We must remember because of Adam’s fall we all sin.  Sin was imputed to us; that’s why faith is important and that's why today under the New Testament dispensation of Grace, we need Christ as Savior.  Salvation is always and forever based upon the shed blood of Jesus Christ.  Our faith in Christ’s finished work on the Cross is what saves us from God judgment of Sin.  Abraham many years before the Law was given on Mount Sinai exercised his faith in God.  This is literally a case of a Gentile, Abraham, who in verse 3 believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.   Another Old Testament character or example is the person David in verse 6.  In spite of the fact that David was an adulterer and a man of blood, God still loved him.  Here in Romans 4:6, it says for David “to whom God imputes righteousness apart from works.”  Here this word impute is a very big word.  It is critical to understanding justification and Salvation.  Impute here literally means, “to credit to a person”, “to reckon or “to put down to a person’s account.”  For David even though he was a sinner and because David exercised faith in the God of the Old Testament, God imputed righteousness upon him.  This is justification by Faith which shook up the world during the Great Reformation begun by The Rev. Martin Luther. 

In the writing of Romans 4, the Apostle made it very clear what Abraham’s role was in the history of faith.  God’s promise to Abraham was that he would be a father of a great nation.  This later was fulfilled literally even though Abraham was an old man and his wife was past child bearing age.  Abraham is the father of the Jewish Nation.  Today he is venerated by millions of Arabs because he is the father of Ishmael the one to whom the people of the mid east comes from.   For those of us today who are Gentiles, but have accepted Jesus Christ as Lord, Abraham is the “Father of our Faith”.

 In Romans 4: 17 its says, of Abraham, “as it is written I have made you a father of many nations in the presence of Him whom he believed - God, who gives life to the dead and calls those thing which do not exist as though they did”.  Sarah, Abraham’s wife was elderly and barren, yet God did a physical miracle.  God allowed her to have a son.   Abraham was like us with all of our doubts, but hopefully we use Abraham as our faith mentor.  Abraham was a man who like us believed in God’s Word.  God through Abraham is a God who makes the impossible possible.

Remember in verse 18 its says, about Abraham, “who contrary to hope, in hope believed, so that he became a father of many nations, according to what was spoken, so shall your descendents be”.  And verse 19, “And not being weak in faith, he did not consider his own body, already dead (since he was about 100 years old), and the deadness of Sarah’s womb.  He did not waver at the promise of God through unbelief, but was strengthened in faith, giving glory to God”.

God was able to quicken Abraham and Sarah’s body.  Even today God is still in the business of making people spiritually alive.  In Ephesians 2:1, 2 &5, it says, “And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins, in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience”, and in verse 5 its says, “even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved).

May we all pray for those around us that need the quickening God gives.  Abraham did not waver at the promise of God through unbelief, but was strengthened in faith giving glory to God.  As God strengthens us, let us walk in the Spirit of God so that our lives will be worthy of Christ.  If we truly allow God’s Spirit to dwell in us our lives will be examples of godliness.

If God's Spirit is in us, we will move forward in God's grace.  The Anchorage Moravian continues to move forward and is applying for  501c3 status this week.  Our mission statement is wonderful:  “The Anchorage Moravian Church is a vibrant, compassionate network of diverse believers sharing God’s indispensable Word that transforms and nurtures lives”.  I feel that we have leaders and membership that are alive to Christ and His work.   This Church as long as it has the faith of Abraham is alive; it can do anything.  Literally by taking God at His Word, together we can accomplish anything!

Praise God the righteousness of Christ is imputed in us through faith.  God sees us as perfect through the shed blood of Jesus Christ who covers our sins.  In Christ we are perfect.  We are not under sin and under the judgment of God.  In Christ we have only good to look forward to.

In Romans 4:23-25 it speaks, “Now it was not written for his sake alone that was imputed to him, but also for us.  It shall be imputed to us who believe in Him who raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead, who was delivered up because of our offenses, and was raised because of our justification.”

Let us Pray:

Thank you Heavenly Father for this opportunity to hear your word.   We give our hearts and lives completely to you. We are thankful that you have given us a great faith in your Son Jesus Christ.  May each one of us be worthy of that faith in the way we live.  Help us "to serve you as you deserve; to give and not count the cost; to toil and not to seek for rest; to labor and not to ask for any reward.  Except that of knowing that we do Your Will".

© Copyright 2006 Anchorage Moravian Church
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