Romans 4:16-18
Falling short is not an almost completing the task. It's not making it all! No man will be justified through religion, heredity, position, etc!
Paul uses Abraham and David as examples and they both were sinners. It shows that God is gracious.
v. 16 it is by grace alone!! There is no boasting in salvation.
Abram meant exalted father. God changed his name to Abraham which means father of many nations. We are spiritual descendants of Abraham.
Rom. 9:6-8 spiritual descendants
Gal. 3:16 speaks of Abraham and his seed.
Heb. 11:17-19 says "by faith Abraham offered up Isaac. He had faith in God's promise.
In Genesis he is promised the Land of Canaan which is a type of heaven.
Genesis 15:1-6 God promises Abraham descendants.
Lessons
1. Men do not make themselves.
v. 17 God made him the father of many nations. God made him great. God doesn't take men's greatness and uses it for His purpose. God is the one who makes them great. They are not great by themselves.
Jer. 1:5-8 God made Jeremiah great. God makes weak men and makes them great.
God's love is not an attraction to something in us. Rather he takes us and makes us what He wants us and sets His love upon us.
John 6:44 no man comes unless I draw him. God chooses!
Matthew 11:25-28
Ezekiel 37:1-13 God raises dry bones. Abraham believes the One who raises dry bones.
God makes the faithful.
2. Who has the power and authority to make the promise? God does! the promise is guaranteed. You can't really make a guaranteed promise unless you are sovereign over all things. Things happen to cause us to not be able to keep a guaranteed promise. Accidents happen, people die, stuff happens that prevents us from really being able to guarantee our promises.
John 1:1-4 There never was a time when there was not life. God is the author of life and he is the life. God's promise is guaranteed and He can do it. Future things are present to God. Everything is controlled by God. Consider the following:
Prov. 16:4
Prov. 20:24
Prov. 21:1
Job 37:40
Heb. 6:13-14 ~ He swore by Himself because there was no one greater!
3. Faith is giving life to the dead.
Faith is a gift. Faith is a gift of life. Abraham is too old to father a son but God gives him the gift of a son....of life!
Only God can make a life, sustain a life!
Only God imparts life. God even gives viruses life!
He is sovereign over all of life!
God uses this example in Abraham and Sarah that salvation is in His control.
God is the acting agent in salvation. It can be in no other way!
Jn 3:3 We must be born from above!
1 Peter 1:3-6 Salvation is summarized here.
All men live eternally. All will be raised. Those for whom Christ died will be taken to glory. The others will endure everlasting punishment.
Romans 5:2 Heaven is an introduction to heaven.
4. Appearances or so often contrary to reality.
God defines reality. Christian maturity is living by the reality that God gives, not making our own reality.
V. 19 Abraham was not weak in his faith. In spite of all odds he did not stagger at the promises of God.
Isa 55:1-11 This whole idea that the church of God is in trouble is wrong. There is no word of God that goes forth that will not accomplish what God wants it too.
God is not bound by obstacles! He works through weakness that it might be by His work alone!
Ps. 2:2-4 It is the power of God.
The parable of the mustard seed....a tiny seed that sprouts a large plant.
The leaven is hidden in the bread but does its work.
God uses hidden things to accomplish His work!
God sent Paul to preach the gospel...not with cleverness of speech.
1 Cor. 1:18
The foolishness of the message is what God uses...not clever marketing techiques! God chooses weak and despised things to accomplish His purposes. It's counter to the opinion of the world.
The important work of God is building His church, bringing descendants for Abraham into being.
5. Faith is in that which we hope for.
Hope against hope-hope via faith in the promise of God against the hope that looks so much like despair.
It's hope in the promises of God instead of the hope of this world.
Faith always has a futuristic sense to it.
Rom. 8:18-28
There must be some difficulty in the thing to be believed or it is not faith.
Hope is found in Romans more than any other NT book.
We need to have faith in the promises of God not things God has not promised us. We are not promised the next day, health or any of that....we should not have faith in these things...God never promised them!
Don't confuse earthly hope with Biblical hope.
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