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Grace Notes Sermon Ministry:
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A Pitiful Sight
Romans 4:9-25
Every hear a great throng
of people make pilgrimage to the Shrine of Guadalupe in Mexico, a site where
supposedly the Virgin Mary once stood...however unlikely that is.
They go there hoping to get her attention, and to get her to
intervene for them w/ her son Jesus.
They crawl on their hands and knees for a quarter mile, and enter and
light candles, one for every friend who has died, in hopes of reducing the
amount of time they spend in purgatory.
It is a pitiful sight.
Every 12 years a multitude
of Hindus gather at the convergence of the
Along the shore are
"shaving booths" where every hair is removed from their bodies, including
eyebrows and lashes...they gather them and throw them into the river because
one of their books says for every hair they throw in, they will live a
million years in heaven.
Some at this festival cut
out their tongues, believing if they sentence themselves to eternal silence,
they will gain heavenly favor.
Others stare at the sun until blind to appease their gods.
It's a pitiful sight of works centered religion.
The book of Romans is an
all out assault on works based religion.
The Jews Paul dealt with
thought there were 2 things it took to get to heaven:
The outward mark of circumcision and obedience to the OT Law.
They believed the moment
an 8 day old child was circumcised it was automatic they would go to heaven,
regardless of what they believed or did in their life.
And they thought keeping the law somehow played a role as well.
Paul uses chronology to
disprove them. He asks, when
was your Father Abraham justified [saved] and when was he circumcised.
v. 9-10
It was before circumcision that Abe was saved [Gen. 15:6].
Then later in chapter 17, about 14 years later, he was circumcised.
How is this relevant
today? Because people are still
doing the same sort of thing.
They think being a good person, doing good works, being baptized, or joining
a church will save them. They
give offerings and perform services in hopes of eternal life.
They confess, are confirmed, and complete rituals they have been told
to do that aren't in the Bible...and that's a pitiful sight!
It's outward ritual instead of inward faith.
The Bible says you must be
born again!
So why is circumcision
even a thought? Why did God
make circumcision binding for all of Abraham's descendants if it had nothing
to do w/ being saved?
v. 11
'sign' ... 'seal'
Circumcision is a sign and
a seal.
A sign is an evidence that
the Jew was one of God's chosen people.
Much like baptism today.
Baptism is a sign you were truly saved, not a sacrament needed to be saved.
It's just an outward sign pointing back to that which has already
taken place.
A sign points to
something, but a seal guarantees it!
A seal placed on a letter
or decree meant the authenticity was guaranteed.
Circumcision sealed some promises God made to His people, and
guaranteed He would keep those promises.
So, what is our seal today?
The Holy Spirit!
Ephesians 1:13-14
13 ...after that ye believed, ye
were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise,
14 Which is the earnest of our
inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the
praise of his glory.
Earnest means down
payment. The earnest is
forfeited [like earnest money] if you renege.
God said, I'm so sure this one's gonna be in heaven that I'm placing
the down payment of the Spirit in his heart...and if this one ends up in
hell, I'll forfeit the earnest of the Spirit to go to hell along with him!
[not gonna happen]
v. 12
You see, Abraham is our father too...father not only of the Jews, but
of Gentiles who believe by faith!
[sing 'Father Abraham']
So, we're not saved by
circumcision or any outward work.
Next, we're not saved by keeping the Law either.
v. 13-16a
Of faith / by grace
Understand that even
Abraham's faith would not have been enough if not for the sovereign grace of
God! It was by God's grace that
He decided to count Abraham's faith as righteousness.
So, we're not saved by faith, but by God's grace.
Otherwise we might have somewhat to glory in.
It's thru faith that we can come to God and His grace!
Faith is just a vehicle
that brings us to God's grace.
ill.--a man hangs out the
window of a tall burning building.
Firemen below compel him to jump into their extended canvas catchall.
He says, I can't! They
say, just trust us, you'll make it, we promise to catch you.
He finally works up the nerve and jumps, and they indeed catch him
safely. Suppose he walks away
saying, "My faith saved me!"
Those firemen could say, hang on buster, we saved you.
His faith just got him to the firemen, who actually saved him.
All our faith does is gets
us to the grace of God that's been waiting there for us all along, hoping we
turn from the pitiful trappings of works salvation to just take the
plunge...a leap of faith into the arms of God extending the catchall of
grace!
The chapter ends with an
amazing set of circumstances.
v. 17
God can raise the dead, amazing!
How old were Abraham and
Sarah when they conceived Isaac, the child of promise?
99 and 89, amazing, because their reproductive systems were long
since dead. God waited to
fulfil His promise for 25 years.
He waited until all human ability and fleshly strength was gone.
From a human perspective all hope of conceiving was gone.
v. 18-21
The application to salvation today is clear--God waits for the
unbelieving sinner dies to all hope in himself, utterly incapable of saving
himself, then and only then can God release His saving power.
As long as a lost sinner
thinks there's anything he can do to please God, like these pitiful sights
of self punishment or outward rituals, as long as he hopes in himself, he
cannot be saved. It is only
when we come to God empty handed that He fills us.
ill.--in the Spanish
American War, Clara Barton, founder of the Red Cross, was working in
The food was not for sale,
but would be given away freely to those who would ask for it.
And God's salvation is not for sale.
If we are to receive it, it will have to be thru faith, by grace,
with no human effort.
Don't go away lost...that would be a pitiful sight!
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