Please join me at Romans 4.  In chapters 1 to 3 Paul has been describing the reality of where we live our lives.  In brutal - honest - vivid terms.  Sin and judgment - God’s wrath.

Every day of our lives we struggle against sin.  It is like Victor Hugo describes it Les Misérables, “Everything terrestrial is subject to sin.  Sin is like gravitational force.” (1)  Every day we struggle against sin.

Some of that struggle is what we encounter as we do life.  Sickness - disease - many here deal with ongoing sickness.  Economics - trying to make ends meet and what goes on at work or not having work.  Family stuff can be brutal - painful - ongoing.  Our relationship easily fall prey to sin.  Death - mortality - aging - all that tainted, by sin, drags on us every day.  Man’s so called inhumanity to man.   

Some of what we struggle against is self-inflicted.  Most of us do a pretty good job of shooting ourselves.  We don’t need a whole lot of help.  Our attitudes - our actions - our egos and pride - our lack of focus on God continually gets us into trouble.

What Paul is describing in chapters 1 to 3 is where we live our lives in a world that has chosen to ignore God - to turn away from God - to suppress the truth of God - who He is and His truth.  To trust us and not Him.

Paul writes - in 1:16:  “For I am not ashamed of the gospel” - God’s counter sin true reality.  The gospel which offers to us the remedy for the sin that pulls us down.  God’s offer to us of righteousness - a God made right relationship with Him.  Which is what all of us desperately need.  And deep down we all crave.  Peace with God.

Last Sunday we looked at that great AWANA verse 3:23 - the description of where we’re at:  “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”  But Paul writes on in 3:24: “and are justified by his grace as a gift through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.”  Astounding?  Yes?

In our sin we continually stumble - we fall hopelessly short of the standard of God’s righteousness - God’s holiness - God’s sinlessness - the standard that we’re all judged by - condemned by.  And yet God - Jesus pays our penalty - takes our punishment.  The condemnation and wrath of God which should have been ours is taken by Jesus on the cross in our place.  And God, not because we deserve it but because God is gracious - God justifies us - makes us to be right before Him as if we’d never sinned.  All of which God applies to our lives the moment we trust Him with our lives.

The gospel - Paul writes in 1:16 - the gospel is “the power of God for salvation” - for life lived by faith in God - “the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes.”

Which is what we are moving through in this section of Romans that we began in last Sunday:  The application of God’s gospel - God’s grace - to our lives.  What does it mean - in the day-to-day stuff of where we live our lives - what does it mean that God has made us to be righteous?  What can that be like for us that God by His grace has justified us?

Coming to Romans 4 - Romans 4 can be divided into two parts that are based on two questions.  Question number one - which Paul deals with in verses 1 to 12 - question number one is this:  When was Abraham made righteous?

Look with me at verse 1:  What then shall we say was gained by Abraham, our forefather according to the flesh?

“gained” in Greek is the word “euresko” which is where we get the word - California state motto:  “Eureka” - “I found it.”  In the flesh - as Abraham is living life like we live life.  Different context.  Same issues.  What has Abraham found?  What knowledge has he discovered?  Gained? 

Verse 2:  For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about, but not before God.

If we could get ourselves right before God by our own effort there’d be no end to our bragging about it.  As it is we want others to notice when we do good.  Which counts - people notice when we do good stuff - especially if we brag about it.  But, compared to the righteousness of God - before God - we don’t have anything to brag about.  In the flesh - doing the stuff of life as we do life - neither did Abraham.

Verse 3:  For what does the Scripture say?  “Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness.” 

Question:  When was Abraham made righteous?  Answer:  When God counted Him righteous.

Paul - in giving us that answer - Paul is assuming that we’re up to speed on a whole lot of history about Abraham.  Which means we need to do a quick review to make sure we’re all on the same page.

Abraham lived in the city of Ur.  Great name.  Where are you from?  Ur.

Ur was in what is now southern Iraq.  Abraham’s family worshipped the moon.  Which is what people did in Ur.  Which means he had a heart seeking after God but he didn’t know God.

One day God introduces Himself to Abraham - calls Abraham out of Ur - and makes some life changing promises to Abraham.  God promises to make Abraham’s name great - renowned - respected - by a whole lot of people.  God promises Abraham a land that God is going to show Abraham and a whole lot of descendants to live on that land and that through Abraham’s descendants God is going to bless all the families on the earth.

Key word?  Descendants.  Or at least one descendant.

Abraham follows God’s instructions - leaves his relatives - and heads off to what is now Israel.  Which was an easy choice.  God appears and says head south.  Makes sense. Abe heads south.

Which is  easy for us to do.  Trust God when we can figure out how we think God can or should do something.  When what God says fits our understanding of things its easy to trust God.

So Abraham heads south.  But instead of immediately having a lot of little Abrahams - Abraham and Sarah living happily ever after in a beautiful valley raising goats and sheep - Abraham and Sarah come up childless.

With a little help from our friends at the Brick Bible we can picture this.

At least 10 years have gone by since God first made his promise to Abraham and told Abraham to head south.  Meaning Abraham is probably about 85.  Meaning this is long after Sarah has gone through menopause. 

So Abraham is now wondering about what God promised and trying to figure out how he - Abraham - can accomplish what God promised.  Because its obvious that God hasn’t and probably needs Abraham to figure it out for Him.

Abraham is telling God what God already knows.  “We got no offspring.  So Eliezer of Damascus can be the one your promise gets fulfilled through.”

God saying, “No, not Eliezer.  You and Sarah are going have your own child - a son - an heir.”

Genesis 15:5 - God takes Abraham out on a hill - shows him the stars and says, “Start counting. That’s how many descendants you’re going to have.”

Genesis 15:6:  “And he - Abraham - believed the Lord, and he - the Lord - counted it to him as righteousness.”  Same verse Paul quotes.

We need to hold to that this is a crucial - significant - life changing - history hanging in the balance - defining moment in Abraham’s life - and a whole lot of lives - including our lives.  Abraham can go back to pushing Eliezer or Abraham can choose to trust God.

Abraham’s response was to believe.  Not in himself.  Not in the promise.  Not as some kind of attempt to impress God with some kind of righteous response - giving the right answer to impress God.  But Abraham “believed” God - trusted in God - God’s character - that God was willing and able to do what God willed and promised to do regardless of the obvious impossibility of any of that happening.  Regardless of Abraham having no clue how God was going to do all that.

Grab that:  If we knew what comes next it wouldn’t be faith.  True faith in God is when we have no clue and we choose to trust God - period.  I don’t need to know how or why - because I know God.  God said it.  I believe it.  That settles it.  Heard that?

Counted is an interesting word that in Greek has the idea of calculating balances.  We have a credit card that each month the bank sends us a statement that has a record of our transactions - expenditures - payments –fees.  And our balance.  What we owe verses what we’ve paid and what they’d like us to pay.

God can count.  God enters a credit on Abraham’s account.  Because of Abraham’s belief God marks Abraham’s account paid.

In Hebrew - going back to Genesis 15 - the Hebrew word for “counted” has the idea of a thought process - calculating with the mind.  In other words - when Abraham trusted God - believed God - God in paying Abraham’s account - in the mind of God - God now thinks of Abraham’s account as paid.

Which isn’t about dollars and shekels - but about spiritual realities.  God declaring Abraham to be righteous.  Whatever debt Abraham owed God because of his sin - is paid.  Not because Abraham earned or deserved that declaration - that payment.  But because the One to whom Abraham  owed everything - God - chose to declare Abraham righteous.

When was Abraham made righteous?  Answer:  When God counted him righteous.

Verses 4 to 12 are amazing declarations of what that “counting” means in real time - to Abraham - to each one of us.  We’re going to focus on just 3.

Look with me at verse 4:  Now - meaning now - today - this minute - now that we have been counted as righteous - now to the one who works, his wages are not counted as a gift but as his due.  And to the one who does not work but believes in him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted as righteousness,

Declaration number one:  Faith is a response to grace not an essential for grace.

Paul writes again about counting - meaning settling accounts.

Hopefully, if we’re working at a job we get paid for the work we did.  Those are our wages.  We earned every penny.  Wages are not a gift but what we’re due - a settling of accounts.

But when it comes to God we need to make sure we don’t get the cart before the horse.  Faith is not a way that we settle accounts with God - a way to pay God back for his grace.  That reduces faith to a work that we do to earn grace.

Faith is not like being honest or loving or humble or doing something super spiritual that God is going to pay us for with righteousness.  That somehow faith makes us worthy of grace.  That somehow we make ourselves worthy of God’s payment of our debt - counting us righteous.

Works - how we live serving God - works demonstrate our faith in God.  Faith is a response to grace.

Which is a huge relief.  Isn’t it?  In the day-to-day stuff of our lives how many of us could ever possess or live by the degree of faith - of works - necessary to earn God’s righteousness?  To live rightly before God?   

God counting us righteous is huge.

Verse 6:   just as David also speaks of the blessing of one to whom God counts righteousness apart from works:  “Blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven, and whose sins are covered; blessed is the man against whom the Lord will not count his sin.”

Declaration number two:  Faith is a process of learning to live forgiven.

Paul is quoting David - Psalm 32.  Which is the Psalm that David wrote after the whole missing shower curtain episode with Bathsheba.  David falling from the heights of success and blessing to commit adultery with Bathsheba and then getting her husband - his loyal servant - Uriah killed in order to cover-up his sin.

When David confessed his sin - repented of it - and received God’s forgiveness - David wrote Psalm 32 - what Paul is quoting from.

Abraham messed up lots of times.  God didn’t one day say, “Well, sorry I’ve reinstated your debt.”

Reading through the account of Abraham it is impressive how great is God’s patience with Abraham.  How many times God forgives Abraham.  How many times God cleans up Abraham’s mess.  How many times God reaffirms His promise and commitment to Abraham.

Forgiveness is a huge part of faith - as Abraham keeps having to come back to God and to learn to seek God’ forgiveness - to seek God’s restoration - to seek God’s strength and guidance - how Abraham learns in the midst of the day-to-day stuff - at defining moments of Abraham’s life - how Abraham is learning - as David learned - as we can learn - that God really does forgive us.

That’s a huge blessing.  “Blessed is the man against whom the Lord will not count his sin.”

We don’t have to drag around the guilt and shame and stress and doubt of sin that’s been confessed and forgiven.  We can move forward trusting God for the awesome new life He’s prepared and teaching us to live in.  Trust Him.  That life really does exist.

Then verses 9 to 12:  Is this blessing then only for the circumcised, or also for the uncircumcised?  We say that faith was counted to Abraham as righteousness.  How then was it counted to him?  Was it before or after he had been circumcised?  It was not after, but before he was circumcised.  He received the sign of circumcision as a seal of the righteousness that he had by faith while he was still uncircumcised.  The purpose was to make him the father of all who believe without being circumcised, so that righteousness would be counted to them as well, and to make him the father of the circumcised who are not merely circumcised but who also walk in the footsteps of the faith that our father Abraham had before he was circumcised.

There’s a lot there.  Bottom line - Declaration number three:  Faith is an opportunity to know God at the heart level.

In verse 10 Paul asks the question:  Was Abraham counted righteous before or after he was circumcised?

The answer - to the average Jew - the answer was a no brainer.  Before.  The whole - count the stars - believe God - God counting Abraham as righteous - defining moment in Abraham’s life took place years before Abraham was circumcised.

And yet, through the centuries after Abraham - God’s people had placed a greater and greater emphasis on the outward symbol of circumcision.  As Paul puts it in verse 11:  “circumcision as the seal of the righteousness that he had by faith while he was uncircumcised.” 

Through the centuries - God’s people putting a greater and greater emphasis on the outward symbol - they’d virtually forgot the obvious order of faith and counting.  They’d virtually forgot the internal spiritual significance of their heart level relationship with God by faith that circumcision outwardly symbolized.  To the point that the rabbi’s in Paul’s day took for granted that Abraham was justified by his works or his own righteousness - that he’d earned his way into God’s graces.

But Abraham believed God and walked with God through life for years before he was circumcised.

In verse 12 Paul writes about our walking “in the footsteps of faith that our father Abraham had before he was circumcised.”

That isn’t about following Abraham in some kind of religious rite.  Like so many do today - being baptized or taking communion - without the life changing reality of a personal saving relationship with Jesus.  All those rites have significance.  But the meaning is lost without the relationship.  Without the life of faith - as Abraham had.

Paul’s declaration is to bring us back to the original purpose of circumcision as a demonstration of participation in a relationship with God by faith.  The redirection and transformation of our lives that takes place within us at the heart level in the defining moment of our lives as we trust God with our lives.

Are we tracking with Paul?  These declarations about faith?  What being “counted” righteous can mean for us?

Abraham is counted righteous by God when Abraham believes God for what God promised Abraham.  God does that for us as we believe God for the life in Christ He promises us.  That means that God opens up to us a life that - in the day-to-day defining moments of stuff that seeks to drag us down - how we live our lives can be totally changed - a journey of spiritual growth and living out the life that God has set us free to live - a following after God at the heart level - knowing the blessing of God even when we have no way of knowing what comes next.

The second part of chapter 4 begins in verse 13.   Question number two is this:  Why was Abraham made righteous?  Answer:  Because God counted him righteous.

Verse 13:  The promise to Abraham and his offspring that he would be heir of the world did not come through the law but through the righteousness of faith.  For if it is the adherents of the law who are to be the heirs, faith is null and the promise is void.  For the law brings wrath, but where there is no law there is no transgression.

The promise God gave to Abraham came without strings attached.  God’s promise came as a promise not a law.  Law demands obedience.  Promise demands faith. 

Centuries before the law and Moses - years before circumcision - God tells Abraham:  “I will bless you.  Believe my promise.”  To make the promise conditional on the law would negate the whole truth of righteousness being by faith - to Abraham and to his offspring - meaning by faith - us.

Verse 16:  That is why it depends on faith, in order that the promise may rest on grace and be guaranteed to all his offspring—not only to the adherent of the law but also to the one who shares the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all,

That’s what this is about.  Abraham’s faith and the faith of his offspring.  Why does God count Abraham righteous?  For us.  If Abraham believes God and God counts him as righteous then the offspring promised to Abraham - us as we believe God - sharing in the faith of Abraham - trusting in God’s promise for ourselves - God counts us as righteous.

as it is written, “I have made you the father of many nations” - not only the Jews but us here in Merced —in the presence of the God in whom he believed who gives life to the dead and calls into existence the things that do not exist.  In hope he believed against hope, that he should become the father of many nations, as he had been told, “So shall your offspring be.”

In verse 17 Paul makes two significant statements that describe what Abraham knew about God.  We need to be clear on what Paul is getting at here because as those who share Abraham’s faith these hit home to where we live life.

At a minimum Abraham knew - number one - Abraham knew that God is the God “who gives life to the dead” - meaning resurrection.  God takes someone who once was alive and now is dead and brings them back to life again.

Abraham knew - number two - that God is the God who “calls into existence the things that do not exist” - meaning creation.  Not forming something different out of something that already exists.  But God calling into existence what has not existed.

Which are two great mysteries that we grapple with today.  Yes?  Death and origins.  How did all this get here?  Where is it all going?  Does anything come next?  Is there purpose to my existence?

Those two great mysteries are no brainers for God.  Not a problem.  God created creation out of nothing and brought Jesus from death to life.

That foundational knowledge is significant for Abraham - and us.  God is the God of creation and resurrection.  Sovereign over our lives - how we got here - why we’re here - where we’re going.  That firm conviction - Paul writes in verse 18 - gave Abraham the assurance he needed to have hope in the midst of circumstances that contradicted hope.

Mark Twain once wrote:  “Faith is believing what you know ain’t so.” (2)  Like faith is checking our brains at the door - a disconnect between what we see and what we hope for.

God shows Abraham the stars.

Psalm 33:  “By the word of the Lord the heavens were made, and by the breath of His mouth all their hosts… Do you hear sovereign Creator in that?   The Lord looks down from heaven; He sees all the children of man; from where He sits enthroned He looks out on all the inhabitants of the earth…  Behold the eye of the Lord is on those who fear Him, on those who hope in His steadfast love, that He may deliver their soul from death and keep them alive in famine.”  (Psalm 33:6,13,18,19)

Do you hear Sovereign Creator Who is intimately concerned with the details of His creation - us - even our well being - spiritual and physical - even in death?  Doesn’t it make sense that God - when He’s making His promise to Abraham - that God would show Abraham the stars?

God the creator who by His eternal power calls all that is into existence out of nothing - sets it out there to help us grab onto that He’s there - Who He is - and who we are.  God revealing Himself to Abraham.  Walking through life with Abraham.  Teaching Abraham that He God is sovereign over all that is - even death. 

Paul writes - verse 19:  He - Abraham - did not weaken in faith when he considered his own body, which was as good as dead (since he was about a hundred years old), or when he considered the barrenness of Sarah’s womb.  No distrust made him waver concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God, fully convinced that God was able to do what he had promised.

In Genesis 17 God comes to Abraham who is now 99 - God says to Abraham - one year from now Sarah will have a child.  Name him Isaac.  It is a significant defining moment in Abraham’s life.   

Paul writes that Abraham did not weaken in faith - even when he considered his body.

Have you ever considered your body?  Be honest.  Even if its a quick glance in the mirror.  When we’re young we’re looking to see how we’re developing - sometimes impressing ourselves with how we look.

Strange things happen as we get older.  The six pack turns into a keg.  Gravity is cruel.  Things start to fall off and fall out.  They say that aging is in the mind.  Well, the mind is willing but the flesh is weak.

Abram never doubts that God will make it happen.  That God will fulfill His promise.  He’s seen the stars.  He’s walked with God.

How is God going to enable the body of a man pushing 100 and a women pushing 90 to produce a child?  Who knows?  Physically - from a human perspective - its impossible.  A circumstance without hope.

But, the God who created the universe - who created us - even with the ability to reproduce - God Most High - possessor of heaven and earth - intimately concerned with the details of our lives - God can.  That’s all the connection between the dots that we need. 

Abraham believes that God Most High is adequate to fulfill His promise - biologically - even through the inadequate body of a 99 year old man.  Even if Abraham doesn’t see how all the dots are connected.

What Abraham has learned is that God is the only answer to our failure and inability.  God is the only hope we have in hopeless circumstances.  God is the only One worthy of placing our trust in.   

Do you ever experience circumstances that contradict hope?  Yes.  Way too often.

God is not put off by our failures - our inadequacies - spiritually - physically - mentally - emotionally.  God can make something great out of people like us.  The same majestic sovereign powerful God who created the heavens - who spoke to Abraham on that night - that same God has the ability to work within us and through us - even in the hopeless circumstances of our lives.

Whether we understand how - is not the issue.  The bottom line of faith - in the defining moments of our lives - the questions is whether we will trust that God can.  Who can?  God can.

Let’s go on to Paul’s summary - verse 22:  That is why his faith - Abraham’s faith - was counted to him as righteousness.  But the words “it was counted to him” were not written for his sake alone, but for ours also. 

Who’s sake?  Ours. 

Question:  Why was Abraham made righteous?  Answer:  Because God counted him righteous.  But, grab this - God counting Abraham as righteous isn’t just about Abraham.  God counted Abraham as righteous for us.

Do you see yourself there?  In the pages of Scripture.  Paul writing about us - Abraham’s offspring by faith. 

Going on:  It - righteousness - will be counted to us who believe in him who raised from the dead Jesus our Lord, who was delivered up for our trespasses and raised for our justification.

Righteousness is the opposite of our failure - our inability - our falling short of the glory of God. 

Righteousness - a justified - right relationship with God - can only be a product of God’s grace - not something that we’re adequate to achieve by our own ability.  Even physically - to live life with the indwelling God - to live as He’s created us to live - can only come by His indwelling power at work within us.

Do any of us understand how all the dots are connected in all that?  No.  Righteousness comes as a gift of God’s grace.  God gives it.  We must by faith receive it. 

What does it mean - in the day-to-day stuff of where we live our lives - what does it mean that God has made us to be righteous?  What can that be like for us that God by His grace has justified us?  We need to grab the example of Abraham - what Paul is showing us through him.

God making us to be righteous is all about trusting God.  Not about us trying to figure out solutions to the stuff of that drags us down and seeks to rob us of hope.  Not about us trying to accomplish God’s promises for Him.

Faith in God - in the day-to-day defining moments of our lives - is about trusting that the God who is sovereign over all of life - created it - sustains it - gives purpose and meaning to it - promises it to us for eternity - that God has it all worked out - and like He said to Abraham - in those  defining moments of Abraham’s life:   “I will bless you.  Trust Me.”

Defining moments are moments that define us.  How we respond to them demonstrates who we are and can set the course of our lives.

Two questions.  Question one:  Have you been made righteous before God?  Have you trusted Him with your life?  Maybe this morning is that defining moment in your life when God is speaking to you and asking you to trust Him?

Question two:  What is God’s purpose for making you righteous?

We are not end users of what we receive from God.  God used the defining moments of Abraham’s life as an example for us of what it means to have faith in Him.  As you’re living defining moments in a hope draining world how might God use you?

_________________________

1. Victor Hugo, Les Misérables, Part 1, Book 1, Chapter 4

2. Mark Twain, “Following the Equator and Anti-Imperialist Essays, New York:  Oxford University Press, 1996—cited by Charles R. Swindoll, Insights on Romans - Zondervan, 2010, page 101.

General reference for this message:  Charles R. Swindoll, Insights on Romans - Zondervan, 2010

Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®  (ESV®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.  Used by permission.  All rights reserved.