Romans 4:11 - Homiletics

The fatherhood of Abraham.

It is remarkable that the whole of this chapter deals with Abraham—a proof, not only of the greatness of Abraham's character, the conspicuousness of his position in the history of mankind, and the hold the grand figure of the patriarch possessed of the imagination of the apostle, but also of Abraham's real importance in the development of the leading ideas of true religion. We are reminded that Abraham was the father of many nations—the father of the chosen people Israel, the ancestor of the Messiah, the promised Seed. But especially father is it brought before us here that Abraham is the of the faithful, inasmuch as he afforded an early and illustrious example of the virtue upon which St. Paul dilates at length in this Epistle to the Romans—the virtue of faith.

I. ABRAHAM IS THE FATHER OF THE FAITHFUL IN THAT HE IS AN EXAMPLE OF FAITH IN ITS SUPERIORITY TO SENSE AND TO HUMAN JUDGMENT . The ancestor of the Hebrew nation received repeated assurances of the purpose of the Eternal with regard to himself and his posterity. There was no human likelihood of the fulfilment of these assurances; in themselves they were opposed to all reasonable probability, and there were special circumstances which increased a hundredfold their inherent unlikelihood. But they were, in Abraham's belief, the assurances of God himself, and that was sufficient to command his immediate and unquestioning acceptance. The Divine is the proper object of human faith. Let a declaration be from God; then it should be received with an absolute and unhesitating trust.

II. ABRAHAM IS THE FATHER OF THE FAITHFUL IN THAT HIS FAITH WAS INDEPENDENT OF EXTERNAL RITES AND PRIVILEGES . St. Paul lays great stress upon the historical fact that the exercise of Abraham's faith in God preceded the institution of the symbolic rite of circumcision. This may seem to us an immaterial consideration; but from the point of view of the apostle it has great importance. He is arguing against an external, ceremonial view of religion, such as was too customary among the Jews, and indeed is too customary among all people through all time. And he made a "point" when he brought forward the fact that Abraham exercised faith in God whilst still uncircumcised; for this is a proof that the essence of religion does not depend upon external privileges, even though they be of Divine appointment. A lesson which we need to learn today, even as did the contemporaries of St. Paul.

III. ABRAHAM IS THE FATHER OF THE FAITHFUL INASMUCH AS HE EXHIBITED THE POWER OF FAITH TO POSSESS THE MORAL NATURE AND TO CONTROL THE LIFE . The patriarch was not a man to yield the assent of the lips, and to withhold the practical acknowledgment which is the best proof of sincere profession. It is enough, in support of this, to remark that his whole subsequent life was affected and governed by his belief of God's promise. He confessed himself a pilgrim in the land, but whilst for himself he sought a heavenly inheritance, he lived as one persuaded that Canaan was the destined property of his posterity. Faith without works is dead; Abraham's faith was living. As Christians, we are called upon, not only to believe, but to live by faith, to show our faith by our works, and, if we believe God's promises, to give them a place so prominent in our heart that they may sway our conduct and govern our actions. The life which we live in the flesh is to be by the faith of the Son of God. Only thus can we prove ourselves to be true children of faithful Abraham.

IV. ABRAHAM IS THE FATHER OF THE FAITHFUL ESPECIALLY BECAUSE IN HIM FAITH WAS SHOWN TO BE THE SPRING OF RIGHTEOUSNESS . We are told by the apostle that Abraham's faith was reckoned to him for righteousness. This doctrine of imputation has been misunderstood, when it has been inferred from the teaching of the apostle that, faith being present, righteousness may be dispensed with. The real teaching of St. Paul aims at removing religion from outward actions to inward dispositions. The righteousness which God values is not the performance of services or the submission to rites, so much as the pure thoughts and intents of the heart. So far as what is external is valuable, it is as an indication of what is deep-seated within. Faith brings the soul into right relations with God, and these secure habits of obedience and subjection which display themselves in the words, the deeds, and the course of moral life by which a man is judged by his fellow-men.