Now, I want to talk to you a
little while tonight from Romans 4, beginning with verse 16. But you can't begin a message
with the word, therefore. It says, therefore it is of faith. It is of faith. So let's go back
to verse 14. And in verse 14 and 15, Paul,
the apostle, sets the table for us. He sets the table concerning
this subject, and he says in verse 14, For if they which are
of the law be heirs, if these Jews, these Pharisees, if these
men who seek righteousness and eternal law by the works of the
law, if they be heirs of God and heirs of eternal life. If
these Jews who have turned from Christ, Scripture said he came
to his own, his own received him not. They said we'll not
have this man reign over us. We have no king but Caesar. Now
if these men who turn from Christ back to the beggarly element,
to the Sabbath and to the feast and to the laws and traditions,
if these men who turn from Christ to duties and deeds and doings
of their own, if these men be heirs, if these men be accepted
of God, if these men have a home in heaven, then listen, faith
is made void. Think of it. Faith is void. Faith is futile. Everybody who believes, and I
read that psalm a while ago in which David said, I believe,
therefore I've spoken. And Paul picked up the same thought
in the New Testament. He said, I say with David, I
believe, and therefore I've spoken. These men and their faith is
void. Useless. Useless. And we don't. And the promise. What promise? God's promise is
in Christ. God promises of life eternal. God who cannot lie promised eternal
life before the world began. That's of no effect. Think of it. That's how serious
this business is. this subject we're on tonight.
This is serious. Think about that now next time
that you hear a message or a sermon which admits men and women into
the presence of God by their goodness, by their works, by
their religious profession. Think about it. If they are errors,
your faith is void. Your faith is void. And all the
promises of God clear back to the first one made to Abraham. Or the one made to Adam and Eve,
the seed of woman. Useless. And Paul added one more
powerful word. He said in Galatians 2.21, won't
turn to it, you know it without turning. I do not frustrate the
grace of God. I do not confuse, confound, or
compromise the grace of God if salvation, if righteousness,
is by works. Christ died in vain. That's powerful,
isn't it? Folks are always trying to avoid
the cross, avoid the blood. Avoid the one foundation and
say, well, he's a good man. He must be with
God. She's a fine woman, very religious,
kept the Lord's Day, went to church and paid her time. She
must be with the Lord. If she is, on that basis, your
faith is vain, void, futile. The promise of God is useless,
and that cross is a farce. Take it down and bury it. And do away with him that died
on it, because it's no good. That's how serious it is. It's
just one way to God, and that's by Christ. Faith in the Lord
Jesus Christ. That's what he's saying. if they
which are of the law be heirs of heaven." If they're there,
your faith is void, the promises of God are useless, and Jesus
Christ died in vain. Because, now here's the reason,
the law worketh rare. The law offers no mercy to sinners. The law offers no leniency based
on effort, doing the best I can. I never read in this book whether
God commanded me to do the best I can. God commands perfection. The
law does not reward sincerity, only perfection. Do this and
live. That's the law. The law worketh
wrath. What does that mean? The law
brings God's wrath on us. The law demands perfection and
we don't produce it. Therefore, God's angry. God's angry with the wicked every
day. That's what Scripture says. Now,
somebody speaks up and says where no law is, there's no transgression.
That's a proverbial saying. No law, no transgression. Somebody
says, well, sin's a transgression of the law, so if there's no
law, there's no transgression. But there is a law, because there
is God. There never has been a time when
there's no law, because there's never been a time when there's
no God. You see what I'm saying? Righteousness and holiness and
the law It's from God. And there is a law. It's written
on tables of stone. It's written on the conscience.
It's written on the heart. It's written on the wind. That's
right. David said, where shall I flee
from his presence? If you can find some place where
he's not, you'll find some place where the law is not. Well, if I send him to heaven,
thou art there. If I make my bed in the grave, thou art there.
If I take the wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost parts
of the sea, even there thy hand shall lead me. Law! Perfection, holiness, righteousness. There's no excuse. So therefore,
we're shut up to his grace. But there's no better place to
be than shut up to his grace. I cannot think of a better place
to be than shut up to grace, depending on Him and Him alone
and His mercy. As Cecil said, mercy beggars. The law manifests what's in me,
sin. Grace manifests what's in God,
love. The law demands righteousness
from me. Grace brings righteousness, the
righteousness of God, to me. The law sentences me to death.
Grace raises me from the grave. The law speaks of what I must
and cannot do. Grace tells me that He's done
it all. The law only reveals sin, the
grace of God puts it away. Amen. Why would any man exchange
grace for love? Why would any man go from Christ
back to Moses? From freedom back to slavery?
From light back to darkness? It was grace that first inscribed
my name in God's eternal book. It's grace that gave me to the
Lamb who all my sorrows took. It's grace that taught my soul
to pray. It's grace that made my eyes
overflow. It's grace that kept me to this
day. Thank God. His grace will never
let me go. I told you this morning, Adam
was created in such a way that he could fall. When we, by the grace of God,
have been vitally united in a living union with Christ Jesus, created
of God in Christ, that new man can never fall. God made Adam and put him down
here on a perfect earth, but he fell. When God takes us to
that perfect heaven, we don't even have any possibility of
ever falling, because we're one with Christ. Somebody said, God restored everything
I lost in Adam, and a whole lot more. and a whole lot more. Therefore, all right, look at
verse 16. Therefore, it, righteousness,
eternal life, acceptance, inheritance, it, everything that comes under
it, the kingdom of God, the grace of God, the mercy of God, redemption,
it is of faith. It's not by faith, it's of faith,
it's through faith. Faith doesn't save you, Christ
does. You're used to hear this statement,
I came to faith in Christ. Well, I wouldn't, you know, part
company over a play on words, but that's more than a play.
I didn't come to faith in Christ, I came to Christ in faith. There
is a difference. For by grace are you saved, by
grace, by Christ, by mercy, by love, by sacrifice you are saved
through faith. Understand what I'm saying? So
every believer knows four things here. Look at these four things
in verse 16. Therefore it's not of works,
it's by faith. It's by faith, or through faith,
of faith. It is not of works, it is of
faith, through faith. For by grace are you saved through
faith. And then secondly, that it might
be by grace, unmerited, undeserved, unearned, unsought, totally free
of any creature merit, by the grace of God. Sacrifice of Christ
by the blood of the Son of God. Paul makes that so clear. Look
back here at verse 24 of Romans 3. Verse 24 of Romans
3, being justified freely by His grace. Justified freely,
unmerited, undeserved, unearned, unsought, totally free of any
creature works either before or after salvation, being justified
freely by His grace through the redemption that's in Christ Jesus,
verse 28. Therefore, Paul says, we conclude
that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law,
or through faith, of faith. Now, the third thing in our text
down here that we see, therefore it is of faith that it might
be by grace, now watch this, to the end that the promise might
be sure to all the seed. My friends, eternal life, acceptance
with God, redemption, freely based on the work of Christ is
the only sure way of life. It's the only sure way of salvation. It's the only sure way that the
promise can be fulfilled. The only certain way is through
the blood of Christ. It can't be by works. There'd
be no certainty, no surety. Turn to Leviticus 22. This is
an interesting scripture. Now watch this. Leviticus 22. And Moses is talking about the
sacrifices that were brought to God, sin offerings, peace
offerings, pictures of Christ, types of Christ. Leviticus 22,
21, listen to it. And whosoever, Leviticus 22,
21, whosoever offereth a sacrifice of peace offerings unto the Lord
to accomplish his vow or a freewill offering in thieves as bulls
bullocks or sheep. It shall be perfect to be accepted. There shall be no blemish therein.
Blind or broken or maimed or having a wean, a tumor or scurvy
or scab, you shall not offer these unto the Lord. No, make
an offering by fire of them upon the altar of the Lord. Don't
bring your maimed lame sheep or bulls as a sacrifice? We say, anybody can see that.
Anybody can see that a holy God wouldn't be one of these Jews
brought to sacrifice just to be the first thing of the flock.
Just to be a lamb without blemish, without spot, a picture of Christ. So surely I see that, how that
you don't dare go out there in the pasture and get a sheep that
you don't want. One that's mangy and scroungy
and old and lame and no good? God would be insulted. Oh, but what about a fellow coming
along with his ragged, self-righteous rags before God? That would be insulted, wouldn't
it? What about me bringing my church
membership or my tithing record or my Sunday school attendance
arms that I've done good for people and my good works, what
about bringing these things that Isaiah said are filthy rags before
God? It won't work. It has to be perfect
to be accepted. And Christ is our perfect righteousness
and our perfect sacrifice. Look back at the text. Therefore,
it is of faith. Salvation is through faith. that
it might be by grace to the end that the promise, the promise
of life, the promise of glory, the promise of heaven, the promise
of redemption might be sure, certain, without fail to every
believer, to all to see. Now, not only to that which is
of the law, the Jew, but to the but to that also, which is of
the faith of Abraham, who's the father of all, all nations. Our faith, by the grace of God
in Christ, promises sure and certain, and it's to Jew and
Gentile. Now what's the next verse? What's
the next verse? Verse 17. And watch the parentheses. Let's read the last part of verse
16. That the promise might be sure
to all the seed, not only, not to that only which is of the
law, but to that also which is the faith of Abraham, who's the
father of us all, leave out the princes. Before him, before him,
whom he believed, even God. who quickeneth the dead, who
calleth those things which be not as though they were." The
key here, Abraham believed even God, even God, very God of their God, the Almighty
God, the Sovereign God, the Omnipotent God, even God. Who quickens the
dead? A dead wound, a dead body, or
a dead soul? All the same to Him. He quickens
the dead. And wait a minute, He calls those
things which be not as though they were. Now here stands a
childless old man, a hundred years old. A hundred years old, his wife
almost that old. She's never had a child. A dead
woman. And God declared to Abraham that,
listen, look at the Prince's now, verse 17. It is written,
as it is written, I have made thee a father of many nations.
When did God declare he's the father of many nations? When
he didn't even have a child. When there was no prospects of
him having a child. And God said, I've made you a
father of many nations. That's in Genesis 17, verse 5. I've made you the father of many
nations. And he didn't even have a son. And he was old. And his
wife was old. But Abraham believed. And he
believed, listen, three things here. Even God. Even God. Secondly, who quickeneth the
dead. who calls those things which
be not as though they were. God doesn't foretell the future,
he foreordains it. God doesn't predict the future,
God declares it. That's our call. And look at verse 18, who against
hope, against hope. What was the human hope that
Abraham and Sarah would have a child? absolutely none, none
whatsoever. So against all human hope, yet
Abraham believed in hope that he might become the father of
many nations based on what? According to that which was written,
spoken. My friends, you can claim all
that's written and nothing else. You can claim Lay hold, believe,
every promise that God's written. Every promise. All the promises
of God are in Christ. Yea and amen. Claim them all.
Rest on all of them. Trust them all. Abraham did,
according to that which is written. So shall our seed be. Now watch
this. And being not weak in faith,
he considered not his own body, now dead, it never Never became
an issue. His body, he wasn't looking to
his strength. He wasn't looking to the hopeless
womb in Sarah. He was looking to the power of
God. Being not weak in faith, he didn't
even consider his own body now dead when he was about a hundred
years old, nor yet the deadness of Sarah's womb. He didn't stagger
at the promise of God through unbelief. He didn't stagger at the promise
of God through unbelief, but strong in faith, giving glory
to God, and being fully persuaded that
what God had promised, he was able to perform. Now I ask you
a question here. I saw this statement in verse
20, Abraham believed God. Abraham staggered not at the
promise of God through unbelief. Abraham didn't even consider
his own body now dead, nor the deadness of Saber's womb, but
he believed God, and in so doing, he glorified God. Now that's
what I want to do. I want to glorify God. So how
did Abraham believe in God? How did he glorify God? All right,
I'll tell you four things. Number one, he believed that
God was able. That what God said, God would
do. He believed that God was able.
God was able to quicken a dead womb. God was able to give life
where there was no life. And therefore, he glorified God's
power. Glorified His power. And then
secondly, he believed that God would keep His word. What God
had promised, God would do. Therefore, he glorified God's
faithfulness. Faith glorifies God. One day
the disciples were fishing. They toiled all night. One day
they came in that morning, they toiled all night fishing, caught
nothing. They pulled their little boats into the land and they
were sitting there washing their nets in the sea. folding them
up, putting them in the boats, no fish, caught nothing. And the master walked up. And
he said, children, have you any meat? Have you caught anything?
Peter, who was usually the spokesman for the group, he said, no. Lord,
we haven't caught anything. He said, well, just get back
in your boats. Put your nets back in the boats
and cast off over here and let down your nets. And Peter said,
Lord, we've toiled all night and caught
nothing. Nevertheless, nevertheless, at your word, I let down my neck. That glorifies God. I've toiled
all night. There's no hope. There's nothing
there. There's nothing there. God works best when there's nothing
there. That's right. He gets the glory. There's nothing
there. There's nothing there. But he'll make something there.
That's what Abraham, he stood there childish. He believed God. And in believing
God, he glorified his power. He glorified his faithfulness.
He believed God was able. Christ is able, the scripture
says, he's able to save to the uttermost them that come to God
by him. He's able, it says here, to do
all that he promised, fully persuaded that what he promised he was
able to perform. He's able to keep us from falling. He's able
to present us faultless, unblameable before his presence with exceeding
joy. And he's able to raise our bowed
bodies. I believe that. That glorifies His power, His
faithfulness. But thirdly, Abraham believed
God would do this for a most unworthy person. Glorifying God's mercy. Where
did Abraham, where did God find Abraham? You know where God found you.
You know where He found Abraham? He found Abraham over in a little
country, Ur of the Chaldees, was that it? Bowed down and worshiping
a stone god. That's where he found Abraham.
With his daddy and his brother. Seventy-five years old. Five
years older than I am and the same age as some of you. Bowed down to an idol. That's
where God found him. And God said, Abraham, get out
of your father's house. Go to the land I'll show you.
I'll make of you a great nation. He believed. He got out of there.
He believed God. He didn't know where he was going,
but he believed God. And he knew his unworthiness.
If you want to read what Abraham thought of himself, read his
prayer of intercession for Sodom sometime. When the angel came
by and told him God was going to destroy Sodom, and he began
to intercede for those people. I'll give you some insight into
that man's true attitude, his humility before God. Unworthy, oh God. How unworthy. And that glorified God's mercy.
And then last of all, he believed that God would do it through
Christ. A preacher, you're straining. I'm not straining either. This
is the foundation of faith here. Against hope, he believed in
hope. He staggered not at the promise
of God, fully persuaded of what God promised he'd do. And he
believed that God would do it through Christ. How do I know
that? My Lord said that. Our Lord said,
Abraham saw my day. He rejoiced to see my day, my
day, my day of crucifixion, my day of satisfaction. He was glad
when he saw it. God came to Abraham and told
him to take his son up on that mountain and sacrifice him as
an offering to God. Abraham rode for three days and
two or three nights with that boy going toward that mountain. When he got there, he said to
these servants with him, he said, now you men stay here with the
animals. The lad and I, and Isaac was a big lad, full grown lad, he wasn't a little
boy, full grown. He said, the lad and I are going
up there to worship and we'll be back. We'll be back. That's what he said. And on the
way up, Isaac turned to his father. Isaac was carrying the wood for
the sacrifice. They were going to build an altar
and put the wood on the altar and kill the sacrifice and burn
it and worship God. And on the way up the mountain,
Isaac turned to his father, a well-taught young man. He knew the gospel
too. He said, Father, here's the wood
and here's the fire. Where's the lamp? No man comes
to God without a lamb. No man worships God without the
blood. Without the blood, there's no
forgiveness. I know that. Where's the lamb, Father? Abraham said, son, God will see
to it. That's exactly what he said.
That's an old Southern expression. God will see to it. I'll see
to it. He said, my son, God will provide, Jehovah-Jireh. And that's
what it means, doesn't it, Cecil? God will see to it. And that's
what your daddy and mama and grandpa and all used to say when
they were worried about you. Well, I'll see to it. You just relax. I'll see to it.
God will see to it. God will provide. God will provide
Himself a lamb. God will provide Himself as the
lamb. And God will provide a lamb for
Himself. and it'll be his dear son. He'll
see to it. That's believing. Think about
it now. Think about it. Abraham glorified
God's power, knowing he's able. He glorified God's faithfulness.
He'll keep his word. He glorified God's mercy, even
to the chief of sinners. And he glorified Christ. God will see to it. God will
provide himself a lamb, and a lamb for himself, and he provided
himself. All right, verse 22, therefore,
and therefore it was imputed to him for righteousness, holiness,
acceptance. Do you know how many times that
word imputed is in this one chapter? What does imputed mean? Imputed
means reckoned to be mine, counted as mine. It's what Christ did, charged to me. It's Christ's
righteousness and obedience and blood and acceptance, reckoned
as mine. That's what it means. And that's
in this chapter about 11 times. Now, it uses the word imputed,
uses the word counted, uses the word reckoned. Look at verse
3. What saith the Scripture? Abraham believed God, and it
was imputed, counted unto him for righteousness. Verse 4, Now to him that worketh
is the reward not reckoned of grace, but of death. That's the
same word. But to him that worketh not,
but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is imputed,
counted, reckoned for righteousness. Even as David also describeth
the blessedness of the man unto whom God imputeth righteousness
without work, charges it to us, it's mine, without any works. Something I must do, believe
God. Well, then there's something we've got to do. Believe God. Isn't that what we do? Believe
God. And that's the gift of God. David said, verse 8, Blessed
is the man to whom the Lord will not charge, reckon, count, impute
sin. God, if you should mark iniquity,
who would stand? Now verse 9, Cometh this blessedness
then upon the circumcision only or upon the uncircumcision also.
We say that faith was reckoned, imputed to Abraham for righteousness.
How was it then reckoned? That's the seventh time it's
used. When he was in circumcision or uncircumcision? Not in circumcision. God came along 15 years later
and told Abraham to circumcise all the males in his house as
a token of God's covenant. But the covenant was given to
him Fifteen years before. When was Abraham saved? A long
time before he was circumcised. Fifteen years. Now down here at verse 22, Therefore
it was imputed to him for righteousness. Now then, learn this lesson.
This was not written for Abraham's sake alone. Do you think all
of this that we've studied here in chapter 4 It's for Abraham's
sake alone. Is his a special case? No, it's a story of all believers.
Abraham is the pattern of believers. Abraham's salvation is the way
God saves everybody whom He saves. Abraham's redemption is the way
God redeems everybody He redeems. Abraham is the father of the
faithful, the believers. He's the pattern of conversion. So this wasn't written for his
sake alone, that righteousness is imputed, given freely, charged,
reckoned to him because he bleeds, but for us also. Me. You. The oldest here, the youngest
here. Righteousness, holiness, acceptance,
your name in the book of life. the inheritance in glory, eternal
promises, joy, acceptance, embrace of God, a hope when you die,
leave this earth and go to be with God. All of that sanctification,
perfection, holiness, blamelessness shall be imputed to you just
like it was to Abraham. If you believe, if you can believe on him that
raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead. Righteousness, the
same as Abraham. Abraham was called a friend of
God. He said, Abraham is my friend.
Boy, I'd like to be God's friend. Then believe him. I'm God's friend. He's my friend. He's a friend that sticketh closer
than a brother. Not because I'm better than anybody.
I'm the least of all the saints, chief of sinners. I believe God. I believe God just like Abraham
did. He's a man just like I am, a
human being, a man of like passions, just as full of mistakes as you
are and I am. But he believed God. And this
wasn't written for his sake alone, that righteousness, holiness
was imputed to him. Righteousness, imputed, charged,
reckoned, if we believe. On Him, Christ
the Lord, and on Him the Father who sent Him, the Father who
gave Him, the Father who bruised Him, the Father who raised Him
from the dead. Can you believe? You can't do anything else to
please God. You can't do anything else. But you can believe. You can look. You can do like
the public, and you can say, Lord, be merciful to me, the
sinner. You do like the thief on the cross and say, Lord, you're
coming into a kingdom. I'm getting what I deserve. Would
you remember me? Would you do for me what you
did for Abraham? Would you give me life? I'm not worthy. Got nothing in my hands, no price
I bring. Just on your word, I trust. I tell you this, I guarantee,
God save you. You can't guarantee that. Yes,
I can. He said so. Can't I, Bob? He said so. That's how I can guarantee it.
Abraham is going to have a son. I guarantee you. You can't guarantee
it. Yes, I can. God said he was.
I can guarantee you anything that he says. Can I? Pete, can
I guarantee anything in there? I can guarantee it. Positively
guarantee it. You believe. Bill, how strong
do you have to believe? Just believe. Lord, I believe. Help my unbelief. He will. My
faith's so weak. It's not the strength of your
faith, it's the strength of Him. It's His strength, not yours.
I believe Him. I believe God. And therefore,
we're righteous. I hope God will bless that to
your heart. That is, that's it. That's the way men are saved.
Therefore it is our faith that it might be by grace, that it
might be sure to everybody who believes, Jew or Gentile. All right, that might lead us
in a psalm, if you will.