Believe!

13 For the promise to Abraham and his offspring that he would be heir of the world did not come through the law but through the righteousness of faith. 14 For if it is the adherents of the law who are to be the heirs, faith is null, and the promise is void. 15 For the law brings wrath, but where there is no law there is no transgression.

16 That is why it depends on faith, in order that the promise may rest on grace and be guaranteed to all his offspring—not only to the adherent of the law but also to the one who shares the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all, 17 as it is written, “I have made you the father of many nations”—in the presence of the God in whom he believed, who gives life to the dead and calls into existence the things that do not exist. 18 In hope he believed against hope, that he should become the father of many nations, as he had been told, “So shall your offspring be.” 19 He did not weaken in faith when he considered his own body, which was as good as dead (since he was about a hundred years old), or when he considered the barrenness [a] of Sarah's womb. 20 No unbelief made him waver concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God, 21 fully convinced that God was able to do what he had promised.22 That is why his faith was “counted to him as righteousness.” 23 But the words “it was counted to him” were not written for his sake alone, 24 but for ours also. It will be counted to us who believe in him who raised from the dead Jesus our Lord, 25 who was delivered up for our trespasses and raised for our justification.

Prayer:

Luke.24:1-8 NIV

On the first day of the week, very early in the morning, the women took the spices they had prepared and went to the tomb. 2 They found the stone rolled away from the tomb, 3 but when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. 4 While they were wondering about this, suddenly two men in clothes that gleamed like lightning stood beside them.5 In their fright the women bowed down with their faces to the ground, but the men said to them, “Why do you look for the living among the dead? 6 He is not here; he has risen! Remember how he told you, while he was still with you in Galilee: 7 ‘The Son of Man must be delivered over to the

hands of sinners, be crucified and on the third day be raised again.’” 8 Then they remembered his words.

So, as we continue through the book of Romans, remember the words of Jesus... and everything that is spoken is because of the resurrected savior Jesus Christ.

Paul continues this letter to the church mentioning some key words like righteousness, wrath, faith, hope, belief, promise, and justification. Over the last 10 weeks (about 2 and a half months), we have been defining the words and will continue today.

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Week after week I have been stating A person is righteous coram deo, that is, he is in a right relationship with God, when he simply receives the imputed obedience of Christ and the forgiveness of sins through faith. ... A human person is not righteous in God's eyes because of his choice or commitment, his good works or his piety, his emotions or intellect. He is righteous because of the forgiveness of sins through faith in Jesus.

In Christian theology, justification is God's righteous act of removing the condemnation, guilt, and penalty of sin, by grace, while, at the same time, declaring the unrighteous to be righteous, through faith in Christ's atoning sacrifice.

Whereby it gives us Hope and perpetuates our continued belief in God and what God has promised...

Point #1- Faith in God ignites the promise

13 For the promise to Abraham and his offspring that he would be heir of the world did not come through the law but through the righteousness of faith. 14 For if it is the adherents of the law who are to be the heirs, faith is null, and the promise is void.

Paul is talking to the church because he had to clear up the arguments between the Jew and the gentile. The roman church was a diverse church, and whenever there is diversity there will be times of misunderstanding. So, Paul had to make things clear to the Jews, that everyone is a part of the promise because of faith in God.

God’s promise to give the whole earth to Abraham and his descendants was not based on his obedience to God’s law, but on a right relationship with God that

comes by faith. It is our faith in Jesus that aligns us up, in right relationship with God If God’s promise is only for those who obey the law, then faith is not necessary, and the promise is pointless.

It was Abraham's faith that ignited the promise of God
Today it is our faith in God that ignites the promise to continue.

Point #2- The promise is guaranteed by our faith and is given as a gift
15 For the law brings wrath, but where there is no law there is no transgression.

16 That is why it depends on faith, in order that the promise may rest on grace and be guaranteed to all his offspring—not only to the adherent of the law but also to the one who shares the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all,

This is why the fulfillment of God’s promise depends entirely on trusting God and his way, and then simply embracing him and what he does. God’s promise arrives as a pure gift. That is the only way everyone can be sure to get in on it, those who keep the religious traditions and those who have never heard of them. For Abraham is the father of us all. He is not our racial father—that is reading the story backward. He is our faith father.

Gods promise is a gift to us, but Jesus paid for it on the cross.

Point #3- Keep hoping and believing anyway!

17 as it is written, “I have made you the father of many nations”—in the presence of the God in whom he believed, who gives life to the dead and calls into existence the things that do not exist. 18 In hope he believed against hope, that he should become the father of many nations, as he had been told, “So shall your offspring be.”

That is what the Scriptures mean when God told him, “I have made you the father of many nations.” [a] This happened because Abraham believed in the God who brings the dead back to life and who creates new things out of nothing.

Application... Do you believe in the God who brings the dead back to life? Do you believe in the God who creates new things out of nothing?

*I believe* *I have hope*

Even when there was no reason for hope, Abraham kept hoping—believing that he would become the father of many nations. For God had said to him, “That’s how many descendants you will have!” [b]

God made something out of Abraham when he was a nobody.

Abraham dared to trust God to do what only God could do: raise the dead to life, with a word make something out of nothing.

When everything was hopeless, Abraham believed anyway, deciding to live not based on what he saw he could not do but on what God said he would do.

Point #4- God is able

19 He did not weaken in faith when he considered his own body, which was as good as dead (since he was about a hundred years old), or when he considered the barrenness [a] of Sarah's womb. 20 No unbelief made him waver concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God, 21 fully convinced that God was able to do what he had promised.

Abraham’s faith did not weaken, even though, at about 100 years of age, he figured his body was as good as dead—and so was Sarah’s womb.

Abraham never wavered in believing God’s promise. In fact, his faith grew stronger, and in this he brought glory to God. He was fully convinced that God is able to do whatever he promises.

His faith increased as he waited for the manifestation of the promise (application) His faith grew stronger as he gave glory to God (application)
He honored and glorified God
No matter how, what, when why God is able!

Point #5- Believe in Jesus

22 That is why his faith was “counted to him as righteousness.” 23 But the words “it was counted to him” were not written for his sake alone, 24 but for ours also. It will be counted to us who believe in him who raised from the dead Jesus our Lord, 25 who was delivered up for our trespasses and raised for our justification.

22 And because of Abraham’s faith, God counted him as righteous. 23 And when God counted him as righteous, it was not just for Abraham’s benefit. It was recorded 24 for our benefit, too, assuring us that God will also count us as righteous if we believe in him, the one who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead. 25 He was handed over to die because of our sins, and he was raised to life to make us right with God.

His faith was for our benefit too!
Jesus was not weak and gave into his desire

Both the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ are necessary for the forgiveness of sins and justification. Raised for our justification. When God the father raised Christ from the dead, it was a demonstration that he accepted Christ’s suffering and death as full payment for sin, and that the Fathers favor, no longer his wrath against sin, was directed toward Christ, and through Christ toward those who believe. Paul sees Christians united with Christ in his death and resurrection For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body ruled by sin might be done away with,[a] that we should no longer be slaves to sin. And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies because of [a] his Spirit who lives in you. And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus.

This unites us with Christ in the end!