. They were referred to as the
circumcision because all the male Jews were circumcised when
they were eight days old. Circumcision was a sign of that
old covenant. And so, is this just for the
Jews? Or is it for the uncircumcision? Can Gentiles partake of this? Can they be part of it? Can they
be brought into it? Those who are uncircumcised.
Well, circumcision, physical circumcision has nothing to do
with it. Well, as we read back in Romans 1, 16, it says, I'm
not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of
God unto salvation to everyone that believes, to the Jew first,
they were the first in time to receive it, but to the Greek
or the Gentile also. Over in Galatians chapter six
and verse 14, the apostle Paul wrote, God forbid that I should
glory or boast save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ by whom
the world is crucified unto me and I unto the world. For in
Christ Jesus, verse 15, neither circumcision availeth anything
nor uncircumcision, but a new creature, a new creation, born
again. To be born again is spiritual
circumcision. And Paul wrote about that over
in Romans chapter two. We read this before too. Look
at verse 28 of Romans chapter two. He says, for he is not a
Jew which is one outwardly, neither is that circumcision which is
outward in the flesh. But he is a Jew which is one
inwardly, you hear that? And circumcision is that of the
heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter, whose praise is
not of men but of God. Spiritual circumcision makes
one a spiritual Jew, spiritual Israelite. That's the saved. That's all who have been born
again by the Spirit, given a new heart and brought to faith in
Christ and repentance of dead works by the Holy Spirit in the
new birth. That's spiritual Israel. And
that's what he's saying here, verse nine, cometh this blessing,
Romans four, verse nine, Cometh this blessedness then upon the
circumcision only or upon the uncircumcision also. For we say
that faith was reckoned to Abraham for righteousness. Now let me
say a few words about that, because that can be confusing. When it
says that faith was reckoned to Abraham for righteousness,
does that mean that Abraham's act of believing was imputed
to him, reckoned to him? That word reckoned means imputed.
for righteousness, is that teaching that because we cannot keep the
law perfectly, that God accepts our believing as a replacement
for righteousness? Or that God fills in the blank,
as it were, and the answer's no. I dealt with this now. Faith has to do with the promise
of God here. That faith was reckoned, Abraham.
What is that faith? That's not Abraham's believing.
Now, Abraham was brought to faith in Christ, to believe in the
Lord Jesus Christ. Abraham believed God. And it,
back here in verse three, for what saith the scripture, Abraham
believed God. Now, every one of God's chosen
people in Christ, for whom Christ stood surety, for whom he substituted
himself on the cross and died, all whom he redeemed will be
given the gift of faith to believe in Christ. That faith, which
God gives, connects the sinner to Christ in a spiritual union,
and it's necessary. Without faith, it's impossible
to please God. Well, you must believe. But the
word faith is sometimes used as the body of knowledge and
doctrine that God has revealed in His promise of salvation,
and that's what this is in verse nine. It wasn't Abraham's believing
that was reckoned to him as righteousness, because even the faith that God
gives us comes through this vile body, the wretched man, Paul
said in Romans 7. And it's not yet perfect. We
struggle. Nothing we do, even the graces
and gifts of the Holy Spirit, when they come through this vile
body, these vile minds, they're contaminated with sin, and even
they have to be presented to God under the blood of Christ
to be accepted. Our worship, our prayers, you
can't pray to God apart from Christ and be accepted with God
apart from Christ. Your prayers aren't good enough,
mine aren't either. Nothing we do equals the perfection of righteousness
that can only be found in Christ, not even our faith in Him, our
belief in Him. So we have to always plead the
blood, the righteousness of Christ. So the faith that was reckoned
to Abraham is the righteousness of Christ, which he worked out
on the cross in his obedience unto death as the surety, the
substitute, the redeemer of his people. And so look at verse
10. Now he explains it, how was it
then reckoned? How was it imputed? When he was
in circumcision or in uncircumcision? Not in circumcision, but in uncircumcision. Now what his point is here is
this, and this proves that their physical circumcision did not
have anything to do with salvation, with a right standing before
God. You see, remember I've always
told you that the unbelieving Jews pretty much rested on three
things. that they believed proved that
they were accepted with God, that they were saved. Number
one was their physical connection with Abraham. Number two was
their circumcision, physically. And number three was they claimed
to have kept the law of Moses. None of those things, Christ
himself in his earthly walk when he was preaching, he put all
of those things down saying that they had nothing to do with spiritual
eternal salvation. And so he proves it by Abraham. Abraham had righteousness imputed
to him before he was circumcised physically. So physical circumcision
had nothing to do with it. And it says in verse 11, Romans
4, 11, and he received the sign of circumcision, a seal of the
righteousness of the faith which he had yet been uncircumcised. Circumcision physically was just
a sign of something spiritual. It wasn't spiritual itself. Many
of those who were circumcised physically did not believe in
the Lord Jesus Christ. But Abraham received that as
a sign, and it says in verse 11, that he might be the father
of all them that believe, though they be not circumcised. Now
that's the Gentiles. How is Abraham the father of
Gentile believers? Well, spiritually, he's the archetype. God is their ultimate father.
But Abraham is a grand example, that's what he is, of how God
saves sinners. And he says, that righteousness,
now look at verse 11, and underscore this, that righteousness might
be imputed unto them also. So what's imputed? Not our believing,
Our believing is the fruit of the imputation of Christ's righteousness
to our persons. God did that back in eternity
past, before the foundation of the world, when Christ was made
our surety. Our sins were imputed to Him, His righteousness to
us, and that's why He had to come in time. The book of Hebrews
chapter 2 says that it was behoving unto Him. He was obligated to
come and pay the price. for the people whom God had given
him before the foundation of the world. That's why he said
in John chapter six and verse 37, all that the father giveth
me shall come to me. And him that cometh to me, I
will in no wise cast out. He said of those which he had
given me, I should lose nothing, but raise it up again at the
last day. They have a right standing before
God. Now they're born into this world, into a state of sin and
death and depravity, and at some point in time, at God's appointed
time, He sends the Spirit to bring them under the preaching
of the gospel, and makes that gospel the power of God unto
their salvation, and gives them new life, spiritual life. You
must be born again. He gives them faith to believe
it. For by grace are you saved. Through faith, that not of yourselves,
it's the gift of God. not of works lest any man should
boast. And that's the sign, that's spiritual circumcision. And that's
the sign that righteousness has been imputed to them also. In
verse 12. He talks about Abraham and the
father of circumcision to them who are not of the circumcision
only, but who also walk in the steps of that faith of our father
Abraham, which he had being yet uncircumcised. Now what he's
saying there is this, whether you're physically circumcised
or physically not circumcised, that has nothing to do with it.
Any Gentile who walks by the grace of God in the faith of
Abraham in the gospel, salvation conditioned on Christ, accomplished
by him through his blood and righteousness alone. Any Gentile
who walks by the same faith that God gave Abraham, any Jew who
walks by the same faith that God gave Abraham, that's the
ones to whom God has justified, forgiven of all their sins, made
righteous in his sight, imputed righteousness to them, that's
the ones who are saved. And so he says in verse 13, for
the promise, now here's the key to that faith that Abraham had.
Yes, Abraham was a believer. Yes, if you're saved, you will
be a believer. And it says, for the promise
that he should be heir of the world was not to Abraham or to
his seed through the law, but through the righteousness of
faith. What God gave Abraham as the
supreme, the prime example of how God justified the ungodly. And in essence, that Abraham,
that he should be the heir of the world. Now, what does that
mean? Well, you remember back in Genesis
12 and Genesis 15 and Genesis 17 when God made a covenant with
Abraham? He said, Abraham, in thee shall all nations be blessed. Now, how did God accomplish that?
Well, it was through the physical lineage of Abraham that God brought
Christ into the world as to his human nature. Christ, Jesus of
Nazareth, was born a Jew of the tribe of Judah, one who came out of David. He
was born of the seed of David, but he was also born of the seed
of Abraham. Over in Galatians chapter three,
we have a good explanation of that when he talks about how
all of this, was fulfilled, not by Abraham personally. Abraham
was just a sinner saved by grace, just like me, just like any of
us who are saved. But he says in verse 16, this
is Galatians chapter three. Now to Abraham and his seed were
the promises made. He saith not and to seeds as
of many, but as of one and to thy seed, which is Christ. That's how Abraham would be a
blessing to the nations, to the world. Because God has a people
all over this world, out of every tribe, kindred, tongue, and nation.
And he loves them. And he sent his son to die for
them, and they're going to be brought out of the world by the
grace and power of God. And that's the blessing of Abraham.
Listen to verse 13 of Galatians 3. It says, Christ hath redeemed
us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us, for
it is written, cursed is everyone that hangeth on a tree. In verse
14, that the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through
Jesus Christ, that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through
faith. That's the blessing of Abraham. It's justification before
God. but the forgiveness of all my
sins through the blood of Christ, being declared righteous before
God, because I have His righteousness imputed to me." That's the whole
issue here. Salvation is by grace, grace
alone, and grace reigns through righteousness unto eternal life
by Jesus Christ our Lord. I hope you'll join us next week
for another message from God's Word. We are glad you could join us
for another edition of Reign of Grace. This program is brought
to you by Reign of Grace Media Ministries, an outreach ministry
of Eager Avenue Grace Church in Albany, Georgia. To receive
a copy of today's program or to learn more about Reign of
Grace Media Ministries or Eager Avenue Grace Church, write us
at 1-1-0-2 Eager Drive, Albany, Georgia. Contact us by phone at 229-432-6969
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today and may the Lord be with you.