REMEDY
The Remedy for Weakness
Icebreaker: Bluefishtv: “A Man Fell in a Hole”
Intro: Now, we could just about pray and go home right there. Because that’s the message today. But I won’t. Sorry.
-Several of you here this morning made commitments to Jesus last Sunday, either a first time commitment to begin your walk with Him or a recommitment to grow in your faith. In fact, we can celebrate 6 people who made those commitments last Sunday. Let’s encourage them right now in their walk. (Applaud.)
-You’re headed in the right direction. I hope that today can help you go a little further, can help move you a little closer to God. Today’s message in our series is called “The Remedy for Weakness,” and you know why I’ve titled it that, today? Because we are weak. None of us are a strong as we’d like to think we are. And you might sit here sometimes and hear me talk about the importance of having a “personal relationship” with God, and you might wonder, “Well, what does that really mean?”
-Today, as we move to chapters 4 and 5 in our journey into the book of Romans, we’re going to take a good look at how a relationship with God really works.
(Prayer)
How a Relationship with God Works
-In Romans 4-5, Paul really gets to the heart of how a relationship with God really works. And there’s a few major themes he hits on. I want to simply talk about 2 this morning that I think tie in really well together when we talk about our relationship with God. I want to talk about Abraham’s example and what it teaches us about our lives, first of all. And then, secondly, there’s this theme of boasting, and what we have no right to boast about and what we do. So we’re going to weave this together today in Romans 4 and 5.
1. God initiates the relationship through grace.
Illustration: Who did you look up to as a kid? You know, we all have our role models who we think can do no wrong.
Questions: But what do we all find out at one point or another? That nobody’s perfect, right?
Statement: Now, if you’ve read the book of Genesis, you know about Abraham. Even if you haven’t read the book, you’ve probably heard the name. He was the man that God chose to be the founder of the Hebrew people. It was His son, Isaac that became the father of Jacob and from that line came David and Solomon and generations down the line, Jesus. And what was so miraculous about God choosing Abraham is that he was 100 years old and his wife was 90.
-And Paul uses the example of Abraham, because the people he wrote to knew all about him. For their education, every little six-year-old Jewish boy went to a local synagogue school called Bet Sefer. It means house of the book. A child usually attended Bet Sefer from age 6 to age 10. And you would attend this school five days a week - from Monday - Friday. There would be a local synagogue Torah teacher who would begin teaching you the Torah. The Torah was the first five books of the Hebrew Scriptures - Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy.
-On the first day of class the rabbi would take honey and would cover your slate, your personal chalk board, where you would write. Honey was a sign of God’s favor. There was nothing finer, nothing sweeter, nothing more full of pleasure than honey. And he would rub honey all over your slate. And then he would say, “Now class, lick the honey off the slate and off your fingers.” And so now you also can lick the honey off your fingers. And as you did this the rabbi would say, “May the words of God be sweet to your taste, sweeter than honey to your mouth” (Psalm 119:103). May the words of God be the most pleasurable, the most enjoyable thing you could even comprehend.
-And so as a child you were introduced to the Scriptures as there was nothing more enjoyable in the entire universe than tasting, receiving , accepting the words of God and making them a part of your life. This is how Jewish boys were introduced to the Scriptures. From ages 6-10 they would memorize Torah: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. By age 10 they had memorized the entire Torah and completed Bet Sefer.
-And so the Hebrew people could quote every verse about Abraham by the age of 10. Now, you can imagine how easy it must have been to build Abraham up because of that. And you’d better believe that the people who Paul wrote the book of Romans to did. To them, Abraham was a shining example of all we could be. He was the godliest man who had ever lived, he was obedient to God, we listened to God, He even went so far as to be willing to offer His only son as a sacrifice to God. Of course, God prevented Him from actually following through with it, but even so, His level of obedience was unmatched.
Scripture: Rom. 4:1-8 (NLT)
“Abraham was, humanly speaking, the founder of our Jewish nation. What did he discover about being made right with God? 2 If his good deeds had made him acceptable to God, he would have had something to boast about. But that was not God’s way. 3 For the Scriptures tell us, “Abraham believed God, and God counted him as righteous because of his faith.” 4 When people work, their wages are not a gift, but something they have earned. 5 But people are counted as righteous, not because of their work, but because of their faith in God who forgives sinners. 6 David also spoke of this when he described the happiness of those who are declared righteous without working for it: 7 “Oh, what joy for those whose disobedience is forgiven, whose sins are put out of sight. 8 Yes, what joy for those whose record the LORD has cleared of sin.”
-What Paul was saying was that Abraham really wasn’t as big of a deal as people made him out to be. Oh sure, he was, humanly speaking, the founder of the Jewish nation, but He had done nothing to win God’s favor and nothing to earn his righteousness.
-And here’s what this teaches us about having a relationship with God. Abraham had done nothing start his walk with God, and neither have we. When it comes to our relationship with God, God always initiates it.
-So we can’t boast in our ability to uphold the Law of God.
-But we can boast in His grace. (5:2)
Scripture: Rom. 5:2 (NLT)
“Because of our faith, Christ has brought us into this place of undeserved privilege where we now stand, and we confidently and joyfully look forward to sharing God’s glory.”
-It always starts with His grace. His un-earnable, undeserved grace. And if you can wrap your mind around this, that there’s nothing you can do to earn grace or achieve salvation, then you’ll be a little closer to truly knowing who God is.
† By the way, you don’t have to look or act a certain way to begin your walk with God!
2. God preserves the relationship through faith.
Illustration: Now, there’s another element of this relationship with God, and it’s a tough one for us to cope with. I don’t know about you, but for whatever reason, I tend to feel like I have to do all kinds of stuff to prove my faith to God. Whether it be giving more money or praying a little longer or whatever, when I do those things, there’s a little part of me that feels like I’ve done my part to prove my faith to God. There’s this odd self-satisfying feeling that creeps up in me.
Questions: Now, giving more or praying longer aren’t bad things, right? But are they what make our relationship with God? No.
Statement: So what does make our relationship with God? The same thing that made Abraham’s relationship with God. Think about it. What was the nature of the promise that God made to Abraham? Well, God promised that he would become the Father of many nations, and that all the nations of earth would be blessed through him.
-And how was Abraham to achieve this promise? Well, he wasn’t, was he? There was no idea in what God said that Abraham had to do something to bring the promise about. In fact, if you read on to verse 17 in Romans 4, Abraham and Sarah were as good as dead as far as having children was concerned. There was nothing they could do about it. In fact Sarah just laughed when she heard that she was about to get pregnant. But Abraham believed in a God who gives life to the dead. He believed in a God who calls into existence things that don’t exist. And God preserved the relationship through Abraham’s faith.
-And this is what’s so important in our relationship with God. That we believe in Him the way Abraham did. Abraham’s faith wasn’t blind faith. He didn’t just take a punt on God’s promises coming true. He believed that God was God. That he was the one who brought the universe into being. Who created this world out of nothing. And if the God you believe in can do that, then he could certainly cause Sarah to become pregnant.
-So what was the nature of Abraham’s response to God’s promise? It was to believe. Now, of course, he acted on that belief. He left home and traveled to an unknown destination, but, it was his belief in the nature of God as creator and as sustainer that mattered.
-So we can’t boast in our good works. (4:1-8)
-But we can boast in God’s work in our lives (5:3-5)
Scripture: Rom. 5:3-5 (NLT)
“We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance. 4And endurance develops strength of character, and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation. 5 And this hope will not lead to disappointment. For we know how dearly God loves us, because he has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love.”
† So remember, it’s not about your good deeds, it’s about your heart! It’s about your belief and trust in God.
3. God fulfills the relationship through Jesus.
Statement: And God doesn’t stop there. When it comes to our relationship with Him, He’s the one who fulfills it. And He fulfills it through Jesus. He holds up both ends of the bargain.
Scripture: Rom. 5:6 (NLT)
“When we were utterly helpless, Christ came at just the right time and died for us sinners.”
-So we can’t boast in our righteousness (5:6)
-Now, understand this: Paul had his fair share of run-ins with the law, both Jewish and Roman. He knew how unforgiving the law could be. There is a punishment for every crime, but never forgiveness. Legalistic people know all about punishment, but nothing of forgiveness. It would be just like him to use a legal analogy to teach what Christ has done. Legalists would not allow an offender of a law, even minor ones in the case of Pharisees, even after the offender has “done time,” or suffered the punishment, to ever be happy again or to ever forget his or her crime or sin. In the mind of a legalist, once a person sins or commits a crime, that person can never again enjoy peace, joy or even love. He or she should never even smile again, but repent for life. He or she is “damaged goods.” We do the same thing with titles like x-con.
-So, it had to be a source of great irritation to legalists that Paul would use an acquittal in a court of human law as an analogy to explain what God has done in and through Christ. They could follow Paul to a point. They would have no trouble, for instance, relating to the need for atonement or appeasement, the need to suffer punishment. But when Paul speaks of acquittal, undeserved amnesty, they could only be shocked, even infuriated. To depict God, the judge, acquitting sin without requiring “doing time,” paying a fine, or something like that was unthinkable. And it gets worse. To depict God as doing this out of love for humans, the very humans who are in a state of active rebellion against God, while they are still sinners, that is unconscionable! And, it must be admitted that even Christians find it unique. Never has there been in all of human history forgiveness like this.
-But we can boast in Jesus because He reconciles us to God.
(5:9-11)
Scripture: Rom. 5:9-11 (NLT)
“Since we have been made right in God’s sight by the blood of Christ, he will certainly save us from God’s condemnation. 10 For since our friendship with God was restored by the death of his Son while we were still his enemies, we will certainly be saved through the life of his Son. 11 So now we can rejoice in our wonderful new relationship with God because our Lord Jesus Christ has made us friends of God.”
† We’re not good enough to fulfill the relationship, but Jesus is!
4. We trust God and live. (4:18-21, 5:1)
-So, you may be wondering, “What’s my part in the relationship, then?
Illustration: Matthew Parris is a British atheist, but he has witnessed the power of spiritual transformation in Africa. On December 27, 2008, Parris wrote an article for The Times in London with the headline, "As An Atheist, I Truly Believe Africa Needs God." The piece chronicled his reflections on a recent trip to Malawi. It was a country he had known as a boy and then returned there, after 45 years, to see the work of a charity. In the process, Parris saw the impact of Christianity being lived out among the people. He said the trip renewed his sagging faith in development charities, and "refreshed another belief, too: one I’ve been trying to banish all my life, but an observation I’ve been unable to avoid since my African childhood. It confounds my ideological beliefs, stubbornly refuses to fit my world view, and has embarrassed my growing belief that there is no God." He went on to write, "Now a confirmed atheist, I’ve become convinced of the enormous contribution that Christian evangelism makes in Africa: sharply distinct from the work of secular NGOs, government projects and international aid efforts. These alone will not do. Education and training alone will not do. In Africa Christianity changes people’s hearts. It brings a spiritual transformation. The rebirth is real. The change is good." Genuine Christianity is so transformational that even staunch atheists can’t help but notice.
TimesOnline, 12/27/8; World, 1/17/9, p.14
-So what does that do to our good works? What does it say about Abraham’s obedience in leaving Haran and travelling to Canaan at God’s behest. Well, it says that the mere action itself isn’t what justifies us or him. Abraham’s obedience wasn’t what made him righteous. But at the same time his actions are the signs of his belief. It would have been no use Abraham saying he believed God and remaining right where he was. He had to get up and go as a sign of his faith in God. So too, our faith in God will inevitably lead to changes in the way we behave. As we’ll see in a couple of chapters time, our faith in Jesus Christ as the means of righteousness doesn’t remove the need to live righteous lives. In fact the opposite is true. If we claim a righteousness that comes by faith in Christ, we’ll be even more motivated to obey God, to live up to this new status we have before God. But our obedience will never be the basis on which we claim to be right with God any more than Abraham circumcising his son made him right with God. No our standing before God comes about because we, like Abraham, believe God’s promise to give us a righteousness won for us by Jesus Christ.
Scripture: 4:18-21 (NLT)
“Even when there was no reason for hope, Abraham kept hoping—believing that he would become the father of many nations. For God had said to him, “That’s how many descendants you will have!”[e] 19 And Abraham’s faith did not weaken, even though, at about 100 years of age, he figured his body was as good as dead—and so was Sarah’s womb. 20 Abraham never wavered in believing God’s promise. In fact, his faith grew stronger, and in this he brought glory to God. 21 He was fully convinced that God is able to do whatever he promises.”
-We trust that God is able to do what He promises.
† Our hope is not in ourselves, but in what Jesus is doing in us!
Scripture: Rom. 5:1 (NLT)
“Therefore, since we have been made right in God’s sight by faith, we have peace with God because of what Jesus Christ our Lord has done for us.”
Conclusion/Invitation
-Today, I invite you to come to an altar and begin this personal relationship with God. Come talk with Him. Tell Him that today you put your trust in Him. Have confidence in who He is. And live.
(For those who don’t come to an altar, tell me about your decision on the communication card in your bulletin. I promise to pray for you.)
