Eschatology Archives - Page 8 of 8

Introduction

We continue following the apostle’s discussion of Abraham’s faith. We finished our treatment of Romans 4:16, knowing that Abraham was the father of believing Jew and believing Gentile alike. But what do we mean by that word believing? Abraham sets the pattern, and in this passage we learn what his faith was actually like. It is not enough for Abraham to have real faith and for us to have something called faith.

The Text

“As it is written, I have made thee a father of many nations,) before him whom he believed, even God, who quickeneth the dead, and calleth those things which be not as though they were. Who 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 . . .” (Rom. 4:17-25).

Summary of the Text

We have noted that Abraham believed, but we have taken special note of what he believed. In this place, Paul notes that he believed the promise of Gen. 17:5, that he would be the father of many nations (v. 17). Now Abraham is the father of all (v. 16) before Him whom he believed (v. 17). The one he believed was God, and is He a worthy object of our faith? He is the one who raises the dead, and who speaks to nothing as though it were something—and then it is (v. 17). The promise cited in the next verse that Abraham believed was the promise from Gen. 15, “so shall your seed be.” Against hope he believed this particular word in hope (v. 18). He was not weak in faith (v. 19), and he looked to the promise and not to the circumstance. The circumstance was his own body, virtually dead, and Sarah’s aged and barren womb (v. 19). Not a lot to go on. He did not stagger at the promise in unbelief (v. 20), but was strong in faith. What did that look like? He gave glory to God (v. 20). Abraham was fully persuaded that God was able to do what He had said He would do (v. 21). And this is why is was imputed to him as righteousness (v. 22). Abraham was a man of faith, and he was an “all-in” man of faith. But this word is not recorded as an historical curiosity—look what happened to Abraham!—it was not written for his sake alone (v. 23). It was also written for us as well, who will have this righteousness imputed, if we believe in Him who raised Jesus from the dead (v. 24). This Jesus was delivered over for our sins (v. 25), and He was raised to life for our justification (v. 25).

Who God Is, And What He Does

Notice the parallel between what Abraham did and what we are to do. Abraham gave glory to God (v. 20). He believed in God (v. 17), not in certain random occurences. Abraham did not just believe the dead were quickened, and that certain inexplicable things happen. He believed in God, the one who brought these things about. He believed what was spoken (v. 18) precisely because he believed the Speaker. In the same way, in an identical way, we must do more than believe that Jesus came back from the dead. We must believe on Him who raised Jesus from the dead. We believe in a Person who says and does things; we do not proceed straight to those things which are said and done. But we may not detach them from the other direction either. Just as we cannot be justified by the predicate apart from the subject, neither can we be saved by the subject apart from the predicate

The Same Promise

We must also see that, at bottom, Abraham believed the same promise that we do. Abraham believed in the God who quickens the dead (v. 17), and we believe in the God who quickens the dead (v. 24). Abraham believed in the God who gave him the nations of men (4:13, 17, 18), and we believe in the God who raised Jesus for “our” justification (v. 25). Who does that pronoun refer to? Remember that we have just learned that Abraham is the father of believing Jews and Gentiles both, and that he understood this as meaning that God was giving the world to him (4:13). Our justification is therefore, over time, the world’s justification.

Is This Too Big To Swallow?

The world will be Christian. The nations will come to Christ. The swords will be beaten into plowshares. The earth will be as full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea. From the rising of the sun to the going down of the same, the name of the Lord will be praised. The ensign will be raised and the ends of the earth will stream to the Lord Jesus. Take the breath away? Too glad to be true?

After all, scores of wars are continuing around the planet as we speak. Millions live in grinding and unbelievable poverty. Our new president has nothing but contempt for the right of the unborn to live. Sexual immorality continues to spiral out of control. We insist that our public square be kept stripped of all reference to the true and living God, and blithely expect Him to bless us anything. A glance at the newspapers would not lead you to the conclusions outlined in the paragraph.

“I see your point, certainly,” Abraham said. “I am an old man. How could I possibly beget a son? And look at Sarah . . . she was barren when she was young, and she is old now.” Is that what you want to be remembered for—pointing at our newspapers and persuading Abraham that he ought not believe the promises of God?

Fully Persuaded

But of course Abraham wouldn’t have listened to this kind of unbelieving chatter. God had promised him the world, remember, and he believed God, giving glory to Him (v. 20). What did Abraham do with all the information that was contrary to the promise? He ignored it. He had nothing whatever to do with it. He looked instead to the promise, made by the God who does what? God is not hog-tied by our circumstances. We believe in the God who quickens the dead, proving that He does this through His raising of Jesus from the grave. We believe in the God who calls those things which are not as though they were. And so what are Abraham’s children to do? They do the same, calling non-existent realities into reality. We are to do this by faith, never by sight.

Crippled Aeneas

According to Virgil, Aeneas was the legendary Trojan who laid the foundations of the great Rome. “And Peter said unto him, Aeneas, Jesus Christ maketh thee whole: arise, and make thy bed. And he arose immediately” (Acts 9:34). Note that Peter doesn’t flatter him; he heals him. America is not a picture of health; we are laid up with the palsy. Arise, then and walk. America is not vibrant with life. We are like Israel in the valley of dry bones. Rise, then and live. So then, you believe that America can be restored this way, by words from a pulpit? Well, yes, I do.

Introduction

Throughout the Old Testament, we are frequently given glorious visions of God’s glorious plan for our fallen world. It is tempting to say that we are given glimpses of this, but when we finally understand what God has promised us, we start to see His promises everywhere. This psalm is one of many examples.

The Text
“O clap your hands, all ye people; shout unto God with the voice of triumph . . .” (Psalm 47:1-9).

Structure and Summary of the Text

The psalm is fairly short, and so we may content ourselves with just one division at the conclusion of the fourth verse. The psalm may be a celebration of the occasion when the ark of the covenant was brought up from the household of Obed-edom, or it may be commemorating some other great occasion, perhaps a military victory.
All the people are to clap and shout in joy over the victories of God (v. 1). The Lord is a great king over all the earth, and He, as the Lord most high, is terrible (v. 2). He is the one who will subdue the nations under the Israel of God (v. 3). And God is the one who will choose out our inheritance (v. 4). Meditate on these things.

God has gone up with a shout–as Jesus did in the Ascension (v. 5). We shout (v. 1) because God shouts (v. 5). He goes up to the sound of the trumpet (v. 5). The joy cannot be contained—the imperative to sing praises is given five times in two verses (vv. 6-7). But this is no mindless mantra; we are to sing praises with understanding (v. 7). God is on His holy throne, and from that position of holiness He reigns over the heathen (v. 8). The princes of the people have assembled, including the Jews (v. 9). The shields of earth belong to God, and He is exalted beyond all praise (v. 9).

Clap Your Hands

Let us begin here with an obvious question here. Why do Reformed people like to sing psalms, but they don’t like to do what those psalms talk about—like clapping our hands? And the answer needs to be a little more thoughtful than “I can’t clap my hands because that would make me drop my psalter” or “I left the charismatic church fifteen years ago.”

As we learn to clap our hands in exaltation and triumph, as Adam Clarke pointed out, it should be done: 1. Cheerfully (v. 1)—shout with triumph; 2. Universally (v. 1)—all ye people; 3. Vocally (v. 1)—shout; 4. Frequently (vv. 6-7)—sing praises, sing praises, sing praises; 5. And with wisdom (v. 7)—praise Him with understanding.

The Lord Most High Is Terrible

That which is terrible when God is opposed to us is an unspeakable comfort when He is not. And since God resists the proud and gives grace to the humble, we know what demeanor we are to assume. But note the cheerful exultation in this psalm—God most high is terrible, but this does not terrify us, but rather makes us glad.

He Shall Choose Our Inheritance

The Lord most high is the one who chooses our inheritance. He chooses our lot. He has apportioned the land before us. The people are subdued beneath us, and the nations are brought under our feet. These are the same people who are invited to join us in our exultation (v. 1). They are conquered and converted. God reigns over the heathen (v. 8). He gathers all the princes of the earth, and is exalted over them (v. 9).

But if God chooses the inheritance of Israel, and He has, then He also chooses the apportionment of the smallest tribe of Israel, the tribe of Benjamin. And, that being the case, He also chooses the inheritance of the least member in the tribe of Benjamin. That means that He chooses your inheritance. And if you are a child of God, the lines have fallen for you in pleasant places (Ps. 16: 6).

Praise, Praise, Praise . . . With Understanding

We are not called to “praise, praise, praise” until our brain goes to the screen saver. The reasons we have for praising God are substantive reasons. To use an image of John Stott’s, to offer nothing but “praise Him, praise Him, praise Him” is like trying to eat a bread sandwich. Instead, take one piece of bread (praise Him!) and then another (praise Him!), and in between put all the contents of the sandwich. And take care, like the psalmist frequently does, to build yourself a regular Dagwood. That is what it means to praise with understanding. What does this mean? The defeat of Og and Sihon is the salami, the triumph at the Red Sea is the onion, and so on. And to keep us from becoming abandoning the God of history, we should not forget to include the defeat of the Spanish Armada.

The Shields of Earth

The shield is the noblest of weapons. God elsewhere says that the civil ruler bears the sword (Rom. 13:4), and he does not do it for nothing. So there is a place for that. But here the princes are identified with shields; they don’t bear shields, they are shields. Guardianship and protection are more basic to their identity and office than are punishment and retribution.

The princes gather, and the shields of earth are arrayed along the wall of the City of God—and they are the gold shields of Solomon, not the bronze shields of Rehoboam (1 Kings 10:17; 14:27 ). They are arrayed on the walls of the Church; the Church is not given to decorate the nations, but rather to baptize and disciple the nations. They do not invite the City of God to come into their cities of men as just another sect or mystery religion. Rather the cities of men are invited gather in the City of God, and the kings of the earth bring their honor and glory into the presence of Christ Himself (Rev. 21:24).

God most high is greatly exalted, but note that He is not exalted here in any invisible “spiritual sense.” We ought not to exalt Jesus in the kind of invisible and non-falsifiable ways that a devotee of the Cosmic Muffin could also do and with equal aplomb. We do not serve a Lord who reigns over “everything” but who changes nothing. Our faith in the supremacy of Jesus Christ is not the kind of twilight in which all cats are gray.

The leaves of the tree of life—in our midst—are for the healing of the nations. From the river to the ends of the earth, the Lord will be praised. The Church is the life of the world.

Romans 16: Fully Persuaded (4:17-25)