One Simple Step to Righteousness

Genesis 15:1-6 NKJV  After these things the word of the LORD came to Abram in a vision, saying, “Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your exceedingly great reward.”  (2)  But Abram said, “Lord GOD, what will You give me, seeing I go childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?”  (3)  Then Abram said, “Look, You have given me no offspring; indeed one born in my house is my heir!”  (4)  And behold, the word of the LORD came to him, saying, “This one shall not be your heir, but one who will come from your own body shall be your heir.”  (5)  Then He brought him outside and said, “Look now toward heaven, and count the stars if you are able to number them.” And He said to him, “So shall your descendants be.”  (6)  And he believed in the LORD, and He accounted it to him for righteousness.

• Today we come to one of the most glorious, eternal, and often quoted scriptures of the Old Testament “And he believed in the LORD, and He accounted it to him for righteousness.”
  • Now if you are new to CLC, this is what we do here, we preach through scripture, and God has us going through the book of Genesis right now.
    • We have read how God called Abram to be the father of God’s people, and some of the faith and failures of Abram.
    • We just got done reading about Abram’s military victory, saving his nephew Lot, and we learned about how Abram resisted temptation and triumphed with a tithe to God through God’s priest Melchizedek.
      • Man… Rested temptation and triumphed with a tithe… that would have been a good sermon title!
    • Now today we read the beginning of God’s covenant with Abram.
      • God starts off by saying to Abram in a vision “Do not be afraid, I am your shield and exceedingly great reward.”
        • Oh, how many times we need to be reminded that God is our shield… that no matter the weapon formed against us that God will defend us, and that it will not prosper!
      • Not only our shield but our EXCEEDINGLY GREAT REWARD.

Genesis 15:2-3 NKJV  But Abram said, “Lord GOD, what will You give me, seeing I go childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?”  (3)  Then Abram said, “Look, You have given me no offspring; indeed one born in my house is my heir!”

• God says “I am your exceedingly great reward!” But Abram said…
  • But Abram said… what exactly are going to say, Abram, that needs to be prefaced with a “but”?
    • God says “I am your exceedingly great reward” “But Abram says”….
      • But what Abram? BUT WHAT?
    • Well, someone needs to hear this this morning… Abram had a hearts desire, a Godly desire mind you, that he was not seeing meet… and Abram was honest with God.
  • “God I know you are my great reward… my exceedingly great reward… but if I am honest, I don’t feel very rewarded right now… my wife is childless… I desire sons… but I have none…  My heart is breaking God… if you are my exceedingly great reward… it doesn’t feel like it right now God.”
    • Church it is ok to be honest with God… to tell Him how you really feel. If you need rebuke for those feelings, like Job did, then God will rebuke you… if you need encouragement then God will encourage you… if you need wisdom because you don’t understand the situation, God will give you wisdom.

Hebrews 4:16 NKJV  Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

• You see Job came boldly before the throne and cried out “Lord I need answers, why are you doing this to me?!”
  • And God rebuked Him, Job didn’t need answers! But the end result was that Job repented and was blessed…
  • In 2 Kings a young servant of Elisha saw that their city was surrounded by enemies. He cried out “ALAS!!! WHAT SHALL WE DO?!”.
    • God opened his eyes… the situation was not as it seemed… God opened his eyes and showed him the angel armies and chariots of fire surrounding the enemy! The young servant was afraid, but came boldly before the throne and the end result was blessing and victory!
  • Abram is here with God, Abram comes boldly before the throne and says “You say you are my exceedingly great reward, but I have no children”.
    • Now God had every right to rebuke Abram, as He did Job… but that is not what Abram needed.
    • God could have opened Abram’s eyes to see his wife pregnant… his wife, not his maidservant… but that too is not what Abram needed in this moment.
    • Instead God responds with encouragement, blessings and promises.
• So here is a short sermon before the sermon… come boldly before the throne… let your requests be known to God… if your heart is breaking, let it break before the Lord… if you are angry, bring your anger before the Lord and lay it down at his feet, if you are disappointed, let your disappointed be made before Him… it is not like He doesn’t know anyway…
  • If your anger is misplaced, God will tell you.
  • If you need encouragement, God will give it.
  • If you need wisdom, ask and receive… the Lord will open your eyes.
• So Abram was honest with God, and God gave Abram exactly what he needed… encouragement, promises, and blessings… God says “I am your reward” but Abram says “Then why do I have no children” Behold… the Lord responds:

Genesis 15:4-5 NKJV  And behold, the word of the LORD came to him, saying, “This one shall not be your heir, but one who will come from your own body shall be your heir.”  (5)  Then He brought him outside and said, “Look now toward heaven, and count the stars if you are able to number them.” And He said to him, “So shall your descendants be.”

• The end result is one of the most famous scriptures of the Old Testament… on of the most often quoted scriptures, Genesis 15:

Genesis 15:6 NKJV  And he believed in the LORD, and He accounted it to him for righteousness.

• Let’s Pray

• One simple step to righteousness, that is the name of today’s sermon.
  • One simple step to righteousness.
• Genesis 15:6 NKJV  And he believed in the LORD, and He accounted it to him for righteousness.
• Abram was counted as rightesous… why?
  • Because of all the work that he had done?
  • Because of the battle that he had won?
  • Because of the sacrifices that he had made?
  • Because of the tithe that he had brought?
    • NO! He was counted as righteous because of one simple thing… HE BELIEVED GOD!
      • IF YOU GET ONE THING OUT OF THIS SERMON THIS MONRING IT IS THIS: BELIEVE GOD! BELIEVE GOD! BELIEVE GOD!
• Point one this morning: Being Made Righteous is simple, Believe God.

Point One – Being Made Righteous Is Simple: Believe God

Genesis 15:6 NKJV  And he believed in the LORD, and He accounted it to him for righteousness.

• Being Made Righteous is Simple… Believe God… Just believe God.
  • Now to understand this point, and this sermon really we need to understand two things.
    • First we need to understand what the word “Righteous” means.
      • In the simplest of terms, the word righteous means “right standing with God”.
        • When you are righteous, then you and God are on good terms, you are in right standing with Him… it means He has nothing against you… you have no debt with God, you have no sin to pay for, no price to pay, no things that make you anything less than holy.
        • Righteousness is what we should all desire, a right standing with God, a perfect relationship with Him.
        • When we sin, when we disobey and break God’s laws…we put distance between ourself and God, we hurt our relationship with God…
          • But when we are forgiven, when we are cleansed, when we are made whole again… we are made righteous. We are put back into right standing with God.
• So the first thing we need to understand is simply “Righteousness means right standing with God, and we should desire to be righteous.”
• And the second thing we need to understand is this “You can not make yourself righteous, only Christ can make you righteous”.
  • Nothing you do, or say, or give will make you righteous.
    • You, and I, and all of us have sinned against a holy God… Strive all you want to be a “good person” but without God’s help… without Christ’s help, you will never be righteous… it is Christ who imparts righteousness on us.

Romans 3:22a NIV  This righteousness is given through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe.

• Righteousness is a gift given, not a wage earned. And it is given not to those who work hard… but to those who believe.

Romans 4:2-3 NKJV  For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about, but not before God.  (3)  For what does the Scripture say? “ABRAHAM BELIEVED GOD, AND IT WAS ACCOUNTED TO HIM FOR RIGHTEOUSNESS.”

• So the simple step to righteousness? Believe God.
  • JUST BELIEVE GOD CHURCH.
  • Not “Believe in God” that is good… but even the demons do that…

James 2:19 NKJV  You believe that there is one God. You do well. Even the demons believe—and tremble!

• Even the demons believe that God exists… so don’t just believe in God… but BELIEVE GOD.
  • When God gives you a promise, believe Him.
  • When God gives you a warning, believe Him.
  • When God speaks, believe Him!
• That brings me to point two this morning: To believe God we Must Hear God!

Point Two – To Believe God we Must Hear God

Genesis 15:6 NKJV  And he believed in the LORD, and He accounted it to him for righteousness.

• Abram was in a vision having a full blown conversation with God.
  • God was speaking, Abram was speaking, God was replying to Abram… it was a full conversation… Abram knew exactly what God was saying… So Abram’s choice was simple… Believe God, believe that God would do exactly what God said He would do… or, Abram could chose not to believe.
    • Abram could make excuses: I am to old to have kids, my wife is past menopause, it can’t possibly be that I will have children.
    • Now of course Abram believed… Abram did not even understand, but Abram believed… and it was counted to Him as righteousness.
• But what about us… can we have this kind of relationship with God… that we can hear Him…
  • Well if not, I think we might find it hard to believe Him.
    • Want to see if you believe God… take this litmus test…
      • First question: Do you believe God.
        • Everyone should say YES!
      • Second question: What has God said, specifically that you believe?
        • What has he said to you, what promises, what warnings, what prophecies, what commands, what blessings has God shared with you that you believe?
    • I think most people would say they believe God, but when pressed, how many people could explain what they believe.
      • “Well I believe everything God says”
        • God! What specially though?
      • Uh… well… uh the Bible?
        • GREAT! What does the Bible say?
      • Uh… stuff?
        • Yeah it says “stuff”… MAYBE YOU SHOULD READ IT.
        • STUDY IT, LEARN IT, ADORE IT, FEAST ON IT DAILY.
        • Learn what God says in the Bible and BELIEVE HIM.
• Galatians 3:1-6 NKJV  O foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you that you should not obey the truth, before whose eyes Jesus Christ was clearly portrayed among you as crucified?  (2)  This only I want to learn from you: Did you receive the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith?—  (3)  Are you so foolish? Having begun in the Spirit, are you now being made perfect by the flesh?  (4)  Have you suffered so many things in vain—if indeed it was in vain?  (5)  Therefore He who supplies the Spirit to you and works miracles among you, does He do it by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith?  (6)  just as Abraham “BELIEVED GOD, AND IT WAS ACCOUNTED TO HIM FOR RIGHTEOUSNESS.”
• I love this passage from Galatians.
  • Paul says “How did you get saved? How did you get filled with the Holy Spirit? Was it by doing a bunch of work for God? Did you earn your salvation by paying tithes and offerings? Were you awarded your salvation after being obedient to the laws of God for a long time? Was God impressed with how much you serve at church, and so He saved you? NO! You were saved because of your faith… because YOU BELIEVED IN CHRIST JESUS.
  • Did you receive the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith?
    • It was by the hearing of faith.
  • So if we want to see more miracles, more growth, more healing, more righteousness… do we need more works?
    • NO! We need more hearing of faith.
      • We need to read our Bibles more, pray more, listen to more sermons, and testimonies, and encouragement from fellow believers.
        • We need to hear the voice of Jesus and know Him.
• And if you struggle to hear the voice of God I want you to do this one thing… go home, open your Bible, and pray this simple prayer “God speak to me through your word”.
  • Then start to read it, and listen to what God is saying. Read a paragraph and pray “God what are you saying to me”… then do it again, and again, and again… until you hear what God is speaking to you.
    • Do this over and over, day by day and you will become familure with the voice of God, and then you will start to hear Him when you drive, when you are at work, when you are about to fall asleep, when you first wake up, when you are crying out in desperation, when you are shouting praises in joy… but it starts with the word of God, with getting acustamed to His voice…
    • And not just reading the Word of God… BUT BELEIVING THE WORD OF GOD.
    • If He Said it, then I believe it, because you are a GOD of your word! IF YOU SAID IT I BELIEVE IT!
• Numbers 23:19 NKJV  “God is not a man, that He should lie, Nor a son of man, that He should repent. Has He said, and will He not do? Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good?
  • Isaiah 40 says God will give strength to the weary.
    • Oh weary people, do you believe it?
  • In Matthew 11 God says He will give you rest.
    • Oh tired people, do you believe it?
  • In Isiah 54 God says His love will never depart from you.
    • Oh lonely people do you believe it?
  • In Exodus 14 God says He will fight for you.
    • Oh embattled saints, do you believe it?
  • In James 1 God says He will give wisdom to those who ask.
    • Oh troubled ones, do you believe it?
  • God says everything will work out for our God, He says he will protect us, He says he will heal us, He says that is near to us, He promises not to condemn us, he promises to bless us and give us victory, He says He will work out all things for our good.
  • He promises comfort, and strength, and guidance, and mercy, and love, and forgiveness.
  • He says we will be more than conquerors, that we do great things, that we will wage war with demonic powers and win.
  • He promises to provide for us all of our needs and tells us He will make a way, even when there seems to be know way.
    • CHURCH DO YOU BELIEVE HIM?!
• AMEN! AMEN! That brings me to point three, if you believe God you will obey God!

Point Three – If You Believe God, You Obey God

Genesis 15:6 NKJV  And he believed in the LORD, and He accounted it to him for righteousness.

• Now all this talk, that it’s not about works, but it is about believing God… that it is all about faith.
  • Abram was accounted as righteous for what he believed… because he believed God… Abram was not counted as righteous because of what he did…
    • Well all that talk could lead you to believe that works therefore are not important.
      • That a Christian must only believe in his heart, and that if the Christian believes but does no works… no service, no sacrifice, no good deeds.
      • He believes but he does not obey… well that’s ok as long as he believes, right?
        • NO! Because IF you believe, then you WILL obey. Deacon Kevin touched on this on Wednesday…
        • The difference between the Goats and the Sheep, those who would go to heaven and those who wouldn’t… the difference was WORKS…. Not because works save you, but because if you are saved you will naturally produce works. If you believe, the evidence of that belief, the evidence of your righteousness, the evidence of your salvation is the natural outpouring of good works.
• James 2:20-23 NKJV  But do you want to know, O foolish man, that faith without works is dead?  (21)  Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered Isaac his son on the altar?  (22)  Do you see that faith was working together with his works, and by works faith was made perfect?  (23)  And the Scripture was fulfilled which says, “ABRAHAM BELIEVED GOD, AND IT WAS ACCOUNTED TO HIM FOR RIGHTEOUSNESS.” And he was called the friend of God.
• The question that James is posing here is this “If Abram disobeyed God, did Abram really believe God?”
  • You see God just promised, in our key verses from Genesis this morning, God just promised Abram that He would have ancestors that numbers as many as the stars in the sky.
    • Later God makes it clear that it is through Isaac that those ancestors would be born.
    • THEN God tells Abram, now called Abraham, to take his son and kill him as a sacrifice.
      • If Abraham did not believe God… If Abram said “I don’t understand how I can kill my son AND have him give me grandkids… so I won’t do it”
        • If that is what Abraham said, then would he have really believed God?
        • But of course Abraham DID believe God, so he obeyed, and of course God gave a substitute sacrifice at the last moment, an example of Christ dying for our sins… BUT THAT ALL HAPPENED BECAUSE ABRAHAM BELIEVED!
• Hebrews 11:17-19 NKJV  By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises offered up his only begotten son,  (18)  of whom it was said, “IN ISAAC YOUR SEED SHALL BE CALLED,”  (19)  concluding that God was able to raise him up, even from the dead, from which he also received him in a figurative sense.
• Now I know we haven’t gotten to that part in Genesis… but it was by his faith that he believed in God and moved away from his home land… we have talked about this right…
  • God told Abram to leave his family behind and move to the land of Canaan… and Abram obeyed. Why? Because He believed God!
• Hebrews 11:8 NKJV  By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to the place which he would receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going.
• WHEN YOU BELIEVE GOD YOU OBEY GOD.
• Now let’s close with this… talking about obeying God…

Conclusion

• So we sing this song from James Wilson, right… I gotta song… love this song, one of my favorite songs… especially the part where you basically ask “Do you believe God did these things for you, the things He said He did for you… do you believe that He did them?
  • Did He heal you? (Yes)
  • Did He free you? (Yes)
  • Did He save your soul? (Yes)
  • Did He make you whole? (Yes, yes)
    • Did He wash you? (Yes)
    • Transform you? (Yes)
    • Did He redeem you (Yes)
    • And cleanse you? (Yes, yes)
  • Did He set you free? (Yes)
  • Give you victory? (Yes)
  • When He died for you (Yes)
  • On Calvary? (Yes, yes)
    • Did He tell you not to lust (yes?)
    • And not to gossip (yes?)
    • Did He say don’t lie (yeah…)
    • And to give up that addiction (I mean, yes, yes)
      • Did He say to bring tithes (I mean pastor…)
      • AND offerings (I thought we were done talking about money)
      • Did He say love your neighbor (Love him, I hardly know him)
      • Even as much as your self (I DON’T EVEN LIKE THE GUY)
    • Did He say to forgive (But you don’t understand)
    • Or you won’t be forgiven (wait that can’t be right)
    • Did he write these things in His word… (yeah)
    • And seal them with His blood? (yeah, yeah).
      • Do you believe what He says? (Yeah)
      • Do you believe him when He says it? (Yes)
      • Do you believe Him when He says it? (I ALREADY SAID YES)
      • DO YOU BELIEVE HIM WHEN HE SAYS IT?! (YES! YES!)
    • THEN WHY AREN’T YOU OBEYING?!
• You see it is EASY to sing about all this victories that God has given… he healed me and transformed me and redeemed me and cleansed me and set me free!
  • PRAISE GOD! All of that is true, I believe all of that! YES YES!
  • But I also believe the parts where he says “DIE TO YOURSELF”
    • And I believe God enough to take up my cross, Amen!
• And here is the best part, church… when you believe… when you believe to the point of obedience… as Abram did… it is counted to you as righteousness… GOD GRANTS YOU RIGHTEOUSNESS THROUGH HIS SON…
  • To everyone who believes… blessings, healings, mercies, and RIGHTEOUSNESS to all who believe.
    • It is because of the obedience that stems from belief that I can sing “He healed me and freed me and saved my soul and made me whole… because I believed.”
• One simple step to righteousness church: Believe God.

John 3:16 NKJV  For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.

• Gospel Call

Join us this Sunday at either 8:30AM or 10:30AM for worship followed by this message from the Word of God. Christian Life Church of Cedar Rapids. 2808 Schaeffer DR SW, Cedar Rapids, IA   52404. www.CedarRapidsChurch.com