Intro
In Romans 4, Paul uses Abraham as a model for how to be saved. He makes this statement in verse 13: “For the promise that he would be the heir of the world was not to Abraham or to his seed through the law, but through the righteousness of faith.”i The promise of being heir of the world is the promise of salvation including a future of ruling and reigning with Christ. Roman 8:16-17 assures the spiritual children of Abraham of this inheritance: “The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, 17 and if children, then heirs — heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together.” God has a glorious future for all those who are declared righteous by God.ii
But this promise cannot be received by observing the law. Trying to gain righteousness by observing the law ends in condemnation rather than justification simply because of our inability to measure up to the standard. So, we receive the promise “through the righteousness of faith” (Rom. 4:13). One reason it must be that way is that “the law brings about wrath” (v. 15). It ultimately condemns the person because we all come short of its requirements.iii
In Romans 4:16 we are given another reason why justification is by faith alone: “Therefore it is of faith that it might be according to grace, so that the promise might be sure. . . .” In our last message, we began processing that statement. God’s way of salvation had to be based on the principle of faith, not law, so that the promise might be “according to grace.” If it is according to grace, then it comes to us a gift from God. Otherwise, we have to earn it by keeping the law, and that is impossible for us to do. If the promise depended on our performance, it would not be a secure promise. It would rest on the flimsy, faltering attempts of human effort. But if it is “according to grace,” then it depends on the omnipotent, unshakable faithfulness of God Almighty.
A SURE PROMISE
Grace is based on the goodness and benevolence of the giver, not the ability or performance of the receiver. When the giver is God, it is absolutely secure because God does not change (Mal. 3:6). “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning” (James 1:17). His favor toward you is not here one day and gone the next. His love is steadfast toward his children. A responsible father has a steadfast love for his children. But the sureness of that favor is far inferior to that of your heavenly Father.
The adjective translated “sure” in Romans 4:16 is bebaios. It means “such ideas as ‘firm,’ ‘permanent,’ ‘reliable, ‘dependable,’ and ‘steadfast.”iv The NIV translates it “guaranteed.” In fact, the nuance of the word most applicable in this text is “legally guaranteed security.”v It is guaranteed by the omnipotence of God himself. We can take much comfort in that.
Banks understand this concept well. If I sign a promissory note for one million dollars with my resources and earning power, the promise to repay is on shaky ground. That promise is not very secure. But if Elon Musk signs it and puts up his Tesla stock as security, the bank has nothing to worry about. The promise is bebaios. It is guaranteed. It is secure. If the promise is based on our performance, we have a lot to worry about. But if it rests on God’s faithfulness, it is something we can count on. God has the resources and integrity to make the promise absolutely secure (Heb. 6:13).
How many Christians live in a state of anxiety and uncertainty because they do not comprehend the significance of Romans 4:16? They try very hard to be good, but down deep they know it is not good enough. They constantly beg God for mercy. Their attention is focused on staying saved because they do not know how reliable God’s grace is. Did God extend grace, unmerited favor, to you the day you became a believer? At that time, you were a rebellious enemy; yet he mercifully saved you.vi How much more, now that you are his child.
Listen to the assurance given in Romans 5:8-11: “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. 9 Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him. 10 For if when we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life.” Understanding the grace God has toward his children provides the footing we need to walk in the Spirit and war in the Spirit. “Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” (Rom. 8:1 NIV).vii Our confidence is in his faithfulness, not our own performance.
“Blessed assurance, Jesus is mine!
Oh what a foretaste of glory divine!
Heir of salvation, purchase of God.
Born of His Spirit, washed in His blood.”viii
THE ONE ESSENTIAL
The key to all this assurance is being “in Christ.”ix And that depends on only one thing: faith. “God’s plan was made to rest upon faith on man’s side in order that on God’s side it might be a matter of grace.”x Faith is the channel or means of receiving salvation through Christ, and it is the means of staying saved.
How does a person stay saved? It is by continuing in the same faith that you initially exercised toward Christ. The same faith that got you saved is the faith that keeps you saved. For by faith, you stand.xi In Roman 11:19-22, Paul says to gentile believers:
“You will say then, ‘Branches were broken off that I might be grafted in.’ [The branches refer to ethnic Jews who failed to believe.] 20 Well said. Because of unbelief they were broken off, and you stand by faith.” Douglas Moo comments, “It is faith, and faith alone—characterized by humility and receptivity—that is the only way to establish or to maintain a relationship with God (3:27-4:5)” (emphasis mine).xii
In our discussions of Romans 4, we have focused on establishing relationship with God through faith. We must also understand that maintaining relationship with God is through faith as well. It is not through works; it is through faith. “Without faith it is impossible to please God (Heb. 11:6).
If a person casts away their faith in Christ, they cannot be saved because faith is the channel through which we access the grace of God (Rom. 5:2).xiii Romans 11:20 again: “Well said. Because of unbelief they were broken off, and you stand by faith.” This is one reason the current deconstruction movement is so alarming. I am referring to those who once professed evangelical faith and “use deconstruction to describe their departure from Christianity altogether.”xiv You stand by faith. To turn from that faith removes access to the grace by which a person is saved. It is very, very serious.
Romans 11:20-22: “Well said. Because of unbelief they were broken off, and you stand by faith. Do not be haughty, but fear. 21 For if God did not spare the natural branches, He may not spare you either. 22 Therefore consider the goodness and severity of God: on those who fell, severity; but toward you, goodness, if you continue in His goodness. Otherwise you also will be cut off.”
That does not sound like “once saved, always saved” does it? “If [it is conditional] you continue in His goodness. Otherwise you also will be cut off.” The branches that were broken off [ethnic Jews] were broken off “because of their unbelief.” It was a faith issue. The lack of faith manifests in sinful behavior, but unbelief was the key issue. The warning to Christians in Hebrews 3:12 is: “Beware, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief in departing from the living God.”xv Departing from God is an issue of unbelief in the heart.
The guarantee in Romans 4:16 is to those who believe. God does not guarantee the promise to those in unbelief. If he did, everyone would be saved. And that is simply not biblical. “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life” (John 3:16). The Greek word translated believes is in the present tense. The believing must continue. Daniel Wallace writes, “The present was the tense of choice most likely because the NT writers by and large saw continual belief as a necessary condition of salvation” (emphasis Wallace’s).xvi
Romans 4:16 is a powerful source of assurance for the believer. But the promise is not guaranteed to those who turn away from the faith, no more than it is to those who refuse to ever believe. We should draw strength from the guarantee proclaimed in Romans 4:16. But we must not presumptuously take it beyond its intent. It does not mean “once saved always saved.” But it does mean the promise is sure and guaranteed by God himself to all who continue in faith.
Paul wrote to the Colossian believers, “And you, who once were alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now He has reconciled 22 in the body of His flesh through death, to present you holy, and blameless, and above reproach in His sight — 23 if indeed you continue in the faith, grounded and steadfast, and are not moved away from the hope of the gospel which you heard . . .” (Col. 1:21-23). We cannot take out the condition that is stated in inspired scripture: “if indeed you continue in the faith.” That has no meaning if once you have been saved you could never be lost.
Paul told the Christians at Corinth, “Examine yourselves as to whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Do you not know yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you? — unless indeed you are disqualified (KJV: reprobates)” (2 Cor. 13:5). Exhortations like that are meaningless under a concept of once saved always saved. It is “through faith and patience” that we inherit the promises (Heb. 6:12). The promise is secure, but inheritance of the promise depends on faith.xvii Hebrews 10:38-39: “Hebrews 10:38-39: “‘Now the just shall live by faith; But if anyone draws back, My soul has no pleasure in him.’ 39 But we are not of those who draw back to perdition, but of those who believe to the saving of the soul.” When a Christian turns from faith in Christ, it is called apostacy.xviii
The Bible predicts a great falling away from the faith in the last days. 1 Timothy 4:1 warns: “Now the Spirit expressly says that in latter times some will depart from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons.”xix According to a twenty-year study ending in 2020, practicing Christians in America declined from 45% to 25% of the population. According to this study by the Barna Group “practicing Christians has nearly dropped in half since 2000.”xx Furthermore, church attendance is now less that it was at the time of that report.xxi
Continued faith is the one essential for inheriting the promise.xxii Before the ordeal of the cross, Jesus warned Peter about the temptation he would face. In Luke 22:31 he said to him: “Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to sift all of you as wheat. 32 But I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith may not fail. . . .” He didn’t pray that Peter would not fail. Peter did fail. He did sin. He denied the Lord three times. But his faith did not fail. His faith in Christ remained even though he was committing the sin of denying the Lord.xxiii
Salvation is entered into by faith in Christ. Salvation is maintained by faith in Christ. I came to the Lord in an old fashion Pentecostal church. The church believed that if you committed a sin, you lost your salvation. If that were the case, everyone would be lost because one sin causes us to be guilty of the whole law according to James 2:10. First John 1:8 says, “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.”xxiv Legalistic groups often develop categories of sin to distinguish between sins that cost you your salvation versus sins that are not so bad. For Catholics, venial sins do not cost you your salvation, but mortal sins do.xxv However, these categories are not in the Bible.
It is the failure of faith, the turning from faith, that disqualifies a person from the promise of eternal life. Sin is not what causes apostacy, although sin puts the person on a slippery slope that could end in apostacy. Sin hardens the heart, and it is a hard heart of unbelief that deprives people of the promise. Hebrews 3:12-14 warns, “Beware, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief in departing from the living God; 13 but exhort one another daily, while it is called ‘Today,’ lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin. 14 For we have become partakers of Christ if we hold the beginning of our confidence steadfast to the end.”
Sin has its consequences in a Christian’s life. “Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap” (Gal. 6:7). God chastens his children, and that chastening can be severe, even unto physical death.xxvi But the most alarming thing is the slippery slope sin puts the Christian on and the danger of apostacy at the bottom of that slope.
Sin will take you farther than you want to go,
keep you longer than you want to stay,
and cost you more than you want to pay.xxvii
Sin in a Christian’s life is a serious matter.
But the loss of salvation happens when faith in Christ is abandoned.
AVAILABLE TO ALL WHO BELIEVE
Romans 4:16-17: “Therefore it is of faith that it might be according to grace, so that the promise might be sure to all the seed, 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, "I have made you a father of many nations") in the presence of Him whom he believed — God, who gives life to the dead and calls those things which do not exist as though they did.” The primary theme in those verse is the guarantee of the promise based on grace. We have talked about that extensively.
A secondary theme in the text is that this salvation by grace through faith is available to all, Jew and gentile: “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.” All who believe are children of Abraham.
Paul supports that truth in verse 17 by quoting Old Testament scripture. “As it is written, ‘I have made you a father of many nations.” That is an exact quote from the Septuagint, Genesis 17:5. Paul interprets it as a promise for the salvation of gentiles as well as the Jews.xxviii Since we have already talked about the universality of the promise to both Jews and gentiles, we are only mentioning this secondary theme.
In the verses that follow, the focus turns to the kind of faith Abraham had—the kind of faith we are to walk in as well.xxix That will be our subject in the next message. We want to make sure that (1) we have the kind of faith that results in salvation and (2) we continue in it unto the end.xxx
ENDNOTES:
i All Scripture quotes are from the New King James Version unless indicated otherwise.
ii Cf. 2 Tim. 2:12; Titus 3:7; Rev. 5:10. See #42 “Legalism Exposed” for explanation of the scope of the promise. “And this is the promise that He has promised us — eternal life” (1 John 2:25). “This, as Paul explains it, Gal. iii:16 &e., had direct reference to the blessings of redemption through Jesus Christ, who was the seed of Abraham.” Hodge, Commentary on the Epistle to the Romans, 119.
iii Cf. Rom. 3:20-24; Gal. 2:16.
iv Longenecker, The Epistle to the Romans, 514.
v Adolf Deissmann, Bible Studies, 104-109 in Longenecker, The Epistle to the Romans, 514.
vi Cf. Rom. 4:5; Eph. 2:4-7.
vii There is strong textual evidence that the phrases retained in the NKJV “who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit” are inserted from verse 4 and are not in the original. See Cranfield, Romans 1-8, 373; Dunn, Romans 1-8, 414.
viii Fanny J. Crosby, “Blessed Assurance” in Hymns of Glorious Praise (Springfield, MO: Gospel Publishing House, 1969)44.
ix To be “in Christ” is to live under his covenant headship (Heb. 8:6). His covenant is with the Father ratified by the blood of the cross. It is secure because it is a covenant between God and God, between God the Son and God the Father empowered by the Holy Spirit. The Christian’s relationship with God is not based on his own individual covenant with the Father. If it were, the weakness of the covenant would be on the human side where failure would be possible (as in the Mosaic Covenant). But when a person surrenders his life and destiny under the provision of Christ, he comes under an “everlasting covenant” that cannot be broken (Heb. 13:20). Understanding this everlasting
covenant and our relationship with the Father through it is a significant source of assurance. Explaining this more fully is beyond the scope of this message. Relevant to this message is this fact: The Christian participates in this covenant through faith.
x Barrett quoted in Moo, The Epistle to the Romans, 278.
xi Cf. 2 Cor. 1:24; 1 Thess. 3:8.
xii Douglas Moo, The Epistle to the Romans, 705.
xiii We are correct when we say that we are saved by grace. But we must be connected with that grace by faith. My house is powered electrically by an amazing power station, but I must be connected in order to enjoy the benefits. I can talk all day long about how wonderful that power station is, but I get no light from it and I get no power from it if my line is not connected to it. Notice the word access in Romans 5:2: “Through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God” (emphasis mine).
xiv Jon Bloom, “What Does ‘Deconstruction’ Even Mean?” Feb. 15, 2022, Desiring God. Accessed at https://www.desiringgod.org/articles/what-does-deconstruction-even-mean#Responding%20to%20Deconstructing%20Christianslink. Bloom correctly points out the diverse and confusing ways that the term is used.
xv You cannot depart from somewhere you have never been. Paul is warning Christians about the danger of depart from their faith—turning from relationship with the living God.
xvi Daniel B. Wallace, Greek Grammar Beyond the Basics, 621.
xvii Cf. Heb. 10:26-36; 2 Pet. 2:21-22; Jude 1:4-7, 12.
xviii “APOSTASY; APOSTATE (a-pos'-ta-si), (a-pos'-tat) (he apostasia, ‘a standing away from’): I.e. a falling away, a withdrawal, a defection. Not found in the English Versions of the Bible, but used twice in the New Testament, in the Greek original [Acts 21:21; 2 Thess. 2:3], to express abandonment of the faith.” International Standard Bible Encyclopaedia, Electronic Database Copyright (c)1996 by Biblesoft).
xix Cf. 2 Thess. 2:3.
xx “Signs of Decline & Hope Among Key Metrics of Faith,” March 4, 2020, Barna. Accessed at https://www.barna.com/research/changing-state-of-the-church/.
xxi Jeffrey M. Jones, “U.S. Church Attendance Still Lower Than Pre-Pandemic,” June 26, 2023, Gallup. Accessed at https://news.gallup.com/poll/507692/church-attendance-lower-pre-pandemic.aspx.
xxii The faith we are speaking of is a saving faith. A continued mental assent to a set of religious doctrines is not sufficient. This will be discussed more fully in the next message.
xxiii Peter’s denial was not a renouncing of the faith. He lied about being one of Jesus’s disciples. That was serious sin that had to repent of (Matt. 26:875). But it was not apostacy. Jesus’s prayer for Peter was answered.
xxiv Notice the “we” includes the Apostle John and is the same “we” in the next verse (1 John 1:9).
xxv The Catholic Church has tried to deal with this issue by creating two categories of sin: Mortal sin severs relationship with God, whereas, “venial sin does not deprive the sinner of sanctifying grace, friendship with God, charity, and consequently, eternal happiness.” Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2nd ed., no. 1863. Accessed at http://scborromeo.org/ccc/para/1863.htm. See also paragraph 1861 concerning mortal sin. Under the Mosaic Law sins of ignorance were distinguished from others. But this primarily related to intentional ceremonial defilement (Num. 15:27-28).
xxvi Cf. Heb. 12:3-11; 1 Cor. 5:5; 11:30; 2 Cor. 5:10. Acts 5:1-11 may be a case in point.
xxvii Ravi Zaccharias, “R Zaccharias Quotes,” Goodreads. Accessed at https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/746709-sin-will-take-you-farther-than-you-want-to-go.
xxviii Cf. Gal. 3:7-8.
xxix Rom. 4:12. 23-25.
xxx After warnings about end time deception and defection, Jesus said in Matthew 24:13: “But he who endures to the end shall be saved.” Whatever happens, may we all continue in the faith. Although Calvinists and Arminians differ some in their theology, both agree that perseverance is a salvation necessity.
