A Template for True Faith. (Romans 4: 17-25)

Welcome, Hi Friends.

In todays episode, we continue our study of Romans, My goal as ever is to help you grow in faith and understanding through careful study and application of God’s Word.

Study Notes:

Key Themes Today:

• Justification by Faith – Understanding how righteousness comes through faith in Christ.
• Grace vs. Works – Exploring the role of God’s grace in salvation.
• Living Out Our Faith – Practical applications for Christian life.

Discussion Questions:

• How does Paul define righteousness in this passage?
• What role does faith play in salvation according to Romans?
• How can we apply these truths in our daily walk with Christ?

Reflection & Application: Take time this week to meditate on the passage and consider ways to apply its teachings in your own life. Pray for wisdom and strength to live out the truths of Scripture.

Stay tuned for the next episode!

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• 17:40 [Ad] The Balance of Gray
• 18:28 (Cont.) A Template for True Faith. (Romans 4: 17-25)

Transcript

A Template for True Faith. (Romans 4:17-25)

Transcript: 

Justification is by faith—that much was made clear for us in yesterday’s passage. 

But what exactly is faith? 

Is there a difference between factually believing in something, and having faith.

At first glance, it seems like a simple question, yet the moment we start to unpack it, complexities arise.

Some see faith as a vague, emotional concept—something detached from facts, almost opposed to them. For those who hold this false view, faith merely suggests a feeling, something that avoids evidence altogether. 

Others take the opposite approach, insisting that faith must be grounded in tangible proof. For them, faith is not possible unless supported by hard, verifiable facts.

With such varied perspectives, defining faith is not as straightforward as it might initially seem. And yet, if justification comes through this thing called faith, then understanding what faith is becomes essential. 

That is precisely the question I want us to explore today….

There are different ways we could approach this. One option is to analyse the original Greek words used in the New Testament for faith, breaking them down to derive a precise definition. 

That would be a valid and valuable study.

Another way is the approach we will take today, and it is to look at an illustration of faith, one that Paul himself uses. 

Examining a real example won’t answer every question, but it will provide us with a vivid picture of what faith looks like in action, and that is I believe what Paul wanted to get across to the recipients of his letter in Rome.

This is important because in the book of Romans, the apostle Paul sets out to demonstrate that God declares us right in His eyes by  way of our faith. 

By the end of chapter 3, he has firmly established this doctrine.

But now, in chapter 4, he reinforces and illustrates it, drawing heavily from the Old Testament.

Today and tomorrow, Paul will presents a model of faith—an example we can look to for clarity and understanding. He essentially holds up two Old Testament character, initially Abraham as the embodiment of true faith and says, this is what faith looks like.

With that in mind, I invite you to turn with me to Romans 4:17-25. Paul writes:

As it is written:

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 into being things that were not.

18 Against all hope, Abraham in hope believed and so became the father of many nations, just as it had been said to him, “So shall your offspring be.” 19 Without weakening in his faith, he faced the fact that his body was as good as dead—since he was about a hundred years old—and that Sarah’s womb was also dead. 20 Yet he did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God, 21 being fully persuaded that God had power to do what he had promised. 22 This is why “it was credited to him as righteousness.” 23 The words “it was credited to him” were written not for him alone, 24 but also for us, to whom God will credit righteousness—for us who believe in him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead. 25 He was delivered over to death for our sins and was raised to life for our justification.

(Romans 4:17-25)

Reading these verses, it is clear that Abraham serves as Paul’s model of faith. The sentence structure in this passage can be complex, but the central truth is straightforward. Paul seems to present three key characteristics of Abraham’s faith. By examining these, I think we can clarify the essence of faith itself.

The first characteristic of Abraham’s faith is that it was rooted in God’s promise and power. 

Look at verses 17 and 18. The foundation of Abraham’s faith was not in circumstances or human logic, but in what God had said.

Paul actually is quoting Genesis 17:5 here: "I have made you a father of many nations." This was a direct promise from God to Abraham. Paul then adds, " In the presence/sight of God, in whom he believed." 

In other words, Abraham believed because God had spoken. His faith was grounded in God’s word, not in what he could see or feel.

But Paul doesn’t stop there. He continues: " The God who gives life to the dead and calls into being things that were not."

This tells us something more: Abraham’s faith wasn’t just in the promise itself—it was in the power of the One who made the promise. Abraham believed that God could do what He said, even when every visible circumstance suggested otherwise.

Paul then elaborates on what this meant in Abraham’s life. He was about 100 years old, well beyond the age of fathering children. Sarah’s also had been unable to bear children up to this point and she was also very old. So, by all human standards, the promise seemed impossible. 

But Abraham’s faith was not based on human possibility, it was based on divine ability.

This is where faith begins: trusting in both the promise and the power of the person you believe in. In this case God. Faith is not blind optimism, nor is it merely intellectual assent to facts. It is a deep, settled confidence that someone/God will do what they have has said, no matter how impossible it seems. 

Because you know the character of the one making the promise.

Faith begins when we take God at His word and trust in His power to fulfil it. That is the foundation of true faith.

Both Abraham and Sarah were well beyond childbearing age, yet Abraham still believed God's word and His promise. He trusted that God had the power to fulfill His word, even if that meant calling something into existence that did not yet exist. 

This passage highlights not only God's resurrection power but also His creative power. Abraham's faith rested in this truth—if God declared it, because I know who God is and what God is like I know He is fully capable of delivering on His promise.

Verse 18 further emphasizes this point:

“Against all hope, Abraham in hope believed and so became the father of many nations, just as it had been said to him, “So shall your offspring be.”

Abraham had full confidence that God would fulfill His promise. His faith was not grounded in human possibility but in God's character and His unlimited power.

This passage challenges us to ask ourselves: How big is our God? If God declares something, do we really believe He has the power to do it, even when circumstances seem impossible? 

Abraham believed in a God who could create life where in human terms that seemed impossible.

If God could speak the universe into existence, surely, He could enable an elderly couple to conceive a child.

This passage in Romans Ch 4 teaches us that Abraham had faith in a God not only made promises but had the power to fulfill them.

Then, in verses 19-20, Paul shifts the focus to the natural limitations Abraham faced. He writes:

Without weakening in his faith, he faced the fact that his body was as good as dead—since he was about a hundred years old—and that Sarah’s womb was also dead. Yet he did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God, but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God.

Abraham was 100 years old, and Sarah was also well beyond childbearing years. By human standards, their situation was hopeless. Yet, Abraham did not focus on human possibilities—he focused on God's promise.

Consider this: According to the Guinness Book of World Records, the oldest recorded woman to give birth naturally is 59 years old however with recent hormone treatment and IVF that record has been recently pushed back to 66, that is remarkable.

But Abraham and Sarah were far older than that! Nevertheless, Abraham did not allow the impossibility of their situation to shake his faith.

Instead, as verse 20 declares, "He did not waver at the promise of God through unbelief." Abraham's faith was unwavering, not because his circumstances were favorable, but because he trusted in the power and faithfulness of God.

This is the essence of true faith—not trusting in what we can see, but in the God who has spoken. The question for us is: Do we have a big God or a little God? Like Abraham, will we trust in the One who brings life where there is none?

So, he was not weak, and he did not waver. The word waver literally means to be divided in your mind or to hesitate. Abraham did not look at the human situation, the physical state of both his and his wife’s body, because if he had done that he would have started doubting and wavering.

It's important to clarify that this does not mean he never entertained a doubt. Faith does not mean the complete absence of doubt. Remember the man who said to Jesus, "I believe; help my unbelief." Faith often coexists with doubt. What Abraham did not do was take a momentary fleeting doubt that come to us all on occasions and nurture it into full-blown unbelief. 

Doubts may have popped into his head but he pushed them aside and chose to focus on the nature of God and trust in that.

Verse 21 tells us that Abraham was, “Fully persuaded that God had power to do what he had promised.” Abraham was strong in faith, and because of that, Paul will say in the next verse, "it was credited to him as righteousness.

Abraham's faith was centered on three things: God's personality, God’s promise and God's power to fulfill that promise. 

That is the essence of his faith.

In Genesis, God promised Abraham that he would have descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky. Abraham believed in this promise, which by nature means he must have also believed in the coming of a Messiah, through whom all nations would be blessed. 

And it was because Abraham believed this that God counted it to him as righteousness.

Likewise, in the New Testament, justification comes through faith in the promise of God and in His power to fulfill it.

The promise to us is that God will save all who trust in His Son, Jesus Christ. Christ died to pay for our sins and was raised from the dead. Those who believe in Him, we are told, are justified—declared righteous—because of His death and resurrection.

Faith that justifies is faith in a powerful God who keeps His promises. Abraham believed in God's promise and power, and he did not waver by focusing on human limitations. Instead, he fixed his eyes on God's word and remained steadfast.

This unwavering focus is like plowing a straight row. Farmers say that if you look to the side or behind you while plowing, your row will waver. But if you fix your eyes on a point ahead—like a landmark in the distance—and steer straight toward it, your row will be straight. 

That’s what Abraham did. He did not look at human possibilities, nor did he allow doubts to control him. He kept his eyes fixed on God's promise and moved forward in faith.

That is the nature of true faith, it trusts in the promise and power of God.

The final thing Paul says in this passage is very simply that Abraham's faith can stand as was a model/template of true faith. He says in verse 23:

“The words “it was credited to him” were written not for him alone, but also for us, to whom God will credit righteousness—for us who believe in him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead. He was delivered over to death for our sins and was raised to life for our justification."

(Romans 4: 23-25)

Paul is telling us that God instructed Moses to write the story about Abraham, not to glorify or honor Abraham, but for our sake. Those who are going to read what he is saying. (That’s also us today folks!) 

Abraham is meant to serve as a model of true faith, an example for us to emulate. Paul is emphasizing that just as Abraham's faith was counted as righteousness, so too will our faith be accredited as those who believe in the God who raised Jesus from the dead.

here is one significant point in verse 25 that requires explanation. The phrase "Because/For our justification".

You see if justification is based on Christ's death, then His resurrection serves as the confirmation of that justification. Just as Jesus was delivered up for our sins, He was also raised because of our justification.

Paul’s main point is clear: Just as Abraham placed his faith in a faithful and powerful God, so too must we. 

Verse 24 bridges the gap between Abraham’s faith and our faith: "It shall be imputed to us who believe in Him who raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead. (KJV)" 

Abraham did not base his faith on the limitations of his human circumstances. He did not focus on his old age or Sarah’s inability to have a child all through their lengthy married life. Instead, he looked at God’s promise and believed that God had the power to fulfill it.

Likewise, those who are justified in God’s sight—declared righteous—do not focus on their own sinfulness and helplessness. They place their trust in God’s promise to forgive all who put their faith in Christ. 

Ultimately, this passage teaches us that Abraham is the model of faith because he trusted in the promise and the power of God. Faith, at its core, is belief in a God of resurrection power. 

Abraham believed that God could bring life from his own dead body, and we believe that God raised Jesus Christ from the dead in the same way.

Our faith, like Abraham’s, rests in the God who makes promises and has the power to fulfill them.

But how does this applies to the way people think about faith today?

Some believe that faith is merely a feeling, but that is not the case. Faith is not blind belief in fantasy Neither is it the avoidance of facts. 

Faith does not ignore reality—it acknowledges and confronts it head on.

Abraham was not unaware of his old age or Sarah’s barrenness. He faced these realities but still chose to believe in God’s promise. 

Similarly, biblical faith is not about denying reality but about trusting in the greater reality of God’s power and promises.

My gripe with some people who say they only believe in facts and not faith is that, in my opinion, their problem is they are not considering all the facts. 

When people contrast facts with faith, what you really mean is that you believe in the things they can see. 

But maybe there are things/facts you don’t see yet, or things we don’t understand just now. That doesn’t mean they aren’t facts, and in many cases, the facts you don’t immediately see can be just as real, if not more so, than the ones you do.

Faith is not blind; it does not avoid reality. In fact, faith faces reality square on. 

Abraham knew he and Sarah were beyond childbearing age. He knew, humanly speaking, it was impossible for them to have a child. Yet he also knew another fact—a greater fact—that God had the power to fulfill His promise.

That is the kind of faith God calls us to have: Faith that trusts in Him and all the facts, not just the ones we see.

I believe there are two kinds of approaches to faith. Some people start with the presupposition that the supernatural does not exist. They approach the Bible with skepticism, assuming that miracles like the parting of the Red Sea or the resurrection of Jesus could not have happened.

Others, like myself, simply take the Bible at face value. If God created the world, then these miracles are no problem. 

If God could speak the universe into existence, He could certainly cause an old woman to conceive. The question is not whether Sarah was past child-bearing age, that was a fact. The question is whether we acknowledge the greater fact: that God has power over life itself.

So, faith is not a rejection of facts but a trust in the fullness of reality of the personhood of God, including the reality of God’s power. 

Saving faith simply means believing the fact that Jesus Christ died for our sins and that He was raised from the dead. If God created the universe, raising Christ from the dead is not difficulty at all.

The real issue is: What facts are you looking at? And where facts are you looking for? Where is your focus?

Are you trusting your own limited perception of reality, or are you trusting God’s in God’s Word and God’s promises?

Everyone trusts in something. Some trust their own understanding, while others trust in the living God. As for me, I choose to trust Him, because I have learned that my own judgment is not always reliable.

A preacher in Boston, from 1901-1906 called A.C. Dixon, once shared a story about faith in action. His church needed $2,000—a large sum at the time. The deacons prayed and one of them firmly believed God would provide the money that Sunday. However, on that Sunday, it rained heavily, and one deacon suggested postponing the offering that evening and waiting until next week. The one who had trusted in God’s provision insisted they continue. When they counted the offering, they found they had received $2,600. That deacon who insisted the carry on he said, “Didn’t trust the weather; he trusted God."

That is the essence of biblical faith. It is faith in the God who sent His Son to die for our sins and then raised Him from the dead. If you trust that God, He promises to give you eternal life as a gift.

Then you can be justified, made right in God’s eyes by your faith.