268 - How Abraham was SavedApril 5, 1964
Pastor Henry F. Kulp
Romans 4: 1 - 5 What shall we say then that Abraham our father, as pertaining to the flesh, hath found? For if Abraham were justified by works, he hath whereof to glory; but not before God. For what saith the scripture? Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness. Now to him that worketh is the reward not reckoned of grace, but of debt. But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness.
In the third chapter—a chapter that I am loath to leave, Paul tells us that we are justified freely by His grace, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus—that we are all sinners, having no good whatsoever in ourselves, and that Jesus Christ is the Mercy Seat, the meeting place of the sinner and God. And He is the only Meeting Place. He, alone, has paid the price of our sin.
1/ Then in the fourth chapter here, Paul brings out an illustration of salvation by faith plus nothing, and he points to Abraham, and Abraham is mentioned seven times in this chapter, so we better see just what type of man he was, and what this Scripture has to tell us. So, Paul says, what did Abraham as pertaining to the flesh find out? He found out he couldn’t boast before God. He found out that he had to be justified by faith. So, let us look at this man, Abraham, and salvation by grace through faith plus nothing.
2/ There was no good in Abraham—please remember that. Now, how do I know there was nothing good in Abraham? Let’s just start and study his life and find out about his personal goodness.
3/ Joshua 24: 2 And there we read, Joshua said unto all the people, thus saith the Lord God of Israel, your father dwelt on the other side of the flood in old times—and that means the other side of the Euphrates River—the fathers dwelt on the other side of the flood in old times, even Terrah, the father of Abraham and the father of Nachor, and they served other gods.
Abraham lived beyond the Euphrates in the Ur of Chaldees. His family was a family of idolators, and there is no reason to believe that Abraham was not an idolator. Abraham was a worshipper of idols, and he was a very wealthy man, for he had great flocks and herds when he left Ur of Chaldees. You know what God thinks of idolatry. He has brought it out in the first chapter of Romans.
Romans 1: 21 - 24 Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened. Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools, And changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and four-footed beasts, and creeping things. Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonor their own bodies between themselves:
And here he is talking about Abraham and people just like him. They knew God, but they refused to glorify Him as God, they were not thankful and they made God like unto an image of man, birds, four-footed beasts and creeping things and God gave them up. God has a hatred of idolatry, but here is a man who is an idolator, and certainly he doesn’t have anything to offer God at this time.
4/ Now let us turn to Acts 7: 2 And he said, Men, brethren, and fathers, hearken; The God of glory appeared unto our father Abraham, when he was in Mesopotamia, before he dwelt in Charran.
And here we have Stephen beginning his remarkable address, just before he was stoned to death, and he said, Men and brethren, fathers, harken—the God of glory appeared unto our father, Abraham, while he was in Mesopotamia, and while he was an idolator living in this land, God appeared to him.
And Abraham was convinced that it was God talking to him. Here was a world lying in darkness and idolatry and God appeared to Abraham and said, Abraham, come out of your country, I want to show you a land where I want you to be, and Abraham came out. Again, there was nothing good in Abraham.
5/ Then in Hebrews 11: 8 By faith Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place which he should after receive for an inheritance, obeyed; and he want out, not knowing whither he went.
Notice, the tenth verse. For he looked for a city which hath foundations—God showed him the Holy City, and you remember, in Revelations, it comes down out of Heaven from God. And God showed him that Holy City, and after Abraham saw that Holy City, he was willing to go anywhere. Who wouldn’t? I am sure if you had lived in that day, and God had appeared to you and given you a glimpse of the Holy City, you would have said, I am willing to go anywhere, do anything You want me to do. The Scripture tells us that Abraham lived in tents—he never bothered with a permanent residence. Why? Because he wasn’t satisfied with anything on earth, he wanted this Holy City, and he wanted to live in it.
6/ So, he was a terrible sinner, an idolator that God called and he obeyed. How did he get saved? And what happened when he was saved? These are two important questions.
7/ Romans 4: 4 - 6 Now to him that worketh is the reward not reckoned of grace, but of debt. But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness. Even as David also describeth the blessedness of the man, unto whom God imputeth righteousness without works,
I want you to notice some words that are used in this fourth chapter. You have to understand these words to understand the fourth chapter. Notice, in the fourth verse you have the word, “counted,” and in the sixth verse you have the word, “imputed.” You have these three words eleven times in this chapter, and the chapter is built upon these three words, but they are all the same word in the Greek—they are all translations of this one word, but yet there is another word because of our present-day culture that can be translated, and it would maybe help us even more—it is the word, credit.
8/ You have a bank account, and your bank account is overdrawn. The bank sends out a notice that says your account is overdrawn, you will have to bring in so much money to take care of the deficiency, and you do not have the money—you don’t know where you are going to get it—but a friend of yours hears about it, he goes to the bank, and he deposits just the amount that you need. He credits you with that amount. You know nothing about it. You know nothing about it, and your account is spared. That is salvation. God has credited something to you, something that you do not have, and something that you need if you want to go to Heaven, if you want to be a child of God. He saw that you had nothing but sin, and that, of course, brings death, and so He placed something to your account, and He credited us with something. What did He credit us with?
Notice, in Romans 4: 3. For what saith the scripture? Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness.
Count it, or credit it to Him for righteousness. Now in the fourth verse Now to him that worketh is the reward not reckoned of grace, but of debt. God reckons or credits to you what you do not have.
There is a very beautiful verse in the little book of Philemon, and I would like to refer it to you—
Philemon 18 If he hath wronged thee, or oweth thee ought, put that on mine account;”
9/ When Paul was in Rome, a man found the Lord Jesus Christ, probably under the ministry of the Apostle Paul. This man was a runaway slave, who had robbed his master, taken everything that he could lay his hands on, and had fled as many evil doers and robbers do to a large city to lose themselves in the great multitudes of the city. So he went to Rome, and of course, Paul was there. It was a teaming city, with people speaking all languages—they were from all over the world. This man heard Paul preach and he was led to the Lord Jesus Christ. And then when he finally confessed to Paul what was wrong, what he had done, Paul said, you’ve got to go back, you’ve got to go back to your master and tell him you are sorry for what you have done. Then the man probably said to Paul, I haven’t any money—I took all the money and the jewelry that I could and I spent it all—I haven’t a thing—I’m just a tramp. Paul said, I’ll take care of that—you just let me take care of it. You go back and tell your master that you are sorry for what you did, and offer yourself to work for him again.
And this verse says, as he wrote to Philemon, and incidentally, he had led Philemon to the Lord Jesus Christ, and Philemon and Paul were close intimate friends, so Paul, as he wrote the letter says, If he hath wrought thee or owed thee ought, put that on my account. In other words, he says, if he owes you anything, charge it to me—I’ll see that it is paid. That is exactly what the Lord Jesus Christ said. When you come to the Lord Jesus Christ, and He saves you, Jesus Christ says to the Father—if he owes You anything, put that on My account.
It is wonderful to know that the Lord Jesus Christ, straightens out our accounts in Heaven. I love that old hymn—“The Old Account Was Settled Long Ago.”
10/ Now notice, Romans 4: 5 But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness.
And here in the fifth verse is a climax. Paul puts the whole truth in this verse—For to him that worketh not. Somebody will immediately, say, Don’t I have to be better than I am? Here is what the Scripture says—to him that worketh not. It is to the man who will fold his arms and do absolutely nothing. I know there are some preachers, some people who do not like this do-nothing salvation, but it is what the Bible teaches—to him that worketh not—and you say—why is that? It has all been done! Jesus Christ did it—He performed it! And He said, as far as your sin is concerned, Father, You, credit it to My account!
11/ Then notice the rest of that verse. But believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly.
Is that good people? No, God doesn’t justify good people, He justifies ungodly people. And notice, He justifies, we don’t justify ourselves. So, you must confess yourself ungodly.
12/ How do you get this righteousness? How does it become credited to your account? It is by believing on the Lord Jesus Christ. Notice, Abraham is an example. In the third verse. Abraham believed God.
Notice the fifth verse…His faith is counted for righteousness.
What does God want? If I were to ask you this morning, what would you tell me? What does God want from you? The answer is, God wants to be believed more than anything else. God wants you to believe Him.
If you sand paper your life until you have taken off all the rough surfaces and yet you do not believe Him, He will cast you into Hell. If you fail to believe that you are a sinner, and you deserve Hell, you are slurring the character of God. But if you will believe that you are a terrible sinner, you are ungodly no matter what you do, and that Jesus Christ died for you and wants to credit to your account righteousness, if you believe on Him. God says that is salvation. He wants you to believe more than anything else in the world.
13/ What is righteousness? You ask almost anyone in the world what righteousness is, and they will tell you it is good works, but that is not so. Faith is righteousness with God. When you believe, He counts your belief, your faith, righteousness, and puts righteousness to your account.
14/ Romans 4: 5 But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness.
This verse is explained very clearly in the Old Testament. As you know, there was a Day of Atonement once a year when the high priest took the blood from the altar and went into the Holy of Holies and sprinkled the blood over the Mercy Seat, and God came down and saw the blood and the sins of the people were covered for another year. Atonement was made for another year.
Let us turn to Leviticus 23: 27 – 30 Also on the tenth day of this seventh month there shall be a day of atonement: it shall be an holy convocation unto you; and ye shall afflict your souls, and offer an offering made by fire unto the Lord. And ye shall do no work in that same day: for it is a day of atonement, to make an atonement for you before the Lord your God. For whatsoever soul it be that shall not be afflicted in that same day, he shall be cut off from among his people. And whatsoever soul it be that doeth any work in that same day, the same soul will I destroy from among his people.
And here it tells us about the Day of Atonement, and it says, ye shall afflict your souls, and then in the 28th verse. And ye shall do no work in that same day. Why is that? For it is a Day of Atonement. To make an atonement for you before the Lord your God.
Then notice the 30th verse. And whatsoever shall it be that doeth any work in that same day, the same soul shall be destroyed from among his people.
Notice, on the Day of Atonement, no one was permitted to do any work at all—this was God’s work, it was the blood that made an atonement on that day. So, there is no work in this day for anyone who wants to be saved—the moment you work you are eternally lost.
15/ Now notice, Romans 4: 6 Even as David also describeth the blessedness of the man, unto whom God imputeth righteousness without works,
Now, he brings in David. He mentions David only once, but he mentions Abraham seven times. He brings in David only because he wants to quote from Psalms 32: 2 Blessed is the man that God does not charge with sin, or credit with sin. And if you believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, God does not charge you with any sin. Can you believe that God doesn’t charge you with anything at all that is wrong? God hasn’t a single thing against you. He just loves you with all His heart and takes you into His bosom. He doesn’t charge you with a single sin. How can that be? Because He charged His Son with your sin, and Christ had to bear the punishment. How wonderful this is?
16/ Now I would like you to turn to another portion in Romans.
Romans 8: 33 Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God's elect? It is God that justifieth.
And here God says, Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God’s elect? It is God that justifieth.
If God justifies you who will be able to charge you with anything? If I do something that is wrong, if I sin and you know about it, and you want to point the finger at me for what I did wrong, you don’t have the right to do it—you have to point the finger at Christ, for He took that thing on Himself. Who shall lay anything to the charge of God’s elect? You cannot charge a Christian with anything. You have to charge it to Jesus Christ.
17/ There is a translation of that 33rd verse that I love, it goes like this—Who dares accuse us now?
The Judge Himself hath declared us free from sin.
Notice, I Peter 2: 24 He bare our sins in His own body on the tree.
Who would dare to accuse Him? Yet He is the One to accuse. He paid the penalty, He washed it all away in His blood, and it is all gone. That is the finished work of Jesus Christ. There is no condemnation.
18/ Colossians 1: 22 In the body of his flesh through death, to present you holy and unblameable and unreproveable in his sight:
Notice, in the body of His flesh through death to present you holy and without sin, unblameable, unreproveable, where? In His sight!
You don’t look that way in the sight of men, because you still sin. But in God’s sight, you are unreproveable, you are holy and unblameable.
The only One Who can be blamed for our sin is the Lord Jesus Christ, because He was made sin for us.
AMEN
Ref: 04/05/1094 / 268 - HOW ABRAHAM WAS SAVED / 02/04/2021
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