025 The Effectiveness of Faith – Part 3
Romans 4:13-17
November 5, 2017
Well it seems like it’s been years since we gathered together to continue in our study on the 500 years of Reformation. And I have to apologize that until we reach the new year it’s probably not going to get much better. November and December make life tough on having any continuity to a Sunday night study.
However, we do have a couple of weeks
Before our next interruption so let’s move forward.
You will remember that we are working through the 5 SOLAS
Which came out of the Reformation.
• We have looked at SOLA SCRIPTURA
• We have looked at SOLA GRATIA
• And we are currently looking at SOLA FIDE which is the belief that we are
justified before God BY FAITH ALONE
In this third SOLA we are talking about some various realities.
1) THE NECESSITY OF FAITH
• And you will remember that we looked at Hebrews 11 and reacquainted ourselves with that foundational truth that faith is absolutely necessary.
Hebrews 11:6 “And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him.”
But as we said, I don’t know of really any who claim Christianity in any form who deny the necessity of faith.
ROME says faith is necessary.
The CHURCH OF CHRIST says faith is necessary.
On this we all pretty much agree.
Where THE DIVISION BEGINS to occur is on the next point we have been discussing which is THE EFFECTIVENESS OF FAITH
Or perhaps a better title would be THE SUFFICIENCY OF FAITH.
It is the idea that Faith is
ALL that is required for a man to be justified before God.
This is where the Reformers really began to distance themselves from Rome, which required sacraments and penance and indulgences and all sorts of other works in addition to faith if a man was to be justified.
Perhaps you will remember the equation we talked about last time.
Rome says: Faith + Works = Justification
Reformers say: Faith = Justification + Works
There is a great difference.
But that is what we are discussing.
And so in our study of Scripture we have turned to Romans 4
And the man named Abraham to see precisely how justification works.
Romans 4:1 “What then shall we say that Abraham, our forefather according to the flesh, has found?”
And if you will recall Paul began this argument
By really JUMPING ON 2 WORDS.
The first word came out of Genesis 15 and it is the word “credited”.
Romans 4:4-5 “Now to the one who works, his wage is not credited as a favor, but as what is due. But to the one who does not work, but believes in Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is credited as righteousness,”
Paul’s point is that if Abraham had done anything to earn righteousness, Then it is not possible to use the word “credited”.
The word “credited” can only be applied to a situation
Where a person receives something that they did not earn.
The second word came out of Psalms 32 and is the word “blessed”
That is another word that cannot be used in regard to someone
Who was forced to pay for what they received.
Romans 4:6-8 “just as David also speaks of the blessing on the man to whom God credits righteousness apart from works: “BLESSED ARE THOSE WHOSE LAWLESS DEEDS HAVE BEEN FORGIVEN, AND WHOSE SINS HAVE BEEN COVERED. “BLESSED IS THE MAN WHOSE SIN THE LORD WILL NOT TAKE INTO ACCOUNT.”
David used the word “blessed” because he did not earn what he received.
Had he earned it he would have had to use a word like
“just” or “deserved” or “due” or “worthy”
So we learned at the outset of this chapter that
According to two Old Testament saints,
Righteousness and forgiveness WERE NOT EARNED.
They were a blessing that was credited to those who did not deserve it.
LAST TIME we met we moved forward and addressed another argument.
There are those who would say:
“God might give righteousness,
But He gives it to those who do what is required.”
It is a misunderstanding of the relationship between faith and works.
So Paul asks a pivotal question regarding the TIMING OF JUSTIFICATION.
Romans 4:10 “How then was it credited? While he was circumcised, or uncircumcised? Not while circumcised, but while uncircumcised;”
What we learn from the Genesis timeline is that
• Abraham didn’t do anything until after he was declared righteous.
• Abraham’s works played absolutely no role in his justification.
• All Abraham’s works did was verify what type of faith he had.
• His works proved his faith was the real deal.
Romans 4:11 “and he received the sign of circumcision, a seal of the righteousness of the faith which he had while uncircumcised, so that he might be the father of all who believe without being circumcised, that righteousness might be credited to them,”
We learned that works do not produce or earn or participate
In the process of justification.
All works do is prove that justification has genuinely occurred.
And of course, as we looked at, this was the main point of James.
Faith justifies, but it has to be real faith;
Namely the type of faith that produces works.
In fact, if you have no works it only indicates that you have no faith.
And if you have no faith, then you are not justified.
It is a concept common referred to as “Lordship Salvation”.
It is the belief that a person is justified by faith alone, but if that faith does no produce a life change of obedience then it was no saving faith.
Works are important, but only as verification,
Not as a means of earning righteousness.
So, thus far in our study of the effectiveness of faith,
We have found that faith is all that Abraham had and all that God required
In order to grant him forgiveness and righteousness.
Tonight we move forward in our look at Romans 4.
And here we introduce a new word to consider.
Paul speaks of “the promise”.
(13) “For the promise to Abraham or to his descendants that he would be heir of the world was not through the Law, but through the righteousness of faith.”
Earlier Paul spoke of justification
And said that Abraham achieved that by faith alone,
Now Paul speaks of the promise
In order to determine how Abraham received it.
WHAT WAS THE PROMISE?
Well it was reiterated to Abraham several times.
Genesis 12:1-3 “Now the LORD said to Abram, “Go forth from your country, And from your relatives And from your father’s house, To the land which I will show you; And I will make you a great nation, And I will bless you, And make your name great; And so you shall be a blessing; And I will bless those who bless you, And the one who curses you I will curse. And in you all the families of the earth will be blessed.”
Genesis 12:7 “The LORD appeared to Abram and said, “To your descendants I will give this land.” So he built an altar there to the LORD who had appeared to him.”
Genesis 13:14-18 “The LORD said to Abram, after Lot had separated from him, “Now lift up your eyes and look from the place where you are, northward and southward and eastward and westward; for all the land which you see, I will give it to you and to your descendants forever. “I will make your descendants as the dust of the earth, so that if anyone can number the dust of the earth, then your descendants can also be numbered. “Arise, walk about the land through its length and breadth; for I will give it to you.” Then Abram moved his tent and came and dwelt by the oaks of Mamre, which are in Hebron, and there he built an altar to the LORD.”
And again in Genesis 17 and again in Genesis 22.
However for our purposes I want to look at it in Genesis 15.
TURN TO: GENESIS 15
Of course you remember the setting of this chapter.
• It immediately follows after Abraham rescued Lot and was blessed by Melchizedek.
• And God opens the chapter by reminding Abraham that he made the right decision and that He was going to bless him greatly.
• Of course at this point Abraham says, “What good will it do, my heir is actually a servant born in my house?”
• And God reveals that he will have a son
• And of course we then read that Abraham believed God and God credited that to him as righteousness.
So Abraham is convinced that God will give him a son
And through that son will make his descendants like the stars of the sky.
But next we move to the issue of the promise,
And that is regarding the land God had promised to give him.
Verse 8, “He said, “O Lord GOD, how may I know that I will posses it?”
And then comes God’s verification to Abraham.
(READ 9-21)
Now that is the promise yet again reiterated,
AND THIS TIME IT EVEN COMES WITH PROOF.
God actually cuts a covenant with Abraham.
• Abraham cuts up a heifer and ewe and a ram and then he sets up the dove and the pigeon
• And God passes through the pieces.
The implication being, “May such happen to Me, if I fail to keep My word”
We also notice that Abraham did not pass through the pieces, only God.
This was a one-way covenant.
It all hinged upon God, not Abraham.
So now you are familiar with the promise and the circumstances surrounding it.
This is what Paul is about to refer to.
And he has two main points regarding the certainty of this promise and faith.
#1 IF FAITH ISN’T SUFFICIENT THE PROMISE IS NULLIFIED
Romans 4:13-15
(13) “For the promise to Abraham or to his descendants that he would be heir of the world was not through the Law, but through the righteousness of faith.”
And again the very timeline makes this clear to us.
1) Did Abraham receive that promise before or after circumcision? (before)
2) Did God confirm that promise before or after circumcision? (before)
3) Did God confirm that promise before or after justification? (after)
4) Did God require anything else from Abraham besides faith before He would confirm it? (no)
That timeline once again makes this point clear to us.
• God did not promise Abraham that he would inherit the land based upon something good Abraham did.
• God did not promise Abraham that he would inherit the land based upon something good he must first do.
• The only thing Abraham has done at this point is believe God and God has guaranteed the promise.
That is clear to us.
And now Paul takes that reality and makes a point to us.
(14) “For if those who are of the Law are heirs, faith is made void and the promise is nullified;”
Paul is explaining why it is necessary
For the promise to be guaranteed by faith instead of works.
Paul says that this promise must be by faith instead of works
Because if “faith is made void” then “the promise is nullified;”
“void” translates XENOO
It means “of no effect” or “useless”
(we are talking about the effectiveness of faith aren’t we?)
“nullified” translates KATARGEO
It means “to cause to cease”
So what Paul is saying is this:
If you take away the exclusivity of faith, then you lose the promise with it.
If you say that faith is not effective, “void” (of no effect) then you need to know that at the same time you say that, you will also nullify God’s promises.
I think we can agree that that is a pretty severe statement.
Take away faith as solely effective or sufficient
And the first thing you do is lose the promise.
I think we have to ask:
WHY?
(15) “For the Law brings about wrath, but where there is no law, there also is no violation.”
Paul’s argument here is tremendous, let me spell it out for you.
The goal is to achieve the promise; that’s what we all want.
• How do we get it?
• Is it something we secure through faith, or is it something we secure through works?
Well Paul is ready to tell you what you will get
If you abandon faith and try to pursue the promise through works.
What will you get?
“For the Law brings about wrath”
And if you are puzzled by this, let me push you a little further into this book of Romans where Paul will explain this.
TURN TO: ROMANS 7
In Romans 7 Paul is revealing that through Christ we died to the Law, and that it is necessary that we die to the Law if we have any aspirations of salvation.
Starting in verse 5 Paul begins to explain the effect that the Law has on people who seek to please God by perfectly obeying it.
(5) “For while we were in the flesh, the sinful passions, which were aroused by the Law, were at work in the members of our body to bear fruit for death.”
People who seek to be justified by their works quickly forget one thing…
THE FLESH.
They fail to recognize that the flesh is not going to be compliant.
And Paul says that all the Law does is arouse our sinful passions.
That is to say, you can take a person who has lust in their heart and then tell them not to, but all that command is going to do is make them want it even more.
Ever go on a diet?
You will never want a donut more than when someone tells you that you can’t have one. (That’s the flesh)
Paul says that all the Law ever did was stir up those sinful passions in us.
Now the obvious question then
Is if the Law is in someway the problem?
(7-8) “What shall we say then? Is the Law sin? May it never be! On the contrary, I would not have come to know sin except through the Law; for I would not have known about coveting if the Law had not said, “YOU SHALL NOT COVET.” But sin, taking opportunity through the commandment, produced in me coveting of every kind; for apart from the Law sin is dead.”
No, the Law is not the problem.
We wouldn’t even know about sin if it wasn’t for the Law, it’s just that when that command tells me that sin is bad, my flesh just wants sin that much more.
So while the Law did not make me sin,
It did bring that sin to the forefront of my mind and my flesh did the rest.
Which is why Paul goes on to say:
(9-10) “I was once alive apart from the Law; but when the commandment came, sin became alive and I died; and this commandment, which was to result in life, proved to result in death for me;”
The Law didn’t actually make me better, the Law actually resulted in death.
And here is the definite tell-all statement:
(11) “for sin, taking an opportunity through the commandment, deceived me and through it killed me.”
AND THE POINT IS SIMPLE.
The Law does not help wicked people become righteous.
All the Law does is awaken the sleeping giant of sin in a person’s life which ends up making them more sinful.
Paul actually gives a first-hand account of this battle in the rest of the chapter, but for time sake, we’re going to skip it.
But look down to chapter 8 where Paul begins to reveal that while the Law couldn’t save, we find that salvation in Christ.
I want you to notice what he says:
(8:1-3) “Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death. For what the Law could not do, weak as it was through the flesh, God did: sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and as an offering for sin, He condemned sin in the flesh,”
Now did you notice what Paul said about the Law?
• He said there was something it “could not do”.
• And that is kill “sin in the flesh”
• And the reason it can’t is because it is weakened by the flesh.
Paul is reiterating what he just taught us.
No one ever achieved righteousness through the Law,
All they ever achieved was a greater knowledge of sin
Which caused their sinful flesh to rebel even more
And thus only managed to increase their judgment, not remove it.
Romans 3:20 “because by the works of the Law no flesh will be justified in His sight; for through the Law comes the knowledge of sin.”
Now that’s a crash course on what the Law does.
So when Paul says here in chapter 4, “for the Law brings about wrath” YOU KNOW WHAT HE MEANS.
So while Paul was definitive that faith brings righteousness
And thus the promise of God.
The Law (works) brings only wrath
And therefore nullifies the promise.
And that is why Paul goes on to say, “but where there is no law, there also is no violation.”
That is to say,
• If there is no required command, then there is no way to break it.
• If there is no required standard of perfection then there is no way you can fall short of it.
• If no works are required then there is no way you can be disqualified for failing to do them.
DOES THAT MAKE SENSE?
So long as faith is all that is required for obtaining the promise
Then that promise is solid,
But if you say that you are required to do something to earn it,
Now it is conditional and no longer a sure thing.
That is why Paul can say that “if those who are of the Law are heirs, faith is made void and the promise is nullified.”
And that’s the first point.
If faith isn’t sufficient then the promise is nullified.
#2 IF FAITH IS SUFFICIENT THE PROMISE IS GUARANTEED
Romans 4:16-17
Someone may ask, “Well if works can’t guarantee the promise, how can you tell me that faith will?”
And here is the answer.
“For this reason it is by faith, in order that it may be in accordance with grace, so that the promise will be guaranteed”
Follow with me a moment:
• If justification is by faith alone, then no one can say that they have
earned it.
(because they didn’t do anything)
• If justification is by faith alone all we can say is that I am saved by
grace alone.
Right?
If justification is by faith alone then it has to be by grace alone
AND THE REVERSE IS ALSO TRUE;
If justification is by grace alone then it has to be by faith alone.
Throw works in there anywhere and it messes the whole thing up.
Romans 11:6 “But if it is by grace, it is no longer on the basis of works, otherwise grace is no longer grace.”
Galatians 2:21 “I do not nullify the grace of God, for if righteousness comes through the Law, then Christ died needlessly.”
Galatians 5:2-4 “Behold I, Paul, say to you that if you receive circumcision, Christ will be of no benefit to you. And I testify again to every man who receives circumcision, that he is under obligation to keep the whole Law. You have been severed from Christ, you who are seeking to be justified by law; you have fallen from grace.”
When you add works, it kills any notion of grace.
But, if faith is all that is required then grace is still a reality.
And if grace is a reality then “the promise will be guaranteed”
Because it rests on God’s performance and not ours.
And we talked about this when examining SOLA GRATIA
We know that salvation is sure because of grace.
• We didn’t deserve to be chosen…
• We didn’t deserve to justified…
• We don’t deserve to be sealed or protected either…
But it has never been about what you deserve,
It has always been about grace.
We know salvation is secure because
God in His sovereign grace determined for it to be secure.
And so long as salvation is by grace, it is “guaranteed”
And that is WHY IT MUST ALSO BE BY FAITH.
And notice who it is for:
“to all 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, (as it is written, “A father of many nations have I made you”)”
Not for those who do the right amount of works,
But for those “who are of the faith of Abraham”
Remember what Paul told the Galatians?
Galatians 3:6-9 “Even so Abraham BELIEVED GOD, AND IT WAS RECKONED TO HIM AS RIGHTEOUSNESS. Therefore, be sure that it is those who are of faith who are sons of Abraham. The Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, “ALL THE NATIONS WILL BE BLESSED IN YOU.” So then those who are of faith are blessed with Abraham, the believer.”
Galatians 3:26-29 “For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. For all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free man, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s descendants, heirs according to promise.”
Everyone (regardless of the Law) is a child of Abraham
And recipient of the promise and of grace
So long as they give God the same faith that Abraham did.
• AND WHEN YOU COME WITH NOTHING BUT FAITH, YOU ARE TRUSTING IN NOTHING BUT GRACE,
• AND WHEN GRACE IS THE POWER BEHIND THE PROMISE, IT IS ALWAYS SECURE.
For when you come to God without works, but only faith,
THEN THE BURDEN of keeping the promise
FALLS SQUARELY ON THE BACK OF GOD, not you.
Again, this was the whole point of Genesis 15
And why only God (not Abraham) passed through the pieces.
God was not making this conditional upon Abraham.
God was making this conditional only upon Himself.
And Paul even reveals WHY IT IS A GOOD THING
That the security of the promise rests on the back of God.
Because let me tell you something about God:
Paul says it is God “who gives life to the dead and calls into being that which does not exist.”
There are two things God does no one else has ever been able to do.
• Raise the Dead
• Create something from Nothing
He did both for Abraham.
• He brought for a child from a dead womb,
• And He figuratively brought him back from the dead.
That is also why God has done for believers.
• He raised Christ from the dead on our behalf
• And through Him makes us a born again new creation.
And none of that is done by our works…God does it all.
And because it all rests on God, it is guaranteed.
Now, I know that is a pretty weighty passage to go walking through so let me just give you THE QUICK SUMMARY to make sure we’ve all got it.
We’re talking about whether or not faith is sufficient (effective).
Whether or not faith is enough by itself.
And here is Paul’s answer.
• Faith is sufficient because that is all Abraham gave to God and in result God gave Abraham righteousness.
• Furthermore in response to Abraham’s faith, God guaranteed the promise to him by passing through the pieces.
• We can confidently say that this salvation and this guarantee were acts of pure grace because Abraham did nothing,
• And since they are grace they rest solely on the back of God and that is why the are secure.
On the flip side (Paul would say)
• If you throw works into the mix then the first thing you do is lose the certainty of the promise.
• In fact that promise is nullified. It’s no longer a promise it is now a contract.
• And it is only as secure as the strength of both parties.
• And since we have seen how pathetic man is at keeping up with his end of the deal whenever he is told to do something we aren’t real confident that he will ever obtain the promise he seeks.
If works are required then that promise is anything but guaranteed.
It is only guaranteed if it is made by grace alone,
And it can only be made by grace alone if it is received by faith alone.
That is Paul’s point.
That means that faith is sufficient.
It is sufficient because it is all God requires.
He says, “Give Me faith and I’ll do it all.”
One last passage that illustrates this:
Hebrews 6:13-20 “For when God made the promise to Abraham, since He could swear by no one greater, He swore by Himself, saying, “I WILL SURELY BLESS YOU AND I WILL SURELY MULTIPLY YOU.” And so, having patiently waited, he obtained the promise. For men swear by one greater than themselves, and with them an oath given as confirmation is an end of every dispute. In the same way God, desiring even more to show to the heirs of the promise the unchangeableness of His purpose, interposed with an oath, so that by two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have taken refuge would have strong encouragement to take hold of the hope set before us. This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, a hope both sure and steadfast and one which enters within the veil, where Jesus has entered as a forerunner for us, having become a high priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek.”
Abraham rested solely by faith on the word of
The God who cannot lie and who never changes His word.
And just like him the writer of Hebrews says that we do the same thing.
We trust that when God says I will save you, that He can and He will.
The result of this for us is a tremendous and steadfast hope.
All we bring to the table is faith.
It is sufficient and it is effective because it trusts God to do it all.
