I started doing park run last year.
It was a regular gathering on Saturday.
I said in the morning to run, or in my case, to walk,
5K around Ataman and Willoughby,
with a big group of people.
And at the end of the run,
we scanned a barcode that records our time of the day.
Apart from the exercise,
I enjoyed being a walker in a lap-around course.
I got to say hello to the same group of people,
people that I actually know,
two to three times as they passed me in a different direction.
I often finish the top five longest time,
in real time, which means the last five.
And I try not to be the last one to finish.
As I walk the course slowly,
it was most encouraging
when someone joined to finish a course together
at the same pace as me.
When we're working on something hard or require endurance,
having a pace setter or companion
can make the journey more doable and enjoyable.
Sometimes that may be the key to a breakthrough
in our quest or journeys.
Paul provides the best companion
or a pace setter for us
to follow in the passage we are looking at today.
Abraham, a great figure in the Old Testament,
is well-known by the original audience,
also become well-known by three of the major religions
in our modern days.
Judaism, Christianity, and Muslim.
He had the right relationship with God
based on faith alone.
He is someone from way past
to show us how God has always been
crediting righteousness by faith.
Abraham was a man, a human being,
just like any one of us when God called him.
Let me explain.
Abraham was a child to his parents,
a husband to his spouse,
and a parent to his children.
He cared for his deceased brother's children
and earned a living as a migrant in a foreign land.
He was well-to-do,
but at the same time,
he cared a lot about his close relatives.
He knew what to do to protect them
if they get into trouble,
willing to take a fight when needed.
He was generous
and valued relationship above other things.
He was also a man of principles,
giving honors where honors are due,
and not taking advantage of any situation
to profit for himself.
However, driven by fear,
he also did some not very honorable things.
He told only a half-truth about his marital status
on a few occasions
and almost caused irreparable consequences.
He took things into his own hands
to ensure there was someone
to look after his family
and his wealth when he died.
If you do not know much about Abraham,
let me encourage you to read
the Old Testament book of Genesis,
starting from chapter 12.
But from what I just described,
what do you think of him?
He sounded like all kinds of guys,
just a normal human being,
isn't he?
He sounds all right, isn't he?
Paul states in our chapter today,
in verse 1 to 2,
what then shall we say about Abraham,
our forefather according to the flesh,
discovered in this matter?
If in fact Abraham was justified by works,
he has something to boast about,
but not before God.
Even Paul says,
looking at what Abraham did,
based on his works,
he has something to boast about,
but not before God.
Why is it not before God?
Because the scripture said,
Abraham believed God
and it was credited to him as righteousness.
Abraham's right standing with God
does not come from his obedience or works.
It was credited to him.
The word credited appears 10 times
in this passage,
with the word Kant in verse 8,
which both come from
the same original language of the New Testament.
They are all accounting terms,
meaning to Kant as.
So far in our journey in Romans,
one observation I have is that
Paul tends to repeat the same phrase or word
to highlight his points.
In Steve's introduction,
a few weeks back on chapter 1,
he pointed out that the word gospel
shows up more in the first 17 verses
than anywhere else in Romans.
The word gospel appears more per face
in these verses than anywhere else in the Bible.
In the second half of chapter 1,
Paul shows us a long and devastating
critics of human nature
and how we deserve only God's wrath
and his righteous anger.
And in chapter 2,
the theme judgment shows how
our religiosity and hypocrisy
further inflame God's wrath
and justify God's righteous judgment against us.
And last week,
in chapter 3,
the word righteousness
took a podium position
after leaving all the other runners behind.
In our chapter today,
in chapter 4,
Paul shows us that
the righteousness
that was leading the pack of runners
has a special name.
It was credited righteousness.
To credit something
is to confer a status
that was not there before.
It would be like
end of the pack run,
a person who ran first
waited for me at the finish line
and handed me his barcode
to scan as my record.
And not just that,
the person finished first,
not just him,
but everyone else
finished before or after me
was congratulating me,
celebrating and cheering
that I'm the first
with the shortest time.
Ridiculous sounds to be.
But faith counted as righteousness
means that God treated Abraham
as though he lived a righteous life.
His faith was not righteous,
but God counted it
as if it were.
Now, to the one who works,
wages are not credited
as a gift,
but as an obligation.
However,
to the one who does not work,
but trusts God,
who justifies ungodly,
their faith is credited
as righteousness.
Faith credited as righteousness
is a profound concept.
I believe it's much easier
for us humans
to understand the system
of obligation
that we live in
than to understand
what it means
to have faith credited
as righteousness.
People living
in a democratic country
often highlight
the freedom
and the right they enjoy
and decry
the lack of freedom
of those living in others.
But are you really
or truly free?
Are you truly?
Can you truly be
whoever
and whatever
you want to be?
Can anyone truly
disregard the law?
Relationally,
when someone is nice to me,
I feel obliged
to return the favor
or I feel indebted
to that person.
But on the other hand,
if someone harms me
or my family,
I feel I have the right
to harm them back.
I'm glad
I'm refrained
from doing so overly
due to our legal system.
A few weeks ago,
in my personal Bible reading
and reflection time,
I read about
a conversation
a father had
with him
when he was
in his last year
in high school.
And he said,
son,
you know,
as soon as you finish school,
you have to look
for a job
every day
until you find one.
Your success
or failure
will mean
a good
or bad repetition
for our family.
We are obliged
to do right
by our family
or our society.
By human standards,
we are considered
right
and good
if we abide
by the law
of our society.
Live within our means,
treat others nicely,
and be generous
and charitable.
We should
pack ourselves
on the back
and say,
well done, mate.
And it is so easy
for us
to misunderstand
God requires
the same thing
from us.
That we need
to earn
favor from God.
That we need
to work
for our righteousness.
But on the fifth side,
we can also
fall into thinking
that we deserve
God's grace.
As soon as we think
that we can earn
God's favor
and be righteous
in His sight
by our effort,
we cheapen
the grace
that God has shown
through His Son,
Jesus.
We steal
God's glory
and do not know
what saving faith
is about.
I'm glad
Abraham
has been highlighted
as our case study
of faith,
showing us
what saving faith
is about.
from verse 9
to 12,
it says this,
Abraham's faith
was credited
to him
as righteousness.
He received
a seal
of the righteousness
that he had
by faith,
so that he is
a father
of all who believe,
in order that righteousness
may be credited
to them,
who also follow
the footsteps
of the faith
that our father
Abraham had.
Abraham
is not just
our pay setter.
he is also
our guarantee
because Paul says
he is a father
of all
who believes,
of all
who follow
in the footsteps
of his faith.
We,
as we follow him,
we experience
the reality
of being loved
and accepted
by God
while we are
sinful
and imperfect.
Abraham
was not
himself
righteous,
perfect,
or blameless,
but God
treated him
as though
he were.
God shows us
through Abraham
that our justification
or credited
righteousness
is by faith
in him alone.
So,
what does it mean
to follow
in faith?
What is the faith
that saved Abraham
and which will
save us also?
first five
tell us
that faith
equals
trust God
who justifies
the ungodly.
It does not
merely believe
God exists,
but believes
and trust
in what God
has
and will do
for us.
Verse 17
to 25
shows us
that
believe God
or trust God
has these
three things.
Firstly,
verse 18
to 19
against all hope
Abraham in hope
believed
and so become
the father
of many nations.
Just as it had
been said to him,
so shall your
offspring be.
Without
weakening
in his faith,
he faced
the fact that
his body
was as good
as dead
since he was
about a hundred
years old
and that
Sarah's room
was also dead.
God promised
Abraham
that his
offspring
would be
as numerous
as the stars
in the sky,
but he was
still
childless
when he was
about a hundred
years old.
Abraham's body
appeased
hopeless,
but he does
not go on
appearance.
Faith is
not opposed
to reason,
but it's
sometimes opposed
to feelings
and appearance.
it's not
simply
an optimism
about life
in general,
not going
on about
saying
always look
on the bright
side of life,
nor faith
in oneself.
It does not
keep saying,
I think I can
as we come
at the mountain.
Abraham
shows that
saving faith
is kind of
a death
to self-trust.
It's going
on something
despite our
weakness,
feeling,
and perceptions.
He goes
on God's
promise.
So first
things,
not go on
appearance,
but goes
on God's
promise.
Secondly,
verse 20
to 21,
yet he did
not wafer
to unbelief
regarding the
promise of
God,
but was
strengthened
in his
faith
and gave
glory to
God,
being fully
persuaded
things that
were not.
So he
insisted
on this
measured
reflection
about God.
Abraham
shows us
that
saving faith
and believing
in God
is not
the absence
of thinking,
but rather
a profound
insistence
on acting
out of our
focus on
the facts
about God.
Saving faith
is thinking
about who
God is
and his
power
and focusing
about the
facts of
him.
Abraham
did not
have much
to go on
except God's
word of
promise.
We have
far more
facts about
God to
focus on,
a far
greater
demonstration
of his
love and
power,
because we
know that
God raised
his own
son,
Jesus,
to life
as we
just
celebrated
Easter
only a
month ago.
So secondly,
he insists
on focusing
on facts
about God.
Thirdly,
which is
developed
from what
I just
said,
believe God
means to
trust the
bare words
of God.
Abraham
believed
that God
had the
power to
do what
he has
promised.
He
trusts in
his word.
Verse 21,
being fully
persuaded,
that God
had power
to do
what he
had promised
it.
Are you
willing to
take God
at his
word when
feeling
popular
opinion
and common
sense
contradict
God's
promise?
Are you
going to
look at
what he
has said
and let
that define
reality for
you?
So there
are three
things.
Go on
God's
promise,
insist on
focus on
the facts
about God
and trust
the bare
words of
God.
You can
have lots
and lots
of strong
faith that
God exists,
that he
is loving,
that he
is holy.
You can
believe that
the Bible
is of
God's
holy word.
You can
show great
reference
for God.
Yet,
seek to
be your
own
savior
and
justify
by trusting
your
performance
in religion,
moral
character,
job,
or parenting.
You can
let those
things define
reality for
you or
have saving
faith and
transfer your
trust to
God and
his word.
And when
you do,
you will
enjoy your
faith journey
with Abraham
and many
others who
have gone
before you
and after
you to
treasure Jesus
together.
So,
how are
we saved?
Paul says
in verse
23 to
25,
the word
it was
credited to
him were
written not
for him
alone,
but also
for us,
to whom
God will
credit
righteousness
for us,
who believe
in him,
who raised
Jesus our
Lord from
the dead.
He was
delivered over
to death
for our
sins and
was raised
to life
for our
justification.
God's
promise of
credited
righteousness
is for
us,
who believe
in God,
who raised
his son
Jesus for
our sins
and justification.
Tim Keller
sums it up
this way,
Abraham's
faith was
in the
promise of
a descendant.
Our
faith is
in what
God says
one of
his
descendants
has
achieved.
This is
a promise
which is
to define
our reality
and shape
our lives.
As I
illustrated
before,
being credited
or counted
as righteousness
is like
the runner
that finished
first in
a 5k
pack run
did under
20 minutes
and wait
at the
finish line
for another
30 or
40 minutes
to give
me his
barcode
to record
as my
time.
But not
just that,
he grabbed
my barcode
as his
record.
And so
I can
count
with his
best
record
and he
took my
bad
record
onto
himself.
The
person
who
come
out
victorious
and
waiting
and
trade
places
with
us
is
not
Abraham
but
our
savior
Jesus.
The
descendant
of
Abraham
that we
are
looking
to
is
an
author
and
perfecter
of
faith
who
endures a
cross for
the joy
set
before him.
Our
salvation
is
nothing
to do
with
what
is
in
us
or
what
we
achieve
but
has
everything
to do
with
God's
work
of
grace
in
his
son
Jesus.
Abraham
is
one of
many
witnesses
that
point
us
to
Jesus
the
pioneer
and
perfecter
of
faith.
You
can
see
the
whole
list
of
examples
in
the
New
Testament
book
of
Hebrews
chapter
11.
12.
And in
chapter
12.
Verse 2-3
it says
this.
For the
joy set
before him
which
Jesus
he
endured
the
cross
scorning
his
shame
and sat
down
at the
right
hand
of the
throne
of
God
consider
him
who
endured
such
opposition
from
sinners
so that
you
will not
grow
weary
or lose
heart.
Jesus
endured
the cross
for God
to
credit
his
righteousness
to
us.
As
we
receive
our
righteousness
we
also
join
in
the
joy
that
was
before
Jesus
and
give
glory
to
God
and
have
a
hopeful
humility
about
ourselves.
Crucifixion
is the
most
shameful
way
to be
punished.
Jesus
scorned
shame
and
credited
us
righteous
so that
we
do not
need to
be
ashamed
of
our
sins
or
ourselves.
Instead
we
can
be
honest
about
our
weakness
and
bring
them
out
into
the
open
for
God
to
deal
with
them.
Jesus
sat
down
at
the
right
hand
of
the
throne
of
God
to
rule
the
world
and
through
faith
we
also
rule
with
him.
our
life
is
never
out
of
control
under
the
kingship
of
Jesus.
Our
purpose
and
identity
in the
world
are
to
live
as
children
of
Jesus
credited
righteousness
and
rule
with
him.
When
we
consider
Jesus
who
induced
such
opposition
from
sinners
we
can
live
without
fear
of
the
future
and
despair
at
our
failing.
The
power
that
raised
Jesus
to
life
is
our
justification
and
assurance
that
we
will
be
raised
to
enjoy
eternal
life
in a
renewed
world.
Therefore
let us
fix our
eyes on
Jesus
the
pioneer
and
perfecter
of
faith
as we
continue
our
journey
of being
transformed
by the
gospel
through
Romans.