Father Abraham Series

Recovered By Grace: FATHER ABRAHAM   

Romans 4

Introduction

Genesis 12:1-4

The Lord had said to Abram, “Go from your country, your people and your father’s household to the land I will show you. “I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a

blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be

blessed through you.” So Abram went, as the Lord had told him; and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he set out from Harran.

Hebrews 11:8  By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going.

The faith of Abraham is demonstrated in his acceptance of the Lord’s assignments and promises.

Hebrews 11:11-12 And by faith even Sarah, who was past childbearing age, was enabled to bear children because she considered him faithful who had made the promise. And so from this one man, and he as good as dead, came descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as countless as the sand on the seashore.

Paul lays the foundation of his letter in 1:16-17, that he is not ashamed to preach the Gospel, the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes. Everyone needs this Gospel message because all sin. Romans 3:23 "For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." Everyone you know is in need of rescue and recovery. This cannot be accomplished by our own strength, but God’s!

Romans 3:24 "all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus."

The amazing faith of Abraham is going to lead us in the right path as we seek to be rescued and recovered by grace. Let’s get ready to go to the school of faith by seeing how the Father of Faith gets it right! Seven Reminders of the Power of Faith!

1. You Are Good, But Not Good Enough! (4:1-2)

Romans 4:1-2 "What then shall we say that Abraham, our forefather according to the flesh, discovered in this matter? 2 If, in fact, Abraham was justified by works, he had something to boast about—but not before God."

*It would be hard to find anyone as committed as Abraham

*He was human, he made mistakes that caused him problem

*In our own life we can be pretty good, but not good enough

2. Righteousness is Given, Not Earned! (Romans 4:3-5)

Romans 4:3-5 What does Scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.”

4 Now to the one who works, wages are not credited as a gift but as an obligation. 5 However, to the one who does not work but trusts God who justifies the ungodly, their faith is credited as righteousness.

*Reckoned / Counted - means given, imputed, credited.

*This term is used 11 times in this chapter.

*If we could earn our righteousness we wouldn’t need Jesus

3. The Blessing We All Need: Beatitude of Psalm 32 (4:6-8)

Romans 4:6-8 David says the same thing when he speaks of the blessedness of the one to whom God credits righteousness apart from works: “Blessed are those whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered.

Blessed is the one whose sin the Lord will never count against them.”

*David was a man of faith - near to God’s heart. 

*He was still a forgiven sinner.

*The Bible is specific about the sins of David.

*Yet, he found his greatest blessing in being forgiven.

4. Make Faith Your Identity (4:9-12)

Romans 4:9-12 Is this blessedness only for the circumcised, or also for the uncircumcised? We have been saying that Abraham’s faith was credited to him as righteousness. 10 Under what circumstances was it credited? Was it after he was circumcised, or before? It was not after, but before! 11 And he received circumcision as a sign, a seal of the righteousness that he had by faith while he was still uncircumcised. So then, he is the father of all who believe but have not been circumcised, in order that righteousness might be credited to them. 12 And he is then also the father of the circumcised who not only are circumcised but who also follow in the footsteps of the faith that our father Abraham had before he was circumcised.

*Conflict: How each one thought of themselves.

- Circumcised = The Jews

- Uncircumcised = The Gentiles

*Paul’s Emphasis: All Who Believe!

Righteousness was credited before Abraham’s circumcision.

Righteousness was not based on anything he earned!

Righteousness was not only for Abraham - but for all people!