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Bible Study- Lutz, Florida
Established
November 2008
Rightly
Dividing the Word of Truth
(2
Timothy 2:15)
This is
good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, who
desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. 1Timothy 2:3-4
Romans
by the Book
Lesson 29
Before we begin
chapter 4 of Romans, let’s set the stage for Romans, chapter four.
You may notice the
Apostle Paul begins right where he left off in chapter 3.
He’s obviously parked
on the subject of Justification by faith
(apart) from works or the Law of Moses. Why is that?
He’s emphasizing the Truth
about salvation in this dispensational era (#6).
After Jesus’ death on
the cross, until He returns for His church, an individual is “justified by faith” (alone); that is faith in the Gospel
of Grace – plus nothing else.
But his Jewish
brethren were hard-headed and stubborn.
I’m not Jewish but I
used to be just as stubborn. I was
raised in a works based religion.
I was told that my
religion was the “only true religion” on the planet.
I was told that my
baptism in this religion ensured me a place in heaven.
This religion had many
religious ceremonies, feast days, etc.
But it ran short on many
things including the gospel message and Biblical Truth.
I wasn’t aware of this
until a friend (a Believer) approached me and cared enough to tell me about these
things which were left out; in short she told me the Truth.
For months I
resisted. I had been indoctrinated into
my own religious system of beliefs and I was not tolerant of anyone else’s
beliefs (is this beginning to sound familiar?
Paul was facing a similar opposition from contentious Jews). But
eventually Truth won out and from that point on I have devoted my life to
bringing the Truth to others.
Roger Daltrey and the
Who sang a song called, “Won’t get Fooled Again.”
We'll
be fighting in the streets
With our children at our feet
With our children at our feet
And
the morals that they worship will be gone
And the men who spurred us on
And the men who spurred us on
Sit
in judgment of all wrong
They decide and the shotgun sings the song
I'll tip my hat to the new constitution
Take a bow for the new revolution
Smile and grin at the change all around me
Pick up my guitar and play
Just like yesterday
And I'll get on my knees and pray
We don't get fooled again
Don't get fooled again (Townsend)[1]
They decide and the shotgun sings the song
I'll tip my hat to the new constitution
Take a bow for the new revolution
Smile and grin at the change all around me
Pick up my guitar and play
Just like yesterday
And I'll get on my knees and pray
We don't get fooled again
Don't get fooled again (Townsend)[1]
I’ve adopted this song
as my hymn, so to speak. The reason is
quite obvious.
False Bible teaching
is not only on the rise it’s out of control…
Furthermore, the
people we label Christians want it.
Therefore, my teaching
will be focused on the Jews hardened
hearts because in my opinion this was their main problem.
In the Old Testament the
Lord God described the Israelites as “stiff
necked.”
This means: obstinately proud; extremely obstinate
and arrogant.
Then Jesus came, as
promised in the Abrahamic Covenant (see Genesis 12; 15) and even after all the
miracles and “signs” which He performed in their midst they refused to believe that
He was the promised Messiah (see John 20:30-31).
So, what were the Jews
“proud” of? One of the things they took
great pride in was their religious heritage and the traditions which came out of it.
FYI: The Jews were led by their religious leaders;
the Pharisees and the Sadducees.
The Mosaic Law had
been in effect for approximately 1500 years.
During that time, the
Jewish religious leaders had grown comfortable in their positions of authority
and honor (see Matthew 23:5-7).
They viewed Moses and
the Law as God’s worship, and they added their own traditions as
they saw fit. But what does the book
say?
Mark 7
5: The Pharisees and the scribes
asked Him, “Why do Your disciples not walk according to the (what’s the next word) tradition of the elders, but eat their bread with impure hands?”
6: And He said to them, “Rightly
did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written: ‘THIS PEOPLE HONORS ME WITH THEIR LIPS, BUT
THEIR HEART IS FAR AWAY FROM ME.
7: ‘BUT IN VAIN DO THEY WORSHIP ME, TEACHING (read carefully –
just don’t blow through these verses) AS DOCTRINES
THE PRECEPTS OF MEN.’
8: Neglecting the commandment of God, you hold to the (what) tradition (or man-made rules, regulations, and
“ways of doing things;” not necessarily God’s ways but) of men.
Is
there anyone who does not understand what Jesus is saying?
Jewish
traditions became more important than the “commandments”
of God.
As
we’ve learned here a short while ago, Jesus was the fulfillment of the Law.
When
Jesus died, He ended the Law Covenant, and that Dispensational Era (#5) came to
a close as well; the one which the religious leaders were so attached to (see
Colossians 2:13-14) by “nailing it to
the cross.”
So what we have is a
continuation of Paul’s argument at the close of chapter 3.
As Paul begins with his
opening remarks in chapter 4, he opts to use an illustration that he knows will
capture these Jews attention.
He introduces a name
from their past.
But this isn’t just anyone
from a long-gone era. Oh no.
If you were asked who
was the most honored or respected person in history, who’s name would pop into
your head?
If you’re thinking
about selecting Jesus Christ, that’s true for some but there are billions of
people who do not honor Jesus Christ on this planet today. I would keep looking.
Whoever you select
must be a person who is “honored” by people in every country on this planet
today. Does that make it tougher to
choose?
Is there one person
who is honored and revered even more than Jesus Christ today?
The answer is
YES.
There is one man who
is revered by fully one-half of the world’s population.
He is honored as the
man from whose loins sprang forth three of the world’s great religions. From this one man came Christianity with 2.18
billion followers, Islam with 1.3 billion followers, and Judaism with 15
million followers.
Do you know his
name? He is forever immortalized in the
book of Genesis.
His name is Abraham.
These Jews are still
raising objections to the doctrine of justification by faith apart from works
of the Law. So, Paul introduces Abraham
at this point to gain credibility. He
(being a Jew) knew every Jew could easily relate to him. Abraham was a godly man, and an example for
every Jew to follow. No Jew could
disagree with the fact that Abraham was truly “justified” before the LORD
God. Therefore, these Jews would have to
agree that whatever was true of Abraham must also be true of them.
***************************************************************************************************
Let’s review
Scripture. This is always a good idea.
Read the verses you
plan to study at least twice before you commence your study.
Justification by Faith Evidenced in
Old Testament
Romans 4
1: What then shall we say that
Abraham, our forefather according to the flesh, has found?
2: For if Abraham was justified by
works, he has something to boast about, but not before God.
3: For what does the Scripture
say? (There’s one of my favorite sentences)
“ABRAHAM BELIEVED GOD, AND IT WAS
CREDITED TO HIM AS RIGHTEOUSNESS.”
4: Now to the one who works, his
wage is not credited as a favor, but as what is due.
5: But to the one who does not work,
but believes in Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is credited as
righteousness,
6: just as (King) David also speaks of the blessings on the man to whom God credits
righteousness apart from works:
7: “BLESSED (HAPPY) ARE THOSE WHOSE LAWLESS DEEDS HAVE BEEN FORGIVEN, AND WHOSE SINS HAVE
BEEN COVERED.
8: “BLESSED IS THE MAN WHOSE SIN THE
LORD WILL NOT TAKE INTO ACCOUNT.”
9: Is this blessing then on the
circumcised, or on the uncircumcised also?
For we say, “FAITH WAS CREDITED TO ABRAHAM AS RIGHTEOUSNESS.”
10: How then was it credited? While he was circumcised, or uncircumcised?
Not while circumcised, but while uncircumcised;
11: and he received the sign of
circumcision, a seal of the righteousness of the faith which he had while
uncircumcised, so that he might be the father of all who believe without being
circumcised, that righteousness might be credited to them,
12: and the father of circumcision
to those who not only are of the circumcision, but who also follow in the steps
of the faith of our father Abraham which he had while uncircumcised.
We’re going to examine
these verses closely to get the most out of them.
Verse 1-2
“What then shall we say that
Abraham, our forefather according to the flesh, has found?”
Or, “What did Abraham
discover about himself (that is, when he looked at himself honestly and took
inventory) was there any human goodness that could save him?
The answer was no.
So if you phrase
Paul’s question like this, “If in fact,
Abraham was justified by works, (here you can insert the phrase, “And he
was not.” Paul is discussing a hypothetical possibility) he has something to boast about. – but not before God.”
Even if Abraham
thought himself “good” enough to boast in the presence of God of his goodness,
it wouldn’t do him any good. Why? God’s not impressed.
That’s what this verse
means.
We live in a world
where “works” are instantly rewarded.
But the flip-side to
that is usually, “What have you done for me lately.”
The pressure is always
on for more, greater production, more profit, and more performance. And quicker!
Some people turn into performance junkies…
I’m saying stop and
consider this. God isn’t interested in
your performance.
God is interested in
your heart. When He looks at your heart,
what does He see?
He sees your anger,
your greed, the manipulation, the fear, the ruthlessness, the unkindness, the
shady deals; the lying, the cheating, and He see the secret things.
Nothing is hidden from
God. Remember that.
If you’re working, or
scheming to become righteous before God forget that.
If you’re trusting in
some religion to take you there, forget that too.
The only righteousness
that can save you must come from outside yourself.
What you need is God’s
righteousness. That’s what Abraham
discovered.
He discovered that all
his human resources could never save him.
So, how was Abraham
saved?
Verse 3:
For what does the Scripture say? (There’s one of my favorite
sentences) “ABRAHAM BELIEVED GOD,
AND IT WAS CREDITED TO HIM AS RIGHTEOUSNESS.”
That verse says what
it means and means what it says.
No need to spend a
great deal of time on it.
The Apostle Paul is
quoting Scripture Genesis 15:6 to be exact.
Paul is allowing God’s
Word to do the “teaching.” But every
good Jew is aware of this story. This
one verse brings together the topics of faith, justification, and
righteousness.
The LORD God is saying
to Abraham, “Trust Me, I’m going to give you everything I’ve promised…” Abraham has nothing in his hands. He has nothing in his sights.
All Abraham has is the
Word of God. And what does he do with
it?
He accepts it on
faith. Abraham doesn’t ask the LORD God for time to
consider His proposal. Abraham doesn’t question
the LORD God proposals wondering how these things can possibly be. In other words, Abraham does not allow or
permit his human nature to take control of the moment. Even though these things the LORD God is
promising appear to be impossible by human standard (nothing is impossible with
God), Abraham sets all that aside and accepts God’s offer on faith ALONE!
And with that God
“credits” his account with “righteousness.”
The Greek word for
credited is logizomai, which is
related to our English word – logic.
Logizomai is a bookkeeping
term. It literally means “to credit to
one’s account.”
It’s what happens when
you deposit money into your bank. The
money is placed into your account or credited.
It’s an asset.
Abraham believed God –
He took God at His word. That faith was
“credited” to his account in heaven. In
addition to that, Abraham became justified by his faith and he was declared
righteous - apart from his works.
Salvation has always
been based on faith apart from works no matter the dispensational era mankind
finds themselves in.
(To
be continued)
©
Copyright 2011
GJ
Heitzman’s Ministry
All
Rights Reserved
[1] “Won’t
Get Fooled Again” Song written by Peter
Townsend, compilation album titled, “Who’s Better, Who’s Best” released in 1988
by The Who.