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The Just Shall Live by Faith

"God’s Provision for Our Salvation” Romans 4:1-8

Date:October 13, 2024
Author: Wayne J. Edwards

Introduction:

The root of all sin is “unbelief” – i.e., our rebellion against God’s will and ways. Therefore, to “believe” in Jesus Christ as our Savior and Lord is to “obey” God’s will and ways—to take God at His Word—to trust and obey!

Expressing our faith in Jesus Christ as our Savior is more than a mental agreement with the facts of our Lord’s life and ministry and more than a nice, warm feeling we have about His death and resurrection. The evidence of our expressed faith in Jesus Christ as our Savior and Lord is our confession of sin, our repentance from that sin, including restitution and reconciliation with those affected by our sin, and a complete submission unto Jesus as our Lord.

This Sunday at 6:00 PM, we will continue our in-depth study of Paul’s letter to the Christians in Rome. In this sermon, we will examine Romans 4:1-8 under the heading “God’s Provision for Our Salvation.”  

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The Just Shall Live by Faith
“God’s Provision for Our Salvation”
Romans 4:1-8

The theme of the first three chapters of Romans:

  • The righteousness of God revealed – 1:16-17
  • The unrighteousness of people revealed –
    • Gentiles – 1:18-31
    • Jews – 2:1-3:8
    • All men everywhere – 3:9-20
  • The righteousness of God imputed – Justification
    • Through Christ – 3:21-26
    • Received by faith – 3:27-4:25
    • The principle of justification by faith – 3:27-31
    • The principle of salvation by faith – 4:1-25

The Illustration of Justification by Faith from the life of Abraham.

·         The Jewish people thought Abraham was chosen of God because of his obedience to God.

  • Paul said Abraham was chosen of God by the grace of God through his obedience to God’s Word.
  • Abraham was “saved” because he believed God’s Word!
  • Paul wanted to prove two points:
    • All men are sinners and need a Savior.
    • All men can be saved by grace through faith – it is the gift of God – not of works.

1. Paul’s Premise – vs 1-2

  • God made two promises to Abraham:
  • IF Abraham followed God unquestionably, he would become the:
    • Father of a new nation – Israel
    • Channel through which all the nations would be blessed – Jesus
    • Abraham was counted righteous, not because of who he was or what he did, but because he simply believed/obeyed God.

2. Paul’s Proof – vs 3

  • Genesis 15:6, Galatians 3:6 – “Abraham believed God and it was counted unto him for righteousness.”
  • Hebrews 11:8-12 – “By faith, Abraham …obeyed and went out not knowing where he went.”
  • Hebrews 11:17-19 – “By faith, Abraham…offered up Isaac.”

3. Paul’s Proclamation – vs 4-8

  • Human works puts God under obligation.
  • It is the faithful who are counted as being righteous by their trust in and their obedience to God’s Word.
    • His sins are forgiven and covered- Vs 7
    • His sins will not be counted against him
    • The root of all sin is our failure to obey God.
    • The WORK God wants us to do to be saved is to believe in Him, which means to take Him at His Word – trust and obey!
  • FACTS – the whole gospel of Jesus Christ
  • ACCEPTED – acceptance of God’s plan
  • INTERNALIZED – including genuine repentance
  • TRUST – relying upon God and God alone
  • HOPE – believing in things we cannot see