Romans 4:18-5:1
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.” He 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 unbelief 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. That is why his 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. It 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. Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.
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Let's work backwards in the passage and see how Abraham is an example of faith for us today.
Romans 5:1 tells us we have peace with God through Jesus. We know that our sin and selfishness have separated us from God. And furthermore, because God is holy and just, we deserve to be treated as enemies of God. So how do we obtain this peace? The verse says it is through being justified by faith.
The "therefore" in 5:1 is referring to the entirety of Romans 1-4. The first four chapters of Romans explain why faith is more effective than works at making us right (or "justified") with God. In summary, the human race has proven by our behavior that we have exchanged the glory of God for idols. Both the religious and non-religious alike. We all fall short. We have all gone astray. But something changed in human history when Jesus came:
But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it— the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction: for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. (Romans 3:21-24 ESV)
This is all setting the stage for chapter 4, where Paul backtracks to the story of Abraham to prove that faith is more effective than works and more glorifying to God. He points out several key points:
- That Abraham's faith was "credited to him as righteousness." (4:1-3)
- That it is more blessed to receive a gift than to receive wages for work. (4:4-8)
- That the blessing of being declared righteous by faith occurred before Abraham was circumcised, so it is clearly not dependent on Jewish ritual. (4:9-12)
- That this righteousness by faith is available to the gentiles, who are true children of Abraham if they share the kind of faith he had. (4:13-17)
- That Abraham modeled faith by trusting God's promise that he would father a child and many more descendants. (4:18-19)
And then to this incredible statement in verse 20-22:
No unbelief 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. That is why his faith was “counted to him as righteousness.” (Romans 4:20-22 ESV)
First of all, I am struck by how Abraham is here honored for his unwavering certainty, but if you read the story in Genesis, he did not seen very certain at all. He actually goofed up and wavered on this very topic, taking Hagar and fathering Ishmael. There were many ramifications for this error for generations to come. But Paul honors him for his faith. That gives me huge encouragement that, through the eyes of grace, I too will be remembered for my faith and not my sins.
Second, notice the object of faith: the promise of God. We must remember that our faith may sometimes be weak, but it is the strength of the object that really matters. My car is approaching 200k miles and likes to stall when it idles. It is not a strong object of my faith. But I still trust it everyday with my life! How much more should we trust God, who calls things into existence out of nothing and can give life to the dead?
Third, notice that Abraham's faith needed to grow, and the way faith grows is by giving glory to God. Even if our knowledge of God is small and our faith weak, we can grow by exercising that faith. Take it out for a test drive. Practice thinking about what God has promised. Practice banking on that promise. Practice acting on it. And it will grow stronger, because you are testing the strength of the object of your faith and actually experiencing its trustworthiness. If a man pushes a wheelbarrow across a tightrope, you might trust he can do it. But what if he asks you to jump in?
Finally, acting on your certainty of God's promise gives him glory and makes him look good to others. It is important that we practice trusting and obeying even when it doesn't make sense immediately. God will at times call you to obey in ways that are not intuitive, not convenient, that interrupt your plans, that may even feel foolish or hurt your pride. But trusting him in those moments makes God look good and wise. And you are displaying your humble dependence on him.
Now remember, Abraham is our example. So we know that obeying when it's hard may lead to us making mistakes along the way. And that's okay! The point is not getting every decision perfect. The point is to display faith like Abraham and try again until you get it right.
Towards the end of his life, Abraham faced such a test. He offered up his son. An act of obedience that made no sense. But over the decades of walking with God, Abraham had tested God over and over and found He was right every time. So he was prepared to do the hard thing. And he is now honored for that act. And it turned out to be a symbol of God offering up his own Son for our sakes.
Verse 22 says this is why his faith was counted as righteousness. It's not just any kind of faith that makes you righteous. It's a particular kind of faith in a particular God, with particular trustworthy attributes, who gave particular promises that cannot fail.
Questions for application:
1. Name one of God's promises. (Any promise)
2. Name a time that you really trusted one of God's promises and it made an impact on your life or your decisions.
3. What can you do this week to help your faith in God's promises grow stronger?
