Intro
Jesus made an alarming statement in the Sermon on the Mount: “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven. 22 On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ 23 Then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; go away from me, you who behave lawlessly (Matt. 7:21-23).’” I
None of us want to be one of those people who thought they were living in genuine faith, only to discover too late that it was a sham faith—a counterfeit that probably fooled others but also had a strong element of self-deception. On the surface, Judas appeared to be operating in the same faith as the other disciples. It looked a lot like the real thing. All the other disciples were undiscerning of his sham faith. In the upper room, when Jesus told the disciples that one of them would betray him, none of them knew it was Judas. In fact, each one began to ask: “Lord, is it I?” (Matt. 26:22 KJV). No one knew that it was Judas. Jesus was the only one who was not fooled by Judas’s lack of genuine faith.
Throughout our study of Romans 4, we have talked about faith. But what kind of faith is Paul talking about? What qualities must faith have in order to be saving faith? The promise of salvation is only to those who have the kind of faith Paul is speaking of in Romans 4. Saving faith is credited as righteousness by God. Sham faith is not.
Thankfully, Paul clarifies what saving faith is by using Abraham’s example. Faith is an action word, and it is understood by examining its fruit. One way we know a tree is an apple tree is by seeing apples hanging on its branches. One way we know faith is authentic is by observing the behavior that it produces. Jesus explained this in Matthew 7:16-20 when he said:
“You will know them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thorns or figs from thistles? 17 In the same way, every good tree bears good fruit, but the bad tree bears bad fruit. 18 A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. 19 Every tree that does not bear good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire. 20 Thus you will know them by their fruits.”
Jesus immediately followed that instruction with the warning that we quoted at the beginning of this message: “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven” (Matt. 7:21). There are many today who are professing Christian, saying to Christ, “Lord, Lord.” But their lifestyles do not reflect the will of the Father. Biblical faith is more than a profession. It is evidence by a commitment from the heart to do the will of God.
Romans 4:16-22 provides a clear view of what genuine faith looks like:
“For this reason the promise depends on faith, in order that it may rest on grace, so that it may be guaranteed to all his descendants, not only to the adherents of the law but also to those who share the faith of Abraham (who is the father of all of us, 17 as it is written, ‘I have made you the father of many nations’), in the presence of the God in whom he believed, who gives life to the dead and calls into existence the things that do not exist. 18 Hoping against hope, he believed that he would become ‘the father of many nations,’ according to what was said, ‘So shall your descendants be.’ 19 He did not weaken in faith when he considered his own body, which was already as good as dead (for he was about a hundred years old), and the barrenness of Sarah’s womb. 20 No distrust made him waver concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God, 21 being fully convinced that God was able to do what he had promised. 22 Therefore ‘it was reckoned to him as righteousness.”
Do you “share the faith of Abraham” (v. 16)? God justifies people who respond to him with Abraham’s kind of faith: “Therefore ‘it was reckoned to him as righteousness” (v. 22). In Romans 4, Paul uses Abraham as an example to teach justification by faith. In verses 16-22, he teaches the qualities of Abraham’s type of faith. As we examine this passage, we are not just doing a historical study. We are learning the quality of faith that we must operate in to inherit eternal life. The assurance of inheriting the promise is to those who (as stated in Romans 4:12) “follow the example of the faith that our ancestor Abraham had.” Today we will examine four characteristics of authentic faith as taught in verses 17 and 18. Next week we will expound verses 19-22 for an understanding of the other qualities Paul is addressing. Today: Four qualities of genuine faith that saves:
I. SAVING FAITH ACKNOWLEDGES GOD FOR WHO HE IS (v. 17).
The beginning point of biblical faith is God. Hebrews 11:6 says, “he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him” (NKJV). Saving faith is God-centered rather than man-centered or even religion-centered. God is the object of biblical faith.ii The promise of salvation that he offers is the object of our faith, but the promise is only as good as the Promiser.iii If I have faith in a promissory note, it is because I have faith in the person who signed that promissory note. Faith must begin with God himself. It must begin by acknowledging his existence and include an accurate revelation of who he is: “He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him” (NKJV).
Paul makes this point in Romans 4:17: “As it is written, ‘I have made you the father of many nations’ [Paul is quoting the promise in summary form]),iv in the presence of the God in whom he believed, who gives life to the dead and calls into existence the things that do not exist.”v This revelation of God helps us understand how Abraham could believe him for such an impossible promise. God is able to create from nothing.vi He created the universe from nothing. Do you think he might be able to solve your problem? The promise to Abraham included descendants as numerous as the stars in heaven.”vii Surely the one who can create from nothing can fulfill that promise.
The phrase “who gives life to the dead” is particularly relevant to Abraham’s need. As far as procreation is concerned, both Abraham and Sarah were dead. But if God can raise the dead, surely, he can give life to Sarah’s womb and enable them to conceive. A promise is only as good as the promisor’s ability to fulfill it. Abraham knew God as the one “who gives life to the dead and calls into existence the things that do not exist.”
How big is your God? Is he big enough to heal the sick? Is he big enough to supply your financial needs? First and foremost, faith depends on your revelation of God.viii
How can we discover who God is and what he is willing and capable of doing? He has revealed that in Scripture. By human wisdom, man cannot know God for who he is. Philosophers reason within themselves about what God might be like. Some come to the conclusion that he does not exist at all. Others decide that he created the universe but has little or no involvement in people’s daily lives. But 1 Corinthians 1:21 says, “For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, God decided, through the foolishness of the proclamation, to save those who believe.” We proclaim the revelation of God provided in Scripture. Human reasoning alone can never know God—can never know his nature—can never know his ability and availability to those who seek him in truth.
When people reject the authority of biblical revelation, they invariable imagine a distorted version of God.ix One person may imagine him to be an unloving, unreasonable, harsh tyrant. Another person may image him to be an indulgent old grandfatherly type who is tolerant of any and everything. The human mind can create its own idolatrous version of God.x Out of that people then try to place their faith in him. But it is not your imagined version of God that is reliable. It is God as he has revealed himself in the Bible. You must begin with an accurate concept of who God is.
When we proclaim the gospel, we are declaring God as he is revealed in Scripture and in his Son, Jesus Christ. That is an accurate declaration of the God who called the universe into existence out of nothing.xi That is a accurate declaration of God “who gives life to the dead.” When Paul uses that phrase, he is anticipating the application which he will make in verse 23-24: “Now the words, ‘it was reckoned to him,’ were written not for his sake alone 24 but for ours also. It will be reckoned to us who believe in him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead.” Saving faith believes “in him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead.”
II. SAVING FAITH TAKES GOD AT HIS WORD (V. 18).
Abraham’s faith was in the promise God made to him. It was not in something he simply wanted and then believed for. This is a popular misconception of faith in God. It is a fleshly attempt to use God in order to get the things the individual craves or wants. It is attractive because it keeps the individual in charge.xii A soul that is unsubmitted to God wants to stay in charge. But biblical faith entrusts itself to God’s will.xiii The fundamental problem of fallen man is his independence from the Creator. In fact, Adam’s fall was rooted in an act of independence and unwillingness to submit to the will of his Creator. If we are to operate in biblical faith, we must begin with the promise God initiates. Substituting our own desire simply will not work. We can certainly petition God for things. But a petition is not a promise. The object of our faith must be in what God has said he would do.
The wording in verse 18 brings this out: “Hoping against hope, he believed that he would become ‘the father of many nations,’ according to what was said, ‘So shall your descendants be.’” (emphasis mine). Abraham did not put his hope in what he wanted God to say. His hope was in what God actually said. Thankfully, those two things can be the same. In fact, they were in this particular case. But our faith must be anchored in the promise God makes, not in the future as we would design it.xiv
Without biblical revelation, we do not know what God has promised to do. Therefore, knowledge of the truth is foundational to operating in effective faith. The faith must be in the truth.
For a person to come to Christ in his initial experience, that person must receive the promise of the gospel. The gospel tells the sinner that on the cross, Jesus endured the punishment for his sin so that he could be forgiven and accepted by God. The effectiveness of Christ’s saving act on the cross was verified by God raising him from the dead. So, the promise is eternal life to all who put their faith in Christ. Romans 10:9 declares the promise: “. . . if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” When a person sincerely does that, then he is declared righteous by God.
That initial experience launces a life in relationship with God that is lived by faith. “The just shall live by faith” (Rom. 1:17 KJV). A life of faith is energized by an intimate relationship with God. Out of that relationship the person can accurately apply God’s promises to specific situations in life.xv For example, in Acts 27 Paul was involved in a terrible shipwreck. Everyone thought they were going to die. But Paul had faith in a promise God had given him. So, in Acts 27:22-25 Paul told those people:
“I urge you now to keep up your courage, for there will be no loss of life among you, but only of the ship. 23 For last night there stood by me an angel of the God to whom I belong and whom I worship, 24 and he said, ‘Do not be afraid, Paul; you must stand before the emperor, and, indeed, God has granted safety to all those who are sailing with you.’ 25 So keep up your courage, men, for I have faith in God that it will be exactly as I have been told.”
Why didn’t the other people know that promise? They were not living in the same intimacy with God that Paul lived in. They were not submitted to the will of God like Paul was. They did not know the revelation of Scripture like Paul knew it. Paul’s faith was exercised in the context of his relationship with God.xvi His faith was based on what God promised, not just what he would like to see happen. Paul did not make up an outcome and then believe for its fulfillment. He received a promise from God and trusted God to fulfill his promise. Listen carefully to Paul’s statement in Acts 27:25: “for I have faith in God that it will be exactly as I have been told.” His faith was “in God” and it was in what God had promised.xvii
Saving faith takes God at his word. It is based on biblical revelation. It trusts the promises of God. That is one reason knowing Scripture is so important.
III. SAVING FAITH OBEYS GOD (V. 18).
Why is this so? If a person takes God at his word, then he believes the results will be what God has said they would be. God has promised salvation to those who put their faith in Christ. A person with saving faith responds to the demand because he believes the promise: “. . .if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.”xviii The turning from sin to Christ is not a work that earns salvation. It is the response of the heart that receives salvation as a gift. There is a response to truth that is involved.
Charles Talbert uses Abraham’s response to explain this. He wrote, “When God approached Abraham, according to Paul’s Bible, He spoke both a promise and a demand. His promise was that Abraham’s descendants would be many (Gen 12:2; 15:4-5; 17:4-7) and that the land would be theirs (Gen 12:7; 13:17; 15:18; 17:8). His demand was that Abraham go from his father’s house to a land God would show him (Gen 12:1). If Abraham responded positively to God’s word, it would be because he believed it was true. That is, he trusted God’s promise and obeyed God’s demand because he was convinced that God was reliable, faithful, and true.”xix
In his epistle, James contrasted genuine faith with dead faith. James 2:17-23 says:
“So faith by itself, if it has no works, is dead. 18 But someone will say, ‘You have faith, and I have works.’ Show me your faith apart from works, and I by my works will show you faith. 19 You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe—and shudder. 20 Do you want to be shown, you senseless person, that faith apart from works is worthless? 21 Was not our ancestor Abraham justified by works when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? 22 You see that faith was active along with his works, and by works faith was brought to completion. 23 Thus the scripture was fulfilled that says, ‘Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness,’ and he was called the friend of God.” Notice James is quoting Genesis 15:6 just as Paul did in Romans 4:3.
Justification is by faith alone. But James helps us understand what that saving faith looks like. He contrasts justifying faith with worthless faith. Worthless faith may talk the talk, but it does not walk the walk. It is not that works are required for salvation. It is that saving faith believes at a level that it acts in accordance with what it professes to believe.
We opened this message by reading the words of Jesus in Matthew 7:21-23: “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven. 22 On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ 23 Then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; go away from me, you who behave lawlessly.’”xx
A distinguishing characteristic of worthless faith is lawlessness—a disregard for the boundaries God has set for human behavior. Just saying, “Lord, Lord,” is not sufficient. The person must regard Christ as Lord to the extent that he does what he tells him to do. Genuine faith acts in accordance with the professed belief. If someone yells, “fire,” in a crowded auditorium, the response is evidence as to whether people really believe the warning. Their actions will immediately demonstrate their faith in that person’s word. If people truly believe what the yeller is saying, then they will get up and exit the auditorium. If they don’t really believe what he is saying, they may remain in their seat and ignore the warning.
If we believe God is truthful, then we will believe his warnings just as much as we believe his promises. It is inconsistent and irrational to believe God is truthful yet reject part of what he says. Saving faith believes the result of our choices and actions will be according to God’s word. Proverbs 6:32-33 warns: “But he who commits adultery has no sense; he who does it destroys himself. 33 He will get wounds and dishonor, and his disgrace will not be wiped away.” If we really believe that is true, we will stop committing adultery. Ephesians 4:28 commands: “Those who steal must give up stealing.” If we have sincerely declared Jesus as my Lord (Rom. 10:9), we will give up stealing based on that revealed will of God. Genuine faith takes God’s warnings to heart as well as his promises.
That is why saving faith is repentant faith. That is why Paul included repentance in his call to salvation. An authentic faith response to the gospel inherently includes a turning from sin to God. In Romans 4, Paul has aggressively contended for justification by faith alone. He has contrasted that with any effort to gain favor from God through the merit of one’s own works. Justification is by faith alone. But it is essential that we understand the nature of that faith. It is not a superficial believism. It is a belief that drives the behavior. A belief that does not drive the behavior is a dead belief according to James.
Keeping in mind, Paul’s unbending contention of justification by faith alone, listen to what he says to King Agrippa in Acts 26:19-20: “After that, King Agrippa, I was not disobedient to the heavenly vision 20 but declared first to those in Damascus, then in Jerusalem and throughout the countryside of Judea, and also to the gentiles, that they should repent and turn to God and do deeds consistent with repentance.” The great champion of justification by faith alone insists that sinners “repent and turn to God and do deeds consistent with repentance.”
Therefore, saving faith is a repentant faith, and it is an obedient faith.xxi If the faith that you are professing in Christ produces no change in behavior, it is a dead faith.xxii It is not a saving faith. There is a very real danger at the final judgment that you will hear Christ say to you, “I never knew you; go away from me, you who behave lawlessly.” Real belief produces real behavior consistent with that belief.
Hebrews 11 illustrates over and over the actions people took because of authentic faith in their hearts. Hebrew 11:8 says, “By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going” (emphasis mine).xxiii He believed the promise enough to act accordingly.
IV. SAVING FAITH HOPES IN THE FULFILLMENT OF THE PROMISE REGARDLESS OF NATURAL IMPOSSIBILITIES (V. 18).
Look at verse 18: “Hoping against hope, he believed that he would become ‘the father of many nations,’ according to what was said, ‘So shall your descendants be.’” What does the phrase “hoping against hope” mean? “Here Paul is saying that Abraham believed against all hope: he believed when there was nothing from this world’s point of view to justify his faith or his hope.”xxiv
“There are two different hopes here: a human hope (which failed) and a God-given hope (which did not).xxv From a natural standpoint, the promise was hopeless. But because the promise was from the Almighty God who cannot lie (Titus 1:2), Abraham was altogether hopeful of its fulfillment. He hoped in spite of the hopeless circumstances. Do you have an impossible situation? God specializes in things that are impossible. I am reminded of the old chorus that asks:
“Got any rivers you think are uncrossable?
Got any mountains you can't tunnel through?
God specializes in things thought impossible,
And He will do what no other power can do.”xxvi
Hope in the New Testament is stronger than the way we normally use the word. We often use the word as a synonym of wish, expressing something we desire but doubt will happen. The New Testament word elpis (hope) means a “favorable and confident expectation.”xxvii It is more than “hope so” wishful thinking. There is an element of certainty in it that makes it closely akin to faith.
Abraham’s faith rose above the information of his five senses. His vision of this situation was elevated above what the natural eye can see. Like Moses after him, “he saw him who is invisible” (Heb. 11:27). He did not place his faith in the probabilities of natural circumstances. He looked beyond all that to the Eternal One “who gives life to the dead and calls into existence the things that do not exist.” His faith was strong because his confidence was in him “who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think” (Eph. 3:20 NKJV).
Conclusion
In this message, we have held up before you the mirror of God’s word (James 1:22-25). That mirror gives us opportunity to examine the nature of our professed faith in Christ. Is it resting on an accurate revelation of who God is? Is it based on the promises revealed in inspired Scripture? Does our faith bear the fruit of obedience or are we living in the same lawlessness we lived in before our profession of Christ? These are searching questions, but our eternal destiny depends on the answers. In the end, we do not want to hear the Lord say to us: “go away from me, you who behave lawlessly (Matt. 7:23)” Instead, we want to hear him say: “Well done, good and faithful servant; you have been faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord’ (Matt. 25:23 NKJV).
If you do not have the assurance in your heart that your faith is genuine, saving faith, we would like to pray with you about that concern. As we close this message, our prayer teams are making themselves available to pray with you. Please come and let them join with you in prayer. Regardless of the need these prayer teams are available to you. Come now as we sing “I Surrender All.”
ENDNOTES:
i All Scripture quotes are from the New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition (NRSVUE) unless indicated otherwise.
ii Jesus said in Mark 11:22, “Have faith in God.”
iii “The object of Abraham’s faith was God, and in particular His promise. . . .” John MacArthur, Romans 1-8, The MacArthur New Testament Commentary (Chicago, IL: Moody Publishers, 1991), 263.
iv This is an exact quote from Genesis 17:5 in the Septuagint (LXX).
v In this verse, Cranfield understands katenanti to mean “in the sight of.” The NIV translates it with those words, and this is its most likely meaning. Cranfield, Romans 1-8, 244. Murray suggests the possibility that it means Abraham’s faith was “exercised and maintained in the presence of God (cf. Gen. 17:1; II Cor. 2:17).” Murray, The Epistle to the Romans, 146. Cf. Longenecker, The Epistle to the Romans, 517.
vi Cranfield says, “There is little doubt that the reference is to God’s creatio ex nihilo.” Cranfield, Romans 1-8, 244. Murray says it is “referring to things determined by God to come to pass but which have not yet been fulfilled. These thigs do not yet exist, but since determined by God they are ‘called’ by him as having existence. The certainty of their futurition is just as secure as if they had come to pass.” Murray, The Epistle to the Romans, 147. Regardless of whether Murray or Cranfield is correct, the text is most certainly communicating God’s ability to fulfill his promises.
vii Romans 4:18 says, “So shall your descendants be.” a quote from Genesis 15:5.
viii A. W. Tozer wrote: “What comes into our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us.” A. W. Tozer, The Knowledge of the Holy (New York: HarperCollins, 1978), 1.
ix Tozer prayed: “They that know Thee not may call upon Thee as other than Thou art and so worship not Thee but a creature of their own fancy, therefore, enlighten our minds that we may know Thee as Thou art. . . .” A. W. Tozer, The Knowledge of the Holy (New York: HarperCollins, 1978), 1.
x Cf. Rom. 1:22-23.
xi Cf. John 14:7-9; Col. 2:2; Heb. 1:1-3.
xii Those caught up in this error often teach various techniques for making faith work, i.e., positive thinking, positive confession, etc. It essentially amounts to faith in faith rather than faith in God.
xiii Cf. Matt. 6:10; 7:21; John 5:30.
xiv Cf. Ps. 37:23; Prov. 19:21; Jer. 10:23; Eph. 2:10.
xv Keeping with Abraham’s example, we see him interacting with God in Genesis 12:1; 15:1-9; 17:1-9; 22:1-3, 15-18.
xvi New Testament Christianity must be lived in relational communion with the Lord. In this way, the Holy Spirit enables the believer to accurately apply biblical revelation/promises to specific life situations. God sent the Holy Spirit to lead us (John 16:13), and we are not to mechanically use Scripture apart from a vibrant relationship with God himself.
xvii What if Paul had decided to believe for no shipwreck at all? His faith would not have been effective because he would have been contending for something contrary to God’s plan. First John 5:14-15 says, “And this is the boldness we have in him, that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. 15 And if we know that he hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have obtained the requests made of him” (emphasis mine). Just tagging our prayers with the statement, “if it by thy will,” is not what John has in mind. We are supposed to be in intimacy with him so that we hear him and then operate in faith based on his revealed will. We have an example of that in Acts 27. For additional explanation see Richard W. Tow, Authentic Christianity: Studies in 1 John (Bloomington, IN: WestBow Press, 2019), 367-380.
xviii Rom. 10:9.
xix Charles H. Talbert, Romans, Smyth & Helwys Bible Commentary, R. Scott Nash, ed. (Macon GA: Smyth & Helwys Publishers, 2002), 124.
xx The activity described in Matt. 7:22 is not dead, ritualistic religion. We have dealt with that in a previous teaching. The works they say they were doing sounds much like what Jesus said his followers would do (Mark 16:17-18) and what the early church did. This brings out just how deceptive counterfeit faith can be (Matt. 24:24).
xxi Included in the Great Commission is this instruction in Matthew 28:20: “teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you.” First John 3:7 warns: “Little children let no one deceive you. Everyone who does what is right is righteous, just as he is righteous.” For additional explanation see Tow, Authentic Christianity, 170-172.
xxii In 1 Cor. 6:9-10, Paul indicates the kind of lifestyles that disqualifies people from salvation. Then in the verse that follows (v. 11) he says, “And this is what some of you used to be. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God.” The exercise of authentic faith in Christ resulted in a change in the way they lived.
xxiii Although Romans 4 does not explicitly say that Abraham’s faith was obedient faith, it is implied in overall description of Abrahams faith in Romans 4. Furthermore, his obedience is specifically stated in his history (Gen.
12:2, 4; 22:8) and in texts like Hebrews 11:8 and James 2:17-26. Abraham had the kind of faith that produced the fruit of obedience.
xxiv Leon Morris, The Epistle to the Romans, 210. Bultmann explains, “where we can no longer count on controllable factors, we have to trust in the divine future.” TDNT, vol. II, 531.
xxv Leon Morris, The Epistle to the Romans, 210.
xxvi Oscar C. Eliason, “Got Any Rivers?” Accessed at . https://musescore.com/song/got_any_rivers-2431566.
xxvii “Hope,” Vine's Expository Dictionary of Biblical Words” (Grand Rapids: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1985). Accessed in BibleSoft data base. Also see Louw-Nida Lexicon.
