Romans 4:18-25
Against all hope, Abraham in hope believed and so became the father of many nations, just as it had been said to him, “So shall your offspring be.” 19 Without weakening in his faith, he faced the fact that his body was as good as dead—since he was about a hundred years old—and that Sarah’s womb was also dead. 20 Yet he did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God, but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God, 21 being fully persuaded that God had power to do what he had promised. 22 This is why “it was credited to him as righteousness.” 23 The words “it was credited to him” were written not for him alone, 24 but also for us, to whom God will credit righteousness—for us who believe in him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead. 25 He was delivered over to death for our sins and was raised to life for our justification.
The Power of Hope Lies in the Promises of God
The closest I’ve been to a courtroom is standing out in the hallway. I was called to be a character witness a couple years ago. I was never summoned, never testified, so I never saw the inside of that courtroom. But I have to tell you, I was shaky and nervous and sweaty anyway. Courtrooms can be scary places, even if you’re not the one on trial, even if you know you’re innocent.
Now, imagine that you’re not. You’re guilty. There are eyewitnesses. There is material evidence linking you to the crime. The prosecuting attorney not only has an ironclad case but he also has a personal vendetta against you. How would you walk into that courtroom? How much hope would you have to walk out that courtroom acquitted, all the charges dropped, completely free to go?
Paul says that you should have all the hope in the world, and Abraham is the reason why. “Against all hope, Abraham in hope believed.”
Someone told me this week that spirituality, especially Christianity, is sometimes considered a sign of mental illness. You’d have to be crazy to be a Christian. And, you know what, I’d agree. There is an irrationality to our Christian faith that just doesn’t make any sense at all. Abraham is a great example.
The man was 100 years old. His wife was 90. They had been trying for 25 years to have a child together, but their bodies were functionally dead in the baby-making department. By all accounts, they’d be crazy to believe that they’d have a baby. But that’s exactly what Abraham believed.
“Against all hope, Abraham in hope believed and so became the father of many nations.”
Abraham was no dummy. He knew the obstacles that were in his way. He was not blind to the fact that no one in their nineties gives birth. But Abraham believed, not in himself, not in biology, not in the power of positive thinking. Abraham believed the promise God had made him.
One night, when Abraham was still a young buck of about 75, God took him for a walk and showed him a sky full of stars. He was talking about Abraham’s future and, among other promises, he said, “Look up at the sky and count the stars – if indeed you can count them. So shall your offspring be.” To childless Abraham and his barren wife, Sarah, God promised innumerable descendants. It was literally a laughable promise; both Abraham and Sarah giggled when they heard it. But against all hope, Abraham in hope believed.
Could you do that? I don’t know too many 100-year-olds, but if you were one, could you believe that you’d have a child in your old age? Could you see all the evidence and all the reasons why you shouldn’t believe that something will happen but still believe it anyway? That’s kind of the Christian life, isn’t it?
So many of the facts that we face in this world ought to rob us of hope. We’ve endured months of isolation and fear as we’ve helplessly watched the death toll rise from a global pandemic. We’re still hurting as a society from pains and prejudices that were begun hundreds of years ago. And that’s just page one of your local newspaper.
Then there are the kinds of things you would only read in your diary. The strained relationships. The shrinking wallet. The cancelled plans. The hospital visits. The anxiety and depression. The frustration and disappointments.
How can a Christian have hope in a world that offers precious little? The same way Abraham did.
Abraham had hope where the situation looked hopeless because he trusted in the promise of God, and God doesn’t make promises the way that humans do. God doesn’t lie to us. He doesn’t forget his promises or change his mind. He doesn’t promise us anything outside of his ability to accomplish. Abraham was fully persuaded that God had power to do what he had promised, and that faith proved to be well placed.
Finally, when Abraham was 100 years old and Sarah 90, they had their first and only child, Isaac. God kept his promise! God made the impossible possible. Although it must have seemed crazy to everyone around them, God proved that their hope was not misplaced. He proved that he had the power to do what he promised.
Against all hope, Abraham in hope believed. He was strengthened by God’s promises and fully persuaded by God’s faithfulness. It wasn’t that Abraham was a superior believer who had better faith than anyone else. When Abraham began to waver and weaken, God was there with his word of promise to reassure him and remind him that God would be the one to do the impossible. All Abraham had to do was wait and have faith, and God credited that faith to him as righteousness.
There’s that word for the day – righteousness! If you recall from the beginning of our service today, we said that righteousness is a forensic term, i.e. it’s the kind of word you’d use in a courtroom to describe a person who is upright, blameless, no fault can be found with them. That’s what God considered Abraham, not because of anything Abraham did, but because of his faith.
I could tell you stories about Abraham that wouldn’t make him sound so good. I could call witnesses to the stand who would tell you about Ishmael, the son Abraham had with a servant girl in a moment of weakness and panic and fear that God wouldn’t fulfill his promise. We could lay out exhibit after exhibit proving Abraham’s guilt, but God would still slam the gavel and call him righteous because of his faith, because Abraham didn’t rely on himself – his reason, his health, the strength of his body; he relied on God and his promises, and those never disappoint.
I asked you earlier how you would feel walking into a courtroom knowing full well how guilty you are and that the prosecuting attorney has the evidence to prove it. That will happen to you. We call it Judgment Day. You will stand before God, the Righteous Judge, who has a perfect standard for obedience; he doesn’t tolerate a single infraction. You will hear Satan make his case against you, citing sins that you did in secret and didn’t think anyone else knew. You will hear testimony from the people you hurt in your life or the ones whose needs you neglected. Anyone in their right mind would expect nothing other than a guilty verdict. You’d be crazy to think you could walk away scott free. But against all hope, knowing your own sin, you can still believe it, because it’s God’s promise to you.
You can put your faith in the one who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead. Our situation was hopeless. We were and are guilty of trespasses and sin. As we confessed to start this service, we have done what is evil and failed to do what is good. But that’s why Jesus was delivered over to death – for our sins. That’s why he was raised to life – for our justification.
The devil can present all the damning evidence of your sin to the court, but at the end of that day all God will see is Jesus. Our Judge will see the perfect righteousness of Jesus and his innocent death he endured for our sins and he will be delighted to declare you not guilty. Because even though you are guilty, Jesus has paid the penalty for your sin. His death on the cross has forgiven you, and his resurrection from the grave gives you hope of everlasting life with him in heaven.
This world can tell you that you have no reason for hope. The devil can parade your sin in front of you to try to get to despair of your worthiness of God. Human reason would tell you that you should believe them and abandon all hope. But God promises you forgiveness and life in Jesus. He promises you that although you have trouble in this world, Jesus has overcome and will redeem you from it. God promises you that he is watching over you and protecting you and that he sends his angels to guard over you. God promises you that no matter how this life unfolds – no matter how much uncertainty, pain or fear you experience here – you can look forward in hope to heaven, where there will be no more weeping or mourning or crying or pain, just Jesus and his righteousness that has been credited to you by faith in him.
Does that mean that if you can just muster up enough hope in your heart, then anything is possible? No. Abraham and Sarah didn’t conceive Isaac because of the power of their positive thinking. Sarah gave birth when she was 90 years old because God promised it and they believed the promise. The power of hope lies in the promises of God. So, listen to what he tells you.
Listen when he says that your sins are paid for. He condemned his Son to death so that you can live in righteousness, i.e. acquitted, set free, your sin not held against you anymore. Listen when he says that he loves you, even if it doesn’t feel that way in the moment. Listen when he tells you about the future he has prepared for you in heaven, even if it doesn’t feel like you can get through the rest of the day.
The world may think you’re crazy to be Christian, and, in a sense, they’re right. You can tell me all the reasons I shouldn’t have hope. I’ll tell you the story about Abraham and Sarah and how our God makes the impossible possible. I’ll show you Jesus and tell you about his promises of forgiveness and salvation and life.
The power of hope lies in the promises of God. Listen to them. Amen.