Greetings and welcome to all present and online, in America and abroad. Today we continue our study in Paul’s letter to the Romans, in the fourth chapter, last week we asked the question: Do the Scriptures teach that the salvation that God has provided for all mankind is given as a free gift totally apart from works or the keeping of the Law? Also, Just why is there such a great misunderstanding in the conflict between salvation by faith alone and salvation by faith plus works? Continuing on these most important controversial items, Let us continue this examination of what the Bible teaches about what a proper understanding of God’s salvation should be from those to whom it is provided. Turn with us to the fourth chapter of Romans, and listen as we gain some insight into this great chapter with a message that our Pastor Landis Fisher has titled: “Saved By Faith Without The Law”
Old Testament Scripture Reading: Genesis 22:1 – 14 (NASB)
Gen 22:1 Now it came about after these things, that God tested Abraham, and said to him, “Abraham!” And he said, “Here I am.”
Gen 22:2 And He said, “Take now your son, your only son, whom you love, Isaac, and go to the land of Moriah; and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I will tell you.”
Gen 22:3 So Abraham rose early in the morning and saddled his donkey, and took two of his young men with him and Isaac his son; and he split wood for the burnt offering, and arose and went to the place of which God had told him.
Gen 22:4 On the third day Abraham raised his eyes and saw the place from a distance.
Gen 22:5 And Abraham said to his young men, “Stay here with the donkey, and I and the lad will go yonder; and we will worship and return to you.”
Gen 22:6 And Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering and laid it on Isaac his son, and he took in his hand the fire and the knife. So the two of them walked on together.
Gen 22:7 And Isaac spoke to Abraham his father and said, “My father!” And he said, “Here I am, my son.” And he said, “Behold, the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?”
Gen 22:8 And Abraham said, “God will provide for Himself the lamb for the burnt offering, my son.” So the two of them walked on together.
Gen 22:9 Then they came to the place of which God had told him; and Abraham built the altar there, and arranged the wood, and bound his son Isaac, and laid him on the altar on top of the wood.
Gen 22:10 And Abraham stretched out his hand, and took the knife to slay his son.
Gen 22:11 But the angel of the LORD called to him from heaven, and said, “Abraham, Abraham!” And he said, “Here I am.”
Gen 22:12 And he said, “Do not stretch out your hand against the lad, and do nothing to him; for now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your son, your only son, from Me.”
Gen 22:13 Then Abraham raised his eyes and looked, and behold, behind him a ram caught in the thicket by his horns; and Abraham went and took the ram, and offered him up for a burnt offering in the place of his son.
Gen 22:14 And Abraham called the name of that place The LORD Will Provide, as it is said to this day, “In the mount of the LORD it will be provided.”
New Testament Scripture Reading: Romans 4:13 – 25 (NASB)
Rom 4:13 For the promise to Abraham or to his descendants that he would be heir of the world was not through the Law, but through the righteousness of faith.
Rom 4:14 For if those who are of the Law are heirs, faith is made void and the promise is nullified;
Rom 4:15 for the Law brings about wrath, but where there is no law, neither is there violation.
Rom 4:16 For this reason it is by faith, that it might be in accordance with grace, in order that the promise may be certain to all the descendants, not only to those who are of the Law, but also to those who are of the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all,
Rom 4:17 (as it is written, “A FATHER OF MANY NATIONS HAVE I MADE YOU”) in the sight of Him whom he believed, even God, who gives life to the dead and calls into being that which does not exist.
Rom 4:18 In hope against hope he believed, in order that he might become a father of many nations, according to that which had been spoken, “SO SHALL YOUR DESCENDANTS BE.”
Rom 4:19 And without becoming weak in faith he contemplated his own body, now as good as dead since he was about a hundred years old, and the deadness of Sarah’s womb;
Rom 4:20 yet, with respect to the promise of God, he did not waver in unbelief, but grew strong in faith, giving glory to God,
Rom 4:21 and being fully assured that what He had promised, He was able also to perform.
Rom 4:22 Therefore also IT WAS RECKONED TO HIM AS RIGHTEOUSNESS.
Rom 4:23 Now not for his sake only was it written, that it was reckoned to him,
Rom 4:24 but for our sake also, to whom it will be reckoned, as those who believe in Him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead,
Rom 4:25 He who was delivered up because of our transgressions, and was raised because of our justification.
Transforming Power Statements:
#1) The Law itself clearly teaches that Abraham, the model of saving faith, was saved by grace through faith, not through “The Law” which did not yet exist in his time producing an iron clad explanation of why salvation cannot be by “The Law” but that it must have been attained without “The Law”.
#2) Abrahams growth in faith was aimed toward God and God’s ability to fulfill everything He had promised causing the patriarch to overlook his personal human limitations and to exalt God whom he believed was able to over rule all limitation to accomplish His will and fulfill each and every promise in His own timing.#3) Imputed righteousness is understood in Abraham’s life and therefore is the model that supports the proclamation of the gospel which is made available for all who come to God through Jesus Christ by faith in His finished work on the cross, and trust God’s promise to save all who come by Christ Jesus by grace alone.
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