January 9, 2025 • 25 mins
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Speaker 1 (00:02):
Welcome to the Winning Walk with Doctor ed Young. Before
we get to today's message, we want to tell you
about an insightful sermons series from Dr Young called The
Church Awake. Our world is teetering on the edge of
disorder and disaster, and this series sounds an inspiring call
for the church to awaken and engage your culture with
clarity and conviction on important issues, standing confidently on truth
(00:25):
than bending to the pressures.
Speaker 2 (00:26):
Of the world.
Speaker 1 (00:27):
This series is our thanks for your gift to help
keep the proven truth of God's Word reaching you and
others around the world through this program. So be sure
to request your copy of The Church Awake when you
give Just call one eight hundred three five oh Walk
one eight hundred three five oh nine two five five.
(00:48):
Now let's get started with today's teaching from doctor Young.
Speaker 3 (00:52):
So we're getting ready for this study. Today we look
at Romans chapter four with little preview or review of
the first thirteen verses, majoring on the rest of this
tremendous chapter.
Speaker 2 (01:08):
Let's pray together, Lord. We always get.
Speaker 3 (01:12):
Excited when we open your word, and we get doubly
excited when that word is so practical and so relevant,
and somehow we have the idea that everything that happened
in that worship experience you planned it just for us.
(01:33):
May we take your truth very personal and applied in
a very personal way. May we not think of others.
May we only think of ourselves and what you are
saying to us as we gather in the name.
Speaker 2 (01:48):
Of Jesus Christ.
Speaker 3 (01:50):
Lord you speak, let me get out of the way,
so that thy word and Thy truth alone might be heard,
received and understood and incorporated into our lifestyles.
Speaker 2 (02:02):
Well, this is.
Speaker 3 (02:03):
Our prayer made in the strong holy name of Jesus Christ,
our Lord.
Speaker 2 (02:08):
Amen. There was a day.
Speaker 3 (02:12):
When Princeton Theological Seminary was filled with godly, brilliant professors
who believe totally in the truth of God's word and
taught it in a resounding attractive fashion.
Speaker 2 (02:30):
Men like B. B.
Speaker 3 (02:31):
Warfield, Grisham, Macon, Robert Wilson, and the list went on
and own and own of scholars who were unusually gifted
in communicating and teaching God's truth. One man, doctor Wilson,
(02:53):
a Hebrew scholar, would always go back to Miller Chapel
there on the campus of Princeton and hear every one
of his former students when they would come back and preach,
but he would hear them only one time. And a
man asked him on one occasion, said, doctor Wilson, when
(03:16):
you go back to hear your students and you go
back only.
Speaker 2 (03:20):
One time, what are you looking for? What do you
listen for? And he says, I.
Speaker 3 (03:25):
Try to determine whether or not they are a little
godter are a big Godter.
Speaker 2 (03:33):
He said, what are you talking about? He said, that's
what I do.
Speaker 3 (03:37):
He said, I go and sit in the back roll
the chapel, and as they speak, I'm asking myself the
question if there are.
Speaker 2 (03:44):
Little godters yor big Godters.
Speaker 3 (03:47):
He said, If they are little godters, I know their
ministry won't go very far and want them mount to
very much, and they'll always be in trouble. But he said,
if they're big godters, I know that God will do
something in them and through them in a wonderful way.
And this colleague said, well, how do you make the distinction.
How can you tell whether or not they were little
(04:08):
godter is a big godds?
Speaker 2 (04:10):
He said, Well, a little godd.
Speaker 3 (04:13):
Will begin with a series of problems and he'll have
a low view of scripture. He said, a little Godter
will not perceive God to be someone who has actively
involved in the lives of people and actively evolved in
his life. And he said, I can hear him speak
(04:35):
just for a little while, and I can see how
he views God. If God is limited and small in
a box and.
Speaker 2 (04:44):
Is something to.
Speaker 3 (04:45):
Be manipulated rather than someone to be worshiped, he says,
I know that I'm listening to a little Godter, and
not much will happen to him. He said, by the
same token, when I go to chapel and I hear
someone stand and speak and he he talks about the
God who is moving in history, and he talks about
the truth of God's word and speaks with authority in
(05:09):
every utterance. He says, I know I am listening to
a big godd.
Speaker 2 (05:17):
He says, I know that.
Speaker 3 (05:19):
His ministry will be used and blessed by God.
Speaker 2 (05:22):
In a phenomenal way. Now I've got a question for you.
Are you a big godd or are you a little godd?
Speaker 3 (05:40):
You say, well, I'm not called to stand up and
speak and teach the word of God. That's not what
I'm asking. It applies to everyone. I want to know
whether or not you think you are a little godd
are a big godter right now today? This morning, he said, well,
how can you tell?
Speaker 2 (05:59):
I can tell. I could sit.
Speaker 3 (06:02):
Down with everybody here and in a skinny New York minute.
Speaker 2 (06:06):
I can put you in a category.
Speaker 3 (06:09):
I would simply ask you what you're worried about, and
you would give me your list of worries. You ought
to be very smart to discover who's the big godd
and who's the little godd.
Speaker 2 (06:29):
If you're worried about health and death.
Speaker 4 (06:34):
And bills, law, little list of mundane, peevish kind of
limited stuff, and I can tell.
Speaker 2 (06:44):
You your whole life, you're going to be bogged.
Speaker 4 (06:47):
Down in all the little minutias and all the little
conflicts and all the little problems, and that just enguffs
your life with family.
Speaker 2 (06:59):
Or vocationation or hobbies.
Speaker 4 (07:01):
And you got all these relationships and.
Speaker 2 (07:07):
You're a little godter.
Speaker 3 (07:10):
But to sit down and talk to you, if I
see that you're seeking to see.
Speaker 2 (07:14):
The world in all.
Speaker 3 (07:17):
Of its problems and all of its assets and all
of its potential, and you see that God is moving
in your life and the lives of others, and there's
great expectancy about the.
Speaker 2 (07:32):
Future, and you have a confidence and what.
Speaker 3 (07:36):
God's going to do through someone even as limited as.
Speaker 2 (07:40):
I am, and you may be, I can see there
you are a big godter.
Speaker 3 (07:49):
Literal godters are not fun to live with and to know.
Big godters are exciting folks. You can't always spot them.
They're out there, up there, over there. It all boils
(08:11):
down to how we see God.
Speaker 2 (08:16):
It all boils down to our faith in God.
Speaker 3 (08:25):
When we say, God, what kind of being are we
talking about?
Speaker 2 (08:32):
Are you a little godter? Our big godter? Primarily depends
on faith. It's a cartoon two birds on a limb.
Speaker 3 (08:49):
One bird is wearing a parachute. The other bird looks
at him and said, Sheldon, you don't have enough faith.
Speaker 2 (09:02):
I like that cartoon because I see little little.
Speaker 3 (09:07):
God or type folks wearing parachutes all the time because
they don't have enough faith. Or a lot of folks
don't even know what faith really is. If I asked you,
what is faith? Some people think that faith is believing
something that is true. And here's something that you know
that is true. Therefore, I'm going to exercise faith. I'm
(09:30):
going to believe that which is true, but I'm gonna
work at it. I know it's there and I have
faith in that person. I have faith in that reality.
I know it's true, and I'm exercising faith. Others believe
that faith is believing that which they know is not true.
Speaker 2 (09:47):
I know that's not true. You know, I can't buy
in to that.
Speaker 3 (09:51):
It's skewed, it's inacrid and the probably, but I've got
to have faith anyway. I've just got to gut it
up and pick it up and think it out. And
i know it's not true, but boy, I'm gonna believe
the unbelievable lie.
Speaker 2 (10:04):
I've got to have faith.
Speaker 3 (10:05):
And we think faith is believing that which is simply
not true. Others think that faith is some kind of
emotional feeling thing. Oh I've got a little faith, but
I've just got to get excited. I've got to I know,
I've got every size of my faith. I've just got
to believe. I'm gonna get.
Speaker 2 (10:25):
Married, and i don't have a lot of faith in
this marriage.
Speaker 3 (10:28):
But man, I've got to get pumped up and get
built up so I'll just know that it's true and
I've got to have more faith. It's feeling, its emotion.
So so we try to ask the question of what
is faith the substance of things hoped for the evidence
(10:48):
of things not seen. And we mess around in the
scripture and get some little shibble if definition, but still
we don't have it down. And then we come to
church and somebody stands up and uses a whole lot
of big words and says, we are justified by faith,
meaning the.
Speaker 2 (11:05):
Way you get right with God is through faith.
Speaker 3 (11:12):
And we don't know if faith is believing that which
is true, or faith is believing that which is untrue,
or faith is emotional, or what faith really is. Maybe
faith is just like a grain of mustard seed, and
that's the reason we wear a parachute to make sure
(11:33):
that we won't go down, even though we are born
and equipped to fly. So we come to a chapter
like Romans four, and it's all about being justified by faith,
and the illustration is Abraham. Perhaps in the process today
(11:54):
we'll begin to see what faith is by first of
all seeing what faith is not, and then that begins
our study. In verse thirteen, Abraham has already been used
as example. You remember in the verse twelve verses of
Romans chapter four, and you see it clearly there in
(12:15):
verse three, for what does the scripture say and Abraham
believed God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness.
And the proof here the analogy here, Paul is trying
to say to the Jewish audience in the church in
Rome to which this letter was written delivered by Phoebe.
(12:37):
He was trying to say, everybody, in all times and
in all places, the way they have gotten right with
God is by faith in God. It's always faith, the
same kind of faith we have that justifies us in
Jesus Christ. In the Old Testament, that faith was faith
in God that justified them. They believed God, they believed
(12:58):
in the promises of God. And the word believe is
an interesting word. It says Abraham believed. And they're quoting
Genesis fifteen. And Paul proves here to his Jewish audience
that Abraham was justified some fourteen years before he was circumcised.
(13:19):
He was justified before Moses, he was justified before the
Law was given, he was justified before the prophets. He
was trying to point out that Abraham and all the
other saints of the Old Testament got right with God,
not through works or law or religion, but they all
(13:39):
came to God and got right with him just exactly
the way we do in the New Testament, and that
is by faith.
Speaker 2 (13:46):
And this was blowing the.
Speaker 3 (13:48):
Minds and exploding the theology of the religious Jewish people
in that congregation. And that's what this is all about.
And he quotes is fifteen. Remember Genesis fourteen. Abraham had
defeated the kings. At Genesis fifteen, Abraham asked God. He said, God,
(14:09):
if these kings counterattack, what's.
Speaker 2 (14:12):
Going to happen?
Speaker 3 (14:12):
You know, they outnumber me. And the answer came back.
God said, I will be your shield. I'll protect you.
But God knew that Abraham really was crying out for
a son, an heir. He had no children. And God says,
I want to make a promise with to you that
you will bear a son, and your descendants will be
(14:37):
greater than the stars of.
Speaker 2 (14:40):
Heaven, more than the star. That's pretty big family, isn't it.
Speaker 3 (14:45):
Then he said, they'll be greater than each grain of
sand on the.
Speaker 2 (14:48):
Coast of the sea. That's a lot of children, isn't it.
Speaker 3 (14:54):
And the Bible says Abraham believed God. The word believe
and Hebrew means to say, amen, I like that. So
Abraham said amen. So let it be he believed the
promise of God. He just believed what God said. And
(15:15):
therefore God says, you're okay with me. Hey, you're right
with me. You've been justified. And that is verse three
of chapter four. And it was reckoned to him as righteousness.
The same word translated reckoned here is mentioned eleven other
times in this very chapter. It means your count has
been debited, your bills have been paid. Therefore you're right
(15:39):
with God. And we've gone through a study of those big,
pregnant words that Paul introduces us to here in the
Book of Romans. And now he moves on and says,
this is how faith operates. Let me show you what
faith is not. This is verse thirteen, fourteen, and fifteen.
Look at verse thirteen of chapter four Romans. For the
promise to Abraham or to his descendants that he would
(16:04):
be heir of the world was not through the law,
but through the righteousness of faith.
Speaker 2 (16:13):
Verse fourteen.
Speaker 3 (16:14):
For if those who are of the law are heirs,
faith is made void and the promise nullified. Now, now
what is this saying here? It says verse fifteen, for
the law brings about wrath. But where there is no law,
no rules, no regulations, no commandments.
Speaker 2 (16:32):
Neither is there violation. What is this all about? Sounds
double talkish, doesn't it?
Speaker 3 (16:41):
Anybody just stand up and say that means hard.
Speaker 2 (16:44):
To do it? And what's he saying here? He's telling
us what faith is not.
Speaker 3 (16:48):
Faith is not and he's saying it over and over again,
keeping a lot of rules. Faith is not what you
do not do. Other words, you say, do you have
a lot of faith? Oh, I have a lot of faith.
I don't do this, and I don't do that, and
I don't do something else, and I don't do that.
Therefore I'm a Christian. I'm right with God because I
don't do all these things. When they asked Jesus about
(17:11):
the commandments, they said, what is the greatest of commandment?
Speaker 2 (17:14):
Of what do you say? Thou shall love the Lord
thy God with all thy heart.
Speaker 3 (17:17):
With all my soul, with all thy mind, with all
thy strength, and love your neighbor the way you love yourself.
Speaker 2 (17:22):
That summarize all the commandments. That's everything.
Speaker 3 (17:27):
But we're not gonna get right with God by following
the first and second commandments.
Speaker 2 (17:33):
Jesus gave why because.
Speaker 3 (17:36):
We can't do it. We can't love like that. Nobody
here can love like that. That's the reason I talk
to people and they say, you know, I'm trying.
Speaker 2 (17:47):
To love my neighbors. I love myself and love the
Lord thy God.
Speaker 1 (17:50):
All that.
Speaker 2 (17:50):
I said, well, lot to lock, you're failing.
Speaker 3 (17:55):
It's like I'd say, I'll give you a thousand dollars
if you can fly.
Speaker 2 (17:59):
Get up this, fly right out of your pew and make.
Speaker 3 (18:01):
One circle right here in land. Now you say, boy,
that's no big deal. I'd sure like to do that.
You have a better chance of flying out of your
pew and making a circle around this sanctuary one time
than you do loving God with all your heart, soul,
mind and spirit, and loving your neighbor by the way
you love yourself.
Speaker 2 (18:19):
You can't do it. I can't do it. Nobody can
do it.
Speaker 3 (18:25):
You say, why is it there? It is there to
give us principles upon which we can live after we
have been filled with the Lord Jesus Christ, after we
have been saved.
Speaker 2 (18:37):
That's what the Lord does. So you don't throw the
law away. Law brings wrath, the wrath of God.
Speaker 3 (18:46):
We think a lot of people say, boy, you know,
God is a god of love and a God of grace,
I can't see.
Speaker 2 (18:50):
God is a god of judgment and a God of wrath.
Speaker 3 (18:53):
Let me tell you how wrath operates in this life.
Wrath operates in this life by simply God saying, hey,
go your own way, just do whatever. He just cuts
you loose from his protection, from his touch on your life.
(19:17):
When you march out, when I march out in descend,
the wrath of God comes on it.
Speaker 2 (19:21):
And God sends lightning. Or it isn't God that sends
a disease.
Speaker 3 (19:27):
God just simply says, you said you want to live
your life your own way. I tried to teach you,
I tried to lead you, I tried to guide you.
Speaker 2 (19:37):
I just back away from your life. You live it
your own way.
Speaker 3 (19:42):
I meet a lot of people that are living together
and they're unmarried, and this couple will look me right
in the eye and say, you know what's wrong with it?
You know we both agree, we're consenting adults. You know
what's wrong with this? And they really feel, as far
as I can determine, no sense of guilt about living
(20:05):
together and being unmarried. And some people are living together
that's just because they don't have the same address.
Speaker 2 (20:12):
For all practical purposes, they're living together, they say, well,
what in the world is wrong with that? We're running
an experiment.
Speaker 3 (20:18):
We're seeing if we're compatible, We're seeing what's gonna work out.
We're really finding out about one another. You know, what
in the world is wrong with that?
Speaker 2 (20:26):
And sometimes they really are convincing. But when the law
comes and.
Speaker 3 (20:35):
These that are living together begin to hear the principles
of God about adultery, then all of a sudden, the
Holy Spirit many times will bring guilt and a twinge
of conscience that they never felt before. Now, those who
are living in virtual ignorance about what they're doing is
(20:55):
right or wrong, they have the law of hell and
death upon them, though they don't know it. They wonder,
why do I feel lonely? Why do I feel unsatisfied?
Why do I have to have racket going all the time?
Why do I have to stay on the move? Why
(21:16):
can't I concentrate well? Why do I have trouble getting on?
And all the other They don't understand because it happens
so slowly and imperceptibly, that their life is out of
contact with the divine and the law of hell and
death is upon them. But they don't really understand that
(21:36):
they think everything they explain to when a different way now,
when someone is living together in adultery and they hear
the truth of God thou shalt not, then there is
a new feeling of judgment upon them. And hopefully the
law diagnoses your sin and my sin Christian and none Christian.
(22:00):
We again to say, hey, this is wrong in my life,
this attitude, this conduct, this way in which I'm living,
this temper that I have.
Speaker 2 (22:11):
See, that's what the law does. It is a diagnostician.
Speaker 3 (22:16):
So just because we live by faith and are justified
by faith, we don't throw the law out.
Speaker 2 (22:21):
The law has a very very.
Speaker 3 (22:23):
Positive function for those who will hear it and understand
it is from God. It's not God's saying I don't
want you to have good time, I don't want you
enjoy life. God is saying, this is the way I
built this world, and you'd better get on the way
the designer puts you together and put us together and
put this world together if your life is going to
(22:45):
ultimately count for something, and if it's going to make sense.
He said, the law brings about wrath, and that's simply
God saying you're on your own, and I can tell
you it is a life only world and a frightening
world when the hand of God is taken off any life.
(23:10):
That's what faith is not. It's not the law. But
then we see what faith does. Look at verse sixteen
and seventeen. For this reason, it is by faith that
it might be in accordance with grace, in order that
the promise may be certain to all the descendants, not
only to those who are of the law that's the circumcision,
(23:33):
that would be the Jewish people, but also to those
who are of the faith of Abraham, that would be
the gentiles. Because Abraham, technically, get this, was a gentile
when he was justified by Lord Pride to being circumcised.
The circumcision was an initiation in the race. It was
a right, a seal of the fact he.
Speaker 2 (23:53):
Belonged to God. He was God's peculiar people. So the
faith is the same here.
Speaker 1 (24:00):
We hope today's message has encouraged you to build your
life on the proven truth of God's word, and we'd
love to encourage you even more by sending you Doctor
Young's eight message series, The Church Awake. This powerful series
will help you understand cultural trends and the threat they
represent to marriage, to family, and to a biblical worldview
and equip you to courageously take your stand against the
(24:23):
forces that seek to silence you and compromise your witness.
So call now to request the Church awake. Is our
thanks for your gift to reach more people with the
proven truth.
Speaker 2 (24:33):
Of God's Word.
Speaker 1 (24:34):
Call one eight hundred three five oh walk. That's one
eight hundred three five oh nine.
Speaker 2 (24:40):
Two five five.
Speaker 1 (24:42):
Thanks for being with us today on the winning Walk
Today next time, as doctor Young shares more proven truth
from God's Word,
Welcome to the Winning Walk with Doctor ed Young. Before
we get to today's message, we want to tell you
about an insightful sermons series from Dr Young called The
Church Awake. Our world is teetering on the edge of
disorder and disaster, and this series sounds an inspiring call
for the church to awaken and engage your culture with
clarity and conviction on important issues, standing confidently on truth
(00:25):
than bending to the pressures.
Speaker 2 (00:26):
Of the world.
Speaker 1 (00:27):
This series is our thanks for your gift to help
keep the proven truth of God's Word reaching you and
others around the world through this program. So be sure
to request your copy of The Church Awake when you
give Just call one eight hundred three five oh Walk
one eight hundred three five oh nine two five five.
(00:48):
Now let's get started with today's teaching from doctor Young.
Speaker 3 (00:52):
So we're getting ready for this study. Today we look
at Romans chapter four with little preview or review of
the first thirteen verses, majoring on the rest of this
tremendous chapter.
Speaker 2 (01:08):
Let's pray together, Lord. We always get.
Speaker 3 (01:12):
Excited when we open your word, and we get doubly
excited when that word is so practical and so relevant,
and somehow we have the idea that everything that happened
in that worship experience you planned it just for us.
(01:33):
May we take your truth very personal and applied in
a very personal way. May we not think of others.
May we only think of ourselves and what you are
saying to us as we gather in the name.
Speaker 2 (01:48):
Of Jesus Christ.
Speaker 3 (01:50):
Lord you speak, let me get out of the way,
so that thy word and Thy truth alone might be heard,
received and understood and incorporated into our lifestyles.
Speaker 2 (02:02):
Well, this is.
Speaker 3 (02:03):
Our prayer made in the strong holy name of Jesus Christ,
our Lord.
Speaker 2 (02:08):
Amen. There was a day.
Speaker 3 (02:12):
When Princeton Theological Seminary was filled with godly, brilliant professors
who believe totally in the truth of God's word and
taught it in a resounding attractive fashion.
Speaker 2 (02:30):
Men like B. B.
Speaker 3 (02:31):
Warfield, Grisham, Macon, Robert Wilson, and the list went on
and own and own of scholars who were unusually gifted
in communicating and teaching God's truth. One man, doctor Wilson,
(02:53):
a Hebrew scholar, would always go back to Miller Chapel
there on the campus of Princeton and hear every one
of his former students when they would come back and preach,
but he would hear them only one time. And a
man asked him on one occasion, said, doctor Wilson, when
(03:16):
you go back to hear your students and you go
back only.
Speaker 2 (03:20):
One time, what are you looking for? What do you
listen for? And he says, I.
Speaker 3 (03:25):
Try to determine whether or not they are a little
godter are a big Godter.
Speaker 2 (03:33):
He said, what are you talking about? He said, that's
what I do.
Speaker 3 (03:37):
He said, I go and sit in the back roll
the chapel, and as they speak, I'm asking myself the
question if there are.
Speaker 2 (03:44):
Little godters yor big Godters.
Speaker 3 (03:47):
He said, If they are little godters, I know their
ministry won't go very far and want them mount to
very much, and they'll always be in trouble. But he said,
if they're big godters, I know that God will do
something in them and through them in a wonderful way.
And this colleague said, well, how do you make the distinction.
How can you tell whether or not they were little
(04:08):
godter is a big godds?
Speaker 2 (04:10):
He said, Well, a little godd.
Speaker 3 (04:13):
Will begin with a series of problems and he'll have
a low view of scripture. He said, a little Godter
will not perceive God to be someone who has actively
involved in the lives of people and actively evolved in
his life. And he said, I can hear him speak
(04:35):
just for a little while, and I can see how
he views God. If God is limited and small in
a box and.
Speaker 2 (04:44):
Is something to.
Speaker 3 (04:45):
Be manipulated rather than someone to be worshiped, he says,
I know that I'm listening to a little Godter, and
not much will happen to him. He said, by the
same token, when I go to chapel and I hear
someone stand and speak and he he talks about the
God who is moving in history, and he talks about
the truth of God's word and speaks with authority in
(05:09):
every utterance. He says, I know I am listening to
a big godd.
Speaker 2 (05:17):
He says, I know that.
Speaker 3 (05:19):
His ministry will be used and blessed by God.
Speaker 2 (05:22):
In a phenomenal way. Now I've got a question for you.
Are you a big godd or are you a little godd?
Speaker 3 (05:40):
You say, well, I'm not called to stand up and
speak and teach the word of God. That's not what
I'm asking. It applies to everyone. I want to know
whether or not you think you are a little godd
are a big godter right now today? This morning, he said, well,
how can you tell?
Speaker 2 (05:59):
I can tell. I could sit.
Speaker 3 (06:02):
Down with everybody here and in a skinny New York minute.
Speaker 2 (06:06):
I can put you in a category.
Speaker 3 (06:09):
I would simply ask you what you're worried about, and
you would give me your list of worries. You ought
to be very smart to discover who's the big godd
and who's the little godd.
Speaker 2 (06:29):
If you're worried about health and death.
Speaker 4 (06:34):
And bills, law, little list of mundane, peevish kind of
limited stuff, and I can tell.
Speaker 2 (06:44):
You your whole life, you're going to be bogged.
Speaker 4 (06:47):
Down in all the little minutias and all the little
conflicts and all the little problems, and that just enguffs
your life with family.
Speaker 2 (06:59):
Or vocationation or hobbies.
Speaker 4 (07:01):
And you got all these relationships and.
Speaker 2 (07:07):
You're a little godter.
Speaker 3 (07:10):
But to sit down and talk to you, if I
see that you're seeking to see.
Speaker 2 (07:14):
The world in all.
Speaker 3 (07:17):
Of its problems and all of its assets and all
of its potential, and you see that God is moving
in your life and the lives of others, and there's
great expectancy about the.
Speaker 2 (07:32):
Future, and you have a confidence and what.
Speaker 3 (07:36):
God's going to do through someone even as limited as.
Speaker 2 (07:40):
I am, and you may be, I can see there
you are a big godter.
Speaker 3 (07:49):
Literal godters are not fun to live with and to know.
Big godters are exciting folks. You can't always spot them.
They're out there, up there, over there. It all boils
(08:11):
down to how we see God.
Speaker 2 (08:16):
It all boils down to our faith in God.
Speaker 3 (08:25):
When we say, God, what kind of being are we
talking about?
Speaker 2 (08:32):
Are you a little godter? Our big godter? Primarily depends
on faith. It's a cartoon two birds on a limb.
Speaker 3 (08:49):
One bird is wearing a parachute. The other bird looks
at him and said, Sheldon, you don't have enough faith.
Speaker 2 (09:02):
I like that cartoon because I see little little.
Speaker 3 (09:07):
God or type folks wearing parachutes all the time because
they don't have enough faith. Or a lot of folks
don't even know what faith really is. If I asked you,
what is faith? Some people think that faith is believing
something that is true. And here's something that you know
that is true. Therefore, I'm going to exercise faith. I'm
(09:30):
going to believe that which is true, but I'm gonna
work at it. I know it's there and I have
faith in that person. I have faith in that reality.
I know it's true, and I'm exercising faith. Others believe
that faith is believing that which they know is not true.
Speaker 2 (09:47):
I know that's not true. You know, I can't buy
in to that.
Speaker 3 (09:51):
It's skewed, it's inacrid and the probably, but I've got
to have faith anyway. I've just got to gut it
up and pick it up and think it out. And
i know it's not true, but boy, I'm gonna believe
the unbelievable lie.
Speaker 2 (10:04):
I've got to have faith.
Speaker 3 (10:05):
And we think faith is believing that which is simply
not true. Others think that faith is some kind of
emotional feeling thing. Oh I've got a little faith, but
I've just got to get excited. I've got to I know,
I've got every size of my faith. I've just got
to believe. I'm gonna get.
Speaker 2 (10:25):
Married, and i don't have a lot of faith in
this marriage.
Speaker 3 (10:28):
But man, I've got to get pumped up and get
built up so I'll just know that it's true and
I've got to have more faith. It's feeling, its emotion.
So so we try to ask the question of what
is faith the substance of things hoped for the evidence
(10:48):
of things not seen. And we mess around in the
scripture and get some little shibble if definition, but still
we don't have it down. And then we come to
church and somebody stands up and uses a whole lot
of big words and says, we are justified by faith,
meaning the.
Speaker 2 (11:05):
Way you get right with God is through faith.
Speaker 3 (11:12):
And we don't know if faith is believing that which
is true, or faith is believing that which is untrue,
or faith is emotional, or what faith really is. Maybe
faith is just like a grain of mustard seed, and
that's the reason we wear a parachute to make sure
(11:33):
that we won't go down, even though we are born
and equipped to fly. So we come to a chapter
like Romans four, and it's all about being justified by faith,
and the illustration is Abraham. Perhaps in the process today
(11:54):
we'll begin to see what faith is by first of
all seeing what faith is not, and then that begins
our study. In verse thirteen, Abraham has already been used
as example. You remember in the verse twelve verses of
Romans chapter four, and you see it clearly there in
(12:15):
verse three, for what does the scripture say and Abraham
believed God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness.
And the proof here the analogy here, Paul is trying
to say to the Jewish audience in the church in
Rome to which this letter was written delivered by Phoebe.
(12:37):
He was trying to say, everybody, in all times and
in all places, the way they have gotten right with
God is by faith in God. It's always faith, the
same kind of faith we have that justifies us in
Jesus Christ. In the Old Testament, that faith was faith
in God that justified them. They believed God, they believed
(12:58):
in the promises of God. And the word believe is
an interesting word. It says Abraham believed. And they're quoting
Genesis fifteen. And Paul proves here to his Jewish audience
that Abraham was justified some fourteen years before he was circumcised.
(13:19):
He was justified before Moses, he was justified before the
Law was given, he was justified before the prophets. He
was trying to point out that Abraham and all the
other saints of the Old Testament got right with God,
not through works or law or religion, but they all
(13:39):
came to God and got right with him just exactly
the way we do in the New Testament, and that
is by faith.
Speaker 2 (13:46):
And this was blowing the.
Speaker 3 (13:48):
Minds and exploding the theology of the religious Jewish people
in that congregation. And that's what this is all about.
And he quotes is fifteen. Remember Genesis fourteen. Abraham had
defeated the kings. At Genesis fifteen, Abraham asked God. He said, God,
(14:09):
if these kings counterattack, what's.
Speaker 2 (14:12):
Going to happen?
Speaker 3 (14:12):
You know, they outnumber me. And the answer came back.
God said, I will be your shield. I'll protect you.
But God knew that Abraham really was crying out for
a son, an heir. He had no children. And God says,
I want to make a promise with to you that
you will bear a son, and your descendants will be
(14:37):
greater than the stars of.
Speaker 2 (14:40):
Heaven, more than the star. That's pretty big family, isn't it.
Speaker 3 (14:45):
Then he said, they'll be greater than each grain of
sand on the.
Speaker 2 (14:48):
Coast of the sea. That's a lot of children, isn't it.
Speaker 3 (14:54):
And the Bible says Abraham believed God. The word believe
and Hebrew means to say, amen, I like that. So
Abraham said amen. So let it be he believed the
promise of God. He just believed what God said. And
(15:15):
therefore God says, you're okay with me. Hey, you're right
with me. You've been justified. And that is verse three
of chapter four. And it was reckoned to him as righteousness.
The same word translated reckoned here is mentioned eleven other
times in this very chapter. It means your count has
been debited, your bills have been paid. Therefore you're right
(15:39):
with God. And we've gone through a study of those big,
pregnant words that Paul introduces us to here in the
Book of Romans. And now he moves on and says,
this is how faith operates. Let me show you what
faith is not. This is verse thirteen, fourteen, and fifteen.
Look at verse thirteen of chapter four Romans. For the
promise to Abraham or to his descendants that he would
(16:04):
be heir of the world was not through the law,
but through the righteousness of faith.
Speaker 2 (16:13):
Verse fourteen.
Speaker 3 (16:14):
For if those who are of the law are heirs,
faith is made void and the promise nullified. Now, now
what is this saying here? It says verse fifteen, for
the law brings about wrath. But where there is no law,
no rules, no regulations, no commandments.
Speaker 2 (16:32):
Neither is there violation. What is this all about? Sounds
double talkish, doesn't it?
Speaker 3 (16:41):
Anybody just stand up and say that means hard.
Speaker 2 (16:44):
To do it? And what's he saying here? He's telling
us what faith is not.
Speaker 3 (16:48):
Faith is not and he's saying it over and over again,
keeping a lot of rules. Faith is not what you
do not do. Other words, you say, do you have
a lot of faith? Oh, I have a lot of faith.
I don't do this, and I don't do that, and
I don't do something else, and I don't do that.
Therefore I'm a Christian. I'm right with God because I
don't do all these things. When they asked Jesus about
(17:11):
the commandments, they said, what is the greatest of commandment?
Speaker 2 (17:14):
Of what do you say? Thou shall love the Lord
thy God with all thy heart.
Speaker 3 (17:17):
With all my soul, with all thy mind, with all
thy strength, and love your neighbor the way you love yourself.
Speaker 2 (17:22):
That summarize all the commandments. That's everything.
Speaker 3 (17:27):
But we're not gonna get right with God by following
the first and second commandments.
Speaker 2 (17:33):
Jesus gave why because.
Speaker 3 (17:36):
We can't do it. We can't love like that. Nobody
here can love like that. That's the reason I talk
to people and they say, you know, I'm trying.
Speaker 2 (17:47):
To love my neighbors. I love myself and love the
Lord thy God.
Speaker 1 (17:50):
All that.
Speaker 2 (17:50):
I said, well, lot to lock, you're failing.
Speaker 3 (17:55):
It's like I'd say, I'll give you a thousand dollars
if you can fly.
Speaker 2 (17:59):
Get up this, fly right out of your pew and make.
Speaker 3 (18:01):
One circle right here in land. Now you say, boy,
that's no big deal. I'd sure like to do that.
You have a better chance of flying out of your
pew and making a circle around this sanctuary one time
than you do loving God with all your heart, soul,
mind and spirit, and loving your neighbor by the way
you love yourself.
Speaker 2 (18:19):
You can't do it. I can't do it. Nobody can
do it.
Speaker 3 (18:25):
You say, why is it there? It is there to
give us principles upon which we can live after we
have been filled with the Lord Jesus Christ, after we
have been saved.
Speaker 2 (18:37):
That's what the Lord does. So you don't throw the
law away. Law brings wrath, the wrath of God.
Speaker 3 (18:46):
We think a lot of people say, boy, you know,
God is a god of love and a God of grace,
I can't see.
Speaker 2 (18:50):
God is a god of judgment and a God of wrath.
Speaker 3 (18:53):
Let me tell you how wrath operates in this life.
Wrath operates in this life by simply God saying, hey,
go your own way, just do whatever. He just cuts
you loose from his protection, from his touch on your life.
(19:17):
When you march out, when I march out in descend,
the wrath of God comes on it.
Speaker 2 (19:21):
And God sends lightning. Or it isn't God that sends
a disease.
Speaker 3 (19:27):
God just simply says, you said you want to live
your life your own way. I tried to teach you,
I tried to lead you, I tried to guide you.
Speaker 2 (19:37):
I just back away from your life. You live it
your own way.
Speaker 3 (19:42):
I meet a lot of people that are living together
and they're unmarried, and this couple will look me right
in the eye and say, you know what's wrong with it?
You know we both agree, we're consenting adults. You know
what's wrong with this? And they really feel, as far
as I can determine, no sense of guilt about living
(20:05):
together and being unmarried. And some people are living together
that's just because they don't have the same address.
Speaker 2 (20:12):
For all practical purposes, they're living together, they say, well,
what in the world is wrong with that? We're running
an experiment.
Speaker 3 (20:18):
We're seeing if we're compatible, We're seeing what's gonna work out.
We're really finding out about one another. You know, what
in the world is wrong with that?
Speaker 2 (20:26):
And sometimes they really are convincing. But when the law
comes and.
Speaker 3 (20:35):
These that are living together begin to hear the principles
of God about adultery, then all of a sudden, the
Holy Spirit many times will bring guilt and a twinge
of conscience that they never felt before. Now, those who
are living in virtual ignorance about what they're doing is
(20:55):
right or wrong, they have the law of hell and
death upon them, though they don't know it. They wonder,
why do I feel lonely? Why do I feel unsatisfied?
Why do I have to have racket going all the time?
Why do I have to stay on the move? Why
(21:16):
can't I concentrate well? Why do I have trouble getting on?
And all the other They don't understand because it happens
so slowly and imperceptibly, that their life is out of
contact with the divine and the law of hell and
death is upon them. But they don't really understand that
(21:36):
they think everything they explain to when a different way now,
when someone is living together in adultery and they hear
the truth of God thou shalt not, then there is
a new feeling of judgment upon them. And hopefully the
law diagnoses your sin and my sin Christian and none Christian.
(22:00):
We again to say, hey, this is wrong in my life,
this attitude, this conduct, this way in which I'm living,
this temper that I have.
Speaker 2 (22:11):
See, that's what the law does. It is a diagnostician.
Speaker 3 (22:16):
So just because we live by faith and are justified
by faith, we don't throw the law out.
Speaker 2 (22:21):
The law has a very very.
Speaker 3 (22:23):
Positive function for those who will hear it and understand
it is from God. It's not God's saying I don't
want you to have good time, I don't want you
enjoy life. God is saying, this is the way I
built this world, and you'd better get on the way
the designer puts you together and put us together and
put this world together if your life is going to
(22:45):
ultimately count for something, and if it's going to make sense.
He said, the law brings about wrath, and that's simply
God saying you're on your own, and I can tell
you it is a life only world and a frightening
world when the hand of God is taken off any life.
(23:10):
That's what faith is not. It's not the law. But
then we see what faith does. Look at verse sixteen
and seventeen. For this reason, it is by faith that
it might be in accordance with grace, in order that
the promise may be certain to all the descendants, not
only to those who are of the law that's the circumcision,
(23:33):
that would be the Jewish people, but also to those
who are of the faith of Abraham, that would be
the gentiles. Because Abraham, technically, get this, was a gentile
when he was justified by Lord Pride to being circumcised.
The circumcision was an initiation in the race. It was
a right, a seal of the fact he.
Speaker 2 (23:53):
Belonged to God. He was God's peculiar people. So the
faith is the same here.
Speaker 1 (24:00):
We hope today's message has encouraged you to build your
life on the proven truth of God's word, and we'd
love to encourage you even more by sending you Doctor
Young's eight message series, The Church Awake. This powerful series
will help you understand cultural trends and the threat they
represent to marriage, to family, and to a biblical worldview
and equip you to courageously take your stand against the
(24:23):
forces that seek to silence you and compromise your witness.
So call now to request the Church awake. Is our
thanks for your gift to reach more people with the
proven truth.
Speaker 2 (24:33):
Of God's Word.
Speaker 1 (24:34):
Call one eight hundred three five oh walk. That's one
eight hundred three five oh nine.
Speaker 2 (24:40):
Two five five.
Speaker 1 (24:42):
Thanks for being with us today on the winning Walk
Today next time, as doctor Young shares more proven truth
from God's Word,
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