Trust and the Character God

Romans 4-5

 

I.                   Biblical language:  belief, faith, trust

 

a.       Abraham’s faith and its Hebrew origins:  Genesis 15:6 (picked up in Romans 4:3, and Galatians 3:6)

                                                               i.      Genesis 15:6:  “Abraham believed God and it was credited to him as righteousness.” (NIV), Literally the Hebrew reads, “and he put his trust in YHWH and it was counted as righteousness to him”

                                                             ii.      The Hebrew word translated as believed in Genesis 15:6 (root: }m) , amin), when coupled with a person, means to “put trust in someone”.  It is variously translated believe, faith, or trust in English, however the underlying meaning to all is:

1.      Literal root meaning is “to support” when applied to things, as in pillars support the ceiling

2.      When used in connection with people it means to put trust or confidence in the person, so as to follow what that person does and says, as illustrated in Exodus 4:1-9, or 14:31. 

                                                            iii.      This word conveys the kind of trust in someone that leads to action, for example:

1.      Israelites putting their trust in the Lord:  Exodus 19:9 (also see Deuteronomy 1:32, a reflection that the Israelites did not put their trust in the Lord as the Lord had hoped)

2.      Moses striking the rock exhibiting a lack of trust in God (Numbers 20:12)

3.      Used in Jonah 3:5 of the Ninevites.  They believed, and expressed this belief by declaring a fast and putting on sackcloth.

                                                           iv.      This word can also be used to described the concepts of trustworthiness or faithfulness, as in Numbers 12:7 when Moses was described as faithful over all of God’s house.

                                                             v.      It is important to see that “trusting” in God was the link even in the Genesis account for the Israelites to be in a right relationship with God: to enjoy God’s blessings, and avert God’s wrath (for example in Numbers 14, see verse 11-12)

 

b.      The Greek equivalent word pisteuw:

                                                               i.      In its original form carries more of an intellectual understanding of something

                                                             ii.      However when used in the sense of believing “in” God, it conveys the same notion as the Hebrew, which is to place trust and confidence in God.

                                                            iii.      To place trust in God, then carries with it the saving sense of faith and trust in God.

Trust and the Character God

Romans 4-5 (continued)

 

II.                The Value of Trust 

 

a.       He is the father of all those who also walk in the footsteps of the faith that our father Abraham had before he was circumcised. (Romans 4:12)

 

b.      Abraham received the promise that he would be “heir of the world” through the righteousness that comes by faith.

                                                               i.      If the promise comes through living by law, then faith has no value. (Romans 14:14)

                                                             ii.      Law brings wrath (Romans 14:15)

1.      “Where there is no law there is no transgression”.

2.      Law cannot save, but only point to the reality that salvation is necessary.  Salvation is not only from damnation because of failure to keep the law, but salvation unto God’s ability in us to live out the heart of the law.

                                                            iii.      The promise comes by faith so that it can be by grace and guaranteed to all. (Romans 14:16):  If the promise comes by grace, then there are no transgressions “counted” to us, and the promise may be guaranteed.

                                                          iv.      Trust is the deep underlying disposition we have towards God.  It is a condition of the heart, which is why it is the avenue through which the promise comes, and through which salvation comes. 

                                                            v.      Trust is not dependent upon work to bring it into reality.

                                                          vi.       Trust is that which characterizes our heart towards God.  Anything we do springs from the disposition of our heart.  If we trust God, we will be compelled to obey God.  Genuine trust and genuine obedience cannot be understood apart from each other.

 

c.       How did Abraham show his trust in God? 

                                                               i.      Abraham believed against hope (Romans 4:18)

                                                             ii.      Abraham did not waiver through unbelief regarding the promise of God (Romans 4:20)

                                                            iii.      Abraham was fully persuaded that God has the power to do what God promised

                                                           iv.      Likewise, we are credited as right with God (Paul’s understanding of this is in a salvation sense – see Romans 10:9-10)

1.      We must put our trust in God who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead (Romans 4:22-25)

2.      Jesus died for our sins, and raised to live for our justification (or, to make us right with God – remember that righteousness and justification come from the same word in Greek:  Righteous is to “be right with God”, Justification is to be “made right with God”)