Intro: These last few verses of chapter four teach us the truth that we cannot depend on keeping the Law to save us. We cannot depend on our good works to save us. We cannot depend on anything external to save our souls. Paul's point here, as it has been throughout this chapter is that salvation is produced solely by faith!
In an effort to teach us how faith works, Paul is going to recall one of the greatest miracles in the entire Bible. I am referring to the birth of Isaac. You may ask what makes his birth so special? Well, his daddy was 100 and his mother was 90 when he was born. I read where there have been several woman giving birth past the age of 50 and some older than that if it was done artificially. However, compared to Sarah, these women still look like teenagers – and there was not artificial methods back then!
All through this chapter, Paul has been appealing to the faith of Abraham to prove his point that we are saved by faith. So now, he is going to tell us what kind of faith Abraham had. It came down to faith in God that brought salvation to Abraham. It was simply faith in what God had said. It was faith in the promises of God.
There are lessons that we can learn from this story concerning Abraham. Therefore, as we look at this fourth chapter of Romans this evening let's spend some time talking about holding on to my faith.
I. In verses 18-20 we see that ABRAHAM'S FAITH WAS WELL PLACED
B. V. 18 Your Faith Must Have Duration - So what was promised to Abraham anyway? Well to answer that, we need to turn back to the book of Genesis. On your own time, you should read Genesis chapters 12 - 18. When you read the story of Abraham in Genesis, you learn the incredible truth that God supernaturally blessed Abraham and Sarah to have a son named Isaac in their old age. Sarah was 90 and Abraham was 100 when Isaac was born. But before that could happen, Abraham’s faith had to be focused in the right direction. He had to direct his faith toward God, even when it seemed that what He had been promised was totally impossible!
When the promise was first given to Abraham in Genesis 12, he was 75 years old. Even then, that promise must have seemed impossible. However, when the promise was last confirmed in chapter 17, Abraham was 99 years old. That’s 24 years later. If it looked impossible at 75, you know it must have really looked impossible at 99! Yet, the bible says his faith did not waver!
The Bible tells us that Abraham "believed" God. This word “believe” is in a tense that suggests that he believed God when he received the promise and he kept on believing until the promise was fulfilled. You see that’s the kind of faith that sees mountains moved!
Sometimes we get weary in waiting for God promises to materialize, but let me just encourage you to keep on believing. When Abraham was 75 God told him his offspring would be like the dust of the earth. And then some years later, while Abraham was still childless, God had to revive Abrahams faith and remind him again that his offspring would be like the stars in the sky. He had to let Abraham know that He had not forgotten about him.
Let me just pause right here to encourage some of you who have been waiting on the Lord to move in your life. I need to let you know that He hasn't forgotten about you! (let your neighbor know that He hasn’t forgotten about them)
If the Lord has made you a promise, then you can count on that promise being fulfilled in His time. Don't give up, don't despair, but just keep on believing, keep on trusting in the Lord and He will bring it to pass!
A. V. 20 Your Faith Must Have the Right Direction - Verse 20 tells us clearly that Abraham "staggered not at the promise of God." This simply means that Abraham did not waver! He did not hesitate about any of the promises of God.
The reason Paul says He did not stagger or hesitate was because Abraham believed that the person Who gave the promise could not lie. He believed that with God all things are possible. He believed, without reservation, in God's ability to keep His Word!
And so the point for you and me is this. What do you believe about your God? When we allow unbelief to come in, that’s when we stagger at the promises of God. We don’t give up totally, we just begin to waver a little bit. We either think that what He has promises is too great for us or we just simply doubt His promises because we can’t see beyond our situation.
But it all boils down to whether or not you will believe God – not your current situation. Whether it is in salvation, or in any area of life, the results of your faith will always be determined by the direction of your faith. The bible says Abraham believed the Lord and it was credited to him as righteousness. Faith that is placed in God is faith that will always be rewarded!
C. V. 18-20 Your Faith Must Have Determination - There are three truths revealed about the faith of Abraham that serve as an encouragement to those who must live their lives in dependence upon the Lord.
1. Look at Vs. 18 Abraham Refused to Listen to Reason - Notice, Paul says "against hope, he believed in hope". This phrase was kind of confusing when I first read it, because I wondered, how can you have hope against hope? It didn’t make sense to me. But then as I studied this, it became clear that there are times when our hope can be against hope. (I just lost a bunch of ya’ll, so let me explain)
You see there was a natural hope against Abraham. All the arguments of reason and experience that usually gives and supports hope, were all against him. In other words, there was nothing tangible, nothing natural, nothing he could physically see in his favor that he could look upon as support for him to have hope that he and Sarah would have a son. There was hope against him. His age was against him. His physical make up was against him. Time was against him. The laws of nature was against him.
But against all those things that were against him, the bible says He still believed in hope. And the reason he could believe in hope was because his hope was in Someone greater than himself. His hope was in the Creator of the Heavens and Earth. His hope was in the all-sufficient God. His hope was in the all-knowing, all-powerful God.
If he allowed his eyes to focus on his circumstances, then he would have had every reason to doubt that the promise would ever be fulfilled.
If that was some of us, we would have given up a long time ago. We would have said things like, "I'm too old!"; "Sarah's all shriveled up like a prune, she's too old."; "We've already tried to have a baby when we were both young, it didn’t work then, so why should it work now?"; "I mean, it's a physical impossibility!"
But apparently, Abraham refused to dwell in the negative. God had given him a promise, and that was enough hope for him! And my brother/sisters, too many times we tend to dwell in the negative. But your faith must be a determined faith!
To be determined means to be strong-minded, single-minded, and gritty. Maybe that’s what Paul was talking about when he said in Philippians 3:14 “I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of Godin Christ Jesus.”
No matter what obstacles come your way, you must have hope against hope.
2. V. 19 He Refused to Look at Reality - Abraham refused to look at his situation, his eyes were on the promise of God. Can you imagine this old couple as they prepared for the birth of their son?
Age 78 – They start making lists of possible boy names.
85 - Sarah's friends give her a baby shower.
86 (still no baby) – they decorate the babies room
90 (Still no baby) – they Subscribe to New Parent magazine
96 – (still no baby) - Drives a practice run to the hospital
98 – (still no baby) – they Pack the suitcase and sets it by the tent door
99 – (still no baby)
Did he doubt? Sure he did, he was human! In Genesis 17:17-18, the bible says Abraham laughed when he heard the news that a baby would be born. He was 99 years old so could you blame him for laughing? Surely he and Sarah felt that the promise had passed them by.
Yes he laughed – they both laughed, but watch this - even though he laughed, he still acted on his belief! Does that make sense? Faith is not 100% certainty! Faith is belief mixed with unbelief, but action is taken on belief!
When we let the doubts win, that’s not faith. But when we trust God's Word, in spite of our doubts and act on it, that’s faith! Abraham was a man who believed and doubted at the same time, but he acted in faith!
What does all that say to us? It tells us that Faith is a battle. Faith is a struggle. There will be doubts and there will be times when we will feel like giving in to those doubts, but real faith never gives up. It always rests in the knowledge that God will do exactly what He has promised to do!
He Refused to Lose the Reward – He kept holding on to his faith - Abraham lived for 25 years with the knowledge that one-day God would give him and Sarah a child. He knew what God promised was going to happen, and he refused to let go of that truth. Abraham had his doubts, but he didn’t let them sidetrack him. He kept on for God and won the victory!
And the bible says He received the promise all because he responded to God's promise with an attitude of faith!
Conclusion:
I don't know what you need from the Lord this afternoon, but if you have His promise in the matter, then I challenge you to act on faith. Learn what faith is, Heb. 11:1 “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” Learn that faith pleases the Lord, Heb. 11:6 “without faith it’s impossible to please Him.” Learn that anything less than faith is sin, Rom. 14:23. After those lessons are learned, simply take God at His Word and hold on to your faith.
