Friendship and Promises
Romans 4:9-25
Intro: Last week we looked at Romans 4:1-8 and talked about the fact that We cannot cover our own tab! Justice requires payment for our sin, but we can no more pay for our own sins than our nation can pay off the national debt! We also considered the fact that God owes us nothing! Yet, because He loves us, He picked up the tab for us – if we trust Him.
-Today we plan to finish the rest of the chapter. In the next several verses we come across the word “promise” 5 times. A promise is an announcement of what a person will do. However, there is strength in this announcement because it comes with a commitment to actually carry the intended action out. There are certain things that I do not make promises about. I often promise to do my best to remember something. However, my memory has let me down a time or two. I don’t like to make promises that I cannot keep.
-However, the important things in life call for promises and commitments. Ladies, how would you like it if during your wedding, your husband responded to the vows by saying, “I’ll try.” Or “We’ll see how things play out”? No! A promise is very appropriate when two people come together in marriage. They may not know what they are getting into, but love isn’t love without commitment.
-The same goes for our relationship with God! He already knows us and loves us and did so before we ever responded to Him. So, He gave us some great and precious promises, and if we believe Him, our relationship with Him will grow and flourish. Now, today’s focus isn’t on our promises we make to God, but let me just say that is an important area as well. We can make a bunch of lofty promises to God, but the main ones He is after is that we promise to love, trust, and obey Him. So let’s take a look at some thoughts about trust and friendship as it relates to our relationship with God.
1. There is a relationship worth having (9-12)
9 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 the sign of circumcision, 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 also the father of the circumcised who not only are circumcised but who also walk in the footsteps of the faith that our father Abraham had before he was circumcised.
-There are a lot of relationships a person can have, but the single most important relationship we can have is the one we have with our Creator! Did you know that everybody has a relationship with God? They may not know it, but everybody does! Unfortunately, not everyone has a right relationship with God. Romans 5:10 speaks of the fact that we were all enemies with God. That is a relationship, but not one that you would want! The kind of relationship God wants us to have with Him is the kind Abraham found. James 2:23 says, “‘ABRAHAM BELIEVED GOD, AND IT WAS RECKONED TO HIM AS RIGHTEOUSNESS,’ and he was called the friend of God.” In John 15:15 Jesus called His disciples His “friends” because He had shared the Father’s love with them.
-So, there is a friendship worth having! This is the blessedness David is describing in Psalms 32, which Paul quotes back in vv.7-8. It is possible to be friends with our Creator! And one thing I’ve noticed about friendships – they don’t work too well without interaction and trust. In fact, I think the more interaction friends have, the more they are able to trust each other. The more interaction you have with God, the more you will be able to trust Him. So even if you haven’t made a commitment to follow Jesus yet, I would encourage you to start interacting with Him. Talk to Him. Ask Him the questions that are bothering you! Listen for Him to speak to your heart and mind. Read His book, the Bible. Get to know what He loves and what He hates and how He treats people so much better than they deserve! Get to know Him and you will begin to trust Him because He is very trustworthy!
-Friendship with God is worth having because it opens you up to His righteousness. It doesn’t matter if you are Jewish or not! Abraham became God’s friend some 13 years before He was circumcised. Paul says circumcision was only a sign of the righteousness that was already on Abraham’s account. When you become a friend of God by getting to know Him, and trust Him, He declares you righteous. He does this based on the friendship you share with Him, not based on your good behavior or clean record, or your Jewish ancestry. And friendship with God is only possible because of what Jesus did on the cross for you and me! Even Abraham’s friendship with God was based on what Jesus would do on the cross over 2000 years later.
-Friendship is all about acceptance! We show that we accept God as the Mighty Creator and Savior that He claims to be in the Bible by believing Him! And He shows acceptance to us by declaring us righteous, based on the fact that we believe Him!
-Well, friends sometimes make promises to one another. God is really good at promises because He always keeps them! That leads us to the next point.
2. There are promises worth believing! (13-15)
13 It was not through law that Abraham and his offspring received the promise that he would be heir of the world, but through the righteousness that comes by faith. 14 For if those who live by law are heirs, faith has no value and the promise is worthless, 15 because law brings wrath. And where there is no law there is no transgression.
-Promises are for those who trust the Promise-Giver. When you really trust someone, their word is as good as gold!
-God had promised Abraham that he and his descendents would inherit the land of Canaan. However, as Paul was writing Romans, he was writing with the Jewish understanding that Abraham and his descendents would inherit the whole world to come. Jewish interpreters of Torah had taught this for ages.
-So, did this promise come through the law of Moses? No, the law came along over 600 years later. God promised Abraham that he and his descendents would inherit the world, not because they deserved to, but because they trusted Him. He gave him this promise because he was a righteous friend of God.
-This idea of inheriting the world shows up in the teachings of Jesus. In Matthew 5:5, Jesus says, “The meek shall inherit the earth.” This promise isn’t earned; it is a gift for those who know and trust God – it comes by faith. Why the meek? Because they recognize they are undeserving of God’s free gift! However, it doesn’t say the passive shall inherit the earth! Meek does not imply passivity. Rather, a meek person can actually be bold and tenacious – as long as they recognize that every gift comes from God above, and that without Him they can do nothing worthwhile!
-There are so many amazing promises worth believing in God’s word! The greatest promise is that we can do life with God when we put our faith in Him! And that leads us to the next couple of verses.
3. There is a God worth trusting! (16-17)
16 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. 17 As it is written: "I have made you a father of many nations." He is our father in the sight of God, in whom he believed-- the God who gives life to the dead and calls things that are not as though they were.
-God’s promises are worth believing because He Himself is worth trusting! Now Paul shows Abraham to be the father of all who believe God, Jew or Gentile. Abraham was truly the Father of many nations because people from every nation have called on the Lord in faith! Again, it is a grace thing – nobody earned it! Not even the Godliest of Jews who were part of the church at Rome deserved to be declared righteous by God. Paul is showing that God accepts all who trust Him. He was battling against the idea of Jewish superiority as the Jews and Gentiles were learning to follow Jesus together.
-What kind of God is worth trusting? “The God who gives life to the dead and calls things that are not as though they were.” God did this for Abraham on multiple occasions. He did it by giving Him a son, Isaac, when he was a century old. Jews agreed that God could speak things into existence, as He did at Creation. Well, Paul makes the point that God’s promise to Abraham (Father of many nations) was enough to transform Gentiles into children of Abraham.
-When God says something, He can be trusted to bring it about! His word can be trusted, but His character can be trusted as well! You can trust God’s intentions for you! He has good plans for you! Sometimes, we seem to trust our own perspective more than we trust God! When problems come and we can’t see how we’ll ever make it, we believe the worst instead of believing God!
-V.17 holds special meaning to me because it is what God spoke to my heart a couple of years ago when we started planning out the building project. After hearing that we would need a sprinkler system and an elevator in order to build upstairs, I was about ready to give up on the project. The price of our project would double or triple what I thought it might be. So as I was talking to the Lord about this, I wrote down what I believe He spoke to my heart: “Mark, I gave you a vision for My church. Much more is yet to come. I blessed you with a first installment of resources, but that was only the beginning. If you limit your vision to the resources on hand, you are playing it safe and are settling for a small dream. Start with what you've got, but realize that I am the God of the impossible who calls forth what is not as though it is! I spoke, and this world which was not, became a place of glory and beauty. Watch and see if I do not amaze people with the glory of My love. I love you and have chosen you to step out and lead the way. I will show you the path to take.” And He has! I had to remind myself of this word just this past week. Sometimes I look at all the obstacles and problems and I start to wonder if I missed the Lord. It is quite possible, you know. We are human. But here is the good news! Even if I do get everything exactly right, God can still be trusted! He is a God worth trusting, and He is even bigger than my mistakes! Also, I find it interesting that in the Bible God does not seem to be impressed when someone is overly cautious or afraid to step out in faith. Think about the men who Moses sent to spy out the land of Canaan. Most of them came back and said, “Great place! But here’s why we can’t live here: Giants! Obstacles! Problems!” Then there’s the parable of the talents. One guy was so cautious that he dug a hole and buried the money his master gave him. His master was angry and called him wicked and lazy because he wouldn’t step out in faith!
-The point is, God is a God worth trusting! He is faithful and can make something out of our nothing when we put our trust in Him!
4. There is a hope worth holding! (18)
18 Against all hope, Abraham in hope believed and so became the father of many nations, just as it had been said to him, "So shall your offspring be."
-I just wanted to comment here briefly. Abraham had no reason, based on the natural way things worked, to expect to have a child in his old age. He had all the chips stacked against him, but against all hope, Abraham held onto hope, and kept believing that God would do what He promised!
-Sometimes you might feel like all hope is gone. Your circumstances may appear to be very unpromising, and your hopes and dreams may have been crushed by one disappointment after another. There is a hope! In Hebrews 11, we read that faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. Let’s wrap this up today by looking at…
5. There is a faith worth finding! (19-25)
19 Without weakening in his faith, he faced the fact that his body was as good as dead-- since he was about a hundred years old-- and that Sarah's womb was also dead. 20 Yet he did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God, but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God, 21 being fully persuaded that God had power to do what he had promised. 22 This is why "it was credited to him as righteousness." 23 The words "it was credited to him" were written not for him alone, 24 but also for us, to whom God will credit righteousness-- for us who believe in him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead. 25 He was delivered over to death for our sins and was raised to life for our justification.
-v.20-21
• True faith does not waver through unbelief (Don’t give in to doubts & unbelief)
• True faith is strengthened (by God, by you, by others)
• True faith gives glory to God
• True faith is fully persuaded that God will do what He said!
-This kind of faith is why Abraham was declared righteous. He was accepted by God and made right before Him.
-This kind of faith is also what makes us righteous
• Don’t waver through unbelief
• Strengthen your relationship with God (interact w/ His word- read / interact w/ God – Abraham did!)
• Give glory to God (No pride; you didn’t earn this; you don’t deserve this more than any other sinner- Therefore, worship the Lord! Thank Him for forgiveness- you’ve been declared righteous simply because you trust in the “God who gives life to the dead and calls things that are not as though they were.” This was His idea, not yours!)
• Be fully persuaded - The HS convinces us of sin, righteousness, and judgment- John 16:8. If you still have questions, don’t pretend that you don’t. They won’t go away by themselves! Face them honestly and seek out the answers. Otherwise, you will not be fully persuaded! What would it take to fully persuade you that God is real, that He loves you, and that when you decide to do life with Him, He promises never to leave you or forsake you?
Close:
1. There is a relationship worth having (9-12)
2. There are promises worth believing! (13-15)
3. There is a God worth trusting! (16-17)
4. There is a hope worth holding! (18)
5. There is a faith worth finding! (19-25)
-Do you have a friendship with God? It’s not about following the rules. Do you know God? Do you believe His promises? He promises to save, heal, empower, provide, and help us. Do you trust God? How is your hope holding out? What kind of faith have you found? Are you battling unbelief? Do you need to be strengthened in your faith? You start by asking, but you will need to put your faith into action as well. Do you give glory to God as a way of life? Try praising Him! It works wonders! Are you fully persuaded that God will do what He promises to do without making yourself an exception?
-Listen, God knows everything about you, and He loves you no matter what! If there are areas you need His help, start by asking Him for help today. Maybe you need help from another person – someone to listen and pray with you. How many of you would be willing to listen to someone and then pray for them if they asked you? Go ahead and raise your hand. I’m here to help you as your Pastor, but a lot of times there are other people around you who can help you grow and strengthen your faith. Seek them out. And as always, please feel free to come to me. I’d love to pray with you that God will have His way in your life. Let’s pray.
