Introduction. The book of Romans was written to explain exactly how the gospel is “the power of God unto salvation to everyone who believes.” (Rom. 1:16). After giving irrefutable proof in the first three chapters, God left us with no other choice but to agree with great sadness and grief: “all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.” After this bad news comes the good news (gospel)! God now offers a “new” covenant for all.
A covenant is a binding agreement between two parties. “Though it is only a man's covenant, yet if it is confirmed, no one annuls or adds to it.” (Gal. 3:15-16). As Jesus instituted the Lord’s Supper, He said of the fruit of the vine, “this is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.” (Mt. 26:28). This covenant was ratified by the blood Jesus shed on the cross. After His resurrection, Jesus commanded the apostles to go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature (whole creation). Its conditions and promises were then proclaimed for the first time in Peter’s sermon in Jerusalem. When asked for the conditions, Peter told the Jews who believed: “Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins.” (Acts 2:38).
This covenant was confirmed at that time and God’s side of the covenant was fixed. Hence: “No one annuls or adds to it.” God is offering grace, redemption, propitiation, and justification leading to eternal life with Him in heaven. (Rom. 3:23-26). This is why the gospel alone is “the power of God unto salvation to everyone who believes.” Paul summed this up: “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God. (Eph. 2:8).
In order for each individual to agree to and enter into this covenant, God’s conditions cannot be “annulled or added to.” There is a single condition to man’s side of the covenant: “faith.” “We conclude that a man is justified by faith apart from the deeds of the law.” (Rom. 3:28). We are saved by God’s grace (His side of the covenant summed up) through faith (our side of the covenant summed up).
Although both of these passages sum up our side of the covenant with one word (“faith”), what we are to believe and how we are to respond based on that faith is not open to man’s ideas. God explained exactly what it meant in Romans 4-8. He began by using Abraham as “the father of all those who believe”, explaining exactly how He had made Abraham righteous by faith.
A covenant is a binding agreement between two parties. “Though it is only a man's covenant, yet if it is confirmed, no one annuls or adds to it.” (Gal. 3:15-16). As Jesus instituted the Lord’s Supper, He said of the fruit of the vine, “this is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.” (Mt. 26:28). This covenant was ratified by the blood Jesus shed on the cross. After His resurrection, Jesus commanded the apostles to go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature (whole creation). Its conditions and promises were then proclaimed for the first time in Peter’s sermon in Jerusalem. When asked for the conditions, Peter told the Jews who believed: “Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins.” (Acts 2:38).
This covenant was confirmed at that time and God’s side of the covenant was fixed. Hence: “No one annuls or adds to it.” God is offering grace, redemption, propitiation, and justification leading to eternal life with Him in heaven. (Rom. 3:23-26). This is why the gospel alone is “the power of God unto salvation to everyone who believes.” Paul summed this up: “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God. (Eph. 2:8).
In order for each individual to agree to and enter into this covenant, God’s conditions cannot be “annulled or added to.” There is a single condition to man’s side of the covenant: “faith.” “We conclude that a man is justified by faith apart from the deeds of the law.” (Rom. 3:28). We are saved by God’s grace (His side of the covenant summed up) through faith (our side of the covenant summed up).
Although both of these passages sum up our side of the covenant with one word (“faith”), what we are to believe and how we are to respond based on that faith is not open to man’s ideas. God explained exactly what it meant in Romans 4-8. He began by using Abraham as “the father of all those who believe”, explaining exactly how He had made Abraham righteous by faith.
There are five events in Abraham’s life that are used to fully explain Abraham’s faith so that we can “walk in the steps of the faith” of “our father Abraham.” Three are listed in Romans 4 and the others in Hebrews 11 and James 2. The reference in Hebrews described Abraham’s initial obedience to God’s call at the age of 75 to come into the promised land. (Gen. 12:1-4; Heb. 11:8-10). When God called Him, “by faith Abraham obeyed when he was called,” leaving everything behind and though not knowing where he was going, trusted God and did everything God asked of him. Hence when God calls us through the gospel, we must obey in the same way (2Th. 2:14).
The three events in Romans 4 describe Abraham’s faith as he grew old waiting for God’s promise. Paul began by describing the event where God told Abraham he would have a son from his own body (Gen. 15:1-6; Rom. 4:1-3). When he believed that with his whole heart, “it was reckoned to him for righteousness.” At the age of 99, God again appeared to Abram and gave him the covenant of circumcision, changing his name to Abraham and promising to make him the father of many nations (Gen. 17; Rom 4:9-18). Because he and all in house were circumcised the very same day, he again manifested his faith in obedience. In that same year, God again appeared to Abraham and promised that by the next year, he would have a son by Sarah. That entire year, Abraham waited expectantly without doubt. Abraham’s faith and trust glorified God and was reckoned to him for righteousness (Gen. 18:9-10; Rom. 4:19-21).
The final reference to Abraham’s life is described in three places. The event itself is recorded in Genesis and the applications to us are made in Hebrews and James. When God “tested” Abraham by asking him to offer his son Isaac as a burnt offering, Abraham left early the next morning and as soon as he arrived at the mount, prepared to do exactly what God had commanded (Gen. 22:1-19; Heb. 11:17-19; Jas. 2:21-24). It was also this event that is used to give assurance because God swore with an oath (Heb. 6:13-18).
From these five “snapshots” of Abraham’s life we gain a crystal clear picture of God’s expectations under the New Covenant. Abraham’s relationship with God began just like every Christian’s today. God calls us through the gospel just as He called Abraham. When we respond in trusting obedience and submission, we follow in the footsteps of our father Abraham.
This is where a grave error is made by many who want to be saved by grace through faith. While proclaiming they trust Jesus and believe God raised Him from the dead, many reject Jesus’ own teaching. Jesus told His apostles (and all of us through them) “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned.” (Mk. 16:15-16). Although Jesus clearly placed faith and baptism before salvation, multitudes reject Him in this teaching. For them, any act but faith is a work, and we are not saved by works. Yet the fallacy of this reasoning is obvious because it was Jesus Himself who commanded baptism. When Peter preached the gospel for the first time and his audience manifested their faith by asking him what to do, Peter again clearly placed repentance and baptism before the remission of sins which brings salvation. This was consistently taught throughout the preaching of the apostles, but it is not often believed or practiced today.
How can we be of the faith of Abraham if the first thing we did after we believed was to reject Jesus command? Noah did not expect to be saved by faith alone. He was saved because his faith created godly fear that moved him to build and enter the ark (Heb. 11:7). In exactly the same way, after hearing the gospel we too move with godly fear and are baptized. This is why Peter states that baptism is the true likeness of Noah’s ark (1Pet. 3:20-21). Does anyone believe that Noah’s “faith only” saved him and that the ark was unnecessary? Yet that is exactly what we are saying if we reject baptism. If baptism is the true likeness, then it is just as necessary as the ark.
After Paul used Abraham to reveal the manner by which the power of the gospel saves, he too spoke of the critical position God gave to baptism in the New Covenant. First, Paul reminded them that “as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death.” Baptism brings us into Jesus’ death where the blood was shed for remission of sins. The Spirit also stated that “we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.” Our relationship to His death, burial and resurrection is directly tied to baptism. If we were not buried (immersion) with Him in baptism, we have no relationship to His death, burial, and resurrection. Only through baptism is “our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin.” Why can’t everyone see that without baptism, we are still in our sins? (Rom. 6:3-7; Col. 3:11-13). How can anyone be called by the gospel and obey God, reject baptism as necessary for salvation, and still claim to walk in the steps of our father Abraham?
Conclusion. Just as Abraham obeyed when he was called by walking all the way to the promised land, his children also obey. Abraham was not saved by faith alone, but by faith and obedience. Never forget “By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out.” As James noted, it was after Abraham offered Isaac that we can “see that faith was working together with his works, and by works faith was made perfect.” Only then “the Scripture was fulfilled which says, ‘Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.’” Even for Abraham, “as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.” (Jas. 2:14-16)
The three events in Romans 4 describe Abraham’s faith as he grew old waiting for God’s promise. Paul began by describing the event where God told Abraham he would have a son from his own body (Gen. 15:1-6; Rom. 4:1-3). When he believed that with his whole heart, “it was reckoned to him for righteousness.” At the age of 99, God again appeared to Abram and gave him the covenant of circumcision, changing his name to Abraham and promising to make him the father of many nations (Gen. 17; Rom 4:9-18). Because he and all in house were circumcised the very same day, he again manifested his faith in obedience. In that same year, God again appeared to Abraham and promised that by the next year, he would have a son by Sarah. That entire year, Abraham waited expectantly without doubt. Abraham’s faith and trust glorified God and was reckoned to him for righteousness (Gen. 18:9-10; Rom. 4:19-21).
The final reference to Abraham’s life is described in three places. The event itself is recorded in Genesis and the applications to us are made in Hebrews and James. When God “tested” Abraham by asking him to offer his son Isaac as a burnt offering, Abraham left early the next morning and as soon as he arrived at the mount, prepared to do exactly what God had commanded (Gen. 22:1-19; Heb. 11:17-19; Jas. 2:21-24). It was also this event that is used to give assurance because God swore with an oath (Heb. 6:13-18).
From these five “snapshots” of Abraham’s life we gain a crystal clear picture of God’s expectations under the New Covenant. Abraham’s relationship with God began just like every Christian’s today. God calls us through the gospel just as He called Abraham. When we respond in trusting obedience and submission, we follow in the footsteps of our father Abraham.
This is where a grave error is made by many who want to be saved by grace through faith. While proclaiming they trust Jesus and believe God raised Him from the dead, many reject Jesus’ own teaching. Jesus told His apostles (and all of us through them) “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned.” (Mk. 16:15-16). Although Jesus clearly placed faith and baptism before salvation, multitudes reject Him in this teaching. For them, any act but faith is a work, and we are not saved by works. Yet the fallacy of this reasoning is obvious because it was Jesus Himself who commanded baptism. When Peter preached the gospel for the first time and his audience manifested their faith by asking him what to do, Peter again clearly placed repentance and baptism before the remission of sins which brings salvation. This was consistently taught throughout the preaching of the apostles, but it is not often believed or practiced today.
How can we be of the faith of Abraham if the first thing we did after we believed was to reject Jesus command? Noah did not expect to be saved by faith alone. He was saved because his faith created godly fear that moved him to build and enter the ark (Heb. 11:7). In exactly the same way, after hearing the gospel we too move with godly fear and are baptized. This is why Peter states that baptism is the true likeness of Noah’s ark (1Pet. 3:20-21). Does anyone believe that Noah’s “faith only” saved him and that the ark was unnecessary? Yet that is exactly what we are saying if we reject baptism. If baptism is the true likeness, then it is just as necessary as the ark.
After Paul used Abraham to reveal the manner by which the power of the gospel saves, he too spoke of the critical position God gave to baptism in the New Covenant. First, Paul reminded them that “as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death.” Baptism brings us into Jesus’ death where the blood was shed for remission of sins. The Spirit also stated that “we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.” Our relationship to His death, burial and resurrection is directly tied to baptism. If we were not buried (immersion) with Him in baptism, we have no relationship to His death, burial, and resurrection. Only through baptism is “our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin.” Why can’t everyone see that without baptism, we are still in our sins? (Rom. 6:3-7; Col. 3:11-13). How can anyone be called by the gospel and obey God, reject baptism as necessary for salvation, and still claim to walk in the steps of our father Abraham?
Conclusion. Just as Abraham obeyed when he was called by walking all the way to the promised land, his children also obey. Abraham was not saved by faith alone, but by faith and obedience. Never forget “By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out.” As James noted, it was after Abraham offered Isaac that we can “see that faith was working together with his works, and by works faith was made perfect.” Only then “the Scripture was fulfilled which says, ‘Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.’” Even for Abraham, “as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.” (Jas. 2:14-16)