AM Romans 4:25

[0:00] This morning is taken from Paul's epistle to the Romans, Romans chapter 4, page 1134 in your pew Bibles. Romans chapter 4 Romans chapter 4 I'll read the entire chapter and the word of God commends in what then shall we say was gained by Abraham our forefather according to the flesh for if Abraham was justified by works he has something to boast about but not before God for what does the scripture say Abraham believed God and it was counted to him as righteousness now to the one who works his wages are not counted as a gift but as his due and to the one who does not work but believes in him who justifies the ungodly his faith is counted as righteousness just as David also speaks of the blessing of the one to whom

[1:19] God counts righteousness apart from works blessed are those whose law whose lawless deeds are forgiven and whose sins are covered blessed is the man against whom the Lord will not count his sin is this blessing then only for the circumcised or also for the uncircumcised for we say that faith was counted to Abraham as righteousness how then was it counted to him was it before or after he had been circumcised it was not after but before he was circumcised he received the sign of circumcision as a seal of the righteousness that he had by faith while he was still uncircumcised the purpose was to make him the father of all who believe without being circumcised so that righteousness would be counted to them as well and to make him the father of the circumcised who are not merely circumcised but who also walk in the footsteps of the faith that our father

[2:29] Abraham had before he was circumcised for the promise to Abraham and his offspring that he would be heir of the world did not come through the law but through the righteousness of faith for if it is the adherents of the law who are to be the heirs faith is null and the promise is void for the law brings wrath but where there is no law there is no transgression that is why it depends on faith in order that the promise may rest on grace and be guaranteed to all his offspring not only to the adherent of the law but also to the one who shares the faith of Abraham who is the father of us all as it is written I have made you the father of many nations in the presence of God in whom he believed who gives life to the dead and calls into existence the things that do not exist in hope he believed against hope that he should become the father of many nations as he had been told so shall your offspring be he did not weaken in faith when he considered his own body which was as good as dead since he was about a hundred years old or when he considered the barrenness of Sarah's womb no unbelief made him waver concerning the promise of God but he grew strong in his faith and as he gave glory to God fully convinced that God was able to do what he had promised that is why his faith was counted to him as righteousness but the words it was counted to him were not written for his sake only but for ours also it would be counted to us who believe in him who raised from the dead

[4:27] Jesus our Lord who was delivered for our trespasses and raised for our justification Amen and may the Lord add his blessing to the public reading of his holy and inspired word let me once again to pause episode to the Romans Romans 4 and we'll be looking at verse 25 we'll look at verse 24 it would be counted to us who believe in him who raised from the dead Jesus our Lord who delivered up who was delivered up for our trespasses and raised for our justification Jesus Christ was delivered up for our trespasses and raised for our justification I can tell that this is about the resurrection the significance of the resurrection

[5:35] Paul you know about the letter to the Romans in the first three chapters he speaks about or he wrote about the universality of sin sin is one of those things which affects every single one of us without exception whether one may be a Jew or one may be a Gentile we are all affected by sin we read even as far back as in Romans chapter 1 we read about the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth we have not only as a human race we have not only rejected God and we have broken his law but we have found ways and means of suppressing the truth concerning our own condition our own sinful state and condition we have found ways of suppressing the truth that's what we are like if we are honest enough with ourselves we know that that to be the case that's what the Bible has to say about the depravity or the total depravity of the human race it's not that we can be as evil as we can be nobody is saying that but the Bible does say quite clearly that in every department of our lives whether it be our thought life our actions our speech every department of our lives will be tainted by sin that's because that's what we are it comes down from Adam and Eve but we won't go into all the details on that but suffice to say that that's what Paul is dealing with in the letter to the Romans but then he also speaks about how we can be right before God there is thankfully there is an escape clause there is a way back to God we are not left to our own devices we are not left to flounder and to stay dead in our trespasses and sins but there is a way back to God and so we read in

[7:59] Romans chapter 3 that very famous chapter or the second half of chapter 3 after Paul writes in verse 9 in verse 10 none is righteous no not one no one understands no one seeks for God all have turned aside together they have become worthless no one does good not even one which is an apt description of all of us without exception but then he writes here in verse 21 but now the righteousness of God have been manifested apart from the law although the law and the prophets bear witness to it the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe and that is the way of salvation that is the way of salvation we cannot be made right through the law the law tells us about our sin the ten commandments is there to tell every single one of us about our sin where we've gone wrong where we've broken the law of God and that law tells us of who we are who we really are but then now there's a righteousness of the righteousness of God have been manifested apart from the law the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ the way back to God is through faith in Jesus Christ because Jesus Christ fulfilled the law perfectly when he was in this world he lived a perfect sinless life and he that brought him all the way to the cross he was without sin and when we put our faith and trust in Jesus Christ we receive the righteousness of God as we see in the person of the Lord

[9:44] Jesus Christ so we would receive a righteousness not our own but the righteousness of Christ when we put our faith and trust in him and we read again for there's no distinction for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God and so on and we are justified by his grace as a gift through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus in verse 23 and 24 in verse chapter 3 then when it comes to chapter 4 there are those who question Paul perhaps there are those who question Paul well it's all very well but what about our forefathers what about you know is this is what you're saying just something that you have conjured up in your mind or is it something that has been rooted in history and Paul is going to turn around and say well look at the example of Abraham and we've read earlier in chapter 4 Abraham was justified by faith for if Abraham was justified by works he has something to boast about but what does the scripture say in chapter 4 verse 3

[10:53] Abraham believed God and it was counted to him as righteousness and from that point on Paul is going to unpack that whole idea of Abraham believing God and it was counted to him as righteousness Abraham is the evidence that one is justified declared righteous before holy God not by good work but by faith in Jesus Christ in the case of Abraham he was justified before he was circumcised something that people have forgotten in those days he wasn't declared righteous because he was circumcised as a Jew no it was before that he was declared righteous before his circumcision that's what Paul is writing there in chapter 4 that we've read earlier and then we read that in chapter 4 and verse 21 and 22 he was fully convinced that God was able to do what he had promised we go in verse 20 no unbelief made him waver concerning the promise of God this is a promise that he was going to be the father of many nations no unbelief made him waver concerning the promise of God but he grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God fully convinced fully convinced that God was able to do what he had promised and that is why his faith was counted to him as righteousness

[12:25] Abraham was fully persuaded fully convinced that God will fulfill his promises of making him the father of many nations and don't forget if you know the story of Abraham this was also included with the the sacrifice or the intended sacrifice of Isaac which had taken place would have ended this whole promise that he would be the father of many nations if he had if he had sacrificed Isaac then that would be it it wouldn't have taken place but he knew he knew that God was going to raise up Isaac from the dead and so he was fully persuaded and because of that righteousness was imputed or reckoned or credited to him or counted to him credited to him and so in many ways it the example of Abraham is also an example for us today the relevance of Abraham's faith is also for us today it's not just for the people in the times of Rome or the Christians in Rome in Paul's time but it's also for us which is why we read in verse 23 but the words it was counted to him were not written for his sake alone but for us also see that it's so relevant that what

[13:53] Abraham did in believing in in in in being fully persuaded fully convinced that that mindset of Abraham is also relevant is also relevant for us today there are many quite quite a number of similarities between Abraham and ourselves the power of God to raise a nation from a so-called dead Abraham we read the he was as good as dead since he was about 100 years old the power of God is demonstrated there to be able to raise a nation out of 100 year old Abraham with a baron the baroness of Sarah's womb in verse 19 God was able to raise a nation and for him to become the father of many nations that shows the power of God but the connection the similarity between us and Abraham

[14:57] Jesus is going to be raised from the dead he's going to be raised from the dead that's the power of God demonstrated there in the life of Abraham and in the person of Jesus Christ and not only that but Abraham rested on a promise he rested on a promise he was sure fully convinced unwavered unwavering the promise that it is written I've made you the father of many nations in verse 17 in the presence of God in whom he believed who gives life to the dead and cause in existence the things that do not exist I have made you the father of many nations that was a promise that God gave to Abraham and he believed in that he believed!

[15:48] in that and likewise there's a promise! for us we read in verse 24 it will be counted to us who believe in him who raised from the dead Jesus our Lord who was delivered for our trespasses and raised for our justification just like Abraham believed and rested trusted in the promise of God that he will be the father of many nations likewise so should we that we should believe in a risen saviour to save us from our sins and I know I'm kind of jumping the gun there but Jesus was raised for our justification that is the kind of the whole background behind this resurrection of Christ and the connection with the so-called raising of a nation through a so-called dead Abraham which is why one writer puts it this way the object of the

[16:51] Christian's faith is the same as that of Abraham's God that gives life to the dead only this case specifically God as he who raised Jesus our Lord you see that the object of the Christian faith is the same as that of Abraham's God that gives life to the dead only in this case our case God as he who raised Jesus our Lord you know when we believe in the Lord Jesus Christ when we believe in his resurrection not just his birth his life his teachings his parables his miracles those those are wonderful things his death on the cross of Calvary his resurrection when we believe in the Lord Jesus Christ being raised from the dead for our sin and for our salvation to deal with the problem of sin in our lives to deal with us as sinners when we believe in him well we will receive that righteousness the righteousness of

[18:06] Christ that righteousness will be imputed or credited to us given to us when we believe upon the Lord Jesus Christ so the resurrection is evidently without goes without saying that a resurrection is very important it's crucial it's critical elsewhere in 1 Corinthians chapter 15 you can read all about that about the resurrection of Christ the physical bodily resurrection of Christ is so important that not only Paul addressed that issue here in 1 Corinthians 15 but the early church also codified it set in stone which is why in the apostles creed that some churches would recite we read the third day he rose again from the date that was part of the apostles creed way back in the second century it's so important that they had to put it down as a cardinal a critical point of doctrine for the early church the bodily resurrection of the

[19:21] Lord Jesus Christ is fundamental to our Christian faith when anyone rejects the bodily resurrection of Christ then they would cease to be called Christians and they would cease to be called a church the Jehovah witnesses They believed in the so-called spiritual the spirit resurrection or only the spirit was raised in one of their books they write about the heavenly father resurrected Jesus back to spirit life only to spirit life that's not what the Bible has to say what the gospel has to say what the epistles of Paul has to say about the resurrection no the resurrection is a bodily resurrection of Christ and in the case of for us today the resurrection is critical and crucial because it's linked to that doctrine of justification by faith

[20:30] I know it sounds like a big word but it's about how can we as sinners be right with our God how can sinners be right before a holy God how can we who are cut off from God a holy God how can we be brought back into relationship with God how can we be reconciled we who are enemies of God how can we reconciled to God justification by faith deals with that and the case of verse 25 we read Jesus was delivered up for our trespasses and raised for our justification!

[21:41] today this holiday season or Easter season it's time for us to perhaps reflect a little bit more about the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ and it helps us to look back and to look forward it helps us to look back and to look forward so first of all we can think about this Christ death deals with our sins Christ death deals with our sin the problem of sin the sin in our lives we read that the

[22:44] Lord Jesus Christ was delivered up delivered up according to those who if you don't you are Greek in the New Testament usage being delivered up is the same idea as being cast into prison or to be delivered to justice almost like being arrested and brought before a judge and what we have is the Lord Jesus Christ was delivered by the father to face the justice that we all actually deserve because of our offenses and our sins we mustn't forget that he was delivered to the justice that was actually meant for us it is actually meant for us but Christ went to the cross and he was crucified on the cross for us we read that he was delivered up for for or on account of our trespasses our sins our offenses he was crucified he was delivered up up for in terms of his of the justice that he faced and the crucifixion that he had to endure he was crucified on the cross on the account of our sins the laws that we've broken time and time again not just the things that we do but the things that we thought of the things that we say the broken laws sins in terms of our enmity against

[24:36] God we are enemies against God whatever people may want to say in this day and age if we are outside of Christ we are not believers in Christ we are enemies against God this is exactly what we are and then there's a debt of righteousness that we owe to God we don't have any righteousness of our own if we break God's law we do not have righteousness if we fulfill God's law then we have righteousness but we know very well we haven't done that so we don't have any righteousness so we owe a debt of righteousness to God and we consider this morning with the children we think about the compass when we deviate from the word of God we just go away away from that we miss the mark we miss the mark when we move away from the things of God which we do on a daily basis which is why the apostle

[25:37] Paul would say for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God that's exactly what we are we have broken God's law we have turned away from the right and the true path and the right path we've turned away from that we are enemies against God and we owe a debt of righteousness to God now Christ's death dealt with all of that all of that when he went to the cross of Calvary when he died upon the cross he his death dealt with our sin how well first of all that sin problem had to be removed had to be cancelled you know we live in a day and age of so called cancel culture the only thing that's worth cancelling is frankly our sins if our sin problem can be cancelled if everyone's sin problem can be cancelled what a world we live in if that thing that's hanging over our heads the sin problem that's hanging over heads can be removed that makes our lives a lot more manageable to live with the word that's used in the new testament is to expitiate to remove to cancel away sin that's what

[27:10] Christ's death does but there's also another aspect of Christ's death and that's to propitiate another big word here but basically it means to turn away wrath when we're enemies against God we seem to think that when we're enemies against God means it's a very one-sided thing we can curse and swear against God we can use the Lord's name in vain and we can curse and swear at him and we think we can just get away with it but God's wrath is still against us now when Christ died upon the cross and we believe on him the wrath of God is turned away from us unto him that's the reason why Jesus Christ is truly the sacrificial lamb of God behold the lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world is what

[28:10] John says when he first met the Lord and we read in the Old Testament that fantastic amazing passage in Isaiah Isaiah 53 surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows that's Jesus Christ 700 years before he came yet we did esteem him stricken smitten of God and afflicted but he was wounded for what for our transgressions he was bruised for what for our iniquities the chastisement of our peace was upon him and with his stripes we are healed all we like sheep have gone astray we have turned away we have turned everyone to his own way and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all that's what Jesus Christ did that's what he had to endure on the cross of Calvary on the cross of Calvary so when we look back we obviously 2000 years have passed since the cross of

[29:14] Christ when we look back on the cross we see what Jesus Christ accomplished this is not the mass we are talking about we are not reenacting the crucifixion on a weekly basis we don't do that we dare not do that no mass no reenactment can ever beat the real thing we look back upon the cross of Calvary one hymn writer puts it this way bearing bearing shame and scoffing rude in my place condemned he stood in my place condemned he stood seal my pardon with his blood hallelujah what a savior is your sin dealt with by Christ already has he taken away your sin is your sin upon that cross where

[30:15] Christ hung has he taken away your sin has he taken away your sin as far as the east is from the west so far does he remove our transgressions for us from us in the 103rd psalm as far as the east is from the west so far does he remove our transgression from us has he done that have you dealt or has Christ dealt with your sin upon that cross of Calvary but you know there's more there's one TV personality used to say and there's more we're not done yet Christ's resurrection he didn't just hang on the cross the crucifixion is not the end of it all he rose from the dead he rose from the dead and it's amazing when you think about the resurrection of Christ the focus that

[31:15] Paul is directing to in our minds this day is that Christ's resurrection is the grounds for our justification he was delivered up for our trespasses we dealt with that and raised for our justification he was raised for our justification so his resurrection is the grounds for our justification because he was raised from the dead now we can be right with God that's the reason why the resurrection is so important if he wasn't raised from the dead then we would still be dead in our trespasses and sins again if you read 1 Corinthians chapter 15 that deals with that if he didn't raise if he wasn't raised from the dead we would never be right with God we can never be right with God a dead saviour is not good a dead saviour is not good enough for us we need a living saviour we need a living saviour for us and

[32:28] Abraham is an example the example of Abraham is given here God said to Abraham you're going to be the father of many nations God said that Abraham believed in that and it was counted to him for righteousness Christ rose from the dead we believe that we are counted righteous see the similarities there God said Abraham believed he was counted righteous Christ rose from the dead we believe in Christ we are counted righteous and Christ righteousness or Christ resurrection deals with our assurance Christ resurrection deals with our assurance it's because Christ rose from the dead that's the reason why our sins is going to be dealt with once and for all not only did he die and take away our sins but now we are assured that that has been done the fact that he rose from the dead

[33:39] Christ resurrection was the divine assurance that he had put away the sin by the sacrifice of himself we read in the book of Hebrews so when we believe in the Lord Jesus Christ when we believe in the Lord Jesus Christ we believe that Christ's death is the death of sin and his resurrection is the raising up of righteousness that's what Martin Luther said Christ's death is a death of sin and his resurrection is a raising up of righteousness for by his death Christ has atoned for our sins and through his resurrection he has procured for us righteousness Christ's Christ's death dealt with our sins and when he rose from the dead he secured righteousness for us and that should give us some measure of assurance that's why I say it's not about looking back but also looking forward

[34:40] Christ's resurrection is not just the pledge of our resurrection of our righteousness Christ's resurrection is not just the pledge of our righteousness but also the cause of our righteousness so we can look forward to that and ask that question for those of us if we lack assurance will I be accepted will I be accepted before God well if we believe that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures he rose for our justification he rose for our justification and every Lord's day we think about the resurrection of Christ or some aspect about Christ but especially the resurrection of Christ when we think about that we are reminding us time and time again he rose so that we can be right with God if he died for our sins according to the scriptures and we believe!

[35:45] in that that when he rose so that we can be right with God we can have the righteousness that we lack the righteousness of Christ that's what the resurrection does we look forward to that our acceptance our assurance is rooted in the fact that he rose from the dead there's a I want to say modern hymn but it was composed in the 70s and I remember singing it when I was a child in Sunday school some of you remember this because he lives I can face tomorrow because he lives all fear is gone because I know I know he holds the future and life is worth the living just because he lives I think that's very true because he lives I can face tomorrow because he lives all fear is gone and that's exactly what Paul is doing here by pointing Christ Jesus was delivered up for our trespasses that deals with the sin problem he was also raised for justification that deals with the righteousness issue it deals with the righteousness issue it's sad when churches deal so little with the resurrection!

[37:04] I know we shouldn't fall into that trap of neglecting the resurrection of Christ Easter Sunday shouldn't be just devoted to one single day in the year it should be a weekly event to remind ourselves especially if we are Christians that our sins have been dealt with upon the cross and our righteousness that comes from Christ comes from a living Saviour the crucified Christ save us from our sins we put our faith and trust in him and then we receive that righteousness through a resurrected Saviour a risen Saviour the resurrection of Christ is so important for us today he should be the object of our worship a living

[38:07] Saviour is the object of our worship not a dead Saviour a living Saviour otherwise all that Paul has written in chapter 4 is meaningless and certainly all that Paul has written in chapter 3 would be meaningless as well if Christ had died and stayed dead then the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe would be completely pointless we have a living Saviour and he should be the object of our faith and not only that but because he lives we should have union with Christ we can only have union with Christ because he's alive and alive forevermore we can have union with Christ but not only that but also a living Saviour means all the blessings comes from him so when we pray and when we pray for for a blessing when we pray for guidance when we pray for help in time of need when we pray for forgiveness when we pray for the need of grace and the need of mercy well that comes through a living

[39:28] Saviour he has stores of grace and mercy and forgiveness and life because he lives because he lives we have all these wonderful things answers to prayer answers to prayer that's a that's a big giveaway isn't it answers to prayer because of a living Saviour a living Saviour can answer our prayers that is the blessings of the resurrection of Jesus Christ and our focus the object of our worship must be the Lord Jesus Christ who was delivered up for our trespasses upon that cross of Calvary and raised for our justification verse 25 in chapter 4 is such a wonderful reminder of the importance the significance of the resurrection of Jesus

[40:40] Christ and we have what a wonderful Saviour what a wonderful Saviour that we worship that we love and I trust that everyone in this room is found in Christ trusting in him if you haven't done so already do so today let him be your Saviour who save you from your sins and let him be the one who provides the righteousness that you lack to be reconciled to God through Jesus Christ our Lord may the Lord bless us in this few thoughts on