Published: May 28, 2023 | Speaker: Chuck Hartman | Series: Romans - Part 18 | Scripture: Romans 4:9-12
Transcript
View Full Transcript →
0:25
this morning we'll be looking at verses 9 through 12. to read that passage and ask Nick saravi if you pray for the ministry of the word this morning this morning Romans chapter 4 beginning in verse 9.
0:38
is this blessing then upon the circumcised or upon the uncircumcised also for we say faith was reckoned to Abraham as righteousness how then was it
0:51
reckoned while he was circumcised or uncircumcised not while circumcised but while uncircumcised and he received the sign
1:01
of circumcision of circumcision a seal of the righteousness of the faith which he had while uncircumcised that he might be the father of all who
1:12
believe without being circumcised that righteousness might be reckoned to them and the father of circumcision to those who not only are of the circumcision but
1:25
who also follow in the steps of the Faith of Our Father Abraham which he had while uncircumcised while uncircumcised let us pray
1:52
he teaches through this Passover your word is perfect and there are no contradictions and it was given to us as a gift so that we could come to know you Lord so I just pray that you just be in the ministry of
2:04
your word amen amen amen
2:14
it is particularly in this letter to the Romans that Paul shows us his heart toward his toward his fellow fellow countrymen the Jews
2:24
the Jews in chapter 10 we read that it's his heart's desire and his Earnest prayer that they might also be saved but how do they feel about him
2:38
well we read in Acts chapter 23 and then when it was day the Jews formed a conspiracy and bound themselves under an oath an oath saying that they would neither eat nor drink until they had killed Paul
2:48
and there were more than 40 who formed this plot well that kind of tells us how they felt about him when we read Paul's letters we tend especially as modern Western
3:00
evangelicals to read them theologically especially as reformed Believers we tend to read them through the filter of the reformation and then particularly
3:11
through the the teachings and Systematic Theology of the reformed perspective
3:24
but this is a man whose writings caused his countrymen his countrymen to hate him to the death now one can wonder what happened to those 40 plus men because of course they
3:35
did not kill Paul and I've wondered how many shekels it took them to get out from under their oath or whether there was a newspaper article in Jerusalem about 40 men dying of starvation
3:46
of starvation but God's Providence preserved Paul to later write this highly theological letter and yet it's a letter that helps us understand why his countrymen hated him
3:58
so much they hated him as much or more then they did Jesus
4:11
and if we don't take that into account as we read Paul's letters that we're not going to understand I think what he's saying because it doesn't stir up that kind of emotion in US
4:22
we don't hate him for what he says in Romans we don't take vows of violence to bring him to death we don't have that response
4:37
but his teaching brought that response to the the unbelieving Jews of his day and I think that the Holy Spirit would want us want us to try to understand
4:54
as a Jew who came to understand by the grace of God that Israel Messiah had come in the person of Jesus Christ and that through the messiah's death and
5:05
resurrection and through the subsequent outpouring of the Holy Spirit God had acted to fulfill his promises from ages
5:21
revelation was so remarkable so dramatic that it brought death sentences down upon the Apostle Paul
5:32
and to ask the question what is it about this that would get people so angry well I think one component of that hatred of that violence
5:45
is that seemingly rhetorical question back in chapter 3. in verse 29 that I have mentioned I believe governs what Paul is saying here in chapter 4.
5:57
Paul asks or is God the god of the Jews well now the vast majority of Judaism of Paul's day would have
6:08
answered with an emphatic yes that Jehovah is Israel's God and that while a relationship with Jehovah and with the Covenant is
6:18
possible for the Gentiles it is only possible that they first become Jews that they be circumcised and that they come under the law of Moses
6:30
but Paul's answer is no he is the god of the Gentiles as well and so in chapter 4 he begins to show
6:40
that even with the Call of Abraham God was showing himself to be the God of all creation and of all Humanity
6:51
and that while salvation is of and from the Jews it is not strictly and only for the Jews the Jews but we know from Reading Paul in the
7:02
book of Acts and throughout his letters that his greatest difficulty in his Evangelistic work Evangelistic work was the relationship of Jews and
7:13
Gentiles within one Church and Romans is said in that very context as we will find someday when we get to Romans 14.
7:24
Romans 14. and so I think we have to understand that that this was a challenge to Paul to recalibrate and to reorient the truth that he had learned from a child
7:34
from the scriptures in the light of the fact that God has now fulfilled all of his promises through Jesus Christ
7:50
what Paul is saying to the Jews as he's writing this letter I think is is aptly summarized in one particular commentary particular commentary so far from it being necessary for
8:02
Gentile Believers to discover Abraham as their physical father that is for them to get circumcised it is necessary for Jewish people to
8:15
discover Abraham to be their uncircumcised father uncircumcised father that is to share in his faith
8:34
we need to get into this letter we need to get into the life of Paul not only in Romans but in Corinthians and Galatians Ephesians Philippians Colossians Thessalonians his letter to
8:51
we need to try to to understand especially as we read the book of Acts what what the world was like that Paul went into went into and what Judaism was like that Paul came
9:02
out from out from and to somehow come to the same conclusion that Paul did that God is making those two people one
9:12
in the person of Jesus Christ now that may not seem very important to us in the 21st century
9:23
[Music] because frankly Greenville South Carolina does not have a huge Jewish population that may shock you we don't really deal day to day with the
9:35
reality of the Jewish Gentile divide but Paul is going to take this struggle that was so real in the first century and in the Book of Romans he's going to
9:47
expand it to include the entire created order that the disagreement and the struggle between the Jew and the Gentile was
9:57
simply a microcosm of what sin has brought into all of God's good creation and that in Jesus Christ he's not merely
10:09
reconciling individual Sinners to himself he is doing that but in Jesus Christ he has created a new
10:19
creation he has reversed the curse that Adam brought upon not only mankind but the whole Earth
10:31
and that he intends to see that completely restored completely restored through the same man through whom we are saved his son our Lord Jesus Christ this is what Paul saw
10:43
him the struggle between the Jews and the Gentiles was real because there couldn't be two churches there couldn't be two Vines but only one because there is only one Humanity
10:56
and that humanity is the crowning creation of God's Cosmos and so in restoring that Humanity he's restoring that Cosmos we see that
11:07
in Romans 8. we see that in second Corinthians 5 this is part of what Paul understood and this is what made Paul able to withstand that violent hatred of his
11:23
countrymen and here and here In this passage verses 9 through 12 especially Paul says something that is so incendiary so radical
11:35
so radical that through it if we understand it we can begin to see why he was so hated by his unbelieving brethren he speaks of circumcision in verses 9 through 12. I
11:48
want you to notice the structure of this the reason I think this is an answer to the question the question of verse 29 and chapter three look look
11:59
at the parallels in verse 29 he says or is he the god of the Jews only in verse 9 he says is this blessing then
12:10
upon the circumcised only in verse 29 he answers is he not also the god of the Gentiles
12:21
and in verse 9 or verse 10 I'm sorry verse 9 he says or is this blessing also upon the uncircumcised
12:31
now there's a parallel here that he answers both questions by returning to Abraham in verse 1 of chapter 4 he says What
12:42
then shall we say that Abraham our forefather has found and in verse basically in verses 9 and following he
12:52
says What then shall we say about Abraham in terms of circumcision now what is he saying here well on the face of it it's a mere chronology
13:05
he's saying that as as we read Genesis we come to chapter 15. and The Cutting of the Covenant before we come to chapter 17
13:17
and the sign of circumcision so there's chronology going on here and Paul is alluding to that he's simply saying that well wait a minute we just
13:28
told you that he was reckoned to be righteous through faith back in Genesis 15 and then Psalm 13 or 15 years later
13:42
he receives the sign of circumcision okay that's no big deal well except circumcision
13:54
is a big deal and what Paul is saying here is really
14:07
violence producing again the mishnah you know how much fun I have quoting the mishnah this is the attitude that the Jews of Paul's day had toward circumcision
14:18
great is circumcision for despite all the religious duties Abraham Our Father fulfilled he was not called perfect until he was circumcised as it is
14:30
written walk before me and be perfect that's a typical Rabbi confusing a command with a condition God was not saying you are perfect
14:41
therefore I'm going to circumcise you God was commanding him to be perfect as he commands us but again it shows us
14:52
that circumcision was not just take it or leave it no big deal it was something upon which Israel had established its identity
15:04
it was an ethnic marker now the Jews weren't the only ones who circumcised their children but it was a very unusual surgical
15:14
procedure to say the least and in any other culture it was usually only done by the priests and not to all of the male children of that ethnic group
15:27
and in circumcision the Jews saw themselves to be physically as it were the people of the one God
15:37
one God and so when we use the word circumcised and uncircumcised if we use it in a Biblical Manner and as I showed between verse 29 of chapter 3 and verse 9 of
15:50
chapter 4 chapter 4 we are simply saying by other words Jew circumcised or Gentile
16:03
okay another commentary writes that the two words are signifying people the circumcised and the uncircumcised respectively they are equivalent to Jew
16:13
and Gentile someone inside the law which he's going to deal with in chapter in verse 13. verse 13. versus someone outside the law
16:32
well it means that if Abraham received righteousness while uncircumcised then what we're talking about is Abraham as a Justified Gentile
16:46
and that is how the Jews would have interpreted Paul interpreted Paul he's basically calling their forefather agenta and not only a gentile that's bad enough
16:59
but a Justified Gentile and we begin to see how Paul is going to systematically dismantle all that his
17:11
contemporaries were holding on to as their religion and their hope and he's going to go back to the one person that they were all United was the
17:23
beginner of all of this and that's can you can you begin to understand or get a
17:33
feel for how they must have felt to hear those grating words our forefather Abraham the great the righteous the perfect Abraham
17:46
it was a gentile now he was not a Jew because that hadn't come about yet that's an anachronism okay he was a
17:58
Hebrew because he's descended from a bear from which we think the word Hebrew comes from comes from he was a Semite he was descended from
18:09
Shem the son of Noah okay so he's definitely in the lineage of the seed of woman that has been promised from the beginning from right after the fall
18:24
but what the Jewish people had done was basically revise the whole history and the whole chronology to make Abraham the Supreme Jew
18:38
circumcised which means god Justified him and this is Paul's point God Justified Abraham when he was just like us
18:51
Gentile later on in the same passage he's going to tell them that God Justified Abraham before there ever was a law okay so if you've got this this stool this
19:05
stable stool as stable as it can be on three legs the law circumcision and the dietary laws dietary laws in this one passage of chapter four in
19:16
Romans Paul's going to knock out two of those legs those legs he says that you're relying on circumcision he's already said in chapter two you know what that doesn't make any
19:26
make any value at all he says circumcision of the flesh is nothing and so he takes out circumcision and says by the way
19:36
our great forefather Abraham was circumcised while he was a gen or was declared righteous while he was yet an uncircumcised Gentile by the way
19:47
our great ancestor Abraham was justified before there ever was a law in fact by the way in all of these passages Genesis 12 15 17 22 the
20:00
abrahamic Covenant passages there's no mention of Abraham's sin but only that God will through Abraham create a mighty nation and from his seed
20:13
will bless all the nations of the world so the way we read Paul I think
20:29
Paul and there are things that Paul says that if we don't understand the power of the objection to what Paul says for example when he says what shall we say
20:41
then shall we sin more that Grace might abound if our understanding of Grace does not lead to a logical conclusion well let's keep sinning
20:53
then maybe we're not reading Paul correctly but does that mean that we keep sinning well no Paul says may it never be how can we who died to sin still live in
21:05
it the point being that Paul was a man who was given a great revelation a great insight into what God was doing
21:17
in pulling together his entire Redemptive history in the person of Jesus Christ it was given to Paul along with great suffering along with a messenger of Satan to Buffet him along
21:29
with great trials and Sorrows but it was given to him to see and through him it is given to us to see the great salvation that God has given
21:41
us in Jesus Christ and so the point here is circumcision he says that Abraham in verse 11 received the sign of circumcision a seal of the righteousness
21:52
of the faith which he had while thank you so why was circumcision given
22:03
and why so much later in Abraham's life why wasn't Abraham circumcised in Genesis 15 when the Covenant was cut
22:16
why was it not until Genesis 17 Psalm 13 14 or 15 years later we're not sure exactly well Paul calls it a sign
22:28
and a seal or he mentions those two things and it's common within contemporary scholarship to see these as synonyms but I don't think Paul means the sign
22:40
and the seal to be the same thing for he says here
22:52
that Paul that Abraham received the sign having already possessed the seal is that not what he says in Genesis 15 he receives the seal and that is the righteousness credited to
23:04
him by faith and it's not until Genesis 17 that it receives the sign so I don't think they can be the same thing and I think that is confusing John
23:16
Murray writes a sign points to the existence of the thing signified whereas a seal authenticates confirms and
23:26
guarantees the genuiness of that which is signified [Music] Paul's Point that he's trying to make to the Jews and to us
23:39
is that when Abraham came to receive that most important of signs for the Jews circumcision Jews circumcision he came as one already
23:50
sealed with the righteousness that comes through faith through faith now that Point's going to be very important in a few moments as I wrap up
24:01
but Paul uses the word seal here and it's the same word as he does in Ephesians chapter 1 and verse 13 where he writes in him you also
24:12
meaning the Gentiles after listening to the message of the truth the gospel of your salvation having also believed you were sealed in
24:24
him with the Holy Spirit of promise guys it's the seal that matters not the sign that that's what Paul is saying in back
24:35
in chapter two when he uses this rhetorical question what if there's a gentile who who obeys the law will it be will it not be like circumcision to him
24:45
and then he says well what about a Jew who is circumcised but disobeys the law will it not be like uncircumcision to him see it's not the sign that matters
24:56
but only the seal and in fact if the seal isn't there the sign is not only meaningless it's worse it's deceptive
25:06
it's deceptive again that's an important point in the modern application of circumcision that we'll come to in a moment but Paul has already addressed this back in chapter two he writes for he is not a
25:18
Jew who is one outwardly nor is circumcision that which is outward in the flesh but he is a Jew who is one inwardly and circumcision is that
25:30
which is of the heart by the spirit that ties what he's saying here in Romans to what he's saying in Ephesians the unbelieving Jew
25:42
is not is not a child of Abraham the Justified Gentile
25:54
so circumcision is not as important as they thought it was in fact circumcision has no meaning at all if the reality of the righteousness which is by faith is not present in the
26:04
heart as it was with Abraham so why so why did God wait and why did he give circumcision so much
26:15
later than he cut his Covenant with Abraham well in Genesis 15 and I wish I had the time to go through that
26:26
it's in Genesis 15 that God takes up the promise of a great and mighty nation a multitude of people coming from the loins of Abraham
26:38
but in Genesis 15 we also are 17 excuse me we have Abram his name changed to Abraham I've been using Abraham all the way through
26:48
way through but accurately back in Genesis 15 God cut the Covenant with Abram and in Genesis 15 each or 17 he changes his name from Abram to Abraham the
27:00
father of many nations a father of many
27:11
effort by Genesis 17. because in Genesis 17 we find out that Ishmael is born and he cries out oh that Ishmael might
27:22
live before thee and God says no we've got this passage of time back in Genesis 12 and Genesis 15 God promised a son he waited waited waited Abram thinks
27:34
Sarai thinks let's do this on our own here take my maidservant and have a child by her God says no and so after all of this has happened
27:46
and also after Sarah was past the child bearing age and by the way the terminology where Sarah says that I am no longer in the way of
27:58
women seems to indicate that she was post-menopausal okay not that she was just old but that our body was not even creating
28:08
the necessary embryo the necessary egg the ovum the ovum for childbirth for childbirth this was a situation that was as good as
28:24
and God comes and Promises Abraham a son through Sarah through Sarah through whom the covenant will proceed and he gives them the sign of circumcision it's as if God is doing what he later
28:35
says through his Prophet Zechariah not by might by might not by power not by the machinations of you but by my spirit says the Lord
28:47
and what better indication as a sign than one that is applied to the male organ of reproduction if you think about it as a sign
29:03
in respectable Society it's not a very visible one is it
29:13
it's kind of like baptism not long afterward we dry off don't we we don't go around wet and so these signs that we talk about are not really public decorations of
29:24
faith that's not what they are the Declaration of faith in Abraham was back when God promised and it was 15 years until that promise
29:36
was fulfilled was fulfilled and so the righteousness was credited to Abraham years before circumcision was given and the sign that was given was then
29:47
given to the people because it was the sign that the promised Seed of Abraham was going to come no matter what
30:01
okay later on later on King Hezekiah King Hezekiah will be ill to the point of death and he will pray to the Lord that his
30:12
life be extended and Isaiah will go to him and say the Lord has heard your prayers and you will be given another 15 years
30:31
his son manessa was 12. you see Hezekiah was deathly ill and did not have a son meaning the promised lineage of the Messiah would have died right there with
30:43
him this is what it's all about from Genesis 3 15 on and that is the seed of woman the promise that God would raise up one who would crush the Serpent's head who
30:53
would redeem all of creation and so that promise is going to come through Abraham through a promise of a son that when he is well past and his
31:04
wife is well past the ability to Bear a son and then it's going to be repeated Generation by generation to all the male children within the household
31:15
including the servants including Ishmael to remind the nation that God's promise will be fulfilled that he will raise up the Seed of
31:27
Abraham and that Seed of Abraham will bless the Nations and Paul is saying God has done it God has done it
31:37
so there's no need for that sign anymore God has fulfilled his promise he has brought the seed in Galatians Paul makes
31:49
that a very explicit but in general the old Covenant was ethnic and promissory circumcision was meant to remind the
31:59
people of the promise of the seed and that God will be faithful to bring that about but the New Covenant is universal and it's eschatological
32:09
the old Covenant with circumcision of the flesh the flesh the New Covenant is circumcision of the heart that is the Fulfillment of the right of
32:20
circumcision the circumcision that God does without hands so what does this mean for modern covenantalists here we come to the application here we come to the issue of
32:33
why we're Baptists we're Baptists so the Covenant looks at this and says since since circumcision has been fulfilled we'll just replace it with baptism
32:45
and since the promise seed has already come will continue to baptize our infants
33:03
circumcision then it belongs to No One merely on the basis of their parents that's what Paul is saying here in Romans to those Jews who while remaining
33:16
unbelieving will inevitably hate him remember what he's going to say a little bit later not all Israel is Israel well he's beginning to say this now he's basically saying that
33:28
if you want to find yourself to be a child of Abraham and you are circumcised that's not enough verse 12 he says and the father of
33:39
circumcision to those who not only are of the circumcision but who also follow in the steps of the Faith of Our Father Abraham which he had
33:50
while uncircumcised righteousness came to circumcision
34:02
all ready a believer so if there is any analogy between baptism and circumcision
34:13
then the only reasonable conclusion is that the sign of baptism belongs only to those who manifest the seal which is circumcision of the heart
34:26
and the only way we can manifest that seal is through profession of faith let us pray
34:36
father we do ask that you would help us to understand this amazing letter relating to us that incredible Revelation that you gave to your servant
34:53
help us to get into his mind as we share the Holy Spirit who wrote it who inspired it help us to hear the radical nature of what the Apostle says
35:05
and help us to understand the comprehensiveness the universality of the work that you have accomplished through Jesus Christ
35:16
For Your Glory and for our edification we ask in Jesus name amen please stand this morning for the benediction from Ephesians
35:28
chapter 3 now to him he was able to do exceedingly abundantly beyond all that we ask or think according to the power that works
35:39
within us within us to him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus