And for my favorite songs, would you turn back to Romans
chapter four? I've entitled this message, the
faith of Abraham faith. My faith is not what saves
me. The Lord saves me. And I will not be saved without
faith. When I say my faith doesn't save
me, I'm not in any way diminishing the importance of faith. You
and I will not be saved apart from faith. So what is faith? What does it mean to be saved
by faith? What does justification by faith
mean? In verse 16, we read of the last sentence,
the faith of Abraham. Now, whatever faith is, it's
what Abraham possessed. He's called the father of the
faithful and the great example of faith. The faith of Abraham,
who is the father of us all. Now, who is he referring to in
us all? He's referring to all of the
elect. He's the father of us all. If we are believers, we possess
the same faith Abraham had. Exactly. We believe what Abraham
believed. Truly. We are children of Abraham. Look in verse 19, speaking of
Abraham and being not weak in faith, he considered not his
own body now dead when he's about a hundred years old, neither
yet the deadness of Sarah's womb. He gave in his thought in his
faith, no thought to that. He staggered not at the promise
of God through unbelief, but was strong in faith, giving glory
to God. Now we read of weak in faith
and we read of strong in faith. And when I've thought of those
two things, I know what I think. I think, well, I'm weak. and
I'll never have the strength of Abraham's faith. I admire
Abraham's faith, and I do admire it. He left Ur of the Chaldees,
going out to a place he didn't know where, in obedience to God's
command. He offered up his son, Isaac,
in obedience to God's command. I admire this man's faith, and
indeed, he had strong faith. And when I think of my faith
in comparison to his faith, All I can come up with is weak faith,
but did you know that the words weak and strong in those two
verses are not adjectives? Now what's an adjective and an
adjective is a word to describe a noun. We think of weak faith
and we think of strong faith, but do you know that those words
are never used as adjectives? He was not weakened in faith,
but he was strengthened in faith. You know, faith is the gift of
God. God doesn't give weak faith,
does he? Now, we may mess things up ourselves by looking, failing
to do what Abraham did and looking within, but faith is the gift
of God's grace. And when we think of strong faith,
well, the word is literally he was strengthened or he was enabled
in faith. Now that ought to give a lot
of encouragement to each one of us. The same grace that enabled
Abraham will enable me and you, enabled in faith. Now in Romans chapter three,
Paul had set forth the gospel. Look in verse 28, here's his
conclusion of what he'd said. Therefore we conclude that a
man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law. Now it's
my prayer that God will teach us what that means. I wanna know, don't you? Justified
by faith. Does that mean the act of faith
justifies? No, it doesn't mean that. What
does it mean? It's still the words, God, the
Holy spirit inspired Paul to use. And it's a good way to say
it. I always want to catch myself
when I say there's a better way to say this. No, there's not.
If God said it this way, it's best. Um, what does it mean? Look what he says in verse 31.
Do we then make void the law through faith? God forbid, yea,
we establish the law. Now, if I would choose any passage
to preach the gospel from, I believe Romans chapter three is one of
the first passages that come to my mind. If I was gonna preach
the gospel to a dying man. As a matter of fact, I preached
the message once, a message to a dying man from Romans chapter
three. Now, he had set forth the gospel
The propitiation of Christ, the justification he accomplished,
propitiation is a big word that has very simple meaning, a sin
removing sacrifice. Jesus Christ's death was a perpetuatory
sacrifice. It removed sin. And because that
sin has been removed, every believer is justified. That's set forth
so clearly in Romans chapter three. But look in chapter four,
verse one, well, what should we say then that Abraham, our
father, as pertaining to the flesh, hath found? Where does
Abraham fit in all of this talk of The pretty pitchatory sacrifice
of Christ and justification and justification by faith. Where
does Abraham fit in to this picture? Verse two, four. If Abraham were justified and
don't forget what justification means, it means he was not guilty. God declared him to be without
guilt. Now, if Abraham were justified
by his works, if he was justified because of something he did,
justification by works, he'd have whereof to glory. He could say, I am justified
because of what I did. It is that simple. If Abraham were justified by
works, that means he could glory before God. He could say, God
is paying me what he owes me. I'm getting rewarded because
of my faithfulness and my obedience and my works, but not before God. I saw that happen. For what saith the Scripture,
and this is Paul's continual appeal, and it's our appeal too,
what saith the Scripture? Abraham believed God, and it
was counted to him for righteousness. Now, this tells me that whatever
believing God is, it's not working to earn God's favor. It's not
gaining God's favor because of the things I do. It has something
to do with believing what God has said. Now, he is referring
to Genesis chapter 15, verse six, where God said, Abraham,
look at the stars and tell me if you can count them. Even so
shall thy seed be. Now, Abraham didn't have any
children. All he had was what God said. He didn't have any evidence.
He couldn't look, well, here's my children. I guess what God
said, no, he had no children. All he had was God's promise. And he believed what God said. You know, God can't lie. Me and
you lie so easily. I mean, it just comes off our
tongues naturally. Somebody says, well, how can
I believe you preach then? Well, you're going to have to
work your way through it. But I'm preaching the gospel. And
yet, if anything I say, there's an element of, you know, even
if I say it accurately, I'm saying it in some way as to promote
myself. And you're doing the same thing. Don't say, boy, he's
a bad guy. Well, no, worse than you are. I mean, we're all in
the same boat in that sense. So I'm preaching the gospel. And what is this thing of believing
God? Well, it's believing what God
said, because he can't lie. What he says can be relied on. Abraham believed God, and it
was counted unto him for righteousness. Now, what's that mean? Does that
mean his believing was counted to him for righteousness? Well,
let's go on reading. He tells us what that means.
Now to him that worketh is the reward, salvation, heaven, eternal
glory, the heavenly inheritance. Now to him that worketh, if you
do something that causes God to respond to what you do, I
did this, therefore God did that. Now to him that worketh is the
reward not reckoned of grace but of debt. In other words,
that means God would be paying you what he owes you. God doesn't
pay anybody in that sense because he's no man's debtor. Now do
you understand that? God is no man's debtor. Now he owes every man hell. God always pays his debts in
that sense. I mean, he owes it. He's absolutely just, but he's
no man's debtor. He's not obligated to respond
to what you do. I wish we believed that. You
know, people, maybe it's because I do more reading, because I
have all day to do it and have more time for things like that.
One of the objections that always gets to me is men saying, how
could a good God allow these bad things to happen? And you've
thought that before, too. You've thought it. How could
an all-powerful God allow these terrible things to happen? I would have a lot more confidence
in somebody if they would say, how could a good and all-powerful
God not send me to hell? Now, I'm listening to you. Those
other things, you're just sitting in judgment on God, trying to
judge God, thinking you have some kind of position to judge
God. I have no respect for that. But
I do, somebody says, how could a good God not send me to hell? How could a just God not send
me to hell? Now, I'm gonna listen to that
person, because that person's coming from the right angle.
Now, God is no man's debtor, not to him that worketh is the
reward not reckoned of grace, but of dead, but verse five,
to him that worketh not. Now here's what justification
by faith means. First, you know, salvation by works for you is
impossible. That's settled. If salvation
is dependent on me doing anything, I won't be saved. To him that
worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly. Now here's justification. Justification
is caused by Him who justifies the ungodly. Here I am ungodly
and God does something to make me just before Him. And I'm not talking about changing
ledger sheets. I mean, I stand before God without
sin, sinless, without guilt. Now, I'm believing on Him that
does that, that justifies the ungodly. Now, that person who
does that, That's the evidence, his faith, that's the evidence
that he is counted righteous before God. You know the evidence
that you're righteous before God? You're looking to Christ
only as the one who made a way for God to be just in his justice
and justify somebody like you. Do you do that? Do you believe
on him? who justifies the ungodly. Now, this is what David believed,
verse six, even as David also describeth the blessedness of
the man, unto whom God imputeth righteousness without works,
saying, blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven, whose
sins are covered Blessed is the man to whom the Lord will not
impute sin. Now here's my hope. God doesn't impute my sin to
me. And he takes the righteousness
of his son and imputes it to me. And it becomes mine. Period. Period. Now Paul is going to
go in deeper as to what this thing is to believe God and that
being the evidence that God has done something for you. He says
in verse nine, come with this blessedness and oh, it is blessedness
isn't it the blessing of justification. Oh, this is the, I love to think
of that parable. I think it's in some respects,
the most significant parable in the scripture of the parable
of the Pharisee and the publican. The Pharisee, thanks God that
he's not as other men are. I'm at least not felt like that
publican. I might not be perfect. But I'm not like everybody else.
Now, what the man was doing was looking at himself and finding
evidence of salvation. And let me say this. If you can
look into yourself and look into your heart and see how well you've
done and find evidence for salvation, you are deceived. You're deceived. Oh, may God
deliver us from that. publican beat upon his breast
crying, God be merciful. And literally that word merciful
is propitious. God be a sin removing sacrifice
for me. Do something about my sin. He's
praying the same thing David did in Psalm 51. Do something
about my sin. I can't do anything about it.
Take it away. Cause it to be gone. Remove it
from me. Cause me to be just before you. Cometh this blessedness, and
oh what a state of blessedness it is. Then upon the circumcision
only, Upon the Jews, only, only those who have had physical circumcision
or upon the uncircumcision. Also the folks who have never
been circumcised for, we say that faith was reckoned to Abraham
for righteousness. How was it then reckoned when
he was in circumcision or in uncircumcision? Well, he believed
God first in Genesis chapter 12 and circumcision didn't come
around to Genesis chapter 17. Many years later. When he believed God, he believed
God as an uncircumcised person. That settles that, doesn't it? Verse 11, and he received the
sign of circumcision. That's what it was, it was a
sign. A seal of the righteousness of the faith which he had yet
being uncircumcised. that he might be the father of
all them that believe. I'm one of those people. Children
of Abraham. This describes every believer.
All those who believe. They believe the same thing Abraham
did. Exactly. It's not like some saints were
saved in the Old Testament one way and the New Testament's different.
No, I have the same faith old Abel had. Abel looked to nothing,
but the sacrifice of Christ. Me too. And he received the sign of circumcision,
a seal of the righteousness of the faith, which he had being
yet uncircumcised, that he might be the father of all them that
believe though they be not circumcised, that righteousness might be imputed
unto them also. I want to be in on that. Don't
you? Whatever it means. I want to be one of these people
whom God imputes righteousness to David mentioned it already. I already read this in verse
six, even as also David described the blessedness of the man under
whom God imputed righteousness without works. I want to be one
of those people. Don't you? Oh, I want that more than anything. Verse 12 and the father of circumcision
to them, which are not of the circumcision only just the Jews,
but who also walk in the steps of that faith of our father,
Abraham, which he had being yet uncircumcised for the promise.
He should be the heir of the world. And you remember back
in Genesis chapter 12, he said in D shall all the nations of
the earth be blessed. And you're going to be the heir
of the world. And that's a heir of everything. Whatever Christ
is heir of every believer's heir of we're joint heirs with Christ
heirs of the world. FOR THE PROMISE THAT HE SHOULD
BE THE HEIR OF THE WORLD WAS NOT TO ABRAHAM OR TO HIS SEED
THROUGH THE LAW. GOD DOESN'T SAY IF YOU PERFORM
JUST THIS ONE LITTLE ACT OF OBEDIENCE, IT'S ALL YOURS. HE DIDN'T SAY
THROUGH THE LAW. YOU SEE, SALVATION HAS ALWAYS
BEEN THROUGH FAITH. But the promise that he should
be the heir of the world was not to Abraham or to his seed
through the law, but through the righteousness of faith. Right. The law will never bring
you into a state of righteousness. If salvation is dependent upon
anything you do, you're toast. And I am too. There's no hope.
There's no hope. Verse 14, for they, which are
of the law be heirs. If I'm given an inheritance because
of my personal obedience or my personal response, faith is made
void, meaningless. And the promise, the promise
of God is made of none effect. It won't work. What if God says,
I promise you heaven, if you'll just believe. If you can come
up with faith, I'll give you heaven. What good would that
do you? It wouldn't do you any good at
all. You wouldn't be saved. If the inheritance of the law,
we've had it. Because the law worketh wrath. The law was not made for a righteous
man. but for the unrighteous and the disobedient. Now, I wish
that me and you could get a hold of this. Law never produced love
to God. All it produces is fear and resentment. That's it. Afraid that you don't
have enough. TO PLEASE HIM, AND RESENTING
HIM THAT HE'S TOO HARD ON YOU, AND TOO STRICT, AND EXPECTS TOO
MUCH. THAT'S ALL LAW DOES. NO ONE EVER
LOVED GOD FOR WHO HE IS THROUGH THE LAW. ALL THE LAW DOES IS
WORK WRATH. FOR WHERE NO LAW IS, THERE'S
NO TRANSGRESSION. THE LAW, BY THE LAW IS THE KNOWLEDGE
OF SIN, PAUL SAID ANOTHER PLACE. THEREFORE, IT, RIGHTEOUSNESS,
IS A FAITH that it might be by grace. The only way salvation
is by grace is if it's through this thing of faith. Anything else is not grace. Faith only. Faith alone. Only if it's by faith alone Will
it be by grace? And the only way the promise
is gonna be sure to folks like me and you is if salvation is
all of grace. This is the only way it can be
sure. Notice what he says in verse
16. Therefore righteousness, it, righteousness is a faith
that it might be by grace. It's the gift of his grace. To
the end, the promise might be sure to all the seed, all the
elect. Not to them only, which is of
the law, the Jews, but to that also, which is of the faith of
Abraham, who is the father of us all." He's our spiritual father. We have the faith of him. Whatever he believed, we believed
if we're his spiritual children. As it's written. Now, I love
the way Paul always goes back to as it's written. He can't
go very long without going back to the Old Testament. As it is
written. This isn't something I've come
up with. This is what God's word has always declared. As it is
written, I have made thee. Isn't salvation what God makes
you? I have made thee. Salvation's of the Lord. Lord,
make me. That's my response to that. Lord,
make me. I have made thee a father of
many nations. Now you know what Abraham means?
Father of nations, father of multitudes. And you know, he
didn't have any kids. And I bet he sometimes thought,
why would I ever give him a name like this? Here I am without
child. All I have is this servant Eleazar,
and I'm the name of, I'm called the father of nations, the father
of multitudes. And I bet people made wisecracks
about his name, if they knew what it meant. Oh, there's the
father of nations. And I'm sure that he felt somewhat
awkward with his name, but yet God says, I have made thee a
father of many nations. Not I will make thee. I have
made thee. And this word is in the perfect
tense, in the original meaning, perfectly completed, never to
be repeated. It had already been done before
it took place because God willed it. Known unto God are all his works
from the beginning. All the works, the writer to
the Hebrew said, all the works were finished, completed from
the foundation of the world. Now, I want you to think about
this. If you're saved, you've been saved from the foundation
of the world and nothing's left out, complete. As it's written, I have made
thee a father of many nations before him, whom he believed
even God. And look how God is identified.
The one who quickens the dead and call it those things, which
be not as though they were. God is the one who quickens the
dead, who gives life to the dead. Now that is seen in the resurrection.
The Lord Jesus Christ really did die. And God raised him from
the dead. He was completely satisfied with
what he did. God quickens the dead when he
gives dead sinners life. You were dead in sins and he
gave you life. Now you have life to believe,
to see the beauty of Christ, the beauty of salvation by grace.
There was a time you didn't. And he's going to quicken the
dead on that last resurrection when the dead in Christ will
be raised up. I was thinking about the resurrection
of Abraham because I'm going to be talking about his death
next week, Lord willing. And I was thinking, you know,
his dirt is still on the earth here. I don't know how that is,
but somewhere mixed up in some kind of dirt over in the Middle
East, and he's going to be raised from the dead. God quickens the
dead. And what else does he do? He,
and this is the way this could literally read. He calls those
things, which be not being. He calls those things, which
may not. Now I'm not holy. God says, you're holy. I'm holy. I'm not just. God says, you're
just. I'm just. What God says is what
is. He calls those things which be
not, they are. And if God said I am, When God said to reckon yourselves
to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through our Lord
Jesus Christ, you know what? He told me to reckon myself to
be dead to sin because I am dead to sin. Christ put it away. It has nothing to say to me.
It's gone. It's gone. Verse 18, who against hope, Believed in
hope, now there wasn't any hope that he'd have babies. He's 100 years old and his wife
had already gone through menopause and it was impossible for them
to have children. But what is impossible with men
is not impossible with God. He who created the universe from
nothing can cause Sarah and Abraham to have children. He believed
God. Who against hope, believed in
hope that he might become the father of many nations according
to that which was spoken. There it is again. So should
thy seed be. That's what God said. And being
verse 19 and being not weak in faith. And that word once again
is not an adjective, but it's a verb being not weakened in
faith. Now, what is it that we can say? Considering your own body now
dead. and considering the deadness
of Sarah's womb. Now, here's what weakens faith. Looking within. That weakens
faith every time. Looking within for evidences
of faith. Surely God's done something for
me because I do this and I do not do that. That will weaken
faith to where you'll think I don't, I'm just not saved. That's what
you'll conclude. And you know, there is not a
day that goes by in my experience where I don't look within and
conclude. I must have deceived myself.
I must not really be saved. If I was, I wouldn't do that. I wouldn't think that. I wouldn't
be that. That's called looking within. Now, don't consider your body dead
or the deadness of Sarah's womb, her ability to produce life. You see, faith is always alone. It's never faith and, it's faith
alone. Looking to Christ only. Let me repeat that. Looking to
Christ only. You believe that if all you have
is Him, you'll be in heaven? You believe that? That's looking
to Christ only. You really believe he's all you
have. Let's go on reading. Being not weak in faith, he considered
not his own body now dead when he's 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 strengthened in faith, enabled in faith. And only that is what gives glory
to God. When you look to Christ only, you know what that does?
That glorifies God. You look to yourself, well, it
certainly doesn't glorify God. You're trying to glorify yourself
when you do that. You're trying to find some hope in yourself.
But that doesn't glorify God. That one who looks to Christ
only is said to give glory to God. The only way me and you
can actually give glory to God is to look to His Son alone. Not look within. Look to His
Son alone. He staggered not at the promise
of God through unbelief, but was strong in faith, giving glory
to God, being fully persuaded. Why was he fully persuaded? God
persuaded him. He didn't come up with this on
his own. God persuaded this man. You know anything you really
believe, it's because God persuaded you to believe. He's the one
who did this. Faith is the gift of God, the
maintenance of faith. Everything about faith is his
gift. Being fully persuaded that what he had promised he was able
also to perform. Now here's the very heart and
soul of faith. Believing his ability. I'm not asking you if you believe
you're a Christian. I'm not asking you if you believe
you're saved. I'm asking you if you believe
His ability to save you. Paul said, I know whom I have
believed. I'm persuaded that He is able. That's what Paul
was persuaded of, because God persuaded him. I'm persuaded
He is able to keep that which I've committed to Him against
that day. Now, Jude 24, now unto Him the
table. to keep you from falling and
to present you faultless before the presence of his glory with
exceeding joy. In Daniel chapter six, me and
were very jealous of Daniel. And so the, came to King, I'm
gonna call him Darius. I think it's supposed to be pronounced
Dairus, but I've called Darius all my life, so I'm gonna stick
with that. And if you're all gonna forgive me, Darius, King Darius. They wanted to get Daniel
in trouble, and they knew how Daniel worshiped the living God. And so they come up to Darius
and feed his vanity. We want to make a law that anybody
who prays to any God or makes any petition other than you,
Darius, he'll be thrown into a lion's den. Darius thought,
sounds like a good law. I agree with that. And there's
something about the law of the Medes and the Persians. Once
a law came into effect, it could not be altered. No amendments
to this law. This law was absolute. Well, these men watched Daniel. Daniel knows what the decree
is. And he goes right in front in
his window where they could see him. And he bowed his head and
prayed to Jehovah. Now he wasn't doing that to be
seen of men, but he was doing it for this reason. He's letting
these men know. The only petition I make to is
the God of glory. Well, these fellas see Daniel
do this, so they go right on him to Darius. Darius, did you
make a law? Anybody praying to any God but
you is to be thrown into lines then. Well, Daniel is doing it.
And Darius said, oh no. Darius loved Daniel. And he sought
from the rising of the sun to going down to the same, to find
a way to get Daniel delivered, but that law could not be altered.
And so Daniel had to be lowered down into that lion's den. And
Darius didn't sleep that night. And he got up early in the morning
and came to the lion's den and said, oh, Daniel is thy God whom
thou servest able to deliver thee. And he heard a voice from the
lion's den, O King, live forever, I said, his angel, the Lord Jesus
Christ. And he shut the mouths of those
lions. He was saved in a way where that
law was not altered. And every believer is saved in
a way that the law is not altered and he is able to do that. He is able. And that's what faith is. It's
believing his ability. Those blind men came up to Christ,
Jesus, thou son of David, have mercy on us. What do you want
me to do for you? That we may receive our sight.
And then he asked this simple question. Do you believe that
I am able to do this? Yeah, Lord, I do. Verse 22, and therefore it was
imputed to him for righteousness. Now, it was not written for his
sake alone that it was imputed to him, but for us also. Menu, menu, right now. to whom it shall be imputed if
we believe on him that raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead.
Now, once again, do you believe on him that raised up Jesus our
Lord from the dead? Do you believe Christ, the son of God really
died and that God raised him from the dead and you have the
understanding of verse 25, he was delivered for our offenses
and was raised again for our justification. Do you believe
on him that raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead? If thou shalt
confess with thy mouth, the Lord Jesus, and believe in thine heart
that God raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. That's what God's word says. I believe that God raised him
from the dead. I know he did. And I know why
I did it. Because Jesus Christ made complete
satisfaction. He saved in a way that honored
God's law. God's law was not disregarded.
It was honored completely. He put away my sin and I now
have a perfect righteousness before God. I believe on Him.
He did it all. He is able to do this. I'm not
able to do anything, but he's able to take somebody like me
and make me to stand before his throne faultless. That my dear
friends is the faith of Abraham. And I pray that me and you might
have the faith of Abraham. God commands you to believe now. I don't want to leave this out.
Well, if I'm one of the elect, I'll believe you're not to try
to figure out whether or not you're one of the elect. You
don't really, it's none of your business. You're commanded right
now, as you are to believe the gospel, believe on the Lord,
Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved. Let's pray. Lord, we thank you for the simplicity
of your gospel. Give us the grace to believe on you, who raised
up the Lord Jesus Christ from the dead, who was delivered because
of our offenses, and raised again because of our justification.
Bless this message for Christ's sake, in his name we pray, amen.