Faith Glorifying God
A Sermon on Romans 4:18-22
Scripture
18Who against hope believed in hope, that he might become the father of many nations; according to that which was spoken, So shall thy seed be. 19And being not weak in faith, he considered not his own body now dead, when he was about an hundred years old, …
Sermon Description
What is faith? In this sermon on Romans 4:18–22 titled “Faith Glorifying God,” Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones dissects the negative and positive aspects of the nature of faith through the illustration of Abraham presented in Romans 4:18–22: “No unbelief made him waver concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God, fully convinced that God was able to do what he had promised.” Abraham’s faith was not one that looked to itself, nor to his circumstances, but its essence was to give glory to God. He considered the nature of God – the God who never makes His promises lightly, never changes His mind, and is fully capable of doing what He has promised – and Abraham applied that knowledge to his circumstances. In one’s own experience, though they may find they are weak in faith, all they need do to strengthen it is to follow the example of Abraham and many others put forth in Scripture as examples of great faith. The Christian must grow in their knowledge of God – objectively, as He’s revealed Himself in the Scriptures and personally, through prayer and time spent in His presence – and apply that knowledge to the particulars of their lives. Faith is simply holding onto the faithfulness of God.
Sermon Breakdown
- Faith prevented Abraham from being weak.
- Faith prevented Abraham from staggering in unbelief at God's promises.
- Abraham was made strong in faith by giving glory to God.
- Abraham gave glory to God by considering God's attributes like eternity, majesty, omnipresence, omniscience, omnipotence, righteousness, justice, truth, holiness, and unchangeability.
- Abraham deduced from God's attributes that God does not make promises lightly or change His mind. God is able to fulfill His promises.
- There are degrees of faith from weak to strong. Weak faith is still faith.
- Two factors determine the strength of faith: knowledge of God and applying what we know.
- We must recognize the difference between faith and foolishness. We can misunderstand God's promises and the character of faith.
- Faith is not something we can choose to "go in for." It is a gift from God.
- Faith is not persuading ourselves we believe or just saying we believe. It is a quiet confidence and resting in God.
- Faith does not look at itself. It looks to God. The measure of faith is the measure of knowledge of God.
- Faith glorifies God, not self. There is nothing hectic or excitable about faith.
- To have strong faith, read the Bible, know God's promises and character, meditate on God, pray, and apply faith in practice.
The Book of Romans
Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones
Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones (1899-1981) was a Welsh evangelical minister who preached and taught in the Reformed tradition. His principal ministry was at Westminster Chapel, in central London, from 1939-1968, where he delivered multi-year expositions on books of the bible such as Romans, Ephesians and the Gospel of John. In addition to the MLJ Trust’s collection of 1,600 of these sermons in audio format, most of these great sermon series are available in book form (including a 14 volume collection of the Romans sermons), as are other series such as "Spiritual Depression", "Studies in the Sermon on the Mount" and "Great Biblical Doctrines". He is considered by many evangelical leaders today to be an authority on biblical truth and the sufficiency of Scripture.