The Nature of Faith - Romans 4

1) - The Nature of Abraham’s Faith:
Abraham’s faith was IN  GOD  (v. 17) -- the nature of faith of faith is not found in faith itself, but in the “object” of faith… Abraham’s faith was IN GOD.. Who gives life to the dead.. (God is not bound by nature…) who calls things that are not as though they were. In other words, God speaks and we are righteous even though we are not… God says what He does, and does what He says.. He gives life to the dead, and this is more than raising Jesus from the dead. Ephesians 2 tells us that we are dead in our sins until God makes us alive. When we are saved by God we are raised from the dead. God calls the dead to life. If He says the believer is righteous, then the believer is righteous. Abraham placed faith in God not in his own faith. God’s salvation is based on His character, not ours. To say that the promise comes by faith means that it comes by grace. Our faith does not trigger God’s response of grace. Rather, God’s prior decision enables us to believe. God called Abraham righteous. He calls you and me righteous if you are a believer. What God says, God does because He can raise the dead… It’s all well and good that God’s promise doesn’t depend on us, but how is God going to make Abraham’s offspring into people who are fit to rule the world? How in the face of human unfaithfulness will God find a faithful people? The answer is: God doesn’t find faithful people; He CREATES  them!  He creates out of nothing a people who He will give the obedience of faith. By God’s voice (Ro 9:12) He calls things into existence things that don’t exist. This is the same voice who said let there be light and there was light. This is the same voice that said to a 12 year old dead girl, "It’s time to get up";(Mk 5) the same voice who said to a widow’s son at his funeral, “Young man get up” (Lk 7); and to a man who had been dead 4 days, “Lazarus come forth" (Jn 11).  Right at the start of the promise of God, this voice brought Isaac into existence (vv. 18-22). The God who spoke this, spoke to an old man married to a barren woman (v19) and called into existence a son. (At Walmart they had to look for "Pampers" and "Depends" at the same time!!).. What happened to them was like a resurrection or a creation out of nothing. The central focus in this passage is not on Abraham and his incredible faith, but on God and His life giving promise (vv 18,20); it is God who had the power to do what He promised (v21). This passage talks about the strength of God (vv 17,21) and it’s center is the complete helplessness of Abraham and Sarah (v19).

2) Abraham’s faith meant acknowledging his man’s Helplessness (vv. 18-19) -- faith meant recognizing the fact that he and his wife were not capable of having children in and of themselves.. They could not, on their own, bring about what God promised, yet his trust did not waver. There is no question he struggled (Hagar.. Lying about Sarah twice to protect his own skin, and actually fell down and laughed because of the seeming impossibility of Isaac being born), but God forgave those struggles, and Abraham’s true heart came to the forefront when he was willing to sacrifice his son (Gen 22), which was the proof test.. His belief was that God could raise the dead!  He knew if God didn’t do it, it wouldn’t be done. We too, have no hope of life when we look to ourselves.. We face only death and judgment .. TRUST is our only hope!

3) Abraham’s faith shows us the shape of the GOSPEL  (vv. 20 - 25)
Paul moves from ’type’ (Isaac) to ’FULFILLMENT ’  (Jesus) -- this righteousness was not just credited to Abraham, but to all who believe in Him who raised Jesus from the dead.. Jesus was delivered up (put forth by God -- 3:25) to pay for our sins and raised up to ensure our justification..  God IS just and the justifier of all who have faith in Jesus 3: 26
God has always justified by faith.. Abraham and David are both mentioned in chapter 4 and both were OT historical figures. They were declared righteous apart from works. Then and in the NT, and now even still God saves sinners by His grace through faith. Jew and Gentile alike are saved by believing in God’s promise of His son’s death and resurrection. God will make righteous all who trust in Christ.
Abraham’s example teaches us that faith does not have to be unfaltering and perfect, but a basic conviction that God can be trusted.. The actions we take based on this belief are the proof that our faith  is genuine.