Conditions Of The Promise
Romans 4:13-15
November 11, 2007
This morning Paul revealed that the blessing of forgiveness
Didn’t come through circumcision.
God’s forgiveness came as a result of faith.
Romans 4:10 “How then was it credited? While he was circumcised, or uncircumcised? Not while circumcised, but while uncircumcised;”
Tonight we see Paul battling out a similar issue.
Not in regard to what brings forgiveness,
But in regard to what secures our hope.
Legalism commonly treads on two paths.
1) Getting Saved
2) Staying Saved
So lets say that after this morning,
We’re forced to throw legalism out the window in regard to salvation
• There is really no way around it,
• Abraham was saved by absolutely no merit of his own.
• He did nothing but believe, and God gave him righteousness.
• A person is saved by faith apart from works.
If we are to be true to the Scripture, we must accept that truth.
But legalists don’t give up the fight there.
Now the gaze is turned toward staying saved.
Maybe works don’t get us to God, but certainly how we live our life from here on out determines if we stay saved, doesn’t it?
Paul is speaking to the legalist,
Who not only pursues salvation through works,
But who pursues security in the same way.
COULD YOU IMAGINE IF THIS WERE SO?
Don’t assume this is far-fetched,
Many believe this today.
Even among “evangelicals” Baptists are one of the FEW
Who believe in the security of the believer.
I was at a “non-baptist” church service one evening
And the preacher quoted
John 10:27-28 “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me; and I give eternal life to them, and they will never perish; and no one will snatch them out of My hand.”
The preacher then made the statement.
“Nothing can snatch out of God’s hand,
But I do believe we can get up and walk out of His hand.”
THAT PREACHER MAKES GOD OUT TO BE APATHETIC.
Others take a much more rigid approach.
They view God as though
He has a piece of chalk in one hand and an eraser in the other. Eternity forever hinges upon the present action of the sinner.
BUT BOTH AMOUNT TO THE SAME PRINCIPLE.
Security is based upon human desire and human discipline.
Tonight I want to show you the consequences that would ensue,
If indeed security was based upon human works.
In our text this evening, Paul will reveal
What life would be like if our works did indeed determine our security.
This morning Paul asked: “When does forgiveness occur?”
Tonight he asks: “When is the promise guaranteed?”
THERE ARE THOSE WHO HONESTLY THINK
THE PROMISE IS NOT A GUARANTEE UNTIL DEATH.
They assume the promise of God doesn’t depend
Upon the integrity and power of God,
But on the obedience and righteousness of the person.
In other words, they believe that security is determined by the Law.
Tonight, let’s see if that is so.
If the Law determined our security then:
#1 NO PROMISE OF HOPE
Romans 4:13
It is obvious that Paul is speaking about “the promise”.
And more specifically “to Abraham or to his descendants”
WHAT IS THE PROMISE?
Paul reveals what it is; “that he would be heir of the world”
Certainly you are familiar with the promises:
Genesis 15:5 “And He took him outside and said, “Now look toward the heavens, and count the stars, if you are able to count them.” And He said to him, “So shall your descendants be.”
Genesis 17:4-6 “As for Me, behold, My covenant is with you, And you will be the father of a multitude of nations. “No longer shall your name be called Abram, But your name shall be Abraham; For I have made you the father of a multitude of nations. “I will make you exceedingly fruitful, and I will make nations of you, and kings will come forth from you.”
Genesis 22:16-18 “and said, “By Myself I have sworn, declares the LORD, because you have done this thing and have not withheld your son, your only son, indeed I will greatly bless you, and I will greatly multiply your seed as the stars of the heavens and as the sand which is on the seashore; and your seed shall possess the gate of their enemies. “In your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, because you have obeyed My voice.”
The promise is obvious.
Now in regard to Abraham
We know that he believed this promise was a secure thing.
For he lived his life in hope of the promise.
Hebrews 11:8-10 “By faith Abraham, when he was called, obeyed by going out to a place which he was to receive for an inheritance; and he went out, not knowing where he was going. By faith he lived as an alien in the land of promise, as in a foreign land, dwelling in tents with Isaac and Jacob, fellow heirs of the same promise; for he was looking for the city which has foundations, whose architect and builder is God.”
Later the writer of Hebrews speaks of Abraham’s immediate family
Hebrews 11:13-16 “All these died in faith, without receiving the promises, but having seen them and having welcomed them from a distance, and having confessed that they were strangers and exiles on the earth. For those who say such things make it clear that they are seeking a country of their own. And indeed if they had been thinking of that country from which they went out, they would have had opportunity to return. But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God; for He has prepared a city for them.”
Even when Abraham messed up by going in to Hagar…
Even when Abraham laughed at the promise of God…
Even when Abraham passed off Sarah TWICE as his sister…
IT’S APPARENT ABRAHAM NEVER THOUGHT HE LOST THE PROMISE
It is obvious in Abraham’s life that God had made him a promise, And Abraham lived his life in hope of the fulfillment of that promise.
But what Paul wants to know in Romans 4:13,
Is if that promise in which Abraham awaited
Was given as a result of his deeds, or of his faith
God promised over and over that Abraham and his descendants Would inherit the world.
Did God make that promise upon Abraham’s adherence to God’s commands, or upon Abraham’s faith?
Paul answers it for you.
“the promise…was not through the Law, but through the righteousness of faith.”
GOD DIDN’T MAKE THE PROMISE BASED ON HIS OBEDIENCE.
GOD MADE THE PROMISE TO ABRAHAM BASED ON HIS FAITH.
In fact, Abraham wasn’t even aware of such commands.
WHY?
Galatians 3:16-18 “Now the promises were spoken to Abraham and to his seed. He does not say, “And to seeds,” as referring to many, but rather to one, “And to your seed,” that is, Christ. What I am saying is this: the Law, which came four hundred and thirty years later, does not invalidate a covenant previously ratified by God, so as to nullify the promise. For if the inheritance is based on law, it is no longer based on a promise; but God has granted it to Abraham by means of a promise.”
Abraham didn’t even have the Law to obey.
If Abraham was forced to secure God’s promise
Through obedience to the commands of God,
Then Abraham was in a world of hurt,
For he didn’t even know what they were.
BUT THE PROMISE DIDN’T REST ON ABRAHAM, IT RESTED ON GOD.
Genesis 15:12-21 “Now when the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell upon Abram; and behold, terror and great darkness fell upon him. God said to Abram, “Know for certain that your descendants will be strangers in a land that is not theirs, where they will be enslaved and oppressed four hundred years. “But I will also judge the nation whom they will serve, and afterward they will come out with many possessions. “As for you, you shall go to your fathers in peace; you will be buried at a good old age. “Then in the fourth generation they will return here, for the iniquity of the Amorite is not yet complete.” It came about when the sun had set, that it was very dark, and behold, there appeared a smoking oven and a flaming torch which passed between these pieces. On that day the LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying, “To your descendants I have given this land, From the river of Egypt as far as the great river, the river Euphrates: the Kenite and the Kenizzite and the Kadmonite and the Hittite and the Perizzite and the Rephaim and the Amorite and the Canaanite and the Girgashite and the Jebusite.”
Abraham didn’t do anything.
Abraham never agreed to anything.
Abraham had no conditions.
THE PROMISE HINGED UPON GOD’S FAITHFULNESS, NOT ABRAHAM’S.
That is why Abraham could have hope
That is why Abraham could live in Canaan
That is why Abraham could sacrifice his son
Hebrews 11:19 “He considered that God is able to raise people even from the dead, from which he also received him back as a type.”
Because Abraham was resting on God,
Not on his own ability to remain pleasing.
BUT, IF YOU HAVE TO SECURE YOUR OWN HOPE,
THERE IS NO REASON TO WALK IN HOPE.
WHY?
Because we know we can’t live good enough,
And so we know based on us, there is no way it’s ever going to happen.
If the promise hinges upon me, then I don’t have any hope.
IF SECURITY COMES THROUGH THE LAW
THERE IS NO HOPE, ONLY ANXIETY.
IF SECURITY COMES THROUGH THE LAW: No Promise of Hope
#2 NO PURPOSE FOR FAITH
Romans 4:14
That is very similar to what Paul told the Galatians.
Galatians 2:21 “I do not nullify the grace of God, for if righteousness comes through the Law, then Christ died needlessly.”
In other words, if you secure the promise through works of the Law, then what purpose do you have for faith?
Faith believes what doesn’t appear certain.
Hebrews 11:1 “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.”
But if you have no hope, then why do you need faith?
Why would Abraham need to trust God, if it all depended upon Abraham?
Why do you need to trust Jesus, if it all depends upon you?
If you have to earn it your self
There is no reason to trust anyone else to help you.
And yet people still fall into this trap.
Listen to what Paul told the Galatians:
Galatians 4:21-31 “Tell me, you who want to be under law, do you not listen to the law? For it is written that Abraham had two sons, one by the bondwoman and one by the free woman. But the son by the bondwoman was born according to the flesh, and the son by the free woman through the promise. This is allegorically speaking, for these women are two covenants: one proceeding from Mount Sinai bearing children who are to be slaves; she is Hagar. Now this Hagar is Mount Sinai in Arabia and corresponds to the present Jerusalem, for she is in slavery with her children. But the Jerusalem above is free; she is our mother. For it is written, “REJOICE, BARREN WOMAN WHO DOES NOT BEAR; BREAK FORTH AND SHOUT, YOU WHO ARE NOT IN LABOR; FOR MORE NUMEROUS ARE THE CHILDREN OF THE DESOLATE THAN OF THE ONE WHO HAS A HUSBAND.” And you brethren, like Isaac, are children of promise. But as at that time he who was born according to the flesh persecuted him who was born according to the Spirit, so it is now also. But what does the Scripture say? “CAST OUT THE BONDWOMAN AND HER SON, FOR THE SON OF THE BONDWOMAN SHALL NOT BE AN HEIR WITH THE SON OF THE FREE WOMAN.” So then, brethren, we are not children of a bondwoman, but of the free woman.”
To make that passage simple.
To women represent two forms of achieving the promise.
God promised Abraham numerous descendants.
Abraham had a choice.
He could try to make it happen himself, or he could trust God for it.
Hagar represents when Abraham tried to secure the promise through his own means. He did it by works, he did it in the flesh.
Sarah represents when Abraham trusted God to secure the promise apart from the work of men. That one Abraham did by faith.
And Paul says, it is better to be the woman who has to trust,
Than it is to be the woman who has to work.
“REJOICE, BARREN WOMAN WHO DOES NOT BEAR; BREAK FORTH AND SHOUT, YOU WHO ARE NOT IN LABOR; FOR MORE NUMEROUS ARE THE CHILDREN OF THE DESOLATE THAN OF THE ONE WHO HAS A HUSBAND.”
In other words, faith makes it work better.
And notice what else Paul said:
“But as at that time he who was born according to the flesh persecuted him who was born according to the Spirit, so it is now also. But what does the Scripture say? “CAST OUT THE BONDWOMAN AND HER SON, FOR THE SON OF THE BONDWOMAN SHALL NOT BE AN HEIR WITH THE SON OF THE FREE WOMAN.” So then, brethren, we are not children of a bondwoman, but of the free woman.”
Paul said the legalists would persecute those who are of faith,
But cast them out, because we do not want to be under bonds.
BUT THE IDEA REMAINS.
If you have to work to receive or secure the promise.
There is no reason for hope – there is no way it’s gonna happen
There is no reason for faith – why trust when you have to do it all yourself
IF SECURITY COMES THROUGH THE LAW:
No Promise of Hope & No Purpose for Faith
#3 NO PARDON OF FORGIVENESS
Romans 4:15a
Now of course this works very closely with the next point,
But I want to split them to make another valid point.
“For the Law brings about wrath,”
Now certainly you remember this point.
THE LAW DID NOT COME TO SAVE YOU
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.”
Romans 7:9-10 “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;”
Galatians 3:21-22 “Is the Law then contrary to the promises of God? May it never be! For if a law had been given which was able to impart life, then righteousness would indeed have been based on law. But the Scripture has shut up everyone under sin, so that the promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe.”
The commands of God did not come to make a way for salvation.
The Law came to do exactly what Paul said.
“the Law brings about wrath,”
POINT:
THE PURPOSE OF THE LAW
DOES NOT CHANGE AFTER SALVATION.
If the Law could not benefit you in regard to getting saved, why would you assume it can now benefit you in regard to staying saved?
A person who wants to secure their promise by works,
Has forgotten that works couldn’t get them saved,
Let alone keep them saved.
THE LAW NEVER BROUGHT FORGIVENESS.
THE LAW BROUGHT ONLY CONDEMNATION.
And if you insist upon not only earning your salvation,
But also performing in such a way as to secure it,
Then you will never know the blessing of forgiveness.
FORGIVENESS HOLDS NO MEANING TO YOU
You’ve never had it…
You’ve never asked for it…
You’ve never needed it…
AND FURTHERMORE, IF YOU DID, IT WOULDN’T EXIST
HOW CAN YOU CLAIM THAT YOU MUST EARN YOUR SALVATION, SECURE YOUR SALVATION BY YOUR OWN GOODNESS AND STILL BELIEVE IN FORGIVENESS?
To believe that way is to literally throw yourself
Back under the bonds and slavery of the Law.
That is why Paul told the Galatians.
Galatians 5:1 “It was for freedom that Christ set us free; therefore keep standing firm and do not be subject again to a yoke of slavery.”
But hopefully you see my point.
If the promise is attained through works of the Law.
There is no hope – because there is no way you will get it.
There is no faith – why trust in another, when you have to earn it yourself?
There is no forgiveness – everything is based on goodness, mercy is out.
IF SECURITY COMES THROUGH THE LAW:
No Promise of Hope & No Purpose for Faith & No Pardon of Forgiveness
#4 NO PERMANENT SECURITY
Romans 4:15b
And this really is the summary of them all.
The statement Paul makes reveals why we don’t want our security to be dependant upon our ability to be good.
“but where there is no law, there is also no violation.”
He doesn’t mean that there is no law at all.
Obviously there is.
But what he means is where law is not a requirement for salvation.
And the point is.
If the law is not on the list of requirements for salvation,
Then violation and punishment are not on the list of consequences.
Let’s suppose for a second that in order to remain saved,
You must flawlessly keep the Law.
Then if you break even one command, what does that mean?
You are a transgressor, again removed from the favor of God.
Now you must appease His wrath, and hope not to offend Him again.
(THAT IS OLD TESTAMENT STUFF)
DO YOU SEE THE PROBLEM?
NO SECURITY.
There is no guarantee from one day to the next
That you really will go to heaven.
Going to heaven is based upon action that has yet to be done.
WHAT A HORRIBLE WAY TO LIVE LIFE
It literally paralyzes a person in fear.
BUT,
“where there is no law, there also is no violation.”
If there is no law to get you to God,
Then there is no law to separate you from God.
The promise of God is not based upon the law.
The promise of God is not conditional on your behavior.
The promise of God is based upon the sacrifice
And resurrection of Jesus, and secured by your faith in Him.
Romans 5:8-10 “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from the wrath of God through Him. For if while 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.”
Those verses say we get to God apart from the Law,
Through the crucifixion of Jesus.
They say, we stay with God apart from the Law,
Through the resurrection of Jesus.
Jesus died to get us to God.
He rose to keep us there.
THAT MEANS WE HAVE REASON FOR FAITH.
We trust Jesus not only for salvation, but for security.
UNLIKE IN LEGALISM, WE ALWAYS HAVE A NEED FOR FAITH
Hebrews 7:25 “Therefore He is able also to save forever those who draw near to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them.”
That verse says when we sin, Jesus intercedes.
That means we still enjoy the blessing of forgiveness.
UNLIKE LEGALISM, WE ENJOY FORGIVENESS
AND NOT BEING UNDER CONDEMNATION FOR OUR SINS.
He lives with the Father, to intercede and keep us saved.
1 Peter 1:3-5 “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to obtain an inheritance which is imperishable and undefiled and will not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, who are protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.”
That verse says there is reason for hope.
UNLIKE LEGALISM, WE HAVE A LIVING HOPE BECAUSE WE KNOW WE DON’T SECURE IT, IT IS SECURED BY THE POWER OF GOD.
Jesus gives us hope.
AND UNLIKE LEGALISM, WE HAVE SECURITY.
Ephesians 1:13-14 “In Him, you also, after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation — having also believed, you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise, who is given as a pledge of our inheritance, with a view to the redemption of God’s own possession, to the praise of His glory.”
John 10:27-28 “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me; and I give eternal life to them, and they will never perish; and no one will snatch them out of My hand.”
THUS FAR WE ARE CONVINCED
MAN IS JUSTIFIED BY FAITH
He is not just reconciled to God by faith,
He is forever justified before God by faith.
We don’t get to God through works.
Abraham was justified before he was circumcised.
We don’t stay with God through works.
Abraham had God’s promise before the Law was ever written.
WE ARE JUSTIFIED BY FAITH
Romans 8:1 “Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.”
