Open your Bible to Romans chapter
4, please. I like to talk about faith, preach
about faith. Romans chapter 4 is most certainly
about faith. It comes out of chapter 3 and
into chapter 4. In chapters 1 and 2 of this book,
let me say this as I begin that David started a study in Romans
this morning. It's outstanding. If you weren't
here, I think it would be profitable for you to hear it. It sure started
out good, Romans chapter 1. In this book of Romans, chapters
1 and 2, and most of chapter 3, talk about man's guilt, that
all men are guilty, whether Jew or Gentile, whether religious
or not religious, whether civilized or pagan. They're all guilty. The whole world is guilty that
every mouth be shut, every mouth be closed, stand guilty before
God. They're without excuse. They're
guilty. And then he shows that. It just
jumps out at you in chapter 3. All have sinned and come short
of the glory of God. And then the gospel just bursts
forth. Therefore being justified freely
by His grace. All are guilty. They have to
be justified freely. Nothing in them to cause God
to move, cause God to forgive them. Nothing they can do. Therefore
being justified freely by his grace through the redemption
that's in the Lord Jesus Christ, whom God has set forth to be
the satisfaction of our sins, the propitiation. What a wonderful
gospel. And then in chapter four, after saying that, going to say
that men are justified by faith, without the deeds of the law.
Let's read a few verses here. Verse 1 of chapter 4. What shall
we say then that Abraham, our father, as pertained to the flesh,
hath found? Fleshly works, activities, obedience. What can we say about that? If
Abraham was justified by works, he's got something to gloat with,
not before God. Then we have this question. I
heard Ralph Barnard preaching one time on a tape, and he made
this statement, what saith the Scriptures? He said that ought
to settle it. Somebody says, our church, our
creed, our confession, we don't believe about God the same way
you do. Well, what saith the Scriptures? Our confession or creed says
this about election, doesn't matter. What sayeth the scriptures? Some folk believe you're justified
by jumping in the water, baptism or regeneration, but what sayeth
the scriptures? That should settle it, once and
for all. And the scriptures, listen to
me now, the scriptures are not that complicated. It's plain
words written out. Therefore being justified by
faith without the needs of the law. What can that mean except
what it says? If words have any meaning. Yeah,
but. That's what they said in Acts
15. That's what they said in the book of Galatians. I know
that you all have believed. I know that you've been baptized.
I know that you received the Spirit of God, just like they
did under their Pentecost. But, except you be circumcised
and keep the law of Moses. No buts about it. Except you
be circumcised and keep the law of Moses, you'll never go to
heaven. That's what they said. How plain can Scripture be? It
gives us an illustration here, an example. Abraham is an example. He's the father of the faithful.
He's the father of the elect of God. Abraham believed God,
and it was reckoned unto him for righteousness. What can be
more simple? Yeah, I read that but. There's
no buts to it. Abraham believed God, and it
was reckoned unto him for righteousness. Paul said in Romans chapter 10,
With the heart man believeth unto righteousness. That's it. It's just that plain
and that simple. Abraham believed God, and it
was counted unto him for righteousness. And that's what the Scriptures
say. What saith the Scripture? That's it, right? Abraham believed
God. It was counted to him for righteousness.
Now, you want to argue a little bit about it? To him that worketh
is the reward, not reckon of grace, but of debt. If you do
anything to cause God to justify you, to cause God to reckon you
righteous, then He's just paying the debt to you. You earned it.
You earned it. not of grace, but of death. But
to him that worketh not, but believeth, believeth, that's
the key, believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his believing,
his faith is counted for righteousness. Even as David also describeth
the blessedness of the man, to whom the Lord God, whom God imputeth
righteousness without works. There are people in this world
that God charges them with righteousness, imputes righteousness to them.
He reckons them righteous without any works they've done, apart
from any works they've ever done. Blessed, blessed is that man,
that woman. And David said, Blessed are they
whose iniquities are forgiven, whose sins are covered. Blessed
is the man to whom the Lord will not charge with sin. That's wonderful. There are people
in this building this morning, sinful, me, sinful, chief of
sinners. But God will not. He will not. He will not charge me with sin. Not a while. Not way back yonder. Not today. Not presently. Not in the future. He will not
charge me with sin. I'm justified. I'm made righteous
through faith in His Son. That's the story. All that God
required of me, Christ provided for me all that I should have
suffered. He suffered for me. He satisfied
the law of God. He satisfied the justice of God
for me, for me. And God said, I'm satisfied.
Raised him from the dead and set him on the throne. And God
will not charge me with sin. In fact, it says Christ for one
offering has perfected forever them that are sanctified. And
God will not, will not, never. Remember their sins against them
anymore. I can't forget them. God can't remember them. What a work Christ did. What a work Christ did. But because
God has shown them to me and I see them and I can't forget
them, I'm sure glad I can see Christ. That's the answer. That's the remedy. That's the
cure. That's salvation. Christ is the end of the law
for righteousness to everyone that believes. Paul refers to old Abraham to
illustrate justification by faith. What about Abraham's works? What
about Abraham's deeds in the flesh? What about Abraham's history
of obedience? Don't that enter into his justification?
No, sir. It does not. It does not. What about his circumcision,
his righteousness? The Bible said Abraham walked
with God. That count anything for his reception of God, being
accepted of God? The Bible said Abraham was a
friend of God. It didn't have anything to do
with his justification. That's because he was already
justified by grace through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. James
chapter 2, verses 21 through 24. James said Abraham was justified
by works, and he was. But what that means is, not justified
before God legally in the courts of heaven, but it means he was
justified in saying that he believed God. If you don't have work,
you're not justified in saying you believe God. If you're walking
in disobedience before God, you have no right to say that you
believe God. You can't separate belief and
conduct. You can't separate faith and
obedience. Those who believe God obey God.
Not perfectly, but they walk in the general tenor and course
of their life is after God. When they were in the flesh,
they minded the things of the flesh. Influenced by the things
of the flesh. Now that they're in the Spirit
of God, they're mindful of the things of the Spirit. That's
what influences our lives. Paul said, we look at things
that are not seen. All these things down here that
are seen, they're changing, they're temporal, they're passing away.
One day they'll be put away. Only spiritual things are eternal. And Paul said, our hearts are
set on spiritual things. Our hearts are set on spiritual
things. Abraham was justified. What about his circumcision?
Well, look at verse 9. Cometh this blessedness of justification? Cometh this blessedness then
upon the circumcision only or upon the uncircumcision also?
For we say that faith was reckoned to Abraham for righteousness.
When did it come to us? After he circumcised, before
he was circumcised when? Before he was ever circumcised,
he believed God and he was justified and made righteous before God. That's in the rest of those verses
following. But the Bible says he had nothing to glow in. Anyone
who's justified before God has nothing to glory in. He doesn't
do anything. He doesn't perform any work. He just simply believes God.
And that, only by God's grace. Faith is a gift of God. Not of
works, lest any man should boast. It's a gift of God. And the Bible
says in Philippians 3, 3, we're the circumcision, we here this
morning who believe, we're the circumcision, circumcision of
the heart, we're the circumcision that worship God in the spirit,
rejoice in his Son, and have no confidence in the flesh. All
of our confidence is in Christ. All of our confidence is in Christ.
What? Does the scripture say Abraham
believed God and reckoned Him for righteousness? He believed. Believing, not working. Believing.
He believed God. It's that simple. With the heart,
he believed unto righteousness. With the mouth, confession was
made to salvation. By grace are you saved through
faith. Without this faith, it's impossible
to come to God. It's impossible to please God
in any way without faith. Roman chapter 11. Abraham believed
God. That's it. And it was reckoned to him for
righteousness. And if you're righteous, you
justify. righteous and justified before God by faith. Believing God. What is believing
God? I want to talk to you about that
just briefly this morning. Make three or four points. What
is it to believe God scripturally unto salvation? What is it to
believe God? You know, Spurgeon used to say
in his day, all these preachers are crying, believe, believe,
believe. Now I tell them, people, what to believe? They're not
giving them anything to believe. Just a system, a ceremony, a
ritual. The Bible gives us something
to believe. What is saving faith? What is
it to believe God? Like Abraham did. He's our example. What is it to believe God? Many
men have done many things in the name of religion, in the
name of Christ, and yet never believed God. Yet never trusted
Christ. The Bible tells us that in Matthew
chapter 7, going down through the Scriptures, we see an old
wicked king named Ahab. He humbled himself before God,
confessed his sin, but he didn't believe God, not under righteousness. He died in his sins. Old Pharaoh
back in Egypt, he said, I've sinned against the Lord. He wasn't
saved. He didn't believe God. Isn't
it sense? He didn't have saving faith.
He confessed his sins. And several of these people repented
of their sins. Old Ahab, he repented of his
sins. Pharaoh, he repented of his sins.
King Saul, he repented of his sins. But they didn't believe
God. They didn't believe God. Then people have done all this
and confessed Christ too. Who didn't believe God? Judas
did. Demas did. They confessed Christ. They were baptized. And there have been many who
have done many wonderful works. In the name of the Lord Jesus
Christ. Who didn't know God? Never believed under righteousness
as Abraham did. There was an old man one time,
he's a false prophet. He was a preacher for money.
And he said he didn't believe God. He's an example. God tells us, don't be like him.
You'll perish like him. And yet he said, oh, that I might
die the death of the righteous. my latter end be like his, a
man named Absalom. Oh, that I may die the death
of the righteous. One may possess much more faith
in Abraham and yet not believe God like Abraham did unto righteousness. One may believe and fight for
what he believes in the name of God and still not believe
God. One may be willing to fight for
creed and doctrine and practices and yet not believe God. It's happened down through history.
You can do so many things, be so many things, and yet not believe
God, like Abraham believed God. Let's look at saving faith or
believing God this morning, just three or four points, and I'm
done. Number one, there is no saving faith without a personal
knowledge and understanding of what's been preached, what's
been said. There is no saving faith. I went
to college with a boy in Bible college, and he used to just
over and over and over because that was his God, that was his
hope. Talk about that day he made his confession, made his
decision, walked down the front. He said, I don't remember a thing
the preacher said. I just felt something inside
me. I felt like I needed to go down the front, make my decision. He did, and didn't mount a hill
of beans, if I may so speak. I heard a man say it's that same
place. He said, saving faith is like
a jump in the dark, leap in the dark. You're up on a building
and it's burning and you've got to get off. You're going to die.
Somebody down here on the ground said, jump, I'll catch you and
you jump. You don't know who it is, what it's all about. Jump
in the dark. Saving faith is not a leap in the dark. It's
a leap into the light. Faith comes by hearing and hearing
by this book. The Word of God. Without the
truth of this book, there is no saving faith. A lot of faith,
but it is not saving faith. A lot of faith, but it is not
like Abraham's that believes unto righteousness. And so the
first thing is there must be personal knowledge and understanding.
A man's faith is no better than what he believes. It is no surer
than what he believes. If he believes a lie, his faith
is a lie. Substituting experience for knowledge. A lot of people do that. I felt
this. I felt that. Substituting experience
for knowledge is no better than gross superstition. That's all
it is. No truth in it. False conceptions beget false
faith and false hopes. One must have an understanding
and believe what he hears from God. Abraham understood what
God said. Just to give you a few things.
And this is emphasized in the Scripture. Abraham believed what
God said. You mean God said something?
If God hadn't have said anything, he wouldn't have had anything
to believe. Listen. Abraham understood what God said.
The God of glory appeared unto our father Abraham when he was
yet in Ur of Chaldees and said, Come, follow me. I'll make you a father of many
nations. I'll make you a great nation, the father of many nations.
You know, I know how I know he believed God. He left his all
and followed him. He left his homeland, he left
his country and his kinfolk, his home, his family, and followed
God. He believed what God said. God said, I'm going to give you
a son. Through that son, all families of the earth shall be
blessed. He believed God. When he got too old to have a
son, his wife was too old to bear a son, he still believed
God. Saving faith believes God. Save
his faith to leave God. Now listen to this. I'm going
to bless all nations through him. And then God turned around
and said, You go three days journey where I'll show you. Take thy
son, thine only son, whom thou lovest, and offer him as a sacrifice
unto me. Abraham got up early in the morning
and took off. Had three days to think about it. He never turned
back. He never wavered. But all the
promises of God are in this son. And he's taking Him to sacrifice
Him. He believed that God was going to fulfill all those promises.
If He sacrificed Him, He was going to raise Him from the dead.
God was able to raise Him up. He believed God. But he had promises
to believe. He had promises to lay hold of.
Precious, precious promises. There must be knowledge and understanding on our part if we are ever to
be saved. The Bible says concerning the
elect of God, those whom God saves, they shall all be taught
of God. The New Covenant language is,
they shall all know the Lord. No more teach each other his
brother. Know the Lord. Know that they shall all know
him. I write my law in their minds and in their hearts. I'll
be their God. They'll be my people. That's
the language of God. The Bible says, you shall know
the truth. The truth will make you free. Christ is the truth. And I repeat
this quickly. John Newton had one of the best
outlines I've ever seen in my life. So pertinent to every generation. He said true religion arises
out of a true knowledge of God. He revealed in this book. There
can't be any true religion without it. True religion arises out
of true knowledge of me, as God described me in this book. Can't
be any true religion without a lot of religion, but it's not
true religion. And true religion arises out of a sense and understanding
of the great things God has done for us in His Son, the Lord Jesus
Christ. And if you don't understand something
of those three things, you're not true. That's not true religion.
It may be very zealous, But it's not true religion. Paul said
concerning the Jews, I bear record they have a zeal of God, but
not according to knowledge. Going about to establish their
own righteousness, they have not submitted themselves to the
righteousness of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Working
up their righteousness before God. Working out their righteousness
before God. and have not submitted themselves
to the righteousness of God which is in Christ. For Christ is the
end of the law for righteousness to everyone that believeth, believeth,
not worketh, believeth. Abraham believed God. God said,
You're righteous. You're righteous. Reckon him
righteous. Justify him. on the basis of
his faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. There must be some understanding, knowledge and understanding, Every preacher throughout the
land of America is saying, whosoever shall call on the name of the
Lord shall be saved. But that next verse says, how
can they call on him in whom they've not believed? How can they ever believe in
him whom they've not heard? How can they hear without a preacher? knowledge, understanding, something
to believe, something heard and understood. We heard the testimony of God
concerning His Son. We believed in that salvation. Oh, Abraham, he was fully persuaded
by the truth. By the truth, he believed God.
Look at chapter 4 just a moment. Verse 18, who against hope, all
human hope, natural hope, against hope, believed in hope, he still
hoped that he might become father of
many nations according to that which God spoke. God told him
something. He heard it. He understood it. He believed it. Read on a minute.
So shall thy seed be. And being not weak in faith,
he considered not his own body now dead, when he was about a
hundred years old, neither yet the deadness of Sarah's womb.
He staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief. but was strong
in faith, giving glory to God. How could that be? Because he
was fully persuaded that whatever God promised, he was able to
perform. He heard something. God spoke. He heard. He understood. He believed
it. He was convinced. He was persuaded. And he lived on that promise. before God, before the world. He lived on that promise. And
therefore it was imputed to him for righteousness. Imputed to
him for righteousness. The Apostle Paul said, I am persuaded. I am persuaded. The reason of our hope, the reason
it's a sure hope, because it's based on the Word of God, forever
settled in the heavens. Timothy, from a child you've
known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make one wise unto
salvation. Man's ignorance of the Scriptures
can't be saved. I mean ignorance of who God is
and who He is, the work of Christ, who Christ is. How shall they call upon him
whom they have not believed? The believer says, I hear, I
understand, I believe, I'm persuaded, I'm convinced. And then the second
point is, there must be a personal knowledge and understanding,
and there must be personal assent and belief, or persuaded. Me
personally, I'm persuaded. I heard it, I understood it,
I'm persuaded. And thirdly, there must be a
personal trust and reliance. He is God come down to this earth,
the Lord Jesus. He is a man to live and die,
a substitute for sinful men and women. I believe that. I trust Him. That's all I've
got to trust. That's all I want. That's all
I want. He put away sin, satisfied the
Holy Father, law and justice. He's the end of the law for righteousness
to everyone that believes in it, personal trust and reliance. What are you trusting in that
you'll stand before God, forgiven, accepted of God? Christ, His life, His death. Christ and Him crucified. But
one thing yet is still lacking. There must be personal knowledge
and understanding. There must be personal assent
and belief. There must be personal trust
and reliance. One thing is lacking. There must
be this personal trust and reliance in commitment unto Him. Commitment. commitment. Paul said, I know whom I have
believed. Like Abraham, I'm persuaded that
he's able to keep that which I have committed unto him against
that day. Now if I was in the furniture
business, I had this chair I wanted to sell. I might tell you how
much it hold up, 400 pound man and all that stuff, you know.
But I hadn't really trusted myself to that chair until I sit in
it. That's commitment. Commitment. I'm persuaded. I'll just sit
down and rest. I'll sit and rest. I'm persuaded.
Ho, ho, ho, ho. That's what it is. Paul said,
I'm persuaded he's able to keep that which I've committed to
him. I've committed myself to him. For me to live is Christ,
to die is Cain. Paul, what about all these persecutions?
Do you feel like turning back? He said, no. He said, none of
these things move me, neither carry my life dear unto myself. that I might finish my course
with joy. Testify the gospel of the grace
of God. Gospel of the grace of God. Commitment. Perhaps some of you here have
gone two steps. You understand the gospel. You've
heard it. You understand it. You know the facts of the gospel.
But have you committed yourself to Him? Are you trusting, trusting,
really trusting into you? Has it become your gospel? Your
gospel. That's my gospel. That's here
in this book. That's my gospel. What I tell
you from time to time, standing up here in front of you, that's
my gospel. That's my hope. And I have no other. I want no
other. Because this is quite adequate
and sufficient. I can tell you this, when you'll
take that last step, I know. The Bible says he has filled
the hungry with good things, and the rich he sent away empty.
the hungry, the needy, all you that labor in the heavy laden.
You've heard the gospel. You understand what it says.
Commit yourself to Him. Trust Him. And I tell you, it's
not a leap in the dark, boy. It's built on information, the
Word of God. Faith comes by hearing, and hearing
by the Word of God. When you can hear the gospel,
understand the gospel, and trust yourself, commit yourself to
that gospel, you'll find joy and peace in believing. May God
bless these words to every heart, mine and yours.