Covenant Baptist Church
Sermon Guide for January 5th, 2019
Righteousness
Romans 4:1-8
What then shall we say that Abraham, our forefather according to the flesh, has found? For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about, but not before God. For what does the Scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.” Now the one who works, his wage is not credited as a favor, but as what is due. But to the one who does not work, but believes in Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is credited as righteousness, just as David also speaks of the blessing on the man to whom God credits righteousness apart from works: “Blessed are those whose lawless deeds have been covered. Blessed is the man whose sin the Lord will not take into account.”
Romans 4:1-8
Important words to understand
•Justified- dikaioo (verb): to render or make to be as one ought to be; to declare or pronounce one to be justified (before God) or as he or she ought to be (before God).
•Righteousness-dikaiosyne(noun):the state of him who is as he ought to be; the condition acceptable to God
A common false narrative many of us believe is that righteousness has little to no real impact on how we live and experience life
In Romans 3:28 Paul writes, For we maintain that a man is justified by faith apart from works of the Law…
Vs 1-2: What then shall we say that Abraham, our forefather according to the flesh, has found? For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about, but not before God.
What did Abraham find out about becoming righteous?
Vs 3: For what does the Scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.”
Believed: Pisteuo – to trust God to be able
Credited:logizomi (verb) – to reckon, computed to be something ; concluded to be equivalent to something; having the same value or weight as something else
Paul points to Abraham as the high example of righteousness through belief/trust in God and not through works of the law
Vs 4-5: “Now the one who works, his wage is not credited as a favor, but as what is due. But to the one who does not work, but believes in Him who justifies the ungoldly, his faith is credited as righteousness,
Instead, faith or dependence on Jesus is credited to them as righteousness.
Vs 6-8: …just as David also speaks of the blessing on the man to whom God credits righteousness apart from works: “Blessed are those whose lawless deeds have been covered. Blessed is the man whose sin the Lord will not take into account.”
What does it mean to be a righteous person?
It means to be a person whose sin has been graciously and completely forgiven by God.
“…if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold new things have come. 2 Corinthians 5:17
You are not the same kind of person you were before your sin was forgiven. You are a new kind of person
Why should I want to become a righteous person?
John 3:36 Jesus says, “…He who believe in the Son has eternal life but he who does not obey the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him.”
Eternal Life is not just talking about life without end. It also speaks to the incomparable quality or kind of life you receive as a person who has been made righteous
How do I become a Righteous person?
But to the one who does not work, but believes in Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is credited as righteousness…
Paul is telling us that trusting or depending on Jesus for the forgiveness of our sin and to make us righteous leads us into a life of righteousness.
Are you willing to surrender your life to Jesus and yield the authority of your life to Him?
Are you willing to repent and turn back to dependence on Jesus as your way of living life?