Romans 4:2-3

I am the Lord, that is my name. My glory I give to no other.

You see, God will not share his glory. And the idea that mere men even men of great significance like Abraham could be justified by their own works simply cannot be true. Because if it were true, then the eternal perfect God would have to share his glory with finite and sinful man. This line of thinking, of course, is what the Pharisees incorrectly thought of themselves. Think of the parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector in Luke 18. Jesus told this parable to those who trusted in themselves, thinking they were righteous and who treated others with contempt. Jesus describes two men who go into the temple to pray. The Pharisee is proud and boasts to God about how good he is, while the tax collector is humble and thinks about how good God is. The Pharisee praised,

God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week. I give tithes to all that I get.

But in contrast, the tax collector, standing far off, wouldn't even lift up his eyes to heaven, but said,

God, be merciful to me, a sinner.

Christ ends this parable by saying

the tax collector went down to his house justified rather than the other, for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.

Jesus spoke frequently about this issue of righteousness during his earthly ministry, pleading with people to understand their lack of ability to be righteous enough to obtain the kingdom of heaven. See, Christ's mission was to save sinners who knew they could not save themselves. On the other hand, the Pharisees believed in their own goodness and that it would make them acceptable to God. This brief story shows us an example of those who try to justify themselves. Now, what about us? Do we have any pharisaical tendencies in our own lives? I think some questions we can ask ourselves include, Am I acting like I was justified by works? Is there any pride in my life, any part of me that thinks I contributed to my salvation? Additionally, how do I look at others? Do I ever look down on them thinking, well, what are they doing here? We say we're justified by faith, but we're suspicious of others who profess faith thinking, well, I would believe it if it was this kind of person, but not that kind of person. Are we really believing we are justified by faith alone? Or is that belief rooted in pride and boasting? Maybe you're here tonight with doubts, maybe thinking, well, if I was just a better Christian, then, only then, God would love me or accept me. But this is taking away glory from God and really bringing the focus back on works being needed for acceptance. You see, the greatest thing we can do is trust in God who loves us in spite of what we have done, not because of what we have done. Through God's own word, we can be sure then trust that salvation is all about God's glory and cannot be by works. Paul strengthens this argument even further by pointing to the Old Testament example of Abraham. And this brings us to our second why. Why we can be sure justification is by faith. Verse three says, for what does the scripture say? Abraham believed God and it was counted to him as righteousness. Now this is referencing Genesis 15 in the timeline of when this verse was said in relation to Abraham and his circumcision helps us further see that justification is by faith and cannot be by works. Genesis 12, we see God calling Abraham and promising to make him into a great nation. And in Genesis 15, God confirmed his promise to Abraham. telling him that his very own son would be his heir. This is significant because at this point, Abraham and his wife Sarah are very advanced in years and without children. God told him to look toward heaven and number the stars. If you're able to number them, then he said, so shall your offspring be. Then we see what Paul quotes from our text in Romans, Genesis 15-6,

Abraham believed the Lord and he counted it to him as righteousness.

See, in Genesis 15, we see this initial covenant God made with Abraham, and it was not until Genesis 17, over a decade later, that circumcision was commanded. So you see, it wasn't some physical thing done that made Abraham right with God. Romans 3, 29 through 30 says,

or is God the God of Jews only? Is he not the God of Gentiles also? Yes, of Gentiles also, since God is one who will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through faith.

Paul used Abraham as an example in his message to assert that being made right with God through faith is nothing new. This is something very old. He's establishing that a man all the way back from the first book of the Bible was saved by grace through faith. Abraham lived 2,000 years before Paul and 500 years or so before the law was given to Moses. And this is significant because in the early church, there were the Judaizers, false teachers who taught that in order to be a true Christian, circumcision was necessary for salvation. Paul was being accused of coming up with a new message, so he utilized a figure that all Jewish people would have been familiar with and emphasized he was not proclaiming something new. He was saying the same way Abraham got saved, the people who this letter was written to got saved. Again in verse three it says, for what does the scripture say? Abraham believed God and it was counted to him as righteousness. God reached out to Abraham first. When Abraham was a pagan idol worshiper in the land of Ur, God called him and told him he would make him a great nation. God promised Abraham he would give him descendants like the number of the stars in the sky. What did Abraham do? He believed God's promise. Abraham listened to God. He heard the words of the God of the universe say, so shall your offspring be. This reference was a son to be his heir, a son of whom nations would come, but it also pointed to even more profound promise. In Genesis 3.15, after the fall, we have the first promise of a savior, that the seed of the woman will crush the serpent's head. Abraham would have understood that he was a sinner in a fallen world. He would have been familiar with the promise of a savior who would reverse the curse. It was the promised seed, the Messiah, and his righteousness, which Abraham, by faith, looked unto and believed in. Abraham's salvation is not about God responding to Abraham. It is about Abraham responding to God. And this belief alone is what caused God to account Abraham as being righteous. It's important to know that faith is simply the means of receiving this righteousness from God, not the cause of it. Now, a question we might ask is how exactly is it that faith leads to righteousness? Is faith itself so virtuous that it makes us right in God's sight? Did God look down from heaven and say, well, Abraham, I see you have great faith, and because of that, I'm gonna make you righteous.

Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness.

Now, counted or credited is an economic and legal term. It has the meaning of crediting something to another's account. Abraham came to God imperfect, but by God's amazing grace and mercy, he credited to Abraham's spiritual account as righteousness. Faith wasn't his righteousness, it was credited. Abraham's faith is the instrument by which God declares him to be justified. As John Piper said well, quote,

by faith is counted as righteousness. He does not mean that our faith is our righteousness. He means that our faith unites us to Christ so that God's righteousness in Christ is reckoned to us. So when God says to those who believe in Christ, I credit your faith as righteousness, He does not mean that your faith is your justifying righteousness. He means that your faith connects you to Christ, who becomes your righteousness in God's sight, God's righteousness. That's the good news for all of us sinners.

" Abraham is an example of the point that Paul was making, that people are not justified by their works, not by their efforts, not by their deeds, but through faith in God. Abraham fell short of the glory of God through his sin and disobedience, and in contrast to what the rabbis taught, Abraham was chosen by a sovereign God for his own reasons and purposes. You see, it was not because of the supreme faithfulness of Abraham or that he was somehow righteous by himself or through his works. Abraham's faith was only acceptable to God because God credited it as righteousness. He trusted God, looked away from his sinful and hopeless self, and he looked unto the perfect God who is full of goodness and mercy. Abraham found grace in the eyes of the Lord through faith alone. And in having a right standing with God, Abraham was acquitted, forgiven, and accepted. This is what makes Christianity different from all other religions. See, the core of the rest of the religions in the world is that justification is at least in some part by human effort. And contrasted against all these other religions is Christianity and justification by faith alone. And here in this chapter of Romans, we have a man who lived 4,000 years ago as an example of this. The faith exercise here by Abraham is the same faith we find in Romans and today. Now, if anyone here tonight is not a believer, know that you are under the just wrath of God. But you can leave here tonight justified in God's sight through faith in Christ. Some questions for you to meditate on. Do you want to be right with God? Are you tired of trying to convince yourself that you're a good person? Or doing good deeds with the hope of pleasing some higher power? Do you desire to have a firm, unshakable foundation for life and eternity? Do you want a peace that surpasses all understanding? If so, place your trust and faith in the one who justifies the ungodly. Because of our sin, no amount of works will ever be able to atone for or satisfy the just wrath of God. Faith excludes boasting because God has accomplished all that is needed for salvation outside of ourselves. This was accomplished through Jesus Christ, who was that promised seed mentioned all the way back after the fallen man. See, Jesus came and he lived a perfect and sinless life that we could not And he died a death that we deserve. And he rose from the dead, showing his victory over death and accomplishing salvation and eternal life for all that believe in him. Jesus Christ died to pay our debt. He lived to provide our righteousness. When we have faith in the God who justifies the ungodly, God reckons our sin as punished on the cross. and God reckons Christ's righteousness as imputed to us. So as we close for our time this evening by way of application, believer, what makes you secure? Is it in Christ alone, or are you looking to works or second guessing? Through God's own word, we can be sure that justification is by faith, And praise God, he provided us this example of Abraham all the way from the beginning of the Bible. Secondly, since we know that salvation is not by works, and we have been assured that it is by faith, this means we cannot boast in ourselves. But we have every reason to boast in Christ. True boasting in the Lord is actually boasting of the Lord, boasting of his great attributes, of what he has done for us, of what he is still doing, and what he has promised to do. In the words of the song, How Deep the Father's Love,

I will not boast in anything, no gifts, no power, no wisdom, but I will boast in Jesus Christ, his death and resurrection.

And lastly, we should praise God for the peace that justification gives us. If you're here tonight and you're struggling with something or in some sort of trial, know that you have been purchased through the blood of Christ. Cling to the peace that justification brings. Romans 5.1 says,

therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.

Amen, and let's pray. Gracious Father, thank you for this time to be able to consider the truth of your word. Lord, we thank you that salvation is by faith alone. Thank you for providing your very own word that so clearly shows us, and I pray that we would continue to grow in confidence and trust in you. In Jesus' name, amen.