What Is Faith?
Sermon Notes
Hey everybody my name’s Louis I’m the lead pastor here at City Awakening, it’s great to gather with you both onsite and online. At this time we can dismiss our children to children’s church, and if you didn’t get to check your child in please see our children’s ministry leaders in the back to assist you with that...Before we get into today’s message I want to celebrate that we had over 20 households sponsor children living in poverty through Compassion, so let’s praise God for that...This means our church is helping over 20 children receive basic necessities like food, water, clothing, healthcare, education, and the chance to hear the good news of Jesus. Our church is helping over 20 children come out of poverty. Our church is fulfilling our vision to reach people and reach the world with the gospel, which is something to celebrate!
Now as for today we’re continuing our teaching series on a book of the bible called Romans, and it’s a series about renewing your mind, for the transformation of your life. What we’re talking about specifically today is faith, the theological view of justification by faith. It's a relevant message even if you’re a skeptic, because everybody has faith in someone or something. Both skeptics and believers put their faith in someone or something every day. For example if you take medicine you have faith, in that medicine to help you, and you have faith in the pharmacist to fill your script with the correct medicine...If you need surgery you have faith, that the surgeon knows how to do surgery, or you wouldn’t trust them with the knife...Right now you have faith, the chair you’re sitting in can hold you, or you wouldn’t be sitting in it...Right now there’s a lot of Eagles and Chiefs fans who have faith, they’ll win the Super Bowl...If you’re a Bengals or Vikings fan, you lost faith...But you’ll have faith again next year, or you can have faith that the Giants will win Super Bowl 2024...The point is we put our faith in someone or something every day! So the question isn’t do you have faith, it’s who or what are you putting your faith in? Who or what are you putting your faith in, and can those things eternally save you? Today we’re talking about faith, the theological view of justification by faith. So let’s turn to Romans 4 and get into it. You’ll find Romans in the last quarter of the bible. We’ll be in Romans 4:1-25 and the title of today’s message is What is Faith? The big idea is the Christian faith isn’t about living a flawless life. It’s about trusting your flawed life, in the hands of a forgiving God...The Christian faith isn’t about living a flawless life. It’s about trusting your flawed life, in the hands of a forgiving God...
Here’s your context. Romans was written by the Apostle Paul who was a skeptic and enemy of Christianity, until 35 A.D. when he has an interaction with Jesus that changes his life, and he becomes a Christian. Then 20 yrs later he writes this letter to Christians living in Rome to teach them about Jesus and the gospel that transformed his life. In the first 3 chapters he builds a strong case for the total sinful depravity of humanity, and why everybody needs God’s grace. He says it’s because we’ve all sinned and continue to sin, which means nobody’s worthy enough to spend eternity in heaven with God. Our works and actions are stained with sin, so nobody will be justified by their works and actions. He says the only way to spend eternity in heaven with God, is to be justified by faith, which he explains even further in chapter 4. So let’s check it out.
Romans 4:1-25 states, “What then will we say Abraham has found? 2 If Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about, but not before God.” The question Paul’s asking is how was Abraham saved? How was Abraham justified for salvation in heaven with God? Was he justified by works? Zack explained last week that the word justification is a legal term that means “to be cleared of all charges.” It’s a legal declaration claiming we’re completely forgiven and no longer given punishment for our crimes. It’s like a judge declaring “not guilty” in a courtroom, and Paul’s saying how can we expect God to declare that about us? How can we expect God to declare we’re not guilty, when the truth is we’re all guilty of sin? A lot of people have a karmic view of God thinking if you’re a good person and do good works, you’ll get to go to heaven. But Paul’s saying nobody’s getting into heaven that way, nobody’s getting justified by their works, because we’re all guilty of sin. We’re all guilty of sinning with our thoughts, words, actions, motives. Even the fact we think we can brag to God about our good works, proves we’re guilty of self-righteous arrogance and pride. So the declaration God should give all of us isn’t not guilty, it’s guilty This means we can’t go to God saying, “I think I was a good parent, good child, good Christian, good Samaritan, good person, who deserves heaven. I deserve to be declared not guilty.” We can’t say we deserve a declaration of not guilty, because we’re all guilty of sin.
Now Paul’s going to use Abraham’s life as an example of what it means to be justified by faith, instead of being justified by works. The reason he uses Abraham is because Abraham’s one of the most important figures in biblical history. In fact Abraham’s still considered an important figure, he’s still honored by Jews, Christians, even Muslims. The difference is Jews and Muslims believe in justification by works, Christians believe in justification by faith, and Paul’s about to prove that Abraham was justified by faith not by works. Historically we know Abraham wanted to have children, but his wife couldn’t have children. He was 75 yrs old and childless when God made this promise with him: Genesis 12:1-2, “Go from your land, your relatives, your father’s house, to the land that I will show you. 2 I will make you into a great nation. I will bless you, I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing.” God later promises his descendants will be as numerous as the stars in the sky. Abraham believed what God said, and he did what God wanted. The order of that is important. First Abraham believed what God said, and then he did what God wanted. He started with faith in God, before he started doing good works for God. Paul’s about to use Abraham’s life as an example of being justified by faith instead of works.
Again vs. 1, “What then will we say Abraham has found? 2 If Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about, but not before God. 3 For what does the Scripture say? Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him for righteousness.” That’s justification by faith. Paul’s quoting Genesis 15 here, and it’s justification by faith. It says Abraham believed God, meaning he put his faith and trust in God, and it was credited to him for righteousness. That word credited is critical to understanding justification by faith. It’s a banking term like adding a credit to your bank account. It’s like going from $0 in your bank account, to inheriting a million dollars from a relative who died. When that million is credited to your account, you immediately go from rags to riches. That’s what it means to be justified by faith in Jesus! We’ve accumulated a massive sin debt in our lifetime we can’t ever repay, but Jesus died for our sins on the cross to pay our sin debt in full. He credits our account with his infinite righteousness. Isaiah 64:6 says our good works are like filthy rags compared to God, but Jesus turns us from rags to riches through faith in him. I’ve heard it called a trust transfer. You put your trust in him, he’ll transfer his righteousness to you. It’s a trust transfer, and it happens immediately! You put your trust in him, he’ll immediately transfer his righteousness, credit his righteousness to you. He’ll declare that you’re justified, by faith in him. Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him for righteousness.
Vs. 4, “Now to the one who works, pay is not credited as a gift, but as something owed. 5 But to the one who does not work, but believes on him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is credited for righteousness.” Paul’s saying we have to be justified by faith, because if we’re justified by works it means God owes us for our good works. But God isn’t in debt to us, we’re in debt to God. We’re in debt for sinning against him and wrecking his creation with our sin. I mean we keep failing to live out the good works we want for our lives, so imagine how much more we’re failing to live out the good works God wants for our lives? Theologian Wayne Grudem states, “Faith is the one attitude of the heart that’s the exact opposite of depending on ourselves. When we come to Jesus in faith we’re saying, ‘I give up! I can’t depend on myself or my good works any longer. I know I can’t ever make myself righteous before God. Jesus I trust you and depend on you completely.’” So the options are either you work to save and justify yourself, or Jesus works to save and justify you. Either you have faith and trust in your sin stained hands, or you have faith and trust in the sinless nail pierced hands of Jesus. Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him for righteousness. He was saved and justified by faith, not by works.
Vs. 6, “Likewise, David also speaks of the blessing of the person to whom God credits righteousness apart from works: 7 ‘Blessed are those whose lawless acts are forgiven, and whose sins are covered. 8 Blessed is the person the Lord will never charge with sin.’” Paul’s using King David as another example of an important figure in biblical history, who was justified by faith like Abraham. Historically David was a great king who did a lot of great things, but he wasn’t a flawless king. He sinned by sleeping with another man’s wife, got her pregnant, and then tried covering it up by sending her husband to die in the front lines at war. But David knew it didn’t matter how many great things he did, none of it could ever justify the wrong he did to Bathsheba and Uriah. None of it would ever justify the wrong he did to God, abusing the power God had given him as king. So what’s somebody like David supposed to do?...What are we supposed to do when we sin, and realize our good works can’t ever make up for the wrongs we did?...David does the only thing he can do! He repents for his sins, turns to God for forgiveness, and relies on God for salvation instead of himself. You can read his entire prayer of repentance and faith in Psalm 51. Paul’s point is that it was repentance and faith in God that turned David’s sinful life around, to where he says in Psalm 32, “How joyful is the one whose transgression is forgiven! 2 How joyful is a person whom the Lord doesn’t charge with iniquity!” He also says in Psalm 51, “A broken and contrite heart O God, you will not despise.” What we’re learning from David is no matter how far gone you think you are, you’re still within the reach of God’s saving hands. We’re learning justification by faith doesn’t mean ignoring our sins, it means admitting our sins. We don’t ignore our sins, we repent of our sins. We give God our sins, God gives us his forgiveness and righteousness. We’re forgiven, saved, justified through faith, just like Abraham and David.
Vs. 9, “Is this blessing only for the circumcised, or is it also for the uncircumcised? For we say, ‘Faith was credited to Abraham for righteousness.’ 10 In what way was it credited—while he was circumcised, or uncircumcised? It wasn’t while he was circumcised...” I don’t have time to get into the details of circumcision, so for now just know circumcision is what separated Abraham and the Jews from other civilizations at this point in history. The reason Paul brings it up is for Jews to realize Abraham was credited righteousness before he was circumcised. He was already credited righteousness in Genesis 15, which is before the circumcision command is given in Genesis 17. He didn’t even have the 10 Commandments since Moses doesn’t receive those for another several hundred years. So Abraham wasn’t saved and justified by doing good works or obeying God’s laws. He was saved and justified by having faith and trust in God. Now in vs 13-18 Paul says God eventually fulfills his promise to Abraham and gives him a son that leads to numerous descendants, which eventually leads to the birth of Jesus. But throughout the generations, God’s method for salvation and justification by faith, never changes.
Vs. 20 states, “Abraham didn’t waver in unbelief at God’s promise, but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God, 21 because he was fully convinced that what God promised, he was also able to do. 22 Therefore, it was credited to him for righteousness.” What’s Paul mean Abraham didn’t waver in unbelief, because we know Abraham’s faith wasn’t flawless? We know Abraham didn’t see the fulfillment of God’s promises for around 25 yrs, and he started getting impatient. He sins by giving his wife Sarah away to Pharaoh, then to King Abimelech, and God has to rescue her. Then he tries rushing God’s promise to have a son by getting another woman pregnant named Hagar. But that son isn’t the one God promised because God promised Abraham and Sarah would have a son, not Abraham and another woman. But Abraham’s doing what we do when we’re impatient with God. We try being our own saviors instead of trusting God as our savior. That’s a mutual fund faith not a trust transfer faith. In the stock market people put their investments in mutual funds to diversify their money into multiple companies instead of one. So if one company fails, they still have others to rely on, and some of us treat our faith like that. We have a mutual fund faith where we rely on multiple saviors instead of one savior. If God fails to do what we want, we go to other saviors and take matters into our own hands like Abraham. But my point is Abraham’s faith clearly wasn’t flawless, so why is Paul saying he didn’t waver in unbelief? It’s because Paul knows real faith isn’t about being flawless, it’s about turning to God for forgiveness of your flaws. Real faith isn’t about being sinless, it’s about turning to God for forgiveness of your sins. What Abraham didn’t waver on, is turning to God for forgiveness when he sinned. We’re learning several things here about what real faith in God is like. We learn...
#1 Real faith starts with internal conviction, that leads to external action: Abraham didn’t just believe in God’s promise internally, he acted on God’s promise externally. He left the city and people he knew, to follow God into a future he didn’t know. He didn’t know the details of his future, but he trusted God with his future. You can’t control what happens in the future, but you can trust God’s promises in the bible, act on them in the present, and trust God with your future like Abraham. His faith started with an internal conviction, that led to external actions.
#2 Real faith believes in God’s promises, but struggles with God’s timing: We know Abraham believed in God’s promises, but he struggled with God’s timing, just like we struggle with God’s timing. Abraham struggled with waiting for God to answer his prayers, just like we struggle with waiting for God to answer our prayers. Abraham waited 25 yrs for God’s promises, and he struggled during those 25 yrs of waiting. But real faith keeps coming back to trusting in God’s promises, knowing God will always be faithful to fulfill his promises.
#3 Real faith isn’t about being flawless, it’s about trusting in a forgiving God: Abraham wasn’t a flawless man, he was a forgiven man. David wasn’t a flawless man, he was a forgiven man. Christians aren’t flawless people, we’re forgiven people. We aren’t always good people, but we belong to a great God who’s always willing to forgive. He’s always willing to forgive, restore, save, justify anyone, who has real faith and trust in him. Listen to vs 23-25.
Vs. 23-25 states, “Now it was credited to him wasn’t written for Abraham alone, 24 but also for us. It will be credited to us who believe in him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead. 25 He was delivered up for our trespasses and raised for our justification.” Paul says the same forgiveness, restoration, salvation, justification Abraham and David received is also for us! It’s for us, through faith in Jesus. The good news of the gospel is that Jesus is our incarnate God who came to give us his forgiveness and credit us with his righteousness on the cross. He says in John 3:16 that whoever believes in him, will not perish but shall have eternal life! So if you trust Jesus with your life, he promises to give you eternal life. If you trust Jesus with your life, he promises to give you his forgiveness, restoration, salvation, justification right now, and for eternal life.
The big idea is the Christian faith isn’t about living a flawless life. It’s about trusting your flawed life, in the hands of a forgiving God. It’s about trusting your flawed life in the forgiving hands of Jesus...What Paul’s saying in these first 4 chapters of Romans is there’s one problem, it’s our sinful depravity. There’s one savior, it’s Jesus Christ. There’s one solution, it’s salvation and justification through faith in Jesus. If you trust him with your life, he’ll give you eternal life. He’ll give you an eternal relationship with him where you can pray to him, share your burdens with him, receive daily guidance from him, walk in daily friendship with him. If you’re a skeptic, are you willing to put your faith in him and take his hand of friendship? If you give him your faith and trust today, he’ll immediately give you his salvation, justification, righteousness, a hand of eternal friendship...If you’re a believer, are you trusting him with whatever you’re going through in life? Are you putting your faith in him, taking his hand daily, walking in friendship with him?
Like I said before everybody has faith in someone or something, but all the other people and things we put our faith in will eventually fail us. Jesus is the only one will never fail us. It isn’t Jesus who fails us, we’re the ones who fail Jesus. But just like he forgave Abraham and David, he’s willing to forgive us. Just like he remained faithful to Abraham and David, he’ll remain faithful to us. So will you trust in yourself, or trust in Jesus?...Will you keep trying to justify yourself with your works, or trust in the work Jesus did when he died for your sins on the cross?...Will you keep trying to be your own savior, or trust Jesus as your savior?