Hello and welcome to the Middletown Baptist Church Podcast,
where we are proclaiming the truth to the world.
My name is Pastor Josh, and I want to thank you for listening to
this podcast.
I hope that this podcast can be a blessing to you and strengthen
you in the word of God.
Now, come along, let's look into the Bible and see what God has
for us here today.
Or we're going to continue on in our sermon series in the book
of Romans, Romans, chapter number four.
The title of this sermon this morning is A Life of Grace through
Faith.
We're going to look at those two words here today, predominantly
grace and faith.
What's that all about?
What does the word grace mean?
What does the word faith mean?
What does that mean for me as a believer?
What does that mean to the world who does not believe?
We're going to talk about that here this morning.
I'm starting in Romans chapter four, and we're going to start in
verse number 16.
If you want to start there with me.
We're going to be in verse number 16.
And the very first sentence given to us here in verse 16 explains
really the whole thought that Paul has in this whole section.
And it's essentially this.
We are in desperate need of God's grace.
And the only way that we can experience God's grace is through
faith and faith alone in him.
And I know that many people in this world think that, hey, I can
do it.
I can achieve, I can obtain some element of salvation through
what I do.
But what Paul says throughout, really all of this passage and even
the chapter before, is that you cannot earn this.
This is not something that you can obtain in your own goodness.
You are in desperate need of God, not just for salvation, even
though that's the greatest need that we have, but we are in
desperate need of God's grace in every aspect of our life.
And that's what he says here in verse number 16.
He says, Therefore it is of three faith that it might be by grace.
He says that it.
It all depends on faith.
It all depends on what you are trusting in.
If you trust in anything else other than what the Bible says is
the truth of the gospel, I.e.
jesus, Jesus crucified, Jesus perfect, and Jesus resurrected.
If you don't believe in that, you have an object of faith that
will cross, crumble.
And so he says, if you want that life of grace, if you want that
life of blessing, if you want that life of purpose, if you want
that life of promise, then it must be placed in the faith that
you have in Jesus.
Christ and receive the grace of God.
Now what is grace?
Grace is an undeserved gift.
It's unmerited favor.
Some people use the acrostic God's riches at Christ's expense.
Christ is the one who paid the price.
We get to reap the benefits as believers.
And so in verse number 16 he says, if you want to have a promise
fulfilled like Abraham, trust in the Lord with your faith.
Says, therefore it is a faith that it might be by grace to the
end.
The promise might be sure to all the seed, not to that only which
is of the law.
Meaning this promise of God's blessing upon our lives is not just
to those who follow the law, but to that also which is of the
faith of Abraham.
So basically have the same faith as Abraham.
We looked last week in the book of Genesis, Genesis chapter
15 that Abraham was faith purposed.
So what do I mean by that?
His, his grace, his righteousness was imputed to him
because of his belief.
It was by faith.
And so it wasn't that Abraham earned God's grace because of his
works.
It wasn't because Abraham earned God's grace because of who
he was as the Father of the nation.
No, none of that was accounted what was accounted for as righteousness,
his belief.
And so the promises of God to Abraham and to us are secure because
of his grace.
The promise of salvation is secure because of his grace.
Let me tell you here this morning, none of us deserve the promise
of salvation.
None of us deserve forgiveness.
None of us deserve the security that we can find in the
hope of Jesus Christ.
But the promises are secure because of God's love for us and
his grace extended to us.
So if you, if you're here today and you say I'm struggling
with doubt, well, the question might be who are you doubting?
Because if your faith is placed in you to do something for
God, guess what?
Your, your.
Your gift is not secure.
Because if your gift is secured in your own works, you will
eventually fail.
I will eventually fail if my grace is wrapped up or my promise
is wrapped up in the things of this world eventually that will fail.
And so what does it say here?
It says it's only by true faith that we can have the promises
of God secured in our life.
It's the same principle that we see all throughout the New Testament.
But two particular passages of scripture that we can see.
This principle given to us is in James chapter four, James chapter
four, verse six.
This is a principle of how does the person, how does the believer
receive grace?
Well, I don't receive grace through pride.
I don't receive grace through selfishness.
I don't receive grace through anything.
I other than relying on God to extend it to me.
So it says here in James chapter four, verse six.
But he giveth, talking about God, but He giveth more grace.
Wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace
unto the humble.
The Bible says the way that we can understand God's grace, not the
way that we create God's grace because God's grace is there whether
or not we're faithful or not, but the way that we experience God's
grace, the way that we rest in God's grace is humbling ourselves,
dying to ourselves and saying, you know what?
It's only by him that I can have these things.
It's only by him that I can have these blessings.
Another passage of scripture that we could look at is First Peter,
chapter five.
First Peter, chapter five, verse five tells us essentially the
same principle of grace to the humble grace to the humble grace
to the ones who humble themselves in faith before God.
It says in 1st Peter chapter 5, verse 5.
Likewise you younger, submit yourselves unto the elder.
Yea, all of you be subject one to another and be clothed with humility.
Now I'm going to stop here for a moment because that phrase there
clothed with humility means so much.
It literally means to take the role of a servant.
To be clothed with humility means to take the servant's robe
and put that on.
Essentially it means to roll up your, your robe and take the form
of a servant.
Now remember, obviously God is speaking by inspiration here but
the human author is Peter.
And, and if you remember Peter back many, many years before, maybe
not too many years before, but essentially in John chapter 13 when
Jesus is about to go the cross and, and all the disciples are there
and there's this last supper and we, we know all about that, that
Jesus comes and he takes the form of a servant.
He rolls up his robe, he washes the disciples feet.
And I can't help but think that Peter is thinking about that
very same principle of how Jesus showed what it means to be
a humble servant.
And he says all of us need to take that role.
He says be clothed with humility.
Be known as a person defined by humility.
Why?
For God resisteth the proud and giveth grace to the humble.
Then he says in verse 6, humble yourselves therefore under
the mighty hand of God that He may exalt you in due time.
So he says, if you want to be exalted don't exalt yourself, don't
earn it, don't strive for it.
Just trust in God to exalt you in his timing and in his way.
And we know that verse number seven, right after that says, casting
all your care upon him, for he careth for you, casting all of your
anxieties over to him because he cares for us.
One of the reasons why sometimes we struggle with just complete
reliance on God is our anxieties, our fears, our concerns.
Well, what if God doesn't do this?
Well, we can find ourselves in a very difficult place when we doubt
the promises of God.
We're never going to be resting in the grace of God if we
are not resting in faith.
And that God is going to keep his word, that God is consistent,
that he is loving, that, that, that he wants to not just know us
in a way of a relationship, but he wants to bless us.
And so, so many people have a struggle with that doubt because
of the fact that there's lack of faith.
And really at the heart of lack of faith is pride.
And so in both of those passages of Scripture in James chapter
four and First Peter chapter five, the really the deciding factor
is, am I going to strive after a relationship with God?
We saw in First Peter chapter five, it was casting our care upon
Him.
In James chapter 4, verse 8, it says, Draw nigh to God or draw
near to God and He will draw near to you.
So how can we grow in our grace?
How can we.
Because the Bible says to grow in grace.
That doesn't mean that the more I'm a Christian, the more God
says, okay, brother, so.
And so you've been good today, so you get a little bit more grace
today.
No, the grace of God is abundantly poured out upon us at
the moment of salvation.
We're told that throughout the New Testament.
But sometimes for us, it's understanding and resting and living
in that grace and knowing that grace and that grace becoming a reality
for us.
And so that's what Paul is talking about here.
In Romans, chapter 4, verse 16, he says, you got to have the
same faith of Abraham to experience this grace.
He says, he's the father of us all.
He's the example for us all.
Verse 17, as it is written.
We're back in Romans chapter 4, as it is written, I have made
thee a father of many nations.
So he says that was the promise to Abraham that he would
be a father of many nations, right?
Not just one nation, but many nations, many peoples.
And so many times we think that, well, Abraham is the father
of the Israelites and the Jews.
And yes he is.
But the New Testament tells us that everyone who comes to God in
faith can reap the benefits and the blessings of being in the
family of Abraham.
And so In Romans chapter 4, verse 17, it says before him whom
he believed, even God who quickened the dead and called those
things which be not as though they were.
So verse 17 tells us the power of the promises of God, which basically
it's this.
When we trust in God, as Abraham did when he believed, it
says when who quicken or brought to life the dead and called
those things which be not as though they were, it says this.
It is only God who can call those who are dead to come back to
life.
It is only God who can take something that is against him and
bring it to him.
And what we can see here in this case is that it's only God who
can take a person who is dead in their sins.
Ephesians chapter two, who is dead in their sins.
And that means that we are on the way, on the path to eternal separation
from God, eternal punishment from God.
But it's only God in his grace who can take someone who is defined
as a sinner, defined as broken, defined as separated, and
take them and move them into marvelous life and bring them to
life.
He says it's only God who can do that.
It's only God who can take us from death to life.
It's only God who can look at a sinner and then call him righteous.
Now that doesn't mean that God overlooks the sin.
What it means is that what we talked about last week, God imputes
that righteousness to us.
And so God displays his supernatural power to Abraham by
giving him a son and allowing him to be the father of many nations.
Now how does God allow us to understand his supernatural power?
Well, in the greatest picture of his super natural power is this,
that the person who is a sinner, who is not a believer, comes
to faith and now is a believer.
And that is how God displays His supernatural power.
By giving the believer forgiveness, by giving the believer
salvation and allowing the believer to be called a child of
God.
That is how God enacts his supernatural power to us.
And so that's what he's seeing there.
In verse 17 he says just as Abraham who was essentially dead,
meaning he wasn't going to have children, he, he wasn't able
to have children, his wife was not able to have children.
They were too old, basically they were left for dead.
They were just going to live out the rest of their life.
But it was God who gave the grace to Abraham through his faith
that he was able to have this blessing.
So we can have the same blessing in our salvation.
Salvation equals life to death.
You say life to death, what does that mean?
Well really what it means is this.
We are in death and then we come to life and now we are dead
to our sins, but we are alive in Christ.
And so a lot of times people think, well, now that I'm a Christian,
the story's over.
No, the story just begins.
But now I'm not dead in my flesh, I'm not dead in, in my spirit.
Now I'm dead to what I was living in before.
If you could say I was living in sin before, now I'm dead to that.
I'm alive to Christ.
I'm dead to that old way, I'm living in the new.
That old man has passed away.
I am now walking in the new man.
And so there's that hope, there's that, that idea of life that
comes to believer.
And that's what Paul is explaining here in verse number 17,
verse 18.
He says how, how this life giving power is experienced.
How can I experience that same power given in verse 17?
How can I have those things which be not as they were now they
are?
How can I be a sinner and come to know Christ?
How can I be broken and now come to be complete?
He says it here in verse number 18. Who against hope believed
in hope.
What does that mean?
What is he talking about?
He's describing Abraham's faith and he says really in the standard
of the world, Abraham had no hope.
He was past the years of childbearing, his wife was past the
years of childbearing.
This was not going to be something that people would say,
oh of course Abraham, this makes a lot of sense.
No, the birth of his son Isaac really essentially was seen by all
these people as a miracle.
There was nobody who could explain it another way.
And that's what we have to understand as believers is that God
is going to do things that really will confound those people
of the world.
The Bible tells us that the things that we believe in sometimes
don't make sense to the ways of the world.
And so as it says here in verse 18, who against hope believed
in hope?
Are we going to believe in the hope of God even if it doesn't make
sense to us?
Are we going to believe in the power of God even if it doesn't make
sense to us?
Even if people come against Us and say that doesn't make sense that
you're doing that.
It doesn't make sense that you're trusting in that.
Okay, it makes sense maybe to trust for 10 years, but once it hits
11, okay, obviously it's not going to work.
You know, some of you might have been praying for something for
a very, very long time and you're tempted to give up.
If God has given you the desire and the will and the conviction
to continue to pray for that situation, continue to pray because
he's going to give you that answer.
I'm not going to say it's an answer that we want to hear.
I'm not even going to say it's an answer that's going to make sense
to us.
But the Bible says that we have to continue on to believe in
things that for the world's eyes don't make sense to believe
in.
So who against hope, believed in hope that he might become the
father of many nations?
Who, according to that which was spoken, so shall thy seed be.
So what is it saying here?
It says this.
Abraham didn't look to what made sense.
He went back to what God said.
God said, you will be a father of many nations.
God said, you will have a son Now.
Now, is Abraham perfect in that process of waiting?
No, and neither will we.
But the idea here is this.
The reason why Abraham could continue on in faith and believe
that God was going to keep his word was because God said it and
he rested in it and he trusted in it and he wasn't going to doubt
it.
And that's what happens to us today.
And really what it, what it happens, what happens is, is that
we read something in the word of God.
We, we come here and maybe it's in a Bible study or a preacher
says something.
And it says, for example, one very famous promise is that God is
never going to leave us nor forsake us.
And we know that that's there.
And we believe that God said it and we believe that God is true.
But the circumstances of life come our way and we go, well, you
know what?
I don't feel like God is with me.
And now that I don't feel like God is with me, maybe I'm going to
be tempted to doubt that maybe, just maybe, he won't keep
his word.
And therefore I'm going to act not in faith, but I'm going to act
in the flesh.
I'm going to respond in the flesh.
Now, we don't have time to go back to the whole story of Abraham,
but You guys know that some points in Abraham's life he tried
to get ahead of God.
He tried to work it out in his own way.
And how did that end?
It always ended in destruction.
It always ended in a disaster.
And that's what happens for us.
When we aren't resting in the promises of God, when we're not resting
in the timing of God, when we're not resting in God's way or
will in our life, we find ourselves trying to figure it out
ourselves.
And what the Bible says is that can find, that can make us find
ourselves in places of the flesh and not faith.
And so how does God give the life giving power that was described
there in verse 17?
When we exercise faith, when we exercise faith we experience the
truth that God keeps His word.
The only way that we're going to know if God keeps His word is
if we trust in him in faith to see him keep his word.
The idea for us today is like, well I'll trust in God when He proves
it to me.
But the reality is is that he's already proven it to us.
God's already demonstrated his love towards us in that while we
are yet sinners, Christ died for us.
Romans chapter 5, verse 8 tells us that God already proved
his love for us.
The word of God is there and it tells us enough that we need to
know.
We don't need to see a sign or a wonder.
The sign and wonder has already been found in Jesus Christ.
The sign and wonder is that we have a revealed word of God that
is complete.
The Bible says that the word of God is powerful, it's alive and
so we have everything that we need to have.
But really we're not going to experience God's faithfulness unless
we trust in him and in really what I would say is exercise faith
by the way that we live our life.
So what does this type of faith really look like?
Verse 19 and being not weak in faith.
So he says Abraham wasn't weak in his faith, he was strong in his
faith.
He considered not his own body now dead.
Essentially it's this.
He didn't look to his circumstance and go, well God, I
know you said this, but it doesn't make sense to me.
It doesn't work out in my logic, it doesn't work out in my
circumstance.
So he says, and not being weak in faith, he considered not his own
body now dead when he was about 100 years old, neither yet
the deadness of Sarah's womb.
So he didn't consider the bleakness of his circumstance.
What did he consider?
Verse 20?
He staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief.
So he didn't, it says there, he didn't waver.
He, he didn't stumble.
And, and some of us might say, well, Pastor, don't you know the
story of Abraham?
Didn't he stumble?
Well, right, he did stumble.
But we know that a just man falls and gets back up.
We know that the Bible says, though he fall, the believer, though
he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down, for the Lord upholds
him with his hand.
So this isn't talking about being perfect in our faith, because
let me tell you here, this, this morning, none of us, none of
us can be perfect in our faith.
None of us.
But the reality is, is that we understand how faithful God is and
we trust in that to give us the opportunity to live out our life
in trust and in Faith.
So verse 19, and being not weak in faith, he considered not
his own body now dead.
And then he talks about there how he trusted in the Lord and not
in the deadness of Sarah's womb.
He staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief,
but was strong in faith or strengthened in faith, giving glory
to God.
So it talks here in verse number 20 about real authentic faith,
verse 21, and being fully persuaded that when he had promised,
he was able also to perform.
So verses 20 and 21 tell us what this true faith really is.
So it's one thing to say, well, I have faith in God, but.
But then when the struggle comes, we go, well, not so much anymore.
That's not true faith.
Authentic faith is trusting in God no matter what the circumstance
might be.
It's trusting in what God says, no matter how we feel, no matter
what people tell us.
And so verse 20 and 21 tell us what true faith really looks like.
Staggering, not at the promise of God through unbelief, but being
strong in faith, being strengthened in our faith, giving
glory to God through it, giving God glory through the trial.
Abraham waited a long time, but he was giving glory to God through
that process.
And then verse 21, and being fully persuaded that what he had
promised, talking about what God had promised, he was able also
to perform.
So it's this believing that God can do and will do what he says
he will do.
I mean, that's really boiled down to the simplest form here today.
Faith is believing that God will do what he says he will do,
believing that he can do what he says he can do, and believing
that he will do what he says he Will do, no matter what my circumstance
might be.
We go to Hebrews chapter 11.
Hebrews chapter 11 is a passage of Scripture that gives us
the definition of faith.
I want you to see that with me.
Hebrews chapter 11, verse 1.
And anytime you want to do a deep dive in the matter of faith,
in the topic of faith, I would encourage you to go many places.
But one of the places that I would have you start would be Hebrews
chapter 11.
Because Hebrews chapter 11 gives us the definition of faith,
it gives us examples of faith, and it also gives us the reason why
faith is so vital for us when it comes to our Christian walk.
Hebrews 11:1 says now faith is the substance of things hoped for,
the evidence of things not seen.
Essentially this.
It's the assurance of things that we are hoping in even if we
don't see it.
It's having conviction, it's having hope in God, even if we don't
see it in front of us, coming to pass.
Now, for some of us, we're in that moment of the trial of faith
right now.
Is God really going to keep his word?
Is God really going to love me?
Is God really going to perform this as he said he's going to perform
this?
And the Bible says that we will be tested.
Now, Abraham trusted in God and God kept his word in giving him
a son.
We know that story, right?
He was given a son.
But some of you also know that that's not where it stopped.
As, as Isaac got older, what happened?
There was another test of faith.
And sometimes that's how it happens within our own life.
Sometimes we're sitting here and we're, we're trusting in God,
we're believing in God, and God gives us the answer that we were
expecting or maybe the answer that we weren't expecting.
But we still trust in him and we believe in him.
And we're all excited about that.
And we think that's it.
We think that's done.
I've.
I've trusted in God, in faith, and it's all over now.
But folks, we know that the test of faith come not just one time,
but many times throughout our life.
And we see here, Abraham, remember, has promised the Son.
You're going to be a father of many nations.
You're going to be a blessing to the whole world.
Now, Abraham, what do I want you to do?
I want you to sacrifice your son for me.
I don't know about you guys.
That's one of the hardest passages in scripture for me to understand.
How could Abraham believe?
Because God just said, abraham, I'm going to give you a
son.
Abraham, this is the son of promise.
This is the Son of faith.
This is the Son of blessing.
And now, Abraham, I want you to just go ahead and take care of
that if you really love me.
Well, from Abraham's perspective, I don't know about you,
but from Abraham's perspective, I would say, lord, that
doesn't make sense.
You're contradicting yourself.
You told me to now have the Son and believe in you.
You gave me the Son, I gave you glory, I worshiped you.
I gave the testimony of you.
And now you want to take him away and not keep your word.
But I want you to see the type of faith Abraham had.
Go with me to Hebrews chapter 11 and go further to verse number
19.
Because we know that Abraham was justified by his faith in God.
But he continued to demonstrate his faith in God through
circumstances that didn't make sense.
And see in verse number 19 what Abraham's faith really look
like.
What does this unfeigned faith look like?
What does this strong faith look like?
What does this committed faith look like?
Well, it says here in verse number 19.
Well, actually, let's go back to verse number 17.
Let's go back to verse number 17, because I think verse number
17 will give us the best context.
It says by faith, Abraham, when he was tried, offered up Isaac.
And he had that had received the promises, offered up his only
begotten Son, of whom it was said that in Isaac shall thy seed
be called.
So essentially, God is asking Abraham to do something that does
not make sense.
Abraham, I'm going to promise you a wonderful seed.
I'm going to promise you a wonderful blessing.
But now the Son that was the fulfillment of all of that.
Now I'm asking you to give up verse 19, though it says accounting
that God.
And this is, this is so important because we get into the
mind of Abraham and we get into the heart of what type of faith
he had.
He says, accounting that God was able to raise him up.
The idea here is this.
Abraham's like, I believe God's promise so much that Isaac
is the child of promise.
That even if I offer my son as a sacrifice and even if God allows
me to go through it, and even if God lets me sacrifice my only
son, I know that God's going to bring him back to life because
God is going to keep his word.
Accounting that God was able to raise him up even from the dead,
from whence also he received him in a figure.
So the Beauty of all this is that Abraham said, you know what,
God doesn't make sense to me, but I believe that you're going to
keep your word.
So I'm going to go through with this.
Now most of you know the story that right as Abraham was about to
move forward with this, God intervened.
And that was a test of faith for Abraham.
And God then provided the sacrifice.
And it's a beautiful picture of what God does for us in salvation
by sending his only begotten Son for us.
And we know that God the Father did go through with sacrificing
his only begotten Son for us so that we might have life.
But I go back to explain that because I want you to see that when
we say, oh, I'm a person of faith, I, I believe God is going
to keep his word.
How committed really are we when it comes to the test?
Because tests will come if you claim to have faith, tests will come.
And so true faith is revealed by when we exercise trust in God.
Now some people say, are you preaching a works based salvation?
No, but what I am preaching is that salvation is through faith.
And true faith, when tested, will stand strong.
Not completely perfectly in every way.
But what I will say is this.
If we say that we have faith, are we willing to live that out in
our daily walk?
Abraham was persuaded.
Go back to Romans chapter four.
We're going to hit a few more points here and then we'll finish
the chapter.
Abraham was persuaded, verse number 21.
And being fully persuaded what he had promised, what God had promised.
Are you fully persuaded in what God has promised you in salvation?
Are you fully persuaded in what God has promised you in his
word?
If you're not, what's the remedy to that?
Well, the Bible says in other places, humble yourselves therefore
under the mighty hand of God, that he might exalt you in due time.
So if I'm not sitting here today saying this, hey guys, if you
don't have faith, have more faith.
Some of you are like, well what does that mean?
I gotta just try harder.
Wasn't that against everything that we've been talking about in
Romans?
Yes.
It's not about just trying harder and pulling yourself up by
your own bootstraps and having more faith.
So what does the book of James say to do?
Draw not a God and he will draw not to you.
What does the book of first Peter say?
Cast your care upon God, cast your anxieties upon him.
So the way that we can grow in our faith is by knowing God, more
loving God, more trusting in his goodness.
As we experience that through a personal relationship with him,
you want to grow in faith, get to know him more, spend more time
with him, understand his love, understand his salvation extended
to you.
Why?
Because we go back and we see that as Abraham was fully persuaded
in what God had promised.
And, and so the idea is this.
Abraham again, he didn't consider his own body, he didn't
consider his own way, he didn't consider his prideful state.
Abraham in faith did not look at circumstances, but he looked at
the promise of God.
And so Abraham was persuaded because of God's faithfulness.
And because of God's faithfulness, he believed that God
would perform it again, verse 21, that God was able also to perform.
This kind of faith sees the work of God already done.
And by the way, the work of God is already done when it comes
to our salvation.
Some of you know, as Jesus was hanging on the cross, he didn't say,
okay, I'm going to die for you, but then all of you guys have
to keep doing more things.
No, he said this phrase, it is finished, the telestai, the payment
has been paid.
And so for us to rely on anything else outside of grace is
a selfish endeavor because we're essentially adding on to what
God has already done.
So if we want to have grace, and by the way, it's not just about
a want, we all need grace.
If we understand our desperate need of grace, specifically from
God in every element of our life, we are able to selflessly die
to our flesh and live more in a reliance to God in faith.
And so what happens here is this.
When we trust in God in the right type of faith, in authentic
faith, it sees the work of God done in the immediate right.
For, for, for Abraham, it was Isaac being born.
It was, it was God keeping his word for Isaac to continue to live
on, to be the passing on of the seed.
But then also it's entrusting in the eternal sense.
So, so faith in God is not just I'm trusting in God to send
me to heaven, it's trusting in God to send me to heaven.
And it's also trusting God to deal with the things in my immediate
sense right now.
So I want you to think about that here this morning.
True faith sees the work of God done in the immediate here and
now, and also in the eternal elements of our future.
So God promised Abraham what, that he would have a son?
God promised Abraham that he would have righteousness, salvation.
What was that?
That's, that's eternality.
We know that that was found in Genesis, chapter 15, verse 6, that
Abraham believed and God accounted it to him for righteousness.
And so verses 20 and 21 speak of this idea of true faith, authentic
faith, verse 22, the result of authentic faith.
And therefore, anytime you see the word therefore in scripture,
you need to go back and see what it's there for, right?
What is it referencing?
It's referencing something else.
Well, in this sense, it's referencing authentic fate.
It's referencing that true belief that God is going to keep
his word.
Says in verse 22.
And therefore it was imputed to him for righteousness.
Because of Abraham's faith, God imputed righteousness to him.
God imputed salvation to him.
And if we want that same experience, if we want righteousness
imputed to us, if we want God's promises to be upon us, if
we want God's blessings to be upon us, if we want God's provisions
to be upon us, if we want God's power to be on us, what do
we do?
We do the same thing Abraham did.
We trust in him, being fully persuaded that God will keep his
word.
So what are we trusting in when we trust in God?
Some.
Some people say, well, I trust in God.
I believe that he exists.
Well, that's not what the object of faith really is.
Okay?
The Bible says that the demons believe and tremble.
They believe that God exists.
Exist.
It wasn't a hard thing for the Pharisees to believe that Jesus existed.
Why do I know that?
Because they literally looked at Jesus and they saw him.
It's not a matter of Jesus's existence.
It's a matter of who Jesus is and what he has done for us.
So it's not just a matter of believing that God exists.
That's enough for me to understand righteousness and salvation.
It's not just a matter of going to church.
What we see here really is that Paul says, okay, you want this
type of faith, you want this type of grace, this is what the object
of faith is.
And so verses 23 through 25, as he ends the chapter, he describes
what we are trusting in truthfully and completely.
What are we trusting in?
It says now, it was not written for his sake alone.
Meaning these things in scripture are not written just for
Abraham.
We know that, but it says it's more than that.
They were not written for his sake alone, that it was imputed to
him only, or him, but for us also, to whom it shall be imputed.
If we believe on him that raised up Jesus, our Lord, from the
dead.
So what he's about to say is this.
You need to believe this if you want the same blessings as Abraham.
You, you, you have to believe this if you want that imputed righteousness.
You, you have to believe this if you want salvation.
He says this, we believe on him.
God the Father that raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead, who
was delivered for our offenses and was raised again for our justification.
If you guys didn't catch that, that's a great outline for the gospel,
right?
It says right there, we believe on him that raised up Jesus
our Lord from the dead, who was delivered for our offenses.
Jesus paid our price.
He died on the cross for our sins and was raised again for our
salvation, our justification.
So it's this.
Try to summarize it the best way that I can.
It's knowing and believing the gospel so that we can receive, experience
and live in the grace of God because we need God's grace for salvation.
But we don't receive God's grace unless we come to the gospel
of Jesus Christ and believe and trust in that for our complete
salvation.
So here this morning, the challenge is this.
Number one, what am I trusting in for my hope, but not just for
my hope of eternality, but my hope for today?
One of the struggles that many of us face, one of the struggles
that I face, transparently speaking, is this.
I trust in God for my salvation.
I trust that God is going to keep his word by sending me to a
place with him one day.
But I struggle with my day to day.
I struggle with this next conflict that's going to come up.
I struggle if God is going to really preserve me through this next
trial, if someone has a bad word to say against me, how I'm going
to deal with that?
How am I going to have conflict resolution?
How am I going to have restoration?
How am I going to forgive?
Because by the way, if we understand the grace of God in our
lives, the Bible says that if we understand it and live in it,
we will also be able to share that grace with other people.
That means I give people grace.
If I understand the forgiveness of God.
Ephesians, chapter 4, verse 32, then I'm able to extend that
forgiveness to other people.
I'm able to give the love of God to other people when I'm resting
in the love of God.
So folks, if we are characterized by people that have
received grace from God, we should also be characterized as people
who give grace to those around us.
And what does grace look like around us?
Giving things to people that they don't necessarily deserve?
Well, they don't deserve my love.
They don't deserve my patience.
They don't deserve my forgiveness.
They don't deserve my care and my compassion.
Well, folks, neither did we when we sinned against our Heavenly
Father.
But yet, because of his love for us, he extends grace.
And because God calls us to love others, we are to extend grace
to those around us.
And so, instead of being right at the ready to get on somebody if
they come against us, are we willing to give them grace?
Are we willing to extend a word of hope to somebody who has
no hope?
Do you ever know that sometimes people lash out at you
because they have lost hope in their own life?
And what we know is that hurt people hurt people.
You know what I mean by that?
Someone who has been hurt often reflects that hurt by hurting
others around them, because that's all they know.
And what I would say is this.
And I told this to our VBS team for the week.
But I really believe this in my life, and I'm really trying to
grow in this in my own walk, is that I want to see every encounter
with another person as either an evangelistic encounter of leading
that person to Christ who needs Jesus, or an edification or
encouragement encounter to build another Christian up in Jesus
Christ.
If someone comes against me that's not a believer and they've
wronged me, you know what the response should be?
How can this person know the truth of Jesus Christ?
How can I be an example to them so that they can come to Jesus
and know him and know forgiveness instead of saying, how
can I get back at that person if I'm having an issue with another
fellow brother and sister in Christ?
It's not a matter of me saying, how can I get back at that
person?
It's a matter of how can I build that person up and edify them
in Jesus Christ?
If.
If we see every encounter as an evangelistic or an edification
encounter, our lives will be completely different.
Our lives will be characterized by grace.
And that's exactly what Paul is saying here, is he says, you want
that grace.
You want to rest in grace.
Because if we understand the patience of God towards us, we're
able to have a lot more patience with people around us.
And so, folks, we want to be characterized not by justice, but
by.
I mean, yes, God is just.
But folks, let me just tell you here today, okay?
And I'm gonna tell you this.
In love, we don't want God's justice.
Because if you want God's justice in your life, every one of
Us deserve punishments.
So we don't.
We.
We rest in God's justice because God is a good God.
But at the end of the day, for us personally, we want God's grace.
We are in desperate need of God's grace.
I would venture to say that all of us need to pray for God's
grace each and every day.
And so what I would encourage you to do here as we close, is to
think about those two words, faith and grace.
Number one is the faith that I say I have in my life.
The type of faith that's described in Romans chapter 4.
Is it the type of faith that's described in Hebrews chapter 11?
If not, it's time to wake up.
It's time to say, you know what, Lord, I want that type of faith.
Let me know you more.
Let me trust in you more.
Folks, you're not going to trust in someone.
I talked about this last week.
You're not going to trust on someone that you don't know.
And so it's drawing nigh to God as He draws nigh to you.
It's humbling yourself therefore unto God that He will exalt
you in due time.
It's casting your care upon him in the midst of anxiety so that
he can care for you.
Folks, there are burdens that we are holding in our life and in
our hearts that we are not designed to hold.
And God can hold those anxieties, and so we need to turn
them over to him so that he can give us that freedom and, and
that satisfaction and that sustaining power that we all desire
in our life.
And so we can experience the same type of grace through faith
as Abraham did.
And so what it is is this.
It's trusting in the truth of Jesus.
It's trusting in the Gospel.
It all goes back to the Gospel.
How can I love my neighbor?
The Gospel.
How can.
How can I resolve this conflict amongst another brother
or sister in Christ?
The Gospel.
How can I reach people that need Jesus?
The Gospel.
How can I find victory over this anxiety?
And so it's faith in the Gospel of Jesus Christ so we can
rest in the grace of God in every walk that we find ourselves
in.
And so I encourage you to think about that here this morning.
Romans Chapter five.
Next week we're going to come back and we're going to look more
about the word justification.
He ends the chapter in chapter four with justification.
And now in Romans chapter five, he's going to do a deep dive
into what that justification is.
And folks, if you don't know that Word justification.
I encourage you to come along with us in this, in this word study
because there is so much richness in that word justification.
There's so much that we can understand as believers that help
us in our walk, that help us in our struggles if we can go back
to realize what it means to be justified by the blood of Jesus Christ.
And so here this morning, I want you to be praying and thinking
about that next step as we move forward in this study.
I'm going to ask if you're able to, to stand with me, every
head bowed, every eye closed, as the music plays here this morning.
The challenge will be just this.
Inspect your faith.
What type of faith do you have?
And number two, what type of faith do you have?
And who is that faith placed in?
Is that faith placed in my works?
My good, my effort?
If it is, it's time to adjust that object of faith to the only
one who can hold on to us in the midst of our trials.
But number two, if you have not trusted in Jesus Christ as your
Savior, it's time to experience that grace.
It's time to experience what it means to rest in the goodness
and the gift of Jesus.
And so here this morning, if you need God's grace today for salvation,
come forward.
We'll show you in the word of God what that means.
But for some of you as believers, folks, the grace doesn't
end at salvation.
The grace extends on the daily, daily process of life.
And so some of you who are in need, desperate need of grace today
for a situation, for a struggle, for a trial, for a doubt,
for a fear, and hey, come forward and rest in the grace of
God for your answers.
Rest in the grace of God for your strength, rest in the grace
of God for your hope and for your everlasting life.
And so here this morning, if you need to rest in his grace, to
pour out before him and say, lord, I need you today.
I need you come forward and call out to him and he will answer
that prayer.
Draw nigh to God.
He will draw nigh to you.
Lord, I pray that you be in this time of invitation, working
hearts and lives.
We thank you for all that you do for us.
We thank you for your grace.
Jesus name.
Amen.
As the music plays, some have already come.
Follow as the Lord leads here this morning.
Damn.
Thank you again for listening to the Middletown Baptist Church
podcast.
I hope that this sermon has been a blessing for you.
You would like to find out more.
Information about our church or this sermon, you can find us@middletown
baptistchurch.org or find us on Facebook or YouTube.
You can also email me directly at Josh Massaro@middletownbaptistchurch.com
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Thank you so much.
God Bless.
Have a wonderful day.