Total Transformation—Jamaica 2012

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Romans, Justification, and the Third Angel's Message

Norman McNulty

Romans 1—The Totality of Justification

Romans 2&3—The Totality of Human Depravity

Romans 4—Fully Persuaded

Romans 5-8: Totally Transformed

Okay, why don't we bow our heads for a word of prayer.

Father in heaven, we thank you that we've been able to study the first 3 chapters of Romans thus far.

As we get into Romans chapter 4, please help us to understand what it means to believe, and to see clearly what Abraham believed and how he believed, so that we can experience this righteousness as well.

So, So far we've been talking about some pretty theological material.

Justification by faith, surrender, being like Jesus, believing so that we can receive salvation.

We still have not answered the question, what does it mean to believe so that I can have salvation?

You want to know what it means to believe, do you not?

If believing properly allows us to have salvation, then we want to know what it means to believe, amen?

What then, or what shall we say then, that Abraham our father, as pertaining to the flesh, has found?

Now Abraham is described as the father of the faithful or the father of those who have faith.

And Paul is saying, you know, how did Abraham deal with his flesh?

How did he deal with his fallen human nature that we also have?

And so now we are going to get into a practical explanation of how to have this belief that will bring saving transforming faith.

Verse 2, For if Abraham were justified by work, he hath whereof the glory, but not before God.

So if Abraham had worked his way to heaven, then it would be about the glory of Abraham, not the glory of God.

Notice verse 3, then, "...for what saith the Scripture?

Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness." So, the Bible says Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness.

So, the Bible says Abraham believed God and it was counted unto him for righteousness.

You know, Paul is quoting the Old Testament here.

Now before we go to Genesis 15, which we're going to do briefly, Abraham believed and God counted him righteous.

To be counted righteous is the same as being declared righteous or it's the same as having imputed righteousness.

Now Before we go to Genesis 15, I'm going to take you to the end of Romans 4, and I'm going to tell you to look at verse 22 because this is going to give us a clue that Romans 4 is going somewhere.

Romans 4 verse 22, speaking of Abraham, it says, and therefore it was imputed to him for righteousness.

In Romans 4 verse 3, Paul says, what says the scripture?

Abraham believed God and it was counted to him for righteousness.

But then he explains what it meant for Abraham to believe and for God to then say, righteousness is imputed to your account.

But in order to understand even better what it means for Abraham to believe God, let's go to Genesis 15.

And in Genesis chapter 15, Abraham is speaking with God and he's telling God, you know, I don't have a child and you've promised that I will be the father of a great nation.

Why don't you take Eleazar, the steward in my house, and you can just pass my line on to him.

He can become the heir, and we won't have to worry about the fact that Sarah and I are past childbearing age.

And in verse 4, God says to Abraham, Behold the word of the Lord came unto him, saying, this shall not be thine heir, but he that shall come forth out of thine own bowels shall be thine heir.

In other words, God is saying, look, when I say that you're going to have a child, I am not saying that I'll just legally declare your servant to be your son when he really isn't your son.

I'm going to do this, the humanly impossible.

I am going to give you a child from your own flesh, even though your flesh is physically dead with respect to producing child.

You're too old to have children, Your wife is too old to have children, but I'm going to produce a child through you anyway.

Okay, so let's go back to what we were talking about.

Sorry, I kind of lost my train of thought there.

So God is saying this child is not going to come from your servant, your heir is not going to come from your servant, it's going to be your own child.

And So Abraham is saying, Okay, but Sarah and I are past childbearing age, how could this be possible?

And he brought him, or God brought Abraham forth abroad, and said, Look now toward heaven, and tell the stars, if thou be able to number them.

And he said unto them, So shall thy seed be.

So God is saying to Abraham, look up at heaven.

So how could it be that Abraham could have a seed that would come after him that would be as the stars of heaven.

Obviously it's not possible from a human standpoint.

But, notice what happens in verse 6, "...and he believed in the Lord, and he counted it to him for righteousness." So verse 5, God says, Okay Abraham, you don't have any children, but look up at the stars in the sky.

Abraham looks up at the stars in the sky and he says, Okay God, I do believe now that through my flesh there will be a line of seed like the stars in heaven.

And God says, Good, now I declare you to be righteous.

Abraham believed and God said, Great Abraham, because you believed, you are now righteous.

Does the story show us in Genesis 15 why Abraham believed?

What did Abraham do that caused him to believe in God?

Abraham looked up at the stars and there was something about looking up at the stars that caused him to believe.

When Abraham looked up at the stars, he remembered that God is the Creator.

When you read Genesis 1 it says, In the beginning God said, Let there be light, and there was light.

And God said, let there be and there was.

And so God has just told Abraham, look, your servant isn't going to be your heir, it's going to be a child from your own flesh.

And if you doubt my word, let me just remind you, look up at all those stars.

And as Abraham looks up at all those stars, he remembers it was by the word of the Lord that the heavens were made.

God's creative word set those heavenly beings, those stars, into existence.

And Abraham is saying, okay, which would be harder for God?

For him to speak the word and he sets those stars into existence that are running in perfect geometric alignment throughout the universe and there are so many of them that you can't count them?

Or would it be harder for God to speak the word and create a child in my dead human flesh?

And Abraham looked up at the stars and he said, you know what, if the creative spoken word of God will create all of those stars, the creative word of God will produce a new life through me and my wife.

And when Abraham believed in the creative power of God to do that which was humanly impossible, then God could say, I declare you to be righteous.

Believing in God to do the humanly impossible.

And in the case of Abraham, it was to create a new birth.

A new life that humanly could not take place.

Abraham and Sarah could not have children.

To have a new birth at that point in their life could not take place.

And God says, but a new birth can take place through the creative power of my Word that can create something out of nothing, that can create life out of death.

That is where righteousness by faith starts to make sense.

When we talk about being crucified, being fully surrendered, what does that mean?

How can I have the life of Jesus being lived out through me?

How can it be that I can be really surrendered on everything because I don't feel like I am so maybe I'm not really justified, I'm not sure.

And what God is saying is look, if you want to understand faith, if you want to understand righteousness by faith, Look at Abraham, the father of the faithful.

I gave him a promise of something that was humanly impossible.

And you know what Abraham could have done?

Abraham could have said, you know, scientific studies have shown that once women reach menopause, you can't have children anymore.

Series

Romans, Justification, and the Third Angel's Message

Romans 4—Fully Persuaded

Transcript

Parent Series

Parent Conference

Sponsor

Recorded

Romans, Justification, and the Third Angel's Message

Romans 2&3—The Totality of Human Depravity

1h 7m

SWYC 2006 Plenary Sessions

What was Accomplished by the Death of Christ

58m

Abraham’s Saving Faith

27m

A Living Sacrifice

The Altar of Abraham’s Sacrifice

58m

Norman McNulty: The Book of Romans

Romans 4 “The Faith of Abraham”

43m

The Justified Life

24m

What is Righteousness by Faith?

The Grace of Christ and the New Covenant

59m

Foundations for Hope in the Book of Hebrews

05 Foundations for Hope in the Book of Hebrews

59m

Norman McNulty: The Book of Romans

Romans 5: 1-12 “Peace With God”

39m

The Work of the Holy Spirit in the Last Days

46m

Jesus: The Justifier

53m

The Saving Faith of Jesus Christ

44m

Sound Doctrine