In the sermon titled 'It is of Faith... by Grace,' Pastor Steve Hopkins delivers a message from Romans 4, verses 9-17, emphasizing the importance of expository preaching. The sermon explores the concept of imputation, explaining how Abraham's faith was credited to him as righteousness before circumcision, illustrating that justification comes through faith rather than works. Pastor Hopkins highlights that all believers are saved the same way—through faith in Christ—whether they lived before or after Christ's time on Earth. The sermon clarifies the distinction between justification, which is by faith alone, and sanctification, where works serve as evidence of faith. It also addresses the misconception that physical circumcision contributes to salvation, asserting that only the circumcision of the heart, or regeneration, truly matters. Hopkins urges the congregation to trust solely in Christ's righteousness for salvation, warning against relying on works for justification.

Welcome back to Burnet Bible Church. Join us this week as Pastor Hopkins continues his sermon series through the Book of Romans. Good morning. It is actually still morning. Hard to believe.

Turn with me in your Bibles, if you would, to the book of Romans. We'll be picking up this morning, Lord willing, with Romans chapter 4 and verse 9 and attempting to work our way from verse 9 through verse 17, again, for the visitors who may not be used to expository preaching, The method is to work your way through a book of the Bible and thereby not be able to escape the difficult sections of Scripture. Topical Preaching allows ministers to pick and choose and not have to deal with difficult portions of Scripture, whereas verse-by-verse expository preaching forces the minister to deal with everything that is in the Word of God. And that's what we are hoping to do. There's some very difficult things in the passage we have in front of us today.

At least I found them to be challenging. And so, if you would, stand with me for the reading of the Word of the Lord. We're going to be reading verses 9 through verse 17, if you would read aloud with me, beginning with verse 9. Let's read together the word of the Lord. Comeeth this blessedness then upon the circumcision only, or upon the uncircumcision also?

For we say that faith was reckoned to Abraham for righteousness. How was it then reckoned when he was in circumcision or in uncircumcision? Not in circumcision, but in uncircumcision. And he received a sign of circumcision, a seal of the righteousness of the faith which he had yet being uncircumcised, that he might be the father of all them that believe, though they be not circumcised, that righteousness might be imputed unto them also. And the father of circumcision to them who are not of the circumcision only, but who also walk in the steps of that faith of our father Abraham, which he had being yet uncircumcised.

For the promise that he should be the heir of the world was not to Abraham or to his seed through the law, but through the righteousness of faith. For if they which are of the law be heirs, faith is made void, and the promise made of none effect, because the law worketh wrath, for where no law is, there is no transgression. Therefore, it is of faith that it might be by grace, to the end of the promise might be sure to all the seed, not to that only which is of the law, but to that also which is of the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all. 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." Let's pray. Father, our Father in heaven, we humble ourselves once again before you God and Lord we ask once again that you would be glorified in this place Lord and that your name would be set apart as holy God once again in this place and Lord that you would build up your church once again in this place, and God, that your Spirit would work in every heart once again and give understanding and illumination as your Word is preached, for we ask it in the name of your son Jesus.

Amen. Let's be seated. In our previous sessions on the doctrine of imputation as we looked at chapter 4 and verses 1 through 8, we learned that justification before God is on the basis of an imputed righteousness, the imputed righteousness of Christ, and not on the basis of one's own merits or works. In our second session, we learned that Abraham didn't have any ground to boast or to glory before God, remember? Because Abraham wasn't justified by works.

And the apostle made his case from Scripture. He made his case from Old Testament Scripture. He made his case from Genesis, the 15th chapter, and we need to keep this in our minds as we go forward. He made his case from Genesis chapter 15 and verse 6 where he quoted, Abraham believed God and it was counted unto him for righteousness. Before the obedience of circumcision, Abraham believed in the promise of God.

Abraham believed God would fulfill his promise. Abraham believed that God would fulfill his promise and provide Abraham an heir, pointing to the promise of Christ, who would come from the seed of his own body and from the body of his wife, Sarah. And I reminded the congregation during that second session on the doctrine of imputation that all saving faith from Genesis to Revelation is ultimately directed at Christ, directed to Christ. Those who were of the household of faith in the Old Testament who preceded Christ looked forward to the coming of Christ, and we look back, but we all together believe God. Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.

It was imputed to him for righteousness. Old Testament believers and New Testament believers are all saved in the same way. No one has ever been saved except by faith in Jesus Christ, either looking forward to the coming of Christ or looking back at what Christ did for us on the cross. We've all been saved in the same way, by faith in Christ Jesus. Abraham believed God and it was imputed to him for righteousness.

It was counted to him for righteousness. If you are saved this morning it is because you believed God concerning his son. If you are saved this morning, it is because you believed what God said in the Holy Scriptures concerning his son, Jesus. If you are saved this morning, it is because you believed God and it was imputed to you for righteousness. The instant Abraham believed God, Abraham was justified before God by the imputation of the righteousness of Christ apart from any works.

And the instant that you believed in God or believed God's testimony concerning his son Jesus, it was imputed to you, it was reckoned to you, it was credited to you for righteousness before you did any work whatsoever at all. Salvation is by faith and not by works. Have we got that drilled in? After weeks and weeks of the doctrine of imputation and studying the testimony of Romans and the teaching of the Apostle Paul. Before Abraham was circumcised, before Abraham had done any works required of him by God, Abraham, who remember from verse 5, we saw back in verse 5, Abraham, who is placed in the category of the ungodly, okay, just like you and I, who's placed in the category of the ungodly, okay, just like you and I, who's placed in the category of the ungodly, believed God, who justifies ungodly sinners like us, okay, he's in the same category that we are, and his faith was counted or imputed or reckoned to him for righteousness.

And then we saw the apostle in review bring in David as his star witness back in verse 6, saying, David also describes the blessedness of the man unto whom God imputes righteousness What what does it say without works apart from works? We're saved by faith apart from works. God reckons again. God reckons God counts. It's all the same word Though Gizemi from the Greek translated the same word, reckons, counts, credits, imputes, righteousness without works, apart from works.

The righteousness of Christ is imputed to ungodly sinners like you and me with that righteousness alone acceptable before him, the righteous obedience of his son Jesus Christ, and it is imputed, it is credited to our accounts by grace, that is freely, without any human works associated to it at all to all them that believe. Now, we went in in our last session, in the third session, and we looked at evidence of that, you know, looking at the teachings of the Apostle Paul in contrast to the teachings of James and how James said, look, there's going to be evidence in the life of the true believer. Does it throw works out the window? No, works are evidence. There's evidence.

There's works of evidence. Jesus said their tree is known by its fruit. You don't throw works out the window. There's evidence in the life of the true believer. You don't have good fruit hanging on the trees because the tree is bad.

It's a bad tree, okay? There's going to be evidence in the life of the true believer. There's going to be a life of incremental conformity to the image of Christ. There's going to be a life where you could look back, you can say, okay, I'm not what I was. I'm not what I ought to be, okay?

Remember what the writer of Amazing Grace said, I know I'm not what I ought to be. I know I'm not what I will be one day in glory, but one thing I know for sure, I know I'm not what I used to be. Okay, I can look back and I see God through Christ has conformed me more and more to the image of His Son over time. I'm not what I used to be. I'm being conformed little by little to the image of Christ.

There is evidence, there is fruit on the tree of the person who has been truly regenerated and changed and is brought to savings faith, okay? But faith, we are saved by faith without any human works associated at all. We are saved by the grace of God by faith, by faith in Jesus Christ, and it is apart from any works at all. The works are only the evidence of that saving faith. They're a part of our sanctification, not our justification.

Does everybody got that? The works are only a part of the sanctification, not our justification before God. And then we also saw that it is a double imputation, okay? That it is a double imputation. The sinner's guilt is imputed to Christ, and Christ's righteousness is imputed to the sinner.

Did everybody get that in review? This is what happens the moment a person puts their trust in Jesus for salvation. The filthy robes of our sins are removed from us and placed on Jesus and dealt with at the cross retrospectively, okay, and the sinner is clothed in the spotless robes of Jesus. That's what happens the moment you put your trust in Jesus. Your filthy robes of your unrighteousness and your self-righteousness, Okay, all your so-called good works are taken off of you and placed upon Christ.

Okay, paid for at the cross, dealt with at the cross. He deals with them with the judgment of God as He deals with them in your place at the cross, okay? And then all of His righteousness, His obedience is imputed to you, and His perfect robes of His perfect righteousness you're clothed in at that time, clothed in the spotless robes of Jesus. The sinner's guilt is imputed to Christ, and Christ's righteousness is imputed to the sinner. The moment we believe God concerning His Son, the moment we trusted Jesus and Jesus alone for our justification, for our right standing before God, for our salvation, our sin is imputed to Jesus and His righteousness is imputed to us.

Has everybody got that? At that very moment our sins, our nakedness, and our shame are covered by Jesus' righteousness. Remember we looked at Adam and Eve running from God in the Garden of Eden. The moment that they sinned, they don't want it to be in the presence of God, they don't want to be seen by God, they're trying to cover their sin with works of their own hands, they're trying to cover up what? Just their basic private parts with some sort of clothing made from leaves, whatever, and God goes to them.

They don't even run to God. They don't want to be in God's presence. They're running from God, like all sinning humanity. God goes to them. What does He do?

Kills an animal. Pointing to Christ, He slays an animal. Pointing to the coming of Christ, whose blood sacrifice will atone for our sins, will make satisfaction for our sins, and He closed them. They're not running to God saying, we're sorry for our sins. He comes to them, what are you doing?

And He closed them in the perfect righteousness of Christ, and that which points to the perfect righteousness of Christ. He closed them in these clothes that point to the perfect righteousness of Christ. He covers their nakedness. Jesus covers our nakedness. At the very moment our sins that we believe on Christ, our sins, our nakedness, our shame is covered by Jesus' righteousness.

We all got that. At that very moment our sins, our nakedness, our shame is covered by Jesus righteousness. We are clothed in His righteousness and ever thereafter when God looks at us, He sees the righteousness of His Son. Amen? Ever thereafter.

Right now, if you're trusting in Jesus, He sees the righteousness of His Son when He looks upon you. Isn't that good news? We said that's good news. It's really good news. Good news for me.

I hope it's good news for you. Abraham believed God as we close out our review, and it was counted, accounted unto him for righteousness. Blessed is the man to whom the Lord will not impute sin. Amen. Blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven and whose sins are covered.

Amen. Iniquities are forgiven, sins are covered, when and only when a man's sins are imputed to Christ and the righteousness of Christ is imputed to a man. And this is apprehended, okay, or received the moment one believes God concerning his son. Now as we pick up with verse 9 this morning, the apostle is going to drive home the point that Abraham was justified, look at your text, chapter 4 verse 9, was justified before God when he was still uncircumcised. Very important.

The blessing of justification and the imputed righteousness of Christ to ungodly sinners like Abraham and like you and like me, comes not only upon the circumcised as the Jews believed and the Judaism and the early professors of Christianity were asserting, but also upon the uncircumcised. All are the same in the sight of God." The apostle will make his case once again using who? Using the example of Abraham, the father of all the faithful. In verse 10 he asks, how was Abraham's faith reckoned? Look at your text.

Look at the Bible. And what he means is when. He's asking the question when or at what point in time was Abraham's faith reckoned or imputed to him for righteousness? Was it when Abraham was a circumcised man or when he was an uncircumcised man? And then the answer is in the last half of verse 10.

Not when he was living in circumcision, but in uncircumcision. Not when Abraham was living as a circumcised man, but when he was living as an uncircumcised man. And listen everyone, this cannot be stressed too greatly. Because Abraham, please listen to this, lived a justified man, a saved man, a justified in the sight of God. Please make notes on this.

Please if you're taking notes, write this down, get this. He lived in the righteousness of Christ, the righteousness of Christ being imputed to Abraham by faith 14 years before he was circumcised. Got this? Did everyone get that? Abraham lived in a justified state before God, having believed God, having become a believer, he was a justified man, he was a saved man, he was declared just in the sight of God, the righteousness of Christ was imputed to him by faith 14 years before he was circumcised.

How in the world could circumcision have anything at all to do with his justification before God? It had nothing to do with it. He was living as an uncircumcised man, like an uncircumcised Philistine, but justified before God by faith. John Gill points out here that, quote, this was before the birth of Ishmael, and Ishmael was 13 years of age when he and his father Abraham were circumcised, so that it has to be, it must be 14 years or thereabout before his circumcision. Got that?

This was before the birth of Ishmael. Ishmael was 13 years old when he and his father Abraham were circumcised, so that it has to be 14 years or thereabout before his circumcision. In quote, Abraham received the sign of circumcision and the seal of the faith he had 14 years after he was justified by faith. 14 years after his faith was imputed to him for righteousness, that he might clearly be the father of all them that believe, though they be not circumcised." Righteousness is clearly imputed to the uncircumcised by faith as well as the circumcised, because Abraham lived as an uncircumcised man for 14 years before receiving the sign of circumcision and the seal of the faith he had. Circumcision does not justify Salvation and justification are not by works.

Paul has driven this home. He's driven a nail into the coffin of the Judaizers. Of anyone who would say that circumcision somehow justifies that you've got to be circumcised in addition to faith in Christ, No. The righteousness that is imputed to them that believe comes upon the uncircumcised as well as the circumcised. This is what the Apostle is teaching And Abraham is the father of them all, the father of all them that believe, whether they be circumcised or not.

This is really where we need to move over to the book of Galatians for a moment where Paul drives this home further. Turn with me to Galatians chapter 5. Paul doesn't let this thing go. He just nails it down. Galatians 5, beginning with verse 2.

Behold, I, Paul, say unto you, that if you be circumcised, and he's not saying you can't be circumcised here, he's not saying circumcision is wrong, he's saying if you get circumcised because you think it's going to save you or it's going to aid you in salvation or you think there's some spiritual significance to it, or you think that it justifies you before God, that's what he's saying. I, Paul, say unto you that if you be circumcised thinking there's some spiritual significance to it, Christ shall profit you zero, nada, nothing. That's what he's saying. For I testify again to every man that is circumcised that he's a debtor to do the whole law. If you get circumcised thinking that that makes entry into the kingdom of God, now you've got to do the whole law.

You've got to keep all the law and you've got to keep it perfectly brother, Jewish brother or gentile who is converted to Judaism. You've got to keep it all, you've got to keep it all perfectly or you're damned. You're done. You're finished. Christ has become of no effect unto you.

You see what he's saying? Whoever of you are justified by the law, you're fallen from grace. You've got no part in the grace category. You're in the law category, brother. Is that where you want to be?

For we, through the Spirit, wait for the hope of righteousness by faith. That's where we're at. For in Jesus Christ, neither circumcision avails anything nor uncircumcision. It means nothing. Circumcision and uncircumcision amounts to this, zero.

But faith is what matters, which works by love. That's how it has it's out working. We had a family in the church about 15 years ago, military family, over from the Lordhood that invited me to a circumcision ceremony, okay, At their home. They hired a rabbi to perform the operation, and it was a big red flag. That word ceremony, as soon as they said that, it was a big red flag to me, because the word ceremony carries with it the inference of spiritual significance.

Okay? And I called them up after they had invited me and I sat down with the family and I said, I want to go through the book of Galatians with you and some of these things concerning circumcision. We went through the passages from Galatians and they came to understand, very gracious father, and he came to understand that if they desired to have a rabbi perform the operation, because of medical expertise, that was one thing, but that there was no spiritual significance to what they were doing whatsoever, at all zero. And they dropped the terminology of ceremony and replaced it with the word procedure. So they invited people to come to witness the procedure rather than the ceremony, because it was not a ceremony, because there was no spiritual significance to it whatsoever.

It didn't matter All that mattered was they were getting a good somebody who was ex you know It had expertise and was experienced in it and that's good You need to have some of these experienced and that's good and I was happy to attend and I asked God's blessing on the medical procedure and it went well. The only circumcision that matters before God, please listen to this, both in the Old Testament and in the New Testament, the Only circumcision that matters before God is circumcision of the heart, is the circumcision of the heart, which is regeneration. You need to be circumcised of heart. We need circumcision of the heart. That's the new birth.

That's being born again. That's regeneration. Remember, we went through that back when we were in Romans chapter 2, Romans 2.29. He is a Jew who is one what? Inwardly.

Right? I'm reading from the text, Romans 2.29. But he is a Jew, that means Jew too, okay, who is one inwardly and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter, whose praise is not of men but of God. Okay. Now picking up with verse 13.

And here's where we're going to get into some really tricky stuff, and I'm going to try to make this as simple as possible. I pray to God, Lord, help me to be able to, like some of the great men of old and great men of modern times like R.C. Sproul be able to make this to where a five-year-old can understand it. Some of this stuff is really intricate, okay? But verse 13, picking up verse 13, for the promise that, and he's speaking of Abraham here, that he, Abraham, should be the heir of the world, was not to Abraham or to his seed through the law, but through the righteousness of faith.

For if they which are of the law be heirs, faith is made void, and the promise made of none effect." What? Okay, anybody want to stand up right now and just tell me what in the world he's talking about. Okay, I'm going to try to make this very simple. What in the world is Paul talking about here? The promise he's talking about to Abraham back in Genesis 12, as it goes back to Genesis 12, okay, was that he would be the heir of the world.

Abraham was given the promise that he would be the father of an innumerable multitude. Does everybody remember that? If you can count the sands of the sea, okay, You're going to be the father of an innumerable multitude. And this innumerable multitude is going to possess the land of the heathen. They're going to possess the land of the Canaanites.

And through your seed, all the families of the earth are going to be blessed okay and the fulfillment of this we read right here is not going to be through the law but by faith it's gonna be not through the law but by faith And just to make this really simple, well, let's look over to Galatians again, this time chapter 3, beginning with verse 16, because Paul is going to explain both of these things very clearly. We're going to see here that the seed through which the nations will be blessed is Christ. Because he's not talking about seeds, he says here, but the seed, singular. And that the law that he's talking about here, the promise comes 430 years before the law comes, okay? So that, as a note in my Reformation Bible says, commentary says, since the law came 430 years after the promise, the promise cannot be dependent upon the law.

But let's read it here, right here, and then I'll go over this. So verse 16, "'Now to Abraham and his seed where the promise is made, he doesn't say to the seeds, as of many, but as of one, to thy seed, which is Christ.'" So you get that. The seed is Christ. And this I say that the covenant that was confirmed before of God in Christ, the law, which is 430 years after, cannot disannul that it should make the promise of none effect. Okay, did I lose anybody?

Here it is, plain and simple. Abraham, here's what he's saying, here's what Paul's saying there and here as he kind of exposes it. Abraham is counted righteous by faith, okay, back in Genesis 15, remember? He's counted righteous by faith back in Genesis 15. He believes God and it's imputed to him for righteousness.

He doesn't receive the sign of circumcision for 14 years, so circumcision doesn't justify anybody before God. We're justified by faith at the moment we believe. We've already gone through that. The righteous of Christ is imputed to us. Abraham, the father of all who believe, both Jew and Gentile, circumcised and the uncircumcised, is promised that at that time, that in time, he will become the heir of the world, that this vast physical posterity of his will not only possess the land of Canaan, but all the nations of the world are going to be blessed through his seed, singular seed, which is pointing to Christ.

They're going to be blessed through his singular seed, through his seed. Abraham receives this promise, and he receives that promise by faith, not by the law. How do we know? Because the law doesn't come for another 430 years. Abraham's back here in Genesis 15, and he's believing God, and it's imputed to him for righteousness Moses doesn't come for 430 years and bring the law down from from the mount Okay, so it can't be the promise can't be dependent upon the law which doesn't come for 430 years The promise can't be dependent upon the law.

Verse 14, that would render the faith of Abraham by which he was justified in Genesis 15, void to make the promise of God of no effect. Does that make sense? Everybody got that? Because the law works wrath. So the law would be coming in bringing wrath, bringing in the knowledge of sin and exposing the guilt of it.

And so take away the justification by faith that he had 430 years earlier that had already come in. Take away the justification of faith and the imputation of righteousness thereby. Then all you have that you would have left would be exposure to the law of God and the expectation of divine judgment. But justification is not by the keeping of the law, but by faith. And so that comes in 430 years earlier.

Abraham is justified by faith and is imputed to him for righteousness. So we go on and it says it's a faith that it might be clearly understood to be by grace. That is, of the free, unmerited, undeserved gift of God to all those who are of the house full of faith, who are of their father Abraham, the faith of father Abraham, whether they be Jew or whether they be Gentile, whether circumcised or uncircumcised. As it is written, our last verse, I have made thee a father of many nations, before him whom he believed, even God, who quickeneth the dead, and calleth these things which be not as though they were." As we close, as we close. In our last session, we talked about evidence of saving faith, how many are going to be summoned before the judgment seat of Christ and believe themselves to be saved, having lived in a state of self-deception, will be undeceived on that day.

Remember how we talked about that? Many are going to come before God on that day, and they're going to be self-deceived. They're not going to have any evidence of saving faith in their life. And they're going to stand before the judgment seat of Christ, and He's going to say, I never knew you. Depart from Me, you that work iniquity.

And their lives of iniquity are going to bear out that they never knew Him. They were workers of iniquity, okay? Well, you have here the other wall that's hit. You see there's a balance in Scripture. Here you have those who are trusting in their works.

So they look and they say, oh, look at all the fruit that's hanging on my tree. And they trust in the fruit that's hanging on their tree. They don't look at it as evidence that, okay, over my life, I'm not what I used to be. They actually trust in the fruit that's hanging on their tree. They trust in their own works.

You see the balance? One is They have no fruit hanging on their tree. They have no evidence of saving grace in their life. They have no change in their life over time. The others are trusting in their works.

This is what you have to be careful of. Where is your trust today? Are you trusting in the obedience of Christ alone? This is what the Apostle Paul is asking, are you trusting in the obedience of Christ alone? Are you trusting in His righteousness alone?

Are you coming to the table to meet with God saying, nothing in my hand I bring, simply to thy cross I cling? I have no righteousness of my own. I'm trusting in the righteousness of Jesus for my justification. For my acceptance in your sight, O God, my Savior, I'm trusting in the righteousness of Jesus for my justification, for my acceptance in your sight, O God my Savior. I'm trusting in the righteousness of Christ alone.

I hope you are. I hope you're like the publican who falls upon his face before God saying, God be merciful to me a sinner. I'm trusting in the blood of Jesus alone. I'm trusting in Christ alone. I hope that's where you're at.

This is where he's driving you home. This is where the Apostle Paul is driving you today. So let's pray. Father, we are so grateful for your word. Your word is truth.

We thank you for the truth of your word. We pray that it's been illuminated in the hearts and the minds of your people today. We pray that if there are those who have never known you Lord that you have awakened them, raised them from spiritual death to spiritual life. And we pray God as we approach the Lord's table this afternoon, Lord, that you would help us to examine ourselves first to see if we'd be in the faith, and second, Lord, to see if there'd be any unrepentant way in us to believe, and to repent, Lord, where there's repentance that's needed, and to trust in Christ and Christ alone for our salvation. We love you Lord, we praise you, we seek your face now, be with us and help us God to examine ourselves as we eat of that bread and drink of that cup saying Jesus died for me.

It's in His Holy Name we pray these things. Amen.