Our church’s confession of faith says this concerning what we say we believe about salvation: “The only way of salvation is by grace through faith in the atonement and righteousness of Jesus Christ. Salvation is God’s free gift to us but we must accept it.”
Today, we will consider the doctrine of salvation. Romans 4 is a great chapter on salvation by grace through faith alone. In Romans 4, Paul demonstrates that salvation is by faith in the finished work of Christ alone as opposed to any work that can be performed by man. Paul
contrasts the false and true ways of salvation in this chapter and makes the case that “the only way of salvation is by grace through faith in the atonement and righteousness of Jesus Christ. Salvation is God’s free gift to us but we must accept it.”
1. Try for salvation? No! - vs. 1-15
A. One’s righteousness is inadequate to save - vs. 1-8
1) The case of Abraham - vs. 1-5
2) The case of David - vs. 6-8
Two Points:
A) The righteousness of man is imperfect - v. 2
“All of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags; we all shrivel up like a leaf, and like the wind our sins sweep us away.” - Isaiah 64:6 (NIV)
For sinful men to think that can attain a righteousness on their own which would make them acceptable to God is akin to a person trying to clean his clothes by washing them in muddy water!
“They have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.” - Revelation 7:14b (NIV)
B) The righteousness of God is imputed - vs. 4-5
The word “credit” is used eleven times in this chapter of Romans. In God’s system of book keeping it depicts sin being transferred from our account to God’s account, and righteousness being transferred from God’s account to our account.
“For God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin, so that we could be made right with God through Christ.” - 2 Corinthians 5:21 (NLT)
Note verse 7 - “Blessed are they whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered.”
Suppose you and a friend go out for dinner. After you sit down, you discover much to your embarrassment) that you don’t have your wallet with you. Your friend, being a sensitive person, realizes something is wrong and asks, “What's wrong?” When you explain that you don’t have money to pay for your meal, he says, “Don't worry, you’re covered.” You enjoy a fine meal, freely leaving the restaurant afterwards, knowing that your debt is paid. Likewise, Christ has paid a debt we couldn’t begin to pay. As a result of His payment on our behalf, we enjoy fulfillment and freedom, knowing that our debt is “covered.”
God tells us that through the sacrifice of Christ on the cross for our sins, He’s “got us covered.” The penalty for sin has been fully paid, and by virtue of Christ’s finished work and our acceptance of it, righteousness can be credited to our account, and we can be considered righteous in the sight of God.
B. One’s religiousness is inadequate to save - vs. 9-15
One cannot be saved by observing . . .
1) The rituals of religion - vs. 9-12
2) The rules of religion - vs. 13-15
The point is simple. Since Abraham was accepted by God and since this occurred prior to the establishment of both the ritual of circumcision and the rules of the Mosaic law, it follows that Abraham was accepted by God on some other basis. What was the basis of his acceptance by God? Faith!
The reason why the rituals or rules associated with religion are ineffective is that they focus only on the outside, while the change that needs to take place in order for us to be right with God is one that must take place on the inside.
Imagine that you have a lemon tree in your yard. All it can produce is sour lemons. Now if you want to grow oranges, you may decide to pull off all the lemons from your tree and then stick
oranges in their place. In a few minutes your tree could be covered with oranges. Everyone looks and sees your “orange” tree, but in reality all you have is a lemon tree with dead oranges on it. You haven’t changed the nature of the tree.
In the same way, the rituals and rules of religion cannot bring about the real change that is needed - a change within. Our human nature is sour and needs to be changed. All observing the rituals and rules associated with religion does is help us pick off lemons and stick on oranges. Our nature is untouched. We are as powerless to change our hearts as we are to turn a lemon tree into an orange tree.
But God isn’t powerless. When the disciples asked, “Who then can be saved?” Jesus replied, “What is impossible with man is possible with God.” - Luke 18:26-27 (NIV) And God’s way of transforming our hearts is Christ.
“This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun! And all of this is a gift from God, who brought us back to himself through Christ.” - 2 Corinthians 5:17-18a (NLT)
2. Trust for salvation? Yes! - vs. 16-25
A. The principle of faith expounded to us - v. 16
1) Faith brings us into God’s favor - v. 16a
“Through Him also we have [our] access (entrance, introduction) by faith into this grace (state of God's favor) in which we [firmly and safely] stand.” - Romans 5:2a (Amplified)
2) Faith brings us into God’s family - v. 16b
When we trust in Christ, our salvation has God’s guarantee!
Ed Tabor, a deacon at First Baptist Church in Sheridan, Arkansas, tells about the debate that developed between him and his father when Ed left his families’ denomination to join a Southern Baptist Church. His father argued that the doctrine of “once saved, always saved,” was not true. For years their differences remained, until Ed’s father found himself at death’s door.
Struggling to speak, his father lifted his head from the bed and said, “Not good enough, not good enough!” “What’s not good enough?” Ed asked, “Are you saying you are not good enough to go to heaven?” With tears in his eyes, his dad gave a nodded. “No one is,” said Ed, “But you have put your faith in the saving grace of Christ, and He has promised to forgive us and give us eternal life. That’s what really counts.” With a smile on his face, his father
replied, “Good enough! Good enough!”
God’s promise is that the work of Christ on our behalf is good enough!
B. The principle of faith is explained to us - vs. 17-22
1) Faith involves receiving God’s Word - vs. 17-18
2) Faith involved believing God’s Word - vs. 19-22
Napoleon’s horse was startled and raced away from the famous general. An alert private mounted his horse and retrieved Napoleon’s horse, returning it to him. Napoleon responded, “Thank you, Captain.” The soldier was taken aback, saluted and said, “Thank you, sir.” He immediately headed for his barracks, packed his bags and moved into the officer’s
quarters. By the general’s word, his rank was changed.
He didn’t argue or question - the one with the authority had spoken. He accepted that authority. By His death on the cross, and by His authority - we are saved. Not only is our rank changed from lost to saved - so is our eternal destiny. The One with the authority has spoken.
C. The principle of faith experienced by us - vs. 23-25
“Have you ever considered what makes faith valuable? Some seem to think that faith has intrinsic value and they say, ‘Have faith!’ But I submit that faith must be in a valuable object if the faith itself is to be valuable. Faith in the wrong object is not valuable - it is disastrous. You may have all the faith you can muster in the brakes of your car; but, if the fluid line is broken your brakes will not stop the car and neither will your faith. Faith, to have any value, must be in a valuable object. When it comes to your eternal welfare, only Jesus Christ is worthy of your confidence and trust. To have faith in anyone else or in anything else is disastrous.” - D. James Kennedy
Because we believe this to be true, we declare that “The only way of salvation is by grace through faith in the atonement and righteousness of Jesus Christ. Salvation is God’s free gift to us but we must accept it.”
