Romans 4
With Annie back after a month’s absence, it is probably not the best idea to start my sermon by telling a story about an old girlfriend, but in my defense, she was really not that much of a girlfriend. On our first date I took her to see the Godfather, a movie not particularly appropriate for a young woman from a Plymouth Brethren Church. Having read the book, I told her when to take off her glasses and we made it through the movie. This particular gathering of Brethren in Princeton, NJ were mostly from one family which made dating her a bit uncomfortable.
One night, at a Bible Study, they were having a discussion about getting caught up into the third heaven. This discussion was based on a confusing reference Paul makes in II Corinthians, but about which they had some very definite ideas. This discussion went on and on until finally the matriarch of the family asked permission to speak. She asked, “When I die there is one heaven and that is where I will go to be with Jesus. Is that right?” “Yes,” they replied, “that’s right grandma.” She then leaned back with her arms folded over her chest and said, “That’s all I want to know.”
We’ve just come through a very concentrated dose of theology spending three weeks on Romans 3:21-31. What we have talked about is not taken from some obscure reference Paul made in one of his letters. These verses contain the core of all we believe and are of the highest importance to us. Unlike the discussion of the third heaven, Romans 3:21-31 is worth our discussion. But after this dose of theology, it is good to spend a sermon talking about what practical difference it makes to us.
When Paul wrote this letter to the church in Rome, he stopped after his introduction of the righteousness we have received because we have been justified by faith alone and addresses the question he knows his Jewish readers would have.
What Paul has introduced in this letter is so radically different from what all those brought up as Jews understood to be true that they would look for some evidence that it was so. And the person to whom they would look to see evidence of the truth of what Paul wrote would be Abraham.
Abraham, the one to whom God had said, “I will make you into a great nation and I will bless you.”
Don’t forget how radical a departure this was for Jews who were trained from childhood on to follow the Law of Moses. Paul’s articulation of why we are saved by justification by faith and faith alone ran counter to everything they had ever heard or read.
So Paul follows this introduction of justification by faith with a look at the life of Abraham. Why Abraham? Because Abraham was the father of the Jews. He was the one who began it all, who first heard God speak to him and tell him to go to the land of Canaan. When you want to know what is true, you go back to your beginnings and Israel began as a people with Abraham. Isaiah makes this point in Isaiah 51
“Listen to me, you who pursue righteousness
and who seek the LORD:
Look to the rock from which you were cut
and to the quarry from which you were hewn;
2 look to Abraham, your father,
and to Sarah, who gave you birth.
So Paul turned from his discussion of righteousness, redemption and justification by faith alone in chapter 3 to an analysis of the faith of Abraham in chapter 4. Paul shows that by a proper examination of the life of Abraham, his life does indeed verify what Paul has been writing. Abraham was made righteous by his faith and not by his obedience. So Abraham is the father not just of the Jews but he is father of all who believe by faith. For this reason, Abraham is our father in the faith.
We are not going to look at the chapter in this same way. We do not have the same questions Paul’s Jewish audience did. What I propose to do this morning is use the life of Abraham to talk about the difference justification by faith alone makes in our lives. We will look at his life and the lives of some of the other men and women in the Bible and then see how being made righteous by faith alone makes a practical difference to us.
In order to do that, I want to use a couple diagrams. If you hated math, don’t be nervous. We are not going to revisit your algebra and geometry classes, but the figures will serve to help make some lessons about faith. A friend of mine preached from Romans and used these figures and I have found them quite helpful.
The first diagram is the xy axis in your bulletin, an axis of faith. This axis of faith divides into four quadrants: northeast, southeast, southwest and northwest. The arrow pointing north is labeled Belief in God. The arrow pointing east is labeled Belief that God. So in this diagram, the northeast quadrant describes someone who believes in God and believes that God. A person you would put in this quadrant is someone who believes that God exists and is in a relationship with God and who believes as well that what the Bible says about God is true.
When we look at the faith of Abraham, we see how he fits into this quadrant. Abraham had an experience with God in Ur. God revealed himself to Abraham and Abraham knew that he had experienced the God who had created the heavens and the earth. Abraham believed in God. But then God told Abraham to leave the civilization of Ur and move to the rural area of Canaan. He told Abraham to leave his life with all the people he knew, all the family support around him and go to this unknown place. Abraham believed in God and he believed that God would provide for him in this new land as he had promised and so Abraham obeyed.
It could have been different. Abraham could have believed in God but doubted that God would lead him safely to Canaan and stayed in Ur, still believing but not obeying. Abraham’s faith led to obedience as well as belief.
Let me give you an even more potent example of this from Abraham’s life, an example Paul used in this letter to the church in Rome. (4:18)
Against all hope, Abraham in hope believed and so became the father of many nations, just as it had been said to him, “So shall your offspring be.” 19 Without weakening in his faith, he faced the fact that his body was as good as dead—since he was about a hundred years old—and that Sarah’s womb was also dead. 20 Yet he did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God, but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God, 21 being fully persuaded that God had power to do what he had promised. 22 This is why “it was credited to him as righteousness.”
I’ll put this as delicately as I can. It had been a long time since Abraham and Sarah had enjoyed physical intimacy. It had been a long time since Abraham had been capable of physical intimacy. But Abraham believed in God and he believed that God. Abraham believed that God would work through him as he had promised and he went to Sarah and they conceived a child.
This is the quadrant of the those who live a vibrant faith. The ones who believe in God, have a living relationship with God and who also believe that God will do what he has promised to do.
But let’s look at the other options. In the southeast quadrant are those who believe that God but do not believe in God. The people in this quadrant might be called the people of the catechism. It is possible to know the Bible backwards and forwards, to be able to pass with flying colors a Bible content exam, a theological exam but not have faith in God.
The Pharisees and Sadducees believed that the Messiah would come. They knew all about the Messiah. They knew their scripture backwards and forwards and yet they refused to believe in the Messiah.
The weakness of the church is that over time, those who believe in Jesus and that Jesus are increasingly replaced by people who believe that Jesus but do not know him. The church becomes increasingly institutionalized and moves further and further away from God. Children go to catechism classes and learn about the faith but are not encouraged to seek to have faith.
In the southwest quadrant are those who do not believe in Jesus or that Jesus can do what he promised. This is the quadrant of empty faith. In the parable of the sower, this quadrant is for the seed that fell along the path and the birds came and ate it up. This is the quadrant of those who are lost and do not know and/or do not care that they are lost.
In the northwest quadrant are those who believe in God but do not believe that God. In the parable of the sower, this quadrant represents the seed that was sown on rocky soil. When the plant grew, the roots were not able to go deep and when the sun came up, they withered and died. This is the quadrant for those who are infatuated with Jesus. They are enthusiastic about Jesus but fall away when following Jesus becomes difficult.
I want to focus this morning on the northeast and northwest quadrants. There may be some here this morning whose faith is south of the border. You may know a lot about Christianity or not much at all. You may know a lot about faith but never have experienced faith. You may have been dragged to church this morning or accidentally stumbled into the service. It does not matter how you came to be here this morning. If you are one whose faith is lived south of the border in this diagram, how fortunate you are to experience what can be a pleasant alternative to the emptiness of the life you are living. If you sense that this describes you, open your heart and mind to the message this morning and allow yourself to move toward an experience of personal faith in Christ as your Lord and Savior.
I want, as I said, to focus this morning on those of us who live north of the border. Those of us who live north of the border in this diagram believe in God. We have a relationship with Jesus and sometimes we are obedient and step out with bold faith. But sometimes we lack the faith to do what is difficult. There are times we live in the northeast corner and times when we fall into in the northwest corner.
Peter is an example of one who fell into the northwest quadrant. He believed in Jesus. He made a magnificent declaration of who Jesus was:
You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.
And then after Jesus was arrested, he denied that he was a follower of Jesus. Three times he denied that he knew Christ. Peter believed in Jesus but at that point in time, he lacked the faith to believe that Jesus. He lacked the faith to believe that Jesus would take care of him if he acknowledged that he was a follower of Christ.
An analysis of our faith reveals that we live in both the northeast and northwest quadrants of this axis of faith. Abraham who is the father of our faith himself fell into the northwest corner. When he was in Egypt, he told a half-lie that Sarah was his sister. He did this because Sarah was beautiful and he feared that if Pharaoh knew they were married, Pharaoh would have him killed so he could take Sarah as one of his wives. Abraham, the father of our faith, lacked the faith to believe that God would protect him and preserve him even if Pharaoh’s heart was bent toward evil.
Abraham also wavered in his faith when after years of God’s promise to him, that from his descendants would come a mighty nation, there was still no heir. So Abraham conceived a child with Sarah’s maid and it was not until 14 years later that God came to Abraham and told him the promise had not yet been fulfilled.
We waver in our faith. We believe in God and yet we lack faith to be obedient when believing becomes difficult. We want to live our faith in the northeast quadrant. We want to be obedient but we stumble, we fall and we find our faith falling into the northwest quadrant of this axis of faith.
What can we do to avoid the pitfall Peter and Abraham fell into? How do we live in the northeast quadrant of vibrant faith.
So we move to the second diagram. This diagram is a circle of faith and is also divided into four parts. The top right part of the circle is Fact. We start with faith that God exists, that Jesus is his Son who died for us, that Jesus will return for us in the future. It might be faith that God has directed us to go somewhere, do something, say something.
The bottom right part of the circle is Anti-fact. We believe certain things by faith and now contradictory information comes to us. Something happens that seems to make it impossible for the fact to be true.
The left bottom part of the circle is Tenacity. Tenacious comes from the Latin word tenax and means to hold fast. If a material is tenacious, it clings or adheres to some surface, it is not easily pulled apart. Tenacious also has the meaning of a person who is persistent in sticking to some value or habit. This is how this diagram uses the word tenacity.
We begin with a fact and then are thrown into confusion because some anti-fact is discovered. But then we persevere and hold on to the fact with tenacity, refusing to give up what we believe to be true which takes us then to the top left part of the circle, Triumph.
Let’s walk with Abraham through this circle of faith. God appeared to Abraham and called him to go to Canaan where he would make of Abraham’s descendants, a great nation. At the time God called Abraham, he and Sarah were childless and this message must have brought great hope to both he and Sarah.
When do you think, after God’s promise to Abraham, that Abraham and Sarah expected that they would have a child? I’m certain they expected to have a child the next month. And yet month after month passed and Sarah was not pregnant. A year passed and then two and then three and four.
What was the fact? God spoke to Abraham and promised that his descendants would be as numerous as the stars in the sky. But month after month, the anti-fact proclaimed itself. Sarah was not pregnant and they were getting older and older. And yet Abraham did not waver in his faith. He continued to build altar after altar wherever he went so he could worship the Lord who had appeared to him. Abraham was tenacious in clinging to faith in the God who had revealed himself.
After ten years of believing but not seeing any evidence for his belief, Abraham slipped into the northwest quadrant of the axis of faith and conceived a child with the maid of his wife and for 14 more years, he believed that this is how God meant for his promise to Abraham to be fulfilled.
But then at the age of 100 with Sarah far past the age when women could bear children, Abraham persevered and Isaac was conceived. Abraham went from fact to anti-fact, held on with tenacity to the fact and his faith moved to triumph with the birth of his son.
Fast forward ten or so years and Isaac is now an adolescent. God told Abraham:
“Take your son, your only son, Isaac, whom you love, and go to the region of Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains I will tell you about.”
Fact: God promised that Abraham would have as many descendants as the stars in the sky. After 25 years he has two sons, but only one that God has declared to be the fulfillment of his promise to Abraham.
Anti-fact: God told him to take this son and offer him as a sacrifice on a nearby mountain. How could Abraham hold on to his belief that he would have descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky if he now killed the one descendant who could fulfill that promise?
Tenacity: Abraham persevered. Abraham stuck to his faith that God who had led him these past 25 years would not abandon him now. Despite all the evidence to the contrary, Abraham believed that God would make his descendants as numerous as the stars.
Triumph: Abraham passed this test and at the point where his knife was about to descend on his son, God, in a preview of what Jesus would do for all of us, provided a ram for the sacrifice.
The key to living in the northeast quadrant of the axis of faith is tenacity. Sticking to what you believe. Tenacity is the difference between those who start off believing in Jesus but drift away when it becomes difficult and those who live a vibrant faith.
Fact: God brought you to this country. It was clear to you that this was what you were supposed to do.
Anti-fact: Finances are tight. You don’t know how you will be able to continue living here. Learning Arabic or French seems to be next to impossible. After some initial progress with the language you are now at a plateau. You still struggle to have basic conversations with people in this country. You don’t see evidence that you are really benefitting anyone by living in this country. It all seems like a waste.
Tenacity: You hold on to the call you received to come to this country. The discouragements of learning a new language and adjusting to a new culture are resisted. You determine not to quit which leads you then to:
Triumph: God will bless your efforts and you will see at least partially the fruit of your labor. And when you are able to view your time in this country from a heavenly perspective, you will be amazed at how marvelously God was able to use you because you persevered.
Fact: God led you to your spouse when you married. In the presence of God and those present at your wedding, you made promises to your spouse.
Anti-fact: We don’t get along together anymore. I don’t love her/him anymore. We fight all the time. She/he was unfaithful to me. I love someone else. This other person excites me, makes me come alive.
Tenacity: Remember the vows you made to God. God created the institution of marriage and that institution of marriage is more important than your personal happiness in marriage. Therefore what God has joined together, let man not separate, said Jesus.
Triumph: There is no relationship God can not help restore. There is no pain God can not heal. If you persevere, if you practice tenacity, God will bring your marriage from disaster to triumph. I’ve talked about this in church before, but this is the story of my marriage to Ann. And I must tell you that I am so grateful that both she and I were tenacious during our difficult years so that we are able to celebrate our marriage today.
Fact: As a Christian, you are God’s beautiful creation, redeemed by his blood, made pure in his eyes. You are worth dying for.
Anti-fact: I am not an attractive person. People have always told me I am not pretty or handsome. I am such a loser as a Christian. I have difficulty reading the Bible and praying. People think I am wonderful on the outside but that is because they don’t know what I think about on the inside. I have struggled so many years, God must be disappointed in me.
Tenacity: The Bible tells me I am fearfully and wonderfully made. God thought I was important enough to die for. I hold onto the assurances of Scripture and allow the Holy Spirit to work in my life.
Triumph: God will lift you up. God will give you a new image. He will help you to see yourself with his eyes. You will see that you are beautiful inside and out.
This circle of faith is not just a form of positive thinking, mind over matter. This is really a much more powerful dynamic. We persevere, we are tenacious, because it is God who has called us to what we believe, what we do and where we are. It is not just that we set our minds to do something, but more powerfully, we move out into obedience, claiming the things that God has said and called us to do.
We persevere because we have been called to be God’s adopted sons and daughters. We believe because we have been redeemed.
Where are you this morning in the axis of faith and circle of faith? What is the circumstance in which you find yourself? I mentioned just three examples, but I could go on to talk about your talents, abilities and spiritual gifts; your doubts; your purpose in living day by day.
The dynamic we have been talking about this morning is the dynamic of our life. Wherever you are this morning, hold on to what God has called you to do, believe and go. Be tenacious in holding on and God will lead you into triumph.
