We ended our lesson last time noticing that the apostle Paul is teaching that we must have the faith of Abraham to be able to receive the blessing of the gospel. The blessing of the gospel that came through Abraham is observed in Romans 4:7-8. “Blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven, and whose sins are covered; blessed is the man against whom the Lord will not count his sin.” This blessing is to every person, no matter what their background is, circumcised or not, so long as they walk in the footsteps of faith of Abraham (Romans 4:12). Paul says this again in verse 16. The promise is guaranteed to all of Abraham’s offspring. Is that only to those who were physical Israel? No, for Paul has argued for three chapters that it is not being physical descendants of Abraham that receives this blessing. Rather, it is also “to the one who shares in the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all” (Romans 4:16). So what we need to learn and what Paul wants to teach us is about the faith of Abraham. If we are to walk in the footsteps of Abraham and share in the faith of Abraham, then we need to know what the faith of Abraham is. We must learn how to have that faith. So open your copies of God’s word to Romans 4:18 and notice what the scripture says about Abraham.
Abraham’s Faith (Romans 4:18)
In hope he believed against hope, that he should become the father of many nations, as he had been told, “So shall your offspring be.” (Romans 4:18 ESV)
The phrase that Paul uses is key to observing the faith of Abraham. “He believed against hope.” One translation reads, “Hoping against hope” (CSB). Another translation reads, “Even when there was no reason for hope” (NLT). Abraham had hope when there was no physical reason for hope. What is the apostle Paul referring to? You will read in verse 18 that Paul referring to the promise God gave to Abraham that he would be the father of many nations. We are told in Genesis 17:17 that Abraham would be 100 years old and Sarah would be 90 years old for this promise to come true. Neither were at the age of bearing children. Both of them are long past of the age of being capable of having children. But Abraham believed. Abraham believed, having hope when there was no physical reason for hope. There was no physical basis for which Abraham should believe. Against all hope, Abraham in hope believed. This is the faith that God is looking for. This is the faith that Paul is speaking about. This is the faith that Paul says we must walk in if we are to receive the blessing of the gospel. So we need to look more carefully at this faith if we are going to understand how Abraham had this faith.
Two Keys to Abraham’s Faith (Romans 4:19-20)
Look at verse 19. Abraham did not weaken in faith when he considered his own body. I want us to notice that there was nothing about himself that was going to assist him in having hope. When Abraham looked at the physical, the physical did not confirm his hope. His own body was as good as dead when it came to having children. His own body was 100 years old. Abraham could not look at his own body and see that having children was possible. Further, Abraham could not look at Sarah’s body and find hope. Sarah has been barren. Sarah cannot have children and that has been the case for 90 years. So Abraham could not look at anything physical to give him hope.
Here is why this is so important. We frequently weaken in our faith when we look at the physical. When we look at our own circumstances, we lose faith. We look at ourselves and we see how we cannot do this. When we cannot do something, we lose hope. When we cannot see how something could ever work out, we lose faith. But look at what the scripture says about Abraham. When Abraham looked at his own body, he did not weaken in faith. When Abraham considered the barrenness of Sarah, Abraham did not lose faith. This is a constant message in the scriptures. We look at the physical and we lose heart. We look at our circumstances and we lose faith. We look at ourselves and we lose hope. Peter, when walking on the water toward Jesus, saw the wind and began to sink. Jesus said that Peter had little faith and asked why Peter doubted (cf. Matthew 14:31). In fact, when Jesus tells people that they have little faith, it is always in reference to people who are looking at the physical circumstances which causes them to no longer believe (cf. Matthew 6:30; 8:26; 14:31; 16:8; 17:20). Abraham was different because when he looked at his circumstances, his faith did not weaken.
Now look at Romans 4:20. Further, Abraham did not waver from unbelief when he considered what God said. The first factor of faith was that Abraham did not weaken by looking at himself or his circumstances. The second factor faith was that Abraham did not waver when he thought about what God said. Friends, what God said was not possible by physical means. What God said stood completely against all logic and reason. What God said did not make any sense. But Abraham did not waver. These are the two places that we waver. First, we look at our circumstances and cannot see how we can do it. Second, we look at what God said and cannot understand how God could do it.
I want us to see something even more shocking. Not only did Abraham not weaken or waver in his faith, but the scripture says his faith was strengthened. I want to challenge us right here. The goal is not simply to maintain our faith during impossible circumstances. The goal is that our faith would only get stronger during impossible circumstances. Abraham’s faith did not get weaker. But Abraham’s faith did not just stay the same. Abraham’s faith grew strong. His faith was strengthened and he gave glory to God in spite of his circumstances and in spite of what God had proclaimed.
The “How” of Abraham’s Faith (Romans 4:21; 4:17)
So how did Abraham have hope against all hope? How did Abraham not weaken or waver in his faith when he looked at his own circumstances and heard what God said? Look at verse 21. Abraham believed that God is able to do what he had promised. Here is what I want us to think about. Abraham believed that there is nothing impossible with God even though what God said was impossible by physical standards. The “how” of faith is believing that nothing is impossible for God.
This truth takes us back to Romans 4:17. Abraham believed in the God who gives life to the dead and calls into existence the things that do not exist. Faith comes from understanding that our God gives life to the dead. Friends, that is impossible from a physical perspective. But for God, giving life to the dead is not impossible and it is not hard. Elijah raised the widow’s son (1 Kings 17:17-24). Elisha raised from the dead the son of a Shunammite (2 Kings 4:32-37). Jesus raised from the dead a widow’s son (Luke 7:11-17), Jairus’ daughter (Luke 8:40-56), and Lazarus (John 11). Further, believing in God means that you believe God brings into existence things that did not exist. Only God has the power to take nothing and make something which is exactly what he see him doing in creation. Nothing is impossible with God (cf. Mark 10:27). There is no limit or cap on God’s power or ability. This is the “how” of faith.
So here is an important question for us. What do you think God cannot do? What do you think God cannot do in your life? What do you think God cannot do regarding your sins and your salvation? What do you think God cannot do for your life circumstances? What do you think God cannot do in this world? Abraham was able to have hope against all hope because he knew all things are possible with God. Abraham believed when there was no physical basis for belief and his faith grew stronger because he knew God can do anything!
The Strength of the Gospel (Romans 4:22-25)
Look at verse 22. “That is why his faith was counted to him as righteousness.” This is the faith that receives the blessing. He did not weaken and did not waver. Instead, he was fully convinced in what God said and his faith grew stronger while he waited. But keep reading what Paul says in verses 23-24. These words that “it was counted to him” were not written for his sake only, but for ours. This is the “wow” statement. Just as Abraham’s faith was counted to him as righteousness, so it will also be counted to us who believe in him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead.
We must have the same faith in God that Abraham had. Abraham had a radical faith. Abraham had faith that did not weaken and waver when given impossible circumstances to work through. Instead, his faith grew. Abraham believed the impossible and did the unthinkable when looking from a physical perspective. John Stott said this which I think is an appropriate analysis of this faith. “Faith always looks at the problems in light of the promises.” Abraham looked at the problems but did not stop there. He looked at the problems through the lens of our God who can do the impossible and grew stronger in his faith. The gospel gives us strength when our circumstances seem bleak. The gospel gives us hope when it seems like things are hopeless. The gospel gives us the ground to not waver when life gets too hard.
This is the faith that glorifies our Father in heaven. God is glorified when we are strengthened by our faith in him. Abraham’s faith that God can do what is impossible puts God’s greatness on display. Let me illustrate it this way as we close. When your kids will little you might have had a time when you were in a pool and the child wanted to jump into the pool but was afraid. So you stood there in the pool and you told them that you would catch them. When the child jumps and you caught them, that is a glorifying moment for both. The child believed you would do what you said, putting themselves in perceived danger while showing you are worthy of faith and taking the leap. But what does it say about both of them when the child refuses to jump? It says of the child that the perceived danger is not worth it. It says of the parent that the child does not believe your words and that you are not worthy of the risk. There is glory in the jump where faith is expressed and faith is realized. So here we stand at the edge of the pool and God is asking us to trust him. God can do the impossible. There is nothing too hard for God and he wants you to jump to him. If you do not jump, then God is not glorified. But then we are saying by our actions that God is not worthy of our trust and not worthy of our lives. But if we jump to him, God is glorified by our faith and we will be credited to him as righteousness because we believe that God does what he says. This is our hope when life is difficult or when we doubt. God will catch you. Do not look at what can’t happen. Look at what God can do and be strengthened in your faith through the gospel.