Romans Chapter
Four Lesson 53
Justification Illustrated
3. Abraham's faith was not divided; it was uncomplicated
and focused!
- It speaks of the point that God's word to Abraham became
more real to him than his present deficiency; procreative ability of both he
and Sarah
In hope says you need to look to the one
in whom you believe, God; Why? because He is a God
who gives life to the dead and calls into
being that which does not exist.
Idea: which
prompts them to translate it "waver" is that it refers to
going back and forth in one's thinking between 2 things; in other words at one
point believing something and then not believing it; idiom: to be at odds with yourself might be
applicable.
* What is the result of this divided
thinking? instability
in life! Lack of focus!
* Was Abraham's
faith unique or somehow different than the faith that you can have in your difficult
circumstance? Not at all!
What is
the crucial aspect of faith? It is the source of what is believed, the object
of faith!
** How do you
glorify God?? Which
should be the desire of every Believer!
Last part of vs:20 tells us!
Point of Truth
** When God's word
becomes more real to you then whatever circumstances your facing; and your resting in Him
to provide as He wills then your glorifying God!
4. His faith was based on the character of God 4:21
- "and being
fully assured" this is the result of faith
placed on the right object; the promise
of God;
What is Abe doing here??
He sees
that behind the promise of God is the Character of
God; his power and ability.
- "Therefore"
drawing a conclusion from the preceding context; the example of Abraham's faith in the
word of God!
- His faith, his strong faith in God's word, that's the "it"; that's being reckoned, credited to his account eij resulting in righteousness.
Summary Observations:
1. Contrasts of faith and unbelief:
stolen from John Bunyon
1. Faith believes the Word of God, but unbelief questions the
certainty of the Word.
2. Faith will give comfort in the midst of fears, but unbelief causes
fears in the midst of comforts.
3. Faith makes great burdens light, but unbelief makes light ones intolerably
heavy.
4. Faith helps us when we are down, but unbelief throws us down when
we are up.
5. Faith brings us near to God when we are far from Him, but unbelief puts us far
from God when we are near to Him.
6. Faith puts a man under grace, but unbelief holds him under wrath.
7. Faith gives us peace and comfort in our souls, but unbelief works
trouble and tosses us like the restless waves of the sea.
8. By faith we have our life in Christ's fullness, but by unbelief we
starve.
9. Faith makes the ways of God pleasant and admirable, but unbelief makes them
heavy and hard.
10. By faith the children of
11. By faith Gideon did more with three hundred men and a few empty pitchers than
all the twelve tribes could do, because they believed not God.
12. By faith Peter walked on the water, but through unbelief he began
to sink.
2. God waited until all hope was gone before fulfilling His promise,
His word to them.
- The application to salvation is abundantly clear: God
must wait until the sinner has come to the point of recognizing the fact that
they are "dead" and are unable to help them self.
- When Abraham contrasted what God had said to him and his
own physical situation, totally sexually dead; he did not become weak in faith;
he did not waver in unbelief, he was fully assured in what God said.
3. Every time that Abraham or Sarah called Isaac after he was born, it
reminded them of God's faithfulness and their own incredulity at the beginning,
when God first gave them the specifics of the promise in Gen. 17.
4. If their faith was so great that righteousness was credited to
them, why did they laugh??
Prin:
Faith is not the absence of any doubts; faith is the mastery of any doubts as you continue to keep your focus
and priorities on the God who is the giver of life, and calls into being that
which does not exist.
5. Faith is not deciding what you want and then holding God
responsible for providing it for you!
6. "Fully assured that what He had promised He was able also
to perform" is what all believers should be able to say; the attitude
that we should all have!