Lesson 13

Alright, we are on lesson 14. So does everybody have a lesson 14 back there? Everybody's got a lesson 14? Alright, so for those on the tape, this is Romans class, lesson 14, and it's covering chapter 4, verses 15 through 20. So 15 through 20. I'm going to read the section. I always like to read the whole section prior to. We tend to slice and dice it up into very small pieces, and sometimes we lose kind of the whole context of the passage. So I'm going to read actually from verse 13. 4.

For the promise to Abraham, or to his descendants, that he would be heir of the world, was not through the law, but through the righteousness of faith. 5. For if those who are of the law are heirs, faith is made void, and the promise is nullified.

6. For the law brings about wrath, but where there is no law there is also no violation. For this reason it is by faith, in order that it may be in accordance with grace, so that the promise will be guaranteed to all the descendants, not only to those who are of the law, but also to those who are of the faith of Abraham, who is the father of all. As it was written, a father of many nations have I made you, in the presence of him whom he believed, even God, who gives life to the dead, and calls into being that which does not exist. In hope against hope he believed, so that he might become a father of many nations according to that which had been spoken. So shall your descendants be.

Without becoming weak in faith, he contemplated his own body, now as good as dead since he was about a hundred years old, and the deadness of Sarah's womb. Yet with respect to the promise of God, he did not waver in unbelief, but grew strong in faith, giving glory to God.

Alright, that's the passage that we're going to look at. It is kind of interesting when you think about this and how Abraham's faith was counted as righteous. If you really look at Abraham's life and what he did as he went through and all the different things. He had a lot of down times where, you know, it's like, is that right? No, that's my sister, you know, and a few of those things, you know, he had a few little hiccups along the way.

But, as it says here, he was unwavering in his faith in what God had promised him about descendants. Like I said, a lot of faults, a lot of failures, but with respect to the promise that God said that you'll have many descendants, he was unwavering. So, again, when you read about Abraham, you kind of go, this guy, but with regards to faith and what God had told him about his being the father of all nations, father of many descendants, he was unwavering. So, that was the context of this.

In verse 15, question 1, in verse 15, why does the law bring forth wrath? And that's in verse 15, for the law brings about wrath. So what does the law do, or what does it reflect? God's righteous standard. God's righteous standard. Anything else? It reflects. What about him? Him being God? Him being God, yes. What does it reflect about him? Holy? His attributes. Basically his attributes. It lays out his attributes in the law.

So, the law principle sets forth God's requirements. The law is holy and just. We see that in Romans 7 verse 12. So then, the law is holy and the commandment is holy and righteous and good. So, it's basically setting up the law as it reflects His holiness, His righteousness, all of His attributes. It's holy and good. What do we do with the law? Let's say, what does man do with the law? Not us. How about man? What does man do with the law?

Probably breaks it. Right out of the gate, breaks it. Man violates the law immediately. The law is holy and just and righteous and reflects God's attributes. If you're under that law, the first thing you do is, You can't sustain it. You can't do anything about it. You are a sinner and so what do you do first thing? You violate it.

We see that in Romans 7, 14 and 16. man invariably violates the law. For we know that the law is spiritual, but I am a flesh, sold into bondage to sin. For what I am doing, I do not understand, for I am not practicing what I'd like to do, but I am doing the very thing I hate. But if I do the very thing I do not want to do, I agree with the law, confessing that the law is good."

So, this is Paul, and what's he saying? I really want to do this. I really, really want to do this. But could he do it? In himself? Could he hold up the law? No. No, thank you. No, he couldn't. And you know, think about Paul and what, you know, he's the one who gives us all about who we are in Christ and just what an immense man in the scripture he is. And this is him confessing, not that he's any more special than we are as far as in relation to sin, But here's a man who knew the scriptures, knew all this, and he knows all this. He's telling us about who we are in Christ. And here he is admitting, I want to do this, but I can't.

So that means, again, that the sinful man always is going against God's law, because it's holy, righteous, and good. A sinful man is not holy, righteous, and good. So the first thing we do when the law is there, we break it, because we can't uphold under those standards. And then we look at Romans 7, 21 and 23.

I find, then, that the principle that evil is present in me, the one who wants to do good, for I joyfully concur with the law of God in the inner man, saying, I really know that's good, but I see a different law in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin which is in my members.

So again, one of the things I always like in this passage, there are a lot of people who, when you become a believer, and if you even read Romans 6 and the co-crucifixion, that there is now not a, we are just a new creation in Christ. The old man is gone. Does this say that the old man is gone within us? No. So the one nature people have a real hard time with this passage because positionally we are positioned in Christ. Conditionally we have both a sin nature and a new nature.

And so this is Paul expressing that. That I really want to do this but my sinful flesh just keeps dragging me over here. So again, this is a good one for the single nature people to try and explain. And they can do it by, well, I'm sinning because I have a memory of sin, or they try and justify this. But this basically tells you that there's still a sinful nature in you. You have two natures, a new man and the old man.

And so again, this just kind of says it. So again, that's why we violate the law immediately. We should say that in a non-believer, that's all they can do. They only have one nature, and they can only sin. So again, when the law is there, the holy and righteous standard, they immediately violate it, because that's all they can do. So if the principle of law is good and reflects the character of God, and we cannot uphold the law, what is left for God? So this is a non-believer. So if the principle is good, the principle of law is good, and reflects the character of God, and we can't uphold that, what's left for God to do?

Wrath. Wrath. Because He has a holy standard, He lays it out, and we can't do anything about it. So He's a holy and righteous God. So what does He do with sin? He's got to condemn it. His wrath is poured out on it. That's all he can do. That's what's left. We'll get into how we get out of that in Romans 6. But for an unbeliever, and there's only sin, what has God left to do? Pour out His wrath on him. That's all that's left. So, again, we have the continuation in Romans 6 and beyond about how our co-crucifixion, our separation of this, but strictly with sin and a human, he's got to pour out his wrath on that. Okay? We're left with the fact that God can only punish because he is just.

If he doesn't punish, his nature is called into question. If he doesn't do it, he's a holy and righteous God. If he's not punishing sin, is he holy and righteous? No. So he's holy and righteous, so he has to punish it, so the wrath is brought out. From Newell, he says, law. Paul explains, given the sinner simply brings forth God's wrath. For sinners in the nature of the case will transgress. Law gives no life and has no power over the flesh.

So Paul calls law a ministration of death and condemnation. We see that in 2 Corinthians 3, 7-9. where he says, But if the ministry of death in letters engraved on stones came with glory, so that the sons of Israel could not look intently at the face of Moses because of the glory of his face fading as it was, how will the ministry of the Spirit fail to be even more with glory? For if the ministry of condemnation has glory, much more does the ministry of righteousness abound in glory. So again, he calls it a ministration of condemnation, a ministry of death is under law.

Because not a single human being by Adamic nature can meet those standards. So if that's the case, God has to pour out his wrath on that person because they can't meet that standard. He's holy and righteous and just. If he's not, he's not holy, righteous and just. We're good with that? Is that fair? I would love that in today's vernacular. Is that fair? Do we think that's fair? Well, yeah, it is fair.

It's absolutely. He's holy and righteous and just. You say it. You're a sinner. You will be judged accordingly as a non-believer or your Adamic self. So, but in today's culture that's not politically correct. It's not fair that he judges us. Alright, what is the difference between a sin and a transgression? Spelling, no. Sin is missing the mark, a transgression is the violation of an established command, if you will, an ordinance. Because you have a lot of transgressions in the military.

Sounds like you've said that a few times. There's a revealed command that's associated with a transgression. Yeah. What were you going to say, Joan? I was just going to say that there's a prohibition about something and you violate it. Transgression.

Okay, now, again, where law is not, where there is not a law, can there be a transgression? No. No. If you don't have a line to cross, here's the line, here's the law, here it is. If I jump over it, that's a transgression, but if there's no line, Is it a transgression? No. So without the law there is no transgression. This implies stepping over a line. We can't step over a line if there is no line. In verse 15, for the law brings about wrath. Where there is no law, there is no violation. So there is still sin, but there is no violation or transgression.

So, do everybody understand that? About sin and the transgression, being a transgression, but sin is different? Okay, and we see in Romans 5, 12 and 13. Therefore, just as through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, so death spread to all men, because all sinned. For until the law, sin was in the world, but sin is not imputed where there is no law. So again, the differentiation between sin, we all have sins, born, Adamic nature.

Violating a law is a transgression, it's a line that we cross over. But was there sin in the world before the law? Yes. So again, the law was, you violated that, that's transgression, but there was sin in the world prior to that. From Adam's sin, that was carried on. There was sin in the world, again, but transgression means a violation of a law.

So are we good with that? Okay. So, we're in the fill-in-the-blank time. I'm trying to think of this. This is semi-unfair, but it's very easy for me to see what we're trying to get at. Mike wrote up the question. It's very easy to get that. But if I'm out there, sometimes it's very hard, unless you looked at Newell and the book. Then you can figure these out. So fill in the blank. First, that it takes blank to bring forth blank of it.

It takes law to bring forth transformation. There you go. We already have law in there. Oh, there's law in there? Yeah. I think I got the... I just put a dot in there. Oh. I should look at the... I have law, law. Law, law? I just looked at the... Let me pull up the blank one. Oh, I did. Oh, yeah. Law, law. OK. Thanks for that. That was the only one. Okay.

So, for it takes law to bring forth transgression of it, though sin may be present, there can be no blank of a law which exists not. So what is the blank? There can be no transgression. Okay. I'm having to switch back and forth here between these. The absence of law is the absence of transgression. Only about two words you need to know here. The entrance of blank law, in the case of the fallen being, is the entrance of transgression. There's a trend here. You're seeing the pattern? You got it, okay.

Second, that there may be divine dispensations where blank is not the principle of blank with God. Relationship. Relationship. Yep. I have no. You have no. Third, that to come into spiritual place, to come into a spiritual place where there will be no, man must be removed completely from under the principle of the law.

Fourth, that only the place of freedom from Blank law is the place of the inheritance. So again, basically just law and transgression. Again, what we kind of went over in question two, you've got to have a law to have transgression. So again, but that does not rule out that we have sin in us. So again, just the difference between what sin is and what transgression is. So, question four.

How is the promise of salvation guaranteed? So, look at verse 16. For this reason it is by faith, in order that it may be in accordance with grace, so that the promise will be guaranteed to all the descendants, not only to those who are of the law, but also to those who are of the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all. Is the guarantee of salvation based on what we do?

Is it based on us? No? Yes? Okay. If so, is our salvation secure, if we have anything to do with it? No. Hence, that is a wonderful position to be in, that salvation is not based on anything of us. The only thing we do is, by faith, believe what is brought out in the scripture about salvation. So, Newell states, Now, if you introduce man's works, for man always says, I must do my part, you introduce an element of insecurity and uncertainty, for no man trying to do his part is ever certain that he has done or will do his part. Again, if anything of salvation is based on us, there is no security in salvation.

Which, is that a wonderful position? A wonderful fact? If it was left up to us, do you think we'd screw it up? Absolutely! I think of all the things I'm supposed to do and how badly I screw it up. If salvation was based on anything to me, I haven't got a chance. So, I'm very thankful of how God set this up.

So, basic question, is salvation of God or man? From verse 16, how do we know salvation is from God? For this reason it is by faith, in order that it may be in accordance with grace, so that the promise will be guaranteed to all descendants, not only to those who are of the law, but also to those who are of the faith of Abraham, who is the father of Saul. How do we know salvation is from God? From this verse, how do you? There's a covenant there. What? There's a covenant. Covenant? Guaranteed. Okay. So, but how do you know it's from God?

Go back to Genesis, verse chapter 12. In this verse, for this reason it is by faith in order that it may be in accordance with grace. What is grace associated with? Can grace be associated with anything else? No, so it's by faith and by grace. So those two characteristics or facts point it to God. Is grace a covenant? No, grace is an operating system.

Romans 5.28 is the reigning principle. reigning principle now, the system by which we operate now, not under a law-based system, so it's not a covenant, it's the operating system that he provides for us now.

And he would infuse Macaulay's definition of grace, it's based solely on what Christ did, offered to us freely, because unmeritedness, unlimited, That's the guarantee of the fact that God has graciously offered it to us freely. The association with grace is really the link here, I think. Because it's by grace, it's by God. We don't do anything. by grace, we do it by law basically, or by works, or by anything else. Grace is unmerited, unlimited, and based on what Christ did on the cross. So, again, I think the linking factor here is the fact of grace. It was under grace.

That means it's from God. So, and his system, which he has put us under right now. Is there a sense in which we sometimes, how do I say this, doubt the grace? Which means we doubt God is gracious or maybe we'll change his mind. The point is that grace is an absolute principle that never changes. Yeah, it's not a covenant. It's a principle or operating system. Yeah. It's like gravity. It's always there.

So yeah, again the gracious side of this puts it under God where that means, and basically these promises or the promise to Abraham was again a promise by God. So these are again The promise to him was of God and then the gracious, the faith and the grace for us is based on God. He provided that system now that we operate under. Once we step into Christ's life, we operate under a system of grace, not under law in any way, shape or form.

And again the Newell, I mean the Chess Macaulay, unmerited and unlimited blessings based on the finished work of Christ on the cross. So it's unmerited. That takes everything out of what we can do. That puts it in God's possession to distribute. All we can do is believe and say thank you. Newell puts it this way.

For faith is unmixed with the vain promises and hopes of man to accomplish his part, but looks to what God has done in sending his Son to do a finished work on the cross, and to the fact that God has raised up Christ, and that Christ is our unfailing High Priest in heaven. Therefore the promise of salvation is guaranteed because it is of God, not of man." So the guarantee is because it's of God, not of man.

The real question now, I want to see how you answered this one. Question five, who are your three fathers? You know, if you're in today's society, it's probably Bill, Bob, and Fred. Whole different thing, but that's with marriage and divorce and all that, there's probably, if you ask a kid today, probably has, if you ask them that question, it would be Frank, Bill, Fred, and whatever. Let's look at verses 17 and 18.

As it is written, A father of many nations have I made you, in the presence of him who believes, even God, who gives life to the dead and calls into being that which does not exist. In hope against hope he believed, so he might become a father of many nations according to that which had been spoken. So shall your descendants be. So, from these verses, who might the first father be of those who are of faith? Who might be the first father?

Abraham. Abraham. Easy one. That of Abraham. The whole household of faith. If we look at Galatians 3.29, and if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham's descendant, heirs according to promise. Okay? So, he was promised What? Many nations, many descendants, and in fact, the seed which will be Christ was promised. These are all part of His descendants.

So, I may go to the third one, and then we'll go back to the second one. So, who is another father? God, God the Father, easy one, who is our actual Father, who begat us by the Holy Spirit through His Word. So, we have Abraham, we have God the Father, who might the third one be? And if you've read New England, I would bet. Who would be the third father? This is an interesting one. He points it out that we really should kind of take note of this. So who would be the third father?

Your third father as a believer. It would be the one who presents the gospel to you. Paul called himself the father of those who he was a deliberate father of. Right. So did you hear that? The third father is the person who brings the word to you, the gospel to you. The one who leads you to Christ. Other than the Holy Spirit and the word. The person is the person who brings forth the gospel to you. That would be your third father. Does that make sense? Okay.

And if you do look at that, if you look at 1 Corinthians 4.15, this is Paul speaking. For if you were to have countless tutors in Christ, yet you would not have had many fathers. For in Christ Jesus, I became your father through the gospel. So this is Paul saying, I brought you the gospel like a father. I'm a father to you.

So the three fathers are Abraham, because of the promise to the descendants. And was the descendants only the Jews? No, it was many nations, everybody. Was he actually a Jew? No, he was a Gentile. So later when the twelve tribes are established, you get the Jewish lineage. But Abraham was not, he was a Gentile.

Again, he is the father of all the nations, and where his seed would come from, Christ would come through that seed, and then the 12 tribes of Israel would come through there, but all nations would come through him, many descendants. So again, that's why he'd be a father of us all, and by faith, bring it to the believer, his righteousness, demonstration of his faith.

Second one being God the Father, and then the third one is the one who brings you. So those are the three fathers, if you have any questions. When that came up, like I said, my mind goes crazy. First thing I thought was today's thing is Bill, Fred, and Frank as fathers. But as believers, we have three distinct ones.

And I think the third one about the one who brings you to Christ, or brings you the gospel, not brings you to Christ, brings you the gospel, that was an important person in your life. If you think back to each and every one of you, who brought you to the Word? Who exposed you to the Gospel? Those are important people in your life.

Having just come from camp a couple of weeks ago, it was incredible to see these counselors and different people bringing the Gospel to the kids. Kids coming out of just incredible backgrounds, different things, and then coming and getting the gospel, the word, and how that changed them. And many of them came to accept the Lord. I think there were 19 professions of faith during that week.

And again, when you hear these kids' testimonies and what they talk about and how basically that decision changed their entire eternity. When you think about that, that's incredible. Whenever a believer or a non-believer comes into life in Christ, that's an eternal decision. That's eternal. So whenever that day is, that's an incredible day. When the Lord is your life, think of what that means from an eternal perspective.

And for these kids, 19 kids, I lose it. I've got to say there's one kid I lose every time. He had just a terrible life. He was so calm about it that he just explained all these things and went. At the end he just said, I now have life. and completely changed from what his life was. He just very calmly says, I now have life. It was tough to just sit there. Anyway, bring it back here. A lot of kids were just like that, just to see a new life in them. That child from that day forth, that moment, has an eternity with Christ, and how his life will change based on that. I like him a lot.

Question 6. Explain why the phrase, even God who gives life to the dead and calls into being that which does not exist, Is it important to us? So, verse 17. As it is written, O Father, many nations have I made you, in the presence of him who believes, even God, who gives life to the dead, and calls him to being that which does not exist.

So, look at the first part. Who gives life to the dead? God does. So, besides Christ, did God raise people from the dead? I mean, Old Testament, we'll go back to the Old Testament. Did God raise people from the dead? This is God. Huh? Are you talking about God the Father? Yeah, yeah. But Jesus is God too.

Right, I mean, I'm saying besides physically Christ doing it, did God in the Old Testament raise the dead? Yes, through Elijah, Elisha, there are three or four, in the Old Testament, Zarephath's son, and this was Elijah in 1 Kings 17, 17-24, and Shunammite woman's son, and that was Elisha in 2 Kings 4, 16-37. So there were a couple times that we see that God raised somebody from the dead through Elijah and Elisha. In the New Testament, Jesus raised the son of the woman from Maine.

That was in Luke. That was when they were having the funeral procession coming by and the son was there. get up. And he got up. And that's in Luke 7, 11-17. And then Jairus' daughter. And that's in Luke 8, 40-55. And then of course, Lazarus in John 11.

So, that is raising from the dead. What about spiritual death? So, Does God raise people from spiritual death? Well, yeah, that was physical. I'm talking about spiritual. No, no, I'm saying does God raise spiritually dead people? Because we've seen this about physical death. Here's Old Testament, here's New Testament death. Where Christ raised people from the dead, and that was physical. I'm talking about the little boy in Cain. Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. Oh, I'm sorry. I thought the boy in Luke 7 or whatever it is. Oh, yeah. Yeah, no. That's exactly right. He has life now. He was spiritually dead. He has life now. God is able to take us who are spiritually dead, which is what human beings? All. And does everybody get that? Spiritual life? No? What is it based on? Faith.

You've been saved by grace through faith. So the offer is out there to every single human being. to have spiritual life, to have a new life in Christ, but it takes your acceptance of that by faith, that that gift offered to you, and that's through grace and faith. So, again, that boy down there now has eternal life. He was spiritually dead, and now he has life for eternity, and a life in Christ. And that, does that happen later?

Right now, right at that point, at that decision, at that boy to believe what the gospel said is life. That instant. That's incredible. So you see this in Ephesians 2, 5 and 6. Even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ, by grace you have been saved, and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus. Isn't that pretty amazing? You know, I think about that little kid, but what about this guy? Do you believe you're seated in the heavenlies? Positionally, you are. Right now.

And when you get into Colossians, you know, we are hid in Christ in God. Is that a cool place to be? You know, if you look at it from an insurance policy or whatever, strictly, worldly looking at it, I've been placed into Christ. That's a really good insurance policy. But what if I'm also placed into God? Is there a better place to be than in Christ, in God, as Colossians 3 says?

So, again, we're seated in the heavenlies right now. God sees us as seated in the heavenlies right now. Positionally, that's how He sees us. And that's an amazing position to think about, as in every day when traffic on I-25 comes to a screeching halt, and you're sitting there, or the job doesn't go well, or the trials come, or whatever. Positionally, you're seated in the heavenlies. All this worldly stuff is immaterial compared to where God sees us right now.

Seated in the heavenlies with Him, in Christ, in God. Not a bad place. Two ideas. God was able to raise all kinds of people physically, and then God is able to raise one spiritually from the dead. So there's two different ones. In the Old Testament, God raised people from the dead, actual physical death. But now he raises people spiritually, from spiritual death to spiritual life.

So two different types. What about the phrase, calls into being that which does not exist? What does that mean? And that's in verse 16, 17. So what does that mean? Calls into being that which does not exist. Would you say it's a new creation which didn't exist before? That's part of it, I think. Other? I think it even points to universal creation. Everything. Yeah.

So what you hear Hebrews 11.3 By faith we understand that the universe was created by the word of God so that what is seen was not made out of the things that are visible.

So he created everything. And he creates a new creature in Christ. That's new in kind, new in every aspect. God says this in His Word because His promises are to be considered done, so it's a done deal. He's created these things. It is the God who calls non-existent things existent, not as though they existed in translation, which, not reaching the divine view, really involves doubt, not being being. is what the text really reads. It is as when God says his words in Revelation 21, 5 and 6, which he says, And he who sits on the throne, behold, I am making all things new. And he said, Write forth these words are faithful and true. Then he said, It is done.

I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. Again, the creation of everything and the creation of a new being. I think it's important to understand here that when a person like that young man that became a believer, he didn't add anything on to an old self. He wasn't a renovation project. No. He's brand new. Entirely new creation.

And believers, I think it's important that believers understand that we are new creations and that we're not just, you know, given a shower and said, go act good now. And that's where a lot, again, wire identification and the co-crucifixion, as we see in many of the Christian bookstores, is how to polish up the old man, how to improve the old man, how to fix up. A lot of people, in fact, in the CBS, some of those, now that you are a believer, you're now enabled to do the law. How wrong is that?

Galatians 5.1, stand fast into liberty. Don't go under law again. We're not under law, we're under grace. Why would you do that? Why do you think that empowering you now to do the law is a great thing? Number one. Number two, it's unscriptural.

But 2 Corinthians 5.17, where it is, we are a new creature, new in kind. new and kind. It doesn't say a supercharged Adam, a better person, a person who is now able to do things that he wasn't able to do before. It is a new creature. And the way the Greek is, it's new and kind, new in quality, never before been seen. So again, he creates something brand new.

And again, like I said, if you look in the Christian bookstores, a lot of them have a very in unscriptural view of what happens when you believe you're now, and a lot of it also the covenant theology, where you're now all under the covenants and all the different things. Why would you do that?

And most of those are all earthly based. What did we just say? Where are we positioned right now? In the heavenlies. Why would we ever exchange that for earthly? It's crazy. But if you're of that theology that you're under the covenant and all these earthly things are now yours, man, what a bummer. I like what scripture says. I've been blessed with all spiritual blessings in the heavenlies. That's a whole lot better than I've been blessed with a really shiny new earth. Mine are all heavenly blessings. That's awesome.

Okay, how would the above phrase strengthen one's faith? So what we looked at about who gives life to the dead and that. How does that strengthen your faith? In context of Abraham, this is the God whose word Abraham trusted. It was in this character that the life-giver to the dead and the caller of nothings existent that he trusted. Abraham was nothing but dead and the seed nonexistent, yet Abraham believed God's word that he should be the father of a multitude and obediently changed his own name from Abram to Abraham. Again, what did all this account to Abraham?

What did that account to him? Righteousness. Righteousness. Okay, he was counted righteous because of his faith in God. So, does this strengthen your faith? It should. Think about Abraham too. As much as I started off saying all the faults that he had, he did not waver in the fact that he was promised that he was going to be the father of many nations.

You're 100 years old. You're kids. You've got to be thinking. And Sarah's not looking like a spring chicken anymore either. How is this going to happen, God? But it says that he didn't waver in that. All the other failures and all the other stuff, but he still trusted God that this was going to come to him. And sure enough, It came. And then what happened?

Oh, by the way, go up on that hill. We're going to sacrifice him. Wait, wait, I'm the father of all nations. My child here. What are you doing? So, but did he believe him? Yeah. And that's what counted as righteousness. And that's the same, you know, for us to build our faith is to trust him. through all the different things and all the scripture that we have as believers. The one thing I also thought was, and maybe I'll answer this in the next one, Abraham was on a promise.

What was to come? What about us? Certainly we have things that are to come. But do we have a whole lot of facts that are true right now? We have a much better position than Abraham. Abraham was trusting him, because he's a hundred years old and getting older, and I'm going to be the father of nations. You're still promising me that the whole father of all the nations things, right? Scripture tells us, you know, look at Lewis Barry Chaffer's 33 things that are immediately true of us when we believe.

That's true right now. Facts. We're told that. We're looking back at a lot of these things. And facts. Abraham had to look forward and trust. We still have to do that too. Many things are going to come to us. But we also have so many facts that are true of us right now. So we have even a better position than Abraham as far as our faith. We can look back and look at things that Christ was prophesized and came true. These are things that Abraham had to look forward. We're looking backwards. So we have a greater position, I think, than Abraham, even in our position.

And many times, though, we fail in our faith, too. So how does verse 19 possibly negate faith? So in verse 19, without becoming weak in faith, he contemplated his own body, now as good as dead, since he was about 100 years old, and the deadness of Sarah's womb. So how does verse 19 possibly negate faith? Well, we're talking about Ishmael. Was that a hiccup? In the plan? Yeah. In all these things, I also go back to the two things in my prayer even.

God is sovereign. And the other half, which is eternal love for us, can't be separated. What does the Sovereign mean? He's in control of all these things. Did he know that was going to happen? Yeah. So, you know, one of my isms is, God never says, oops. Those words never come out of his mouth. Oops.

He knew about all that. He knew about what was going on. He knew about Abraham's weaknesses. He knows about my weaknesses. He marches on. And he uses all those things. He uses all things. It's all things. Even the failures and the blessings and all those things. jump in there and make it better, or what he thinks, God knew about it.

And I rest in that. I guess we can look at this one, question 8 and 9, if you want to finish up next week. I'll do it next week. Yeah. Okay, we'll finish up question 8. Think about that, how verse 19 possibly negates faith, and then the last question, number 9. Alright, let's close.

Heavenly Father, we thank you. We thank you again just for your word and your Holy Spirit that indwells us and we thank you that you haven't left us alone. You have left us with your word and indwelling in the Holy Spirit and we thank you for that. The convicting and convincing us of your word and through the Holy Spirit and it is the only thing that is non-meritorious that we can do is believe by faith All the things you said are true about us in Scripture and what you have told us about us in Scripture. And we just thank you for all the facts that are true about us now positionally. We are seated in the heavenlies. And again, just all those truths that are true about us right now positionally and conditionally.

We look forward to just your work in our lives, your blessings, and your trials that draw us to you. We just pray for now Vernon the next meeting just to bring forth your word and prepare hearts to receive it and we thank you again for all that you do in our lives through Christ and it's in his name we pray. Amen.