Do You Believe?

future writers and theologians
and preachers agree that the theme of the Book of Romans is,
without a doubt, justification by faith, by faith. And I believe it's stated clearly
in chapter 3, verse 28, when Paul said, therefore we conclude,
this is my conclusion, that a man, woman, boy or girl, is justified
by faith. That's my conclusion. We're justified, accepted, reconciled
by faith, by believing God, without the deeds of the law. Now, in
chapter four, Paul preaches and teaches and contends for this
statement. And chapter four, He illustrates
it. He illustrates it. And now he uses this man Abraham
to illustrate justification by faith. Abraham. Now when you
mention Abraham, everyone knows something about Abraham. Even
the children here know something about Abraham. And one of the
things about Abraham is this. He's called in the Scripture
the friend of God. It would do you well to look
at these Scriptures. I looked at them again yesterday
in James chapter 2. I just read this with amazement
and with appreciation and with awe. James 2, 23, and the Scriptures
was fulfilled which said, Abraham believed God. And it was imputed
unto him for righteousness, and he was called the friend of God. The friend of God. Underscore
that. I just put a strong mark under
that. A man, Abraham, was called the
friend of God. And over in Isaiah, turn over
there, you'll enjoy reading this. If it has the same impact upon
you that it had upon me, it'll be a blessing. Isaiah 41, verse
8. Isaiah 41, verse 8. Listen to
this. But thou, Israel, art my servant,
Jacob, whom I've chosen, the seed of Abraham. my friend."
This is God speaking. Israel, you're my servant. And
Jacob, you're my chosen. The seed of Abraham, my friend. Oh, my, my, my. Look at 2 Chronicles,
Chapter 20. 2 Chronicles, Chapter 20. The living Lord God of heaven
and earth is talking about a man who dwelt upon this earth, a
man like you and a man like me. And God called him, my friend.
And I'm going to show you why. You know, in II Chronicles 20,
verse 7, II Chronicles 20, verse 7, who didst drive out the inhabitants
of this land before thy people Israel, and gavest it to the
seed of Abraham thy friend forever." Forever. Abraham was called the
friend of God, and God called him My friend. And the people
said, He was your friend forever. What an example! He's not only
called the friend of God, he's called the father of believers,
the pattern of faith. And the Lord Jesus Christ is
called the seed of Abraham, the Messiah, the seed of Abraham. And the Lord Jesus Christ reaching
back into the Old Testament to show the disciples that those
people were saved the same way we are, this side of the cross. He said, your father Abraham
saw my day and rejoiced in me. Abraham rejoiced in Christ. More than that, listen, don't
turn to this, I've got it written down here, Matthew 8, 11. I say
unto you, Christ speaking. I say unto you, that many shall
come from the east and the west, and shall sit down with Abraham
in the kingdom of God. Now listen to me. That's a high station for
a son of Adam, isn't it? But wasn't he a sinner like us?
Wasn't he a son of Adam like me? Wasn't he by nature, by birth,
a child of wrath, even as others? Oh yes, I'm going to tell you. This man Abraham, when he was
70 years old, 70 years old, He was in idolatry. Did you know
that? He and his father and his family and all of his tribe were
worshiping false gods. Did you know that? Seventy years
old, he was still in idolatry. You'll find that. You don't need
to turn to it now, but if you want to look it up, it's in Joshua
24, verse 2 and 3. He was nearly 75 years old when
God called him, when God crossed His path, called him, said, Abraham,
get thee out of thy father's house, from thy kindred, go to
a land I'll show you. So here we have a sinner whom the Lord is pleased to choose
and to love and to call by His grace to Himself and to redeem. and accept him, and to bless
him, and to call him a pattern of those who should follow, the
father of others who should believe, and call him a friend of God. And this fourth chapter deals
with that man's experience and relationship with God. And I
have five questions. I'm going to divide this chapter
into five parts. Number one, what did Abraham
find? Now, this is so simple and so
vital, so important. What did he find? Secondly, how
did he find it? What is this that he has that
I covet, and how did he get it? And when did he find it? When
did he get it? What proof do I have that he
did? And what does all that have to
do with me? Now, that's interesting. The first question is, what did
he find? And it asks that in Romans 4, verse 1. What shall
we say, then, that Abraham, our father, as pertaining to the
flesh, hath found? What hath Abraham found? That's where Paul started this
message. We have to start in mind where he started. What did
he find? Well, it says over and over again in this chapter, he
found righteousness. Verse 2, if Abraham found justification
and righteousness, if he were justified by works, he hath whereof
to glory, but not before God. But what sayeth the Scriptures?
Abraham believed God. It was counted to him for righteousness.
He found holiness. He found righteousness. He found
a plane. a foundation on which he could
be a friend of God's. The only way a man can stand
in God's presence and ascend to God's presence is to be righteous. That's what our Lord said to
the disciples. He said, except your righteousness
exceed that of the scribes and Pharisees, you shall in no wise
enter the kingdom of God. You've got to have a righteousness.
He found it. He found it. Romans 10 said the
problem, Paul said the problem with these religious Jews is
they're going about to establish their own righteousness. And
they won't submit to the righteousness of God. And Christ is the righteousness
of God. And in Romans 3 Paul said, that
let every mouth be stopped and all the world become guilty before
God. Therefore by the deeds of the
law shall no flesh be justified. But now is the righteousness
of God manifest without the law. It's the righteousness by the
faith of Christ. Not by my faith in Christ. That
doesn't make me righteous. The faithfulness of Christ makes
me righteous. The obedience of Christ. And
Abraham found it. He found righteousness. If you
look at chapter four, the word, now listen to it, the word counted,
reckoned, imputed. Those three words mean the same
thing. Counted, it's counted to his, to him. It's reckoned to him. It's imputed
to him. You'll find that word Eleven
times in Romans chapter 4. Eleven times. Look at it. Underscore it. I'm not going
to give it to you all. You can find them for yourself. Verse 3, "'For
saith the Scriptures, Abraham believed God, and it was counted
to him for righteousness.'" Verse 4, "'Now to him that worketh
is the reward not reckoned or counted of grace, but of death.
But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifies
the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness.'" Even as
David also described the blessedness of the man to whom God imputeth
righteousness without works. Verse 8, blessed is the man to
whom God will not impute sin. Verse 9 talks about reckoned.
Verse 10 talks about reckoned. Verse 11 talks about imputed. All the way through here, what
it's saying is this. that God demands a perfect holiness,
a perfect righteousness, perfect obedience to Him, to His law,
to His word, to His will. I don't have it. But He still demands it. I must
have it if I'm going to be the friend of God, the son of God,
the child of God, going to dwell with God. But how do I attain
it? That's the second question. How
do I attain it? All right, look at verse 2, verse 3. What sayeth the Scriptures? Abraham
believed God. That's how he attained this righteousness. Abraham believed God, and it
was counted imputed to him for righteousness. Let me show you
something interesting. Turn to Jeremiah 23. Jeremiah
23. This is how... powerful this is. Jeremiah 23,
listen to this, verse 5. This is talking about the Lord
Jesus Christ now. Jeremiah 23, 5. Behold, the days
come, saith the Lord. I raise unto David a righteous
branch. Now, this is Christ. You see,
that word branch is capitalized. Branch. And a king shall reign
and prosper. and shall execute judgment and
justice in the earth." There's going to be a king, there's going
to be a son of David, there's going to be a righteous branch.
Verse 6, "...in his days Judah shall be saved, Israel shall
dwell safely." Now, don't apply this to the natural descendants
of Abraham. Don't limit this to the twelve
tribes of Israel. This is spiritual Israel. This is Judah, the king-priest. And he hath made us kings and
priests unto our God. We are a royal priesthood, a
holy nation. We are Judah also. So this is
every believer. Now watch it. And every believer
shall be saved. and every child of God shall
dwell safely," verse 6, this is his name, whereby he shall
be called, look at this, in these big capital letters, THE LORD
OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS. Now who is that? That's Christ,
son of David, seed of Jesse, root of Judah, land of the tribe
of Judah. That's Christ. He's our righteousness. He's our holiness. He's our perfection. Now let me show you this. Turn
to Jeremiah 33. Jeremiah 33. Now this name, we
find it again, but this time it's not Christ that Jeremiah's
talking about. It's not Christ he's talking
about when he says, the Lord our righteousness. And it's not in those big capital
letters. Jeremiah 33, verse 15. Listen. In those days, and at
that time will I cause the branch, that's Christ, of righteousness
to grow up unto David, and he shall execute judgment and righteousness
in the land. And in those days, Judah shall
be saved, Jerusalem, Israel, people of God shall dwell safely,
and this is the name whereby She shall be called, the church,
the believers. We're going to be called the
Lord our Righteousness. That's what Abraham found, oneness
with God, acceptance with God, righteousness and holiness before
God, justified, reconciled to God. So that he's called by the
very name of God, Christ. His name is our name. We're one with Him. That's what
Christ prayed, that they may be one as we are one. I am them,
and thou in me, that they all may be one, even as we are one. How in the world, how in, as my dad
used to say, how in tarnation did he find that? He believed God? Well, he must
have been an unusual child. No, he was an ordinary kid like
everybody else's kid. Well, he must have lived a most
holy life. No, no, he lived in idolatry. Well, after he came to know God,
he must have walked in perfect holiness. No, he lied to a king
and told him, said, you can have my wife, she's not my wife anyway,
she's my sister. Didn't he? He had a child by another woman,
because his wife insisted on it. He was henpecked. That's right, he was a man. Don't
lack, you are too. Well, how in the world did he
get where he got? He believed God. How many times
does he have to say that? He believed God. But we're so
thick-headed. Spiritually, that's right. All
of you out here are smart as a whip in a million different
areas, but spiritually we are thick-headed as an F scholar. That's right. We have to say the same thing
over and over and over and over again. We still don't get it.
Salvation by faith, not by works. But I don't know whether I'm
saved or not. I wouldn't have thought that or did that. Is that the
way you're saved? These are people 60 years old making statements
like this. Abraham believed God. He believed
God. And it was imputed to him, counted
to him. Now listen, verse 4. Now to him
that worketh is the reward not reckoned of grace. If you're
working for salvation, it's not by grace, it's death. And God
doesn't know anybody anymore. But to him that worketh not,
but believers on him, believers on him, believers on him, that
justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness."
Justified by faith. Isn't that right? I can do that. I can believe God. By His grace, I can believe God.
I can look. Blind men can look. Even as David, David, here we
go with David, also describes the blessedness of the man to
whom God imputeth righteousness, holiness without works, saying,
Blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven. As Gerald said
a while ago, past, present, and future, forgiven, covered. Blessed is the man to whom God
will not charge any sin. Boy, I wish I had that. Believe God. Believe God. Believe Him. Don't trust your
feelings. Feelings come and feelings go,
and feelings are deceiving. Trust Christ, the eternal incarnate
Word of God. Nobody else is worth believing.
Everybody's a liar except Him. He is the truth. He not only
tells the truth, He is the truth. My, my, that's so plain to me.
It's not a matter of believing there is a God or believing in
God. It's a matter of believing God.
He's able. Write these five things down. Let me give you five things. And you can look them up later,
but just write these five things down. I got them in my Bible,
written down on one of the white pages back there. It's called,
He's Able. He's able. Talking about Christ.
He's able. He's able. He's able to perform all that
He promised. Isn't that right? Everything
He promised, He'll do it. He's able to do all that He promised,
and that's found in Romans 4, 21. He's able. Secondly, He's able to save. Thirdly, He's able to keep. 2 Timothy 1.12, he's able to keep
that which I've committed to him against that day, and any
day in the judgment, and any day. He's able to keep. Fourthly, he's able to raise
my vile body and make it like his. That's in Philippians 3.21. He's able to raise and change my vile body
to be like Him. He's able. And fifthly, Jude
24 and 25, He's able to present me faultless. He's able. Now this faith business is believing
He's able. Believe in Him. You got those
five of them. He's able to do what He promised.
Secondly, he's able to save to the uttermost. Thirdly, he's
able to keep that which I've committed. Fourthly, he's able
to raise and change our bodies like his. And fifthly, he's able
then to take me and present me chief of centers, faultless before
God. That's right. That's how Abraham,
he believed that. Look at verse 17. As it is written,
I have made thee a father of many nations before him whom
he believed, even God, who quickeneth the dead, and calleth those things
which be not as though they were. Buddy, he's April in it. Things that are not, he calls
them as though they were. A promise of God is as good as
a deed, just as good. All right, here's the third question. When did Abraham find this righteousness? And we're familiar with his trials,
and God came to him and told him to be circumcised and circumcise
all the males in his household. He did that. He left home. He did that. He gave Lot the
best land. He did that. He rejected the
king's ransom. He did that. He sent Ishmael
away when God told him. He did that. He went up to the
mountains to sacrifice Isaac. He did that on Mount Moriah.
All these things. When was he justified? When was
he declared righteous in all this experience? Actually, when
was he actually accepted as righteous before God? I'll tell you, before
any of those things. He was declared righteous before
God when he believed God. First time. That's right. Let me show you. Verse 9, Romans
4. This blessedness we're talking
about with Abraham. Come with this blessedness then
upon the circumcision only, upon the uncircumcision, Jew or Gentile. We say that faith was reckoned
to Abraham for righteousness. How was it reckoned, or when
was it reckoned? Was this faith reckoned to Abraham for righteousness
when he was in circumcision or uncircumcision? No, not in circumcision,
but in uncircumcision. he received the sign of circumcision,
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, though they be not circumcised, that righteousness might be imputed
to them also, 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,
for the promise that he should be the heir of the world was
not to Abraham or his seed through the law, but through the righteousness
of faith. That's what it was. I'll show
you when Abraham was justified. You turn over here to the book
of Genesis. Over here, the book of Genesis.
Chapter, let me find it, Genesis chapter 15. Genesis 15. This 15 years before
he was circumcised. Here in Genesis 15, verse 1. And these things, after these
things, the word of the Lord came unto Abram in a vision,
saying, Fear not, Abram, I am your shield, I am your exceeding
great reward. And Abraham said, Lord God, what
wilt thou give me, seeing I go childless, and the steward of
my house is this Eliezer of Damascus? And Abraham said, Behold, to
me thou hast given no seed. And, lo, one born in my house
is my heir, that is, a servant. And, behold, the word of the
Lord came to him, saying, This servant shall not be your heir,
but he that shall come forth out of your own bowels shall
be your heir. And he brought him forth abroad, and said, Look
now toward heaven, tell the stars, if you are able to number them.
And he said to him, So shall your seed be. And he believed
the Lord, and he counted it to him for righteousness." Right
there, when he believed God. When he left his father's house,
when God came to him and said, I'm going to give you a son,
he believed him. Right then, he was righteous. And this is true. I use this
as an example out in California on this particular issue here.
When does a man say, when does a man declare right? I say when
he believes God. When he believes God. And this
has to be so because the thief who died with Christ, was he
saved? Yes. Did he go to heaven? Yes. When was he saved? Right then,
when he believed Christ. How do you know he was saved?
Christ said so. And everybody whom God saves,
they're saved the same way, they're redeemed the same way, they're
delivered the same way, when we're able to believe. When we're
able to believe. That's what I meant to say. Now, here's the fourth question.
What proof do we have that Abraham was safe? What proof do we have?
All right, turn to James. This is important that you turn
over here with me. James, chapter 2. James, chapter 2. What proof
do we have that Abraham was safe? You tell a man a house is on
fire. What proof do you have he believes you? He runs. Attractive. When God came to
Israel and said, I'm going to send a grievous halo, and it's
going to kill a lot of animals, so you take your animals, put
them in the barn. What proof do you have these people believe
God? They put the animals in the barn. They believe God. And the proof is, They put the
animals in them. When he came, he said, I'm coming
through Egypt tonight at midnight, and the firstborn in every home
will die. Now put blood on the door. What
proof do we have that Israel believed God? They put blood
on the door. That's it. And that's what this
says. You listen. In James 2.21, Was
not our father Abraham, our father, justified by works? when he offered
Isaac his son upon the altar? Seest thou how faith wrought
with his works? And by works was faith made perfect? And the scripture was fulfilled
which said Abraham believed God, and it was imputed to him for
righteousness, and he was called a friend of God? Abraham justified
by works? Now listen to me carefully. Listen.
I'll make it this is plain and down here where all of us live.
His faith was justified by his works. His soul wasn't, he wasn't,
but his faith was. You see, this is the thing Paul
is writing over here in Romans. Justification before God is by
faith, and faith alone. The justification of my soul
before God is by faith. God looks on the heart. But men
don't look on the heart. They can't see. You can't see
my heart. Well, how do you know I believe God? Well, you told
me. Well, anybody can use words.
How do you know I believe God? I took my cows and put them in
the barn. I put blood on the door. I obey
God. That's how you know that I believe
God. God knows by my heart, by faith. My soul is justified before God
by faith. My faith is justified by works. That's how you know. Show me
your faith without your works. An impossibility. An impossibility. Here's a man who's cruel, and
selfish, and self-centered, and lives for himself only, and he
says, I believe in God. You say, I don't believe you
believe in God. I don't believe you believe in
God. You say you do, but your works deny that. You see, he
that loveth God loveth his brethren. That's the results of faith.
That's the proof of faith. That's the evidence of faith.
That's not faith, but it's the evidence of it. Oh, you know
what I'm talking about. Sure you do. Of course you do. Turn to 1 Thessalonians, chapter
1. Listen to this. Listen to 1 Thessalonians,
chapter 1. Paul says in verse 4, brethren,
knowing brethren, beloved, your election of God. I know your
God's elect. Paul, how do you know they're
God's elect? You can't see their hearts. You
can't see the Lamb's book of life. No, but I can see the results
of what God's done for us. Listen, our gospel came to you
not in word only, but in power. In the Holy Ghost, in much assurance,
you know what manner of men we were among you, and you became
followers of us and of the Lord. You received the Word in much
affliction with a joy in the Holy Ghost, and you were examples
to all that believe in Macedonia and Achaia. And from you sounded
out the Word of the Lord in Macedonia and Achaia." In verse 9, "...they
themselves sure of us what manner of entering in we had among you,
you turned from your idols to serve the living God." Verse
10, and you're waiting for His Son from heaven. God knows you're
His elect because He chose you. God knows you believe because
He sees you high. God justifies you by faith. But
that faith is a working faith, a loving faith, a living faith,
a generous faith, a kind faith. That's right. Or it's not the
faith that's saved. All right, the last question.
Turn back to Romans 4. What did Abraham find? Righteousness. God's friend. How did he find
it? He believed God. When did he
find it? When he believed God. That's
when he found it, when he believed God. Not when he worked, not
when he was circumcised, not when he left home. That's the
reason he left home, because he believed God. That's the reason
he left home. But his leaving home proves he
believed God. You see, is that clear what I'm
saying? Abraham left home not knowing where he was going. Why
did he leave home? He believed God. How do you know
he believed God? He left home. And he believed
God was going to send him a son. And when God told him to sacrifice
that son, he went up there to kill him. Well, wait a minute,
how are you going to kill him? God will raise him from the dead.
That's what Abraham believed. He believed it. He believed God. And all of these things he did
proves he believed God. Proves it. And what's that got
to do with me? All right, let's look here at
the rest of the chapter. Verse 19, Abraham, being not weak in
faith, he considered not his own body now dead when he was
about a hundred years old, nor the deadness of Sabaoth's womb.
He didn't stagger at the promise of God through unbelief. He was
strong in faith, giving glory to God. being fully persuaded
of what God promised he was able to perform. Therefore, it was
imputed to him, reckoned to him, charged to him for pure, holy
righteousness, perfection, reconciliation. Now, my question, what's that
got to do with me? Verse 23. Now, this was not written
for Abraham's sake alone, that it was imputed to him, but for
us also. Me, you, to whom it, righteousness,
shall be imputed, reckoned, charged. If I join the church, no. Well,
if I do the best I can, no. Well, if I tithe, no. Well, if
I hold out faithful, no. Here it is. But for us also,
to whom it shall be imputed, if we believe on him. that raised up Jesus our Lord
from the dead, who was delivered for our offenses and raised again
for our justification. This wasn't written to brag on
Abraham. This was written for us, for
us, to whom this righteousness shall be imputed if we believe,
if we believe. Lord, I believe, help thou mine
unbelief. Don't you? I do. Not like I want
to, not like I ought to, not like I'm going to, but I do believe. And it's not the strength of
the faith, it's the strength of Him whom we believe. I've
often given this illustration. If you've got a steel post in
concrete, and you've got vines growing around that post, It
doesn't matter if the little vine's an eighth of an inch in
diameter, or a half an inch in diameter, or an inch in diameter.
It's not the strength of the vine, it's the strength of the
pole. And the little vine is held by the same pole as the
big vine. And take away the pole, and it
all falls. So that, we cling to Him, believe in Him. Rest
in Him. All right. You're good listeners. I hope you are blessed by that
message. I hope you're helped by that
message. I hope we shut up the faith in Christ alone.

Do You Believe?

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Do You Believe?

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