Series: Action [#127]
THE CURE- A PERFECT CREDIT RATING
Romans 4:1-25
Introduction:
Today is the 2nd week of the Advent Season. The Advent Season is the 4 Sundays before Christmas. We look back to Christ’s 1st arrival and look forward to His 2nd and final arrival. Advent is a word that means arrival. When Jesus was born, He was proclaimed as the Savior.
Isaiah 9:1-2
The 2nd week of Advent focuses on peace. Isaiah, and the other Prophets were seeing war and destruction on every side; but through Jesus, God promised peace.
As we continue to look at the cure, I want us to see how we can have a perfect credit rating. Before you purchase a house, take out a loan, etc…, they will run your credit rating. In order to have a perfect credit rating, you must be able to pay all of your debts off on time.
Spiritually speaking, we are all in debt. Sin cost a great deal. Sin cost Adam and Eve their lives and they passed the nature of sin down to each generation. Sin cost Adam and Eve their fellowship with God. Sin cost the lives of innocent animals for sacrifice. Sin can cost us eternal punishment in Hell. Through the years, people have tried many ways to pay for their sins. Our text uses Abraham as an example of how to have a perfect credit rating with God.
Romans 4:1-8
A perfect credit rating with God…
1. Is not earned.
God had promised Abraham that He would make him the Father of a great nation and that there would be many people in his family. The interesting part of this promise is that Abraham was 85 years old at the time that God gave him this promise. The idea that an 85-year-old man and a 75 year-old-woman was going to have a large family when they had no children seemed crazy; but Abraham believed this promise and God credited to him as righteousness. Abraham didn’t earn this. God is the One who chose to use Abraham. God could have chosen anyone that He chose to be the Father of a Great Nation.
We are no different- You did not choose God; He chose you. God is the One who chose to send Jesus to this Earth and pay our price and it wasn’t because of anything you have done. Isn’t it an amazing thing that through the blood of Jesus, God has credited to you righteousness. That means that your credit with God is paid in full.
Romans 4:9-12
A perfect credit rating with God…
2. Is not found in a group.
Abraham was born in Ur of the Chaldeans where the people were Moon Worshippers. God chose Abraham to be the head of a nation who would worship Jehovah God. Abraham started out in the wrong group of people; but God called him out of that group. To the Jews, circumcision was everything and they had a hard time understanding how anyone could be a Christian without it. Paul was pointing out that Abraham’s faith was credited to him as righteousness before he was circumcised.
This is proof to us that just because we belong to a certain denomination, or we have been baptized, etc…; doesn’t mean that we are saved. Jesus died for all sinners, whether Jew or Gentile.
Romans 4:13-15
A perfect credit rating with God…
3. Is not found in rules.
The Law was given to Moses, who was on the scene many years after Abraham was dead and gone. The promise was not based on the rules; but on faith.
Romans 4:16-25
A perfect credit rating with God…
4. Comes from faith.
Not only did Abraham have faith in God’s making him the Father of the Nation Israel; but his faith continued when he was preparing to offer his son Isaac on the altar. Abraham knew in his heart that God would present another sacrifice; but was willing to offer up his own son as a sacrifice.
Conclusion:
Through Jesus Christ, we have been bought and paid for in full. We stand before God the Father justified. It has been credited to us as righteousness. God sees us as perfect through the blood of Jesus. We must continue to walk by faith and not by sight.
True peace is only found in Jesus.
