Romans 4:13-25

William F. Schnell

June 8, 2008

     With the political parties finally settling on their nominees for President, and the general election campaign about to begin in earnest, I thought I would begin our message for today with a political joke.  Political jokes can be risky ventures.  As Henry Cate the VII put it, “The problem with political jokes is that they get elected” - present company excluded of course.  Having said that, I offer the following nonpartisan political joke.

     While walking down the street one day, a politician is tragically hit by a truck and dies.  His soul arrives in heaven and is met by St. Peter at the entrance.  "Welcome to Heaven," says St. Peter.  "Before you settle in, it seems there is a problem.  We seldom see a high official around these parts, you see, so we're not sure what to do with you."

"No problem, just let me in," says the politician.  "Well, I'd like to but I have orders from higher up.  What we'll do is have you spend one day in Hell and one in Heaven.  Then you can choose where to spend eternity."  "Really, I've made up my mind.  I want to be in Heaven," says the politician.  "I'm sorry but we have our rules."  And with that, St. Peter escorts the politician to the elevator and he goes down, down, down to Hell.

      The doors open and he finds himself in the middle of a green golf course.  In the distance is a club and standing in front of it are all his friends and other politicians who had worked with him, everyone is very happy and in evening dress.  They run to greet him, hug him, and reminisce about the good times they had while getting rich at expense of the people.  They play a friendly game of golf and then dine on lobster and caviar.  Also present is the Devil, who really is a very friendly guy who has a good time dancing and telling jokes.  They are having such a good time that, before he realizes it, it is time to go.  Everyone gives him a big hug and waves while the elevator rises. The elevator goes up, up, up and the door reopens on Heaven where St. Peter is waiting for him.

      "Now it's time to visit Heaven."  So 24 hours pass with the politician joining a group of contented souls moving from cloud to cloud, playing the harp and singing.  They have a good time and, before he realizes it, the 24 hours have gone by and St. Peter returns.  "Well then, you've spent a day in Hell and another in Heaven.  Now choose your eternity."  He reflects for a minute, then the politician answers:  "Well, I would never have thought it, I mean Heaven has been delightful, but I think I would be better off in Hell."  So Saint Peter escorts him to the elevator and he goes down, down, down to Hell.

      Now the doors of the elevator open and he is in the middle of a barren land covered with waste and garbage.  He sees all his friends, dressed in rags, picking up the trash and putting it in black bags.  The Devil comes over to the politician and lays an arm on his neck.  "I don't understand," stammers the politician.  Yesterday I was here and there was a golf course and club and we ate lobster and caviar and danced and had a great time.  Now all there is a wasteland full of garbage and my friends look miserable.  The Devil looks at him, smiles and says, "Yesterday we were campaigning.  Today you voted for us!"

     Many of us feel that political campaigns promise one thing but too often deliver another.  In a recent poll respondents were asked, “How often do political parties keep their election promises--most of the time, only some of the time, or hardly ever.  Almost 90 percent expressed skepticism with 56% saying political promises were kept only some of the time and 32% saying hardly ever.  Only about one in ten said promises were kept most of the time.

     In fairness to politicians, I have always believed they were a pretty fair reflection of the electorate in a democracy such as ours.  If our impressions of political promise-keeping are accurate, then it does not bode well for our own promise-keeping.  There are exceptions of course.  My Dad grew up among the “Plain People” of Berlin, Ohio.  He once told me how the Amish never drew up contracts among themselves, preferring instead to seal a deal by simply shaking hands.

     I asked him what legal recourse was available if one Amish person broke a deal with another Amish person.  “It never happened,” was his response.  “Never?”  I challenged.  “Never happened,” he repeated.  “Come on Dad, it had to happen sometimes.”  He said, “I don’t recall it ever happening but if it ever did happen it only happened once.”  I suppose the strict social controls of a tight-knit society like the Amish might be able to preserve that kind of radical promise-keeping.  It would certainly be nice if our larger society operated that way.

     We like to know that we can take others at their word.  It gives life a certain stability and security.  Without that kind of basic trust the fabric of civilized society falls apart.  Perhaps that is why truth-telling is expressed in one of the Top Ten Commandments.  God expects that from us because we can expect that from him.  The title of our second message in a series of six from Paul’s letter to the Romans is “Standing on the Promises”—Standing on the Promises of God.

     Paul writes to the Romans, It was not through law that Abraham and his offspring received the promise that he would be heir of the world, but through the righteousness that comes by faith (Verse 13).  God established a covenantal promise with Abraham.  It is helpful to think of a covenant as a spiritual contract with terms binding upon both parties.  If Abram, on his part, promised to follow God’s lead come-what-may, God, on his part, promised to lead Abram to a land that would become the possession of his descendants after him (a.k.a. "The Promised Land”).

     His descendants would become variously known as Hebrews or Israelites or Jews.  Paul was writing to some of these descendants who were Jewish converts to Christianity in Rome, but he was also writing to Gentile (or non-Jewish) coverts as well.  Some thought that only Jews could be children of Abraham and heirs of the promises of God.  Paul sought to correct that misunderstanding.  He said, It was not through law that Abraham and his offspring received the promise....

     You will recall that God gave the Law (a.k.a. The Ten Commandments and others ordinances) to the Israelites, but that was not until several generations and hundreds of years after Abraham.  Therefore keeping Jewish religious laws and rules and regulations could not be how Abraham became a partner in the coventental promise with God.  Further, according to Paul, it could not be how one became an heir of God’s promise through Abraham.  Some other dynamic was at work beyond the meritorious system of keeping the Law.

     Paul continues, …the promise comes by faith, so that it may be by grace and may be guaranteed to all Abraham’s offspring—not only to those who are of the law but also to those who are of the faith of Abraham.  He is the father of us all.  As it is written: “I have made you a father of many nations” (Verses 16-17).  Not just the father of those in the Jewish nation, but the father of those in the Gentile nations (which includes you and me) who embody the faith of Abraham.  For this reason his name was changed from Abram “father” to Abraham “father of many nations.”

    Paul’s point is this: we become children of Abraham not by national descent or a genetic connection but by a faith connection.  Before we can connect to this faith of Abraham we have to understand what it is.  Paul continues, Against all hope, Abraham in hope believed and so became the father of many nations, just as it had been said to him, “So shall your offspring be.”  Without weakening in his faith, he faced the fact that his body was as good as dead—since he was about a hundred years old—and that Sarah’s womb was also dead (Verses 18-19).

     Oh, by the way, did I tell you that Abraham was 99 years old when God made his covenantal promise with him, and his wife, Sarah, was 90?  Personally, the thought of having children at my age creeps me out but, as they say, “One man’s meat is another man’s poison.”  The promise of God to Abraham and Sarah implied descendants, which implied a child of their own.  I would have been a bit skeptical, but Abraham had great faith in God’s promises.

     Yet he did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God, but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God, being fully persuaded that God had power to do what he had promised.  This is why it was credited to him as righteousness” (Verses 20-21).  Point number one: we become righteous in God’s sight by having faith.  Righteousness is never merited by so-called good works.  It is a gift of God’s grace that can only be received by faith.

     Point number two: faith is not about religious doctrines or affiliations or theologies.  Faith radically believes against all odds in God’s promises as did Abraham.  God gives you extra credit for that kind of faith.  Do you remember extra credit in school?  That was credit you didn’t deserve on your examination but you got for extra effort shown in completing additional work.  By having the faith of Abraham we get credited for righteousness we have not otherwise deserved.

     As Paul puts it: The words “it was credited to him” were not written for him alone, but also for us, to whom God will credit righteousness—for us who believe in him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead (Verses 23-24).  God is always bringing forth life from death, which is why Paul refers to him in our text as the God who gives life to the dead…. (Verse 17).  He brought Jesus back to life from the dead.  He brought new life from Abraham’s body even though, as the text says, his body was as good as dead, and from Sarah’s womb even though it was also dead in terms of childbearing.

    This new life from their dead bodies was a son named Issac, and then guess what God did after Issac grew into an older boy?  He called Abraham to sacrifice his son on an altar—to sacrifice his only hope for the fulfillment of God’s promise.  It didn’t make sense to Abraham and it does not make sense to us.  But it was only a test—a test to see if Abraham would keep the faith even when it didn’t make sense.  The test was passed, Isaac was spared and Abraham became the father of the faithful.

     We become children of Abraham and heirs of the promise of God by having the same kind of faith.  God promises us a future, figuratively signified by descendants in the story of Abraham.  He promises to protect and provide for us, figuratively signified by the Promised Land in the story of Abraham.  In short, he promises life--not just mere existence but life abundant here and life eternal hereafter—as a gift of his grace.  It is not a gift we can merit by our own efforts, but it is a gift we can receive by faith—the faith of Abraham.

     Everyone here is searching for the kind of life God promises.  I can make a blanket statement like that because God created us with a yearning for life.  We did not create ourselves.  We were created by a Creator who continues to create life in us if we have the faith to receive this gift of his grace.  Translation: we must have the faith to step out into the wilderness of uncertainty believing that our final destination is the Promised Land.

     The Promised Land always lies on the other side of a wilderness of uncertainty.  Why?  Because a faith that is untested is no faith at all.  There comes a time when we have to take a stand on faith.  Then the ball is in God’s court and, by all the testimonies and witnesses I’ve heard, God is faithful and true to all his promises.  Heaven knows that we put our trust in political promises easy enough even though we believe they disappoint us time and time again. 

     Maybe it is time for us to show the same courtesy to the Almighty Creator.  Maybe it is time for the children of Abraham to show forth some of the faith of Abraham.  Maybe it is time to share our own testimonies and witnesses about how we believed against the odds and passed the testing of our faith, and how God came through on his promise to lead us to life abundant even while it seemed impossible and all circumstances pointed to the exact opposite.  Maybe it is time for standing on the promises of God.