Faith that hopes against all hope

[Romans 4:18-25]

In Numbers 13-14, Caleb and Joshua, 2 of the 12 patriarchs who returned from spying on the land of Canaan, reported in faith, but the other 10 spies reported in disbelief.  In other words, the 10 spies made a bad report saying that the people of the land of Canaan were not only powerful and were men of great size, but also the cities were fortified and very large so they would not able to go up against them.  Also, compared to themselves and the inhabitants of the land of Canaan, they considered themselves to be grasshoppers (13:28-33).  Therefore, all the congregation of Israel, hearing their bad report, raised their voices and wept all night long (14:1), grumbling against Moses and Aaron (v. 2).  In the midst of this, the Israelites talked about appointing a leader and return to Egypt (v. 4).  Hearing all this, God said to Moses, “How long will this people spurn Me?  And how long will they not believe in Me, despite all the signs which I have performed in their midst?” (v. 11)  As I meditated on this word, I asked myself if God was saying to me, “How long will you not believe in me?”  When we consider that unbelief is a crime that despises God, and that unbelief eventually leads to disobedience to God's commandments, we realize that not believing in God's power is a sin that should never be taken lightly.  When we consider that unbelief is a crime that despises God, and that unbelief eventually leads to disobedience to God's commandments, we realize that not believing in God's power is a sin that should never be taken lightly.

Personally, I enjoy singing hymn “Encamped Along the Hills of Light.”  I especially like the chorus lyrics: “Faith is the victory!  Faith is the victory!  Oh, glorious victory, That overcomes the world.”  The reason I like this hymn is because I believe that only faith can win the spiritual battle.  What is faith really?  We can find the answer in Hebrews 11:1 – “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.”  Faith hopes for the impossible. “Faith” is a word that means ‘believe, trust,’ and shows that the object is clearly present.  The three important elements of faith in the New Testament are realizing and fully acknowledging the grace shown by God, giving up oneself and fellowshipping with the Lord, speaking total dependence, and trusting and hoping without doubt or change in the Lord, the God of salvation.  This faith, however, is not a feeling we create.  It is our total response to God's revelation of His Word.  Faith allows us to see what we cannot see.  Faith is said to be “the conviction of things not seen”.  Faith is the inner conviction of things not seen.  What God has promised, God surely does.  To firmly believe this is an inner conviction.  But this conviction also comes from God.  It’s not believing against one’s will as he says "I believe!  I believe!"  All the forefathers of faith in Hebrews 11 were people who, by faith in God, accomplished things that we could never do with our human strength.  Our ancestors of faith were those who worked with the conviction that with man it is impossible, but with God all things are possible.  Faith is a grace and a blessing given by God.  This faith creates a new work and opens the way to the impossible (Internet).

While meditating on Romans 4:9-17, we have already considered Abraham's faith in two ways in verse 17: (1) Abraham's faith was faith in God, who gives life to the dead.  As God commanded in Genesis 22, Abraham tied his son to an altar to offer up his only son, Isaac, and even tried to strike him down with the sword, believing that God was able to raise him from the dead.  (2) Abraham's faith was faith in God who "calls things that are not as though they were."  Even though Abraham had no son until he was 100 years old, he nevertheless believed God's promise that his descendants would be as numerous as the stars in the sky and the sand on the seashore.

In today's text, Romans 4:18-25, apostle Paul continues to speak about the faith of Abraham, who was justified by faith, while writing a letter to the saints in Rome.  What does Paul say about Abraham's faith?  In a word, Abraham's faith was 'faith that hoped against all hope' (v. 18).  What is the hopeless situation that Abraham was talking about here, that is, the situation where there is no hope?  Look at verse 19 – “…  he faced the fact that his body was as good as dead--since he was about a hundred years old--and that Sarah's womb was also dead.”  The hopeless situation that Abraham encountered refers to a “dead” situation in which neither he nor his wife, Sarah, are medically able to conceive at all.  Abraham hoped in the Lord in this impossible situation, in a situation in which human hope of having a baby was cut off.  What did he hope for?  It was the fulfillment of the word of promise given by God to Abraham.  The word of promise is written as follows in verse 18 of today's text (quoted from Genesis 15:5): “…  So shall your offspring be.”  Abraham believed in God, who raises the dead.  Even though he knew that his body and his wife Sara’s body were good as dead, he believed the word of promise given by God that his descendants would multiply like the countless stars in the sky and like the grains of sand in the sea.  Even in this hopeless, seemingly impossible situation, Abraham's faith did not weaken (v. 19), but rather became stronger and gave glory to God.  Look at Romans 4:19-20: “Without weakening in his faith, he faced the fact that his body was as good as dead--since he was about a hundred years old--and that Sarah's womb was also dead.  Yet he did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God, but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God.”  What amazing faith is this?  Usually, the more difficult the situation becomes, the weaker our faith becomes, doubting God's word of promise, and our hearts shake more and more.  But Abraham gave glory to God because his faith became more and more solid in the hopeless and impossible situation.  How is this possible?  It is because Abraham was fully persuaded by God.  Look at verse 21: “being fully persuaded that God had power to do what he had promised.”  Here, the word “being fully persuaded” means Abraham was convinced (Park).  In other words, God gave Abraham the word of promise and also convinced Abraham to firmly believe in the word of promise.  Therefore, Abraham's faith became more and more steadfast in an impossible situation.

Abraham's solid faith was counted as righteousness before God (v. 22).  In other words, Abraham did not have his own righteousness, but God's righteousness was given to him only through faith given by God's grace.  This is recorded in the Bible, not just for Abraham's sake alone (v. 23), but also for us whom God will credit with righteousness (v. 24).  The Bible records the faith that Abraham, the father of faith, hoped for when he was hopeless for those who believe in Him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead are not only for the Roman saints in the time of Paul, but also for us who are living in this age today.  What do you and I really believe in?  What we believe is the death of Jesus on the cross and His resurrection from the dead.  More specifically, the object of our faith is Jesus, who was delivered on the cross for our transgressions and rose from the dead for our justification (v. 25).  We believe in the death and resurrection of Jesus.  Through that faith, you and I were justified by God.  And even now, we are living with the happiness of justification.

Do you believe in Jesus' crucifixion and resurrection from the grave on the third day?  Do you really believe that Jesus died on the cross to forgive all our sins?  Do you believe that Jesus rose from the dead to justify us?  Those who hear this gospel and believe in the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus have already been credited as righteousness by God.  And God, who raised Jesus from the dead, is enabling us who believe in Jesus to move forward with faith in this hopeless world, with the hope of resurrection and the hope of heaven, the eternal inheritance.  I hope and pray that even if the day comes when everything we believed in this world will be cut off, our hope will grow even more because we believe in the Savior's covenant.  And I hope and pray that when we go up to heaven and meet before God, we can stand before the Lord with dignity thanks to the righteousness of the Savior (v. 4).