5/19/24 “A Faithful Man Was Abraham”

“A Faithful Man Was Abraham”

Romans 4:1-25

The definition of the word ‘Prototype’ - According to Merriam-Webster – is….“An original model on which something is patterned”

It’s interesting to look at pictures of some technological prototypes from days gone by – some historical examples of common modern-day items.

One such prototype looks like this (Show picture of cell phone)

This is the world’s first usable cell phone.

It was developed back in 1973 by Martin Cooper who was a scientist with Motorola.

It weighed 4.5 pounds and was the first communication device in which it was no longer necessary to press a switch in order to talk – like walkie-talkies or a ham radio.

Here’s another prototype from the world of technology (Show Computer Pic)

This is the first Apple Computer.

Called the ‘Apple 1’, it was developed in 1975 by Steve Wozniak and his friend Steve Jobs. The duo would build these early computers in a garage and they would eventually sell 150 of them for $500 apiece.

Staying with the Apple theme, here’s a picture of the first “iPhone” from 1983 (Show iPhone pic)

Designed by Hartmut Esslinger, it featured a touchscreen along with a basic checkbook balancing program….Although It might be a bit difficult to fit that one in your pocket, right?

Finally, here’s the most fun prototype of the day (Show Super Soaker Pic)

It’s the Super Soaker!

Developed by NASA engineer Lonnie Johnson in 1989, it was a shotgun-style water gun with an air pump and a series of check valves that allowed for sniper-like range and accuracy…

…backyard water fights would never be the same again!

All of these early technological prototypes represented something new…something that had not previously been accomplished before.

In some cases, prototypes were something completely new – things the world had never seen before…things like the printing press, or Penicillin, or a light bulb.

Other prototypes were of items that represented an enormous step forward, a significant advancement in technology that was already being used to some degree – like cell phones replacing land-line phones…or a super-soaker replacing a traditional squirt gun.

In our passage for today, Romans chapter 4 describes a kind of prototype – a human prototype, so to speak.

Paul introduces us to a man named Abraham, who became a prototype – not in some sort of physical evolutionary way – but in a spiritual way.

There was nothing really special about Abraham in a physical way that made him different from anyone else in the world…

Rather – God sovereignly chose this man to become the father (The Progenitor) of a new ethno-religious group of individuals who would eventually be known as the Hebrew people.

…and later on, the Hebrew people would come to be known as the Israelites.

So, why did God choose Abraham (Or, more accurately, Abram at that time) out of all people on earth to begin a nation whom God would choose and use to reveal Himself to the rest of humanity?

When Abram was first called by God, he lived in an area North of the Persian Gulf known as Ur of Chaldea – a community of roughly 300,000 people steeped in the worship of false gods and paganistic idolatry.

Joshua 24:2 tells us that Abram’s own father, Terah, was just another rank-and-file pagan who worshipped false gods, so we can assume that his son Abram would have most-likely participated in these activities as well.

So, again we are faced with the question…why Abram?

Well, the Bible doesn’t provide us with a direct answer to that question, but we are told that when God appears to Abram in Genesis 12 and instructs him to leave his homeland – Abram responds in obedience.

It is this obedience of Abram that revealed an underlying degree of faith in the one true God.

Much like when Jesus appears to Paul on the road to Damascus, Paul responds in faithful obedience.

God chose Paul to be His instrument to carry the gospel message to the Gentiles…and Paul responded in obedient faith….Before that calling, he was a lost sinner.

Acts 9:15 states: “…the Lord said to Ananias, “Go! This man is my chosen instrument to carry my name before the Gentiles….”

In much the same way, God chose Abram to reveal His nature and presence to the ancient world…and Abram responded in obedient faith.

Before that calling, Abram undoubtedly was also a lost sinner – there is nothing mentioned in scripture that leads us to believe otherwise.

One could say that because God is omniscient (All-Knowing) He already knew that both Paul and Abram would each respond in faith to their respective callings…

But the choosing of each of these specific men was ultimately God’s sovereign choice…and we need to just leave it at that.

In Romans chapter 4, Paul also presents Abraham as a perfect example of someone who was justified by faith… the theme of this entire chapter.

In the previous three chapters, Paul is laying out the legal case of condemnation against all of humanity due to the destructiveness of our sin.

Then, in the last half of chapter 3, Paul discloses the good news of the gospel – that one can be given the righteousness of God through faith in the person and work of Jesus Christ.

Now, in chapter 4, Paul uses Abraham as a spiritual-prototype-illustration of this truth……That it was by faith – and faith alone – that Abraham was justified before the Lord.

Much to the contrary, the Jews of Paul’s day believed that God chose Abram to be the father of the Jewish people because they believed Abram was the most righteous person on earth at the time.

…. somewhat like how Noah was described as being the most righteous person on earth back in Genesis chapter 6.

Paul begins chapter 4 by refuting the idea that Abram was somehow morally worthy of God’s calling upon his life.

In verse 2 (Romans 4:2) we read “If, in fact, Abraham was justified by works, he had something to boast about – but not before God.”

In other words, God was not impressed by any good deeds that Abraham may have done..

 Any good works done by Abram would have fallen sadly short of meriting any kind of righteousness before a holy God.

It’s good for us to be reminded of this truth as well because we are all conditioned as young children to view our works as earning us a reward of some kind…aren’t we?

For instance, how many of you have told a child or grandchild “Clean your room, then you can have a treat”…or “Do your homework, then you can watch TV”.

…or what Lisa sometimes says to me: “Clean out the lawnmower deck, then I’ll take you to Culver’s.”

We live in a meritorious world where we (Rightfully) expect to be rewarded for the work we put in….but God’s spiritual economy doesn’t exactly work the same way as our earthly occupational economy.

…Just ask the day-laborers in the parable of Matthew 20….remember those guys?

…Many of them worked all day and received the same pay as those who worked fewer hours…they will be glad to tell you how God’s spiritual economy is different from the human structure of works & rewards.

Rather, it was Abram’s faith that made him right with God.

Paul begins to flesh this out in the next verse (Romans 4:3) “What does scripture say? ‘Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.”

Here, Paul is quoting Genesis 15:6 which says, “Abrahm believed the Lord, and He credited it to him as righteousness.”

Paul does not say that God considered Abraham to be righteous on account of any works or deeds…

…But that Abraham was considered righteous on account of his genuine faith…which will automatically produce fruitful works of obedience.

…this is the central theme throughout the first 11 chapters of this book – the truth that whosoever genuinely believes in Jesus Christ stands justified before God…and will therefore inherit eternal salvation.

Abraham was the perfect prototypical example for Paul to use when defending the doctrine of salvation by faith when debating with the Pharisees, Scribes, and Jewish leaders of his day.

The Scribes and Pharisees were all about obedience to law and tradition – they saw salvation as being earned through obedience to the law of Moses…

…and… by adhering to the thousands of Pharisaic traditions that were propped up to be as authoritative as scripture itself.

But such false doctrine is completely destroyed by what scripture actually says about Abraham’s faith…as opposed to his works.

Verses 4 & 5 (Romans 4:4-5) set the record straight.

Paul writes: “Now when a man works, his wages are not credited to him as a gift, but as an obligation. However, to the man who does not work but trusts God who justifies the wicked, his faith is credited as righteousness.”

When you receive your paycheck after putting in a week or two of work, that check isn’t a gift, right?...No, you earned that money….your employer is obligated to compensate you for your time and talent.

But God is not like the person or the company we work for.

It’s important to remember that God owes you absolutely nothing.

Everything that comes from the Lord is a gift….there is literally nothing you can do that would obligate God to ‘pay you back’ for your time & service.

Do you volunteer at a hospital?...or at a soup kitchen?..., or at our monthly Potter’s Meals?..., or at our monthly Food Pantry?.....Great! …That’s awesome!... but doing these things won’t earn you points toward salvation with God.

Do you come to church every Sunday?... Do you attend some of the weekly ministries here at church?...Great! – but even doing these things won’t earn you anything toward your salvation.

Maybe you read your Bible or pray for 2 hours everyday…That’s amazing (And it reveals a true heart for God)!.... but doing those things by themselves will not somehow compel or obligate God to give you a golden ticket to heaven.

Brothers & Sisters, in no way do our works bring us closer to God.

It is only by grace through faith in the person and work of Jesus Christ that we are able to one day stand justified before a righteous and holy God!! (Repeat)

…can I get an ‘Amen’?

Another way in which Paul was able to show that Abraham was not considered righteous through obedience to the law was because Abraham lived About 500 years before the law even came into existence!

So, Paul’s point is that since Abraham and those who lived prior to the law of Moses were saved by faith apart from the law, then people of any era are also saved by faith apart from the law.

Scripture never indicates that God ever changes the way in which people are saved.

Salvation always has been – and always will be – on the basis of God’s grace through faith alone.

Ephesians 2:8-9 describes this when it says, “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith – and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God – not by works so that no one can boast,”

Folks, it doesn’t get much clearer than that regarding the process of salvation.

The next portion of scripture in chapter 4 (Verses 9-12) deals with the specific topic of circumcision…

…and how Abraham was saved through God’s grace - and not by the act of circumcision or by keeping the law.

This holds true for any of us today when it comes to taking part in the two ordinances of the church – Baptism & the Lord’s Supper.

Like circumcision in the Old Testament, we are told to partake in these external rituals, but there is no saving value in the ritualistic acts themselves.

When you drink the juice and eat the cracker on communion Sunday, there is nothing magical about that food or drink that somehow provides you with saving grace…or brings you closer to God…that must happen in the heart.

There are also some people who believe that when an individual is baptized that God is compelled to extend saving grace to them.

Paul dismantles this kind of thinking when he reminds us that Abraham was not circumcised when God declared him to be righteous…

…In fact, Abraham was declared to be righteous 14 years before he was circumcised!

therefore, our salvation is in no way dependent upon any kind of external ceremony or ritual.

One commentator put it like this: “Abraham was in God’s covenant and under His grace long before he was circumcised, whereas Ishmael, although circumcised, was never in the covenant. Circumcision became a mark of the covenant relationship between God and His people, but the covenant was not established on the basis of circumcision.”

At the end of the day…Our salvation is dependent upon one thing, and one thing only….FAITH IN JESUS CHRIST!!

In fact, a person who trusts in circumcision…or any other ceremonial work such as baptism or communion…nullifies the work of Christ on his behalf because he is placing himself under the law…

…and a person under the law must obey it with absolute perfection…

…unfortunately, it is humanly impossible to fully keep the law…so that leaves only condemnation for the person who holds to an empty, works-based religion of self-effort.…a religion without a relationship.

 The final portion of our passage for today (Verses 16-25) describes how Abraham is considered the human spiritual father – the prototype, if you will – of everyone who places their faith & trust in God.

Verse 16 (Romans 4:16) reads: “Therefore, the promise comes by faith, so that it may be by grace and may be guaranteed to all Abraham’s offspring  - not only to those who are of the law but also to those who are of the faith of Abraham. He is the father of us all.”

And in verse 18 (Romans 4:18) Paul writes: “…Abraham in hope believed and so became the father of many nations…”

Do some of you remember the Sunday School song “Father Abraham”?

It goes like this: Father Abraham had many sons…many sons had father Abraham…I am one of them and so are you…so let’s just praise the Lord…

(Then, for some reason, we begin moving a different body part after each verse until we are eventually twirling around and getting dizzy…I’m still not exactly sure how the motions fit into the theological framework of the song... 😊)

But spiritually speaking, we all are descendants of Abraham…

Abraham was the physical prototype of the Jewish people – but he is also a spiritual prototype of anyone who places their faith and trust in Jesus Christ.

Even though Abraham himself lived thousands of years before Jesus, he had faith in the God who would someday make himself known to all creation through the incarnate work of the Son, Jesus Christ.

…and the saving blood that Jesus shed on the cross…It flowed back in time to Abraham and the patriarchs -  just as much as it flows forward in time to you and I…and to our children…and to their children…and to their children.

…To anyone living in any time period who has demonstrated genuine faith in the one true God of the universe.

Does that describe you today?

Have you placed your faith & trust in Jesus Christ – the savior of the world?

If not, don’t delay!

Give your life to Him today and experience a kind of hope, peace, and love that you’ve never experienced before!

Submit to His authority and experience a deep settled joy in your heart rather than the ever-present anxiety, anger, and depression that currently takes up residence in your soul.

Experience what it’s like to actually have victory over sin in your life rather than continually having to bow down to an evil master who goes by the name of Satan.

Invite Jesus into your heart and experience what true worship was originally meant to be like – worship that glorifies God and exalts the savior…

Experience the person you were always meant to be!

Let’s Pray.