Romans 4:1-17 (#14.2025.03.09)

Scott Keffer [: 00:00:02

Hi. If you're looking for greater hope, assurance, and confidence through the shifting sands of life, then join me on today's episode as we dig deep into the Bible to discover rock solid truth for life and living from the God of the bible. I'm your host, Scott Keffer. Hi, and welcome to today's episode. As always, for a deeper experience, you can go to the show notes and download the blank insight sheet. Fill in the blanks along with the group. Depending on how you're listening to this, there'll be a link to the episode website at beholdingbibletruth.com, and a sheet with the answers is included as well. Enjoy today's episode.

Scott Keffer [: 00:00:47

The great coach of the Green Bay Packers, what was his name? Vince Lombardi. He used to get the team together, and he would say, gentlemen, this is a football. And you'd say, well, they all knew that. Right? What's he reminding him? Foundations are absolutely critical. Foundations are absolutely critical. As we go through the book of Romans, it might feel like these are things that I already know, but Paul's laying the deep foundations because these are indeed the footers of our faith. They're the footers. And if your footers are off, everything above that is off.

Scott Keffer [: 00:01:31

And so the footers of our faith are the foundations of what we believe because everything you build on that will either be right straight or it'll be off depending on your footer. So he's going through here and talking about the core footer, which is the sovereignty of almighty God, the sovereignty of almighty God. If we don't get that right, everything else is off. He's talking about the sovereign reign be the sovereign reign team that our god reigns. Right? And he's gonna apply that sovereign rain tea to what we would say is salvation. Right? The the nature of our relationship with almighty god. And he says the nature of that relationship is to understand in salvation, the key is to understand how do we obtain the righteousness of almighty god? How do we obtain the righteousness of almighty god? Right? So he's showing us the sovereignty of god in salvation and that the core of our faith is is understanding how is it that we obtain the righteousness of almighty god. Isaiah sees the lord, and he sees, right, the seraphim standing above him, each having six wings.

Scott Keffer [: 00:02:58

With two, he covered his face, with two, he covered his feet, and with two, he flew. And this the Seraphim cry out, holy, holy, holy. Revelation remind us that they're calling this out day and night because there is no time. They're just calling it out day and night. Why? It's the very essence of god because they see god for who he is. And the question is how do we get in intimate fellowship with the god who is holy, holy, holy, whose scripture says is the blessed and only sovereign. He's the king of all kings. He's the lord of all lords, who alone possesses immortality, and he dwells in unapproachable light.

Scott Keffer [: 00:03:49

So how is it that you and I will get near him? How is it that you and I would be in relationship with him? Not not a relationship like Adam and Eve in the garden creation, right, created with the creator, but a relationship, right, where we are an intimate fellowship, sharing the glory that the son has shared with the father for all eternity. How is that happening? And he's saying that the basis of this is the sovereignty. And so as we go through this, if you've been a believer a long time, you're gonna say, yeah. I kinda know that. So when you go see right? You go to we went to the Grand Canyon. When you go to the Grand Canyon, the point of being there is not to answer a test and to say, is this beautiful? Yes. Is it amazing? Yes. Was it overwhelming? Yes.

Scott Keffer [: 00:04:43

No. It's to experience it afresh and to see things that you've never seen before. To experience a great symphony is the same. We don't do it in order to fill out. But as evangelicals, we tend to think, oh, I know the answer to that as opposed to experiencing it and seeing the depth of it afresh, see new things about the character and nature of god. So as we go through these foundational, it's not so we can say, well, I know that. It's so that I can experience again fresh and to see I hadn't thought about that. Fresh and new.

Scott Keffer [: 00:05:19

Right? Does the spirit of God through the apostle Paul does not apologizing for deepening deepening the foundation of our salvation. Does that make sense? Because the righteousness of god who is other means it's beyond our comprehension. So it should it should blows away a phrase. So he's saying set it aside, the fact that I already know these things and see it afresh. So stand with me, if we will, as we read Romans four one through 17. Out of reverence for God, you have to take a breath when you're go go reading Paul. Right? Because there are just a lot. So let's go through this together.

Scott Keffer [: 00:06:01

What then shall we say that Abraham, our forefather according to the flesh, has found? For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about, but not before God. For what does the scripture say? Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness. Now to the one who works, his rage is not credited as a favor, but as what is due. But to the one who does not work, but believes in him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is credited as righteousness just as David also speaks of the blessing on the man to whom god credits righteousness apart from works. Blessed are those who laws as these have been forgiven and whose sins have been covered. Blessed is the man whose sin the lord will not take into account. Is this blessing then on the circumcised or on the uncircumcised also? For we say, faith was credited to Abraham as righteousness. How then was accredited? While he was circumcised or uncircumcised? Not while circumcised, but while uncircumcised.

Scott Keffer [: 00:07:17

And he received the sign of circumcision, a seal of the righteousness of the faith, which he had while uncircumcised so that he might be the father of all who believe without being circumcised. That righteousness might be credited to them, and the father of circumcision to those who not only are of the circumcision, but also following the steps of the faith of our father Abraham, which he had while uncircumcised. For the promise to Abraham or to his descendants that he would be heir of the world was not through the law, but through the righteousness of faith. For those who are of the law are heirs, faith is made void, and the promise is nullified. The law brings about wrath, but where there is no law, there also is no violation. For this reason, it is by faith in order that it may be in accordance with grace so that the promise will be guaranteed to all the descendants, not only to those who are of the law, but also to those who are of the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all, as it is written, a father of many nations have I made you in the presence of him who he believed, even God, who gives life to the dead and calls into being that which does not exist. The word of the Lord. Thanks be to God.

Scott Keffer [: 00:08:43

Take a breath. Holy smokes. How many are saying, wait a minute. Hold on. Hold on. Can we go back to the first sentence? Well, in fact, in the Greek, there are no sentences. There are no punctuation. It's just concept upon concept.

Scott Keffer [: 00:09:06

So let's see if we can pull this apart. So he starts by saying, okay. So what shall we say then? In other words, this is a therefore or how do we how do we answer the first three chapters, if you will, right, where he's laying out, right, the understanding about the righteousness of God and how do we obtain it. And is it for the Jew only, or is it for the non Jew? That would be actually critical for us, right, because we are non Jews. We are Gentiles, if you will. So he says if Abraham so Abraham is our forefather, but he is the forefather of those who were born Jewish. Right? He is the father of the Jewish nation, if you will. He is a Jew's forefather according to the flesh.

Scott Keffer [: 00:09:51

Right? We were born Jewish. Therefore, we deserve certain things. That was the belief. Right? If I'm born Jewish, then I am of Abraham, and therefore, I get what was promised to Abraham that was born. I am of the flesh. He was saying if Abraham was justified by his works. So he asked this question. So I think about father Abraham.

Scott Keffer [: 00:10:15

If he was justified by works, the works of the law, that's the question. But it's a he's he's gonna apply that. He's saying if Abraham was justified according to the flesh and by works, he could boast, of course. Right? I earned it. I earned it. And, man, do we wanna earn it? It just seems so right, doesn't it? I remember this was a leader in in who you would know who I was having conversation, and he said, no. I I just want to feel like I earned it. He was an athlete.

Scott Keffer [: 00:10:50

I earned it. That's what I do. I earn stuff. You earn the prize. Yeah. You wanna feel like you earned it by the works of the law, and he and and he's laid out, shall no man be justified. But if Abraham, our father, according to the flesh, if he was justified by works, he would say he could boast. He could say, I did pretty well.

Scott Keffer [: 00:11:16

Right? And if you think about it, we're all thinking about, well, of course, I'm I'm saved. I wasn't that bad. I'm not so bad. And I tell this story, I remember standing in Red Square, and we were sharing the gospel over there. And the guy said, you have he's a Russian soldier. He said, you have no idea what I've done. I said, I I don't. No.

Scott Keffer [: 00:11:37

He said, you have no idea what I've done. I said, you you have no idea what I've done. You have no idea I have no idea what you've done, but the lord has the idea of what we've both done. And there isn't anything that we've done that his blood didn't cover on the cross. And that's hard to comprehend. That is indeed. So he says, if our if our father, according to the flesh, earned it, if he was justified by his works, he could boast. But he says, but not before god.

Scott Keffer [: 00:12:10

But not before god. So if Abraham did some good things according to the law, he could boast, but not before god. Why? Because all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. So he reminds us, right, in three, here's the standard, the glory of God. People say it's something like throwing a football across the Grand Canyon. It's not like throwing a football across the Grand Canyon. That that makes the glory of God small. It's as if right? It's that's attainable.

Scott Keffer [: 00:12:51

The difference between us and God, he says, so for my ways are not your ways. My thoughts, not your thoughts. For as high as the heavens are above the earth. I say it again. This is a the heavens are, a slide rule. They're a tape measure to show you physically the difference between you and God and his thoughts and his glory. And they're about, what, 90,000,000,000 light years, something like that. 90,000,000,000 light years.

Scott Keffer [: 00:13:21

Right? My favorite illustration, get in a car, drive 60 miles an hour, never stop for gas, never stop to go to the bathroom. You drive for about four point two months. That's how far the ray of light will travel in one second. Ninety billion of those. How far? It's not like throwing a football across. It's like throwing a football across the universe. So it's not even possible to understand the glory of God. That's the standard.

Scott Keffer [: 00:13:56

It's not mother Teresa, a little better. It's not Billy Graham, a little better. It's just not, but that's what we tend to do. Right? We tend to think not sin. No. It's just not sin. It's righteousness. The scripture says the lord is upright.

Scott Keffer [: 00:14:13

He's pure. He's holy. There's no light in him. No speck of darkness. No sin. No wavering. No change. For eternity, he just is.

Scott Keffer [: 00:14:25

He just is righteous. He defines it. Right? That the glory of God is is the is the measure. So he says, scripture says this in gen in Genesis fifteen six. Abraham did what? He believed. Believed God. He he believed God. And it was credited to him as righteousness.

Scott Keffer [: 00:14:52

It was credited to him as righteousness. So he was credited to him as the righteousness of god. Well, how did he get that credited? He simply believed. So what does it mean to credit? So in the New Testament, that word credit so you can fill in the blank credit. That's sort of the word is is, translated. It means to reckon, to count, or to charge. And the scripture was fulfilled, it says in James, and Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned. That's the word.

Scott Keffer [: 00:15:36

Accounted. Right? Accounted to him. He was called a friend of god. He was accounted as righteousness, and he was called a friend of god. How many wanna be a friend of almighty God? Well, scripture says it's better than that because you don't not only become a friend of God, you become a son of almighty God. Right? When we obtain the righteousness of God, we become a son. That doesn't mean gender. It means in favor, in relationship because the son is at the right hand.

Scott Keffer [: 00:16:12

He's the son in whom I'm well pleased. So we says it's used in early secular documents. It means to put down to one's account. Let my revenue be placed on deposit. Thus, god put to Abraham's account. He placed on deposit to him. What did he credit to him? Righteousness. His righteousness.

Scott Keffer [: 00:16:33

Well, how much is that worth? You open up right? You go to your bank account. What's my balance? What's my balance? The righteousness of god. What is that? Abraham possessed righteousness in the same manner as a person would possess a sum of money placed in his account at the bank. The righteousness of God has been deposited into our account. Well, I know that. But it's like looking at the sun afresh and saying, oh, that's mine? Who put that in there? Who put that in there? Why would he put that the thing about all of that. Right? You woke up one day, and there was, like, trillions of dollars to your account. Wouldn't you say, who did that? Who deposited that in my account? Is that a mistake? That's amazing, isn't it? In the Old Testament, the word is accounted.

Scott Keffer [: 00:17:40

Right? It's been right? Accounted. We translated it different things. Well, interesting, the word where it says it was accounted to him as righteousness is a word that means to think or to account. It is the word that's used when Joseph meets his brothers, and he says, you accounted it to me for evil. God accounted it to me for good. You accounted it for me, deposited it to me, right, for e evil. God accounted it to me for good. Same word.

Scott Keffer [: 00:18:29

Therefore, reminding us of the absolute total sovereignty of God over all things, not just this. Well, he's saying if you work, then your employer is obliged to pay. Right? If you work, they're obliged to pay, and your wage is not credited as a favor. Right? When the people collect their paychecks, Tim, you don't say, well, hey. That's a that's a gift to you. No. It's like, what are you talking about a gift? Right? It seems funny, but you would say, when you work, you don't say I mean, you might be thankful for your job, but that's just I got paid. Right? Hopefully, what you deserve, sometimes not.

Scott Keffer [: 00:19:12

Right? Hopefully, you overdeliver, but not always the case. But you wouldn't say that's not a gift. That's a result of the fact. You're obliged to pay me. There's a contract, if you will. Right? Obliged to pay. Not it's not a favor. It's not a gift.

Scott Keffer [: 00:19:28

Well, that word charis needs grace. That's the the the space there. It needs grace. So your wage is not grace. He said signifying classical authors, we says, a favor due out of spontaneous generosity of the heart without an expectation or return. Of course, this favor was always done to one's friend, never to an enemy. Good thing. But when Charis comes in the New Testament, takes on an infinite leap forward for the favor of God, what God did at Calvary are for those who hated him.

Scott Keffer [: 00:20:07

So he's saying if you work and you get paid, right, you get paid a wage, it's not a grace. It's not a gift. And then he reminds us, god is not obliged to pay you. He really is obliged to judge you. It says god blesses. Instead of what's due, the wages of sin is death. That's what he's obliged to pay. The wages of sin is death.

Scott Keffer [: 00:20:36

Here's your your paycheck is coming due. What is it? Death. The wages of sin is death. Instead, god blesses with grace. He blesses. That's why he says, the blessing the blessing on the man whom god credits, what is he crediting you? What righteousness? The righteousness of almighty god. The unlimited righteousness of god is a credit. Holy smokes.

Scott Keffer [: 00:21:12

And then he reminds us that who does he do this to? God justifies the ungodly the ungodly. Not the good people, Not the one who are trying. God helps those who help themselves. That's not in the Bible. No. God helps those who are his enemies. God graces. He blessed those who are his enemies.

Scott Keffer [: 00:21:43

We don't wake up every day. We wake up every day and say, oh, these things aren't fair. Why is it why is the world doing it? Nobody wakes up every day and says, this is not right. Grace, I deserve the wage of death. Instead, you bless me with unmerited favor, eternal favor. So Jesus makes it really clear. I've not come to call. I love that.

Scott Keffer [: 00:22:13

Hey. If you're if you're righteous in your own eyes, I haven't come to call you. I've come to call spinners. Boy, am I grateful for that? And even to have your eyes open to the fact that you are a sinner. Because I remember, you know, twenty eight years, I mean, I was I was a practicing heathen. I was going for advanced degrees in heathenism. I was working very hard, doing very well. I thought I was doing alright.

Scott Keffer [: 00:22:42

And all of a sudden, conviction. The what? Conviction. Even that is a grace. Even that is a grace that you start to see sin, understand sin, conviction of sin. That's a grace. And he calls the ungodly. So then he goes back and says, okay. If you're a Jew, you should be paying attention to Abraham.

Scott Keffer [: 00:23:07

You also should be paying attention to whom? King David. King David. Well, king David confirms that God credits righteousness. So, Scott, you keep saying that over and over again because Paul keeps saying that over and over again because the spirit of God wrote through the apostle Paul and keeps saying it over and over again. Crediting the righteousness of almighty God. We should be blown away. He reminds us to be blown away. Apart from what? Works.

Scott Keffer [: 00:23:51

Hero of the faith, king David. So king David led an exemplary life. And so if we were publishing the biography of David, right, as one of our exemplary kings, right, I'm in the PR department. I'm gonna put out a biography of David. Am I gonna use the one in the Bible? No. Adulterer, murderer. Holy smokes. The ungodly.

Scott Keffer [: 00:24:24

God justifies the ungodly. And I love it because he says your underlying lawless deeds. What's he speaking to? My absolute rebellious heart, my arrogance, my pride, my rebellion. Not not not as if, oh, I just sinned and forgot or I sinned and fell short. No. This is this is active rebellion. Active rebellion. How many qualify for that? Yeah.

Scott Keffer [: 00:24:59

Active rebellion in our heart. And he says your sins are not taken into account, underline into account. Well, that Greek word means to put a cover on. And it's a combination of two words. One is cover, but there's a, a prefix, epi, which means over or upon, which intensifies the idea of your sins are covered. Gosh. What does that point to? What we looked at last week, the mercy seat. Back to the mercy seat.

Scott Keffer [: 00:25:38

He says in Psalm thirty two one, how blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. And so the the picture there is that God the the blood stands between God's righteous judgment and the sin inside of the ark. The blood stands in between so that God literally right? Your sins are covered. And and he says, he promises in the new covenant, your sins will be remembered no more. As far as the East is from the West, how far is that? It doesn't have a beginning and end. Right? And, like, I put them behind my back. Did god really put them behind his back? No. It's a it's for us.

Scott Keffer [: 00:26:35

Do you understand? He's giving us a picture so that you could understand the incomparable sense that the righteous god of the universe, the judge of all, has allowed your sins to be covered. So he gives us these pictures for us. He is he is speaking in a language so that we could kinda get it. I remember them no more. So it's it it's a it's a look at the day of atonement when you shall be clean before the Lord. The day of atonement, of course, was accomplished at Calvary. Good thing. Alright.

Scott Keffer [: 00:27:13

Flip over. Okay. So then he says, okay. If this is a blessing, is it just for the circumcised, or is it for the uncircumcised as well? Is it for the Jew only or for the Greek? Well, what's funny, it says faith was credited to Abraham as righteousness. Right? Scripture says faith Abraham believed, and it was credited to him as righteousness fourteen years before he was circumcised. Just in case you're confused about time, because we think, of course, in God's economy, time is irrelevant. It occurs at a particular point in time, but the fact that it is happening was so as to understand, he was circumcised. There was a sign and a seal of circumcision, but it was fourteen years later.

Scott Keffer [: 00:28:14

So was he credited with righteousness because he was circumcised? Well, he couldn't be. He because he was credited with righteousness fourteen years before he was actually circumcised. So, therefore, circumcision is a sign and a seal. It's a sign and a seal. He says you'll be circumcised in the flesh of your foreskin. It shall be a sign. Right? The picture is a a as a, you know, a sign, on a document that you would put your, right, your signet upon the document. It's the ring, right, that's you drip the wax onto it.

Scott Keffer [: 00:29:00

It's sealed with the ring, right, so that we know there's authority in that. Right? That verification. It's not only authority, but it's validation. Does that make sense? So circumcision was a sign and a seal. We mark documents with it. We validate whether things are indeed true. And then he says, our father. Our father.

Scott Keffer [: 00:29:30

How many pray to our father? Fundamentally, Jesus said, this is how you pray. Not that you can't pray to Jesus. Jesus said, if you ask me anything in my name, but, fundamentally, he says, this is how we pray. To whom? The father. Fundamentally to the father. Blessed be the God and father of our Lord Jesus Christ, our father who art in heaven. Fundamentally, we pray right to the father. How could you pray to the father? Through the son.

Scott Keffer [: 00:29:59

But we get to pray to the father. For us, it seems, oh, yeah. God's my father. Of course. Why wouldn't he wanna be? I'm a pretty good person. But he reminds them so in their time to the Jew, if if you were a Gentile, even if you converted circumcised Gentile, you could never call him your father. You could never say my father. You had to say the the your father.

Scott Keffer [: 00:30:28

Right? Because you could never say he's my father. You wouldn't say our father. Right? You wouldn't say our circumcised gentle gentile convert when you they were talking had to say your father. You'd never say my father or our father. He's gonna remind us in Romans, nor are they all children because they're Abraham's descendants of the flesh. Right? Just because you were born Jewish. That is it's not the children of the flesh who are children of God, but the children of the promise. Underline that promise.

Scott Keffer [: 00:31:06

We're gonna talk about this. It's about a promise. It's a blessing. A blessing is a grace, is a favor. It's a favor. I mean, the most amazing favor. This promise, who gets the promise? Well, Abraham does, of course. Right? He says the promise is to Abraham and to his seed, his descendant.

Scott Keffer [: 00:31:26

Yeah. His descendant. It's to Abraham and his seed through faith. And the key here is seed, not seeds. In other words, descendant, not descendants. It's not plural. Oh, really? I thought it was to Abraham and all his descendants. They're saying to his to Abraham and to his seed.

Scott Keffer [: 00:31:51

And so Galatians explains it. Now the promises were spoken to Abraham and to his Seed. Seed. He does not say and to seeds. Oh, really? What does that mean? As referring to many, but rather to one. And to your seed, that is Messiah. Messiah. So the the promise is to Abraham and Messiah.

Scott Keffer [: 00:32:26

And then the question is, who participates in that seed? Those who are in Messiah. Those who are in Messiah. That's what he says. And it will look like this. Those who follow in the steps of the uncircumcised Abraham. He's saying this is right before circumcision. So it says by faith, Hebrews 11, when he was called, what did he do? He obeyed by going to a place which he was to receive for an inheritance. He left.

Scott Keffer [: 00:33:02

He left his hometown. He went out not knowing where he's going. By faith, he lived as an alien. By faith, he offered up. By faith. Faith is the assurance The things. Of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. Right? So he's saying this is what it looks like.

Scott Keffer [: 00:33:22

He's uncircumcised. He's uncircumcised, and this is what it looks like. And he says, for sure, this is not through the law, but the law brings wrath. All this came out for the law was even given. Wrath, the righteous justice of almighty god, the righteous judgment of almighty god, the righteous declaration of almighty god to bring about what is true, that's wrath. But he said, okay. So you're in you're in the the canyon now. You're looking around.

Scott Keffer [: 00:34:03

What's it look like? The grace of God. Right? Take a breath. Be blown away by the incomparable grace of almighty god, the grace of god, the favor of god, the gift of god, the unmerited blessing of almighty god. Right? The riches of his grace. So he reminds us that we are saved By grace. By grace, not by faith. We're not saved by faith. We are saved by god's grace, and grace is appropriated through faith.

Scott Keffer [: 00:34:51

Grace is appropriated through faith. So he says, just so you're clear, you were dead. You were dead. The last time you were dead, what could you do? Yeah. Dead people can't do anything. They can't help themselves. They can't save themselves. They can't do any works.

Scott Keffer [: 00:35:17

You were dead. But he says, but love that. But god, being rich in mercy because of his great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead. So what does dead mean? Dead. Like, in in the grave, dead. You were dead in your transgressions. He made us alive together with Messiah, who is the seed of the promise. You need to be made alive together in Christ with Christ.

Scott Keffer [: 00:36:01

And he says, by grace, you have been Saved. Saved. And then he goes on to say, for by grace, you have been saved. But a verse later, they're like, important. Say that a number of times. For by grace, you have been saved through what? That knowledge yourselves. It is a charis. It is a gift of almighty god.

Scott Keffer [: 00:36:25

A good evangelical, you say, yeah. I know that answer. Check. Check. Now he's saying stop for a minute. Yeah. Stop for a minute. When we got ready to go to the Grand Canyon, you know, we, you know, got all pictures and read all the stuff and, you know, I mean, look at the pictures, and it's amazing.

Scott Keffer [: 00:36:43

I've been to the canyon or in down in the canyon. On the the rim, it's one thing. You hike down inside of it, and you're just overwhelmed by it. So he's saying stop for a minute, take a breath, walk into the grace, look at it again afresh, stand in it, Breathe it in and recognize this is the grace of almighty God. And it came through faith. And, oh, by the way, where'd you get to faith? It's a gift from him. All of him. All of him.

Scott Keffer [: 00:37:19

And that not of yourselves. None of it is of yourselves. That's stunning. It is the sovereignty of god and the grace of almighty God. Right? That all of this, right, is appropriated or this is by grace. This is all by grace. This is all by grace. So we talked in there about signs and seals.

Scott Keffer [: 00:37:46

They're somewhat the same. Signs and seals, affidavits, validations, signet, right, to be able to look and say that's official. When you think about a sign and seal, it has to do with the authority of the one who's leaving the seal as well as the the sense of they're the owner as well as validator and protector. Right? With that comes my authority. So you think about our seal, the holy spirit. Our seal, right, the holy spirit, and our signs, baptism, and the lord's supper. It could they can be you know, signs and seals can be the same thing. They're not isn't necessarily separate, but he says in him also, after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation, having also believed, you were Sealed.

Scott Keffer [: 00:38:43

Sealed in him. Underline it. You were sealed in him. What were we sealed with? Spirit. The holy spirit of promise. He is a pledge. He is a down payment. He is a a a a verification that what's coming in the future, I I put the down payment on it, and I deliver.

Scott Keffer [: 00:39:07

That there's something in the future. Right? Something coming who is given as a pledge of our inheritance. Oh, and he's the holy spirit of promise. What's that of you two? The redemption of god's own possession. Redemption. What's that mean? So it says when we see him, we will be made like him. He says, I will transform the body of your humble state into conformity with the body of my glory. How does he do that? By the power which he has even to to transform all things to himself.

Scott Keffer [: 00:39:46

When you see the lord Jesus, you will be transformed into the very nature of god. What? We get to share? We get to share in the divine nature? What? How is that gonna happen? Miraculous. Right? A miraculous transformation. This is this is only only a down payment of what is to come. So he says, and we will be at the end of Ephesians. What's he say? Me, a sinner. Right? Rebellious, arrogant. Right, broken sinner.

Scott Keffer [: 00:40:33

We will be to the praise of his glory. I will be to the praise of his glory? How's that gonna happen? I have no idea, but it is miraculous. It's the it's the promise. And he says, I've given the Holy Spirit as a down payment, as an engagement ring to show you that the marriage is coming. The marriage is coming, and you have no idea what it's gonna be like. It's not gonna be like this a little bit better. It won't be eternal golf, eternal pickleball. It won't be being able to play without being sore.

Scott Keffer [: 00:41:17

I mean, it won't be all of those things. Like, this is nothing. CS Lewis said it was like a woman and her son in, in jail with with no in prison with no windows, And she would sketch out with a piece of chalk what it looks like outside. And he would go out one day that when they were let out, and he'd say, well, how come it's not flat? Like the piece of paper? How come it's not black? It's full of all these colors. Because she said it's not the same. So we see in two d. We see black and white with sketches of chalk what will be when we get there. And we will be to the praise of his glory.

Scott Keffer [: 00:42:03

So he says, in him also, you were circumcised with a circumcision made without hands. Well, what's that? It's the removal of the body of the flesh. What's that? It's the circumcision of Christ. So the circumcision in the Old Testament was just a picture pointing everything in the Old Testament points. That's why Jesus said when he walked with the two, he said, he opened the scriptures. It's all about me. People go in the Old Testament and think, right, you're looking for whatever. You need to look for Christ.

Scott Keffer [: 00:42:41

He's everywhere because everything in the Old Testament is pointing to the Messiah. It's pointing. He's saying there is a circumcision. It's the circumcision of Christ, the Messiah, having been buried with him in baptism, which you were also raised up with him through faith in the working of God who raised Christ from the dead. Baptism is a picture. It's a sign. Right? It doesn't bring about salvation. It's a sign of salvation.

Scott Keffer [: 00:43:12

Right? It just like circumcision. They circumcision didn't save Abraham. God said, you need to be circumcised in the foreskin of your heart. That didn't do anything. Same thing. That is an outward sign of an inner transformation. Lord's supper is a reminder that we have died with Christ. We have been buried with him and resurrected.

Scott Keffer [: 00:43:41

That's the picture of baptism. The blood of the new covenant in Christ. He shed his blood. These are signs and seals for us for us. Also a reminder who owns us. He does. Whose seal does? He has. Who's protecting us? He does.

Scott Keffer [: 00:44:03

Yeah. He is. He's the one. And he give these signs are for us, reminders. Right? Seals and signs. And he said, god gave us his word, so the promise is guaranteed. It's guaranteed. Get your money back if you're not fully satisfied.

Scott Keffer [: 00:44:27

He says, this is guaranteed, and it's guaranteed to all of Abraham's descendants. He said in Galatians, if you belong to Christ, guess who what? Guess what? You are Abraham's descendant. You are Abraham's you are Abraham's seed according to the promise, the heir according to the promise. I love this picture in Hebrews. Right? When you say, I'm gonna do this. I swear to God. Right? When you get sworn in, right, and to testify. Right? I swear.

Scott Keffer [: 00:45:03

Right? Put your hand in the Bible. I swear. Right? In other words, supposed to be validation, but the first is your word. And then you put your hand and you swear. In other words, I double I double swear. I say my word, and then I swear. I swear to God. I swear in the Bible.

Scott Keffer [: 00:45:19

I swear all of that's validation. That's why Jesus said, don't swear about the temple. Let your yes be. Yes. Yes. But here he says, for when God made the promise to Abraham, he could swear by none greater. In other words, the mere fact that God made a promise should be enough, but he did something more for us. He said he swore by himself.

Scott Keffer [: 00:45:43

He swore by himself. I swear by myself, saying I will surely bless you and I will surely multiply you. Did God need to do that? No. He said men swear by one greater than themselves, and with them an oath is given as a confirmation is an end in every dispute. In the same way, God what did he do this for? Desiring even more. What did he desire even more to do? To show the heirs who's that? You and me, the heirs of the promise, underline the unchangeableness of his purpose. When you encounter the changeableness of life, how many encounter that daily? And the uncomfortable changeableness of life, which we all encounter, some of you are going through it now, he says, I've given a promise I've sworn by myself so you will know the unchangeableness of my promise. It doesn't waver.

Scott Keffer [: 00:46:54

It doesn't change. It doesn't fall short. It's not empty. You can stand on it. You can stand on it for sure. He's the unchangeableness of my purpose. So he says in scriptures, he nullifies the council of the nations. If you wonder about the world and what's it going, he frustrates the plans of the peoples.

Scott Keffer [: 00:47:16

Why? The council of the Lord stands forever. The plans of his heart from generation to generation. The unchangeableness of his purpose. He didn't need to do that, did he? That's his grace. Well, he's saying so okay. What does that mean? Well, he inter he interposed with an oath so that by two unchangeable things, which is impossible, god, for to lie. So he said it, and he swore by it. Says it's two unchangeable things.

Scott Keffer [: 00:47:50

It's me saying it and then then swearing by it. Right? In which it's impossible for god to lie. We who have taken refuge would have a, underline, strong, what, encouragement. What should we courage to do? Underline, take hold the hope set before us. Take hold the hope when you feel hopeless, when you feel uncertain, when life is wavering like it often does. He says, I want to encourage you and not just an encouragement, a strong encouragement to take hold of, right, the hope that's set before us. What is that hope you ask god? It is an anchor. And it's not he say it's just not an anchor for your head.

Scott Keffer [: 00:48:49

It's an anchor for your soul. I want you to I want you to see that's an anchor to hold your soul. Your soul flail about, doesn't it? Just flails about on day daily basis. He said, let this be an anchor for your soul, not just your head. What kind of anchor is it? It is a hope both sure and steadfast. And where is it? It's in the holy of holies. Where is that in the very presence of almighty god? It's in the inner place where only the high priest went. That's where your hope is.

Scott Keffer [: 00:49:26

It's anchored to the throne of god where Jesus has entered as a forerunner having become a priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek. So your your soul needs to be anchored to the throne of God. It's anchored in the inner holy of holies. So I say, lord, hold the chain in, will you? Hold the chain in. Hold me tight. Hold me tight. So the promise is guaranteed. I love this last part.

Scott Keffer [: 00:50:02

It said, god god gives life to the dead. God gives life to the dead. How does he do that? He does that by calling into being that which did not exist, that which did not exist. What's the phrase for that? God by faith, we understand that the worlds were created by the word of God so that what existed came out of nothing. Out of nothing. He's saying faith, right, life to a dead person is to call forth that which does not exist. That's who our god is. That's why it says, right, glory and honor to you, glory and honor and power to him who who created all things.

Scott Keffer [: 00:50:58

Revelation says, by his will, it existed and was created. By his will, it existed and was created. Well, what was exit what was created that did not exist? Faith. Faith. Life in a dead person. Your faith did not exist. So I love that. For god who said, light shall shine out of darkness.

Scott Keffer [: 00:51:26

K? How many of you have encountered light coming out of darkness? Does light come out of darkness? It doesn't. There is no light to come out of darkness. He's saying, you're dead. You're dark. Where does light come from? It must come from the god who can speak forth into existence that which does not exist. Just like he spoke the worlds into existence out of nothing, He speaks faith into existence out of nothing. He speaks light. He is the one who is shown in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ.

Scott Keffer [: 00:52:07

God literally had to speak forth faith into your heart. It was dead. It was dark. They spoke light. He's the god who speaks forth. He calls into existence that which did not exist. Is that amazing? You have light in your soul. You have life in your soul.

Scott Keffer [: 00:52:31

You have spirit of God and and the and the son of God in your soul because God commanded it forth. Let there be light, he said, in you, into your darkness and into your deadness. He spoke forth light. Just like saw. Alright. Application. You're saved by grace. He sealed it.

Scott Keffer [: 00:52:57

Right? And he signed it. He's given his promise as a guarantee. Given life to your dead soul. Spoken to being that which did not exist. Alright. Application. Insight. Recognizing that only God's gonna speak important to whom he's gonna speak important to.

Scott Keffer [: 00:53:18

Right? Mhmm. Right? The how does that all work? Just did. It just did. It's sovereignty over the thing. But end of the day, I don't close the deal. I just share I just share the journey. I share the testimony. I share the most amazing one.

Scott Keffer [: 00:53:33

Right? Not alone. When, when Josh was two, was he three? I can't remember. They used to have the harnesses, right, in case they got you know, if you're at the mall, right, what do you use the harnesses? Well, he says we have a harness, and it's attached to the throne of God. Is that is that comforting? Yes. That's comforting? Sometimes I wanna right? Sometimes I I veer. Right? Sometimes if I wanna pull tight, Lord, keep that keep me tight, but our hope is sealed. Right? It's sealed and signed, and it we are we are attached to the throne of God. If you look back, I mean, it not that it validates anything, but that was my experience.

Scott Keffer [: 00:54:17

I thought Christians were goofy. I thought God was irrelevant, and then all of a sudden, like, what? You know? I always say, you know, Christmas time comes, I listen to the hymns, I think, oh, it's the gospel. Except in did they change the lyrics? No. It's been every year. I just never paid attention before because he commanded forth light into my dark soul. Yeah. May the holy god, our father, may he bless you. May he keep you.

Scott Keffer [: 00:54:41

May he cause his face to shine upon you. May he lift up his countenance and grant you a shalom deep in your soul, and may the god of all hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing. May you walk in it this week. Amen. Amen.

Scott Keffer [: 00:54:59

Thanks for listening. I hope you have greater hope, assurance, and confidence in your life and a deeper trust in the God of the Bible and his son, Jesus Christ. Until next time, may the Lord bless you and keep you. May the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you, and may the Lord lift up his countenance on you and give you his peace, his shalom in your soul and in your life. Until next time, may God bless you and keep you.