The Reality, Reason, and Result of Abraham's Faith - Romans 4:18-25 (Sermon)

WELCOME / TODAY 

Good morning, church. We are continuing our series in Romans. The apostle Paul has been writing to the church in Rome. Some were religious and others were not. Some recipients had Jewish heritage, and others did not. The cultural distance between the two was like the space between the north and south rims of the Grand Canyon. Paul, being Jewish, was well aware of the cultural resistance and knew that Jesus was like a bridge connecting the two. In Chapter 4 of Romans, Paul unpacked how the founder of the Jewish people, Abraham, was a model and father of all who believe in Jesus. 

TEXT 

I am going to have ___ read for us. If you are able, would you please stand with me in honor of God’s Word? 

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.” He did not weaken in faith when he considered his own body, which was as good as dead (since he was about a hundred years old), or when he considered the barrenness of Sarah’s womb. No unbelief made him waver concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God, fully convinced that God was able to do what he had promised. That is why his faith was “counted to him as righteousness.” But the words “it was counted to him” were not written for his sake alone, but for ours also. It will be counted to us who believe in him who raised from the dead Jesus our Lord, who was delivered up for our trespasses and raised for our justification. (Romans 4:18–25, ESV) 

PRAYER 

The Word of the Lord. Thanks be to God. Let’s pray. Heavenly Father, thank you for your Word, it is light and life to us. Help us comprehend what you are saying by the power of the Spirit. Conform us more and more into the people you want us to be. We pray this in Jesus’s name, amen. You may be seated. 

STRUCTURE & MAIN IDEA

The structure of a smaller passage, like this, is different from a larger one. Here, it is an explanation of a thesis. Verse 18 is the thesis, “In hope he [Abraham] believed against hope, that he should become the father of many nations, as he had been told, ‘So shall your offspring be’” (ESV). Paul went on to argue that Abraham’s faith grew over time, and so did its impact. God recorded the reality, reason, and result of his faith for our benefit. Let me show you why I say that. 

VERSE 18

If you have your Bibles, open to Romans 4:18. This famous verse has been repeated by spiritual and secular leaders time and time again. It captures the improbability of God’s promises and the stick-to-itiveness of Abraham’s faith. You may recall that he was seventy-five when God first told him to leave his home and family. God wanted him to move with his wife and nephew far away from what was familiar. He didn’t give him a map or GPS. He had no moving truck or internet. We don’t know how God led him. But four thousand years ago, he did. And Abraham obeyed. God gave him an extraordinary vision of the future, including fame, land, family, and a legacy of global dimensions. God was and is faithful to do what he promised. He made the world out of nothing. And he would make this ordinary Middle Eastern man the premier patriarch. But God’s timing and how he fulfilled his promise would not appear like a DIY YouTube tutorial on how to use a microwave. God is infinitely beyond us in creativity, ingenious, and wise. Abraham gave up his idolatrous roots and followed the one true God, making him, without any children, the father of faith for all who believe. 

VERSE 19-21

How? How did this reality happen? Let’s see what Paul wrote in verse 19, if you have your Bible, 

He [Abraham] did not weaken in faith when he considered his own body, which was as good as dead (since he was about a hundred years old), or when he considered the barrenness of Sarah’s womb. No unbelief made him waver concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God, fully convinced that God was able to do what he had promised. (Romans 4:19–21, ESV)

Romans 4, verses 19–21, tells us about the reality of Abraham’s faith. His conviction increased. He didn’t give up on God when he was taking his time to fulfill his promise. That doesn’t mean that Abraham was perfect or never struggled. We read in Genesis that, in fear, he lied about his relationship with his wife. Selfishly, he put his safety and welfare above hers. She went along with it. Perhaps in a patriarchal society, she had to. But she was far from innocent as well. She demonstrated her own deficiency by pressuring Abraham to sleep with her servant to produce a surrogate heir. Abraham had no problem with that, until he did. Having multiple partners is a relational car wreck waiting to happen; it’s an improvised explosive device blowing up the natural marital bond between one man and one woman for life. The result for Abraham and Sarah was not only a child, but a child whose descendants would plague the nation of Israel to this day. Despite that, God was merciful and used them even after they failed. God can bring good out of wickedness and beauty from the dust, and he did. Abraham knew he needed God’s mercy and help to accomplish this promise. Ultimately, Abraham believed in God more than his own half-baked ideas. God kept his end of the bargain. The book of Hebrews looks back on Abraham’s life and the reality of his faith: 

By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place that he was to receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going. By faith he went to live in the land of promise, as in a foreign land, living in tents with Isaac and Jacob, heirs with him of the same promise. For he was looking forward to the city that has foundations, whose designer and builder is God. Therefore from one man, and him as good as dead, were born descendants as many as the stars of heaven and as many as the innumerable grains of sand by the seashore. (Hebrews 11:8–10; 12, ESV) 

The New Testament helps us understand the Old. It tells us that Abraham believed in a faithful God. Abraham had to wait, day after day, week after week, month after month, and year after year for God to do what he said he would. It would be a twenty-five-year pause. 

AMOUNT OF FAITH 

Where were you twenty-five years ago? That would be the fall of 2000. What were you doing? Some of you were not even born. For those of you around, imagine God speaking to you and telling you what he basically told Abraham. “I will make your kids royalty, your wife is going to give birth to a country, resulting in fame beyond your wildest imagination and an international ministry.” How would that feel? Put yourself in Abraham’s sandals? At first, you might smile at that blessing, picturing your own Whitehouse on Pennsylvania Avenue or a mega mansion on the lake. You might think warmly about having some servants. But God moves in mysterious ways. And he took his sweet old time. You know they tried to have kids. It just wasn’t working. And nowadays, you wouldn’t think biologically, scientifically, it could work. What would it have been like for Abraham to tell his sixty-five-year-old wife this news? Did she roll her eyes, or hit him with the dish towel and tell him to stop it? Did she ask if he left the lamb meat out overnight and ate it for breakfast? Do you think each passing year led to doubts? God preserved their faith. Abraham didn’t waver. In fact, our passage says it grew. Hebrews tells us that Sarah, “By faith Sarah herself received power to conceive, even when she was past the age, since she considered him faithful who had promised” (Hebrews 11:11, ESV). Twenty-four years later, Sarah got pregnant. They must have been ecstatic. I picture him grinning from ear to ear, saying, “I told you!” And she chucks a falafel at him. The inconceivable conceives. 

MUSTARD SEED

This is a mustard seed. Do you see it? Can you focus the camera on it? 

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:White_mustard_-_seeds.jpg ]. Great. Actually, that is not a picture of my hand and the seeds, but a Wikimedia image. Jesus said that if you have faith the size of one of these mustard seeds, you can tell a tree to jump in the lake, and it will hop to it (Luke 17:6). I want to hand each of you a mustard seed. This is all the faith you need. As you exit, you can grab a seed from a cup. This is your faith. Faith is a gift from God. He opens people’s eyes to spiritual realities, softens hearts, and clears away the cobwebs of their minds so they can receive the good news about him. And God gave Abraham faith to persevere. And if you believe, then he has given you that gift as well. Romans 4:20 tells us that Abraham’s faith grew. It matured. How is your faith doing?

GLORY

Verse 20 continues. It tells of Abraham’s response to God’s promise. What did he do? He gave glory to God. What does that mean? Another way of saying that is that Abraham worshiped. In Romans 1, those who walked away from God didn’t give him honor or thanks. They didn’t worship God. Instead, they did whatever they wanted and worshiped his gifts. What is your response to God’s gifts and promises? Do you worship him? Being here is a good place to begin. We can easily go through the motions each day. I know I can if God were to preserve us till we reach one hundred (June Johnson is 103), who used to attend here and is living in Sawyer, so the idea is not out of the question. What do you want to be known for at that age? Abraham and Sarah were known for their faith. They are examples for us. Our passage tells us that he was fully convinced that God could do what he had promised and gave glory to God. And God gave him credit for his faith. He saw Abraham as right with him, even though he didn’t live a sinless life. 

NATURE, OBJECT, OUTCOME 

That raises the question in my mind, “What did Paul specifically commend in Romans Chapter 4?” 

• Was it the reality of Abraham’s faith, 

• Was it the reason for his faith: God, 

• Or was it the result of his faith? 

Perhaps, it was all of it. We certainly want our faith to grow and to be fully convinced. The focus of our faith is critical, and its end is salvation. Let’s look at each of those components.

QUALITY OF FAITH

How is your faith doing? Is it growing or diminishing? Are there things in your life that hinder your faith? What are those things? Is there one habit or choice you are making that, if you stopped, would help mature your faith? Sins can derail our faith. It may not be sin, but it distracts us and keeps us from growing in our faith. If that is you, let’s make today different. Do a U-turn. Get rid of the practices that slow down your spiritual growth. The flip side is true, too. Is there one practice or act that would help you grow in faith this week? Let’s pause to consider both sides of that question. What is hindering your faith? And what might help your faith? 

OBJECT OF FAITH 

Another question we can ask ourselves is, “What is the reason for your faith?” The Bible tells us that God is the first cause of our faith. He is the one who brought you into existence. He is the one who gave you your parents. He is the one who made you with your personality and abilities. He orchestrated all of life and opened your heart, mind, eyes, and ears to receive the truth about Jesus. He is the reason. Is your faith firmly rooted in him? Or are you trusting in yourself or something else? One way to strengthen your faith in God is to think about him. What is he like? What has he done? What can he do? 

OUTCOME OF FAITH 

And finally, what is the result of your faith? If you are trusting in God the Father’s provision through Jesus’s death and resurrection, then your sins are paid for, and God sees you as pure and innocent. Ponder the result of God’s grace in your life. Let the implications of God’s kindness sweep over you like a warm breeze on a frigid day. You are justified. 

VERSE 22

We haven’t finished looking at Chapter 4. It zeros in on the result of faith. Jump to verse 22: 

“That is why his faith was ‘counted to him as righteousness’” (Romans 4:22, ESV). 

Paul quoted Genesis 15:6 here as Paul had before. Remember, Abraham was an idolater, a liar, selfish, and promiscuous. He was far from innocent and guilty of some grave sin. He was without excuse and could not have his sentence commuted for good behavior. However, his faith —his growing reliance on God —made him right with God. That is good for him and us. 

VERSE 23 THROUGH 25 

How do we know? How do we know anything for certain? God says it. He cares about us and wrote this for us. Verse 23, 

But the words “it was counted to him” were not written for his sake alone, but for ours also. It will be counted to us who believe in him who raised from the dead Jesus our Lord, who was delivered up for our trespasses and raised for our justification. (Romans 4:23b–25, ESV) 

These words were preserved for his sake and ours. The Bible is useful for teaching, correcting, and training in right living, so that we might be thoroughly equipped for every good deed (2 Timothy 3:16–17). We can also learn from teachers, coaches, and friends. We can learn by reading, podcasts, and posts. I tend to learn best through my own failure. But honestly, I would rather learn from others’ messes. How about you? Here, we don’t have to spend a decade and a half waiting on God, invest in fabricating some half-truths to protect and control our world, and sleep around to find out what God wants. We can look at Abraham’s life and see. We can open our Bibles and read each day, seeking God’s direction on how to live. How does he want us to live? What is your purpose? Great questions. One thing is super clear when it comes to the activities God wants us to do: he wants us to love. We are to love the church and our neighbor. We are to love our families and even our enemies! It sounds simple, but when you really think about it, it is not. How are we to obey God? And that takes faith, the faith the size of a mustard seed.

OUR FAITH

Where is your faith? What is the reason for your faith? Is it in the one who delivered Jesus over to death for lawlessness and raised him up for justification? Whether you are Jewish or Gentile, you can be saved from the wrath of God, the just penalty of our sins, through the death and resurrection of Jesus. He was the Lamb of God who came to take away the sins of the world. He paid the ransom necessary for transgressions. Our debt has been paid in full. He is our Redeemer, Savior, and friend. God makes people just, right, and forgiven by faith in him through grace. So the reason has results in mind. 

JOHN CALVIN 

Here is a word from a four-hundred-year-old friend, John. 

Let us also remember, that the condition of us all is the same with that of Abraham. All things around us are in opposition to the promises of God: he promises immortality; we are surrounded with mortality and corruption: he declares that he counts us just; we are covered with sins: he testifies that he is propitious and kind to us; outward judgements threaten his wrath. What then is to be done? We must with closed eyes pass by ourselves and all things connected with us, that nothing may hinder or prevent us from believing that God is true. - John Calvin https://theweeflea.com/2018/01/14/romans-ch-4-the-faith-of-abraham-our-example/ 10/22/2025

APPLICATION

What is our response to this reality, reason, and result of our faith? We can work on our spiritual health or not. We can bank on God, or live like the world. We can seek to follow his purposes or not. What would it look like for you to live like Abraham, increasingly relying on and obeying his words? What would it be like to honor him with your life? What would it be like to live a life of gratitude for God’s exchanging his Son for your sins? I was thinking about what that looks like. How can we respond to God who doesn’t need anything? 

CHRISTMAS

I think of Christmas. As a parent, I don’t need anything. What do you give someone who has everything they want, and if they wanted something, they could open their phone, find it, click buy, and have it at their doorstep in uncanny speed? Well, there are some things that Amazon doesn’t sell (believe it or not). Like what? Here are three things I want: 

• Love, 

• Thanks, 

• And a relationship. 

The Bible says we are made in God’s image. I believe he wants these things too, even though he has everything he needs. He desires our affection, gratitude, and relationship. Will you give him those things today?

PRAYER 

Let’s pray. Heavenly Father, thank you for your Word. Help us to love you with all our hearts. You are so generous. And when it seems like you are slow to act, like a twenty-five-year delay, give us patience and perseverance like Abraham and Sarah. We believe, help us in our unbelief. God, thank you also for your Word and the examples in it. You are so kind to us. You treat us better than we deserve. You forgive us our sins and treat us as if we had never done anything wrong. Incredible! God, we worship you. Please help us press into our relationship with you this week. We pray all this in Jesus’s name, amen!