Romans
4:18-25
Abraham’s
Faith in Jesus Made Him Righteous
Rom 4:18 Who against hope believed in hope, that he
might become the father of many nations, according to that which was spoken, So
shall thy seed be.
Rom 4:19 And being not weak in faith, he considered
not his own body now dead, when he was about an hundred years old, neither yet
the deadness of Sara's womb:
Rom 4:20 He
staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief; but was strong in faith,
giving glory to God;
Rom 4:21 And being
fully persuaded that, what he had promised, he was able also to perform.
Rom 4:22 And
therefore it was imputed to him for righteousness.
Rom 4:23 Now it
was not written for his sake alone, that it was imputed to him;
Rom 4:24 But for
us also, to whom it shall be imputed, if we believe on him that raised up Jesus
our Lord from the dead;
Rom 4:25 Who was
delivered for our offences, and was raised again for our justification.
- Christ
Demonstrates His Power Through His Work in Abraham’s Faith. – vs. 18-21*
- The impossible
is made possible, demonstrating what God can do through an ordinary man.
If God could perform such a work in Abraham’s life through genuine faith
how much more could be accomplished through you?
i.
True Faith Hopes - Abraham believed God’s Word in spite
of the impossibility of it. – vs. 18*
1.
Hebrews 11:1
2. What
was the original promise of God? The promise what that Abraham’s seed would inherit
a specific land. This is still yet to be fulfilled in the Millennial Kingdom.
In other words we still look forward to the coming Messiah and His complete
defeat of evil.
a.
Genesis 17:5-8
b.
Psalm 2:6-8
- True
Faith is Strong – Abraham ignored the distractions that would make him
doubt God’s Word. – vs. 19*
i.
Abraham could have examined his lifeless body and
concluded that God’s promise to him having a son would be impossible.
1.
Hebrews 12:1
- True
Faith Endures – Abraham did not doubt the Word of God and thus brought
glory to God. – vs. 20*
i.
Abraham could have wavered in his confidence in God, yet
he remained steadfast in his resolve.
1.
2 Timothy 2:3-4
- True
Faith Trusts Absolutely – Abraham acted on his belief in God’s Word. –
vs. 21*
i.
Abraham lived his life in the confidence that God would
use his efforts for God’s glory and wouldn’t, in the end, be utterly worthless.
1.
Hebrews 11:13
- What
about Hagar? – This might be where
most of us would add in Abraham’s failures, of which there are many, but instead
God chooses to forget them. All of us have our ‘Hagars’ (an attempt to achieve
God’s will though worldly means) but God does not remember them because
they are covered under the blood.
i.
Psalm 103:10-13
- Righteousness
was Imputed on Abraham because of His Faith – vs. 22-25*
- Because
of Abraham’s faith, he was ‘revalued,’ and was given Christ’s
righteousness not his own - Webster’s Dictionary definition of imputed: “to attribute (righteousness, guilt, etc.) to a person or persons vicariously; ascribe as derived from another.” – vs.
22*
i.
Genesis 15:6
- This
imputation is not just for Abraham. It is for us as well – vs. 23*
i.
Romans 10:9-10
- If
we believe on the one that brought Christ back to life, we can have the
same righteousness imputed on us. – vs. 24*
i.
The just like it was beyond Abraham’s power to make a
son it is beyond our power to make ourselves alive to faith again. Like Abraham
we must rely on an outside source of strength through faith.
1.
John 3:16-18
- God yielded
up His Son to pay for our sin and brought Him back to life to enable our
justification (declaration of our innocence before God). – vs. 25*
i.
2 Corinthians 5:21
ii.
Isaiah 53:1-6
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