2nd Sunday during Lent
Good Shepherd Evangelical Lutheran church
Rev. Norman F. Seeger
Romans 4:1-5,13-17
What then shall we say that Abraham, our
forefather, discovered in this matter? 2 If, in fact, Abraham was justified by
works, he had something to boast about—but not before God. 3 What does the Scripture say? “Abraham
believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.”
4 Now when a man works, his wages are not credited to him as a
gift, but as an obligation. 5 However,
to the man who does not work but trusts God who justifies the wicked, his faith
is credited as righteousness…
13 It was not through law that Abraham and his offspring
received the promise that he would be heir of the world, but through the
righteousness that comes by faith. 14 For if those who live by law are
heirs, faith has no value and the promise is worthless, 15 because law brings wrath. And where
there is no law there is no transgression.
16 Therefore, the promise comes by faith, so that it may be by
grace and may be guaranteed to all Abraham’s offspring—not only to those who
are of the law but also to those who are of the faith of Abraham. He is the
father of us all. 17 As it is
written: “I have made you a father of many nations.” He is our father in the
sight of God, in whom he believed—the God who gives life to the dead and calls
things that are not as though they were.
Romans 4:1-5,
13-17
“SAVED BY FAITH, NOT BY WORKS”
1. Abraham
Believes…
2. God Gives
Life to the Dead
Dear saints,
saved by Jesus’ sacrifice of himself as our sinless Substitute,
Do you remember how easy it was to shop
for groceries with grandma? Stepping
into a little store, we could quickly pick up coffee in one hand while reaching
for a loaf of bread with the other, finishing in a few seconds. Do you realize how hard it will be to shop
for groceries with grandchildren? Walking
endless aisles, it will take who knows how many minutes to first decide which
flavor of coffee or brand of bread we prefer before we spend more time searching
for our selection … & we haven’t even entered the cereal aisle. Choices – choices our society insists upon not
only in grocery stores but in every area of life, as if ever-increasing options
automatically enrich our lives – choices can in fact make my life more
complicated than it needs to be.
Take religion, for example. Believing could never be sliced into whole
wheat or rye – faith was never a simple selection of drip grind or
decaffeinated -- but religious groups splintering from major denominations &
an increasing number of little & larger churches adapting their message
& methods to satisfy any & everyone’s personal preference today seem to
offer us unlimited spiritual options which make my choice of a church more
complicated than it appeared in the past. But salvation is actually as simple as
ever. Please, I pray, do not let the
devil deceive you into thinking today’s religious choices are optional, as if
we are selecting a breakfast cereal, because new churches & apparently new
twists on Scripture’s old truths are not paving new paths into heaven.
There is, as there always was, only one
way to be saved. “I am the Way, the Truth, the
Life,” Jesus says today, just as God said in the Garden of Eden, “No
one comes to the Father except through me.”[JN 14] Peter will forever
explain, as the Lord’s prophets always promised. “Salvation is found in no one
other than Jesus of
God “giving life to the dead” is the crux
of the question people wrestled with when Jesus fulfilled for us the law God
had given through Moses at Sinai. Rightly
noting there is now no need to eat only clean foods or observe Sabbath days
& specific religious festivals like the Passover or Day of Atonement, Paul
leads people to ask: Is the law Jews
followed for centuries suddenly useless?
Is there now a new way to be saved?
Are Gentiles simply being given heaven by God’s gospel gift of
forgiveness after Abraham’s Jewish descendants had been saved by obeying the
Lord’s law? Or, people wonder, must we
also be circumcised – must we at least obey a couple commandments today –
before we will be saved?
“Will I be saved by doing something? Or will I be saved by simply believing what
Jesus did for me?” is the question people keep asking. Saved by the Law or by the gospel? Will we be saved by our works or saved by
faith? “What did Abraham, our
forefather, discover in this matter?” Paul
cuts the legs out from under anyone trusting our own works as he notes Abraham
was not saved by being circumcised or obeying our Lord’s orders. “If, in fact, Abraham was justified by
works, he had something to boast about,” Paul points out, but Abraham’s
works would not satisfy God’s demand for people to be perfect. True, Abraham followed God when the Lord called
him to “Leave your father’s household & go to a land I will show you,”
but Abraham did not totally trust God to give him a son through whom the Lord
promised he would bless all people. Knowing
his wife Sarah was too old to naturally conceive a son, Abraham first tried to
adopt his servant Eliezer. Abraham then
conceived his son Ishmael in an adulterous relationship with Sarah’s handmaid,
Hagar. Not totally trusting God’s power
to protect him against every evil, Abraham twice lied about his wife Sarah
being his sister. Imperfect Abraham was
in no way saved by obeying laws our Lord would not write out for Moses on Sinai
until after Abraham had been dead for some five hundred years.
What about circumcision? Abraham was, in fact, circumcised, but was
not saved by being circumcised. The
physical act of circumcision Abraham carried out as the Lord commanded was an
assurance of salvation, but never caused salvation. Paul explains, “Abraham received the sign of
circumcision, a seal of the righteousness he had by faith, while he was still
uncircumcised.”
How was righteous Abraham actually
saved? Not by obeying the law or by
being circumcised. “What does the Scripture say?”
Paul asks & answers, “Abraham believed God & it was credited
to him as righteousness.” God
promised to give Abraham a special land to live in, descendants as numerous as
the sand on the seashore & one special offspring who will produce salvation
for every soul. Not owning one piece of
property; not having one son, Abraham nevertheless believes God’s
promises. Abraham trusts God to do what
he said he would do & “God credits his belief to Abraham as
righteousness.” In fact, Abraham
is saved by faith, not by works.
Salvation, Paul emphasizes, is, always has been & always will be by
faith, never by works.
The past is the same as the present, Paul
points out. Salvation comes -- always has
come -- through the gospel which gloriously announces what God would do &
has done for us when he sent Jesus to live, die & triumphantly rise as our
Savior. Salvation never came -- nor will
it ever come -- through the law which impossibly explains what God demands from
us. “It was not through the law that Abraham
& his offspring received the promise that he would be heir of the world,
but through the righteousness that comes by faith.”
Salvation, in other words, always was
& always will be a gift God gives us. A home in heaven will never be a wage God pays
or a salary we in some way earn with our works, which is an absolute blessing
for us imperfect people. If I had to
live the law on earth in order to live with God in his eternal glory, I would
have no hope because “the law brings wrath.” Perfect obedience God demands is impossible
for me or for any other soul to produce.
Unable to ever do everything right, Abraham & I just rejoice in
God’s promise to send Jesus as our Substitute -- our Savior -- whose holy life
gives us his perfection while his innocent death absorbs, removes & forgives
our sins’ guilt.
Ultimately, salvation is as simple as
buying bread or coffee in Grandma’s grocery store. There is only one option: We are saved by faith, not by works! Explaining, “Abraham believes God & it is
credited to him as righteousness,” Paul pulls this truth into our
lives, assuring us “Abraham is the father of all who believe but have not been circumcised
in order that righteousness might be credited to us.” Notice,
righteousness is not earned by our works, which is what every innumerably wrong
religion in our world today ends up offering because their seemingly
sophisticated, personally appealing, life-complicating choices all ultimately
teach souls to trust our own actions in some way. But we dare not trust ourselves. No, salvation is a gift we are given when God
credits us with Jesus’ righteousness as God gives us faith in Jesus our Savior.
Salvation by faith in our Lord Jesus, not
by our works – the one & only path to heaven – salvation is a gift, not a
wage. Setting aside our pride, which
assumes we will deserve whatever we receive, I pray we just rejoice in God’s
grace, as Paul explains, “When a man works, his wages are not
credited as a gift, but as an obligation.
However, to the man who does not work but trusts God who justifies the
wicked, his faith is credited as righteousness.” I pray we just rejoice in Jesus, like
Abraham, for only God’s grace, only God’s gospel truth can guarantee our salvation. Like father Abraham – not relying upon our own
works which the law constantly condemns -- I pray we simply believe in Jesus,
the Savior God promised he would send through Abraham, a Savior through whom “God
justifies the wicked,” a Savior through whom “God gives life to the dead &
calls things that are not as though they were.”
Listen, just listen as the Lord speaks to
us in Scripture. Simply believe God’s
promises. Salvation could not be less
complicated. For my grandma – for my
grandchildren – for me; for you – for our old testament father Abraham – for
new testament apostle Paul there is only one way to be saved. “God gives life to the dead.” God gives Abraham & Sarah a son, Isaac, in
their old age – as he promised. God
gives Mary a son, Jesus, while she is still a virgin – as he promised. God gives spiritually dead individuals
eternal life -- as he promised. God
gives us who inherited Adam’s original sin & death eternal life by giving
us faith in Jesus, the Savior who enables God to “call things that are not as
though they were.” Believe
it. God calls us disobedient individuals
righteous because Jesus obeyed the Lord’s law as our perfect replacement. God declares us guilty sinners forgiven
because Jesus died as our innocent substitute.
Believe it! Believe God’s gospel
truth! Rely upon the perfect life Jesus
lived & the innocent death Jesus died for us & you will be saved. God promises.
Amen.