It's 131, if you're using a red-coloured Bible, 1131, and Ralph is going to read.
He gives a reference.
So, Romans chapter 3, and reading from verse 27 to chapter 4, and verse 12.
Where then is boasting? It is excluded. On what principle? On that of observing the law?
No, but on that of faith. For we maintain that a man is justified by faith apart from observing the law.
Is God the God of Jews only? Is he not the God of Gentiles too? Yes, of Gentiles too,
since there is only one God who will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through that same faith.
Do we then nullify the law by this faith? Not at all. Rather, we uphold the law.
What then shall we say that Abraham, our forefather, discovered in this matter?
If in fact Abraham was justified by works, he had something to boast about, but not before God.
What does the scripture say? Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.
Now when a man works, his wages are not credited to him as a gift, but as an obligation.
However, to the man who does not work, but trusts God who justifies the wicked, his faith is credited as righteousness.
David says the same thing when he speaks of the blessedness of the man to whom God credits righteousness apart from works.
Blessed are they whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered.
Blessed is the man whose sin the Lord will never count against him.
Is this blessedness only for the circumcised, or also for the uncircumcised?
We have been saying that Abraham's faith was credited to him as righteousness.
Under what circumstances was it credited?
Was it after he was circumcised, or before?
It was not after, but before.
And he received the sign of circumcision, a seal of the righteousness that he had by faith, while he was still uncircumcised.
So then, he is the father of all who believe, but have not been circumcised, in order that righteousness might be credited to them.
And he is also the father of all who believe, and he is also the father of the circumcised, who not only are circumcised, but who also walk in the footsteps of the faith that our father Abraham had before he was circumcised.
Thanks very much, Ralph.
Well, please follow with me as we look at this passage from Romans chapter 3, 27 through from 4, verse 12.
As we don't have PowerPoint, you won't see any headings, but on the back of the new sheet, there is place for you to take notes.
There is also a big A4 sheet, which does have the outline of the talk on it, which, I don't know, Rob has some.
If anybody would like that to follow, you can just put your hand up and pass it along.
But they are there for you if you want.
And I do welcome any questions at all over our studies in Romans.
We don't cover everything in detail, and we try to give the big picture, the big ideas.
So if there's ever any questions or anything you want to discuss afterwards, please feel free to do that.
Well, let's pray together and ask for God's help.
Our Father, we thank you again for your grace to us, and we recognize that having your word in a language that we can understand and hear is a part of your grace.
That you speak to us in our language.
You speak to us in our ways.
So that we may understand you, the creator and the savior of the world.
And we ask that right now, by your spirit, you would speak into our hearts, into our lives.
Change us.
Make us more like you.
Help us to understand how we should respond to you.
We ask this in Jesus' name.
Amen.
So when was the last time you ever wrote a letter of thanks to your boss for your paycheck?
Or sent a card to say, thank you so much for your generous gift?
Now that would be absolutely daft, wouldn't it?
Nobody sends cards for something that you have earned.
Unless, of course, you're looking for promotion.
You don't say thank you because you deserve it.
You've worked hard for it.
You earned it.
In fact, if you didn't get your wage at the end of the week or the end of the month, you'd be straight into their office.
You would be demanding it.
It's your right.
Your employer is obliged to pay you.
Now hold that thought in your mind and let me introduce you to Fred.
Fred never bothered with church.
His parents went, but he never saw the point.
He always found that it interrupted his sport and his socializing.
The one Bible that he got from school, from the visiting Gideons, he used to balance his desk.
In adult life, God and the Bible were of little use and relevance to him.
Fred has a good friend called Bob.
Bob was the local vicar's son.
He went to church all the time, not because he was forced to, but because he thought it was a good thing to do.
He got so involved in church life, he became the youth leader, and later on he became an elder, having studied theology.
Poor Fred was now struggling with a broken marriage, and he was hitting the bottle quite hard.
Bob, however, had a great family, and he was a well-respected man in the community.
Now here's the question.
Tell me, which one deserves God's forgiveness?
Who has earned God's acceptance?
Fred or Bob?
Which one does God owe?
Well, if you're not sure what the answer is, look at verse 4 of chapter 4.
Now when a person works, his wages are not credited to him as a gift, but as an obligation.
They've earned it.
They deserve it.
However, to the person who does not work, that means who doesn't try to earn their salvation,
but trusts God, who justifies the wicked, that's to put them right with God,
their faith is credited as righteousness.
And here is the unique promise of the gospel.
When it comes to God's salvation and forgiveness, it's not about what we have done,
but it's all about faith in what Christ has done.
It's not about our work, but Christ's work.
Wages from an employer are always earned.
You deserve it because of your hard work.
You receive your paycheck because of your performance.
Salvation from God is never earned.
It's always undeserved.
The grace that we receive from God is because of Christ's perfect performance for us.
So if we don't earn salvation, how do we receive it?
Well, have a look at verse 27 of chapter 3.
Where then is boasting?
Are there any big heads in this room?
Is there anybody here this morning who thinks that they deserve God's forgiveness?
Anybody here that think that because they've gone to church all their life,
they've read their Bibles, they've never had an affair,
that they've somehow have earned God's favor?
Verse 27.
Where is the boasting?
It's excluded.
There are no room.
There's no room for big heads in here.
Why?
Well, look at what it says.
On what principle?
On that of observing the law because of something you've done?
No.
But on that of faith.
For we maintain that a person is justified, put right with God,
by faith,
apart from observing the law,
apart from doing anything.
You see, salvation is received by faith in what Jesus has done,
not by works we have done.
And it's important for us to understand how faith operates.
There's two things here.
The first is this.
Faith is not an intellectual exercise.
It's a trusting exercise.
I'm sure we all watched the news
as we saw the Chilean miners brought to the surface.
There was this metal capsule
that was lowered down through a shaft
which was no more than two feet,
half a mile down, two feet wide.
And it would bring the miners safely to the surface.
Now, every single one of those miners believed
that if you stepped into the capsule
and closed the door,
the laws of engineering would begin to operate
and they would be hoisted to the surface
and they would be rescued.
They knew, they believed,
that's what would happen.
But unless they actually stepped into it,
they would never be rescued.
Because believing in something intellectually
is not having faith in something personally.
Belief will always leave you on the outside.
Knowledge will just leave you on the outside.
Faith is the opposite.
Faith means you will actually entrust yourself.
And in the miners' case,
it's entrusting themselves to the capsule.
They step in, close the door,
in faith,
that it will bring them to the surface.
Belief won't save you.
Faith does.
Now, in the same way,
we are entrusting ourselves
to the perfect work of Christ on the cross.
I don't just believe he died for my sin.
Lots of people can believe
in the person of Jesus,
that he was here on earth 2,000 years ago,
that he died.
Lots of people believe that.
But we have to have faith
in his death
for my sin.
To have faith is to step into Christ,
closing the door on everything else,
and saying that he is sufficient,
completely sufficient,
to justify us,
to put us right with God.
So that's the first thing.
Faith is not an intellectual exercise.
It's a trusting exercise.
And second,
faith is not just an exchange with God,
but a channel to God.
I'm sure some of you here
have Tesco club cards.
Do you?
Tesco club cards?
Tesco club cards.
Every time you go shopping,
you cash in your little card,
and you get some extra points.
And after so many weeks
of building up your points,
you can cash them in,
and then you can get your shopping for free.
But it's not really free, is it?
They tell you it's free.
The advertisement says,
here's your points,
get your Tesco shopping for free.
But in reality,
you've actually paid for all of those points
in previous weeks.
And then you bring in your card,
and you exchange them
for a bag of spuds,
or whatever else is in your trolley.
Now in the same way,
we can think that we have to cash in
our faith to God.
I will only find salvation
if I have enough faith built up,
if I have enough faith points in my life.
But faith is never measured like that.
You can't measure it in terms of quantity.
It's not an exchange that we do with God.
Like saying to God,
well, here's my faith.
I've been working really hard.
I've built up my faith.
And I'm giving you my faith.
Now in return,
you give me your salvation.
That's works.
No, faith is a channel to God.
through which we receive
the free gift of salvation.
So no one here this morning can say,
I have more faith than you.
Or the reason why I'm a Christian
and you're not
is because I have more faith points than you.
You see, there's no big heads allowed.
And if there are any big heads,
the door is over there.
You can leave.
Faith is simply trusting
in what Jesus has done.
His work,
his performance,
his ability,
and not mine.
Faith is a channel.
It is the means by which salvation
flows freely to us.
And this is how it is
for everyone,
regardless of your race or culture.
Look at verse 29.
The question is being asked,
who is this for?
Is God the God of Jews only?
Just of religious people?
Is he not the God of Gentiles too,
the people who are not religious?
Yes, of Gentiles too,
since there is only one God.
Who will justify the circumcised,
the religious people by faith?
And the uncircumcised,
the non-religious people,
through the same faith?
You see,
you might be the most committed person
in church.
You might never have even bothered
with church.
You might think yourself very moral.
You may be struggling this morning
because you're so conscious
of all the things you've messed up
with this week.
But it doesn't matter
whether you're a Fred
with a broken,
messed up life,
or a Bob
who is the moral pillar
in the community.
There's just one God
and he operates
with all of us
in exactly the same way.
The only way we receive
our salvation
is by faith,
not works.
So there's no room
for big heads
in here.
You can leave.
Well,
if salvation
is not received
by,
if salvation
is received
by faith,
we're still asking
the question,
what is it
that I actually
have to do?
Surely I have to do
something.
Well,
the answer is no,
you don't have to do anything.
Look at chapter 4,
verse 1.
What then shall we say
that Abraham,
our forefather,
discovered in this matter?
Now Abraham
was considered
the father,
the hero
of the Jewish people.
Dads used to tell
their kids stories
about Abraham
at night.
But most importantly,
what Abraham did,
they did.
How Abraham lived,
they must live.
He was their hero,
he was their father.
The way he was,
they've got to follow.
So Paul introduces
their hero,
Abraham,
and he's asking them
questions about,
well, let's see
how he got his salvation.
So in verse 2,
if in fact
Abraham was justified
by works,
he had something
to boast about.
In other words,
God,
I've obeyed you,
so you owe me.
But not before God.
What does the scripture say?
This is a quote
from Genesis chapter 15.
It says,
Abraham believed God
and it was credited
to him as righteousness.
So there's a very
straightforward question here.
What did Abraham do
to achieve his salvation?
Answer,
absolutely nothing.
There was nothing
he could point to.
There was nothing
that he had actually done.
He simply believed.
He had faith
in what God said
he was going to do.
So our salvation
is achieved
by God's gift of grace,
not our good performance.
It's by grace,
not performance.
Suppose you're going
for your job interview.
You're going to bring along
with you your CV,
aren't you?
Your CV is a record
of your performance.
how well you've done
in college,
the grades
that you've earned,
the position
that you held
in your last job,
the promotion
and so on
and everything
that you've deserved
is all there
on your CV.
Now whether you get
the job or not
depends on how well
you've performed
over the last number
of years
and how well
you're going to perform
in the interview.
So you're only going
to get the job
on your merit.
But with our salvation,
the record of our life,
our CV
is never good enough.
The grades
that we have scored
throughout life,
the points
that we build up,
it counts for nothing.
So in God's grace
he offers us
the free gift
of his performance record.
It's like he gives us
his CV
and he credits us
with his righteousness
and just as it was
for Abraham,
so it is for us.
We achieve salvation
by grace,
not by our performance.
And then he introduced
another character,
King David,
in verse 6.
He was another hero
of the Jewish people,
the greatest king
that there was
for them.
And he's also an example
of how all of this
is true.
Verse 6,
David says the same thing
when he speaks
of the blessedness
of the person
to whom God
credits righteousness
apart from works,
apart from performance.
Blessed are they
whose transgressions
are forgiven,
whose sins
are covered.
Blessed is the man
whose sin
the Lord
will never count
against them.
Now we might call this
the great exchange
and we have to be careful here
that we don't confuse it
with what we said
about earlier
about faith
not being an exchange.
Here we're talking
about exchanging
between what we have
and what Christ has.
And there's two things
here as well.
First,
our faith,
our record,
or by faith rather,
our record
is given to Christ.
And Christ's record
is given to us.
It's like Christ
takes on himself
our CV.
He takes on
our record
of how we have lived.
All our disobedience
has been cashed in
or credited
to Christ.
And then second,
in exchange,
by faith,
we take on
the CV of Christ.
The complete
and perfect record
of Christ's life
is given to us.
All of his obedience
is credited to us.
So there's a complete exchange.
It's my life
for Christ's life.
And this is what
David was celebrating
in verses 7 to 8.
He talks about
those sins
that are covered
and the sins
that the Lord
will never count
against them
because they have
been counted
to Christ.
And his Christ
righteousness
has been counted
to him.
Now that does not
mean that we are
now perfect
in our thoughts,
words and actions.
It doesn't mean
that just because
we have Christ's
righteousness,
that we have
his obedience,
that we love
everybody perfectly
as Christ loved us.
I think we all know
that we're not perfect.
But what it does mean
is that when we have
Christ's record,
we have a new position.
Our position
before God
has changed.
Our status
has been
completely transformed.
That means
we are now
treated by God
as if we are
obedient
like Christ.
we are treasured
by God
as if we are
blameless
like Christ.
Now this has
huge implications
for us today,
right now,
even now as we sit
because maybe
you're feeling
a little bit guilty
and you're feeling
a little bit ashamed
of things that have
been said and done
through the week
and you're wondering
how is God
going to look at me?
How is he going
to treat me?
Well it means
when we do
fail and fall
and when you fail
and fall this week
and you will,
our status
does not change.
Even when we do
disobey and rebel,
our position
before God
doesn't change.
Remember,
we have been given
Christ's perfect record.
All of that
has been credited
to us.
We have his CV.
So we are forever
and always
under his grace.
So when he looks
at you,
when you've messed up,
he sees Christ.
He doesn't see you
in all your mess.
And we so often
fall into the trap
of thinking
that okay,
I understand this side
that salvation
is achieved by grace
but somehow
my salvation
must be maintained
by performance.
So grace gets me in
but performance
keeps me there.
But that's
completely rubbish.
That's turning
everything upside down.
We can never rely
on our performance.
Our performance
is always flawed
and broken.
We rely fully
and totally
on the perfect record
of Christ
which is forever
credited to us.
It can't be taken
away from us.
No matter how many times
you sin and fail,
it is always there.
So there is no big,
so there's no room
for big heads
because we all
fail miserably
but we are all
covered
by Christ's
righteousness.
So there's nothing
we can do
to achieve salvation.
It's something
that we receive
by faith.
But you say
there must be
something we have
to do.
It can't surely
be just nothing.
There must be
something that
we have to do.
No, there's
absolutely nothing
we can do.
It's by faith.
faith.
But there is a way
that we should
respond.
We're going to look
here in verses 9
down to verse 12.
Now in this section
here we must remember
that the church
that Paul is writing
to is racially
and culturally
mixed.
It was made up
primarily on the
one hand of Jews
who were very moral
and had a very
religious background
and the rest
were made up
of Gentiles.
People who were
very liberal
and they didn't
have a religious
background.
And the religious
Jews were always
falling into the
way of superiority.
They were suffering
with the big head
syndrome.
After all,
God had given
them the special
sign of circumcision.
The mark that
you belong to God.
You are his
special people.
And therefore
they thought they
were better than
everybody else.
And somehow
all the other
people were
second-rate
Christians.
They were the
ones that kind
of sat back
in the corner
of the church.
They weren't
really part
of the true
family.
So this issue
had to be
tackled and this
is what he does
in verse 9.
So he asked
the question,
speaking particularly
to religious
people,
is this
blessedness,
this salvation,
this forgiveness,
is it only for
the circumcised,
for the religious
people,
for the good
moral people?
Or is it also
for the uncircumcised,
the immoral
people?
For we've been
saying that
Abraham's faith
was credited to
him as
righteousness.
So,
Mr.
Jew,
let's have a
look at your
great hero
Abraham.
Let's see again
how he got his
salvation,
verse 10.
Under what
circumstances
was it credited?
Was it after
he was circumcised?
Or before?
Now that's
an important
point.
If it was
after,
they would
all be
saying,
you see,
Abraham did
something,
he obeyed
God,
and because
he obeyed
God,
God owed
him
something.
But look
at the
answer.
It was
not after,
but before.
So it's a
crushing blow
because all of a
sudden they
realise that
their great
hero of the
faith,
Abraham,
who they
thought was
this most
wonderful,
obedient person,
actually became
a Christian
before he ever
did anything
that was
obedience.
In our
terms,
he was never
baptised,
he was never
confirmed,
he never took
communion,
he was in
fact a
Gentile,
verse 11.
He received
the sign of
circumcision,
a seal of the
righteousness that
he had by faith
while he was
still uncircumcised.
Christ.
You see,
if we
understand our
salvation rightly,
it will never
lead to
superiority,
instead it
will lead to
unity.
Nobody will
be going around
thinking,
I'm better than
you.
Now we're
quite a mixed
bunch here,
aren't we?
Some people
here are from
a religious
background,
some people
aren't.
Some of you
here this
morning have
been baptised,
some of you
haven't.
Some of you
are members
of this
church,
and some
of you
aren't.
Some of you
have been
here for
quite a few
years,
some of you
have only
been here
for one
year.
Now the
question I
want to
ask us
all is,
if you're
a Christian,
how did
you receive
your salvation?
What did
you do to
achieve your
salvation?
Well if
we are true
Christians,
the answer
will be
exactly the
same.
There was
nothing that
we could
do to
earn our
salvation,
it was
all by
faith,
faith in
the work
that Jesus
did for
us.
So what
is that
going to
mean for
us as
a church
family?
It will
mean unity,
not superiority.
So nobody
can claim to
be better
than anybody
else.
No one
can feel
that because
I've been
here longer
than you,
I have more
rights than
you.
And nobody
can think,
well because
I'm a
member,
my opinion
is more
important than
anybody else's.
It's back to
verse 27,
where's the
boasting?
Nobody can
boast.
And if you
do think you
are better than
anybody else,
the door is
over there and
you can leave.
And that's
the big issue
that he is
tackling here
as he writes
to this church
in Rome.
Look at
11,
verse 11 of
chapter 4.
Halfway down,
verse 11,
we'll pick it up
where it says,
so then,
he is the
father of all.
And it starts
talking about
circumcision,
but we're going
to take the
word circumcision
out and we're
going to put
baptism in to
make it a little
bit more contemporary
for us.
So listen as we
read.
So then,
Abraham is the
father of all
who believe,
but have not
been baptized,
in order that
the righteousness
might be credited
to them.
And he is also
the father of
those who have
been baptized,
who not only
are baptized,
but who also
walk in the
footsteps of the
faith that our
father Abraham
had before he
was baptized.
So,
can we see
that the issue
here, the
important factor
is faith.
It's not about
the external
issues at all.
And quite
frankly, it
doesn't matter
whether you've
been baptized
as an infant
or an adult,
those issues
aren't going
to save you.
It doesn't
matter whether
you've been
confirmed or
taken communion,
those things
aren't going
to save you
one little
bit.
No water
or sprinkling
will do
that.
The big
important issue
is being
pointed out
here,
is that it's
by faith.
And it's
not just the
start with
faith,
but look at
the end of
verse 12,
who walk in
the footsteps
of the faith,
who continue
by faith.
So we start
with faith in
Christ,
and we
continue with
faith in
Christ.
Now, I'm
not saying
that baptism
isn't unimportant,
it is,
but it's most
important that
we understand
the priority.
Faith is
important.
And that's
what makes
Christians one.
That's what
unites us.
That's what
pulls us
together here.
It's not
because we're
all Baptists
that we're
all one.
It's all
because of
our faith in
Christ,
our common
faith in
what Jesus
has done.
Now, all
too often,
believers can
become very
judgmental.
They can
boast in
their good
life,
I'm better
than you.
But in
the church,
there is no
room for
big heads.
There's no
room for
judgmental
attitudes.
There's no
room for
superiority.
There's no
room for
thinking,
I'm better
than you.
Why?
Because we
are all
saved by
the same
faith.
We're all
messed up.
We're all
big, filthy,
dirty, rotten
sinners.
We've got
nothing in
our account
to bring
to God.
By faith,
we receive
from His
account,
and He
fills it
with
righteousness.
Look at
Romans,
chapter 15.
Romans 15,
verse 5.
May the
God who
gives
endurance
and
encouragement
give you
a spirit
of unity
among
yourselves
as you
follow
Christ
Jesus,
so that
with one
heart
and one
mouth
we may
glorify the
God and
Father of
our Lord
Jesus Christ.
Accept one
another then,
just as
Christ accepted
you in
order to
bring praise
to God.
Do you
see the
way we
treat each
other?
The way
we love
each other?
The way
we care
for each
other?
The way
we all
recognize
that we're
Christians
because of
what Christ
has done,
and it's
our faith
in Him.
That'll be
to the
praise of
God,
so that
when people
join with
us,
as people
meet with
us,
they will
see the
unity.
They will
see a
unity that
it's not
about labels
or denominations,
they will
see that
they are
united in
their common
faith in
Christ,
and that
alone is
what is
going to
draw people
to God.
Let's
pray together.
Our
Father God,
we want to
thank you for
two things.
we want to
thank you for
our salvation.
We want to
thank you for
all that Jesus
has done for
us on our
behalf,
recognizing that
all that we
have is simply
by that act
of faith,
trusting in
you,
the channel
by which we
receive Christ's
righteousness,
his CV,
his record,
his performance,
his life,
in exchange
of mine.
Thank you for
our salvation.
And we
thank you too
for our
unity.
We thank you
for the family
of this
church.
We thank you
for the
measure of
care and
love and
support.
We thank you
for the way
in which people
pray for one
another.
other.
We thank you
for the way
in which people
help.
We thank you
for the way
in which people
are welcomed
and accepted
into this
community here.
We thank you
that we have
this unity
because of
Christ.
And so we
pray and
we ask
that you
would protect
it.
That we
would always
remember
the priority
is our
faith.
And that we
would always
focus on
Christ.
And that we
would be
always an
opening,
welcoming,
caring
people.
and we
pray this
so that
other people
may find
Christ.
That they
will come
to love
him and
to trust
in him
too.
We thank
you for
one another
and we
thank you
for Jesus.
Amen.
We're going
to sing
together
how deep
the Father's
love for us.
I haven't
got a page
or a
number.