Heirs of the World | Romans 4:13-17 | Ian Goodman

With the whole world fixing its eyes on the conflict between Israel and Gaza it is timely to consider this wonderful passage that reminds us of the true hope of the children of Abraham. Here Paul reminds us of three important things.

1) The promise to Abraham and his offspring was not limited to one slice of land beside the Mediterranean Sea. This may have been in the initial promise, but it was clear that this was not the end of the promise, for Abraham was to be “the father of many nations” and in him “all the nations of the world would be blessed”. It seems clear that God’s ultimate purpose for His people was not restricted to that land, but that in time Abraham’s children would inherit the whole world. This is especially clear when looking at the promises made about the Messiah. For example Psalms 2:8 the Lord says to the Messiah “Ask of me and I will make the nations your heritage, and the ends of the earth your position.”

2) The second thing Paul reminds us of (in many ways, this is the main thing he reminds us of) is the means by which this promise came. Not by works of the law but by faith.

13 For the promise to Abraham and his offspring that he would be heir of the world did not come through the law but through the righteousness of faith. 14 For if it is the adherents of the law who are to be the heirs, faith is null and the promise is void. 15 For the law brings wrath, but where there is no law there is no transgression.

3) The last thing we are reminded of is that this promise is not simply for the physical descendants of Abraham but is for those who share the faith of Abraham.

16 That is why it depends on faith, in order that the promise may rest on grace and be guaranteed to all his offspring—not only to the adherent of the law but also to the one who shares the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all, 17 as it is written, “I have made you the father of many nations”

This means that the land God promised to Abraham is your hope and my hope also if we have his faith. But that land is not modern Israel; the land we have as our hope is the whole world in the new heavens and earth, the same land that Abraham himself looked forward to receiving!

What has the circumcision timing to do with anything? | Romans 4:7-13 | Ian Goodman

7 “Blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven,

and whose sins are covered;

8 blessed is the man against whom the Lord will not count his sin.”

9 Is this blessing then only for the circumcised, or also for the uncircumcised? For we say that faith was counted to Abraham as righteousness. 10 How then was it counted to him? Was it before or after he had been circumcised? It was not after, but before he was circumcised. 11 He received the sign of circumcision as a seal of the righteousness that he had by faith while he was still uncircumcised. The purpose was to make him the father of all who believe without being circumcised, so that righteousness would be counted to them as well, 12 and to make him the father of the circumcised who are not merely circumcised but who also walk in the footsteps of the faith that our father Abraham had before he was circumcised."

What is Paul’s purpose in including this in his overall argument? It seems a strange thing to bring up. What does the timing of Abraham’s circumcision have to do with anything? I would suggest it has a great deal to do with a great deal.

Firstly, Paul is in the middle of arguing for the great central claim of the Gospel, that one is justified in Christ alone, by grace alone, through faith alone. The date of Abraham’s circumcision has more to do with this than we might think. For if Abraham was circumcised BEFORE he was justified then it could be argued that he was justified BECAUSE he was circumcised. Paul is wanting to make it very clear

- that Abraham was not justified after but before

- that he was not justified because of his works, but he performed works because he was justified.

There is a second reason why Paul brings up the timing of Abraham’s circumcision, that is to show that Abraham is the Father of both the circumcised and the uncircumcised. All people who believe—and who follow in the footsteps of the faith that Abraham had—are indeed children of Abraham. Abraham is the father of all the faithful—of all believers. In fact, if you are a believer then you are more the son of Abraham than the current unbelieving Jews.

Let’s all stand and marvel at what the Lord has done through this man Abraham, but let's stand in far greater awe at what God has done through the one Man Jesus Christ. In Him we are justified; by faith in Him we are saved. Praise God!

From Boasting to Blessing

Romans 4:6-8

4 Now to the one who works, his wages are not counted as a gift but as his due. 5 And to the one who does not work but believes in him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted as righteousness, 6 just as David also speaks of the blessing of the one to whom God counts righteousness apart from works:

7 “Blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven,

and whose sins are covered;

8 blessed is the man against whom the Lord will not count his sin.”

We considered the fact that for Paul both forgiveness for sin, and positive righteousness imputed go hand in hand. That when we are justified, it becomes as if you never sinned, and also as if you had always obeyed.

We also considered the perspective of Paul in justification, noticing how his perspective is deeply theological and fits the context of the theological controversy he was addressing. Somewhat in contrast to this, we have David’s perspective on justification, which is perhaps more personal and based in his own personal reflection and experience of God’s wonderful forgiveness. Both Paul and David knew the wonderful blessing of forgiveness.

Do you know that blessing? You can know it today; if you place your faith in Jesus Christ and believe the promise of God that salvation comes through Him, you will be forgiven, you will be justified!

Three Identifying Marks of False Teachers in the Church

The Calling of Matthew

Matthew 9:9-13

We continue the series on the Gospel of Matthew, focusing on Matthew 9:9–13, where Jesus calls the tax collector Matthew to follow Him. In the previous message, Jesus forgave and healed a paralytic to demonstrate His authority to forgive sins, which shocked the religious leaders.

Matthew, a despised tax collector, is unexpectedly and graciously called by Jesus. Though the call seems abrupt, it was likely an informed decision, as Matthew would have known about Jesus’ miracles and teaching in Capernaum. His decision was nevertheless radical and meant leaving behind wealth, status, and any chance of returning to his old job—but he followed Jesus without hesitation.

Matthew then hosts a banquet to celebrate, inviting fellow tax collectors and sinners to meet Jesus. This angers the Pharisees, who question why Jesus would associate with such people. Jesus responds that just as a doctor comes for the sick, He has come for sinners, not the self-righteous. Jesus rebukes the Pharisees, quoting Hosea 6:6.

The message is organized under four headings:

- Jesus calls a despised sinner – Matthew is chosen despite his shameful role in society.

- Jesus dines with spiritually needy sinners – Matthew invites his former associates to meet Christ.

- Jesus disapproves self-righteous sinners – He corrects the Pharisees’ hypocrisy and spiritual blindness.

- Jesus came for sinners – He calls them to repentance and transformation.

Jesus still calls sinners today, not based on merit but grace.

From Boasting to Blessing | Romans 4:1-8 | Ian Goodman

The journey Paul takes us on in these words is from boasting to blessing—from trusting in works to trusting in grace by faith.

In order to take us on this journey, Paul reminds us of two individuals from the OT:

- both of whom were Jews—to teach us that heritage is no basis for justification;

- both of whom were relatively righteous—to teach us that righteousness is no basis for justification;

- both of whom come from the OT—to teach us that God’s means of justification has always been the same—grace by faith;

- and both of whom responded to God’s grace by working hard—to serve and please Him!

We looked together at the example of Abraham. We were reminded that Abraham was justified not by his works, but by believing God and having righteousness counted to him. Paul then goes on to explain what it means to have righteousness counted to him. It’s like being given a gift rather than a wage. Like having money credited to your account, but money can be credited for two reasons, either as a wage for work done, or a gift given by free grace. God is not in the business of giving wages for work. When it comes to justification God doesn’t want to pay us wages for work. He wants to give us a gift for believing. It is not the godly who are working for God who God justifies. It is the ungodly who are believing who God justifies.

Are you working for God’s justification? Are you trusting your own godliness for God’s justification? This is a ground for boasting, not the ground for blessing. Abandon that ground and trust in God for the blessing of justification!