Written ~ 07-16-2024
Read Romans Chapter Four
Romans 4
In our chapter for today, Paul brings us back to the founder of our faith, Abraham. We will learn that Abraham’s faith in the Lord is the same type of faith we should be exercising today.
Romans 4:1-3…
1Abraham was, humanly speaking, the founder of our Jewish nation. What did he discover about being made right with God? 2If his good deeds had made him acceptable to God, he would have had something to boast about. But that was not God’s way. 3For the Scriptures tell us, “Abraham believed God, and God counted him as righteous because of his faith.”
Since Paul has taken the time to talk about Abraham for this entire chapter, I thought I would take this opportunity to have us get to know Abraham a little bit better. So we are going to look back into the Book of Genesis where the story of Abraham begins.
In Genesis 11:10 we read about the line of descendants from Shem, who is one of Noah’s sons. After a long list of descendants in Genesis 11:26 we see that Terah is the father of Abram (who is later named Abraham by the Lord), this is the first mention of Abraham. Then verse 11:29 tells us Abram is married to Sarai (who is later named Sarah by the Lord).
Genesis 12:1-5…
1 The Lord had said to Abram, “Leave your native country, your relatives, and your father’s family, and go to the land that I will show you. 2 I will make you into a great nation. I will bless you and make you famous, and you will be a blessing to others. 3 I will bless those who bless you and curse those who treat you with contempt. All the families on earth will be blessed through you.”
4 So Abram departed as the Lord had instructed, and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he left Haran. 5 He took his wife, Sarai, his nephew Lot, and all his wealth—his livestock and all the people he had taken into his household at Haran—and headed for the land of Canaan.
What we see in these first few verses of chapter 12 is the faith Abram had in God already. The Lord was asking Abram to take a step out, in faith, and move his family to a whole new land. At 75 years of age, Abram was very well established in the city of Haran and God was asking him to leave everything he knew, people that he loved and go. Eventually he settled in Canaan, where the Lord said to him in Genesis 13:14-17, “…the Lord said to Abram, “Look as far as you can see in every direction—north and south, east and west. I am giving all this land, as far as you can see, to you and your descendants as a permanent possession. And I will give you so many descendants that, like the dust of the earth, they cannot be counted! Go and walk through the land in every direction, for I am giving it to you.”
I’m sure all this sounded good to Abram, but what we need to understand is that Abram, now 75 years old, did not have any children, his beloved wife Sarai was barren. Wouldn’t you think that when God was telling Abram that He would give him so many descendants that, like the dust of the earth, they could not be counted, that it would be a little confusing to Abram? He didn’t have any children, where would these countless descendants come from? But he does not question God.
It wasn’t until approximately 10 years later when Abram would have been around 85 years of age, we read this conversation between Abram and the Lord.
Genesis 15:1-6…
1Some time later, the Lord spoke to Abram in a vision and said to him, “Do not be afraid, Abram, for I will protect you, and your reward will be great.”
2But Abram replied, “O Sovereign Lord, what good are all your blessings when I don’t even have a son? Since You’ve given me no children, Eliezer of Damascus, a servant in my household, will inherit all my wealth. 3 You have given me no descendants of my own, so one of my servants will be my heir.”
4Then the Lord said to him, “No, your servant will not be your heir, for you will have a son of your own who will be your heir.” 5Then the Lord took Abram outside and said to him, “Look up into the sky and count the stars if you can. That’s how many descendants you will have!”
6And Abram believed the Lord, and the Lord counted him as righteous because of his faith.
For the first time we see Abram questioning God. He has been told he will have countless descendants but without having a son of his own he couldn’t see the big picture.
Isn’t that how you and I are at times? God might be trying to tell us His plans, but because we cannot see the big picture, we dismiss His plans and continue down a flawed path based on decisions we want to make without first discussing them with the Lord. When we catch up to Abram in Genesis 16, that’s exactly what is happening. Abram and Sarai decide to take matters into their own hands, maybe out of impatience or simply by having a lapse in faith that the Lord will do as He promised. Or maybe Abram thought this was the way God was going to give him his promised son.
Genesis 16:1-2…
1 Now Sarai, Abram’s wife, had not been able to bear children for him. But she had an Egyptian servant named Hagar. 2 So Sarai said to Abram, “The Lord has prevented me from having children. Go and sleep with my servant. Perhaps I can have children through her.” And Abram agreed with Sarai’s proposal.
Hagar did wind up having a son, Genesis 16:15-16… “So Hagar gave Abram a son, and Abram named him Ishmael. Abram was 86 years old when Ishmael was born.” But Ishmael was not the one God had promised Abram, this was not the son that would give Abram countless descendants.
When Abram decided to take Hagar as a wife in order for a son to be given to him, God could have punished him severely for not waiting for His promise to be fulfilled. But that’s not what happened, what we do see happening though is intense jealously and hatred between Sarai and Hagar, and Ishmael would never be looked upon as the promised son. He would be blessed by the Lord, but he would live in open hostility with the rest of his family until his death.
So how did Abram become the founder of our faith? Let’s get back into our chapter for today…
Romans 4:5…
“But people are counted as righteous, not because of their work but because of their faith in God who forgives sinners.”
It says in verse 4:3 that God counted Abraham as righteous because of his faith… but clearly, he did make mistakes and took matters into his own hands a times. Just like we have the tendency of doing. But that’s where a very loving and forgiving Father steps in… we may struggle at times with unwavering faith and the Lord understands. That’s why good works would never be enough to save us from our sin. In verses 4:7-8 of Romans, Paul quotes David from Psalms 32:1-2… “Oh, what joy for those whose disobedience is forgiven, whose sins are put out of sight. Yes, what joy for those whose record the Lord has cleared of sin.” When Abram decided to take Hagar as his wife in order to have a son, he did not consult the Lord before making that decision, and we see a lot of strife following that one decision. Had God decided Abram wasn’t worth His time because of that one sinful decision, we wouldn’t have the nation of Israel or God’s chosen people, we wouldn’t have the countless descendants through Abraham’s promised son. But… we know that is not what God did, “…because of having faith in Him, He forgives sinners…”
Romans 4:9-12…
9Now, is this blessing only for the Jews, or is it also for uncircumcised Gentiles? Well, we have been saying that Abraham was counted as righteous by God because of his faith. 10But how did this happen? Was he counted as righteous only after he was circumcised, or was it before he was circumcised? Clearly, God accepted Abraham before he was circumcised!
Ok, keep your finger in the Book of Romans as we jump back to the Book of Genesis.
Genesis 17:1-8…
1When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the Lord appeared to him and said, “I am El-Shaddai—‘God Almighty.’ Serve Me faithfully and live a blameless life. 2I will make a covenant with you, by which I will guarantee to give you countless descendants.”
3At this, Abram fell face down on the ground. Then God said to him, 4 “This is My covenant with you: I will make you the father of a multitude of nations! 5What’s more, I am changing your name. It will no longer be Abram. Instead, you will be called Abraham, for you will be the father of many nations. 6I will make you extremely fruitful. Your descendants will become many nations, and kings will be among them!
7“I will confirm My covenant with you and your descendants after you, from generation to generation. This is the everlasting covenant: I will always be your God and the God of your descendants after you. 8And I will give the entire land of Canaan, where you now live as a foreigner, to you and your descendants. It will be their possession forever, and I will be their God.”
God is establishing His covenant with Abram… did you notice that in verse 17:5 that his name has been changed? He is no longer known as Abram – which means “exalted father,” he is now Abraham – which means “father of many.”
The Everlasting Covenant…
“I will always be your God and the God of your descendants after you… I will give them the entire land of Canaan… It will be their possession forever, and I will be their God.” (Genesis 17:7-8)
The Mark of the Covenant…
“Then God said to Abraham, “Your responsibility is to obey the terms of the covenant. You and all your descendants have this continual responsibility. This is the covenant that you and your descendants must keep: Each male among you must be circumcised. All must be circumcised. Your bodies will bear the mark of my everlasting covenant. Any male who fails to be circumcised will be cut off from the covenant family for breaking the covenant.” (Genesis 17:9-14)
Romans 4:11-12…
11Circumcision was a sign that Abraham already had faith and that God had already accepted him and declared him to be righteous—even before he was circumcised. So Abraham is the spiritual father of those who have faith but have not been circumcised. They are counted as righteous because of their faith. 12And Abraham is also the spiritual father of those who have been circumcised, but only if they have the same kind of faith Abraham had before he was circumcised.
The faith Abraham had when the Lord told him he would be the father to many nations was unwavering. He believed the Lord, even when it seemed too late for the promise to be fulfilled.
Romans 4:18-21…
18 Even when there was no reason for hope, Abraham kept hoping—believing that he would become the father of many nations. For God had said to him, “That’s how many descendants you will have!” 19 And Abraham’s faith did not weaken, even though, at about 100 years of age, he figured his body was as good as dead—and so was Sarah’s womb.
20 Abraham never wavered in believing God’s promise. In fact, his faith grew stronger, and in this he brought glory to God. 21 He was fully convinced that God is able to do whatever He promises.
In Genesis 21:1-7 we see God’s promise to Abraham being fulfilled, a son, whose name is Isaac.
Twenty-five years Abraham had to wait. Twenty-five years of unwavering faith. God promised to do something, and Abraham believed God would do as He promised. Can you say you have the same kind of unwavering faith when you are waiting for the Lord to fulfill a promise in your life?
We have read about Paul’s unwavering faith in the Lord and now we’ve looked into the life of Abraham. Such different men but no matter the differences they have one commonality, the Lord in whom they placed their faith.
Romans 4:22-25…
22“And because of Abraham’s faith, God counted him as righteous. 23And when God counted him as righteous, it wasn’t just for Abraham’s benefit. It was recorded 24for our benefit, too, assuring us that God will also count us as righteous if we believe in Him, the one who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead. 25He was handed over to die because of our sins, and He was raised to life to make us right with God.”
EL-SHADDAI the Almighty God, this is who we put our faith and trust in. He is able, even when we think all is lost.
The Scriptures are full of God’s promises…
“…the promise is received by faith. It is a free gift. And we are all certain to receive it… if we have faith like Abraham’s…” (Romans 4:16)
~AMEN~