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Morning Message Text: Romans 4: 13-25
13 It was not through the 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 depend on the law are heirs, faith means nothing and the promise is worthless,
15 because the law brings wrath. And where there is no law there is no transgression.
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 have the faith of Abraham. He is the father of us all.
17 As it is written: “I have made you a father of many nations.” He is our father in the sight of God, in whom he believed—the God who gives life to the dead and calls into being things that were not.
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.
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.
22 This is why “it was credited to him as righteousness.”
23 The words “it was credited to him” were written not for him alone,
24 but also for us, to whom God will credit righteousness—for us who believe in him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead.
25 He was delivered over to death for our sins and was raised to life for our justification.
Morning Message:
Abraham was justified by faith! Faith is confidence or trust in a person or thing. For us as Christians, it is a confidence and trust in the fact that God sent his son, Jesus, who died on the cross for the forgiveness of our sins. There is initial faith that brings us to salvation and then there is a growing faith that must be nurtured and built within us. It is easy for me to stand up here and make nice statements about faith and give you a list of ways for you to discipline yourselves and become stronger in your faith. The problem with that is you must leave here and go out into the world, and the world is full of fearful things and circumstances that tear at our faith. Fear is the opposite of faith and when we allow fear to govern our lives it weakens our faith.
We give Bibles to our young adults when they graduate high school. Why do we do this? We, as the church, do it in faith. We do not have an expectation that our young adults will suddenly go home and start reading their new Bibles from cover to cover. Personally, as a pastor, I believe that God will bless the efforts that we make faithfully as a congregation and use that Bible somewhere along the way in that person’s life to make a difference. I know that God does not waste any effort that we make for His kingdom. I don’t put my faith in symbols or objects, not even one as important as a Holy Bible, but I put my faith in God who will use everything and anything to call us to Him.
It has been said that for Abram, who would be renamed Abraham, the symbol of his life was a tent, but the secret of his life was an altar. The tent spoke of his pilgrimage, of the fact that he never owned the land. There were times in Abram’s life that he moved from place to place. There were also long periods where he lived in tents in the regions of Hebron or Beersheba. But only rarely do we read of Abraham living for a time in a city. Now I am not suggesting that we all go and live in tents. If I spent one night in a tent it would probably take me a week to get my back over it. We don’t give Abraham enough credit for his faith even though God’s word proclaims him righteous because of it. Abraham would have been considered a wealthy man. He had a comfortable home, family and friends all around him. Life was good right where he was, but God made him a promise, and he believed God. Living in a tent kept him humble. He left everything and took only what he and those who were with him could carry. Let me ask you this: How big is your tent? If God were to call you, how long would it take you to decide what you needed to take with you? Our homes and our possessions make us feel comfortable, like we belong here, but as Christians, we don’t belong here. For Abraham, a tent symbolized the fact that he was only passing through.
Now the altar speaks of his fellowship with God, for it was the focal point for his worship. As God confirmed His commands, Abram confirmed his faith by worshiping and building an altar. Everywhere that Abram went and stayed for any amount of time he built an altar to the Lord. In addition to Abram’s worship was his witness. Refusing to worship on pagan altars, Abram built his own—a clear testimony of his commitment to the one true God. This is remarkable because he had been an idolater. And when he called on the name of the Lord, it was more than prayer; he proclaimed those promises in the Lord’s name, testifying of his faith in the living God to the people who observed his worship.
Abraham’s faith conquered impossibility, improbability, inadequacy, inconsistency, and infidelity. Abraham believed in the God of creation, Who calls into being things that were not. The same God of Genesis 1-2 who brought forth life and the earth and sky out of nothing also brought forth Isaac, the son of promise, from Sarah’s dead womb. Later, at the altar, standing over that same son with a knife in obedience to the Lord, Abraham believed in God’s promises against all hope. Hope centered on God is contrary to the world’s hope. Abraham did not waiver in his faith at the time of testing. God’s ability, His power to do what He had promised was the foundation of his faith’s stability. Listen: Faith looks past the gift to the Giver and past the promise to the One who promises.
Listen again to verses 23 – 25: The words “it was credit to him” were written not for him alone, but also for us, to whom God will credit righteousness—for us who believe in Him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead. He was delivered over to death for our sins and was raised to life for our justification. Martin Luther said; “In these verses the whole of Christianity is comprehended.” These words were written not just for Abraham’s sake but also for us – every believer in every age.
A tent and an altar are also the picture of the Christian life. According to God’s word, we are pilgrims and strangers here—the tent. But we are also to be in fellowship with the Lord by way of worship—the altar. And we, like Abram and Sarai, are to be witnesses of the reality of God in our lives. Let me simplify this for us. All of this, everything that we have, everything that we think we own, every relationship that we have here on earth is temporary. Treat everything like you are living in a tent and on a long journey towards home. Your destination is heaven. No matter where you pitch your tent, no matter where you find yourself on this journey you should build an altar. You should have a special place set aside to worship God. Even if you are on vacation, staying in hotels. Why do you think that many hotels have Bibles in them. Yes, if you have nothing else with you your Bible can be your altar, your place of refuge with God.
In Christ’s Love and Peace,
Pastor Bob
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