Righteousness and the Resurrection.

 

Christ - Anchor of Our Souls

 Christ is our refuge - Anchor of our souls

An anchor holds something in place that might otherwise without the anchor give way. Ships at sea anchoring down to stay safe during a storm are saved from being wrecked upon the shores. Having an anchor for our souls keeps us safe during the many storms of life. Christ is our anchor, it is Christ we rely upon for safety. We WILL be storm tossed there is no way around that. We live in a chaotic world. Satan would have us wrecked on his rocky shores, our spiritual lives battered and bruised endlessly. Satan wants us caught up in deep dark despair without hope, without any anchor to keep us safe. We must hold fast to the truth that our anchor is strong enough to withstand any Satan storm that exists. Our ANCHOR is the STRENGTH, not us! The strongest of ships can be destroyed in a storm should its anchors give way. Our Anchor will never give way, unless we release the Anchor from us. We must forever have an anchor in Christ! All by His grace and mercy! Christ is our Hope forever!

(Excerpt -  EJ Waggoner Article On Romans 4)

The Oath of God.

It may seem to some a little far-fetched to say that the oath by which Jesus was made priest is the surety of the promise to Abraham. But a little consideration will enable any one to see that it can be no other way. In the sixth chapter *13-20 of Hebrews we read:

"When God made promise to Abraham, because he could swear by no greater, he sware by himself, saying,  Surely blessing I will bless thee. . . . God, willing more abundantly to show unto the heirs of promise the immutability of his counsel, confirmed it by an oath; that by two immutable things, in which it was impossible for God to lie, we might have a strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us;  which hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast, and which entereth into that within the vail, whither the forerunner is for us entered, even Jesus, made a high priest forever after the order of Melchizedek."

It's All For Our Sakes. 

Why did God confirm his promise to Abraham by an oath? That we might have a strong consolation.

It was not for Abraham's sake, because Abraham believed fully without the oath. His faith was shown to be perfect before the oath was given. It was altogether for our sakes.

When does that oath give us strong consolation? When we flee for refuge to Christ as priest in the most holy place. 

Within the vail he ministers as high priest; and it is the oath of God that gives us courage to believe that his priesthood will save us. Then our consolation comes from Christ's priesthood, and so from the oath which made him priest.

Therefore the oath of God to Abraham was identical with the oath that made Christ high priest. 

This shows most plainly that the promise of God to Abraham is as wide as the gospel of Christ. 

And so our text, speaking of the righteousness that was imputed to Abraham, says, "Now it was not written for his sake alone, that it was imputed to him; but for us also, to whom it shall be imputed, if we believe on him that raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead."

Ro. 4. 22 And therefore it was imputed to him for righteousness. 23 Now it was not written for his sake alone, that it was imputed to him; 24 but for us also, to whom it shall be imputed, if we believe on him that raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead; 25 who was delivered for our offenses, and was raised again for our justification.

Jesus Is the Surety

 The Great Joy of Believing the Promise

Romans 4:16-25

16 Therefore it is of faith, that it might be by grace; to the end the promise might be sure to all the seed; not to that only which is of the law, but to that also which is of the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all

17 (as it is written, I have made thee a father of many nations), before him whom he believed, even God, who quickeneth the dead, and calleth those things which be not as though they were. 

18 Who against hope believed in hope,  that he might become the father of many nations, according to that which was spoken, So shall thy seed be. 19 And being not weak in faith, he considered not his own body now dead, when he was about an hundred years old, neither yet the deadness of Sarah's womb; 20 he staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief; but was strong in faith, giving glory to God; 21 and being fully persuaded, that what he had promised, he was able also to perform. 22 And therefore it was imputed to him for righteousness. 23 Now it was not written for his sake alone, that it was imputed to him; 24 but for us also, to whom it shall be imputed, if we believe on him that raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead; 25 who was delivered for our offenses, and was raised again for our justification.

Sure to All. 

Since the inheritance is through the righteousness of faith, it is equally sure to all the seed, and equally within the reach of all. Faith gives all an equal chance, because faith is just as easy for one person as for another. God has dealt to every man a measure of faith, and to all the same measure, for the measure of grace is the measure of faith, and "unto every one of us is given grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ."  Eph. 4:7. Christ is given without reserve to every man. Heb. 2:9. Therefore, as the same measure of faith and grace is given to all men, all have an equal opportunity to gain the inheritance.

Jesus Is the Surety.

Faith makes the promise sure to all the seed, because it has Christ alone for its object, and he is the surety of the promises of God. 2 Cor. 1:20. We read also of the oath of God, by which Jesus was made high priest, that "by so much was Jesus made a surety of a better testament," or covenant. Heb. 7:22. Now Jesus was not given for a certain class, but for all without distinction. "God so loved the world, that he gave his only-begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." John 3:16.  Jesus by the grace of God tasted death for every man. Heb. 2:9. He says, "Him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out." John 6:37. Christ dwells in the heart by faith. Eph. 3:17. Therefore, since Christ is the surety of the promise, it must be sure to every one who believes.

According to What Promise?

 

The Promise and the Resurrection.

 

In Christ- Everything. In Christ- Righteousness.

 (Excerpt)

Everything in Christ. 

Speaking of Christ, the apostle says, "All the promises of God in him are yea, and in him Amen, unto the glory of God by us." 2 Cor. 1:20. There is no promise of God to any man [aside from in Christ].

AMEN!

*

The Inheritance and the Heirs 

Romans 4:13-15

13 For the promise, that he should be the heir of the world, was not to Abraham, or to his seed, through the law,  but through the righteousness of faith. 14 For if they which are of the law be heirs, faith is made void, and the promise made of none effect; 15 because the law worketh wrath; for where no law is, there is no transgression.

Where Is the Promise? 

A very natural inquiry upon reading the thirteenth verse would be, Where is there any promise that Abraham and his seed should be heirs of the world? Many think that no such promise is contained in the Old Testament. But there can be no doubt about the matter, for the apostle says that there was such a promise. If we have not found it, it is because we have read the Old Testament too superficially, or with minds biased by preconceived opinions. If we consider the connection, we shall have no difficulty in locating the promise.

Of what is the apostle speaking in this connection? Of an inheritance through the righteousness of faith, and also of the fact that circumcision was given to Abraham as a seal of this righteousness which he had by faith,  and therefore as the seal of the inheritance which was to come thereby.

Where in the Old Testament do we find the account of the giving of circumcision, and of a promise in connection therewith? In the seventeenth chapter of Genesis. Then that must be the place for us to look for the promise that Abraham should be the heir of the world. Let us turn and read:

"And I will establish my covenant between me and thee and thy seed after thee in their generations, for an everlasting covenant, to be a God unto thee and to thy seed after thee. And I will give unto thee, and to thy seed after thee, the land wherein thou art a stranger, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession; and I will be their God. . . . And ye shall circumcise the flesh of your foreskin; and it shall be a token of the covenant betwixt me and you." Gen. 17:7-11.

The reader will at once say: "Yes; it is plain enough that there is a promise here; but what we are looking for is the promise that Abraham and his seed should inherit the earth; and I do not see that here. All that I can see is a promise that they should inherit the land of Canaan."

But it is certain from the connection in Romans that we are on the right track, and we shall soon see that this is indeed the promise that Abraham and his seed should be heirs of the world. We must study the details of this promise. And first let us note the fact that the inheritance promised is an everlasting inheritance.

Abraham himself is to have it for an everlasting possession. But the only way in which both Abraham and his seed may have everlasting possession of an inheritance is by having everlasting life. Therefore we see that in this promise to Abraham we have the assurance of everlasting life in which to enjoy the possession.

This will appear still more clearly when we consider that the inheritance is an inheritance of righteousness: "For the promise, that he should be the heir of the world, was not to Abraham, or to his seed, through the law, but through the righteousness of faith." Rom. 4:13. That is just what we have in the promise recorded in the seventeenth of Genesis. For that covenant was sealed by circumcision (see verse 11), and circumcision was the seal of righteousness by faith. See Romans 4:11

Rom 4:11  And he received the sign of circumcision, a seal of the righteousness of the faith which he had yet being uncircumcised: that he might be the father of all them that believe, though they be not circumcised; that righteousness might be imputed unto them also

The Gospel Was Preached to Abraham.