16 For this reason it is by faith, in order that it may be in accordance with grace, so that the promise will be guaranteed to all the descendants, not only to those who are of the Law, but also to those who are of the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all,
17 (as it is written, “A father of many nations have I made you”) in the presence of Him whom he believed, even God, who gives life to the dead and calls into being that which does not exist.
18 In hope against hope he believed, so that he might become a father of many nations according to that which had been spoken, “So shall your descendants be.”
19 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;
20 yet, with respect to the promise of God, he did not waver in unbelief but grew strong in faith, giving glory to God,
21 and being fully assured that what God had promised, He was able also to perform.
22 Therefore it was also credited to him as righteousness.
23 Now not for his sake only was it written that it was credited to him,
24 but for our sake also, to whom it will be credited, as those who believe in Him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead,
25 He who was delivered over because of our transgressions, and was raised because of our justification. (NASB)
Trusting God’s promises is one of the most fundamental ways that you can consciously glorify God. When you believe a promise of God, you honor God’s ability to do what he promised and his willingness and his wisdom to know how to do it.
Faith is the first step you must take to receive mercy from God. Faith is not just believing God exists, it is acting on that belief. Faith=Action. It is staking your entire eternity on the offer God has extended for you to have a personal relationship with Him.
All of us have had negative experiences. But these negative experiences have trained us to look at things in a cynical way. Because we have been disappointed so many times, we are tempted to believe in nothing or no one. When asked to believe in a promise for the future, often we respond by saying, "I'll believe it when I see it!" This, however, is really only a partial truth. The sad reality of the situation is that even when we do see it we often don't believe it even then. You can tell that we don't, because we generally say, "I can't believe it!" This is how we have been trained.
A lack of faith is itself a negative thing that has been encouraged by Satan. He wants to keep us locked into an attitude of negativity. He wants us to continue to believe in a lie. Someone once said that most people would rather climb a hundred-foot pole and believe a lie than stand on the ground and believe the truth. He had a unique way of putting things. But it's true. We tend to believe what we want to believe and to disbelieve what we don't want to believe. Far too often that is based more on personal experiences, and how we feel about it than on fact. Faith is not based on feelings.
The Bible teaches us that faith is the key to everything. So, how do we develop faith? How do we have faith to believe when the situation looks impossible? How do we learn to walk by faith and not by sight? The world would say that seeing is believing. The word of God says that believing is seeing. Is this true? If it is, how do we get that kind of faith?
The Basis for Faith
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. (Romans 4:16-17)
If you take the time to study what the Bible says about faith, you will come to the inescapable conclusion that faith must have a solid foundation. It must be grounded in that foundation. Faith must have an object, a basis. We are not called to have faith in faith itself. There are many people teaching the Bible today who seem to be saying that you need to have faith in your faith. But faith is not convincing ourselves of something that is true or not true, Faith is believing in something that is true. Faith is not faith in faith. The only true basis for faith is trusting God.
Faith must have a reliable basis upon which it is founded. 2 Corinthians 12:8, “My grace is sufficient for you. My power is made perfect in weakness.”
When Abraham believed, he did not simply believe in the promise that God had given to him. Abraham's basis for faith was God, in whom he believed. Abraham believed in God Himself. God must be the clear object of our faith. He is the foundation for faith. He is the basis for faith. Our faith rests upon the reliability of God, not upon the changing feelings of the human heart.
We only put our faith in God's Word because of God. Faith in God's Word is faith in God, who stands behind His Word. Human words are unreliable. This is because humans are unreliable. God's Word, on the other hand, is reliable because God stands behind it. It is His Word. It has authority because He is the ultimate authority in the Universe. Therefore, when we choose to believe God's Word, we are choosing to believe in the God who stands behind His Word. This is what Abraham did.
The Barriers to Faith
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." 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 . . . (Romans 4:18-20a)
Even knowing that God is the only sure foundation for our faith does not automatically mean that we will have faith. There are always barriers to faith. Abraham faced these barriers to faith. Our text mentions two.
The first barrier that we all face is circumstances. Simply put, we look at our lives and wonder how anything can be done in our situation. This is precisely what Abraham did.
God had made a promise to Abraham that he would become the father of many nations. But Abraham was very old and so was his wife. He was about a hundred years old when God reaffirmed His promise to him. His wife, Sarah, was about ninety years old. How could any person have a child that late in life?
Let me share with you what Ray Stedman said about a hypothetical conversation between Abraham and his wife Sarah.
I would have loved to have been a bug on the tent wall when Abraham came in to tell Sarah this news! Can you just imagine it? He came in and she said, "Well, dear, your eggs are ready. What have you been doing?" He said, "Oh, I've been having devotions, and what a wonderful time I had! God told me something." She said, "Well, what was it?" Abraham said, "Well, I don't really know how to put this." "What do you mean?" Sarah asked. "Well," he said, "you'd better sit down. God told me something very startling that is going to happen to us." "That's interesting," she said. "What is it?" Then, like a man, he just blurted it out. "You're going to have a baby!" And Sarah said, "WHAT?" Abraham said, "That's what God said. You're going to have a baby." "What, ME?" "Yes, you." "Abraham, did you stop at the wine shop on your way home this morning?"
Sarah laughed. That is what it says in Genesis. She probably thought that this was the most hilarious thing she had heard in a long time. Wouldn't you?
This is an important point. Abraham did not deny his circumstances. The Bible says that he faced the fact that his body was as good as dead - and that Sarah's womb was also dead. This is an important truth. Faith is not ignoring our circumstances, but believing God in spite of it!
This brings us to the second barrier to faith. The second barrier is the possibilities. When our circumstances look impossible, it is hard to believe that anything good is at all possible ever again. Again, this is an important truth. It is hard to believe in the promise itself because it seems too good to be true. I am sure it did for Abraham and his wife. Even in light of the staggering possibilities of the promise he did not waver through unbelief. In other words, he believed God anyway. Abraham had faith that God was able to do what He said He would.
If we have faith in a big God it makes a big difference. The staggering possibilities in light of our circumstances become possible for Him although they seem impossible for us. The real question is not, "How big is your faith?" The real question is, "How big is your God?"
The Benefits of Faith
. . . 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." (Romans 4:20b-22)
Right after honoring Abraham for believing the promises of God in verses 19-21, Paul says, “That is why his faith was reckoned to him as righteousness.” So how did Abraham get justified in God’s sight? Why did God look at this imperfect man and count him as righteous in his sight? Answer: Because he believed the promises of God. It was a type of future-oriented faith that justified. Belief is future-oriented. It includes banking our hope for happiness on the promises of God secured by the death and resurrection of Jesus.
Faith is a power. It never leaves the life unchanged. It can’t, because what you put your hope on always governs your life. If you put your hope in money, if you put your hope in prestige, if you put your hope in leisure and comfort, if put your hope in power or success, it governs the choices you make and the attitudes you develop. And so does putting your hope in the promises of God day by day. Belief, faith in the promises of God is at the root of all righteousness and love.
Trusting in God accomplishes a number of important things for the Christian. There are several benefits of faith for us.
The Scripture says that Abraham was strengthened in his faith. The first benefit of faith is that faith edifies us. It grows us toward maturity. To be edified is to be built-up or strengthened. As you exercise faith, your faith grows.
Our text also says that Abraham gave glory to God. Another benefit is that faith exalts God. It glorifies His greatness. By trusting in God you are visibly expressing your confidence in His majesty.
Our text additionally says that Abraham was fully persuaded that God had power to do what he had promised. Faith establishes us. It grasps the truth of God's word. Trusting in God brings us to the point where we are enlightened and fully persuaded.
And finally, faith enables us. It gives us possession of the promise. Our text reveals that this is why Abraham received the righteousness of God credited to him. He received God's righteousness and God's promise.
The Beneficiaries of Faith
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. (Romans 4:23-25)
The beneficiaries of faith are those who benefit from faith. Abraham certainly benefited, but we can benefit as well. You see, what was written was not for him alone, but also for us. Indeed, it is for all who believe in him. Those who benefit from faith are those who exercise faith.
The benefits of faith are for us if we are willing to believe in God. So we must ask ourselves what we're going to believe and who we're going to believe. Will we look at our circumstances and conclude that nothing and no one can intervene? Or will we hope against hope and believe God? The Scripture says that our God is the God who gives life to the dead and calls things that are not as though they were.
In order to keep on believing in the promises of God and bearing the fruit of faith, we have to battle unbelief everyday. Becoming a Christian is the beginning of the battle, not the end. Paul said to Timothy in 1 Timothy 6:12, “Fight the good fight of faith; take hold on eternal life to which you were called.”
In a Turning Point Daily Devotional, David Jeremiah related this story: During the mid-twentieth century, one of the most recognizable brand icons in America was a dog sitting in front of an old-time gramophone, head cocked, listening to the sound. That iconic image, owned by the RCA Victor record company, was taken from a painting by English artist Francis Barraud.
The dog, Nipper, had been owned by Barraud’s brother, who had recorded his voice on early phonograph records. After the brother died, Barraud inherited Nipper and the gramophone and records. Whenever the records with Nipper’s master’s voice were played, the dog would sit in front of the gramophone listening to his master’s voice.
That’s a beautiful image of the relationship between Jesus Christ and us. He has gone away from earth, so we can no longer hear His physical voice. But we sit in front of His Word, and kneel before Him in prayer, and listen for our Master’s voice. The Bible was given to be the voice of the Lord until He returns, and prayer is how we confirm what we believe He has spoken to our hearts.
How easily can you pick out the Master’s voice from all others?
Listening for the Master’s voice is a sign of loyalty and longing --an indication that we are eager to hear and obey.
