Sermon #1418 Miscellaneous
Sermons
Title: Justification By Faith
Text: Genesis 15:1-6
Subject: Justification by Faith
Date: Sunday
Morning – August 27, 2000
Tape # V-99a
Reading: Romans 3:21-5:11
Introduction:
My subject this morning is Justification By Faith.
We see this doctrine, (this grand, foundation doctrine of Holy Scripture),
illustrated in the experience of Abraham in Genesis 15. It is stated for us in
verse 6.
(Genesis 15:6)
"And he believed in the LORD; and he counted it to him for
righteousness."
But Abraham’s faith and the
justification before God are the subject matter throughout this entire chapter.
So I want you to hold your Bibles open on your laps, and follow me through the
chapter. May God the Holy spirit graciously teach us that which is written in
these verses.
It is my
prayer that you who are yet without Christ may, this day, be granted life and
faith in him, and that we who are believers may, this day hear from and worship
God our Savior.
Abraham
is set before us in the Scriptures as the father of all who believe. He is the
first man spoken of in the Word of God as a believer. Certainly, there were
other believers before him. Adam, Abel, Enoch, Noah and many others also
believed God. But the word “believed” is not used in reference to any man in
the Bible until we come to Genesis 15:6. Therefore, he is called “the father of all them that believe”
(Rom. 4:11).
Abraham
is also the father of all believers in the sense that he is held before us as
the pre-eminent example of what it is for a man to believe God. From the time
of his calling until the day of his death, the Lord God appears to have dealt
with Abraham specifically to show us by example what the life of faith is.
Proposition: That which is here written concerning
Abraham and his faith, is written specifically for our instruction in the
matter of faith and justification before God.
This is
exactly what God the Holy Spirit tells us in Romans 4:23-24
(Romans 4:23-24)
"Now it was not written for his sake alone, that it was imputed to
him; {24} But for us also, to whom it
shall be imputed, if we believe on him that raised up Jesus our Lord from the
dead."
With these things in mind, let’s look at Genesis 15
together, beginning at verse 1.
Genesis
15:1 --
"After these things the word of the LORD came unto Abram in a vision,
saying, Fear not, Abram: I am thy
shield, and thy exceeding great
reward."
“After these things” – Many
years had now passed since the Lord God first appeared to Abram and called him
out of Ur. Terah, his father, was now dead. Many years had passed since God
first promised to make of him a great nation and make him a blessing in all
nations. Abram had come into the land of Canaan. He had been tried by great
famine. He went down to Egypt. There, the Lord let Abram see how weak he was.
Even the father of believers was weak, when left to himself.
After he
came back up to Canaan, there was a terrible strife between Abraham’s herdsmen
and Lot’s herdsmen, and the two parted company. Though Lot abandoned his Uncle
and abandoned the land of Canaan, Abram never forgot his erring nephew. He was
truly a magnanimous man. When the kings of the land fell out with one another
and went to war, Abram seems to have looked upon it as a matter of nothing but
casual, passing interest, at most. The fall of Sodom and Gomorrah was of no
concern to the heaven bound pilgrim But, when a messenger came and told him
that Chedorlaomer and the kings of the plain had taken Lot captive, Abram acted
without hesitation.
He armed
318 of his men and pursued the kings, slaughtered them and their armies, and
brought Lot, his family, his goods, the people of Sodom, and the king of Sodom
back to their place.
Upon
their return, Melchizedek met Abram with bread and wine, and blessed him, as
priest of the most high God. He blessed him upon the basis of that sacrifice
(the sacrifice of Christ) portrayed in the bread and wine. To him, Abram, gave
tithes of all that he had.
The king
of Sodom saw and heard all that passed between Abram and Melchizedek, but was
totally unaware of what was going on and had no interest in such matters. No
sooner had Melchizedek departed than that proud pimple of a man offered to give
Abram the goods which Abram himself had recovered! Upon that Abram did two
things, which tell us much about the kind of man he was.
1.
He told the king of Sodom
plainly that he would not take anything from him, because he had already sworn
to his God, “the most high God, possessor
of heaven and earth,” that he would not.
2.
And he pointedly told the
little man who wore a king’s robe that the goods he offered to give Abram were
not his to give, by telling him exactly what he would do with the people and
the goods.
“After these things the word of the LORD came unto Abram in
a vision.” – He who appeared to Abraham was the Lord Jesus Christ,
the eternal Word, the Son of God. God always reveals himself to men and speaks
to men only through Christ, the Mediator.
“After these things
the word of the LORD came unto Abram in a vision, saying, Fear not, Abram: I am thy shield, and thy exceeding great
reward.”
First, the Lord
bids his servant to cease from fear. – “Fear
not, Abram.” Why does he tell him not to be afraid? He had just succeeded
in conquering four armies with 318 shepherds! Perhaps he feared retaliation
from those who remained of the kingdoms he had conquered. That seems to be the
universal opinion of the commentators. I am inclined to think otherwise. I
think, he was fearful simply because he was overwhelmed by the manifest
presence of God. He was fearful because he knew himself a sinful man in the
presence of the holy Lord God.
·
Moses
·
Daniel
·
John
This is a blessed fear. Should not a man aware of his own
corruption of heart, depravity, and sin be overwhelmed and humbled before the
Lord God? But when Christ appears to his own, he appears in perfect love, to
cast out fear. Thus, he says, “Fear not,
Abram: I am thy shield, and thy exceeding great reward.” Here the Lord God
our Savior, makes two great promises to Abraham, by which he quietens his
fears, comforts his heart, and encourages his faith.
1.
“I am thy Shield.”
– Who or what shall harm me, if the Lord God himself is my shield?
“Thus, in tender grace, did Jehovah quiet the troubled
heart of the one whom he was pleased to call his ‘friend’.”
-- (A.W. Pink)
2.
“I am thy Shield, and thy
exceeding great Reward.”
After Abraham had defeated the kings of the plain and had
been blessed by Melchizedek, he declined to take anything from the king of
Sodom, lest a heathen king should point to Abraham and say, “I made him what he
is.” His refusal to be enriched by a pagan worldling is here bountifully
compensated. He forsook all for the glory of God, but lost nothing.
So it is
to this day and shall be forever. We are required to forsake all to follow
Christ. Indeed, we cannot be his disciples, if we do not surrender all to him.
But God will never permit his own to suffer any real loss by following him and
seeking his glory.
Illustration: “Lacked
ye anything?”
“I am thy Shield, and thy exceeding great Reward.” This great
promise is applicable to all believers, to all who are “strangers and pilgrims on the earth.” The Son of God himself is our
Shield of faith. He is our Shield and defense. Christ is the One behind whom
faith hides, upon whom faith leans, and in whom faith finds refuge and safety.
(Psalms 3:3)
"But thou, O LORD, art a
shield for me; my glory, and the lifter up of mine head."
(Psalms 5:12)
"For thou, LORD, wilt bless the righteous; with favor wilt thou
compass him as with a shield."
(Psalms 84:11)
"For the LORD God is a
sun and shield: the LORD will give grace and glory: no good thing will he withhold from them that
walk uprightly."
(Psalms 91:4)
"He shall cover thee with his feathers, and under his wings shalt
thou trust: his truth shall be thy shield
and buckler."
(Psalms 119:114)
"Thou art my hiding place
and my shield: I hope in thy word."
As he is our Shield, our Savior is also
our exceeding great Reward. “The
Lord is my Portion, saith my
soul. Therefore will I hope in him.” “The
Lord is the Portion of my
inheritance and of my cup.”
Genesis
15:2-3
-- "And Abram said, Lord GOD, what
wilt thou give me, seeing I go childless, and the steward of my house is this Eliezer of Damascus? {3} And Abram said, Behold, to me thou
hast given no seed: and, lo, one born in my house is mine heir."
After hearing the Lord’s declaration, Abraham seems to have
immediately thought, -- “If I am to have the inheritance in God, which he has
promised me, if I am to be a blessing to all the nations of the earth, as the
Lord has said, I must have a son through whom the blessing shall come.” He
recognized that heirship is based upon sonship.
(Romans 8:16-17)
"The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the
children of God: {17} And if
children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that
we suffer with him, that we may be
also glorified together."
(Ephesians 1:5)
"Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus
Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will,"
(Ephesians 1:11)
"In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated
according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his
own will:"
Abraham’s asking God for a son, in verses 2 and 3, was not
an act of unbelief, as many suppose, but of faith. He took God at his word. He
seems to have reasoned like this – “If God has promised me a heritage, promised
to make me a blessing to all nations, and promised to make my seed to be as the
dust of the earth (people scattered throughout all the earth!), he must first
give me a son.” Therefore he asked for one. That, it seems to me, is obvious
from the Lord’s response in verses 4 and 5.
Genesis
15:4-5
-- "And, 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. {5} And he brought him forth abroad, and said, Look now toward
heaven, and tell the stars, if thou be able to number them: and he said unto
him, So shall thy seed be."
Remember, in Genesis 13:15 and 16, the Lord promised
Abraham that his seed would be as the dust of the earth. Here, he takes him by
the hand, leads him outside, and points him to the sky, saying, I will give you
a seed like the stars of heaven.
Be sure you
understand the meaning of this, as it given in the Scriptures.
·
Without question, his seed has reference to the whole, innumerable
multitude of God’s elect, whom he purposed to saved before the world began
(Heb. 2:16).
·
However, the primary significance of this promise is that God here
promised Abraham that he would send the seed of the woman, that great Redeemer
who would crush the serpent’s head and redeem God’s elect (Gen. 3:15), through
his loins.
·
(Galatians 3:16) "Now to
Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He saith not, And to seeds, as of
many; but as of one, And to thy seed, which is Christ."
Now, look at verse 6. When Abraham
heard the gospel preached to him, as the Holy Spirit tells us he did (Gal.
3:8), he believed God.
Genesis 15:6 -- "And he believed in the LORD; and he
counted it to him for righteousness."
There is no single text in the Old
Testament so thoroughly and specifically expounded in the New Testament as
Genesis 15:6. The Apostle Paul was inspired to write extensively about this
text in the Book of Romans and in the Book of Galatians. He uses this text as
the foundation upon which the entire house of God rests, which is justification
by faith alone. “Abraham believed in the Lord;
and he counted it to him for righteousness.”
Here the Holy Spirit gives us the
first explanation of justification found in the Bible. As we have seen, there
were many others before Abram who were justified, in exactly the same way Abram
was. In fact, a careful reading of the Scriptures makes it obvious that Abram was himself a believer a man
justified before God, before this.
·
The Scriptures tell us plainly that he was a believer when he left Ur
of the Chaldees (Heb. 11:8). – “By faith
Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place which he should after
receive for an inheritance, obeyed; and he went out, not knowing whither he
went.”
·
Though he was then a justified man, his justification is not mentioned
on that occasion because there is no connection between our experience of grace
and our justification before God. -- Justification is the result of redemption
accomplished, not redemption experienced. – Therefore, the Holy Spirit here
speaks of Abram’s justification in connection with Christ and the redemption of
our souls by him.
That faith which
was “counted for righteousness” was
and must be faith which believed what God had said concerning the promised
Seed. Therefore the Holy Spirit picked this experience, and arranged it, to
stand as the first and primary model and example of justification by faith.
There is no justification apart from
Christ. This is the only way God has ever, will ever, or can ever
justify the ungodly. — “Through this Man is
preached unto you the forgiveness of sins. And by Him all that believe are justified from all things” (Acts 13:38,
39).
Justifying faith is directly connected to the person and work of
Christ. Saving faith is that faith which looks to Christ crucified and trusts
him. This is what we have in Genesis 15.
God made a promise and revealed to Abraham that Christ, his Son, would come
into the world as Abram’s son, and redeem him. -- “And Abram believed in the Lord; and
he counted it to him for righteousness.”
1. First, the gospel was
preached to Abraham (Gal. 3:8-16).
This
is not a matter of speculation on my part. This is exactly what the Holy Spirit
tells us had taken place in Genesis 15:1-5. God’s method of grace never
changes. “Faith cometh by hearing and
hearing by the Word of God.”
(Galatians 3:8-9)
"And the scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the heathen
through faith, preached before the gospel unto Abraham, saying, In thee shall all nations be blessed. {9} So then they which be of faith are blessed with faithful
Abraham."
(Galatians 3:13-14)
"Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a
curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is
every one that hangeth on a tree:
{14} That the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus
Christ; that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith."
(Galatians 3:16)
"Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He saith not,
And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to thy seed, which is
Christ."
2.
Second, we read that “Abram believed in the Lord.”
How was Abraham
justified? -- He was justified by grace alone, through faith alone, in
Christ alone.
·
He was not justified by
religious ceremonialism, –
circumcision, but by faith (Rom. 4:3-10).
(Romans 4:3-5) "For what saith the scripture? Abraham believed
God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness. {4} Now to him that worketh is the reward not reckoned of grace,
but of debt. {5} But to him that
worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is
counted for righteousness."
(Romans 4:9-10) "Cometh
this blessedness then upon the circumcision only, or upon the uncircumcision also? for we say that faith was
reckoned to Abraham for righteousness.
{10} How was it then reckoned? when he was in circumcision, or in
uncircumcision? Not in circumcision, but in uncircumcision."
·
Abraham was not justified by
works, but by faith.
Though he had done many noble, good
things in the exercise of faith, though he had lived upon the Word of God, for
the glory of God for many years, his works are not mentioned in connection with
his justification, except as the fruit of it.
·
He was not justified by
keeping the law, but by faith in Christ.
We must always distinguish between the
truth, that true faith always produces good works; and the lie, the damning
heresy, that our works are mixed with our faith in the matter of our acceptance
with God.
·
Notice this, too – “He believed in the Lord,” not in facts about the Lord (Rom. 4:3, 16-25).
(Romans 4:3)
"For what saith the scripture? Abraham believed God, and it was
counted unto him for righteousness."
(Romans 4:16-25)
"Therefore it is of
faith, that it might be by grace; to
the end the promise might be sure to all the seed; not to that only which is of
the law, but to that also which is of the faith of Abraham; who is the father
of us all, {17} (As it is written, I
have made thee a father of many nations,) before him whom he believed, even God, who quickeneth the dead, and
calleth those things which be not as though they were. {18} Who against hope believed in hope, that he might become the
father of many nations, according to that which was spoken, So shall thy seed
be. {19} And being not weak in faith,
he considered not his own body now dead, when he was about an hundred years
old, neither yet the deadness of Sarah's womb: {20} He staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief; but
was strong in faith, giving glory to God;
{21} And being fully persuaded that, what he had promised, he was able also
to perform. {22} And therefore it was
imputed to him for righteousness. {23} Now
it was not written for his sake alone, that it was imputed to him; {24} But for us also, to whom it shall
be imputed, if we believe on him that raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead; {25} Who was delivered for our offences,
and was raised again for our justification."
Christ himself is
the solitary Object of all true faith. Faith is not believing that
there is a God. All men and women, whether they acknowledge it or not, believe
there is a God, that he is holy, and that they must meet him in judgment.
Faith is not simply acknowledging the historic facts of
Christ’s incarnation, obedience, death, and resurrection. You cannot be a
believer and deny the historic facts of the gospel. But faith is not believing
historic facts.
And saving faith is not the embracing of gospel doctrine.
Without question, that person is not saved and does not know God who does not
believe the doctrine of the gospel. But we are not saved, we are not justified
before God, by believing certain doctrines. No one has ever been justified, no
sinner has ever been saved, by believing the doctrines of predestination, –
sovereign election, -- effectual atonement, -- irresistible grace, or any
other. Saving faith does not trust facts or feelings, creeds or confessions,
but a Person! -- “Abraham believed God!”
That is the issue, the only issue between you and God. – “Dost thou believe on the Son of God?”
3.
Third, “He believed in the Lord: and he counted it to him for righteousness.”
Multitudes have jumped on this text like ducks on a
June-bug, pointing to Abram’s act of believing and saying that it was that act
which was imputed to him for righteousness. Such doctrine is utterly
blasphemous. It makes faith a work, an act of man’s will, meritorious before
God. It makes justification to be, not a matter of righteousness and justice,
but a gracious compromise, declaring that God accepts faith in the stead of
righteousness and satisfaction. Nothing could be further from the truth.
Justification is
a legal term. It has everything to do with law, and justice, and
righteousness, and nothing to do with compromise (Rom. 3:24-26).—“By mercy and truth iniquity is purged”
(Pro. 16:6). In justification, we are declared right at law, right in the court
of heaven. In justification, our sins are all blotted out, put away, and
forgiven, upon the grounds of justice satisfied. In justification, we are made
to be perfect before God, holy, blameless, utterly unreproveable. In
justification, we are accepted in the Beloved, complete in Christ, who is made
the righteousness of God unto us.
The act of believing has no more to do with
the accomplishment of justification than the act of sinning. Our justification was
accomplished by Christ, when he died at Calvary. Indeed, it was accomplished in
the decree of God from eternity, and God’s elect are declared to be justified
from eternity (Rom. 8:28-30), justified in the Lamb slain from the foundation
of the world.
We simply receive and experience the
blessedness of justification by faith. Faith contributes nothing to the work of
righteousness and the satisfaction of justice. Our righteousness was
accomplished for us by Christ’s obedience unto death. It is that which was
imputed to Abraham, not his act of believing; and it is that which is imputed
to us for righteousness, not our act of believing. Our justification is by the
Object of our faith, -- Jehovah-tsidkenu – “The
Lord our righteousness” --
not by the act of our faith (Rom. 5:19; 2 Cor. 5:21). In fact, the Apostle
Peter tells us plainly that our faith in Christ is the result, not the cause,
of our justification (2 Pet. 1:1).
(2 Peter 1:1)
"Simon Peter, a servant and an apostle of Jesus Christ, to them
that have obtained like precious faith with us through the righteousness of God
and our Savior Jesus Christ:"
As C.H.
Spurgeon put it, “Faith cannot be its own righteousness, for it is
the very nature of faith to look out of itself to Christ…We must look
altogether away from ourselves to Christ alone, or we have no true faith at
all…To say that faith becomes our righteousness is to tear the very bowels out
of the gospel, and to deny the faith which has been once delivered to the
saints.”
(Romans 4:25 - 5:1)
"Who was delivered for our offences, and was raised again for our
justification. (5:1) Therefore being justified, (The comma belongs
right here, not after faith.) by faith (This is the result.) we have peace with
God through our Lord Jesus Christ."
The
whole work of justification took place and was accomplished outside ourselves,
by Christ alone (Rom. 5:9-11).
(Romans 5:9-11)
"Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be
saved from wrath through him. {10} For
if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son,
much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life. {11} And not only so, but
we also joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have now received
the atonement."
Application: Would you like to be
justified before God? Would you like to go down to your house today, like the
publican, justified? Would you stand before God, from this day forward, in
peace, being forever righteous, justified, freed from the debt of sin and the
curse of God’s holy law? O sinner, would you like to silence that screaming
conscience that torments your soul night and day? My friend, if you would be
saved, you must believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, just as Abraham did.
1. Abraham believed God’s
promise of grace, salvation, and eternal life in Christ, preached to him in the
gospel.
2. Abraham believed God’s word
concerning his Son. – He believed that which was not possible, except by God’s
own work. He believed that God would from his dead body and Sarah’s dead womb,
raise up a Son in whom they would have life (Rom. 4:20-24).
3. Abraham believed this word
from God as the word of God to him (Eph. 1:13).
(Ephesians 1:12-14)
"That we should be to the praise of his glory, who first trusted in
Christ. {13} In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of
truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye
were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise, {14} Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption
of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory."
(1 John 5:1)
"Whosoever believeth that Jesus is the Christ is born of God: and
every one that loveth him that begat loveth him also that is begotten of
him."
(1 John 5:10-13) "He that believeth on the Son of God
hath the witness in himself: he that believeth not God hath made him a liar;
because he believeth not the record that God gave of his Son. {11} And this is the record, that God
hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. {12} He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life. {13} These things have I written unto
you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have
eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God."