Present series in Romans. We're going to pick it up again after Christmas from Romans 5.
But we've basically gone through from chapter 1 and we're going to finish the end of chapter 4 this morning.
If you want to know what we have been doing, there is a sheet at the back by the door which has an outline of Romans 1 to 8.
And it'll give you the big picture or the main pointers the whole way through.
So you can have a look there.
Then next Sunday, as I said, Keith Wilson will be preaching.
And then following that, we start a new series of four talks.
And the title we are giving that is Pure.
So we're going to be looking at issues like marriage, singleness, living in an age of purity.
And the other one then is on homosexuality.
So the title is Pure.
I'm looking at each of those subjects.
And they will be followed up by evening discussions or question time.
So we'll have the talk in the morning.
And then on Sunday evening, you will be invited, if you wanted, to join in just further discussion and question based on those talks.
As I'm sure there will be lots of questions.
Well, Romans 4 is where we are this morning.
And we're going to read from verse 13 to 25.
And it's on page 1131.
Romans chapter 4, verses 13 to 25.
It was not through law that Abraham and his offspring received the promise that he would be heir of the world, but through the righteousness that comes by faith.
For if those who live by law are heirs, faith has no value and the promise is worthless, because law brings wrath.
And where there is no law, there is no transgression.
Therefore, the promise comes by faith, so that it may be by grace and may be guaranteed to all Abraham's offspring, not only to those who are of the law, but also to those who are of the faith of Abraham.
He is the father of us all.
As it is written, I have made you the father of many nations.
He is our father in the sight of God, in whom he believed, the God who gives life to the dead and calls things that are not as though they were.
Against all hope, Abraham in hope believed, and so became 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 womb, his wife, was also dead.
Yet he did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God, but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God, being fully persuaded that God had power to do what he had promised.
That is why it was credited to him as righteousness.
The words 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.
Well, let's pray as we look at that passage together.
Our Father God, we thank you for all that we have.
From what we have heard and seen this morning, we recognize there are so many people, so many children in this world,
who do not have the basic necessities of life.
But we thank you, Father, that we have things available to us.
We have food and water and homes.
And not least, we also have your word in our language, that we can understand and read for ourselves.
But yet, you have also promised that you would pour out your Holy Spirit to those who will ask.
And we ask that you would pour out your Spirit upon us, so that what we hear may change our lives.
That it would also help us to see how your word affects the world in which we live,
and the attitude that we should have on the world.
And how we should look forward to your eternal kingdom.
So, Lord, please help us.
And be with us as we look at your word together.
In Jesus' name.
Amen.
Would you describe yourself as a very confident person?
Well, let's do a little test.
On a scale of 1 to 10, how confident are you that Liverpool are going to qualify for the Champions League?
Not too long ago, they were the defending champions.
But now, in the space of a few months, things are very unsure for the club.
On a more serious note, how confident are you that you are going to be living and working in Carigoline in the next 10 years?
A few years ago, we may have been very confident.
But with the recession, it makes things a little bit more uncertain.
How confident are you that you are going to be in good health next year?
Perhaps on the basis of how you feel today, you may be feeling very confident.
But we never know what a certain test is going to show up.
We all live in hope.
But life never guarantees any of these things.
So let me ask another question.
How confident are you that when you die, and we can be very confident we will die,
how confident are you that when you die, you will receive a rich welcome by God into his eternal paradise?
How sure are you this morning that you are going to be part of heaven?
That God is going to say, you can be part of my new creation?
Well, I think that answer will depend on how you feel the last week or the last month has gone.
If you've had a good week, you've been reading your Bible,
you've managed to pray, you've made a few people happy,
you've done a good deed for someone,
then you may feel very assured that, yeah, God is going to welcome me.
After all, I've sponsored a child for compassion.
On the other hand, if you've had a bad week,
and you can't even remember when the last time was you opened your Bible,
maybe you've had a big bust-up with your spouse,
you maybe even got a bit drunk at the weekend,
then maybe you're feeling a little bit unsure,
and you don't know if you're going to get to heaven.
Or perhaps, like me, you wonder,
what happens if I die in the middle of some sin?
Do you ever think that?
What if I die before I even had the opportunity to ask God to forgive me?
Would he let me in then?
Well, we all live in hope, don't we?
But can we be 100% confident
that we are going to receive a welcome into God's paradise?
Well, the Bible's answer is a very, very confident yes.
And it all starts with a promise that God has made.
In fact, chapter 4 is all about a promise.
And we're told what the promise is in verse 13.
It was not through law that Abraham and his offspring received the promise.
And what's the promise?
Here it is.
That he would be heir of the world.
Now, if you are an heir, you are going to receive something.
You inherit what has been promised to you.
And you really can't get anything better than this, can you?
The promise is to inherit the world.
That's astounding, isn't it?
That the world could be promised to one person.
But what does it mean to inherit the world?
Well, we need to go back in time to the beginning of the Bible story.
You see, very often we talk about the gospel and salvation in narrow terms.
We talk about Jesus dealing with our sins on the cross
and restoring our relationship back to God.
Now, as primary and as important as that is,
it's only the beginning of the story.
The gospel and salvation is much broader.
It's about not just restoring our relationship to God,
but it's about restoring and renewing the world.
So, go back to the beginning of the Bible story.
Go back to paradise in Genesis 1 and 2.
And that paints a picture for us of what paradise would look like.
In Genesis 1 and 2, we see that the world is perfect.
It's in order.
Everything works the way that it should do.
People are living under God's loving and caring rule.
They have everything that they need.
All is provided for them.
Adam and Eve are living in relationship with God.
And they're living in relationship with each other.
They know their roles and everything is good.
And not only that, they're in harmony with the world.
There's no death.
There's no disease.
There's no suffering.
There's no violence.
There's no need of any sponsorship program
because everybody is provided with all that they need.
The world is the way that it's meant to be.
But then as we move on in Genesis,
we come and we encounter a problem.
Man and woman, Adam and Eve,
they rebel against God.
They reject his loving rule.
And they replace God's authority
with their own authority.
And they say,
we want to rule the world the way we want to.
And what follows is what we might call
a cosmic curse.
People are cursed.
And as a result,
their relationship with God breaks.
They have to leave paradise.
They're shut out from God.
And their relationships with each other begin to break.
They begin to fight.
In fact, the first two brothers that existed in the world,
one of them killed the other.
But it's not just people who are cursed.
The world was also cursed.
It became disjointed and twisted.
The cogs that make everything go round the way it should be
begin to jam up.
And the brokenness and the pain that we see all around us today,
whether it's earthquakes, famines, flooding, wars, violence,
all of these are the results of the curse
that came upon the world and the people.
But then, and we need to turn to this,
in Genesis 12, God intervenes.
He had intervened once with Noah,
but things went from bad to worse.
And in Genesis 12,
God speaks and he makes a promise.
It's a promise to undo the curse
and to bring blessing.
So in Genesis chapter 12, verses 1 to 3,
he comes to, well, he's called Abram here,
later to be called Abraham.
Genesis 12, verses 1 to 3,
the Lord said to Abram,
leave your country, your people,
and your father's household,
and go to the land I will show you.
I will make you into a great nation,
and I will bless you.
I will make your name great,
and you will be a blessing.
I will bless those who bless you,
and whoever curses you, I will curse.
And all peoples,
all peoples on the earth
will be blessed through you.
Now, the rest of the Bible's story,
all the way from Genesis chapters 12,
right the way through to the end of Revelation,
is a working out of that promise.
It's a promise to restore man's relationship to God,
and the promise to renew the world.
It's a promise, as we've been reading,
to replace the curse with blessing.
This promise that God made
points forward to a new people.
He said he would be the father of a great nation.
This great nation,
these people of God,
who will live in God's paradise forever.
You see, it's all about reversing
everything that had gone wrong,
and re-establishing
the way the world should be.
And that's what it means
in Romans chapter 4, verse 13,
where God had made the promise to Abraham
to inherit the world.
He is saying to Abraham,
you can be part of God's new world order.
Be part of my paradise
where people will live once again
under his loving rule and care,
just like they did
at the very beginning of creation.
No suffering, no pain,
no wars and no violence.
Everything will be the way
that it was meant to be.
Now tell me,
could you get a better promise
than that?
I don't think we could.
Well, you see,
that all sounds great.
A wonderful promise.
A promise to inherit the world
and to live in God's paradise.
But who is this promise for?
Well, look at verse 13 again.
It was not through law
that Abraham and his offspring
received the promise.
So, the promise was made
to Abraham and his children.
Well, you say,
that's no good to me or to you
because I doubt
if there's anybody here
who can trace their family line
back to Abraham, is there?
Don't think so.
You see, it's not about
having a physical connection.
It's actually about
having a spiritual connection
with Abraham.
And we'll see how that works out.
Let's see how Abraham
received the promise.
Verse 13.
At the beginning,
it says it was not through law
or not through performance
that Abraham received the promise.
End of verse 13.
But through the righteousness
that comes by faith.
So, the promise wasn't received
because of something Abraham did
because he was one of the best people
in the world.
No, it was simply received by faith.
Trusting that God would do
what God said he would do.
Verse 14.
For if those who live by performance
are heirs,
faith has no value
and the promise is worthless.
You see,
we've heard the promise this morning
and I'm sure we all want the promise.
But we think the only way
to get the promise
is to earn it.
So our life becomes
a big religious performance,
a system of rules
that we impose on ourselves
and we impose on other people.
And we say,
well, if I'm a good person,
if I read my Bible,
if I go to church,
if I do all kinds of good deeds,
if I live a good moral life,
if I do sponsor a child,
then I deserve the promise.
But performance
will never give you the promise.
Performance will just destroy you
and break you.
As verse 15 says,
because law or performance
brings wrath.
We can never live up to its standard.
We can never be good enough.
It will only condemn us.
So the point is simple.
It's saying,
we have to have faith like Abraham.
And if we have faith like Abraham,
we too can receive the promise.
If we trust that God will do
what he said he will do,
we will also share in the inheritance.
Verse 16.
Therefore, the promise comes
by faith.
So if we want to have this promise,
we have to be people of faith,
but we also have to be people of grace.
Look at the rest of verse 16.
Therefore, the promise comes by faith
so that it may be by grace.
Now we often bandy that word around,
don't we, grace?
It's God's overwhelming generosity
towards us.
It's something that is unearned
and undeserved.
It's God's loving
and faithful intervention
in our lives.
So the promise
that comes from God
is something that originates
or is initiated by God
from him to us.
The promise is something
that God does for us.
It's something that he achieves for us.
Therefore,
we are people who are to rest
in that grace.
We don't try to earn it
or to achieve it.
It comes by grace
so that it may be,
verse 16, do you see,
may be guaranteed
to all Abraham's offspring.
And who are his children?
Who are those offspring?
Not only to those
who are of the law,
in other words,
those who are just Jews,
but also to those
who are of the faith
of Abraham.
He is the father of us all,
as it is written,
I have made you
a father of many nations.
So grace guarantees
the promise to us
because it's not dependent on us.
It's dependent on God
who makes the promise
but who also keeps the promise
and it can be our promise too
if we have the faith
and if we are resting
in the grace
that came to Abraham.
Now let's think this through
a little bit more.
What if the promise
depended
on me or you?
If it was all up to us?
Well, it would fail,
wouldn't it?
We would never receive
the promised inheritance.
But amazingly,
God not only makes
the promise to us,
but he is also the one
who is going to keep
the promise for us.
Look at verse 17.
Just one sentence in.
It says,
He is our father
in the sight of God
in whom he believed.
The God who gives life
to the dead
and calls things
that are not
as though they were.
Have you ever tried
to give life
to the dead?
Have you ever told
a corpse
to stand up,
instructed that corpse,
stand up
and go home?
Well, you'd be probably
locked up
if you tried to do that.
Jesus did it though,
didn't he?
He did it to a little girl.
He did it to Lazarus.
And it worked.
They did stand up
and they did go home.
Have you ever tried
to make something
out of nothing?
Things that are not
as though they were.
Commanded something
into existence.
Have you ever done that?
Well, Jesus did
when he created
the world.
He just spoke
and the world
came into existence.
So it's telling us
that Jesus can do
what we could never do.
He gives life
to the dead
and he creates
out of nothing.
And this same God
will also do the same
with the promise.
He will achieve for us
what we can never do
and that is
that he will keep
the promise for us
because we can't.
And Abraham
is our example here.
Look at verse 18.
Remember what God
had promised to Abraham?
He said he would be
the father
of a great nation.
Verse 18.
Against all hope,
Abraham in hope
believed
and so became
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 womb
was also dead.
Now Abraham and Sarah
were well on in years.
They were making plans
for their retirement.
Perhaps they were even
checking out
their local nursing homes.
But whatever their future,
children
were not on their agenda.
But God had come to them
and he had made
a promise to them.
He said you would be
a father of a great nation.
Now when God made
that promise
to Abraham
he didn't say to him
right Abraham
be the father
of a great nation
and good luck to you.
See how you get on.
And if you've got troubles
well, you know
just see what you can do.
Check out the local
fertility clinic.
No, he didn't say
any of those things.
What God promised
God would fulfill.
He made the promise
that you would be
a father of a nation
and he will also
keep the promise.
He does
what we could never do.
He literally gave life
to a dead womb.
And he literally
created a nation
out of nothing.
God does the impossible.
He makes the promise
and he keeps the promise.
And that's exactly
what God will do for us.
He will achieve for us
what we can never do.
And how are we
to respond to it?
Well exactly in the same way
as Abraham did.
Verse 20.
Yet he did not waver
through unbelief
regarding the promise
of God
but was strengthened
in his faith
and gave glory to God
being fully persuaded
that God had the power
to do
what he had promised.
So it's all about faith
isn't it?
It's trusting that God
will do
what he said he will do.
It's not about trusting
in what we can do.
Abraham's faith
was in God's faithfulness.
And our faith
is also to be
in God's faithfulness
to keep the promise.
Suppose you receive
a letter
from a distant relative
and in the letter
you discover
that the detail
is all about a will
and you stand
to inherit
their estate.
it's quite a unique will
because what you're
going to inherit
is an old
16th century castle.
A marvelous building
except for there's a problem
it's been left to ruin.
But alongside
this promise
comes a list
of conditions
that you are obliged
to fulfill.
if you want
that 16th century castle
you must first
restore it
to its original
beauty
and design.
It's all yours.
But first
you're obliged
to restore it
to its original
beauty.
Now we know
that's all impossible
isn't it?
Because we haven't got
the financial resources
to do anything
to such a great
big building
nor the skills
nor expertise.
So in some ways
the promise
of the inheritance
is absolutely useless
because we could
never fulfill
the conditions.
Well God
has made a promise
to us
to inherit
the world
to live with him
to reign with him
to rule over
the entire universe
one day
in God's
eternal paradise.
But we can't
keep the conditions
of perfect obedience
and perfect loyalty.
we break it
every single day.
And that's why
God
makes the promise
and he says
I'm also going
to keep
the promise
for you
because you can't.
He keeps
the promise
for all those
who will have faith
that God will do
what he said
he will do.
Now for those of you
who know the story
of Abraham
you'll think
in these verses
here that he's
painted in a very
good light
that he wavered
he was unwavering
in his belief.
Now we know
the story
that he actually
didn't believe
fully
completely
that he would
have a child
he went off
with somebody else
and produced
another child
so was he
keeping
the promise?
you see
it's all
dependent
on God
even when
our faith
isn't what
it ought to be
and maybe
like me
your faith
fails
perhaps you
have times
of doubt
and you wonder
I really don't
think I'm a
Christian
or maybe
because of
some particular
behaviour
or habit
or some
sin
you just think
my faith
is completely
gone
there's no
way
he's going
to accept
me into
heaven
well let's
remember
that our
response of
faith
is not
in the
strength
of our
own faith
it's not
in our
ability
to keep
our faith
or in our
determination
or a
perseverance
to hold
on to
faith
no
our faith
is in the
perfect
performance
of Christ
who keeps
the conditions
for us
our faith
is in the
promise keeper
if it relied
on us
and our
good will
and our
good intention
it would
fail every
time
we can't
keep it
we can't
do it
but God
says
I will
keep it
for you
verse 21
being fully
persuaded
that God
has the
power to
do
what he
had
promised
you see
we cannot
keep it
it's only
he can
keep it
but you
say
how could
you be
so sure
can you
really be
so confident
that God
is going to
keep us
and make
sure that
we are
part of
his
eternal
kingdom
if only
you were
able to
see what
I was up
to this
week
if you
saw my
life
what it
was really
like
I'm
claiming
to be
a
Christian
but the
things
I've
said
the
things
I've
done
boy
you
wouldn't
want to
see
that
how
can we
be so
sure
well we
have been
given
proof
look at
the end
of verse
25
it tells
us there
that Jesus
was delivered
over to
death
for our
sins
and was
raised to
life
for our
justification
remember
God had
made the
promise to
Abraham
and to
his
offspring
that they
would inherit
the world
the problem
was Abraham
and Sarah
had no
children
they had
no
offspring
so God
had to
prove to
them that
he would
do what
he said
he would
do
so he
gave
old Abraham
and barren
Sarah
a son
and their
newborn
their first
born son
Isaac
was the
proof
that God
was going
to keep
his promise
now we
have an
even greater
proof
God has
sent his
son
his only
son
Jesus
Christ
who is
the ultimate
proof
that he
is going
to keep
the promise
for us
do you
see what
it says
at the
end
of
in verse
25
it says
he was
delivered
over to
death
for our
sins
if you
think that
your sin
is so
great
and so
big
that it
keeps you
out of
heaven
look back
to the
cross
and remember
that he
was delivered
over to
death
for our
sin
he took
the death
he took
the penalty
he took
the blame
for us
so that it
can never
ever be
held against
us
again
it
won't
break
the
promise
because
Christ
has
died
for
our
sin
but
not
only
did he
die
it
says
he
was
also
raised
to
life
for
our
justification
to put
us
right
so
through
the
resurrection
of
Christ
God
has
proved
to
us
that
he
would
do
what
he
said
he
would
do
the
resurrection
is
God's
proof
that
Jesus
death
on the
cross
was
sufficient
and
complete
God
raised
Christ
from
the
dead
to
say
what
he
did
was
good
enough
it's
all
over
it's
complete
it's
finished
he's
raised
him
to
life
and
if
your
faith
is
in
him
you
too
will
be
raised
to
life
so
let
me
say
this
to
us
all
this
morning
if
you're
a
Christian
here
and
you're
struggling
and
you're
thinking
my
sin
is
too
big
my
behavior
over
the
last
year
or
two
years
or
last
month
whatever
it
might
be
it
there's
no
way
I'm
going
to
get
to
heaven
well
if
you're
depending
on
yourself
you've
got
it
wrong
it's
all
dependent
on
God
and
if
we
want
proof
that
we
can
be
in
heaven
look
back
to
what
Jesus
has
done
he
died
for
you
he
took
the
ultimate
curse
for you
and for
me
that we
might
receive
his
blessings
through
his
resurrection
so by
faith in
Christ
we can
be
absolutely
confident
that
paradise
is
100%
guaranteed
for all
those
who have
faith
in
Christ
that
means
there
will
be
no
more
death
no
more
sadness
no
more
sickness
no
more
suffering
there
will
be
no
more
need
for
compassion
because
God
has
made
everything
new
and
everything
right
and
he
promises
that
to
you
and
to
me
today
if
we
have
faith
in
Christ
let's
pray
together
our
Father
God
we
thank
you
so
much
for
your
amazing
promise
the
promise
to
inherit
the
world
to
be
part
of
your
eternal
kingdom
and
we
thank
you
that
is
dependent
not
on
us
but
on
Christ
his
perfect
life
for
us
his
death
and
resurrection
for
us
thank
you
that
you
not
only
make
the
promise
but
that
you
keep
it
for
us
and
you
will
assure
and
guarantee
our
journey
through
this
life
and
into
your
eternal
paradise
thank
you
that
all
that
is
ours
and
I
pray
that
you
would
stir
each
one
of
us
that
we
would
want
to
see
others
have
that
same
faith
that
they
too
would
also
trust
in
you
and
become
your
children
and
gain
eternal
life
that
they
would
become
heirs
of
the
world
we
pray
this
in
Jesus
name
Amen
welcome
our
name
going
we're
going
to
sing
together
I like
to
sing
together
and
sing
together
I like
to
sing
into
our
name