 Tonight, so we're going to be looking at Romans 4 1 through 15 and and the theme of the study is Justified by faith, so I'll begin reading at verse 1 in the book of Romans. I'll read to verse 4 I'll do some Introductory comments. I'm going to be sharing with you a couple of definitions things that you're going to need to know as we go through Romans and And then we'll get into the verses in front of us so beginning at verse 1 reading to verse 4 Romans chapter 4 Paul writes what then shall we say that Abraham our father has found according to the flesh For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to post about but not before God For what does the scripture say? Abraham believed God and it was accounted to him for righteousness Now to him who works the wages are not counted as grace but as debt and So at this point what we're going to be looking at and what is happening is the Apostle Paul is developing what is called the doctrine of Justification I'm going to give you some some definitions so that we can flow through that as we continue our study through Romans So I'll give you a couple of definitions that will help you to understand the points that he's making But he's developing the doctrine of justification now He's already referred to this in his first chapter in chapter 1 verse 17 when he said the righteousness of God is Revealed from faith to faith as it is written the just shall live by faith and so What is Paul teaching us in this verse well one he's speaking to us concerning the righteousness of God now? God's righteousness is revealed by his acting in accordance to his nature See by nature. God is pure. He's just and his actions are consistent with his nature. God's actions are pure and just Now because all of us have sinned we cannot attain righteousness by our good works Our sinful nature is in rebellion and our works are tainted by sin Even the best thing that we do without Christ is tainted It's going to have something that that really pertains to me It's going to be something that I might glory in so even my best works without Christ are tainted by sin and so Our sinful nature being in rebellion well that means that our works are tainted by our sin so to save us He gave his son so that we could receive something we didn't have something We don't have and that is his righteousness and that Paul has been saying comes through faith in Jesus Christ and what he did on the cross It's in this way that the believer becomes right with God and forgiven of sins We went through recently in our Sunday morning in the gospel of Mark How that Jesus died on that cross for us. We just celebrated the resurrection of Christ in Easter We celebrated good Friday in recognition of the things that he did the purpose Christ had in coming Was to lay his life down for the sin of the world. He's the Lamb of God who does so why did he do so? It's because he wanted to rescue us. He didn't come to be served But this but to serve into he said and to give his life a ransom for many So he came to purchase us to redeem us and in doing so by saving us when we place our faith in Christ We receive something from him that we didn't have we receive his righteousness God makes us righteous and so by the Spirit and by the word he empowers us to be righteous So Christians are made righteous because we're right with God We're in a right relationship and that again is the righteousness that results from faith in Jesus Christ now in chapter 3 in verse 22 Paul had said this righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe and there is no distinction And so righteousness is doing that which is right now justification is What we're looking at also and that is a term that is used in the judicial sense And as I'm looking out here, there's quite a number of people as I'm looking out You probably know what that means the judicial sense. I Know John does What is justification? Well justification is God declaring the sinner to be totally free of the guilt of sin Totally free not just a little bit free not partially free but completely free and that's something that I that I like to remember because No longer am I in bondage to sin? I have the freedom that comes through Christ and that is a very important thing for us to know you see in the in the New Testament God makes the believer in Jesus Christ Righteous and it's through justification that he completely forgives our sin in Romans 3 24 Paul had said being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus so in justification Something is removed our guilt our guilt before God is Removed and not only is the guilt removed But the judgment that comes because of our sin is also removed in John 5 24 it says most assuredly I say to you he who hears my word and believes in him who sent me has everlasting life and Shall not come into judgment but has passed from death to life You shall not come into judgment You're not gonna stand before the judgment seat of God at that great white throne judgment You're not gonna do that why because Jesus took the penalty for your sin. You've been justified We have everlasting life is a present tense condition. We have age abiding life We're right with God and we are gonna continue on into eternity. That's so amazing. It just blows my mind and Psalm 103 10 through 12 the psalmist said this He does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us According to our iniquities for as high as the heavens are above the earth So great is his love for those who fear him as far as the east is from the west So far has he removed our transgressions from us. I mentioned to you that if you in before if you had a globe and You started going We'll say at the top of the globe and you start going down. You're going south Eventually, you'll be when you get to the bottom You're gonna come up and you're gonna from the north to the south you'll go back from the south to the north We know that but if you start from east to west and you begin to circle that globe you never ever Go in the opposite direction So he didn't say God separates us our sins from us from the north to the south He said God separates our sins from us as far as the east is from the west that tells us They'll never be brought up again. They are completely completely forgiven So not only is something removed But something else is received You see the one declared not guilty receives Righteousness and that comes as a revelation of God's grace to us through Jesus Christ You see we have broken God's laws But Jesus never did Jesus never committed any sin in 1st Peter chapter 2 verse 22 Peter said that Jesus committed no sin Nor was any deceit found in his mouth in the book of Hebrews the writer in chapter 4 verse 15 said this We do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses But one who has been tempted in all things as we are yet without sin So that made him worthy to That made him able to give a worthy sacrifice that made him able to redeem us in Galatians 3 13 Paul said Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us for its written Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree We already saw in Ephesians when we went through that book Ephesians 1 verse 7 in him in Jesus We have redemption through his blood the forgiveness of our trespasses according to the riches of his grace And that's what Paul is talking about as we look at this passage now and so we'll begin that was your introduction Let's get into our study in verse 1. So he says What then shall we say that Abraham our father has found according to the flesh? Paul has just said that the law is not made void Through faith the fact is he said the law the law of Moses is Established because we have exercised faith and so to build this premise Abraham is introduced because he's a father of the Jews and Abraham is regarded as the ultimate example of a man who was right with God Again, he's the father of the Jews. Who is Abraham? Well, Abraham lived around 2000 BC He was from an area called Ur of the Caldees That would mean that his birthplace would be located today in southern Iraq Now during his day Ur was estimated to have around 300,000 inhabitants That doesn't sound like much to us today, but at that time that was an incredibly huge city 300,000 it was located on the Euphrates River a hundred miles north of the Persian Gulf That means that they were involved in commercial trade. They were also educated. They were educated in math agriculture weaving engraving and astronomy, but they also were known for something called idolatry in Joshua 24 verse 2 it reads that Joshua said to all the people Thus says the Lord God of Israel your father's dwelt on the other side of the flood in old times Even terror the father of Abraham and the father of Nahor and they served other gods So Abraham dwelt in a city amongst the people that were idolaters As I was reading up on this and researching a bit his father and grandfather Commentators were pretty much convinced that they themselves were also idolaters And so Abraham came out of an area of idolatry And yet in the midst though all of this when you read your scriptures concerning this God called him and God promised to bless him and he left his home country He responded to God by obeying him and he was motivated and this is the point that Paul is making He was motivated by faith The right of Hebrews in chapter 11 verse 8 says it like this by faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out To the place which he would receive as an inheritance and he went out not knowing where he was going Now the questions that that's being asked and that Paul is actually answering is this was Abraham Justified by anything that he in his flesh did Was Abraham justified by the energy of his own good works and is that how he became right with God by his works? Did he become right with God by doing the things that he did? Well Paul is saying no because in verse 2 if Abraham was justified by works He has something to boast about but not before God If he worked hard to become righteous then he would take credit for it Self-made righteousness would give him cause to brag about himself. I remember a fella when I was first saved I forget his name. It doesn't really matter anymore But he he was an older man again. He had to be at least 50. I was 20 So, you know, okay anybody here who's young, you know what I mean So so to me he was like grandpa, right? So But he had he told me that he had gotten saved But this is a guy that was always bragging. I mean he's he just liked to boast and And it got under my nerves and again. I'm a brand-new Christian. What do I know? But I knew that it's not good to brag so I told him that I Said you know You know God doesn't really like bragging and boasting You know, he says oh, he says I don't brag and I don't boast. He says I'm a humble man Then he said I'll never read then he said I'm the most humble man. I know so he even boasted in his humility I thought that was amazing But you see when you do your works what happens if you're trying to achieve righteousness by your works Paul is saying that if you were even able to do that you would boast in your own Righteousness which would make you self-righteous Which would mean that you're unsaved because God resists the proud, but he gives grace to the humble and So anybody who would say Abraham by his works was made righteous would be wrong and Paul is pointing that out You see that's why he is called the father of faith He was justified by his faith and not by his works alone in James 2 23 It says a scripture was fulfilled which says Abraham believed God And it was imputed unto him for righteousness and he was called a friend of God That word imputed it was imputed that means to be credited or reckoned So he became righteous not by his own works He became righteous because he had faith and trusted the Lord and through faith obeyed God Now he says again he says But to him who does not work But believes on him who justifies the ungodly his faith is accounted for righteousness Okay, now I want to develop this for a second, but to him who does not work but believes But believes That word is throwing around so much today You have to actually kind of define it a bit Because you know people believe a lot of things. I believe it's gonna rain. I believe I'm hungry You know, I believe I believe we believe so many different things, right? To believe in the biblical sense is to put all of your faith into something to trust something entirely It isn't something that you do halfway. You don't believe today and not believe tomorrow. It's something that you do Completely it's something that you trust totally in and the Bible tells us that we are to trust and that's what that faith is what results in our salvation Remember in John chapter 14 how Jesus in John 13 had been speaking to his man It was the last night that he'd be instructing them and in chapter 13 He had been sharing quite a number of things with them concerning what was about to take place in chapter 13 He had when the supper ended and Satan had put into the heart of Judas to betray him The Bible tells us Jesus rose from supper girded himself with the towel God a water basin began to wash the feet of his disciples You remember that passage and as he did so he said He had started to wash in the feet of his men and and he came to his apostle the apostle Peter And and Peter said are you washing my feet and he says he says you shall never wash my feet and Jesus said to him if I don't wash your feet You have nothing to do with me and that's when Peter said and give me a complete bath You know wash my head my hands just give me a bath and Jesus said you know the one who has been washed You know if you've had a bath all you need to do is wash your feet and he began to give them some instructions Concerning what it meant and what he was doing for them and that's when Judas had arisen to betray him and and that's when Jesus Was I was just making it very plain that that it was about to happen. He was going to die He had told the apostle Peter that Peter was going to deny that all of them were going to forsake him he didn't they didn't appreciate that and Peter in chapter 14 verse 1 Made it very clear you believe in God. He said believe also in me You believe in God Believe also in me my father's house are many mansions and went on to share with them places of comfort and and homes that God had for them that they'd be a family in Christ and all but it all was resting on believe Believe you believe in God believe also in me It's not your good works is what Paul is saying. It isn't your good works. It's your faith in Christ Salvation is a gift. It's not a payment that we receive by being good or doing good things Because if I work for a wage the wages in a gift when I get paid I get paid that which I was owed But grace is something that I receive even though I'm not owed it So that's why you'd say to him who doesn't work but believes well, that's how it happens He says there's a belief that is total in its commitment without wavering the one who doesn't work for righteousness knows they need grace and Unless we recognize that we really are ungodly We'll never be saved and so the point he's making is your faith results in righteousness unbelief results in judgment The wages of sin he says in chapter 6 is death But in John 3 36 Jesus said whoever believes in the Son has eternal life Whoever rejects the Son will not see life for God's wrath remains on them And so he's developing this for us in verse 6 he continues by saying just as David also Describes the blessedness of the man to whom God imputes righteousness apart from works Blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven and whose sins are covered Blessed is a man to whom the Lord shall not impute sin Now from Abraham Paul speaks of one of his descendants. He speaks of King David Now David would know something of the joy of forgiveness You see what what Paul begins to do here is he begins to quote out of Psalm 32 Now remember the story of King David King David was one of the most amazing men in scripture King David was a warrior king King David was a man who from the time he was a youth had faith and courage We all think of him in terms of the things that he did as a youth, especially when he had that Hand-to-hand basic combat with Goliath you know and Goliath was Not just a man Goliath was a nine foot nine inch man He was a giant about four feet taller than I am That's that's that's a that's a big boy David wasn't afraid of him. I'm not gonna go through the whole story. You know it but He had no fear of him Remember how he had come and he had seen this giant Swaggering out there in front of the army of the Philistines remember how how David looks at this guy And it's the guy is blaspheming the God of Israel and David says who is this guy? You know David had that kind of attitude that you can't help but rally behind who is this guy, you know This uncircumcised Philistine. I mean he was a tough little dude this guy David And so they start talking to him his older brother says oh, you're a naughty boy That's King James. You've come out here just to see the war, you know the battles and what are you talking about? What have I done to you and so there's an argument that goes on we know the story ultimately King David Goes and he battles with this giant and in the name of God He took him out with the stone He had four other stones there because Goliath had brothers who's gonna take the family out at one time That was David. I like him. I'd like to hang around with guy like David So we know that story it's a story all of us were raised on if we were raised in the church at all But you know, he's very famous if I were to say to somebody I'd say tell me about King David They might come up with Goliath. They might David and Goliath They're more than likely gonna come up with another name. What's that other name? Bathsheba What is David remembered for? slain Goliath No, he's remembered For taking Uriah the Hittite's wife Putting him on the front lines and he died and not only did David steal his wife impregnate her But he also put her husband in front lines for him to die. What do we remember about David? Is this sin? his sin and David didn't forget it either in Psalm 32 verses 3 through 5 he wrote when I kept silent My bones grew old through my groaning all the day long for day and night your hand was heavy upon me My vitality was turned into the drought of summer. I Acknowledged my sin to you My iniquity I haven't hidden I said I will confess my transgressions to the Lord and You forgave the iniquity of my sin And so that's why he could say in verse 7 blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven and whose sins are covered Blessed is the man to whom the Lord shall not impute sin. That's why he could say that You see his sin was ever before him. It was something that he couldn't forget He had done something that was that terribly evil and he said I was drying up the vitality of my My life was drying up like I'm in the desert and and it's a plant that requires Liquid and yet it's it's dying because it doesn't have that and what did I do as I'm drying up I confess my transgression and you forgave me You see David was guilty of terrible sin and doing no good work Would make him righteous? He was made righteous because God forgave him of all of his sin and that brought relief and that brought joy when people Are wanting peace with God and when they're wanting peace and when they're wanting joy when they want love They ought to run first to God Because he's a source of those things in Jesus you have peace through Jesus you have love You know in Christ you have hope You know he cast out the fear that we have because we have trust in him That's why he said let not your heart be troubled you believe in God believe also in me That's why he would say that instead of allowing myself to be moved here and there by the the the winds of Our day the waves that that can cause me to to to feel like I'm lost I'm to be anchoring my hope in him And so when David received forgiveness he said I have relief and I have joy and that's what Paul is speaking about David describes verse 6 the blessed it's blessedness of the man to whom God imputes Righteousness apart from works why because David received forgiveness and grace from God Now does verse 9 this blessedness then come upon the circumcised or the Jewish only or Upon the uncircumcised also For we say that faith was accounted to Abraham for righteousness How then was it accounted while he was circumcised or uncircumcised? Not well circumcised But while uncircumcised and he received the sign of Circumcision a seal of the righteousness of the faith which he had while still Uncircumcised that he might be the father of all those who believe though. They are uncircumcised That righteousness might be imputed to them also and The father of circumcision to those who not only are of the circumcision But who also walk in the steps of the faith which our father Abraham had while still uncircumcised So Paul is writing in the way that he's writing Bible scholars have pointed this out He's actually writing in a way anticipating questions to what he's saying And so he's anticipating something here and the question that he anticipated is this if Abraham was justified by faith Why then did he have to be circumcised and? Then the question would contain a question about Gentiles. What about them? They aren't circumcised How can they be saved? Now does the joy of forgiveness come only upon? Those who are Jews those who are circumcised circumcision Circumcision was the symbol of God's promise to Abraham and his seed when you read the book of Genesis It's found in chapter 17 verses 9 through 14 In verses 10 and 11 God said this is my covenant which you shall keep between me and your descendants after you every male child among you shall be circumcised and You shall be circumcised in the flesh of your foreskins and it shall be a sign of the covenant between me and you Now circumcision is never presented as the action that saved Abraham That's because we're not saved by religious ritual. I Wonder how many in this room went through religious rituals. I did I guess many of us did right I received water baptism when I was Let's see from August about four or five months old My mom took me to Los Angeles To a little church the Plaza church there by Alvera Street where every Mexican in California was baptized I was baptized there I Went to Catechism at the age of eight. I made my first communion at the age of 12. I made my confirmation So I went through religious rituals like many of you did whatever your background may be mine Was Catholic yours could be whatever it was But I went through religious rituals was I saved by the rituals Was I saved through the sacrament of penance when I went and made my confession to the priest by the baptism Confirmation no religious ritual. We know this but religious ritual doesn't save you Religious ritual doesn't do that all as a matter of fact sometimes it makes it harder for you to be saved Because you trust in the ritual and not the one who saves you So circumcision is never presented as the action that saved him Why because it was by his faith that he was saved In Galatians 5 verse 6 it says in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision as any value The only thing that counts is faith Expressing itself through love Well, he says in verse 10 How then was it accounted while he was circumcised or uncircumcised? Not well circumcised But well uncircumcised again Was Abraham regarded as righteous before or after his circumcision and that's a good question Was he regarded as righteous before he was circumcised or after he was circumcised because We're speaking concerning that covenant relationship with God through circumcision And the answer is that Abraham was declared righteous 14 years before he was circumcised In Genesis chapter 15 verse 6 that verse refers to him as righteous But his circumcision was performed in Genesis 17 23 through 25. That's a 14 year gap He was already declared righteous even though he was not yet circumcised So Circumcision Is a sign of a covenant with God Circumcision is an open demonstration of the men, especially being part of the people of God But the answer is it is not the physical circumcision It is the circumcision of the heart In Deuteronomy Deuteronomy 10 verse 16 We read circumcised therefore the foreskin of your heart And be no more stiff necked So Gentiles could have a relationship with God because their heart was circumcised In Colossians 2 11 It says in whom also you are circumcised with a circumcision made without hands In putting off the body of the sins of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ Christ is actually circumcised your heart So Abraham received the righteousness of faith while he was still uncircumcised That's why he can be referred to as a father of all who believed both the Jew And the Gentile the Jew and the Gentile Are both saved in the same way But putting their faith in Jesus Christ I've mentioned to you number number of times that In scripture You really don't want I'll say it this way real quickly. This is just as an aside to be honest with you But in scripture, you really don't see races As important You don't see that What you see is whether you know God or whether you don't know God And the way that was originally broken down Was in the Old Testament you had the Jew and the Gentile As we went through Ephesians Paul had pointed out in the book of Ephesians That the Gentiles are without God and without hope in the world But he said the Jews were the ones who were the recipients of the promises of God And so God has special relationship with the nation of israel The symbol of that relationship one of them was circumcision Circumcision was performed on the eighth day every male child was to be circumcised It was a sign of the covenant But because the Gentiles are without God in the world How could they become right with God? And so in the New Testament you have Humanity divided in a different way you have Jew you have Gentile and you have the church of God So the church of God is made up of both Jew and Gentile Now how does that church come into existence by faith in Jesus Christ? That brings us to relationship with God And so it doesn't matter if you're a Jewish extraction or a Gentile of any extraction That's not the question. The question is is your heart circumcised? The question is are you right with God? And that's what the New Testament presents to us And so when they practice circumcision there were three reasons for it It was an outward sign of willingness to obey God It was evidence of faith because it was a constant reminder And it was a promise to those who had a similar kind of faith in the Lord And so he says in verse 13 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's no transgression And so Abraham is a father of all who follow his steps Abraham is the father of all who trust in God And it's not limited only to those who are physically circumcised And the promise to become right with God Is not fulfilled because he followed the law of moses because Abraham predated the law by hundreds of years Abraham is heir of the world because by faith he received the promises of God In Galatians 3 16 and 17 it says the promises were spoken to Abraham and to his seed Scripture does not say into seeds meaning many people but into your seed Meaning one person who is Christ What I mean is this the law the law of moses introduced 430 years later does not set aside the covenant previously established by God And thus do away with the promise. We've always been saved by faith. That's the whole point You see in genesis, Abraham received a promise that contained elements He would be according to genesis 12 3 he'd be a blessing to all people through his descendants Because in genesis 12 3 God had said to him in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed He received the promise in genesis 13 16 that his descendants would be numerous God said i'll make your descendants as the dust of the earth so that if a man could number the dust of the earth Then your descendants also could be numbered In genesis 15 18 through 21 he was promised a land A land of promise that stretched from the Nile to the Euphrates And in genesis 17 6 through 8 God said you will be the father of many nations In genesis 22 8 his descent from his descendants would come messiah And that's what happened remember when Abraham was given to command to take his son his only son isek and to sacrifice him on the mount in the place that he would designate Do you remember how? He heard that command and when you read the scripture concerning that it's really it's an amazing thing to me How that you don't see him Getting real upset about that you just see him getting up saddling a donkey and taking off the next day So he wasn't upset about Being commanded to kill isek now. There are many people who wonder how old isek was at that time I'd say he's probably a teenager because it would have been easier to kill him Anyway He probably thought about that a lot of times. I'm gonna kill this kid But he went up right he went up with him. He took him to the place Remember how isek said uh father here? I see I see the wood and all the things in the preparation of Of a burn offering. He said but where's the sacrifice? where's the sacrifice And abraham is looking at his son thinking it's you and that that would that would be tough I think how could you do that? But abraham said this in genesis 22 verse 8. He said my son God will provide himself The lamb for a burnt offering the messiah God will provide himself Not for himself Some bibles add the word for and i'm not sure why No, the literal reading is god will provide himself a lamb. Who is the lamb? jesus jesus abraham i've given you a test i've put you to the test And you have passed with flying colors in the book of hebrus that speaks concerning abraham and what Motivated him. He said god had given The writer said god gave abraham a child when he was as good as as good as dad remember Abraham was 99 years old and his wife was 90 Which he conceived All right ladies 90 years old I don't even want to go there So they were it was Impossible and the writer says it it would have been impossible thing for this woman of this age But god provided life in her womb a womb that would have been dead if god could provide life in a dead womb Abraham believed that god could raise his son isaac from the dead That's powerful abraham believed god And it was counted unto him as righteousness It was in his works. It was his trust And that's what made him the father of many nations And so he says and finally in verse 15 It says The law brings about wrath For where there is no law There is no transgression The law cannot save you Because the law says thou shalt not do And what that does is it names the sins that we practice You're not to covet you're not to you know Commit adultery you're you're not to steal you're not to you know, it tells us It describes and defines we'll see this later on in the book It tells us what these things are it labels and names these things Some people say well, you know, this is just the way that I am Well, maybe so but the law tells you that that is wrong And so that what is what it does it reveals our sinfulness to us And so the more you try to keep it the more guilty you are because you can't But he goes on in verse 15 and closes with this where there's no law There is no transgression In other words when god had made his promise to abraham the law was still in the future The law was still future so a conscious decision to break it Wasn't possible at that time and so As he's developing this concerning abraham his faith He's pointing people to the fact that god provided this lamb That your righteousness comes not because of the good works your righteousness comes Because you believe because you trust because you've committed yourself because you've received forgiveness Your righteousness comes because it's imputed to you. It's given to you. He gives you something you didn't have When you give him something you did have when you give him your sin that he washes He gives you his righteousness and that comes by faith It's not by works of righteousness, which you've done It's according to his mercy. He saved you. He washed you with a regeneration of the holy spirit That's how it works guys. And so I I say that because it's very important. I'll close with this. It's very important for us to realize That if there's anything we need today in this world It's people becoming aware of their own sinfulness And the ability of god to forgive them there isn't a single sin I've ever committed that he can't forgive His grace is beyond anything I can imagine He has never he never fails He never could fail and when he sent his son Jesus to die on that cross He took upon himself not just some of my sins He took upon himself All of them and he gave to me something I didn't have his righteousness And how did that come about by my good works? No Or his grace and that's what paul wants us to know and we'll close with that He wants us to know that he's given us his grace