[0:00] This message was recorded at Vision Baptist Church in Alfred, Georgia. It is our prayer that you'll be blessed by the preaching of God's Word.
[0:13] Well, take your Bibles, if you would, and open them to Romans chapter 4. Romans chapter 4, we have come to an exciting chapter. The Holy Spirit has been building all the way up to here.
[0:25] And we are excited today to find out that he justifies the ungodly. I wish you'd write that down, that part of chapter 4, if you would. Romans chapter 4, verse 1, up the top right now.
[0:38] He justifies the ungodly. He declares the ungodly to be godly. He declares the ungodly to be godly. If you recall, that's what justification means.
[0:49] He declares that we are righteous, that we are just, that we have done right. And he does that by what Jesus Christ did on the cross. Read with me Romans chapter 4, verses 1 through 5, if you would.
[1:02] Romans chapter 4, verses 1 through 5. The Bible says, What shall we say then that Abraham our father, as pertaining to the flesh, hath found? For if Abraham were justified by works, he hath were up to glory, but not before God.
[1:16] For what saith the scripture? Abraham believed God. Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness. Now to him that worketh is a reward, not reckoned of grace, but of debt.
[1:32] But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness. If you have your Bible open, please underline in verse 5 that we believe on him that justifieth the ungodly.
[1:48] He justifies the ungodly. And that really flies in the face of religion. That flies in the face of, I'm a good guy.
[1:58] That flies in the face of, I do good. And it says, he justifies the ungodly. Father in heaven, I pray that today you would make these verses come alive to us.
[2:09] I pray that you'd help us to realize that you have always been a God who saves by grace through faith and that not of ourselves. I pray, God, that you'd help us to realize that from the days of Adam all the way to today, from the life of Abraham until today, you have been a God who saves those that believe on you and what you did.
[2:30] I pray, God, that you would teach us new things from your word. I pray you would reaffirm in our hearts. I pray you would help us to get the security of our salvation. And I pray you would save those who do not yet know you.
[2:41] And I will give you great honor and glory and praise for all that you do in Jesus' precious name. Amen. First thing I want you to notice, and maybe you could write down there, is this is not a new plan of salvation.
[2:53] Paul is saying from the very beginning, I want you to know I have shown you that you're a sinner. I have quoted the scripture and shown you a sinner, and I am telling you that what I say to you is not something new that comes out of the New Testament.
[3:06] It is not a new idea. It's an old idea. And let me give you a Bible illustration to back up what I've got to say. And so he says, every one of you know about Abraham.
[3:17] Abraham is the father of the Jews. Abraham is the father of faith in many of their minds. And he says, I'm going to take you all the way back to Abraham. And in Romans chapter 4, we're going to discuss the life of Abraham.
[3:27] And he's going to show, through the life of Abraham, how salvation worked in the Old Testament and how it works today. This is not a new plan of salvation. In Romans 4, 1 through 3, he says, hey, what have we got to say?
[3:41] Let's talk about Abraham. And what did Abraham figure out? What did Abraham figure out in the flesh? Abraham was not justified by works. Had he been justified by works, he'd have had something to glory about, something to brag about.
[3:55] But what happened was Abraham believed God and it was counted to him for righteousness. You ought to underline that in verse 3. It goes along with your memory verse for this chapter. The just shall live by what?
[4:07] What did the just live by? The just live by faith. And Abraham was saved by believing by faith. Paul has shown us the condition of man. And he has quoted scripture.
[4:18] Would you remember what he said in Romans chapter 3 and verse 10? And every good Bible preacher is a Bible quoter. Every good Bible preacher ought to fill his messages with a lot of Bible.
[4:29] Then he'd be a Bible preacher, not a storytelling preacher, not a guy who could get you excited about other things. But he's saying, this is what the Bible says. And in Romans chapter 3 and verse 10, he says, as it is written, there is none righteous, no, not one.
[4:44] And he proceeds to quote like six different passages. We saw that later. He just hooks them all together. But he says, guys, you are all sinners. And I've shown you that through the book of Romans 1 and 2.
[4:56] And now in chapter 3, just let me remind you. I told you the condition of man. I showed you what's happened. But it's what the Old Testament already said. As it is written, there is none righteous, no, not one.
[5:08] There's none that understands. There's none that seeks after God. They're all together going out of the way. They're together become unprofitable. Romans 3, 19. Now we know that what things, what things, whatever the law says, it says to them that are under the law, that every mouth may be stopped and all the world may become guilty before God.
[5:29] He says, can I remind you? This is what was going on in the Old Testament. It's what's going on in the New Testament. Everything the law does is to bring you to a place to show you that you are a sinner and you need a savior.
[5:44] In Romans 3, 21, he says, I'm telling you, this is what the law said. He says, but now the righteousness of God without the law is manifest being witnessed by. Let me just say, I can quote Old Testament law witnessed by the law and the prophets.
[6:00] I can quote Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel, Daniel, Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nehemiah, Beacah, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi. I can quote all those guys and show you that we are all sinners.
[6:12] People were saved by the same way in the Old Testament that they are in the New Testament, by grace through faith. Now you need to look here and listen to this. Maybe write it down somewhere. Because somebody's going to tell you people got saved in the Old Testament by keeping the Ten Commandments.
[6:26] No, they didn't. They got saved in the Old Testament by grace through faith. Salvation is always a God thing. Salvation is never what a man does.
[6:37] It's always what God does. So Paul goes back to the story of Abraham to help them understand salvation by grace through faith. Man is always saved by faith.
[6:50] Number two, if you write things down, Paul uses the story of Abraham to prove that salvation is by faith. It's the proof. Write down, it's the proof. Abraham is going to be his proof, his illustration.
[7:02] He's showing that Abraham was saved by faith. Now watch this. Some of you might say, well, Abraham got saved when he got circumcised. Well, Romans chapter 4 is going to show you that he got, he believed and it was counted for righteousness long before he got circumcised.
[7:18] The circumcision was an outward seal, an outward sign of an inward reality like baptism is for us. Romans 4, 3. Look at how he got saved.
[7:28] Would you read this verse out loud with me? Read with me. Romans chapter 4, verse 3. For what saith the scripture? Abraham believed God and it was counted unto him for righteousness.
[7:42] What did Abraham do? Talk to me. What did Abraham do? Believed God. And what happened? It was counted for righteousness. Abraham was a good man, but that's not how he got saved.
[7:56] Abraham obeyed God and he got circumcised, but that's not how he got saved. Abraham believed God and it was counted to him for righteousness. Abraham believed God and it was counted to him for righteousness.
[8:09] Now, if Abraham had gotten saved by his works, he'd have been able to brag about it. There is a constant theme running through your Bible. The God of heaven doesn't like anybody to share his glory.
[8:23] He likes to be the one and only number one. He likes to be the one and only champion and victor. He likes to be the only one and only savior. He likes to be the one who gets all the praise and all the glory.
[8:35] He is very jealous of his glory and very jealous of his fame. He doesn't want to share that. Look, if you would, at Romans chapter 4, verse 2. For if Abraham were justified by works, if Abraham got made right and justified by works, where he hath were of the glory.
[8:52] If Abraham got to heaven because he did something, he could get in heaven and go, man, I did it. I got here. I did all the things. I checked all the check marks. I did all the rules. I did everything I was supposed to.
[9:02] I kept all the rules and that's how I got here. And Paul said, but God wouldn't put up with that. God wouldn't put up with that. God doesn't want him glory and not before God. But that's the attitude that rules keepers have.
[9:15] Rules keepers almost always have an attitude of wanting to be able to brag about keeping rules. In Luke chapter 18 and verse 11, a Pharisee goes to the temple to pray.
[9:26] And when he gets there to pray, he stood and he prayed like this. God, I thank thee that I am not like other men are extortioners and unjust and adulterers.
[9:38] Even as this publican who's praying right here beside me, I fast two times a week. I give tithes of all that I possess. And the publican standing afar off would not even lift up his head and look up his eyes unto heaven.
[9:52] And he smote his breast and he said, God, be merciful to me, a sinner. And I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other. For everyone that exalts himself shall be abased.
[10:06] And he that humbleth himself shall be exalted. One guy came in. He's a rules keeper. He says, God, I'm glad to be here praying to you. I hope you know who I am. Remember, I'm the guy that keeps all the rules.
[10:16] I do all the good stuff. Whoa. I fast. Man, have you noticed how good a guy I am? God, I am one of your good ones. And I ain't like that one right there. I'm not like him at all. And the other guy sent over and he knows he doesn't do well.
[10:29] And he hits himself on the chest and says, Father, be merciful to me, a sinner. And Jesus said, that's the guy that got saved. That's the guy that got something. The other guy didn't.
[10:40] I'm sure you remember the story of the rich young ruler. That's found in Luke chapter 18 and verse 18. A certain ruler asked him saying, good master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?
[10:53] And Jesus said, why do you call me good? None is good save one. That's God. You know the commandments. Do not commit adultery. Do not kill. Do not steal. Do not bear false witness.
[11:04] Honor your father and your mother. And the rich young ruler said, all of these have I kept from my youth. Man, God, I've been a good guy ever since I was a kid. Ever since I was a teenager.
[11:15] Man, I always obeyed my parents. Always honored my parents. Didn't lie. Didn't cheat. Didn't steal. Hey, I am a good guy. That's what rules keepers say. But the point of Romans is no, sir.
[11:29] That's not true. You have sinned against the holy God. You deserve to go to hell. And it is only the grace of God that saves you. Write this down. It's either faith or works.
[11:41] It's either faith or works. You can't have it both ways. If you think that you're saved by what you do, then your works are considered a debt. If you think you're saved by what you do, then your works are considered a debt.
[11:56] Because works would give you the right to glory, to boast and brag. That would take away from God and what he's done through Jesus Christ. Look at Romans chapter 4 verse 2 with me, would you?
[12:08] Romans chapter 4 verse 2. For if Abraham were justified by works, he hath were of to glory, but not before God. If you decide that you want to work your way to heaven, you will start paying towards a debt you owe.
[12:24] Romans chapter 4 verse 4. The Bible says, Now to him that worketh is the reward not reckoned of grace, but of debt. Now look this way.
[12:35] Look this way. If you decide you're going to get to heaven by keeping rules, if you decide you're going to get to heaven by being good, if you decide you're going to get to heaven because you do the right things, and you keep the Ten Commandments, and you get baptized, and you attend church, and you give at least a tithe, and you do, and you do, and you do, and if that's what you think gets you to heaven, and you're a good neighbor, and a good husband, and a good dad, and a good son, if that's what you do, he says, okay, all bets are off, no more mercy, no more grace, you owe me.
[13:05] That's what he said. Romans 4, 4. Would you read that verse out loud with me? It's on the screen right behind me. Read what it says. Now to him that worketh is the reward not reckoned of grace, but of debt.
[13:20] How many of you have ever been in debt? Hold your hand up. How many of you enjoy being in debt? Say amen. How many of you would like to be in debt to God, where God said, I expect perfection, and since you decided you want to pay me, all right, I want exactly that perfection.
[13:39] How many of you have ever paid your bills like this? The electric bill comes, and it's for $98.20, and you say, I can do real good this month. I plan on sending $75, and you should think that's good because that's the best I can do, and the best I can do, you guys should accept.
[13:55] How long will they leave your power on at that rate? Could you help me there? They'll leave it on, won't they? Okay, because all they want is the best you can do. No, if you owe a debt, you owe it all. Is that right or not?
[14:06] How many times they look at you and say, hey man, it's okay. I know you owe 100, but I'll take 60. I mean, that's the best you can do, and the best you can do is the best you can do, and we'll just forget the rest of it. That's not the way it usually works.
[14:18] Amen? And the God of heaven looks down and says, all right, okay, you want to pay me for your salvation. Not a problem.
[14:30] I'll just go ahead and tell you, you owe me 100%. Don't be coming up here with 99.99. Don't be thinking I'm going to round it off and knock it out for you.
[14:40] You want it out of debt. You can have it out of debt. If you refuse the gift, then you work at purchasing it. You started out in the hole, by the way. You started out in debt because you had already done wrong before you found out about salvation and God.
[14:58] If it's a debt, it means you're already behind. If you try to add up enough good works, you'll never achieve perfection. One of the things I love about credit cards is how they never seem to be able to be paid.
[15:12] Have you ever noticed that? They let you pay a minimum. And they are so kind to you to let you have these low payments. And they'll let you have that payment. But nowadays, even by law, I have to tell you at the rate you're paying, it'll be 942 years before you catch up.
[15:27] They tell you that right on the bill. This is exciting news. You can only pay $22.40 this month. But if you continue at that rate, you will be 9,000 years old before you get this debt paid.
[15:38] That's exciting. I remember when Betty and I wanted my first credit card so bad. I was so hungry to get a credit card because real grown-ups had one. And this was way back in like 1974.
[15:52] And Betty and I were going to buy an air conditioner and we'd saved $400 cash to get a big window, 25,000 BTU unit to put in our window. And I went into the Sears store and I said, I want a credit card.
[16:04] And he said, we don't sell credit cards. I said, I'm going to buy, I'm going to buy that air conditioner and here's the cash. But you ain't getting the cash if you don't give me a credit card. And the guy said, okay, I'll give you a credit card.
[16:16] I thought I had won the greatest victory until every month they kept adding new money to my money. I'd owe them 10 and they'd say 10 wasn't what I owed them. Say, man, you really want to play that game with God?
[16:28] You really want to play that game with God? He looks and says, you want to get to heaven doing good, you better do real good. You better do better than you can do. It doesn't work that way.
[16:39] Number four, God's salvation is by grace through faith. Write it down. Grace through faith. That's how God does salvation. In Romans chapter four and verse five, but to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness.
[16:58] We need a whole long time to explain being counted. We've already done some of that. We'll do it later. Salvation goes to the one who quits working quits trying, gives up, and accepts that he cannot save himself.
[17:12] I need you to hear that. Salvation goes to the one who quits working, quits trying, gives up, and accepts that he cannot save himself. He saves the ungodly.
[17:27] Notice how he gets saved. It's counted to him. He still never accomplishes it. It's counted to him. He still never gets good enough.
[17:38] Notice salvation is God justifying the ungodly. The struggle to be good enough is our trying to say we are not so bad.
[17:50] Most of us have a real problem saying, now wait a minute. I know I might not be all that godly, but please don't call me ungodly.
[18:00] I might not be godly, but I'm pretty good. We might not be completely godly. We're pretty good. We can get better if we keep working on it.
[18:11] That's what we think. But here's what he says. I only justify the ungodly. I only justify the ungodly. He justifies the ungodly.
[18:24] They quit working on it. So many of us are like this. I know we come to church and we're like, okay, you're right, man. I have messed up my life. I have made so many mistakes.
[18:34] I got pregnant out of wedlock. I committed this sin or that sin. I got drunk. I use drugs. I got a DUI on my record. I've been a thief. I've been in jail. I'm a bad guy, but I'm going to turn over a new leaf and I'm going to get good enough for God to save me.
[18:50] And God looks at him and says, I only justify ungodly people. So quit trying. Humble yourself and admit you need to be saved. Bible salvation comes from believing, not doing.
[19:06] Bible salvation comes from believing, not doing. So quit working and start believing. It's not our faith that saves us, but who we put our faith in.
[19:18] It's not the strength of your faith, but the strength of who you put your faith in, the object of your faith. God wants to be believed.
[19:29] Let's just look this way just a second. Some of you have come to realize that salvation is by faith. And so you put the emphasis on your faith and you want to make sure that you, that I have had enough faith, that my faith was good enough, that I believed right, that I prayed right, that I believed enough.
[19:46] And you still got the emphasis on what you did. You still have the emphasis on, I believed right, and I have enough faith, and my faith is good enough. And you still put all the emphasis on you.
[19:57] You. And the God of heaven's looking down and saying, I save ungodly people. Quit. Stop it. I save ungodly people.
[20:10] If you had money, I didn't bring my wallet, but if you had money and you had $20, you know what makes $20 worth $20? Not your believing it's worth $20.
[20:21] It's $20. What if you walk into the store and say, I believe it's $20. I'd like to buy that $19 thing. I think I should get some change. And what if they look down and say, you don't believe it enough, so we're going to count that as a 10.
[20:37] It's not your faith. It's the object of your faith. It's not, did I believe? Some of us doubt our salvation. I just want to make sure I'm saved. Did I pray it right? Did I believe enough?
[20:49] How strong was my faith? I was just, I was just very weak in my faith and I'm not sure my faith was enough. It's not about your faith. It's about who you believed in.
[21:01] Abraham believed. Abraham believed God. Abraham didn't say, I believe in my belief. Abraham didn't say, I have faith in my faith.
[21:13] Abraham said, I believe. I believe God. So the strength of your faith is the object of your faith, not your faith. It's God.
[21:26] So what did Abraham believe? Hang on. We're going to have fun now. What did Abraham believe? Genesis chapter 15 and verse 6. That's what's being quoted in the passage.
[21:38] In Genesis 15, the Bible says, and he believed in the Lord and he counted it to him for righteousness. Abraham believed in the Lord and God counted it to Abraham for righteousness.
[21:51] Now, I just want to show you some of the things. What did Abraham believe? You said, now listen to what I'm going to tell you. You see, salvation is always through one person, Jesus. And you might ask yourself, well, how did they get saved in the Old Testament since they didn't know about Jesus?
[22:05] Listen, who did they believe in back then? We know we believe in Jesus and we look back to the cross, but who did they believe in? Ready for this? They believed in Jesus. They were just looking to the cross.
[22:17] They didn't really know his name, but they knew he was coming and you're going to know that in just a minute. So get your paper ready. You're going to know that the Bible says that. Look, if you would, look, if you would, Genesis chapter 15 and verse 6, he believed the Lord and he counted it to him for righteousness.
[22:33] In Genesis 15, God takes Abraham out and he promises him a seed as numerous as the stars of the heavens. In another place, he promises him as many children as the sand on the seashore.
[22:45] Abraham was 85 years old and he had no children, but he believed God anyway. You see, Abraham believed God.
[22:56] He had a hard time believing his body. When you're 85 years old and your wife's like 85 years old or 75 years old, it's probably pretty hard you're going to have a whole bunch of kids. Most of us at my age, if somebody told me that Betty was going to have a new baby, I'd be like impossible, too old, too old, factories closed, not going to work.
[23:19] Abraham didn't believe his body. Abraham believed God. In Hebrews chapter 11 and verse 6, it's clear that that's what he did. You might not have write that down. In Hebrews chapter 11 and verse 6, it's a verse that applies to all of us.
[23:32] It says, without faith it is impossible to please him. For he that comes to God must believe that he is, that God is, and that God is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him. This verse in Genesis 15, 6 says great truth.
[23:47] It's one verse, great truths, faith, he believed, imputation, it was counted to him, righteousness. The verse is quoted in the scripture several times. Write these down.
[23:57] Romans 4, 3, where we are now. For what says the scripture, Abraham believed God and it was counted unto him for righteousness. The strength was not Abraham's faith or believing, but the object of his faith, God.
[24:12] Abraham believed who? Help me. Abraham believed God. He believed God about something. It was counted as righteousness. He believed God and it was counted as righteousness.
[24:24] God made many promises to Abraham, but the main one would be that he would have a deliverer born to him, a redeemer, the seed.
[24:35] I'll show you that in a minute. Galatians chapter 3 and verse 6 quotes that verse again. Quotes Genesis 15. Even as Abraham believed God, it was accounted to him for righteousness.
[24:47] That's Galatians chapter 3 and verse 6. Again, notice the word it. It was counted to him for righteousness. What's counted to him for righteousness? His faith. What's really counted him for righteousness is he believes the heir will come and will die and pay his sin.
[25:05] We'll see that in a minute. It's not his faith, but the object of his faith. Have I said that yet? It is not his faith, but it's the object of his faith.
[25:16] I have a $20 bill and I'm believing hard that it's $100. I believe it's $100. I believe it's $100. I believe it's $100. I want to pay that $99 bill with this $20 bill. I believe that's $100. And they'd look at you and say, I don't care what you believe.
[25:27] That's $20. See, it's not your faith. It's the object of your faith. What was he believing? He was believing God had a plan, a person, an heir that would bring salvation.
[25:39] By the way, you know that Abraham knew about the sacrifices. He knew about the lamb. He knew about the blood. He knew what Adam had done. And he knew what Adam told about his sin and his sacrifice.
[25:50] They passed those stories down. He knew that Adam would have said the story. I sinned against God. We were cast out of the garden and we tried to cover up ourselves with our own works, but God gave us skins.
[26:03] He knew about Abel's sacrifice being accepted. He knew that story. He knew about Abel coming before God with blood and it being accepted. He knew about Noah landing the ark. And when he landed the ark, he knows that Noah got off the boat and made a sacrifice.
[26:17] They know a whole lot of stuff. They know. The verse is quoted again in James chapter 2 and verse 23. And the scripture was fulfilled which says, Abraham believed God and it was imputed.
[26:31] That's the same word as counted. Put a circle around imputed. Draw it to the margin. Write counted. Same word. It was imputed unto him for righteousness and he was called a friend of God. Abraham again knew that it was God doing something.
[26:44] It was not Abraham's work or his faith, but God doing something. And imputing it to him. Counting it to him. Putting it on Abraham's account. You see what God did is he took Abraham's sin off of Abraham's account and he put that on Jesus' account and he took Jesus' righteousness and he put it on Abraham's account.
[27:02] That's what he does for us when we get saved. What was Abraham believing? Many promises. But the main one is that Abraham was a sinful fallen man that there was a promise of a coming seed, an heir, who will die on the cross and carry his sin burden.
[27:19] Look at Genesis 15.1. I hope you look at things up in the Bible. It's beautiful. You will know today that salvation's always been done the same way. In Genesis 15.1, after these things where the Lord came unto Abraham in a vision saying, Fear not, Abram, I am thy shield and thy exceeding great reward.
[27:38] It's God who is Abraham's great reward. God promises Abraham that he'll have an heir, an heir. Genesis 15.4. And behold, the word of the Lord came unto him saying, This shall not be thine heir, but he that shall come forth out of thine own bowels shall be thine heir.
[27:57] Abraham was like, God, you promised me an heir, a child, a son, to carry on my name. You promised me an heir like you promised Adam and Eve that they would have a son. You promised Eve she'd have a son that would stomp the head of the serpent.
[28:08] You promised it. Eve was looking for it when Abel was born. Eve was looking for it when Seth was born. Everybody's been looking for it. You promised it to me. I can't have any babies. So how about my servant? And God said, No, I told you I would do it.
[28:20] It's not what you can connive up and scheme up. Abraham first goes and says, God, how about taking my servant? And God said, I'm not taking your servant. I said, I'd do it. And Abraham and Sarah get together and have a conversation and they decide that they'll have a marital relations and have a baby.
[28:35] And when they do, they go and say, God, how about taking this son Ishmael? And God said, No, I won't take what you do. I will provide you an heir. God said, I'm your exceeding great reward.
[28:46] Don't forget Genesis as Eve looked for an heir, a son and a liver, Seth and Abel. I want you now to look at Galatians 3, 16. It helps you understand.
[28:58] Maybe I should stop here before I give you these verses. Let me show you something. Look, look, look, look. In Genesis 1, you don't know much about what's going on in the Bible. It's the book of beginnings. It's the book when God lays it out and you really won't understand it all until you get further into the book.
[29:13] You ever read a book and in the first chapter, you're like, I'm not sure what's going on here. I'm not sure who the hero is. I'm not sure who the villain is. I'm not sure what's happening and you need the whole book. Well, the Bible is progressive revelation.
[29:24] God shows us a little bit about himself. In the beginning, God. Okay, so we got that much. But I don't know a whole lot about God. Not yet, but every book he keeps telling me more until I get to the book of Revelation which he stands and screams, here's the revelation of my son, Jesus Christ.
[29:41] I'm going to show him to you. So in Genesis, when you read that, maybe you don't know it, but the apostle Paul is going to tell you some things. He's going to say, Holy Spirit told me what's going on. This is the word of God. Watch what happens. Galatians 3.16.
[29:53] Now to Abraham and his seed, there's that word again. Boy, they like that word. To Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He said, not and to seeds as of many, but as of one.
[30:06] And to thy, help me read that verse. And to thy what? And who is that seed? Which is Christ. Abraham, you're going to have a seed.
[30:17] Okay. Isaac. Nope. I'm not talking about all your seeds. I'm not talking about all the kids you're going to have. I'm not talking about Isaac and your grandkids. I'm talking about you're going to have a seed, a special seed. You're going to be a blessing to the whole world through your seed.
[30:30] And that seed, which is who? Christ. Galatians chapter 3, verse 8. Galatians chapter 3, verse 8. And the scripture foreseeing that God would justify the heathen through faith.
[30:45] Hang on. You're going to have a hard time believing this. Preached before the gospel unto Abraham. Preached before the gospel. Abraham going to tell you something nobody knows yet.
[30:58] Going to give you the gospel before it ever gets told. Nobody knows about Jesus coming yet. Nobody's read Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. But I know because I'm God and I'm the Savior. And he said, I'll preach before the gospel unto Abraham saying, in these shall all the nations be blessed.
[31:14] So then they which be of faith are blessed with Father Abraham. Abraham knew because the gospel was preached to him. We now get to take part in what was promised to Abraham.
[31:26] In Galatians 3, 13 it says, Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law being made a curse for us for it is written, cursed is everyone that hangs on a tree that the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through who?
[31:43] Through Jesus Christ that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith. Galatians 3, 8 again. The scripture foreseeing that God would justify the heathen through faith.
[31:59] Preached before the gospel unto Abraham. The gospel was given in real concise terms in Genesis chapter 12 and verse 3.
[32:11] I will bless them that bless thee and curse him that curseth thee and in thee shall all the families of the earth be blessed. Abraham, I'm going to send a seed.
[32:24] And Abraham has no kids yet and Abraham is still at the very beginning of his life but he said hey Abraham you're going to have a son that seed will be Christ and he will come and he will redeem.
[32:36] In Hebrews chapter 11 and verse 8 by faith Abraham when he was called to go out into a place where he should actually receive the inheritance obeyed and went out not knowing whether he went by faith he sojourned in the land of promises in a strange country dwelling in tabernacles with Isaac and Jacob the heirs with him of the same promise for he looked for a city which had foundations as builder and maker as God which you don't know is this while Abraham was walking around out in the desert he was not looking for the promised land he was looking for a city that God built see he knew some stuff God had told him the gospel before the gospel was being preached God had told him you remember what Jesus told the Pharisees in John chapter 8 and verse 56 your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day and he saw it and he was glad to Jesus boy the Pharisees got mad man they got really mad but Jesus looked at
[33:37] Pharisees and said Abraham knew about me Abraham was glad when he saw me Abraham was glad when he heard this story Abraham was glad he rejoiced Abraham knew about Jesus all the way back then according to Jesus how many of you believe Jesus if you do say amen John chapter 8 and verse 56 believing God was the story of all the saved Bible men everybody who ever got saved got saved the same way Abraham believed God and it was counted to him for righteousness Adam knew that he had sinned and only God could save through the promised seed and he believed enough that he called Eve the mother of all living he was told you're gonna die and then God said I tell you what I'll give you a promise you will have a seed your wife will have a seed that'll crush the head of that stinking snake bruise your heel crush his head and Adam goes really you got a promise that somebody's coming out of our seed Eve you're the mother of living we were gonna die but now we're gonna live thanks to
[34:41] God Jacob knew he was saved by the coming of the Savior in Genesis 49 10 the scepter shall not depart from Judah God's gonna set Jesus on the throne of David that's what he said Moses knew he was saved by the promise in Deuteronomy chapter 18 and verse 18 I will raise them up a prophet from among their brethren like unto thee said someday there'll be a prophet like you Moses is gonna be Jesus David knew that one would be born to him that would sit on the throne forever Isaiah knew it he said in Isaiah 53 6 all we like sheep have gone astray we have turned everyone to his own way but the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all Daniel looked for an anointed one that would come a Messiah the prince in Daniel chapter 9 and verse 25 Micah said out of Bethlehem there will be one born they were all looking for the coming of Jesus and in John 1 29 John was baptized and he was the forerunner he was the guy that got the greatest privilege of all he was the guy that was standing in the water baptizing people and Jesus comes across the little knoll on the top of the rise up there and as he comes across
[35:47] John says behold the Lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world Abraham believed God and it was counted to him for righteousness Abraham how'd you get saved it wasn't because I got circumcised it wasn't because I kept the law because the law won't come for hundreds of years after I'm dead there'll be no law it's not because of my circumcision because I won't get circumcised for at least two more chapters it wasn't my circumcision it wasn't keeping the law here's what got me saved I believed God well Abraham what'd you believe about God believed he was going to send me an heir that blessed the whole world I rejoiced to see Jesus I rejoiced to see him I knew he was coming I believed Jesus so here's something for you nobody's ever gotten saved by being good God you can you can you can go to the ganges river and get baptized immersed and washed as many times as you want you can go to Jerusalem and get baptized in the Jordan river you can get baptized you can join every church you can cover all the bases you can be a
[36:51] Mormon one day you can be a Seventh-day Adventist the next day a Methodist a Pentecostal a Baptist get all the groups of Presbyterian hey don't forget to be a Buddhist get them all down and none of that will get you saved you can study all the religion in the world and here's what you'll finally come up with if you know the truth God justifies the ungodly Jesus justifies the ungodly the those of us who come and say tried it all I'm not good enough I can't man I'm a sinner as it is written there's none righteous no not one they've all gone out of the way their mouths are full of filthy junk they're just nothing for all have sinned and come short of the glory of God and Paul says but you can be saved the way Abraham was because here's what Abraham did Abraham believed God there are two things that ought to be very clear to you today and I hope you got them but you probably didn't so I'm going to reiterate them number one you're not getting saved by doing things you're going to get saved by trusting
[37:58] Jesus and number two some of you that struggle with security of your salvation and you wonder am I really saved quit believing in you and start believing in him quit thinking it's the focus of your faith like I believe my some of you have faith in your faith you have faith in the prayer that you prayed you have faith in the believing that you did and you're like I think I believed enough no it's not how much you believed it's did you believe God did you believe Jesus it's not how much you believed it is just simply believing God you stand there a worthless helpless dirty no good sinner and you receive a gift the wages of sin is death but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord that's how we get saved so some of you you really battle with am I saved because you really think that looking at that $20 makes it $20 you're looking at that $20 bill and say
[39:02] I believe it's $20 I believe it's $20 I believe it's $20 I hope it's $20 I believe it's $20 I hope it's $20 that's dumb it's $20 just believe it just act like it's $20 reckoned it to be so Jesus died for the ungodly how many you've ever become ungodly enough to know that you just trusted Jesus if you did that's where your salvation is it's not who baptized you not who prayed with you not did you say the right words not did you believe the right words it is do you trust Jesus I'm saved today not because I'm any good but I trust someone who is good and trust Jesus today Father in heaven I love you thank you for the chance to share your word with your people and I pray God that you draw them close to you and motivate them about what a wonderfully good God you are God help some that doubt their salvation often and have insecurity of their salvation help them today I pray and then God I pray that you would be with those that are not saved that they would be saved you have been listening to
[40:16] Austin Gardner pastor of vision Baptist church for contact information location service times or more audio and video recordings log on to www.visionbaptist.com