 Today we're in chapter 4 of Romans. We continue our study in Romans by looking at verses 13 through 25. So let's begin reading together at verse 13. I'll read verses 13 through 15, and we'll get into our study. Romans chapter 4 verses 13 through 15. Paul writes for the promise that he would be the heir of the world was not to Abraham or to his seed through the law, but through the righteousness of faith. For if those who are of the law are heirs, faith is made void and the promise made of no effect, because the law brings about wrath. For where there is no law, there is no transgression. So Paul is continuing his teaching, as we already have noted in chapter 4, concerning a subject called justification. And he's been speaking concerning the contrast of faith and the law of Moses. Here he's going to introduce a contrast between the law of Moses and a promise, a promise that was given to the Jewish forefather, a man by the name of Abraham. And he's pointing out that Abraham did not practice the law of Moses, because Abraham actually predated the law of Moses by several centuries. And because of this the receiving of God's promise came through faith in God and not the law. Now in verse 13 when he says for the promise that he would be the heir of the world, when he speaks concerning this promise, all you need to do is get into your Old Testament, look in the book of Genesis, and you begin to see this promise that is being alluded to here in chapter 4 verse 13. And that promise, interestingly enough, that is given to Abraham has what we would call four stages. In other words, it's one promise, but it has four elements that are involved in it, because when God began to speak to Abraham there in Genesis chapter 12, he began in a general sense to say to him that he would be a blessing to all people through his descendants. Later on, he expands that in chapter 13 verse 16, and he says he will have a people as numerous as the dust on the ground. And then in chapter 15 verses 18 through 21, he expands it to say that he's also going to give him land. And then finally in chapter 22, he says that there will be a redeemer who comes from him whom we know to be the Messiah. So this promise that God gave was a promise that is to be received not by his works, but by his faith. The Bible teaches us very clearly that nobody can keep the whole law perfectly, so keeping the law for salvation would require perfection. If there's anybody in this room, in other words, who thinks that in order for you to go to heaven, you have to become a perfect person, then there's no hope for you at all, because nobody on the face of the earth is capable of following all the rules and regulations God has given. None of us can do that perfectly, and it requires perfection. And if you're not perfect, then you're going to fail, and thus judgment will fall upon you. The law demands perfect obedience. Galatians chapter 3 verse 12 says it, the law is not of faith, but the man who does them shall live by them. And so as Paul is writing here, he's making it very clear that no one can keep the law perfectly, and no one can be saved by following Moses' commandments alone. That's why we need grace, and that is why we exercise faith in a merciful and a forgiving and a loving God. That's why we do that. So righteousness doesn't result from obedience to the law alone. In Galatians, when Paul was writing to the Galatians, he had made that very clear. He said, I'm crucified with Christ, nevertheless I live, yet not I, but Christ lives in me. And the life which I now live in the flesh, I live by faith in the Son of God who loved me and gave himself for me. I do not frustrate the grace of God for if righteousness came by the law, Christ has died in vain. And so Paul was pointing out that righteousness comes through faith in Jesus Christ, through recognition that we have been crucified with him. And so by trying to keep the commands of Moses, Paul is making it very clear here, you're not going to be able to do that because nobody's perfect. There's only been one who was able to do that perfectly, and that was the Lord Jesus Christ. So in our failure to keep the law of Moses, there's only one thing that we can expect to happen if we think we become righteous through following the law, and that is judgment. He says in verse 15, the law brings about wrath. And so the only thing a person can expect is judgment, because the law doesn't save what it really does is it reveals our sinfulness and directs us to the Savior. So the more one tries to keep it, the more guilty they become because they cannot keep it. And because no one can keep the law, no one can do the righteous things that are necessary to obtain heaven through their works, well the result he's saying is to suffer the wrath of God. And the way that you suffer that is when you stand before God and he brings judgment upon your life. So he's developing the necessity of salvation by grace through faith. That's what he's sharing. He's making it clear to his readers that if you try to become right before God through efforts of your own or to try and keep a religious ritual of some sort, it is not going to happen. You're only going to fail because all have sin and fall short of the glory of God. There's no way that's going to happen. And because no one can keep it perfectly, the result is suffering the wrath of God in judgment. Now, Paul's already made it clear that God reserves his wrath for those who reject him. He had said that in chapter 1 verse 18. But that's not a unique feature of the book of Romans because he says something similar in Ephesians 5. When you look at Ephesians 5 verses 5 through 7, and this is the amplified version. Ephesians 5, 5 through 7 says, for be sure of this, that no person practicing sexual vice or impurity in thought or in life or one who is covetous, who has lustful desire for the property of others and is greedy for gain, for he in effect is an idolater, has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God. Let no one delude and deceive you with empty excuses and groundless arguments for these sins, for through these things the wrath of God comes upon sons of rebellion and disobedience. So do not associate or be shares with them. So God's wrath is reserved for those who reject him and ultimately all stand before God in judgment if they don't receive Christ as Lord and Savior. And so he's making it very, very clear that we need the Lord. It's not the works that we do. It's casting our cares on him. It's not our trying so hard and going through all the rituals that we can go through. It's through learning to trust him and have faith in him. When he says in verse 15, for where there is no law there's no transgression. He's simply pointing out that when God made his promise to Abraham the law of Moses was still in the future. So salvation is really something that is according to the undeserved favor of God called grace. Salvation is received on the basis of God's grace through faith. It's not on the basis of human effort or simply a strong belief that there's a God. It's through the grace of God. You can try as hard as you want, do the best that you can, but you will always fall short of the glory of God. That's the bottom line and we all know that. None of us is perfect. None of us is absolutely righteous in and of ourselves and no matter how hard we try, we're still going to fail because none of us can perfectly fulfill the requirements of God. That's why Jesus was the only one who could ever do something like that. So we are saved through the provision of grace through faith. In Ephesians 2.8 it says, It is by grace that you've been saved through faith. This is not from yourselves. It is the gift of God. And so grace and faith working together. God gives to us the ability to have salvation and a relationship with God through Jesus Christ. Some of us in this room don't understand how much God loves them. I want to spend just a moment just reminding you of that before we continue on in this passage. Some of us need to be reminded that the Lord loves you. See a lot of people don't understand that and I think this generation especially has lost sight of that. I was speaking to somebody recently who was basically we're emailing one another and was sharing with me that he's from a generation of young people that don't really understand what it means to be loved by God. And he shared with me a lot of the reason is because they had distant parents or non-existent relationships because the dad left the family or never was part of it in the first place. And so when somebody like me stands up and speaks concerning love and God's grace and goodness he was saying it's difficult for his generation, for his friends and him to really fully understand because he said we really don't have the backdrop by which to view those comments. We really don't understand that. And he asked how was it that you come to know that God loves you? How do you know that? How do you know that there is a God who loves you? How does that happen? I honestly can't speak to that for every person but I can give a little testimony concerning that in my own life because in the generation that I came from my father was typical of his own generation which was basically the mentality that men don't show emotion and men don't show affection. Emotion and affection are really things that women can do but men just provide income so that they can have food on the table and clothes on the back of the children. So my dad was one of those typical fellows of his generation who didn't really know how to show affection. For my dad, for me to have affection from him was if I walked by him he'd hit me in the back of the head and I knew that, oh my dad loves me. Wow, you know, he really loves me. He hit me twice. But that was pretty much it. If I wanted to talk to my father I would walk into the den and I'd wait to talk to him in between commercials during the commercials. The commercials would be a minute or two or three minutes and if I had anything to say to my dad I would sit there while he was watching his TV program and then when the commercial came on then I would speak to him and I would ask him things and share with him and then it would end and that was pretty much it. You know, growing up my father taught me in a very early age I think it might have been about four years of age or so. My dad told me that, you know, men don't, don't kiss because they used to kiss my father goodnight. I still remember him holding me back when I was going to give him a kiss goodnight and he said men don't kiss, men shake hands and that was how my father was and that's how I was raised. I didn't hear my father use the words I love you until I was 17 years old. My dad just didn't use those words. He didn't say them to me until I was 17 and the reason he even brought those words up to me at 17 was because I was in a lot of trouble and I had gotten really mad at my father and he grabbed me and he held on to me and he wept on my shoulder and he said to me son I love you and that was the first time I'd ever hear my father say I love you that I can remember. So I didn't know anything about affection. I didn't know how to express affection. I didn't know anything about conversation. I didn't know anything about love and it wasn't that I felt like neglected because I didn't. I knew my dad loved me because he put food on the table and clothes on my back because he was faithful to my mom. He never used those words and I knew my dad felt those things. He just couldn't bring himself to say those things but what happened is that was pretty much put into my life and so with that one I don't know how to love and then two when I was about six years old my mom was hospitalized and she had been hospitalized more than once and so I was in my room at around six years of age and when it hit me how many times is my mom going to be away. She's in the hospital so often. There's a little guy started to cry and as I was crying my father walks into the room and he asked me and my dad used to talk really roughly so he'd say what are you crying about and I said you know mama's. I'm crying because I miss my mom. My mama's not here and my dad God bless my father. He didn't mean anything by this but my father says to me well if you're good your mother won't get sick so at the age of six I start trying to be perfect so I know what I'm talking about when I'm saying that trying hard doesn't work because I tried so I thought if I am a good little boy I'm six years old if I'm a good little boy mama will not go to the hospital anymore and so for years I tried for years I became a model kid. You know I had my moments you know as all kids do but I became a model kid you know I was the polite kid the just the nice kid I was I was that you know and I tried hard I got my first communion I went on to my confirmation I did the religious thing I did my best to be good I avoided things that were wrong tried to be you know good student good athlete the whole nine yards by the time I was 15 I got I just said I can't do it my mom was still sick my mom was still having her seizures and the various things that my mom had and my mom had been ill since I was four years old so that was my background how do you know God loves you when you don't have a father who will show affection when your father is so busy working two jobs to pay hospital bills that he never has time for you how do you know that see so at 15 that's when I got into alcohol at 16 that's when I got into drugs and that's when I gave myself completely over that because I was saying at that point in my life I've tried so hard and it's to no effect so I'll just go in the opposite direction and it wasn't like a decision it was more of a release and I just started doing it my nature wanted to do all along I just stopped fighting it and I have people telling me about God God loves you God cares about you God can change you God can be there for you but the only thing that I can think of is that that's probably true for you but it hasn't been true for me I don't understand that I don't know what love is and then finally through the preaching of the message of the gospel I begin to hear things about God so loving the world and then that God demonstrated his love towards us and that while we were yet sinners Christ died for us and I begin to read that and I begin to hear that message and finally I get saved and as I'm saved I'm beginning to wonder okay if God is really a God of love and a God of grace and God of compassion and then how do I know how to express those things to others because for me I don't know how to do that I don't know how to say to someone I love you Marie and I were married for some time before I could bring myself to actually say I love you I didn't do that I was like a lot of men if she said baby say you love me which Marie would do on occasion as as young married I'd say why why why I still remember I'm at on the job site and I used to work behind a desk and I get a phone call and Marie's talking to me and we haven't been married more than a few months and she's saying to me okay honey I'll let you go I said okay bye she says I love you I said yeah and she says she goes yeah me too and she goes say it I said so what she say you loved me I said you know I do why would I do that she goes say it or I won't hang up some of you ladies know exactly what I'm talking about and I'm saying no no and my boss who had been married 20 30 years at that time turns to me just tell her you love her she'll never hang up he had some experience so I didn't do that and that's the whole point I'm trying to make I did not do that I did not know how to do that I didn't know how to show emotion the only emotion that was legitimate to ever show was anger if you're angry it's okay to be angry I was one of these guys who was drunk I would show affection when I was drinking when I was drinking it's okay so I'd look at the girl and say baby I love you man I really love you you know I really love you you know because it's okay to do that because later on I'll say man I was drunk that's why I said that and so that's just the truth and that's how it was for me a lot of you understand what I'm trying to say I'm trying to make a point I'll get to it in a moment how how do you love how's that happen well I read the Bible I got saved I started reading the Bible didn't happen overnight didn't happen in a week didn't happen in a month didn't happen in a year and it didn't happen in two or three years it took years because as I was reading the Bible certain things began to stand out certain things like Jesus would hold children in his arms my culture doesn't do that women take care of the babies men go in the other room and talk and watch the game but the kids in your arm are you kidding me that's a woman's work that's how I was raised that's what I thought that's what I believed to hold children no to say you love them never why would I do that you know if I put food on the table if I put clothes on their back if I'm there for their mother they ought to know that why will I have to communicate but I'm reading the Bible and there's Jesus holding children blessing them and I say to myself well he was a man's man this was a carpenter he had strong back you know he didn't go to Bethlehem lumber to get some wood to make a table he went out and cut it down himself and he did all the work himself and not only was he was he a man who was a carpenter he was also an expert stone mason so he'd go out to the quarry and he would get his own stone and he'd come and chisel it his hands were calloused his back was rippled with muscle he was a strong man because that's how he was and I began to research and I began to see that and I'm thinking this powerful man was still a gentle man with babies so this is before the Lord I'm telling you how I changed so I start saying a man can hold a child then I see that Jesus loved other guys me how are you doing we hit each other we throw an elbow on one another we push their face I mean we're loving them that's how my dad loved me he'd hit me in the back of the head so I'm figuring that's what men do and that's how guys are so we do that but I'm reading the Bible and there's a man named John who refers to himself as the one whom Jesus loved and I see John you see when we'd have prayer meetings the guys wanted to hold my hand you don't hold my hand man so when they say no we hold hands when we pray I'd say why because we're brothers I say yeah so I would squeeze their hands really tight I really would they're not going to get any weird thoughts about this man it's the truth I'm not making this up I would it was a woman it was different there's a man they got the death grip but I'm reading about John putting his head on the chest of Jesus I don't get that at all at all thing in different culture and then he's saying I'm the one who Jesus loved and I almost hear it in that sing song Jesus love me that kind of thing and I just I'm just it's not male that's not appealing but I'm reading it and I'm thinking maybe it's okay to actually love guys in a wholesome way I guess it's okay Jesus did right then I see him at the tomb of a friend who died and what's the Bible say Jesus wept I had friends who died one of my friends got shot in the head another one of my friends drove his motorcycle in the back of a parked pickup truck another one of my friends overdosed in his house and others who had died and I went to the funerals my friend Bobby got stabbed to death at a tasty freeze Santa Fe Springs friends were 18 we're 19 we're 20 years old we're 16 even and they're getting killed and I go to the funerals and I sit there like the other guys and just he's dead that's all there is to it then I'm looking at Jesus and Jesus is weeping over a friend and I say it's okay for a man to cry if God himself has tears I can too my dad only cried in my sight as I grew up one time that I remembered and that's when he had to go and have an operation and he was already a believer and he held me so tight in his arms as I prayed for him he wept he had wept once before I correct myself when I was 17 when he had told me for the first time that he loved me and he wept on my shoulder as he held me in his arms and he said son I love you the first time he wept and said I love you I wanted to push him away because I didn't like that at all leave me alone the next time he did that I held him tightly because he's my dad and he was going to have an operation and I was concerned for him and I'd become a Christian and I was reading this book here how do you know that God loves you how do you know I had friends who loved Jesus who began to love me not for what they could get from me not some bargain some deal in my circle of friends I have a car you have drugs I'll give you a ride if you give me some drugs that's how it works I've got this you've got that we can barter and that's pretty much it in terms of friendship and all that doesn't go very deep but you get saved and now you have people who love you just for love's sake who will put their arm around your shoulder and say you know what I love you man you're my brother in the Lord and I'm just not getting it it took years for me and it came through fellowship with believers in Jesus Christ who lived the love of Christ in front of me so I had a model and it came through spending time in the Word of God and as I read the Word of God I see that it's not my works there's not a single thing that I could do that would ever make God love me more because before I was even born Jesus already had died it already demonstrated his love for me he already gave his life up for me and what it took on my part is what Paul is speaking about it took an awareness that I could never earn the love that he already gave with my works but what he wants me to do is receive by faith that which he offers me which is salvation and that's what Paul is teaching us here he's teaching us about having a relationship with God that is not based on your good works but on a work that has already been performed God has already given his son notice in verse 16 therefore he says it is of faith that it might be according to grace so that the promise might be short to all the seed not only to those who are of the law but also to those who are of the faith of Abraham who is the father of us all as it is written I have made you a father of many nations in the presence of him whom he believed even God who gives life to the dead and calls those things which do not exist as though they did who contrary to hope in hope believed so that he might become the father of many nations according to what was spoken so shall your descendants be and not being weak in faith he did not consider his own body already dead since he was about a hundred years old and the deadness of Sarah's womb he did not waver at the promise of God through unbelief but was strengthened in faith giving glory to God and being fully convinced that what he had promised he was able to perform and therefore it was accounted to him for righteousness and so God has always saved people on the basis of his grace through faith exercised in him you have faith that you give to the Lord and that's how you're saved Hebrews 11 6 says without faith it's impossible to please him for he who comes to God must believe that he is and that he's a rewarder of those who diligently seek him you see the Bible as mentioned before reveals that Abraham was recognized as a righteous man before the law was given in Genesis 15 6 it simply says he believed in the Lord and it was accounted unto him as righteousness and so he received a right standing before there were Jews and before there were even Gentiles he's the father of the Jewish nation and he's already receiving this promise and he's already standing right before God and so the promise is sure and the promise that was made isn't simply to the Jewish nation it's a promise that's made to the Jew as well as the Gentile and so in Christ now that we've received Christ it doesn't matter what my ethnic heritage is it doesn't matter where my land of origin may be or my ancestry that doesn't matter what matters is Jesus Christ who unites us and makes us one and that's how we enter into relationship with God it's through faith and that's how we receive eternal life in verse 17 when he says as it is written I've made you a father of many nations in the presence of him whom whom he believed God had made this promise to him while Abraham was there and then he begins to reveal the God that Abraham worship notice how it says in verse 17 that this God Abraham worship gives life to the dead now that was demonstrated when Abraham and Sarah were gifted with their son Isaac he calls into being that which does not exist because he's the God of creation makes it very clear that Abraham was beyond the age of creating life but God gave life to Sarah's womb that I find very interesting because in 8 verses 18 through 20 he speaks concerning that and I'll read it again and then share a little bit he said contrary to hope and hope believed so that he became the father of many nations according to what was spoken so shall your descendants be and not being weak in faith he did not consider his own body already dead since he was about 100 years old and the deadness of Sarah's womb he did not waver at the promise of God through unbelief but was strengthened in faith giving glory to God think about it the man's almost 100 years old and he's looking at a 90 year old woman I don't even want to think about it I shouldn't have told you to think about it that's not something you want to think about I don't know but I know that Picasso around 92 and had a child I've told Marie should she go home I'll still have kids later on she doesn't like that I think her one requirement is I marry a 90 year old woman but I can see the human possibility well though and I'll show you this in a moment scripture speaks that he was as good as dead but he didn't consider the deadness of Sarah's womb she's a 90 year old woman I don't think I have any 90 year old women in here but if I do how would you like to go to the doctor and find out you're pregnant I don't think so I'm what you're with child no I'm not yes you are think about that 90 years old and that's why when the Lord said to Abram that this time next year Sarah will be with child that's why Sarah listening in that tent laughed within herself and said shall I at this age have pleasure the pleasure of having a child at 90 no way and that's why God says to Abram why did Sarah laugh and then Sarah says I didn't laugh yes you did laugh I heard you laugh and you'll see this and by the way the child that you're going to give birth to is going to be named Isaac laughter so whenever you call him you'll remember that I'm good to my word that the promises I give will be fulfilled and that's the God that we serve the miraculous reality of that doesn't escape me I'm amazed that this took place in the way that God said it would but then again why wouldn't it God's word is always true let God be true and every man a liar as Paul's already said God's word is always true and that's another one of the things that people have problems with and that is simply just grabbing hold of the word of God and trusting it God has tremendous remarkable precious promises for those whom he loves tremendous promises I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me resist the devil and he will flee from you there are so many scriptures that God gives us promises in that he will transform us that we can become new creations old things are passed away old things have become new promises and words of encouragement I have loved you with an everlasting love God's mercies are renewed every morning there are so many many promises that God has given to his children that we just don't even even receive God is not a man that he should lie neither is he the son of man that he should change his mind has he not said it will he not do it and so that's part of the problem that people have today in their walks with the Lord because they think well God says these things perhaps but it only is true for others and it's never true for me I used to believe this I used to believe that God loves the world I'm part of the world but he loves other people more than he loves me I could pray for somebody else because I believed that God would answer the prayer for them but I would not pray for myself because I did not expect him to answer it for me because in the back of my mind there was a sense that God really doesn't care about David and it took an awful long time for God to work in my life through his word by his spirit through my friends through teachings for me to finally get to that point where I could say to the Lord I know you love me and I know your word is good to me and I know your plans are good for me I believe that and I believe that you will never leave me nor will you ever forsake me I believe that I am sealed with your spirit into the day of redemption I believe that I have received power from on high I began to finally just take God's word and apply it which is again where a lot of us in this room fail in our walks because one we may not even know his promises and two when we hear them we're kind of like thinking these things are much too big for me can these things truly be true and God would be saying to us why would I lie to you and just begin to receive what God has for us and what God has for us is grace and mercy and he gives us exceeding great and precious promises the Bible says in verse 21 he was fully convinced that what he had promised he's also able to perform and that's what made him a righteous man it says in verse 22 because his righteousness came not by his works that's the point he's making now verse 23 it was not written for his sake alone that it was imputed to him but also for us it shall be imputed to us who believe in him who raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead who was delivered up because of our offenses and was raised because of our justification so these words and promises apply to us too the principles that Abraham learned apply to us and we need this story because we are saved in the same manner that Abraham was it wasn't written for his sake alone as he says it was imputed to him but it's also for us scripture is to apply to us and encourage us Romans 15 verse 4 whatever things were written before were written for our learning that we through the patience and comfort of the scriptures we believe in him who raised up Jesus the same principles again apply to us we believe in the one who raised Jesus from the dead he raised Jesus he'll raise us up too verse 25 says he was delivered up because of our offenses was raised because of our justification he is the one who suffered the sentence of death for our sins and he served our sentence because death is the penalty for sin but not only did he die but the bible makes it clear now declared righteous before God and we stand before him as those who are not guilty his resurrection provides justification for us so when I stand before the Lord if I were to have to have a conversation concerning why he should allow me to enter into his heaven which he doesn't have to ask me that it's already a settled deal that took place on earth but were he to say why should I allow you in not by works that I've attempted to perform on your behalf not through things I've tried to do or religious rituals that were thrust upon me or that I voluntarily practiced the reason that I'm allowed into the kingdom of God isn't because I tried so hard because I tried and I failed and it's not because I made myself better even after getting saved I worked so hard so diligently to become holy it's not that either the reason why I'm allowed into the kingdom is because my savior Jesus paid the price for me to enter in and I by faith received that that promise I took him at his word I asked him to forgive me a sinner I asked him to cleanse me from all unrighteousness I told him I want to be born again I want to have a new life and I confessed to him I'm a sinner in need of forgiveness and only you can wash and cleanse me forgive me a sinner and I took him at his word I didn't go out and say I've been baptized I didn't say I received my first communion I didn't say I received my confirmation I didn't say anything like that what I did say is God be merciful to me a sinner forgive me God I believe that Jesus Christ died on the cross for me I believe that he was buried and the third day he rose from the dead I believe he lives and ever lives to make intercession for me I believe he is my savior and I believe that in him I can have eternal life and that's how I got saved and that's how you get saved not by the works not by trying not by doing your best but by believing by receiving by exercising your will to say yes to a promise that God gave to you by hating your sin and wanting to be right with God which is called conviction and saying God I need a new life because this old one is not worth living anymore I need a new life and God says I'll give you that and when he gives you that then your life begins to change because you read the word because you're in fellowship with other believers and you begin to practice that which God is teaching you and then a year or two or three or four or five years down the line people begin to say see the amazing changes that have taken place in your life and a person like myself who didn't know how to say I love you can now do that very easily a person like myself who never held a child in my arms the first kids that I actually really held on to that are really held on to were my own and now I can hold other people's babies and enjoy that because I love them and a person like myself who didn't cry because men don't cry find it very easy to feel the feelings that I actually do have and not to feel like I'm not a man because I show emotion that all came from Jesus Christ they didn't come from the world the world taught me to be the opposite but Jesus taught me to be what I am and I get that from the word of God and so can you