Romans 4:16-22 - Sermon

[Jim Watt]

“*TWO ARE BETTER THAN ONE” MINISTRIES*

*Jim & Marie Watt*

*Tel: 253-517-9195 - Email: jmbetter at gmail.com*

*Web: www.2rbetter.org*

January 11, 2013


 *2013-01-13 - ROMANS 4:16-22 - ABRAHAM: EXAMPLE HOW FAITH ACTS*


 4. 4:16-22 ABRAHAM: AN EXAMPLE OF HOW FAITH ACTS

a. 4:16-17 FAITH'S BASIS

*For this cause it is of faith, that it be according to grace;*

DiA TOUto ek PIste-*o*s, HIna kaTA CHArin;

*to the end that the promise be sure to all the seed;*

eis to EInai beBAIan [949] t*e*n e-pag-geLIan panTI t*o* SPERma-ti;

*not to that only of the law, but to that also*

ou t*o* ek tou NOmou MOnon, alLA kai t*o*

*which is **of Abraham's faith (who is father of us all *17* as it is
written [that],*

ek PIste-*o*s A-braAM (HOS es-tin paT*E*R PANt*o*n h*e*M*O*N kaTH*O*S
GEgrap-tai, [HOti],

*I have made you father of many nations), before him whom he believed, God,*

PaTEra polLON ethNON TEtheiKA [5087] se), kaTEnan-ti hou ePIsteu-sen, TheOU,

*who makes alive the dead, and calls the things that are not, as though
they are.*

tou z*o*-o-poiOUNtos [2227] tous neKROUS [3498], kai kaLOUNtos [2227] ta m*e
* ONta, h*o*s ONta.


 b. 4:18 FAITH'S BATTLE

*Who in hope believed against hope, to the end that he become father of
many nations,*

hos par elPIda ep' elPIdi ePIsteu-sen, eis to geNESthai auTON paTEra polL*O*N
ethN*O*N,

*according to what had been spoken, So shall your :seed be.*

kaTA to ei-r*e*MEnon, HOUt*o*s EStai to SPERma [4690] sou.


 c. 4:19-21 FAITH'S METHOD

*And without weakening in the faith he considered his own :body*

kai m*e* as-theN*E*sas [770] t*e* PIstei ka-teNO*e*-sen [2657] to he-auTOU S
*O*ma

*now as good as dead (being about a hundred years old),*

*E*d*e* ne-ne-kr*o*MEnon [3499] (e-ka-ton-taEt*e*s pou huPARch*o*n),

*and the deadness of the womb of Sarah;*

kai t*e*n NEkr*o*-sin t*e*s M*E*tras [3388] SARras;

20* yet, looking unto the promise of :God, he doubted not through :unbelief,
*

eis de t*e*n e-pag-geLIan tou TheOU, ou di-eKRIth*e* [1252] t*e* a-pisTIa
[570],

*but waxed strong through :faith, giving glory to :God,*

alLA e-ne-du-naM*O*th*e* [1743] t*e* PIstei, dous DOxan t*o* The*O*,

21* and being fully assured that what he had promised, he was able also to
perform.*

kai pl*e*-ro-pho-r*e*THEIS [4135] HOti ho eP*E*Ggel-tai, du-naTOS es-tin
kai poi*E*sai.


 d. 4:22 FAITH’S RESULT

*Wherefore also it was reckoned to him for righteousness.*

di' HO kai e-loGISth*e* auT*O* eis di-kai-oSUn*e*n.


 INTRODUCTION: In 1944 I heard Pastor Ern Baxter preach from the above
passage in Victoria, B.C. He was at the time pastor of Evangelistic
Tabernacle of Vancouver. It made such a deep impression upon me as a new
convert, that I have used it a number of times since. I surmise that a
number of you reading this sermon will feel as I did 69 years ago.


 Of all men of the Bible, God has set forth Abraham as the “father of our
faith” - for both Jew and Gentile. Like us, he was not perfect, and had
several lapses. That should encourage us that we too, as imperfect beings,
can *also* receive mercy and grace from God.


 Ern Baxter died at 79 in 1993. He too like the rest of us was not perfect,
but like Charles Spurgeon, he was a “Prince of Preachers.” I called him
“Chrysostom” - the “golden-tongued”. I said that if you had ever been “told
off” by Baxter - at least you could say you were more eloquently told off
than ever before! I know - I had an experience of this!


 He like Spurgeon had a large library - 17,000 volumes, including a
“working library” of 1500 volumes, which he had mastered. He like Spurgeon
had preached completely through the Bible in an expository manner, with
much fruit. He too like Spurgeon started out as an Arminian, with a
Scottish Presbyterian father of Saskatchewan - but he ended up as a
Calvinist. In the beginning when I was yet in the Arminian stage, he said
to me - “Are you still believing that? Ah well - there’s forgiveness for
you - and one day you’ll see the light.” He was correct.


 Later on in October 1948 in Edmonton, Alberta, we struck up a close
friendship because of the North Battleford Visitation of that year. When he
saw me as one of their leaders at that time handling the Word of God
effectively to solve a knotty problem - he said to me, “I am neither a
prophet, nor the son of a prophet - but I prophesy that you have too much
of the Word in you to stay too long with this movement.” He was correct.
When the leaders started to depart from the Word in 6 different areas - and
in the spirit of the “New Order” of the Latter Rain - putting the Gifts of
the Spirit above the Word of God - then in early 1949 Marie and I left this
movement to find a more “Word-oriented” fellowship. We were accused of
being “Old Order”, putting the Bible and the Word above revelation! “Thank
you,” I said, “I consider that to be a compliment!” This is the place Jesus
as Son of Man put the Word and His Father in His 33 year earthly sojourn!


 Just check out prophecy, churches, fellowships and denominations with the
“Plumbline” of the Word of God - and like Spurgeon in his day, you will
find the “Evolution and Higher Criticism” of his day now infiltrating the
church as “*New Order* of Revelation” - above the Old Order of the Word of
God.


 So now let us examine God’s wonderful Word by the Spirit through the
Apostle Paul in the Book of Romans. If you like the sample at the beginning
of this sermon on Romans 4:16-22, you can now receive the entire New
Testament in this format through
<www.OutlinedInterlinear.com> in both Book and E-book format.


 Ivan Panin discovered “God’s Bible Numerics” in 1890. In 1944 God put his
discovery in my hands, and commissioned me to put together Panin’s two
Bible Numeric NT texts into an “*Outlined Interlinear New Testament*”
format. This is unique - not because of Panin and myself - but because God
thousands of years ago laid in the Hebrew and Greek languages the Bible
Numerics that makes this *Outlined* Interlinear product possible. And He
said to me in 1967 when I had completed the rough MS draft for this - “This
Bible Numeric ‘Outlined Interlinear NT’ is not Panin’s, nor yours, nor the
Team who has assisted you in its production - It is *Mine*, for My Last
Days’ purposes. It will be the basis for *Bible Meditation* in the spirit
of George Muller and George Whitefield, Joshua and David - and will help
prepare for the soon Triumphant Return of My Son!”


 *A. Romans 4:16-17. FAITH’S BASIS! *The Promise is by *Grace* through *
Faith* - *not* of works, lest any man should boast! It is through Abraham
for both Jew and Gentile. It was promised to Abraham *before* he was
circumcised, making it clear for all Gentiles like you and me. God by His
act of Sovereign Grace *chose* Abraham for this “basis”, while he was yet
an idol worshiper in Ur of the Chaldees! By His Sovereign Grace He chose
Saul the blasphemer - to become Paul the apostle to us Gentiles, and
expound the basis of “Grace through faith” in the Book of Galatians and
Romans. Before Jeremiah was conceived - God by Sovereign Grace chose him to
be a prophet unto the nations. Before I was born, He chose my parents for
me; my Methodist step-grandfather to give me my first witness; His own
revelation to have me in 1942 to join the Navy where He had chosen to
reveal Himself to me on Passover of 1944; and in July of that year to
saddle me with the work of Russian Ivan Panin - to complete it and ready it
for production.


 Faith’s Basis? *Not* of works then, but of God’s divine Sovereign grace.
This was true also of George Muller, Rees Howells, Oswald Chambers, Andrew
Murray - and countless others. In his early 20’s as a new convert, George
Muller in a sermon - called “predestination” a devilish doctrine! An older
lady challenged him, “Have you ever done a systematic study on this
subject?” He confessed that he had not. “Then do yourself a favor,” she
said, “and say nothing more on this subject till you *have*!” He
systematically went through the entire Bible on this subject, and to his
surprise found that 80% of all scripture referring to this subject, confirm
Predestination. Then in the light of this, further research brought the
other 20% of references in line.


 Muller was a Lutheran minister, proficient in Hebrew and Greek (which he
often used in his

devotions) plus also proficiency in 7 languages. He was a scholar indeed!
And - his faith, based on God’s Sovereign Grace like Abraham’s - produced
that outstanding proof of his faith in a 10,000 member orphanage, every
need supplied by prayer and faith alone - no man ever having knowledge of a
need in his 60 years of many-project faith ministry!


 *B. 4:18. FAITH’S BATTLE. Who in hope believed against hope, to the
endthat he become father of many nations, according to what had been
spoken,
So shall your :seed be. *God had given Abraham an outstanding promise.
Problem? Physically, both he and Sarah were past the age of child-bearing.
In the natural, a two-fold impossibility. Thirdly - the promise was for a
boy, not a girl. So the very situation in the natural produced *Faith’s
Battle*. What was Abraham to do in this naturally impossible situation?


 *C. 4:19-21. FAITH’S METHOD. *Here we find 7 steps of faith used by
Abraham to overcome the impossible, and release God to do a 2-fold miracle
in their 2 bodies, plus bring forth a boy from this promise.


 *1. 4:19a. And without weakening in the faith *- “as-theN*E*sas” [770] spells
out Abraham’s example. He did *not* allow his faith to weaken in the face
of a natural impossibility. When we like Abraham can see the promise of God
- meditate upon it - rehearse it vocally - and maintain our hope in what
God has said in spite of circumstances - *then* the example of Abraham
becomes ours!


 *2. 4:19b.* *he considered his own :body now **as good as **dead (being
about a hundred years **old), **and the deadness of the womb of Sarah; *Abraham
fully faced the exact situation he was in. He didn’t hide from it. He faced
*Reality*. He did not hide from this fact. God wants us to fully understand
what He must do to deliver us from our impossible situation.

*3. 4:20a. **yet, looking unto the promises of :God, **This* is the correct
attitude to take. First look at the problem. Then look away from it to
God’s promises. By a deliberate choice - *make* your choice. This is an
important step of faith. Not only look to God’s promise - *meditate* upon
it through God’s “Outlined Interlinear NT.” You will discover the
importance of this product as you read the Introductory Notes to this text.
It is *the Word of God* that must be the basis of our faith. See Romans
10:17 - “*The **faith** therefore is by **hearing**, and hearing by
Christ’s word.” *Here it is the R*E*ma-word of Christ - the transformed
LOgos-word - through meditation. The miracle of transformation form LOgos
to R*E*ma is through Bible Meditation, as in Joshua 1:8 and Psalm 19:14.

*4. 4:20b. **he doubted not through :unbelief, *Look at the Greek word for
“doubted not” and its Strong’s counterpart [1252]. He *refused* to continue
looking at the impossible situation of the bodies of himself and Sarah at
90 and 99 years! Consider this example. Put yourself in this same
situation. You will *then* surely come through like Abraham.

*5. 4:20c. but waxed strong through :faith, *See the word for “waxed
strong” [1743]. This is a *powerful* concept. It is the indwelling Holy
spirit who empowers us to walk in this challenging pathway. Only those who
like Paul have experienced Galatians 2:20 - can follow Abraham in this
challenging example.

*6. 4:20d. giving glory to :God, *By all means - do not omit this sixth
step. This is a step that enables us to maintain a strong and living
relationship with God: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. This makes all of John
15:1-16 come alive. John 15:7 *- “If you abide in me, and my :words abide
in you, ask whatever you will, and it shall be done to you.” *Again, it
must be the R*E*ma word that abides! It now becomes ours! And John 15:16
shows that *we* are chosen of Christ, not us trusting in our own weak and
failing choice!

*7. 4:21. and being fully assured that what he had promised, he was able
also to perform. *This is our final step of assurance. It is the apex - of
this 7-fold progression. Our trust is fully on God for *His* performance of
His promise. George Muller experienced this again and again. As did Rees
Howells and Charles Spurgeon. Let *us* join this triumphant group.

*D. 4:22. FAITH’S RESULT. Wherefore also it was reckoned to him for
righteousness. *This word “reckoned” (e-loGISth*e*) appears again and again
in Paul’s writings. The Holy spirit leads him to use it again and again.
When you and I master the above passage, we too will find ourselves joining
in this successful train. God is no respecter of persons. All those of us
who will master and walk in these steps and principles - will find our
“miracle-working God” performing for us what He did for Abraham!



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