Latest / HBCWestminster / 2.12.23 Romans 4:9-25 Pastor Danny Gardner

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2.12.23 Romans 4:9-25 Pastor Danny Gardner · HBCWestminster

• 0:00
  If you guys have your Bibles open, chapter four, beginning in verse nine, if you're able to stand in honor of God's word as I read our text, verses nine to 25, a longer text today. Allow me to read it. We'll pray and begin our study. Romans chapter four and verse nine. Is this blessing then only for the circumcised or also for the uncircumcised? For 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.
• 0:32
  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. For the promise to Abraham and his offspring that he would be heir of the world.
• 1:01
  did not come through the law but through the righteousness of faith for if it is the adherence 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 that is why it depends on faith
• 1:19
  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, as it is written, I have made you the father of many nations, 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.
• 1:48
  He did not weaken in faith when he considered his own body, which was as good as dead since he was about 100 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 that was counted to him were not written for his sake alone, but for ours also.
• 2:18
  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. Church, would you join me in prayer? Lord God of heaven and earth, give us eyes to see your truth, give us ears to hear it, and give us hearts that are eager to be transformed by it. In Jesus' name, amen. Amen. Thank you, church. Well, as you no doubt have heard,
• 2:51
  The countries of Turkey and Syria were rocked with a catastrophic earthquake last week accompanied by a host of aftershocks which have devastated regions and killed or displaced many tens of thousands. In listening to Albert Moeller's podcast this week, I appreciated his genuine concern and compassion for those people as well as his statement that I thought was profound that countries, he said, can crumble in a variety of ways. He then equated the earthquake in Turkey
• 3:22
  with the satanic worship service that also took place last week on national television during the Grammys. It was done by two performers, both biological males, neither of whom identify that way. One was even dressed as Satan himself, parading around in front of a backdrop of what I assume were meant to be hell's eternal flames. It caused me to wonder, when did it become so normal and even expected?
• 3:50
  that those types of images can be portrayed on primetime television and the national public not be outraged. The truth is, earthquakes come in a variety of forms. And the ground has been shifting under the church for decades. The firm footings of morality, of genuine social and economic progress, of absolute truth even.
• 4:17
  have been eroded right out from under us. In Turkey, it happened physically and suddenly. But here in the United States, it is happening spiritually, slowly, one little tiny earthquake at a time, but nevertheless equally devastating. So that what would have been banned from public consumption before it ever aired when my generation were kids, can you imagine something like that happening? 80s, 90s television? Like it would have had to have been after hours. People would have banned channels, right?
• 4:48
  And yet this is happening during prime time where kids are actually watching what would have been banned in that generation has now become completely normative. And the truth is, church, that the truth is itself under attack. In a recent and unfortunate sermon, Andy Stanley, son of famous television preacher Charles Stanley, who now pastors a megachurch of his own in Atlanta, Georgia, preached that it is time for the church to stop preaching against homosexuality as sin.
• 5:18
  And to embrace openly practicing homosexuals as members of the churches. I'm not talking about repentant people who want to get right with Jesus. I'm talking about standing in defiance of God's word. At one point in his sermon, Andy Stanley said this. He said, I know what the scriptures say, but. I know what the scriptures say, but. And honestly, at that point, you can go back and listen to it. It's at the end of last year. I thought, you know what? It doesn't matter what comes after that statement. I know what the scriptures say.
• 5:46
  but I'm going to think differently or I'm going to speak differently. I'm going to preach differently. He admitted in the sermon that the scriptures actually contradict his statement. And then he stated it anyway. And may I be so bold in saying that statements like Stanley's are pretty big spiritual earthquakes. That is a spiritual earthquake when pastors refuse to take God at his word, who refuse to stand on the clear teaching of the scriptures, who will say defiantly.
• 6:14
  I know what the Scriptures say, but I'm going to preach something different. In response to Stanley's disappointing stance, Alistair Begg said this, and I appreciated his response. He just said, we're not free to tamper with Scripture. We're not at liberty to rewrite the Bible in order to accommodate godless perspectives.
• 6:37
  godless perspectives on euthanasia, abortion, sexuality, transgenderism, whatever it might be. In this arena right now, the danger is an increasing danger that those who should know better, like pastors, are losing their convictions, not about sexual matters. And make sure you hear that, church. It's not about sexuality or transgenderism. Those aren't the issue. The issue is the authority of the Bible. That is the issue.
• 7:02
  Because depending on what you believe about this book, that will determine everything else. Everything else flows out of that. If you deny the authority of the Scriptures, then all of those other sins will come with it. That, he says, is the issue, the authority of the Scriptures. He continues, all of these, all of those sins stem from the Garden of Eden. The evil one came and said, did God really say, right? Throwing doubt onto the Word of God. They, Adam and Eve, believed the lie.
• 7:31
  And the rest, all of those other sins followed. The same bullet is in the enemy's gun today. He is firing the same bullet over and over. Coming to the pastor, he says, is that what it really says? If we lose conviction about the authority of the Bible, if we become uncertain about it and lose our voice, if we become indifferent to the issue, then we are in real trouble. So let me ask you, church, does the gospel matter? Six of us think so.
• 8:04
  Does the true gospel matter? Yes. Does it matter that we get every single point of the gospel correct? It does matter. The gospel truth matters. We mustn't falsely act as though the real souls of men and women are really at stake because they are.
• 8:25
  What we read in Romans chapter 4 is that this spiritual earthquake that I just described is actually nothing new. The erosion of the true gospel out from under the church has been happening for centuries, even millennia. It began when the church was still a baby church. People were coming along trying to twist, trying to erode the truth, trying to change the gospel. Now, we said last week that the faith journey is a road we all must travel.
• 8:54
  We said that at the head of this road are a whole host of tour guides, each offering their services. You can get maps, directions from any one of them. But among the crowd, tucked in the back, you see an old man wearing a worn-out name tag, which reads, Abraham, man of faith. He knows the way because he's walked it before. And so you approach him, you ask for directions. And he simply gives four pieces of advice from his own experience.
• 9:22
  He says first, and we studied this last Sunday, beware of layaway lane. Don't think that you can pay off your sin a little bit at a time. That's not how it works. We said last Sunday, the book of Hebrews says multiple times that Christ paid for sins, and then there was a three-word phrase, and I made you guys say it. Remember this? Over and over. What was that three-word phrase? Do you remember? Christ paid for sins once.
• 9:47
  for all and then i changed the slide and we said it again once for all and then i changed the slide and we said it again once for all according to romans 4 verses 6 to 8 we can be blessed supremely happy because our sins are forgiven our sins are covered and our sins are never even counted against us we can be justified made right with god apart from our works by our faith
• 10:17
  We said it's not church attendance, nor is it baptism, nor is it faithful giving, nor is it serving in the kids' ministry, nor is it even Bible reading and daily prayer. None of those can justify us before the Lord. It is only the blood of Jesus Christ shed once for all. Beware of layaway lane. His second piece of advice, and here's where we pick up this morning in verse 9. Abraham would say, don't get caught on ceremony circle.
• 10:46
  Don't get caught on ceremony circle. Look at verse 9. Is this blessing then only for the circumcised or also for the uncircumcised? For we say that faith was counted to Abraham as righteousness. Faith does not depend upon any religious ceremony. And you'll notice the ceremony that he describes in this text is circumcision. The word circumcision or circumcised comes up a lot.
• 11:13
  in these few verses even when i was reading it a few minutes ago you'll notice it's just over and over circumcision uncircumcision circumcised uncircumcised it said so many times it's difficult to read out loud circumcision was the right given to abraham by which all of his physical descendants would be brought into the covenant which god made with abraham in genesis chapter 17. now pause for just a minute
• 11:38
  Everybody file away in your brains. Do it right now because I'm going to ask you again in a few minutes what chapter it came from. Circumcision was given to Abraham in Genesis 17. So file away. Everybody see a number 17 in your heads. You guys got it? From that day forward, from Genesis 17 onward, every baby Jewish boy was circumcised on his eighth day of life as a physical sign of the separation of the Jewish people.
• 12:07
  Most of the Jews living in New Testament times, those Jewish people even in the Roman congregation who would have heard this text for the very first time, they believed that circumcision not only was the unique mark which set them apart from the Gentiles, many of them also believed that it made them acceptable to God. Ancient and even modern rabbis hold firmly to this doctrine, what I'm going to call
• 12:36
  The doctrine of circumcision salvation. You are saved by your circumcision. Now these quotations that I'm going to give you come from a variety of Jewish sources, but modern day rabbis have said, our rabbis have said that no circumcised man shall ever see hell. You notice that is their gospel. There it is. There is their John 3.16.
• 13:01
  No circumcised man shall ever see hell. It doesn't say anything about his faith, his belief, atonement. It doesn't say anything about that. Another one, circumcision saves from hell. Another one, God swore to Abraham that no one who was circumcised should be sent to hell. Another one, and I'm not sure how he gave Abraham this job. Here's a job I would not want. He says, Abraham sits before the gate of hell checking for circumcision. That's what he said. He sits before the gate of hell.
• 13:30
  Like, man, that's not what I imagined. Abraham is sitting before the gate of hell and does not allow that any circumcised Israelites should enter there. It is the right that gives them the right to paradise. This circumcision salvation heresy was what Paul battled throughout his ministry.
• 13:56
  There were those who followed him from synagogue to synagogue. Eventually, they followed him from house church to house church, teaching that every genuine believing man must also become circumcised despite their faith in Jesus. As the gospel began to spread in that first century Gentile world and Gentiles began believing.
• 14:18
  giving their lives to Christ, following, saved by grace through faith. There were others that came behind the Apostle Paul and threw them into confusion, saying, now that you believe in Jesus, you must also be circumcised. Belief in Jesus is great, but it's that belief plus circumcision that saves. In Galatians 5 and verse 6, the Apostle said this, for in Christ Jesus, neither circumcision nor uncircumcision counts for anything, but only faith working through love.
• 14:49
  Do you see how he just confronts the heresy head on? Circumcision, uncircumcision. It doesn't make any difference, the Apostle Paul says. What matters is faith working through love. In fact, he got so fed up with this false gospel that he even sarcastically declared just a few verses later. Galatians chapter 5 and verse 12. I wish those who unsettle you with this heresy would just emasculate themselves.
• 15:17
  Galatians 5 and verse 12, you can look it up. That's in there. He got so tired of it that he said, you know what? And I'm not going to, for the sake of little ears in the room, going to define emasculation. You guys who are adults, you already know what that means. I'm also not going to try to be graphic here, but here's the argument he's making. If you genuinely feel like removing a small portion makes you holy, imagine how holy you'd be if you just took the whole thing. That's what he's saying.
• 15:49
  Imagine how righteous you would be. I wish you, you know what? And whether this was sarcastic or not, I said that it was sarcastic. I don't know if he was being literal there or not. If he was being literal, maybe his argument was at least we then wouldn't have to deal with your offspring. Right? Just be done with it. Imagine how holy you would be. So divisive became this right of circumcision in the early church that the issue was actually brought before the Jerusalem council.
• 16:19
  The Jerusalem Council is found in Acts chapter 15. We're not going to turn there for sake of time, but you can read it on your own. Acts chapter 15. The Jerusalem Council was made up of the apostles, the early pastors of the first church in Jerusalem. Apostles even like Peter and John, early pastors like James, the half-brother of Jesus. The council unanimously determined that no Mosaic rituals, including circumcision, were required for salvation.
• 16:49
  The Apostle Paul, eventually, he was just running into this heresy so frequently that he retreated to Jerusalem. He presented his case before the Jerusalem council. He said, should I be preaching circumcision or should I be preaching Christ alone? And at the end, they said, no rite, no ritual, nothing. Predetermined in the Mosaic rituals, nothing.
• 17:12
  Including circumcision is required for salvation. Not your circumcision, not your baptism, not communion, not church attendance, not tithing. None of those things are required for salvation. It is through faith alone. We know that circumcision is no longer a battle in the 21st century church. It never comes up. But that doesn't mean that the enemy is any less active in twisting together the gospel with other rites and rituals.
• 17:43
  and ceremonies he is a master at doing this at taking the true gospel and twisting it together winding it together with something else if you ask a devout catholic why they are bound for heaven they could very well answer because i attend mass and i receive communion rights rituals that's why i'm on my way if you ask an evangelical they may answer because i attend church faithfully i give a tenth of all i earn
• 18:12
  Others within the Christian tradition may claim that because of their baptism, or because they're members of a certain church, or because they support certain charities, that their names must be included in the Lamb's Book of Life. I used to hear when I was a kid, I don't hear people say this anymore, but when I was a kid, I would often hear people declare their own morality by stating, I don't smoke, drink, or chew, and I don't what?
• 18:39
  And I don't go with girls who do, right? I don't smoke, drink, or chew, and I don't go with girls who do. It's the same idea. I've got these things I've removed from my life, and therefore I am righteous. Here is the brilliance of Paul's argument. Do you remember last week I said, why Abraham? Of all of the Old Testament men and women Paul could have chosen, why did he choose Abraham? Of all people, then I said Abraham is actually the perfect choice.
• 19:09
  Because the argument being given in Romans 2 and 3 was that we can be saved because we are obedient to the law of Moses. Do you remember that? If we follow the rules, we'll go to heaven. He chose Abraham strategically because Abraham lived before who? Moses. Abraham wasn't saved because he was obedient to the law of Moses. He lived before the law of Moses was even given. That was the argument from last week. So now check out what he does this week.
• 19:41
  Circumcision, as a Jewish rite, came in Genesis, what chapter did I tell you to remember? 17. Circumcision comes in Genesis 17. In Romans 4 and verse 3, Paul says that Abraham believed and it was counted to him as righteousness. And I said last week that Paul was quoting from Genesis. Does anybody remember where? 15.
• 20:14
  Genesis 15, Abraham believed and it was counted to him as righteousness, which means Abraham was saved by his faith before he was what? Circumcised. He was saved first and circumcised.
• 20:31
  Second, his salvation, this righteousness could not have come because of his circumcision. He was already made righteous. He believed and was declared righteous a full 14 years. That's how many years transpire between 15 and 17 before he was circumcised. And this is exactly what Paul spells out in verse 10. How then was it counted to him? Was it before or after he had been circumcised? It wasn't after, but before.
• 21:01
  He was circumcised. He received the sign of circumcision as a seal. That idea of a seal is like a stamp of authentication, a proof of genuineness. If you were to take some keepsake or an antique to a dealer, to somebody who is an expert, to have them authenticate its genuineness, they would look at it and research it and study and say, yes, it's genuine. And then they would give you some piece of paper with a stamp on it.
• 21:30
  And that stamp, that seal, is not what makes it authentic. Does that make sense? It was already authentic. It's just a sign that it is actually authentic. And that's how the Bible describes his circumcision. Similar. It is not the same as. Similar to New Testament baptism. When we get baptized, we don't get baptized in order to be saved. We get baptized because we are saved, right?
• 22:03
  We don't get baptized because we're saved. We don't get saved because we're baptized. We baptize because we get saved. I bring somebody into the baptistry, right? They're ready. They've already been transformed by the gospel. They've already expressed saving faith. They get baptized now to make public. And I will often say it the same way. It is a public declaration of an inward transformation. It is like a stamp of authentication. And that's how he describes circumcision. Continue in verse 11.
• 22:33
  the purpose was the purpose of that circumcision 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 neither circumcision nor uncircumcision is anything but faith and what the bible describes
• 22:59
  is that we who now believe in Jesus, we are now sons, daughters of Abraham by faith through a spiritual circumcision, a circumcision of the heart. Don't get caught on ceremony circle. And the specific rite doesn't matter. You can fill in the blank, baptism, whatever else it is, taking communion. All of these rites are important.
• 23:25
  But they don't justify us. And a person who trusts in any religious right for salvation nullifies the work of Christ on his behalf. Notice third. Third. Blow right past formalism fountain. Blow right past formalism fountain. Everyone else, Abraham says, is going to stop and splash around in the cool water. And it's going to appear as though they're free to leave. But once you enter that fountain, you can never get out. You will be trapped in a never-ending cycle.
• 23:57
  of legalism verse 13 for the promise to abraham and his offspring that he would be heir of the world that word for world is the word cosmos the universe did not come through the law but through the righteousness of faith consider this promise for a minute you and i as as sons and daughters of abraham by faith will be heirs of the entire universe
• 24:25
  It's difficult, I think, for our minds to grasp such a gift, such free grace. Listen to Romans 6, verse 23. For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. It's hard for us to accept free gifts, such abounding grace. It's much simpler in our own minds to rest assured in a checklist.
• 24:57
  if it doesn't depend in any way upon me upon my work then how can i be sure that the one who promised it is going to follow through can't i just have a checklist of things i've got to do and i know if i do this and this and this and this and this then i know that everything will be okay and so what do we do we substitute the gift of grace for an adopted law like the law of moses i mean the jews adopted the law of moses or and this is probably more prevalent in our day we fabricate
• 25:30
  a law of our own making. We decide to live by our own rules, by our own self-produced and self-imposed standards. I'm a good person because I'm on my way to heaven because, right? And you can list all of these things. I don't do these things and I do all of these things and therefore God will let me in. And the problem is that we may live by our own rules, by those self-produced and self-imposed standards. The problem is that we will not be judged.
• 26:00
  By our own rules and standards. That's the real problem. An armed robber named Dennis Curtis was arrested in Rapid City, South Dakota in 1992. When the authorities searched his wallet, after apprehending him, putting him in the back of the car, they get his wallet, they start looking through it, they found a folded up sheet of paper on which was written his rules. His code of conduct that he evidently held himself to. It included seven things. Number one.
• 26:31
  i will not kill anyone unless i have to number two i will take cash and food stamps no checks i thought what kind of weird burglar is this like i don't take checks you know like i will rob only at night i will not wear a mask i will not rob minimarts nor 7-elevens if i get chased by cops on foot i will run away but if i get chased by cops in vehicles
• 27:00
  I will just pull over. I am not going to put the lives of innocent civilians on the line. Seven, and finally, I will only rob seven months out of the year. You have to admit, it's a very nice list. The problem was that no matter how righteous it made him feel, no matter how closely he stuck to those seven standards, they did not matter. When he was eventually arrested and stood trial, he was not judged according to his own rules.
• 27:31
  He was judged according to the laws of the state of South Dakota. In the same way, we will not be judged by our own rules, rather, but by the law of God. We may live by our own rules, but we're not going to be judged by our own rules. And look what he says in verse 14. If it is the adherence of the law who are to be the heirs, then faith is null and the promise is void. If it is only the law that matters, rules, then faith and promises are worthless.
• 28:01
  And then here's the key in verse 15. For the law brings what? Wrath. It doesn't matter whose rules you recognize, whose rules you believe in, whose rules you live by. It is the law of God that matters. That is the law that we are going to be judged according to. Where there is no law, there is no transgression. The law of God brings punishment, whether we recognize it or not, whether we believe in it or not.
• 28:33
  Our species, I think, has a tendency to lower the moral or legal bar until we can attain it. But honestly, even then, we don't do that good a job. If you ask people on the street what law they abide by, what spiritual rules they abide by, they're likely to tell you that they hold to some kind of code. They'll quote some religion to you, or they'll just say, I live by my own laws. If you ask them then, if they hold to their own laws perfectly,
• 29:02
  If they're honest, even after lowering the standard, they still feel guilt over their failures. And church, don't make a mistake on this. Guilt is a glorious feeling. We're designed to feel guilty when we break the law.
• 29:18
  That guilt is supposed to push us to the cross. It's supposed to remind us that we desperately need a Savior. In fact, the whole purpose of the law, according to chapter 3 and verse 20, is to remind us of our need for a Savior. It says, for by works of the law, no human being will be justified in his sight. Since through the law comes knowledge of sin, we're supposed to look at the perfect law of God and say, I cannot meet that law. I need help.
• 29:46
  And rather than trusting wholly in Christ for the forgiveness of sin, for the appeasement of the guilt and shame that we all feel, we just begin slinging good works at it in the hopes that they'll stick. Like when you're checking to see if spaghetti noodles are done. I only ever did this one time when I was in college, and I just thought, I don't know why people sling them at the wall, but when they're done, they stick to the wall. You pull them out, you throw your spaghetti noodles at the wall to see if they stick.
• 30:17
  And that's kind of how we treat this guilt, this anxiety over our own sin. We add to our faith our own effort, hoping beyond hope that all of these, whatever we're doing, rites, rituals, ceremonies, laws, works, can soothe our anxious souls. Will anything stick?
• 30:35
  And we're at the beginning of tax season. It feels like we're always in tax season, but nevertheless, we're back around now to filling out income taxes and everything else. I was reminded of a man who sent an anonymous letter to the IRS, not signed at the bottom. His letter read, Dear IRS, I've not been able to sleep at night because I cheated on last year's income tax. Enclosed, find a cashier's check for $1,000. If I'm still not able to sleep, I'll send the rest.
• 31:07
  like anything just make the anxiety make the guilt go away we make our own checklists and our own rules our own lists of do's and don'ts that we can hold on to rather than resting on the work and merit of christ and church this is called formalism that's what formalism is and formalism really is a deadly fountain it gives the appearance of righteousness but without the substance
• 31:38
  Plenty of people holding firmly to formalism with both hands will feel ardently that they are on their way to heaven. Why? Because they're checking off all of their little boxes, their list of do's and don'ts. They will say that they are righteous, just like the man from Rapid City who couldn't figure out why he was getting arrested. I followed my own rules. But in reality, they are no closer to heaven than the day that they were born. Verse 16 says, that is why it depends on faith.
• 32:07
  in order that the promise may rest on grace. Why? Because adherence to the rules, to the law, doesn't work. Be guaranteed to all of 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. As it is written, I have made you the father of many nations.
• 32:27
  In the presence of the God in whom he believed, he gives life to the dead and calls into existence the things that do not exist. God gives life where there was no life, not because of our faithfulness, but because of his. Stay out of formalism fountain. Fourth and finally, Abraham's advice, go through the no-knowledge tunnel. Go through the no-knowledge tunnel. Remember last week, he said it's dimly lit in there.
• 32:58
  Sometimes it doesn't even make sense, but trust me, faith often rests in a promise that flies in the face of what is natural and normal, but that's okay because the way that God works doesn't always make sense. And in fact, in verse 18, the first phrase that the author uses doesn't even really make sense. Verse 18, in hope, he believed against hope.
• 33:22
  In hope, he believed against hope. In other words, Abraham had hope even when everything was hopeless. That he should become the father of many nations, as has been told, so shall your offspring be. He saw light when there was no light. Abraham saw life when there was no life. He trusted in God's promise even when it made no sense. Verses 19 to 21 describe
• 33:54
  what we talked about last week some of the experiences of abraham and his wife sarah and why this guy exemplifies faith better than any other verse 19 he did not weaken in faith when he considered his own body which was as good as dead right there was no life since he was 100 years old when he considered the barrenness of sarah's womb when he got that promise that he and his wife at 190 years old would bear a son
• 34:24
  And he said he did not despair. He had hope even when it was hopeless. Verse 20, no unbelief made him waver concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God. Now verse 21 gives the because. Why? Why did he grow strong in his faith? And I'm going to tell you it's because his hope was not misplaced. His hope was in the right person.
• 34:48
  He wasn't hoping in his own body. His own body was dead. He wasn't hoping in the body of his wife. Her body was dried up, dead. But, verse 21, fully convinced that God was able to do what he had promised. James Montgomery Boyce told a story of an amateur mountain climber who fell over a steep precipice. He dropped off the face of a cliff, which dropped down to a canyon, the floor of which was thousands of feet below.
• 35:18
  One lone scraggly little tree clung to the face of the cliff, and the climber, as he fell, desperately grasped it, trying to keep from plunging to the valley floor. You can imagine this guy hanging on to this little tree, sticking out of the side of this cliff. But the tree that he was holding wasn't strong enough to bear his weight. It began slowly to work loose from its own roots. In sheer terror, the climber screamed up to heaven.
• 35:47
  isn't there anyone up there who can help me suddenly a sonorous bass voice was heard from the clouds yes i can help you but you must trust me let go of the branch the climber stole a glance downward and then looked up again toward heaven and exclaimed isn't there anyone else up there who can help me abraham was told to trust and even when the lord's commands made no sense
• 36:21
  even when he was told, this son of promise, you will sacrifice to me as an offering? It made no sense, but Abraham continued to trust, and so too, church, we are told to trust, even when the commands of God make no earthly sense, even when we are in the no-knowledge tunnel, we are told to see light when there is no light, and life when there is no life. Our text concludes with a promise, and what a promise it is.
• 36:51
  In verse 22, 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. Earthquakes happen every day. Some are physical, happen all at once. Others are spiritual.
• 37:22
  Take place slowly over time. And you may wonder, well, if that's happening every day, then where do I stand? Isn't there any place that I can stand and know that the ground under me will not be eroded? There is. It is this clear and unshakable promise from Scripture that Abraham believed and it was credited to him as righteousness. And that same righteousness will also be counted to us who believe in him who raised from the dead Jesus our Lord.
• 37:54
  If you don't mind writing in your Bibles, and if you don't like writing in your Bible, that's okay, but if you're somebody who writes in their Bibles, I do in mine. I underline portions and circle words that are significant and keep notes and whatever in the margins. If you don't mind writing in your Bible, then maybe bracket verses 1 to 8.
• 38:12
  verses 1 to 8. And then in the margin, in big block letters, write not by works. And I'll show you what mine looks like if you can see it. I've blocked off verses 1 to 8. There's that section. And in the margin, big bold letters, not by works. Then bracket, verses 9 to 12. Verses 9 to 12. And write in big block letters, not by ceremony. It's not circumcision. It's not baptism. It's not communion. It's not church attendance. It's not even tithing. None of those things.
• 38:43
  Not by ceremony. Then block off again. Bracket off. Verses 13 to 17. Not by rules. Not by rules. Drinking, smoking, chewing, and going with girls who are doing. It's not any of that. It's not this self-imposed, self-fabricated list of rules. Not your own rules. Not anybody else's rules. Not by rules. Verses 18 to 22. Not by knowledge.
• 39:09
  Not by knowledge. Sometimes the things that God commands us to do don't necessarily make sense, but we can hope beyond hope because the one who promised is faithful. Not by works, not by ceremony, not by rules, not by knowledge, but then in verses 23 to 25, but by faith. But by faith. And that is how that same righteousness can be counted to you and I. Beware of layaway lane. Don't get caught on ceremony circle. Blow right past formalism fountain.
• 39:40
  go through the no-knowledge tunnel. God, thank you for making the road to saving faith so clear, for giving us a tour guide in Abraham, the man of faith. And God, I pray that our faith would be counted to us as righteousness by the work of Jesus Christ and in his name. Amen.