Lesson 6

GOD PORTRAYS ABRAHAM AS

THE FATHER OF ALL BELIEVERS

Romans 4:16 –25

REVIEW

Would you say that an Old Testament person got to be innocent before God and thus got to heaven in the same way or a different way from a New Testament believer?

ROMANS 4:16-17

In last week’s reading, Paul said that law, any kind of law, will bring transgression which will result in God’s anger. The law always demands, “do” or “don’t do” but we always fail to be perfect. Notice the first word of vs 16, “therefore”, Paul is now making a conclusion. The promise of being a forgiven child of God comes by faith. It is by grace. It is a free gift given by God. Since it is given by God, it can be guaranteed (16). Paul makes the same point that this guaranteed promise is for Jew and Gentile alike. Abraham is the father of us all (16). Notice an important point – a believer in God’s promise of a Savior is a child of Abraham, a member of his family. It doesn’t make any difference if we are Jewish, or northern European, from the far east, Africa or the western world. Whoever has the same faith as Abraham is part of his family and thus a part of God’s family. Faith in what Jesus has done for humanity unites us all.

DISCUSSION

  1. Many guarantees that we experience from companies have limits and exceptions. How is God’s guarantee different?

  2. Is the thought that you are a child of Abraham a new thought for you? Why is it an important point?

ROMANS 4:17b-25

God had spoken what may seem to be impossible promises. Abraham and Sarah were going to have a child. There were two major obstacles, both Abraham and Sarah were beyond the age of having children. From the perspective of child-bearing, they were both as good as dead. In spite of that, God still, “calls things that are not as though they were."(17) The eventual child, Isaac, didn’t exist yet God spoke as though he did.

The word translated, “he faced the fact” (19) has the idea of someone thinking deeply about something. Abraham realized reality, he and Sarah were well beyond the age of becoming parents. He wasn’t blind to reality. He wasn’t a simpleton. He just believed God had the power and the will to do what he said, no matter what the physical circumstances were (21). He trusted what God promised, “This is why ‘it was credited to him as righteousness.” (22) Those words were written for your assurance as well, God does the same through faith in his promise of forgiveness through Jesus.

Vs.24 – Why did the Father hand over his son to death? He did it for our sins, because of our sin. Why did the Father raise Jesus to life? He did it for our justification. We were declared not guilty when Jesus was still on the cross. He had paid for the sin of the world. Because we were declared not guilty already on Good Friday, God raised Jesus to life. He was raised to life to proclaim the victory, here was real life evidence that sin had been paid for by Jesus. He is risen!! Alleluia! Our forgiveness is assured – believe it.

DISCUSSION

  1. What comfort can we take in the fact that God gives life to the dead and calls things into existence that did not exist before? (v.17)

  2. What was the basis for Abraham’s hope for the future? (v.18)

  3. List some promises of God that are the basis for our hope in the future?

  4. Give an example of times when God leads us to “hope” – believe in the face of human hopelessness.

  5. How does Abraham’s experience with God in the matter of receiving righteousness benefit us? Vs 23-24

  6. According to vs 25, what was the purpose of:

Jesus death?

Jesus being raised to life?

[PREPARING FOR NEXT WEEK’S CLASS]{.ul}

  1. Read Romans 5:1 - 21

  2. Read Romans – the People’s Bible Pages 78-93

  3. Read Romans 5:1 – 21 a second time but this time out loud.

How does our faith get strengthen in God’s promises as Abraham’s was strengthened? Vs. 20

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