ROMANS 4: 19-25
UNWAVERING FAITH
Salvation is not something earned. It is a free gift. It is not something deserved, it is from God's grace to all who will actively take God at His Word.
In this passage there is another example which illustrates Abraham's justification by faith. God gave Abraham an impossible promise by human estimations. Abraham chose to place his faith in God and take Him at His Word instead of limiting Himself to physical possibilities. Abraham believed and followed God's promises and God credited him with righteousness. Because of Jesus' death and resurrection, we, like Abraham, can be accounted as righteous through faith also (CIT).
I. The Analysis of Abraham's Faith, 19-21.
II. The Answer To Abraham's Faith, 22.
III. The Application of Abraham's Faith, 23-25.
Despite all the impossible obstacles Abraham faced verse 19 informs us of his growth in faith. "Without becoming weak in faith he contemplated his own body, now as good as dead since he was about a hundred years old, and the deadness of Sarah's womb;"
One of the things that made the promise seem impossible was Abraham's age of 100 years old. Another was his wife Sarah's sterility. During normal child bearing years she had been unable to conceive and give birth to a child. Now she was ninety years old. Their reproductive capacity was as good as dead. Under circumstances as adverse as these Abraham demonstrated his faith in God's promises. He was aware, as intelligent faith always is, that every human factor stood in the way of God's promise and yet he still did not doubt God's promise. Therefore out of that double death God brought about the promised life.
When what God promises you is an impossibility in the natural working of things, and you are confronted with its impossibility day after day, year after year, decade after decade, it takes deep conviction in the certainty of God's Word to continue strong in faith. Let me remind you that faith is not burying our heads in the sand or making ourselves believe what we know is not true, or even whistling in the dark to keep our spirits up. Faith is reasoning trust. It is facing the problems and realizing their reality. It is reflecting on the promises of God in light of His character or who He is and then being persuaded by Him to believe His Word, even should in seem impossible in the natural world. For God cannot lie and His word can not fail.
Verse 20 informs us that Abraham chose to grow in faith toward God's Word instead of growing in doubt. "Yet, with respect to the promises of God, he did not waver in unbelief, but grew strong in faith, giving glory to God,"
But what did Abraham do when God's promises were directly contrasted with what was humanly possible? Having considered all the factors, he concluded that the certainty of the divine promise outweighed natural impossibility. Though Abraham's faith did not waver, it does not mean that he did not struggle with it. He did, but he continued to trust God and find strength to keep believing (Gen. 17:18f). He chose to trust God's promise instead of his physical condition.
Waver is from diakrin - judge, decide between, to be divided in one's own mind (Mt. 21:22; Mk. 11:23; Rom. 14:23; Jas. 1:6). To waver is to be at odds within oneself. Instead of wavering, he strengthened himself by his faith in God and His promises.
[Setting the Sails] When the now famous missionary HUDSON TAYLOR first went to China, it was in a sailing vessel. Very close to the shore of cannibal islands the ship was staled [becalmed], and was slowly drifting shoreward unable do anything about it. Seeing their drift toward shore the savages were eagerly anticipating a feast.
The captain came to Mr. Taylor and sought him to pray for the help of God. "I will," said Taylor, "provided you set your sails to catch the breeze." The captain declined to make himself a laughing stock by unfurling in a dead calm. Taylor said, "I will not undertake to pray for the vessel unless you will prepare the sails." And it was done.
While engaged in prayer, there was a knock at the door of his stateroom. "Who is there?" The captain's voice responded, "Are you still praying for wind? "Yes." "Well, stop praying, for we have more wind than we can manage."
Abraham's strength of faith was demonstrated in his giving glory to God. To give glory to God is to take Him to be what He really is; almighty and faithful. It is to show by our conduct that we believe that He will do what He says.
Verse 21 proclaims Abraham's assurance that God would do what He say He will do when He is ready to do it. "And being fully assured that what He had promised, He was able also to perform."
The essence of Abraham's faith in this case was that he believed that God could make the impossible possible. So long as we believe that everything depends on our efforts we are bound to be pessimists, for experience has taught us the grim lesson that our own efforts can achieve very little. When we realize that it is not our efforts but God's grace and power which matter, then we become optimists, because we are bound to believe that with God nothing is impossible.
[Got To Be In Quebec] During GEORGE MULLER of Bristol, England life he received more than 1,000,000 pounds from the Lord, without advertising - every penny came as an answered prayer. The following story is told by the captain of a ship on which he was traveling.
"We had George Muller of Bristol on board," said the captain. "I had been on the bridge for twenty-four hours and never left it and George Muller came to me and said, ‘Captain, I have come to tell you I must be in Quebec on Saturday afternoon.' "It is impossible" I said. "Then very well, if your ship cannot take me, God will find some other way. I have never broken an engagement in fifty-seven years. Let us go down into the chart room and pray."
"I looked at that man of God and thought to myself, ‘What lunatic asylum can that man have come from, for I never heard of such a thing as this?' "Mr. Muller," I said, "do you know how dense this fog is?"
"No," he replied, "my eye is not on the density of the fog, but on the living God who controls every circumstance of my life." He knelt down and he prayed a simple prayer. When he had finished I was going to pray, but he put his hand on my shoulder and told me not to pray. "As you do not believe He will answer, and as I believe He has, there is no need whatever for you to pray about it."
"I looked at him and George Muller said, ‘Captain, I have known my Lord for fifty-seven years and there has never been a single day when I have failed to get an audience with the King. Get up, Captain, and open the door and you will find the fog has gone.'
"I got up and the fog indeed was gone, and on that Saturday George Muller kept his promised engagement."
II. THE ANSWER TO ABRAHAM'S FAITH, 22.
Verse 22 states that Abraham's faith in God and His promises was accounted-accredited to him as righteousness. "Therefore also it was reckoned to him as righteousness."
Here is the heart of the passage. Once again Abraham took God at His word and once again it was this faith that was accounted to Abraham for righteousness. Abraham's willingness to take God at His word is that which puts him into a right relationship with God. The consequences of believing God is to be made righteous by God.
III. THE APPLICATION OF ABRAHAM'S FAITH, 23-25.
Verse 23 tells us that Abraham story is to serve as an example for us to follow. "Now not for his sake only was it written, that it was reckoned to him,"
That the words of Scripture were not written solely for the contemporaries of the respective authors but also for later generations is taught in both testaments (Ps. 78:1-7; Rom. 15:4; 1 Cor. 9:10, 10:11). The experiences of God's people in Scripture are intended to be related to all generations. We today need this reminder since it seems learning from history or other people's experiences has become a lost art.
If Abraham's willingness to take God at His word brought him into a right relationship with God, it will be so for us also. It is not good works, external symbols, or a good life that puts us into a right relationship with God, it is active faith which establishes the relationship between God and man. Out of this active faith in following God's word He places to our account His righteousness.
As Abraham believed and lived his life in light of His belief, God in verse 24 asks us to live our life because we believe in Christ's resurrection. "But for our sakes also, to whom He intends to account, for those who are believing on the One who raised Jesus our Lord out of the dead."
The object of the Christian faith is the same as that of Abraham's; God gives life to the dead. The way of salvation by faith has not been changed. The principle of righteous by faith applies also to us who rest the reason for our salvation on Him who raised our Lord Jesus from the dead. The power that did the impossible in Abraham's case did that which is impossible with Jesus Christ also.
The fact of the bodily resurrection of Jesus Christ is central to salvation. It is the great decisive evidence of the divinity of His mission and validity of all His claims.
[Proof Positive] The resurrection of Jesus Christ is one of the most well-established events in history. Paul cited as irrefutable evidence the more than 500 eyewitnesses who saw Jesus after He arose, most of whom were still alive when the apostle wrote to the Corinthians (1 Cor. 15:4).
Just as certain is the fact that Christ's sacrifice on the cross of Calvary fully paid the penalty for the sin of all mankind, so that everyone who trusts Him as Savior receives forgiveness. It is Christ's resurrection that guarantees this forgiveness. If just one sin had been unatoned for, Jesus would not have come out of the tomb.
In his book The Resurrection of Jesus the Christ, Fred John Meldau underscores the significance of Jesus' resurrection by describing Israel's annual Day of Atonement ritual. Meldau writes, "If [the High Priest] offered correctly, he came forth [after placing the blood on the altar] in due time; but....if he failed to offer correctly, he died there behind the veil. In like manner, the coming forth of Jesus the Christ, in His resurrection, after His atonement for our sins on the cross, shows that His offering was accepted. The empty tomb is God's ‘Amen' to Christ's ‘It is finished.'"
When Christ emerged from the tomb, our sin was completely paid for. His resurrection was proof positive!
Verse 25 proclaims the reason for Christ's death and the accomplishment of Christ resurrection. "Who was delivered over because of our transgressions and He was raised because of our justification."
Christ was delivered over to atone (pay the penalty) for our sins and raised for our justification. "Delivered over for the sake of our transgressions" is from Isaiah 53 and points to the Messiah's vicarious suffering or His suffering on behalf of or in the place of others. Our transgressions made it necessary for Jesus to be delivered over to death. But thank God that Jesus did not remain in the grave! No, He arose! The Father, by raising Jesus from the dead, assures us that the atoning sacrifice has been accepted; hence our sins are forgiven.
(The preposition dia with the accusative normally means "because of, on account of. It gives the reason for something having happened, a retrospective look.)
The two great truths of the gospel are that Christ died as a sacrifice for our sins and that He rose again for our justification. Whoever from the heart believes these things shall be saved (Rom. 10:9). The denial of the substitutionary death of Christ or His bodily resurrection is a denial of the gospel. It is refusing to be saved by the only way open to us, the way of faith in the Lord Jesus.
At the Louvre in Paris the finest TAPESTRIES in existence are on display. Among them are two that are of particular interest. They hang opposite each other in the great room. The first tapestry represents the death of Christ. He is on the Cross as a sin-bearer. The penalty of sin has been exacted from Him. Christ, paying for our sins, was killed.
The tapestry on the opposite side shows us Christ in resurrection from the dead. It is a triumphant work of art. The Christian feels anew the victory of the resurrection, and beyond the art, feels the thrill of the stupendous fact. It is little wonder that a great English preacher, Dr. Dale, ran from the room at one time, crying, "He lives! He lives! Christ lives!" The realization of the resurrection had been bourne in upon him.
It is a wonderful thing that in a world of decay and death there is One who lives - and because He lives, we shall also live.
His death was necessary that our offenses might be put away before God. As Roman's 4:25 says, "He was delivered for our offenses." His resurrection was necessary for our justification."
We rejoice at this old truth told in that old tapestry. The work of Christ is not only woven in the fabric of tapestry, but also in the fabric of time, and can never be erased.
CONCLUSION
If we are trusting the Lord for our eternal destiny, it makes sense that we take Him at His word in our lives today also. In the book The Life of Robert and Mary Moffat, edited by their son, we are reminded that for ten years the early mission in Bechuanaland was carried on without encouragement for the faithful workers. No convert was made. The directors at home began to question the wisdom of continuing the mission. A friend from England sent word to Mrs. Moffat asking what gift she should send out to her. And the brave woman of faith wrote back, "Send a communion service; it will be sure to be needed."
At last the breath of the Lord moved on the heart of the Bechuanas. A little group of six were united into the first Christian church, and that communion service from England, singularly delayed, reached Kuruman just one day before the appointed time for the first administration of the Lord's Supper. -- London Missionary Society
May we too grow strong in faith. Because Jesus lives let us not grow weary in our labors but know that we too shall reap for God always fulfills His promises, in His time & in His way.
He lives triumphant from the grave,
He lives eternally to save,
He lives all glorious in the sky,
He lives exalted there on high,
He lives my hungry soul to feed,
He lives to help in time of need! -Samuel Medley
