God is Faithful, Romans 4:16-25
Introduction
A pastor who visited an old man suffering from painful rheumatism found him with his Bible open in front of him. The minister noticed that the word "proved" was written repeatedly in the margin. He turned over a few pages and found, "God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble." "Proved." And so it went on through the Book. Next to John 1:12 he had written "Proved." He had received Christ by believing and had indeed become a child of God. He had proved that promise of God's Word. Millions of other born-again believers could write "proved" next to the key verse of our text this morning (“being fully persuaded that God had power to do what he had promised.” -Romans 4:21 NIV). There isn't a single one who has put this promise of God to the test and been disappointed. (E-Sword Sermon Illustrations)
Transition
Chapter 4 of Romans is often used to illustrate the great faith of Abraham and it does do that well. However, in light of verse 21, it becomes clear that this section of the Bible is not so much elevating Abraham’s faith as it is pointing to its source.
In the preceding portion of this chapter in verse 16 Paul, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, writes, “Therefore, the promise comes by faith, so that it may be by grace and may be guaranteed to all Abraham's offspring – not only to those who are of the law but also to those who are of the faith of Abraham. He is the father of us all.” (Romans 4:16 NIV)
He is saying that the reason that Abraham was called by God to be a great man of faith was to demonstrate that since it was only His faith which made Abraham a great man, the source of His greatness was not in himself, but in God’s promise.
Faith is not so much an act of our will, though at times faith can describe our response to God. Faith is primarily the instrument of God’s grace. Abraham’s faith was built upon, founded on; it resided in, one reality.
Abraham was “fully persuaded that God had power to do what he had promised.” (v.21) Are you? Are you fully persuaded that God has the power to do what He has promised? Are you – like the gambler with confidence in his hand – “all in?”
Exposition
In the opening verse of our text today it says “the promise comes by faith.” (v.16) Perhaps we do well to clarify what we mean by faith. In postmodern terms, that is the driving pop cultural and philosophical ideals of our day, faith can mean many things; most often it is a rather nondescript vague sort of ideal.
What does the Bible mean when it speaks of faith? The Holman Bible Dictionary defines faith this way: “Trusting commitment of one person to another, particularly of a person to God. Faith is the central concept of Christianity. One may be called a Christian only if one has faith.”
The Greek word which is translated here as “Faith” is “pistis” and it is found 228 times in the Textus Receptus Greek Manuscript. The reason this is of significance is because it is the prevailing theme of the New Testament.
Upon restoring the sight of blind Bartimaeus “Jesus said unto him, Go thy way; thy faith hath made thee whole. And immediately he received his sight, and followed Jesus in the way.” (Mark 10:52 KJV)
Here is an important note of distinction. Some may see Jesus here implying that the faith of Bartimaeus is what healed him of his blindness. Indeed, some may even suggest that Jesus is outright asserting that idea.
That is not what is happening here at all. Plainly Jesus is the one who healed the man of his blindness, restoring his sight. If the faith of Bartimaeus was enough, all by itself, to restore his sight then why did he even come to Jesus?
What Jesus is doing is highlighting the special relationship that exists between faith and God’s grace and power. God’s healing power, through the Son, healed the man. The faith of the man, which is the gift of God, was the instrument which brought him, drew him, to Jesus to receive his healing.
In the same way, the gift of faith which Abraham received from God is what allowed him to trust God, which caused him to see God’s promises fulfilled which in turn caused him to trust in the promise of God for even greater things!
Marriage is a promise of faith. I promise to be faithful to you and I accept, I trust, I have faith in the fact that you will keep your promise of faithfulness to me.
In the beginning of a marriage deep affection is often the bedrock of the commitment. I will do anything for you, even pick up those nasty, stankin’, smelly socks of yours… because I just feel so much love you.
After the 10th, 100th, 1,000th time, however, affection, even passionate affection is not enough to motivate most of us in such things. Our affection necessarily moves to a greater and deeper level. It moves from affection to commitment, from a promise made to a promise we keep.
In so doing, we prove our trustworthiness to one another. When we “make good” on our commitment, we approve the value of our trust as well. This is why when faithfulness is broken it can be so difficult to repair it, though with God all things are possible.
I would suggest that the marriage analogy is well representative of our relationship with God. The chief difference being that with Him there is not even the possibility of unfaithfulness, though in times of trial our pain often clouds the reality of His constant faithfulness.
• (Psalms 145:13 NIV) “Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and your dominion endures through all generations. The LORD is faithful to all his promises and loving toward all he has made.”
• (1 Corinthians 1:9 NIV) “God, who has called you into fellowship with his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, is faithful.”
• (2 Thessalonians 3:3 NIV) “But the Lord is faithful, and he will strengthen and protect you from the evil one.”
Those who have walked with the Lord through much trial know the full measure of His faithfulness. The deepest measure of His grace is manifest in trial. Are you fully persuaded that God has the power to do what He promised to do?
Are you all in? There are those who say that seeing is believing.
Skepticism is not always bad. Skepticism forces the scientist to question his results and test farther. It forces the philosopher and theologian to test his conclusions against the backdrop of logic and of correspondence with reality.
Indeed, skepticism has led many an unbeliever to be skeptical of the world around him and seek God.
Skepticism, when it turns to unbelief, excuses not to trust God, then it is a dangerous and slippery road of finding reasons to doubt rather than doubting false reasons to believe.
Are you all in? Are you persuaded? If not, what will it take to persuade you that God will do all that He said He would do and that He has the power to do it?
“Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” (Hebrews 11:1 KJV) In God’s economy believing is seeing.
Abraham was the great man of faith and his journey toward become that began with a simple act of trusting God and then seeing God’s provision time and again, seeing the miracles which God performed in his life, his faith no doubt grew, being fully persuaded by what God had done that His promises are true.
Friend, if you long to have a mature faith, you must have a growing faith which begins by trusting in what God has said in His Word, then placing your faith, your trust, in that, then seeing God’s hand move time and again in this broken life in this fallen world, faith grows, until it is indeed, “the substance of things hoped, the evidence of things not seen.”
Conclusion
It was rumored that underneath a certain piece of ground there was iron to be found, and two men were appointed to go and inspect the land and see whether there was really iron there. One man, a scientist and mineralogist, was very conscious of his own limitations; and knowing his own weaknesses, he took with him some scientific instruments. The other man, who was buoyant and self-confident, said, "I believe what I can see, and what I can't see I won't believe"; and so he walked over the field, and got over it in no time. He said, "Iron? nonsense! I see no iron; there is no iron here."
This man went to the syndicate and said, "There is no iron there: I walked all over the field and I could not see a trace of it." The other man did not trust to his eye at all. He carried in his hand a little crystal box, and in that little crystal box there was a needle, and he kept watching that needle. He paused, for the needle in that crystal box had pointed down like the very finger of God, and he said, "There is iron there." He passed on, until again that needle pointed down, and he said, "There is iron there," and when he handed in this report he said, "From one end of the field to the other there is iron." "Oh!" said one of the adherents of the first man, "how do you know, when you did not see it?" "Because," he said, "that which cannot be seen with the eye can be magnetically discerned."
Friends, that which cannot be seen with the eye – speaking spiritually in God’s economy – can be seen through faith. Faith is the tool with which we see that which is unseen. It is the growing conviction and personal knowledge, according to Scripture, which is fed and nourished by prayer, worship, and Scripture, that God not only can but will accomplish all that He promised to accomplish.
He is worthy not only of obedience because of His awesome power and authority, but of complete trust because He is faithful and offers us the gift of faith. Amen.
