If We Believe On Him

I want you now to open your Bibles
to Romans chapter 4. Let me read again part of the
scripture that Brother Roach read and then call your attention
to one statement. Let's begin with verse 20 of
Romans 4. He staggered not at the promise
of God through unbelief. but was strong in faith, giving
glory to God, and being fully persuaded that what he had promised
he was able also to perform. And therefore it was imputed
unto Abraham for righteousness. Now, it was not written for his
sake alone that it was imputed to him. but for us also watch
it to whom it shall be imputed if we believe on him who raised
up Jesus our Lord from the dead I'm so dumb I'm so dumb I'm ashamed
that I'm so dumb I'm always seeing something for the first time
in God's Word and I must confess that when I saw this the other
afternoon in the motel down at Owensburg, Kentucky while I was
studying I said that's what I want to preach on Sunday night thrill
my heart Now it was written it was not written for his sake
alone That it was imputed to him, but for us also to whom
it shall be imputed if we believe Abraham Down there in the land
of idolatry We'd been born and raised comfortable wealthy well-situated. Abraham! Yes, Lord. You get out of your father's
house. You leave your home. You leave your kindred. You go
to a land I'll show you. And Abraham, the scripture says,
went out because he believed God. He just believed God. Abraham! Yes, Lord. How old are you, Abraham? Ninety-nine. How old's your wife? Ninety-eight. I'm going to return
to you, Abraham, at the time of life, and you're going to
have a son." And he believed God. He didn't
stagger him, not a bit. He believed God was able to perform
what he promised. He just believed God. Abraham, this was a trial. We skip over this one. Abraham,
yes, Lord. How old is Ishmael now? Fifteen. Fine boy, Lord. I know he's not
the one you promised me, and I know that he came by circumstances
that were not pleasing to you, but I sure do love him. Send Ishmael away. Send his mother Hagar and Ishmael. Send them out in the desert.
Turn them loose. Tell them to get out of your
home. The bondwoman's son cannot, cannot
share the inheritance with the son of promise. Abraham, go to
Hagar and go to Ishmael. and tell them
they got to get out. And that's what he did, because
he believed God. That was almost as trying as
this one. Abraham, yes Lord, oh my, don't you know
by this time, don't you know by this time that when God communed
with him, that he thought within his heart, isn't the Lord through
with me yet? Aren't the edges taken off yet? Am I not conformed
to his will yet? Abraham, take your son Isaac,
whom you love, your only son, and take him on Mount Moriah
and sacrifice him as a sin offering to me. You take the knife in
your own hand and slay your own son. Yes, Lord. He believed God. He just believed God. And the Scripture says he was
fully persuaded that what God had promised, God was able to
perform, and therefore it was imputed, charged, reckoned to
his account. for righteousness, holiness,
acceptance with God, because he believed God. Now this was not written for
his sake alone. God didn't spend all this time
in the Word of God writing this for Abraham's sake alone, but
for your sake, Jack, and for your sake, Jim, and for your
sake, Charlie. to whom this same righteousness
shall be imputed if you believe God." That's what it says. True saving
faith, faith that brings acceptance, faith that brings righteousness,
is the same in all ages. Now, it may exercise itself in
different ways because God doesn't deal with his children, all of
his children, the same way. But the faith of Abraham is the
same faith that was found in the heart of Paul. And the faith
that is found in the heart of Paul is the same faith which
is found in the heart of every believer today. Same faith. That's what Peter said. Turn
to 2 Peter 1 and read it for yourself. 2 Peter 1, and he's
writing here and he says, 2 Peter 1, verse 1, Simon Peter, A servant and an apostle of Jesus
Christ, that's the author, this is a salutation, Peter's doing
the writing, he says, and I'm writing to them that have obtained
thy precious faith with us. It's the same faith. Thy precious
faith. There are degrees of faith, but
it's the same faith. The same faith. that was in the
heart of Abraham when he believed God in every trial, and it was
imputed unto him for righteousness, that same faith was the faith
which was in the heart of Paul when he stood on the deck of
that ship And all of those experienced seamen says, it'll sink, it can't
be saved, we'd better try to save our lives, let's get out
of here if we can. Paul stood there and says, God
appeared to me this night and he said, not one life will be
lost and says, I believe God. That's that same faith. I believe
God. And when I sat there and looked
at this, oh, I thought, think of it. Think of having the same
standing before God as Abraham. Think of it. Think of being called,
Cecil, the friend of God. Okay? It says here, this was
written not for his sake alone, but for yours, if you believe. Think of having the same relationship
as Enoch, who walked with God. Why not? Enoch believed God. That's why he walked with God.
Two cannot walk together except they be agreed, and Enoch was
agreed with God. Thou will be done. That's all
you've got to say. Not with your lips, but with
your heart. Think of having the same blessings as Noah, who found
grace in the eyes of the Lord. Why? Read Hebrews 12 and 13.
He believed God. That's all. He just believed
God. Think of having the same position
as David, a man after God's own heart. You know why he was a
man after God's own heart? You read his whole life. He believed
God. Think of having the same relationship
as Paul, who was a chosen vessel, a man to bear Christ's name throughout
the world. What was Paul? Chief of sinners,
less than the least of all the saints. He said himself, not
worthy to be called an apostle, I persecuted the church, I blasphemed
Christ. But he said, Sirs, here is the
sum and substance of my whole life, I believe God, that it
shall be exactly as he says. This was not written for his
sake alone, that it was imputed to him, but this was written
for our sakes also, that to whom it shall be imputed. Turn to
Acts chapter 13. Let me read two verses here.
Acts 13, verse 38 and 39. Acts 13, 38 and 39. Listen to
this. Be it known unto you, therefore,
men and brethren, that through this man, the Lord Jesus Christ,
through this man, the God-man, our surety, our Redeemer, our
substitute, our Savior, our sin offering, through this man, through
his death, burial, and resurrection, through his intercessory work,
through this man, is preached to you the forgiveness of sin,
not through the law, not through the church, not through the water,
through this man. And by him, all that believe,
he doesn't say all that work for God, though they will,
It doesn't say all who tie their income, all who are faithful
to all the services of the church, all who do the best they can,
all who hold out faithful to the end. It says all who believe. I wish I could emphasize that
word like it needs to be emphasized. I wish I could tear off all of
the gingerbread that's been connected with it and tied to it, all that
believes. are justified from all things,
past, present, and future, from which you could not be justified
by the law of most. That's how Abraham received righteousness. He believed God. Now, you can
work on your life, and we ought to. And you can work on your
love, and work on your humility, and work on your hope, and work
on all these things, we ought to. But don't neglect your faith.
That's the one thing our Lord said to Peter, I prayed for you
that your faith fail not. His knees knocked together, and
he denied that he knew the Lord. And he, when Paul and some of
the rest of them came down from Jerusalem, or some of the folks
did, he did a little segregating on his part and went over and
visited with the Jews. It wouldn't have anything to
do with the Gentiles. He had some faults, but our Lord said there's one
area that I'm praying for you that you fail not, that you fail,
if we believe. So look at our text again, we're
going on from there. Now quickly, it says that Abraham
believed God and it was imputed to him for righteousness and
this was written not for his sake, that it was imputed to
him, but for us also to whom it shall be imputed. This is
what I want. If we believe. If we believe
what? All right, look at verse 24.
If we believe on him that raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead.
Point number one. If we believe on him who raised
up Jesus Christ from the dead. Now, let's be careful and let's
avoid an error on this point. Some people overlook the Father
in the matter of salvation. That's right. They speak of Jesus
Christ as though we're indebted to Him alone for our salvation. And I must be very careful here,
we are indebted to Him. Our Lord came to this earth,
took on Him our flesh, and took on Him our sins, and took on
Him our nature, took on Himself a surety ship. a substitutionary
work. He died on the cross for our
sins. He was buried and rose again.
And we are indebted to him. We are redeemed by his blood.
We are saved by his death. But Christ did not save us without
the Father. Now, he said in John 14, you
believe in God, you believe also in me. You believe also in me. John 3.16 says, For God so loved
the world, He gave His only begotten Son. Isaiah 53.10 says, It pleased
the Father, the Lord, to bruise Him. Galatians 4.4 says, In the
fullness of time, God sent His Son into the world. Christ didn't
come down here to get the Father in the notion of saving sinners.
He came because the Father purposed to save sinners. Christ didn't
come down here to get God in the notion of loving us. He came
because God did love us. Galatians 1.15, Paul said, It
pleased God who separated me from my mother's womb and called
me by his grace. It pleased God to reveal his
Son in me. So let's be careful. This Jesus-only
concept is deadly error. it deadly ever. And you're not
honoring the Son, and you're not honoring the Father, and
you're robbing yourself of a true knowledge of the Father and a
true knowledge of the Son, which our Lord says is eternal life.
He said, Father, glorify thy Son, that thy Son may glorify
thee. Thou hast given him all power
over all flesh, that he should give eternal life to as many
as thou hast given him, and this is life eternal, that they might
know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom thou hast
sent. That's what this is saying here.
It shall be imputed to us also if we believe on him who raised
Jesus Christ from the dead." Our faith doesn't start at Calvary,
it starts with the purpose of the Father. That's right. 1 Timothy 2 verse 5 says there's
one God and one mediator between God and men. Galatians 3.20 tells
us this. A mediator is not a mediator
of one, there's got to be two. Christ is not a mediator of one. Jesus only won't fit there. You've
got to have the sinner, the mediator, and the Father. There's two sides. I like this scripture here. Turn
to Genesis chapter 22. Now you who know something about
God's Word, know that the Old Testament is full of pictures
of Christ, types of Christ. And here in Genesis 22 is one
of the most beautiful types or pictures of Christ to be found
anywhere in the Scripture. It's when Abraham offered Isaac
on Mount Moriah. And someone says Mount Moriah
is Mount Calvary, where God, several hundred years later,
did give his son. Not a ram in his stead, but his
son himself. And it says in Genesis 22, verse
8, Isaac had asked his father, Now father, here's the wood,
and here's the fire, but where's the lamb? Now verse 8, look at
it. And Abraham said, My son, God
will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering. So they went,
both of them, together. Oh, what a sight! The son and
the father down at the foot of that mountain, and he told the
servants, he said, you stay here. I and the lad will go yonder
and sacrifice and we'll come back. And as they started to
the mountain, Mount Moriah, Isaac turned to him and he said, Father,
you have the wood and you have the fire, but where's the lamb?
And I just imagine Abraham put his arm across his shoulder and
he said, My son, and God will provide him Cephalam. So they
went, both of them together, up that mountain. And I'll tell
you this, when our Lord Jesus Christ went up Mount Calvary,
the Father was with him. They went, both of them together.
That sacrifice was not Christ's alone. That offering was not
Christ's alone. It pleased the Father to bruise
Him. So this is what He's saying here. Now, if you would be saved, if
you would have imputed to you that righteousness of Abraham,
it is necessary to trust your soul to God, to the fateful Creator,
to the sovereign Lord of salvation. to him who purposed to redeem
a people, to him who was pleased to set his love on you from all
eternity, to him who included you in his covenant of grace
and gave his Son to redeem you. Who shall lay anything to the
charge of God's elect?" Paul said, it's God that justifies. Who is he that condemneth? It
is Christ that died. That's Paul's faith. Turn to
Romans 8, let me show you that. Romans 8, verse 33 and 34. We
need to look at this now. This clearly says, this faith
of Abraham, which was imputed to him for righteousness, it
wasn't written for his sake alone, but for you too, if you believe,
on him who raised Christ from the dead. Now look at Romans
8, verse 33. Who shall lay anything to the charge of God's elect?
It's God that justifies. Who justifies? The Father justifies. Look at the next line. Who is
he that condemned him? It's Christ that died. Yea, rather,
that is risen again, who's even at the right hand of God, who
maketh intercession for us. He's the mediator between two
parties, the sinner and the Father. So that's where your faith starts.
That's where it's got to start. All right, secondly, go back
to Romans 4, if we believe. Well, I can say amen to that,
can you? Amen, I believe that. I believe
in the Father, the Father who chose. I believe in the Son,
the Son who redeemed. I believe in the Spirit who quickens,
who awakens, who gives life, who reveals the Savior. I believe. I believe God. All right, secondly,
if we believe, verse 25, in the Lord Jesus Christ who was delivered
for our offenses. Now, brethren, he was delivered. Here are five things I want you
to see. He was delivered, first of all, or sent into this world. The Savior left the Father's
throne and came to a manger. The Savior laid aside his glory
and took on himself human flesh. The ancient of days became the
infant of days. The giver of the law became subject
to the law. For an angel to come down to
this earth and become a creeping, crawling worm, oh, you'd say
that would certainly be a condescension. That would certainly be a great
sacrifice for an angel to become a worm, a worm so far from an
angel. But I'll tell you that's nothing
compared to the Son of the Father, the one equal with the Father,
the one who spoke and the world came into being, the one who
spoke and created all things and upholds all things and who
is holy and who is majesty and who is power and who is light
and who is life, to actually become a man. That's the greatest step. He
said, I am a worm and no man. When I consider the heavens,
the work of thy hands, the sun, the moon, and the star, But what
is man, that thou art mindful of him, and the Son of Man, that
thou didst visit him?" He was delivered into this world. He
was in the world. Can you conceive of that? That's
the reason a lot of people don't believe in the Deity of Christ.
They can't conceive of God being in human flesh. He was delivered into the hands
of Satan. That's right. Satan actually
tested and tried and tempted our Lord when he was in the flesh.
He took him up on a mountain where he'd fasted 40 days. And
he said, you're hungry. Why don't you command these stones
to be turned into bread? Get you something to eat. You've
got that kind of power. I tell you, you want the worlds,
then fall down and worship me and I'll give you the worlds,
they're mine to give, all the cities of the world. You want
people to believe in your power? Then cast yourself off this pinnacle
of the temple here and they'll believe you. For didn't the scripture
say, he shall give his angels charge over thee, lest thou dash
thy foot against a stone? In all points, he was tested
and tried. In the point of anger and pride
and all these other points, he was tried as we are. He was delivered
into the hands of Satan to be tried, and yet without sin. He was delivered into the hands
of a fallen world. When our Lord came into this
world, he was subject to the consequences of the fall. He
knew what it was to hunger. and the thirst. He knew what
it was to earn his living by the sweat of his brow. He felt
the rain on his face and the cold wind blow. He felt the thorns against his
feet. He felt the rocks, the heat.
He had no place to lay his head. He knew what it felt like to
have tears running down his cheeks. He knew what it was to have a
broken heart, sorrow. He was a man of sorrows and acquainted
with grief because he was delivered into the hands of a fallen world.
He was surrounded by a fallen universe and he had to partake
of the results of that fall. Well, he was delivered into the
hands of cruel men. The religious people ridiculed
him. The rulers belittled him. The
soldiers mocked him, the people rejected him, and the crowd crucified
him. That's not all. If you believe he was delivered,
not only into this world, into the hands of Satan, and into
the hands of a fallen world, into the hands of cruel men who
with wicked hands nailed him to a cross, and left him there
to hang between heaven and earth to bleed and suffer and die. But he was delivered into the
hands of an angry God. He didn't cry out when they ridiculed
him. He answered not. Who, when he
was reviled, reviled not. He didn't answer back when the
rulers belittled him. You don't look like a king. Are
you a prophet? Blindfold him, somebody, blindfold
him, slap him. Who slapped you, prophet? You
know everything. Who slapped you? He didn't answer.
When they rejected him, we have no king but Caesar. We will not
have this man reign over us. He didn't answer. All he said to Satan was, Thou
shalt not tempt the Lord thy God." It's written. It's written. But I'll tell you,
when he finally became numbered with the transgressors, finally
when the justice of God charged him, and the justice of God convicted
him, and the holiness of God sentenced him, and the wrath
of God fell upon him, he cried out, Why hast thou forsaken me?" He
said all the time. My God. Think of the cry of the lost
and damned in hell when you think of that
cry of our Lord under the wrath of the Father. My God, my God. Why has thou forsaken me? And
look at it. Who was delivered all of this,
why? For our offenses. He had no sin
of his own. He had no guilt. There was no
reason for him to be subjected to this kind of treatment. There
was no reason but one. He was my substitute. And what
he bore, I deserve. What he endured was on my account. What he suffered was for me. He was wounded for my transgression. He was bruised for my iniquities.
The chastisement of my peace was upon him, and therefore by
his stripes I'm healed. That's the reason I believe in
particular redemption. I believe he was a substitute
for somebody. I don't know who they are. I
trust by God's grace I'm one of them. I pray by God's mercy
you're one of them. But I tell you, I know for whom
he died, he died for all who believe. All who believe. If we believe, that's what it
says. This was not written for Abraham's sake alone, it was
written for ours. If we believe! Not if I work,
the thief on the cross didn't work. Not if I run all over the country
preaching, the thief on the cross never preached a sermon. Not
if I go through the religious ceremonies of baptism, communion,
sacraments, conferment and all these things, catechism. If we
believe. And I'll tell you, if there was
any other requirement, I couldn't fulfill it. But I can believe. When Moses lifted up that serpent
in the wilderness and the people were bitten, the people were
dying, the people were perishing, he said, Look and live! I can look! I can do that. I cannot lift an arm. I don't have the strength to
lift an arm. I can't move a leg. I'm lame through the fall. I'm
distressed, diseased, depraved, deformed, and dying, but I can
look. I can look. And I can keep on
looking, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our
faith. I can look. I can look from the valley. I
can look from the mountain. I can look from the burdensome
road. I can look from the paved highway.
I can look! As a kid, I can look. As a young
man, I can look through old gray eyebrows. I can look. And that's
all he said, if we believe that he was delivered for our offenses,
I believe that. All right, I'm with Abraham so
far. All right, last of all, last
of all, and he was raised again for our justification if we believe. It was imputed to Abraham and
not to him only, but us also if we believe. on him who raised
Christ from the dead, who was delivered for our offenses, and
was raised again for our justification. Turn over there a minute. 1 Corinthians
15, verse 14. And if Christ be not risen, And if Christ be not risen, then is our preaching vain, and
your faith is also vain, if he be not risen. What does that
mean? Here's what it means. Listen
to me. The Lord Jesus took our sins upon himself. He was numbered
with the transgressors. He stood in our place. He endured the full penalty.
He paid the whole price. At the end of a perfect life
and at the end of a sacrificial, suffering, sin-offering sacrifice,
he cried, It's finished. It's finished. They took him
down from the tree. And they put him in a prison,
in a grave. He paid the debt. Now then, he
must wait in the grave. Touch me not, he said, I have
not ascended to my father. He must wait in the grave till
the certificate that all the debt which was paid, all the
suffering that was endured, has been accepted by the father. registered in the court of heaven.
And this was done in three days. And a bright angel came down
from heaven and said, Roll away the stone. set the prisoner free. The debt is not only paid, but
accepted by Heaven's courts, registered in Heaven's journals,
accepted by the Heavenly Father, and justification is mine. Both, now both the sinner is
free from his sins because the surety took him, and now the
surety also is free from the sin. Because he paid the debt
and the father said it's sufficient It's accepted He that owed the
debt is cleared by the substitute and now the substitute is cleared
by the father And he came out of that grave And that resurrection
is a sign that resurrection is an announcement that resurrection
is a declaration that that the Father says, I'm satisfied. The debt is paid. The page is wiped. There is therefore
now no condemnation to them who are in Christ. Suppose he's not
risen. Think about it now. I come to
you preaching a crucified Savior, a crucified substitute. Have
up here on the wall a crucifix, there he hangs, blood running
out his side, crown of thorns on his head. I preach a dead
Savior. Could you believe it? Could you
rejoice in it? Could I preach it? Could you
have any hope? You'd always doubt, wouldn't
you? You'd always wonder. Well, he died, but did he do
anything when he died? Did it mean anything? Did it
have any effect on heaven's courts? Did the Father accept it? You'd
always wonder. You don't have to wonder now.
Because my brother, when that stone was rolled away and our
Lord came out of that grave, he came out without sin. He came
out triumphant. He came out victorious. He came
out the beloved. He came out the accepted one.
And he left here and went up yonder and sat down on God's
right hand and took me with him. And that's where I am right now.
I'm seated with Christ in the heavenlies. And I'm just here
serving some time, just waiting. till my spirit is called home,
to enter into the inheritance that is already purchased and
already given, declaring the things that are not yet done
as though they were already done. Do you believe? I claim that same righteousness
that God gave Abraham, God I believe, help my unbelief. Do you claim
it? I believe on him who raised Christ
from the dead. I believe he was delivered for
our offenses. I believe he was raised for our
justification. And that's all I have. Our Father in Heaven, anoint
the word which has been preached with
the power of the Holy Spirit. We know thy word shall not return
unto thee void. its life upon life, but death
upon death, but how we want it to be blessed of the Spirit of
the living God to bring forth fruit to the glory of Christ
our Redeemer, to strengthen every child of the King, and to convict
and bring to the Savior those who do not know him. I move as
it pleases thee in our midst, in the name of Christ we pray,
amen. Let's sing a closing hymn tonight,
Ronnie, about two verses. What number? Number 224. 224.
We'll stand while we sing. 224. I know whom I have believed.
The first and the last stanza, 224. I know not why God's wondrous
grace to me he hath made known, nor why unworthy Christ in love
redeemed me for his own. I have believed it and am persuaded
that he is able to keep that which I've committed unto him
against that day.

If We Believe On Him

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