Previously:
Romans 1:14-17:
Not Ashamed Of The Gospel | It Is The Power Of God Unto Salvation
Romans 3:21-31:
God's Solution For Universal Problem | Imputed Righteousness Of God
Today:
Romans 4:1-8, 23-25: Faith Alone | We Must Get The Gospel Right
Abraham Justified By Faith Alone
Romans 4:1-8
If Abraham Was Justified By Works
He Had Something To Boast About
But Not Before God
What Does Scripture Say?
Abraham Believed God
And It Was Credited To Him As Righteousness
To The One Who Works
Wages Are Not Credited As A Gift
But As An Obligation
To The One Who Does Not Work
But Trusts God Who Justifies The Ungodly
Their Faith Is Credited As Righteousness
King David Said: Blessed Is The One
- To Whom God Credits Righteousness Apart From Works
- To Whom Transgressions Are Forgiven
- To Whom Sins Are Covered
- To Whom Sins Are Not Counted Against Them
Romans 4:23-25
It Was Credited To Him
Was Written Not For Him Alone But Also For Us
To Whom God Will Credit Righteousness
To Us Who Believe In Him:
- He Who Raised Jesus Our Lord From The Dead
- He Was Delivered Over To Death For Our Sins
- He Was Raised To Life For Our Justification
All False Religions:
You Buy Your Salvation On Some Kind Of An Installment Plan
You Pay A Little Bit As You Go
Good Works Offered To God On A Regular Basis Is Not THE WAY
Salvation Doesn’t Come On The Installment Plan
As The Price Was Fully Paid At Once By Christ
So The Gift Of Salvation Is Given At Once By Christ To The Believer
Paul Explains That Abraham Is The True Example Of Salvation
The Gospel Of Salvation:
By Grace Alone, Through Faith Alone, In The Messiah Alone
In Which God Grants Righteousness To The Repentant Sinner
Case For Justification By Faith
Theology Of Justification | HOW TO BE RIGHT WITH GOD
Religious Myths And Lies Including Jewish Ones Shattered
The Way To Be Right With God
Is By Repentance And Faith In Christ Not By Works
Theology Of Justification | Illustration Of Justification
WHAT WAS THE TRADITIONAL JEWISH VIEW OF SALVATION?
SELF EFFORT RIGHTEOUSNESS | BASED ON RABBI TRADITION
SCRIPTURE PLUS TRADITION | WORKS NOT FAITH
However, Abraham Is The Perfect Model For Salvation By Faith Because Of How The Jews Viewed Abraham
- He Was An Old Testament Character
- He Was Saved Before The Law Was Given
- He Transcends The Age Of Grace And The Age Of Law
- Abraham Would Be A Kind Of Universal Illustration
How Paul Viewed Abraham
- He Is The Supreme Example In The Old Testament of Faith
- He Is When Properly Understood Saved By Faith Not Works
- He Is Admired By The Jews So The Perfect Illustration
The Jews Looked To Abraham As Their Model Of Righteousness
The Jews Would Try To Prove Salvation By Works
The Jews Used Abraham As An Example
The Jews Used The Scripture BUT Added Corrupt Rabbi Tradition
Paul Really Overturns Their Model Of Salvation
The Majority Of Rabbis Taught:
Abraham Was A SELF-RIGHTEOUS Man
Pre-Israel Since He Is The Father Of Israel
Pre-Law Since He Was Before The Giving Of The Law To Moses
He Stands Alone As The Emblem Of Righteousness
He Was Such A SELF-RIGHTEOUS Man That God Selected Him
He Was To Be The Father Of The Nation
He Was To Be The Dispenser Of Divine Revelation
HOWEVER:
THE OLD TESTAMENT ALSO SAYS:
THERE IS NONE RIGHTEOUS, NOT EVEN ONE
The Jews Were Content:
To Ignore That Statement In The Old Testament
To Grant Abraham His Self-Righteous Perfection
Question: By What Standard Was He Deemed Righteous?
You Couldn’t Make It The Law Because The Law Had Not Been Given
How Did The Rabbis Determine The Righteousness Of Abraham?
They Said Abraham Kept The Law By Anticipation And Intuition
He Expected The Law To Be Of A Certain Nature
He Anticipated What It Would Be And Intuitively Kept The Law
God Made An Oath To Him That His Seed Would Be Blessed
A Reward For His Observation Of A Law Not Yet Given
Rabbis Said: Most Self-Righteous Man God Could Find At That Time
Abraham IS NOT An Example Of Salvation By Works
Abraham IS An Example Of Salvation By Faith
Just The Opposite Of What They Said
He Is An Illustration That God Saves By Grace
He Is An Illustration That God Grants Righteousness As A Gift
The Basic Belief Of The Jews Was That YOU EARN FAVOR With God
Abraham Had Earned More Than Anybody Else In His Generation
The Message Of The Gospel Is There Is None Righteous, No, Not One
That Is Also The Message Of The Old Testament
No Man Can Earn Favor With God
It Is The Supreme Discovery Of The Christian Gospel
You Do Not Need To Try To Earn Favor With God
You Do Not Need To Try To Be Righteous In Vain
You Do Not Need To Torture Yourself To Earn God’s Salvation
Abraham’s Life Is A Model
Was Justified By Faith, Not Works
Was Justified By Grace, Not Law
Was Justified By Divine Power, Not Human Effort
IF ABRAHAM WAS NOT JUSTIFIED BY WORKS
THEN NO ONE CAN BE
IF ABRAHAM DID NOT NEED TO BE JUSTIFIED BY WORKS
BECAUSE YOU CAN BE JUSTIFIED BY FAITH
THEN ALL MEN CAN BE JUSTIFIED
You See The Difference?
If Abraham Was Not Justified By His Works No Man Can Be
If Abraham Was Justified By Faith All Men Can Be And Must Be
God Commanded Abraham Genesis 26:5 To Obey Him
God Said Abraham Was Obedient
What Did Abraham Do?
HE PUT HIS TRUST IN GOD AND OBEYED HIM
DID YOU HEAR? TRUST AND OBEY FOR THERE IS NO OTHER WAY
So Based Upon The Obedience Of Abraham He Was Called The Friend Of God
The Jewish Leaders Determined
- That Abraham Had Earned His Way In
- That Abraham Didn’t Need To Repent
- That Abraham Was Perfectly Self-Righteous
- That Abraham Earned Righteousness
- That EVEN ONE OF HIS DEEDS Was To Trust In God
Abraham’s Faith Was Not Some Merit By Which He Earned Salvation
But Simply The Means By Which He Received The Gift
Paul’s Simple Argument:
- He Identifies Abraham As Our Father
- He Is Talking To The Jews About The Jews
- The Supreme One Of All God’s Called People
- The Man Of The Covenant
- Whatever Was True Of Him Is True For All His Children
WAS ABRAHAM CREDITED RIGHTEOUSNESS
BY THE PRINCIPLE OF FAITH OR THE PRINCIPLE OF WORKS?
What Does The Scripture Say?
How Was Abraham Was Made Righteous?
- It Was By Faith | It Was Not By Works
- It Was By Grace | It Was Not By The Law
- It Was By Divine Power | It Was Not By Human Effort
Genesis 15:6: Abraham Believed God And It Was Credited To Him As Righteousness
What Was It That Abraham Believed?
By Faith Abraham Obeyed When He Was Called
God Told Him To Go Out To A Place
God Told Him He Was To Receive For An Inheritance
Abraham Obeyed Without Knowing Where He Was Going
EMPOWERED IN HIM BY DIVINE POWER
And His Own Willingness
And His Own Obedience
By Faith He Gave Up His Life
By Faith He Denied Himself
By Faith He Followed God In Obedience
By Faith He Looked To A City Built And Made By God
By Faith He Looked To A Heavenly Home Built By God
How Can A Man Be Right With God?
How Can Sin Be Forgiven?
How Can We Have The Promise Of That City?
How Can We Have The Heavenly Home?
Do We Earn It? PAUL’S ANSWER IS ABSOLUTELY NOT
God Is In The Business Of Justifying The Ungodly
He Only Justifies The Ungodly
Because That’s The Only Kind Of People There Are
There Are No People Who Work The Righteous Law Perfectly
There Are No People Who Have Earned Their Standing With God
First: He Was Justified By Faith, Not Works
Second: He Was Justified By Grace, Not Law
Third: He Was Justified By Divine Power, Not Human Effort
NOTE:
Self-Denying Faith, Great Faith
He Forsook Everything Without Anything In Return
No Knowledge Of Where He Was Going
He Literally Put His Life In The Hands Of God
He Believed Him To Be A Secure Place To Plant His Life
He Left The Land Of His Birth
He Forsook His Home, His Estate, Severed Ties With Those He Loved
Abandoned Present Securities For Future Uncertainty
He Abandoned Everything He Knew For Everything He Didn’t Know
His Faith Was Instant AND It Was Patient
To Abraham, God’s Promise Was Never Fulfilled
He Never Owned Land
He Wandered Everywhere As A Tent Dweller
He Never Lost His Faith In Those Early Years
He Never Saw The Fulfillment Of His Dreams
He Never Saw A Great Nation
He Never Inherited The Promised Land
He Never Had A Fulfillment Of His Dreams
He Never Lost Faith In God’s Promise
He Knew That The Final Promise Was Heavenly
He Was Following In The Way Of Faith To Heaven
He Died Holding On To The Promise Without Seeing It Fulfilled
He Died In Faith Without Receiving The Promises
Note: Sola fide, which means ‘faith alone,’ is important because it is one of the distinguishing characteristics or key points that separate the true biblical Gospel from false gospels.
At stake is the very Gospel itself and it is therefore a matter of eternal life or death.
Getting the Gospel right is of such importance that the Apostle Paul would write in Galatians 1:9, ‘As we have already said, so now I say again: If anybody is preaching to you a gospel other than what you accepted, let him be eternally condemned!’
