Romans 4:10-16

1. Romans 4:10-16 10 Under what circumstances was it credited? Was it after he was circumcised, or before? It was not after, but before!

2. 11 And he received the sign of circumcision, a seal of the righteousness that he had by faith while he was still uncircumcised. So then, he is the father of all who believe but have not been circumcised, in order that righteousness might be credited to them.

3. 12 And he is also the father of the circumcised who not only are circumcised but who also walk in the footsteps of the faith that our father Abraham had before he was circumcised.

4. 13 It was not through law that Abraham and his offspring received the promise that he would be heir of the world, but through the righteousness that comes by faith. 14 For if those who live by law are heirs, faith has no value and the promise is worthless, 15 because law brings wrath. And where there is no law there is no transgression.

5. 16 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.

6. Romans 4 – 5“Revisiting the Past” Being parented Versus Parenting When we look back at those events Being parented looks and feels different at different times of our lives As we age life can become more clear

7. Paul is going to have us look back at our spiritual father To see the deeper story Abraham was not perfect He did not and could not obey the law That he was a man of faith

8. Romans 4 What then shall we say that Abraham, our forefather, discovered in this matter? 2 If, in fact, Abraham was justified by works, he had something to boast about—but not before God. 3 What does the Scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.”

9. As a matter of fact Abraham lived before the law His call and most of his life began before circumcision was required

10. 10 Under what circumstances was it credited? Was it after he was circumcised, or before? It was not after, but before! 11 And he received the sign of circumcision, a seal of the righteousness that he had by faith while he was still uncircumcised. So then, he is the father of all who believe but have not been circumcised, in order that righteousness might be credited to them.

11. 12 And he is also the father of the circumcised who not only are circumcised but who also walk in the footsteps of the faith that our father Abraham had before he was circumcised. 13 It was not through law that Abraham and his offspring received the promise that he would be heir of the world, but through the righteousness that comes by faith.

12. The truth about Abraham is that he trusted God when he was told to go

13. 16 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.

14. Someone might say, show me at least one other place where Abraham showed his faith Show me his complete trust in God

15. 18 Against all hope, Abraham in hope believed and so became the father of many nations, just as it had been said to him, “So shall your offspring be.” 19 Without weakening in his faith, he faced the fact that his body was as good as dead—since he was about a hundred years old—and that Sarah’s womb was also dead.

16. 20 Yet he did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God, but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God, 21 being fully persuaded that God had power to do what he had promised.

17. When we look at great men and women of the old covenant… We can look at what they accomplished Or We can look at the faith it took to trust that God could work through them

18. We are heirs to the promise that came to Abraham We are all saved by faith, through grace and are justified freely We also have peace, joy and hope

19. Romans 5 Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 2 through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God.

20. The apostle is slowly trying to help us understand the numerous benefits of claiming faith in Christ My name is “No No” Look at the benefitsand rewards

21. Romans 5 5 And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us.

22. We have been justified by faith Therefore we have peace and access to God by grace We have joy and hope And we receive God’s love -- made evident in His Spirit in us

23. When did God do all this for us? When we were being good? When we were obedient? When we were asking for help? Not all all!

24. Romans 5 6 You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. 7 Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die. 8 But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

25. His death and resurrection are the payment for our sins …for our inability to obey Christ redeems our past, present and future

26. 10 For if, when we were God’s enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life! 11 Not only is this so, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.

27. Here is why this is such a big deal… Someone can cover your debts Bankruptcy They don’t have to like you They make ask to never see you again They may look down on you

28. Being reconciled means… God, through Christ, wants to have an ongoing relationship with us A peaceful, joyful, hopeful and loving relationship Even when God knows the ins-and-outs of our lives

29. Remember, Paul is telling us more benefits and rewards we receive You can not brag about how well you keep the law You can brag about how generous God is to us

30. One last item to address Verses 3 and 4 They seem to interrupt the flow of the verses around it It is as though Paul is having this introspective moment that bleeds onto his otherwise logical progression

31. Romans 5 3 Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; 4 perseverance, character; and character, hope.

32. In this introspective moment Paul says… Even when life is painful, it has purpose It has direction And it is not related to our disobedience Sometimes we suffer because we are faithful

33. We have been justified by faith Therefore we have peace and access to God by grace We have joy and hope God’s love made evident in His Spirit in us God reconciled us to Himself When life is tough God gives us meaning, hope, joy and peace

34. Putting it all together Jews and Gentiles are not unlike each other We have the same heritage It is a heritage of faith We can not brag about our obedience We can brag about God’s generosity

35. Putting it all together It is easy to think of God as the God who says “No” Paul has been revealing that God is a generous God Covering debts and forgiving Wanting us to have peace, joy, hope and reconciliation

36. Putting it all together We often think of God as the God who is eager to punish Pain and difficulty are part of life In Christ, even pain and difficulties can be meaningful With God we can have joy, peace and hope in the midst of pain

37. My parents were tyrants They were mean They held me back Now I know They gave me more than my eyes could see or my mind could understand Our spiritual father, Abraham, blessed us with a legacy of faith

38. We are the Federated Church. Our Mission is to… Seek Christ, Serve Christ andShare Christ.