Let's turn once again in our
Bibles to the letter of Romans, tonight to chapter four. Looking at the first eight verses
in this chapter tonight, Romans chapter four. What shall we say then that Abraham,
our father, as pertaining to the flesh, hath found? For if
Abraham were justified by works, he hath whereof to glory, but
not before God. For what saith the scripture,
Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness. Now to him that worketh is the
reward not reckoned of grace, but of debt. but to him that
worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly,
his faith is counted for righteousness. Even as David also describeth
the blessedness of the man unto whom God imputeth righteousness
without work, saying, blessed are they whose iniquities are
forgiven and whose sins are covered, blessed is the man to whom the
Lord will not impute sin. I'm going to take Paul's question
in verse 3 for the title of the message, What Sayeth the Scripture? What Sayeth the Scripture? This
should always, this should always be true when when questioning
or asking about some doctrine or some matter of faith, what
saith the scripture? I remember many, many years ago,
the first year we were living in Medina, Yucatan, our neighbors
next door to us, very fine family. We were trying to, or I was trying
to witness to them. And he asked me one night this
question, he said, because you know, Mexico is a Roman Catholic
country. I mean, it's just all there is
to it. But he asked me, he said, what
is the main difference between evangelicals, that's what they
call all Protestants, evangelicals, and the Roman Catholic Church? And I thought about that and
I responded like this, I believe the main difference is We believe
that when there's a question, we go to the scriptures and the
scriptures have the final answer, the final authority. It's not
the tradition of the church. It's not the tradition of years
of practice or anything like that. It's like Paul said here,
what sayeth the scripture? This should always be true. when
learning or studying about any question, what saith the scripture? Now we know, and we saw this
last week in chapter three, that Paul had said that no flesh should
be justified by the works of the law. And then he said that
we are justified freely by his grace through the redemption
that is in Christ Jesus. What saith the scripture? In
the case of Abraham, what saith the scripture? In his case, and
what did David write in the holy scriptures on this subject? So
let's look at these two things. First, what is said in the scripture
about Abraham? Abraham, of course, we know he
was the first of the Jewish nation. He was the father of the Jewish
people, according to the flesh, and they held him in the highest
esteem. I mean, the Jewish people did. In the days of Christ, you remember
one time, this is in John chapter 8. When our Lord told them, if
you continue in my word, then you shall be my disciples. And he went on to say, if the
Son shall make you free, you shall be free indeed. And their
response was, we be Abraham's seed. We never were in bondage. We be Abraham's seed. They gloried
in that fact. In fact, they believed at the
time when the Lord Jesus Christ was here in the flesh, they believed
that that was all that counted. If a person was born a Jew, born
a descendant of Abraham, then surely he would go to Abraham's
bosom. As our Lord spoke of Lazarus
in Luke chapter 16, that was just another term for heaven,
that he was carried to Abraham's bosom. that every Jew, every
Jew, every descendant, fleshly descendant of Abraham would be
saved as we would say today. They were his seed as pertaining
to the flesh, but we know that Paul tells us that not all Israel
is of Israel. Not everyone that is a descendant
of Abraham is a true Israelite, a true Jew. Well, Paul asks this
question, what then did Abraham find? Did he find, did our father
Abraham, and he refers to Abraham as our father, he was a Jew,
he's especially right in here speaking to Jews, did our father
Abraham, what did he find? Did he find a way to be justified
by his works? Did he find a way to be justified
by his works? If he did, if he did, then Paul
makes it clear that he will have every right to glory, to boast
in himself, in his own works. Now you know that some have misunderstood
the writing of the apostle James in his letter when he said, was
not Abraham our father justified by works? and they try to make
a clash or a difference between what Paul taught and what James
taught. But those people fail to finish
that sentence when they ask that question, was not Abraham our
father justified by works? There's not a period there, there's
a comma. Was not Abraham our father justified
by works when? He offered up Isaac, his son,
upon the altar. That makes all the difference
in the world, doesn't it? When was Abraham justified by
his works? When he offered up Isaac upon
the altar. How old was Abraham when he offered
up Isaac upon the altar? How old was he? Well, we know
he was, what, 101 when Isaac was born. And most people believe that
when he offered Isaac up, he wasn't a small child. He was
now at least a teenager or young man. How that's when the scripture
James said he was, he was justified by his works when he offered
up Isaac, his son upon the altar. But when was Abraham justified? The justification that Paul is
speaking of here, justified before God. We know it wasn't when he
was 120 years old. It had been justified many years
before that. Where was, listen, let's look
at this. Turn back with me to Joshua chapter
24. In Joshua chapter 24, where was
Abraham? His name then was Abram. Where
was Abram when God first called him or spoke to him? Was he seeking
God? Was he seeking the Lord? Well, Joshua tells us this in
Joshua chapter 24 in verses two and three. And Joshua said unto
all the people, thus saith the Lord God of Israel, your fathers
dwelt on the other side of the flood, the other side of the
Euphrates River. That's what that means. The other
side of the flood in old time, even Terah. Now Terah was the
father of Abraham and the father of Nacor, and they served other
gods. They served other gods. And,
this is God speaking, I took your father Abraham from the
other side of the flood and led him through out all the land
of Canaan and multiplied his seed and gave him Isaac. Where was Abraham? When God first
spoke to him, he was in a country and in a family that worshiped
idols. And every indication is that
he too was guilty of idolatry. And God took him. You notice
it said, and I took your father Abraham. It kind of reminds me
of what Paul said in Philippians about being apprehended. When
the Lord apprehended him, took hold of him, Paul, Saul of Tarsus,
he wasn't seeking after the Lord. We know what he was doing. He
was persecuting the church. When the Lord apprehended him,
took him, and the same was true of Abraham. Not persecuting the
church, but dead in trespasses and sins, and God took him. Now, as we're in the Old Testament,
let's go back to Genesis chapter 12. and see when he was justified. He was justified by works. Now
remember, he was justified by works, James said, when he offered
up Isaac. We know he was well over 100
years old by that time. But when he was justified before
God, and that's what Paul is dealing with here, isn't it?
A man, a sinner, An ungodly person being declared righteous by God. How is that? By works or by faith
in Christ? Well, here in Genesis chapter
12, verse we read, now the Lord had said unto Abram, get thee
out of thy country and from thy kindred. Now, that's what we
just read. Joshua had told the people that
God took Abram. And God told him, get thee out
of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father's
house, unto a land that I will show thee. And I will make of
thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name
great. And thou shalt be a blessing,
and I will bless them that bless thee, and curse them that curseth
thee. Now notice, and in thee shall all the families of the
earth be blessed. in Abraham's seed. When you read
this verse here in Genesis, what we read here, remember what the
apostle wrote in Hebrews chapter 11 concerning Abraham, by faith. By faith, Abraham, when he was
called to go out into a place which he should after receive
for an inheritance, and that's what we just read there. And
the New Testament writer tells us that he did that by faith.
He believed God. And especially when God told
him, in thee, that is in thy seed, shall all the families
of the earth be blessed. And Paul in Galatians 3 and verse
8, he said, that God preached before the gospel unto Abraham,
saying, in thee shall all nations be blessed. That's when God preached
the gospel to him, and that's when he believed. By faith, the
writer of Hebrews tells us, by faith, Abraham, when he was called
to go out into a place which he should after receive for an
inheritance, obeyed. He believed. He believed God,
he believed the promise that in his seed, that is Christ,
all the nations of the earth would be blessed. So we see from
the very beginning God's purpose was that Gentiles, that Christ
would be a light unto the Gentiles. In the New Testament when the
Jews rejected the gospel and Paul said we turn to the Gentiles,
that had been foretold thousands of years before. Now, here in our text, back in
Romans chapter four, Paul quotes a verse from, not Genesis 12,
but Genesis 15 and verse six. Let's look at that too, since
you're already there. Genesis 15. Now remember in Genesis
12, That's where God preached the gospel to him, when he told
him, in thee shall all the nations of the earth be blessed. Well,
after Abram had rescued Lot, here in Genesis chapter 15, in verse one, after these things,
the word of the Lord came unto Abram in a vision. Now, who is
the word that came to Abraham? Who is the word? Not the written
word of God. There was no part of the Bible
written at that time. That was left for Moses to write
the first five books of the Bible. No, when we read here, after
these things, the word of the Lord came unto Abram in a vision,
who is the Word, the same Word that John tells us, and the beginning
was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. That the eternal Son of God appeared
in a vision to Abraham in this passage, and this is the passage
that Paul is quoting here in Romans 4. Fear not, Abram, I
am thy shield and thy exceeding great reward. Those two terms,
shield and exceeding great reward. Who does that refer to? It refers
to Christ. He is the believer's shield. We have that passage in Isaiah
32 and verse two. where a man is a covert from
the wind. He's the shield. He's my shield,
he's your shield tonight. The Lord Jesus is. And not only
is he the shield of every believer, but he is our exceeding great
reward. Notice that the Lord told him,
fear not. Fear not. And think about this. Every person who does not know
Christ, who does not have Christ as his shield and as his exceeding
great reward has every cause to fear. To fear, because the
scripture tells us that our God is a consuming fire. And if we
don't have Christ as our savior, as our shield, then we certainly
will experience the judgment of God. When you look at the
cross, and we sang about our Lord's suffering just a few minutes
ago, that's what our sins deserve. That's what we deserve to be
cut off, to be separated from God. And that's what every man
is going to experience, every person is going to experience
for eternity, who does not have Christ as their shield, as their
exceeding great reward. Now, back in Romans chapter 4,
here's a question that people have argued over. In Romans chapter
4 and verse 3, for what saith the scripture? Abraham believed
God and it was counted unto him for righteousness. does that it refer to? That's
what men have argued over. The Armenians would tell us it
refers to faith, that his faith was counted unto him for righteousness. But here's the thing about Abraham's
faith, my faith, and your faith. It's not perfect. It's not perfect. Remember when Abraham took Sarah,
and they went down into that land, and he told Sarah, said,
you act like you're my sister. And technically, she was. Well,
that shows us his faith was not perfect. And we know that's true
by our own experience. Our faith sometimes is strong,
sometimes it's weak. Sometimes we question if we even
have faith. Right? Sure. No, it wasn't his faith that
was imputed unto him, reckoned unto him for righteousness. What
was it then? And it has to be perfect, whatever
it was, it has to be perfect for God to accept it. But to him that worketh not,
but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted
for righteousness. It's not our faith that is imputed
unto us, but rather it is the faith that lays hold upon Christ
and His righteousness. It's His righteousness that is
imputed unto us. You read through this chapter
and you see those three words, reckoned and imputed and counted,
and they all come from the same Greek word. Something is reckoned
unto us, as the scripture says. And it was counted unto him for
righteousness. It has to refer to the righteousness
of Christ, his perfect righteousness. What is his perfect righteousness? Well, it's his obedience and
his death. It's both. his perfect obedience
to God his father and suffering the penalty of the law that his
people had broken. The it, I'm just convinced and
I believe you would agree with me tonight, the it It doesn't
refer to his faith, it couldn't, but it refers rather to the righteousness
of Christ. Believing in Christ, his righteousness
is imputed unto all that believe. And that's what, if you look
back in chapter three, basically that's what Paul had said. In verse 25, whom God has set
forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood to declare
his righteousness for the remission of sins that are passed through
the forbearance of God. And he goes on to say that this
righteousness is to all and upon all them that believe. So what sayeth the scripture?
Well, the scripture doesn't say that Abraham was justified by
works. It doesn't say that. It says
very clearly that Abraham was justified by faith, by believing
the gospel, the same way you and I are justified. Therefore,
being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our
Lord Jesus Christ. Now, the second thing What did
David write in the inspired scriptures, verses six through eight? And
I've got an apology and a confession that I'm going to use for this
point. I have five truths that I copied
from Robert Hawker. I've stolen these from Robert
Hawker, but I believe they'll be a blessing to all of us. The
scripture says, even as David also describeth the blessedness
of the man unto whom God imputeth righteousness without work, saying,
blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven and whose sins are
covered. Blessed is the man to whom the
Lord will not impute sin. Of course, he's quoting from
Psalm 32, verse one and two. Here are five truths, first of
all, that it is God's righteousness and not man's that is imputed. What is imputed from another,
in other words, if David's righteousness is imputed unto me, until it
is imputed unto me, is not mine. Once it is imputed unto me, then
it is mine. And Christ's righteousness, that
it is God's righteousness and not man's, for what is imputed
from another cannot in the nature of things be his to whom it is
imputed, until by imputation it is made so. This righteousness
of Christ, it's yours. when you believe. It's imputed
to you. It's reckoned to be yours. So
that before God, we are as righteous as his son is. We are as holy
as his son is tonight. The second thing he said, it
being called God's righteousness, when it is Christ's righteousness,
which is the thing imputed, most decidedly proves Christ to be
God. Amen? God's the righteousness
of God, but it's really the righteousness of Christ. Why then is it called
the righteousness of God? Because Christ is God. Third, it being said to be imputed from
God without works, plainly manifest that it is God's free grace and
not man's merit. for which it is imputed. Nothing, nothing in the receiver
becoming in the least a predisposing cause, but being holy by grace
from the giver from beginning to end." From beginning to end. Number four, the blessedness
which is said to follow the possession by faith of this righteousness
decidedly shows the union with Christ from communion and all
the benefits of Christ. As the indwelling sin of nature
proves our being descended from Adam, And it does. We don't dispute
that fact that we are descendants of Adam because we know that
we have sin dwelling in us by the effects of sin which follow
in the same acts of Adam's transgression. As by generation from the first
Adam, we derive a nature corrupt and sinful. So by regeneration,
Regeneration, in the second Adam, we are proved to be the seed
of Christ and made the righteousness of God in him. Just as we wouldn't
argue of the fact that we are descendants from Adam because
of the nature that we have inherited that we bring with us into this
world, then by regeneration, by the new birth, in other words, We are proved to be the seed
of Christ and made the righteousness of him. Before I mention that
last one, look in 2 Corinthians 5. This is a verse of scripture
that is a great comfort to God's children. 2 Corinthians chapter
5 and verse 21. For he, that is God, hath made
him, Christ, to be sin for us, who knew no sin, that we might
be made the righteousness of God in him. He was made to be
sin. Our sins, my sins, and the sins
of all of his people were imputed to him, charged reckoned to him,
so that his righteousness is reckoned imputed unto all who
believe. Before God Almighty tonight,
all of his people are righteous. Righteous, not by works, of course,
but by his righteousness imputed unto us. And the last thing,
let not the reader overlook The alteration. And if you have your
Bible open here to Romans 4, I want you to go back and keep
your place there, but also look in Psalm 32. Robert Hawker and some of the
other writers also pointed out the difference here in these
verses. You notice here, reading in Psalm
32, it said, blessed is he, singular, blessed is he whose transgression
is forgiven, whose sin is covered. Blessed is the man, singular,
blessed is the man unto whom the Lord imputeth not iniquity,
and in whose spirit there is no God. Here in Romans chapter
4, if you look at the way Paul wrote this text, quoted this
text, even as David also describeth the blessedness of the man unto
whom God imputeth righteousness without work, saying, blessed
are, not he, blessed are they. David said
he. Paul here writes, blessed are
they whose iniquities are forgiven. Paul speaks of many, Robert Hawker
said, blessed are they, saith he, whose iniquities are forgiven
and whose sins are covered. But where lies the difference?
What's the difference here? It is only in the application
to the whole church, both Jew and Gentile. When after redemption
work, that is after Christ had finished his work of redemption,
the Holy Ghost commissions the Apostle to tell the whole mystical
body, not just one person, but the whole mystical body of Christ,
that all that are Christ, whether Jew or Gentile, bond or free,
are included in the same salvation. If you are Christ, then are you
Abraham's seed and heirs according to the promise. Paul wrote it
like this in Galatians. There's neither Jew nor Greek,
there's neither bond nor free, there's neither male nor female.
For you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you be Christ,
then are you Abraham's seed and heirs according to the promise. Every child of God, every believer
is Abraham's seed. Remember when God promised Abraham
that his seed would be like the stars and like the sand by the
seashore. all of the posterity of Abraham,
but especially the spiritual seed. If you be Christ, if you
believe in him and trust in him, then are you Abraham's seed and
heirs according to the promise. I believe this is one of the
things that confuses some people. They're looking for a natural
Israel. I'm still trusting that natural
Israel is going to experience many blessings in the land of
Canaan when the spiritual Israel, the blessings are not material
blessings in this world, but spiritual blessings, heavenly
places in Christ Jesus. May the Lord bless these thoughts
and words to us here this evening.