Monthly Archive for June, 2011

²⁵ who was delivered up because of our offenses, and was raised because of our justification.

Verse 25 has two parallel clauses and gives two causal factors important to our salvation:

1. The death of Christ to pay for our sin.
2. The resurrection of Christ to guarantee our resurrection and ultimate life with God.

²⁵ who [Jesus] was delivered up [judicially by God] because of [cause] our offenses [transgressions],

The death of Jesus as payment for our sins is the principal place in God’s economy of salvation. We cannot have justification or imputation of God’s righteousness to our account without it.

“Delivered up” means handed over. God deliberately handed over Jesus to die for our sins. This was a judicial act of God to deal with our transgressions. Jesus paid the sentence of death for our sins. Neither the Jews nor the Romans ultimately “delivered up” Jesus to be crucified—God Himself did it. He did it from eternity (Re 13:8). All other circumstances are irrelevant. His death was in the declarative counsel of God. The entire emphasis is on the work of the Father. As a judge hands over a murderer to be executed, so the Father hands Jesus over to be executed for our transgressions.

Is 53: ¹⁰ Yet it was the will of the Lord to crush him; he has put him to grief; when his soul makes an offering for guilt, he shall see his offspring; he shall prolong his days; the will of the Lord shall prosper in his hand.

Ro 8: ³² He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?

Acts 2: ²² “Men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a man attested to you by God with mighty works and wonders and signs that God did through him in your midst, as you yourselves know— ²³ this Jesus, delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men.

Note the repetition of “because of” in this phrase and the next. These two clauses are set up as parallel statements. This causal statement has to do with God delivering Jesus to pay for our transgressions on the cross. A transgression is something we cross over, or violate. It also carries the idea of to deviate from the right path. We violated God’s standards and that makes us transgressors.

Principle: The death of Christ is the central place in God’s economy.

Application: Jesus brings us face-to-face with the Father who justifies us. We put our trust in the work of Jesus on the cross in order to fellowship with God eternally.

²³ Now it was not written for his sake alone that it was imputed to him, ²⁴ but also for us.

Now the apostle applies the illustration about Abraham and justification by faith in verses 23-25. These verses conclude the justification by faith alone section of Romans.

²³ Now it was not written for his [Abraham] sake alone

The word “now” shifts to application of what has gone before in the chapter.

God did not write truths about Abraham for him alone. He wrote it for all to understand that justification is solely by faith.

that it was imputed to him,

The word “imputed” means to credit, to reckon. The basic idea is to calculate. This is the doctrine of imputation. God put in His righteousness in place of our righteousness for a perfect standing before Him. We calculate this to be true. Notice how many times chapter four argued this point. The same object of belief that reckoned Abraham righteous is the same that accounts us as righteous as God is righteous.

²⁴ but also [in addition to Abraham] for us [Gentiles in Rome].

God wrote truths about Abraham for people of Paul’s day (and us). He gave Scripture for more than those to whom it was originally written, thus, the Bible continues relevant to future generations. People of our day can exercise the same dynamic faith in God’s promise as Abraham and Paul.

PRINCIPLE: God’s Word has universal application to all people of all time.

APPLICATION: God’s Word applies to all people of all time. The principles of the Word of God do not change. What was true for Abraham (who lived almost 2000 years before Christ) or Paul (who lived in the first century), is also true of us.

Ro 15: ⁴ For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, that through endurance and through the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.

God’s justification of Abraham is the same way He justifies all people of all time. It is the same way He justifies us. We can count on His Word for this.

The Word of God is the foundation of our assurance. There is no need to fear loss of our salvation or that we possess it in the first place. If we trust self, there can be no assurance of salvation. If we claim the promise of God, we can. This is why God gave us the Word.

1 Jn 5: ¹⁰ Whoever believes in the Son of God has the testimony in himself. Whoever does not believe God has made him a liar, because he has not believed in the testimony that God has borne concerning his Son. ¹¹ And this is the testimony, that God gave us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. ¹² Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life.  ¹³ I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God that you may know that you have eternal life.

²¹ and being fully convinced that what He had promised He was also able to perform.

²¹ and being fully convinced

The idea of “fully convinced” is wholly certain. Abraham was convinced fully in what God was able to do. Abraham was fully settled in his mind about this. No doubt his faith was tested as he and Sarah grew older.

The word “fully” leaves no room for doubt. Our confident faith rests solely the unembellished Word of God. There is a naked element  to our faith. We cannot adequately believe God without believing the Bible.

He 11: ¹ Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.

that what He had promised

God’s promise to Abraham was an unconditional promise, a free promise given by God without solicitation. The Greek indicates that God made the promise at some point in the past of Abraham’s life and continued the promise on a permanent basis (perfect tense).

“Promise” is a recurring theme in Romans 4 (vv. 13, 14, 16, 20). The verb “promised” occurs in this verse. The unconditional promise to Abraham is a promise of unadulterated grace. The only condition to receive grace is faith grounded in God’s commitment to us.

He was also able to perform.

If we believe the Bible, there is no question about the ability of God. Since He is omnipotent, all-potent, He is able to fulfill His promises to us. This idea rests at the basis of our faith in Him. This is unqualified faith in God’s ability.

PRINCIPLE: Our faith is in the assurance that we know a God that promises unconditional grace to us.

APPLICATION: When we have assurance in God’s promises, we glorify His name. We then have complete conviction that God will do what He promises. True faith always has this assurance. Christians are completely sure of what God commits to them. God saves us, not because of our faith but because of His grace, His promise. True faith simply receives His promise. This is trust in God’s character and work for us.

The reason Christians can have assurance in God’s promises is because it does not reply on self or circumstance but on God Himself. Faith grounded in self is weak faith. Faith grounded in the character of God is strong faith. God is faithful to us. All of this requires significant knowledge of God’s Word.

Ge 18: ¹⁴ Is anything too hard for the Lord? At the appointed time I will return to you, about this time next year, and Sarah shall have a son.”

Ep 3: ²⁰ Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us…

¹⁹ And not being weak in faith, he did not consider his own body, already dead (since he was about a hundred years old), and the deadness of Sarah’s womb.

Verses 19-21 amplify Abraham’s hope in verse 18.

¹⁹ And not being weak in faith,

Abraham’s and Sarah’s bodies were becoming increasingly weak but his faith did not weaken. Doubt was not in his vocabulary. He did not waver in faith; he did not vacillate between doubt and faith. Weak or wavering faith is doubt. He trusted God for 25 years to fulfill His promise.

he did not consider [evaluate attentively] his own body, already dead (since he was about a hundred years old, he was sexually dead),

If Abraham would have looked at the reality of his hundred years of age and sexually dead body, he would not have exercised faith. He did not factor in his sexual deadness when appropriating his faith.

and the deadness of Sarah’s womb.

Another obstacle to his believing the promise of God was Sarah’s sexual deadness. It was not possible to have children by normal sexual relations. Far from believing without support, Abraham believed in the face of the facts sharply disparate to human evidence. From a human viewpoint, his situation was without hope.

PRINCIPLE: We need to trust God even when the situation looks impossible.

APPLICATION: Faith is weak when it allows itself to depend on human dynamics. Faith does not reject reality but it is not limited to what the best estimates of what is possible. Only God can give life where there is no life. He is not bound by the creation order.

When we believe in the promise of John 3:16, God gives us eternal life. We know nothing about obtaining salvation apart from God’s Word. When we claim 1 Peter 5:7, God frees us from anxiety. This is holding God to His Word and believing His promises. His Word is His bond; He will never go back on it. That is why we can trust the naked Word of God and the promises it contains.

Faith does not ignore the facts but sees beyond them. It is no escapism from reality nor is it fideism (faith in faith). True faith always rests on the facts of God’s promises. Thus, faith both recognizes facts and sees beyond the facts. Abraham weighed the stark reality of his sexual impotence but he believed God nevertheless. He counted on God to be true to His Word. There is no merit in faith itself but in what faith believes. There is no virtue in self-delusion.

On the other hand, rationalism (belief that reason alone is the way to truth) is not enough to reach truth. Reason cannot autonomously judge revelation. It is too finite, too fickle because philosophy cannot come to universal truth. Recent secular thinking acknowledges failure of philosophy. Its attempt to sit in judgment on the Word of God has failed. This presumes that the self (solipsism) is ultimate and always ends in a fragmented view of truth. This presumption sets up bias against another alternative. The bottom line is this is a spiritual issue, not a factual issue. There is another reality beyond self—faith in the Word of God. This faith gives universal view of reality deduced by God for man.

There is a difference between credulity and credibility. Faith is not gullible or naïve. Truth faith involves critical analysis; it is not uncritical of any idea that comes down the pike. Neither is it susceptible to any thesis that comes out of the blue. It is not trust without objectivity. Mumbo-jumbo of blind trust is not biblical faith. Acceptance of any propaganda and the attempt to justify it at the expense of reason is credulity. Abraham indeed saw the reality of his sexual capacity. Doubt would have looked at his body as dead sexually without any other alternative.

Strong faith, not a weak faith, rests on the facts and promises of the Bible. Abraham believed God in spite of circumstance that he was unable to impregnate his wife for God had given him a promise. The situation appeared hopeless.

There was a 25 year period between God giving the promise and the birth of Isaac. True biblical faith rests in the idea that God spoke to man in words. Abraham “considered” the reality of his situation but did not doubt. True faith has substance (He 11:1). There is both a humility and confidence in believing what God says.

¹⁷ (as it is written, “I have made you a father of many nations”) in the presence of Him whom he believed—God, who gives life to the dead and calls those things which do not exist as though they did;

Paul supports his argument of verse 16 with verse 17, with a citation from Genesis. This quotation justifies calling Abraham the “father of us all.”

¹⁷ (as it is written [stands written],

This is a quotation from Genesis 17:5. It was a promise to Abraham, the first Jew. By quoting this verse to believers of the Church Age, God includes the church in an aspect of the Abrahamic covenant. God made Abraham the “father” of Gentiles (“nations”) as well as Jews.

“I have made you a father of many nations”)

The words “have made” indicate permanence (perfect tense). God set forth a final word about establishing the Jewish nation with the Abrahamic covenant. This is an unadulterated, unconditional promise.

Abraham’s original name was Abram (father) and became Abraham (father of many nations). Imagine Abraham changing his name from “father” to “father of many” when he did not have a son by Sarah! No doubt some ridiculed him and had a big laugh over that.

in the presence [esteem] of Him whom he believed—

Abraham believed God would provide a son as He promised. In God’s estimation, Abraham’s faith was adequate to give him a son. His faith was beyond natural expectation; it was a faith that trusted God would provide outside the sexual capacity of his and Sarah’s old age. This was so because of the character of the God Abraham believed.

True faith is never daunted by obstacles because it looks to God’s promises. God promised Abraham and Sarah a child and He would do it.

God, who gives life to the dead

Although Abraham was 100 years of age and Sarah was 90, he believed God would fulfill His promise to him that they would have a son (Ge 17:17,19; 18:10; 21:5). He and Sarah were dead sexually because of their age. God gave them Isaac when Abraham was 99 years old. God’s Word proved true that He would multiply Abraham’s seed “exceedingly” (Ge 17:1) and that he would be the father of “many nations” (17:4,5).

and calls those things which do not exist [functional sexual genitalia] as though they did [as though they did exist];

Abraham had a son that did not as yet exist yet he believed he would exist. God brought into existence Isaac yet unborn by rejuvenating his sexual genitalia. Sarah until this point had never delivered children (at 86 years of age and Abraham was 99 years old).  The God who brings creation into existence out of nothing (ex nihilo) can conceive a child from very old, sexually dead parents. God is true to His promise that all the families of the earth will be blessed through his progeny.  God does not operate on the same plane has His creatures. Isaac is proof that God brings life out of nothing. God said, “Let there be Isaac,” and Isaac came into being.

PRINCIPLE: Believing God’s promises is at the heart of Christian living.

APPLICATION: It is the object of our faith that matters to God. Knowledge of the object of belief is necessary before we can have adequate faith. Knowing that God will keep His promise to us is at the heart of Christian living. It is important to understand God’s principles before we can apply them.

Faith does not look at the non-existent; it looks at a promise. Every promise that God makes comes into existence. We can count on God’s Word. God cannot lie or go back on His Word.