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A Promise of Blessings as Numerous as the Stars
Romans 4・Genesis 15:1-6
Mari Ikeda
Today, we will be reading the whole chapter of the Romans chapter 4. I picked the whole chapter, as its content is one and cannot be split in the middle, but I will be skipping a good amount of its middle part. Let’s start from verses 1-3.
A. Abraham, father of the faith(1-3, Genesis15:1-6)
1 What then shall we say that Abraham, our forefather according to the flesh, discovered in this matter? 2 If, in fact, Abraham was justified by works, he had something to boast about—but not before God. 3 What does Scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.”
Paul is now going to talk about the story of Abraham here, because Abraham was a hero for the Jews. But at the same time, Paul is trying to explain that Abraham is a hero not only for the Jews, but for all people. Abraham is a hero for everyone, because he can show us all what the core of our faith is, as he himself walked his life by trusting in God.
The core of our faith can be found in the following phrase that is repeated many times in this chapter 4 of the Romans. It says, “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.” Now I’d like to read the passage in the Old Testament that originally includes this phrase. It’s Genesis 15:1-6.
1 After this, the word of the LORD came to Abram in a vision: “Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your very great reward. ” 2 But Abram said, “Sovereign LORD, what can you give me since I remain childless and the one who will inherit my estate is Eliezer of Damascus? ” 3 And Abram said, “You have given me no children; so a servant in my household will be my heir.” 4 Then the word of the LORD came to him: “This man will not be your heir, but a son who is your own flesh and blood will be your heir. ” 5 He took him outside and said, “Look up at the sky and count the stars —if indeed you can count them.” Then he said to him, “So shall your offspring be.” 6 Abram believed the LORD, and he credited it to him as righteousness.
How did Abraham believe the Lord here? What does it mean that the Lord credited it to him as righteousness? We can find the answers from the passage after verse 16. I skip from verse 4 to 15 today, as the content of the passage has been already repeated many times in the previous part of the Romans. Now let’s jump to verse 16, and read the verses 16-17 first.
B. What it means to be justified by faith
1. Being justified means becoming an heir of the world (16-17)
16 Therefore, the promise comes by faith, so that it may be by grace and may be guaranteed to all Abraham’s offspring—not only to those who are of the law but also to those who have the faith of Abraham. He is the father of us all. 17 As it is written: “I have made you a father of many nations.” He is our father in the sight of God, in whom he believed—the God who gives life to the dead and calls into being things that were not.
God promised that He would inherit the world to Abraham and his offsprings. Paul describes it as “to be heir of the world.” (v13) This is what it means to be justified by God. It is the same thing that we regain the status as God’s partner, as I talked about last time. We were originally created in God’s image and placed in this world in order to rule this world with God as His parter. Being justified means restoring that purpose and role that we were originally given by God. And it also means becoming fathers and mothers of many people, as Abraham did. Paul explains more in the following verses from 18 to 22 what it means specifically.
2. Abraham’s faith (18-22)
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.”
Abraham became the father of many people, not just because God kept His promise and gave him many offsprings accordingly, and his offsprings prospered. Rather, it was because Abraham’s faith and his way of living was inherited to many people, regardless of blood ties.
We can learn two things about Abraham’s faith from today’s text. One is that he was not overwhelmed by his own sorrow but kept trusting in God instead. God gave him no child for a long time. Abraham was the person who knew the sorrow of unheard prayers, however he prayed. Although we know that God is good and that if He does not answer to our prayer it is something that He considers we don’t need, it indeed takes time for us and we struggle to accept it. Abraham struggled too, but he did not stop trusting in God.
The other thing we can learn from Abraham’s faith is that he kept trusting in God without being biased by human’s common sense. Thinking by common sense, Abraham and Sarah were too old to have a child, so that God’s promise seemed impossible to be realized. However, Abraham believed in that ridiculous promise of God. He believed that God is able to do what humans are unable to do, while he also trusted that God is faithful and always keeps His promise.
In this way, Abraham trusted in God at any time and believed that God’s will is at work and going beyond his prayers and thoughts. This is what it means to live as God’s partner. It is to trust that God is good and He has a plan that is yet unseen in our eyes, and so to always live in hope. We never know what will happen however old we are, as 100-year-old Abraham encountered something he had never expected to happen. It is our role, as the heirs of the world and as the fathers and mothers of faith, to inherit this hope to the next generation.
But now, while Abraham was able to hear God’s promise of blessings directly from God, how can we know that God gives us the promise of blessings as well? Let’s read the last verses today, verse 23-25.
3. Our faith (23-25)
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.
Although we may not hear from God directly, we can hear God’s word though the event of Jesus’ cross. Jesus is the one who offered His own life for us. The fact that He died for us will never change, even if our prayer remains unheard and our situation gets no better. That’s why we can keep trusting, through Jesus, in the promise of blessings that is unrealized yet and in the good plan of God that is unseen to us yet.
Finally, let’s read again Genesis 15:5-6.
5 He took him outside and said, “Look up at the sky and count the stars —if indeed you can count them.” Then he said to him, “So shall your offspring be.” 6 Abram believed the LORD, and he credited it to him as righteousness.
God has given us also the promise of blessings as numerous as the stars. Whether we believe it or not, God remains good and His love for us will never change. But He does want us to receive and hold on to the promise, so that we may believe and live in hope at any time in life. It is also the role that is given to us as the heirs of the world and as God’s partners to inherit the peace and joy of living by trusting in God in that way to the next generation.
(Prayer) Dear God, we remember and give thanks to you for many blessings that you have given us. However, we sometimes find ourselves in the situation that we cannot handle, feel very small and know life is hard. Please help us to believe that You still knows our needs and wants us to live our life in joy and hope until the very end. Please pour out Your love on the Cross to our hearts by Your Spirit. Use us and enable us to inherit your love and hope to the next generation. Lord Jesus, we pray this in Your name. Amen.
Summary
Abraham was not captive to other people’s expectations or his own struggles. He trusted in God and believed his promises of blessing. God has also promised us blessings so great that we may not be able to see all of them come to pass in our lifetime. Trusting in the Lord means that we put our trust in the one who loves us with an unchanging love, becoming an heir of the world who carries peace and hope to the next generation.
For Discussion
- What does it mean to be “heir of the world”?
- What is the basis of our trust in God even when things aren’t getting better?