“It’s all about Faith”
The Promise
Romans 4:13-25
What is a promise?
1.
A promise is a commitment to do something, or
not do something.
a.
“I promise I’ll come pick you up for church.”
b.
“I promise not to leave you..."
c.
It's a commitment.
2.
In legal terms, an exchange of promises is
legally enforceable; When you sign a contract, you're obligated to fulfill the
terms of that contract.
a.
If you fail to fulfill the terms of that
contract, you can be held legally liable. You may have to pay damages.
3.
We’ve all made promises, hopefully we’ve kept
our promises, but if we’re honest, we’d all have to admit that we’ve made
promises we didn’t keep.
a.
One man said: Promises are like babies: easy to make, but they’re hard to deliver.
4.
It’s sad but true, people break promises all the
time
a.
Our courts are full of people that are suing one
another over broken promises.
b.
How many couples have stood before a pastor,
friends, and God, and promised to remain together “until death do us part,” but
when the going gets tough, they break that promise.
5.
Promises are foundational to society. Think about this: The reason that our country
has become such a powerful and prosperous nation,
a.
is partly because of the expectation that
promises will be fulfilled. It’s
guaranteed in our constitution, and enforced by the rule of law.
b.
For instance, if you’ve ever bought a house or a
car, you signed papers that contained a promise that you will make the
payments.
c.
The bank believes you and gives a pile of money
to the seller.
d.
Your name is entered at the courthouse on a deed
of trust that promises you are the owner, with the bank as first lien holder.
e.
That contract you signed also contained a
promise that after you repay the loan, the bank will be removed as a lien
holder on that deed, and that property will be yours, free and clear.
6.
Furthermore you have a promise, contained in the
Fifth Amendment of our constitution that says your property cannot be taken
from you by the anyone without just cause.
a.
We have the rule of law that provides a
foundation for these promises – and enforces the rule that is a person makes an
agreement, they are bound to fulfill it.
b.
We may not realize it, but without the
enforcement of promises, we would be a third world country mired in poverty.
c.
Because no one would buy property, start a
business, or invest in new ideas.
d.
If you look at countries that don’t have these
protections, or where they aren’t enforced, those people live in poverty.
7.
Promises are usually reciprocal in nature: You do this, I’ll do that.
a.
I’ll give you money, you give me a service or
goods.
b.
I pay city taxes, the city will provide fire and
police services.
8.
The fulfillment of promises affects every area
of our lives, and even moreso in the context of our relationship to God.
a.
Last week we learned about Abraham, and his
relationship with God.
b.
(If you missed it, go to “www.clayritter.com”)
c.
God gave Abraham a promise, and Abraham believed
that God would fulfill that promise,
9.
Matter of fact, we could say that Abraham
entered into a contract with God - it’s actually called the “Abrahamic
covenant” - God promised Abraham:
a.
Abraham would have a son (implied),
b.
From that son would come a nation, a numerous as
the stars in the sky
c.
That nation would possess the Promised Land
d.
All the nations - all people - would be blessed
by this nation.
10. Not
just a son - but a miracle son, since they were already old!
a.
Not just a lot of descendants - but a nation, a
named nation
b.
Not just any land, but a very specific land
c.
and the world - all of mankind - would be
blessed by that nation.
11. That
is a big list - so what was Abraham’s part?
Surely in order to receive such a huge blessing,
a.
Abraham must have to do something pretty
incredible for God, right?
b.
At a minimum he would have to follow some rules,
right?
13 For the promise
that he would be the heir of the world was not to Abraham or to his seed
through the law, but through the righteousness of faith. 14 For if those who
are of the law are heirs, faith is made void and the promise made of no effect,
15 because the law brings about wrath; for where there is no law there is no
transgression. 16 Therefore it is of faith that it might be according to grace,
so that the promise might be sure to all the seed, 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
13 Clearly, God’s
promise to give the whole earth to Abraham and his descendants was based not on
his obedience to God’s law, but on a right relationship with God that comes by
faith. 14 If God’s promise is only for those who obey the law, then faith is
not necessary and the promise is pointless. 15 For the law always brings
punishment on those who try to obey it. (The only way to avoid breaking the law
is to have no law to break!) 16 So the promise is received by faith. It is
given as a free gift. And we are all certain to receive it, whether or not we
live according to the law of Moses, if we have faith like Abraham’s. For
Abraham is the father of all who believe.)
12. Paul
is telling us that the fulfillment of the promise to Abraham was NOT based on
Abraham’s performance.
a.
It was based on his relationship with God - a
“right relationship”
b.
Righteousness - not through performance, but
through FAITH.
13. To
make his point, Paul adds the element of
time to the equation - because a promise speaks to the future, not the present.
a.
For instance, if I'm at your house, there is no
need to promise you I'll come to your house.
b.
In other words, Paul is saying that Abraham
couldn't have received the promise by obeying the law, because the law didn’t
even exist then:
c.
God didn’t give the law to Moses until 400 years
LATER,
d.
so it would have been impossible for Abraham to
follow the law! He didn't have it yet!
14. Now
you and I, we DO have the law, but guess what; It’s still impossible for us to
follow it! It’s too demanding! It
requires too much- perfection!
a.
What did Paul say in verse 15? “The
only way to avoid breaking the law is to have no law to break!”
15. See
the law present us with a dilemma: We
know we can’t fully obey it, no one can, so what do we do?
a.
One option:
I could disregard it. Push it all
out of my mind. Find some other
philosophy to live by, some other way to live my life that doesn't include God.
b.
That is an option, but it doesn't change
reality.
c.
Just like if a man owes child support, he can
move to a different state, work under the table, not file tax returns, all in
an effort to evade the reality that he has a child to support.
d.
But one day that truth will catch up to
him: It might be a traffic stop, or
maybe he tries to buy property, then suddenly judgment swoops in, and he has to
pay the price.
e.
So, disregarding truth is an option, but it’s
not a good option!
16. The
other option is beautiful: We simply admit to God that we can’t fully obey His
law,
a.
“I’m a sinner, I’m not worthy of being declared
righteous, I don’t deserve it"
b.
And God’s response: “I
know, I’m God! I know everything you’ve been up to, and it’s pretty bad. But I love you, and I want to forgive you.”
c.
God say’s “I
promise, if you’ll accept my Son, I’ll accept you! If you'll accept my son,
I'll give you righteous standing!"
d.
The moment we say “I believe,” the promise is
given as a FREE GIFT!
17. That
is what Paul means by “walking in the faith of Abraham.”
a.
In other words, this promise that God gave to
Abraham was fairly ONE SIDED - all of the hard work fell on God!
b.
What was Abraham’s part of the covenant? BELIEVE!
18. That
raises another question: Why? What caused Abraham to believe God?
a.
Think about it: it wasn’t because Abraham saw
anything in his circumstances that would indicate success, there was no visible
proof at all.
b.
Matter of fact, from a human perspective,
everything in Abraham’s circumstances, looked like it was IMPOSSIBLE!
17 (as it is
written, “I have made you a father of many nations”) in the presence of Him
whom he believed—God, who gives life to the dead and calls those things which
do not exist as though they did; 18 who, contrary to hope, in hope believed, so
that he became the father of many nations, according to what was spoken, “So
shall your descendants be.” 19 And not being weak in faith, he did not consider
his own body, already dead (since he was about a hundred years old), and the
deadness of Sarah’s womb.
17 That is what the
Scriptures mean when God told him, “I have made you the father of many
nations.” This happened because Abraham believed in the God who brings the dead
back to life and who creates new things out of nothing. 18 Even when there was
no reason for hope, Abraham kept hoping—believing that he would become the
father of many nations. For God had said to him, “That’s how many descendants
you will have!” 19 And Abraham’s faith did not weaken, even though, at about
100 years of age, he figured his body was as good as dead—and so was Sarah’s
womb.
19. Look,
Abraham was 75 years old when the promise was given, but his wife Sara didn’t
conceive the promised child, Isaac, until he was 100… 25 years.
a.
(I can see them after about 20 years, sitting at
dinner, looking at each other, grey hair coming in, every year getting a little
flabbier, a little slower, "Sara you're so beautiful..."
"Abraham you’re so blind..." thinking “I cant wait, we’re gonna have
a baby!)
b.
What caused him to believe? Truth #1:
Truth #1 - God’s promises aren’t based on
our character, or our ability, rather they’re based on God's character and
ability.
20. When
you think about it, a promise is only as good as the character and ability of
the person making the promise.
a.
It doesn’t really matter if you get the promise
in writing, have it witnessed by 20 people, and have it recorded in a deed of
trust –
b.
If the person who signed it does not have the
ability and the intention to fulfill it, it is worthless.
c.
(That’s why we have so many lawyers; our courts
are full of cases where people have broken contracts!)
21. So
now we ask the question: Does God have the character and ability to fulfill His
promises?
a.
The answer is simple, and compelling – YES!
Truth #2:
Because God’s nature is holy, He cannot lie, His nature is unchanging,
He will never change His mind
People swear by
someone greater than themselves, and the oath confirms what is said and puts an
end to all argument. Because God wanted to make the unchanging nature of his
purpose very clear to the heirs of what was promised, he confirmed it with an
oath. Hebrews 11:16-17
22. Have
you ever noticed that people swear by something greater than themselves?
a.
When someone wants you to believe them, they say
“I swear to God.”
b.
When someone wants to curse you - “GD”
23. If
you have to testify in court, the officer will have you put your hand on a
bible and take an oath that you’ll “tell the truth, so help me God.”
a.
We are asked to do that because judges know that
people lie!
b.
The hope is that if a person swears by someone
greater than themselves, I.E. God, they’ll be truthful.
c.
Unfortunately that isn’t always the case –
because the nature of man is flawed – we have a sin nature!
d.
That’s why courts are full of civil cases where
people lied.
24. Is
that how God is? NO! When God promises, because of His nature – He
cannot lie, He will never change His mind.
God is not a man, so he does not lie. He is not human,
so he does not change his mind. Has he ever spoken and failed to act? Has he ever promised and not carried it
through? Numbers 23:19
25. And
so when God said to Abraham “I will surely bless you and give you many
descendants,” he could be assured that
He will fulfill what He promises
20 He did not waver
at the promise of God through unbelief, but was strengthened in faith, giving
glory to God, 21 and being fully convinced that what He had promised He was
also able to perform. 22 And therefore “it was accounted to him for
righteousness.”
20 Abraham never
wavered in believing God’s promise. In fact, his faith grew stronger, and in
this he brought glory to God. 21 He was fully convinced that God is able to do
whatever he promises. 22 And because of Abraham’s faith, God counted him as
righteous.
26. Paul
tells us that Abraham didn’t waiver – he he remained convinced that God would
deliver
a.
In other words, he wasn’t looking to the
physical circumstances:
b.
Every natural aspect of Abraham's reality was
"this is not going to happen"
he was old, Sarah was old and barren…
c.
But Abraham wasn't looking at the natural, he
was looking to God’s ability – God’s power –
d.
Abraham didn’t look at his circumstances, he
believed God, and therefore he received what was promised.
27. Now,
some of you might be thinking “but wait, didn’t Abraham take matters into his
own hands?”
a.
That he did – in Genesis 16 Sarah was impatient,
they had a little conference, Abraham made a decision to impregnate Sarah’s
Egyptian servant Hagar and had a child by her named Ishmael.
b.
Israel is still paying the price for that even
to this day, as Muslims, who are enemies of Israel, hold Ishmael as their
father.
28. So
we might ask: Didn’t Abraham’s actions
with Hagar show a lack of faith? Indeed… And that brings us to truth #3:
Truth #3: The fulfillment of God’s promises
are not dependant on our faithfulness to Him – but on God’s faithfulness to His
own promise!
If we are
faithless, He remains faithful; He cannot deny Himself. 2 Tim 2:13
23 Now it was not
written for his sake alone that it was imputed to him, 24 but also for us. It
shall be imputed to us who believe in Him who raised up Jesus our Lord from the
dead, 25 who was delivered up because of our offenses, and was raised because
of our justification.
23 And when God
counted him as righteous, it wasn’t just for Abraham’s benefit. It was recorded
24 for our benefit, too, assuring us that God will also count us as righteous
if we believe in him, the one who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead. 25 He
was handed over to die because of our sins, and he was raised to life to make
us right with God.
29. As
we noted before, the fulfillment of a promise is based on the character and the
ability of the person who made the promise.
a.
We also noted that promises are reciprocal -
both parties have a part, and obligation to fill
b.
With God’s promise to Abraham – Abraham’s only
part - BELIEVE
30. Jesus
made us a promise -
“I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes
in Me, though he may die, he shall live. And whoever lives and believes in Me
shall never die.” John 11:25-26
31. Think
about salvation, just like with Abraham, it’s a big deal:
a.
To forgive all of our sins…
b.
To raise us from death – give us eternal life
c.
To bring us to heaven for all eternity
d.
man that is some heavy lifting!
32. God’s
promise to us, He does the heavy lifting, our only part is to BELIEVE
Copyright
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