Romans 4:13 “It was not through law that Abraham and his offspring received the promise that he would be heir of the world, but through the righteousness that comes by faith.”

We don’t receive God’s promises of grace and blessing by way of his law. No one ever has. Even Abraham, the father of the Jewish nation, didn’t get these things from God’s law.

Just what are the promises Paul has in mind here? He speaks of the promise that Abraham would be heir of the world. Now, no individual promise given Abraham in the book of Genesis promises him the world in so many words. The Lord tells him he will make him into a great nation, that all nations on earth will be blessed through him, that he will have a son from his own body, that his descendants will outnumber the stars of the sky, that the land of Canaan will belong to him and his family. That’s all very interesting, we might feel, but what does that have to do with Abraham becoming heir of the world? More importantly, what does all that have to do with us? Why should we care?

A little context will help. In Romans chapter 4 Paul is using the life of Abraham to illustrate this point from the previous chapter: “We maintain that a man is justified by faith apart from observing the law.” The main promise on Paul’s mind is that of justification–God’s not guilty verdict. How can God consider a sinner like me not guilty? How can I be considered righteous? How can we receive forgiveness? This was not a concern for any one generation. It wasn’t new with the teachings of Jesus. It goes thousands of years back to Abraham and beyond. How was it that God could treat a sinner like Abraham like a son? How could Abraham receive so many good things from God? The promise that all nations would be blessed through him was the key. This was only possible if Abraham had descendants. That God promised, too. And of all the nations of people descended from Abraham, his greatest single descendant was Jesus, the Son of God and Savior of the world. He was the one who would inherit the world for Abraham’s family. More than that, he was the one who would bring forgiveness and eternal life to the world by his perfect life, innocent death, and glorious resurrection from the dead.

Was there something better about Abraham that led the Lord to single him out for such promises? Was he better at keeping God’s law? A re-read of Genesis 12 through 24 shows us that, on the contrary, Abraham was capable of some horrible lapses into sin. That is why Paul concludes, “It was not through law that Abraham and his offspring received the promise.” The Lord does not make his gospel promises–the ones that promise forgiveness and eternal life–dependent on human behavior, conditional on keeping his law.

In our church, we recite the Nicene Creed on communion Sundays. These words renew and review our faith in God as our heavenly Father, the divinity and saving work of his Son Jesus, and the work of the Holy Spirit. When we recite them, they don’t feel like a rallying cry in a great controversy anymore. They don’t stir our passions as though we were taking a stand in a battle between right and wrong. We live thousands of years after the debates and battles for the divinity of Christ that inspired the creed to be written. The issue still comes up, but it doesn’t strike us as so urgent.

Something similar can happen with the issues before us in these words of Paul to the Romans. A great struggle to understand the proper roles of faith and works in God’s saving work existed during the days of Jesus and his apostles. It arose again 500 years ago at the time of the Reformation. The intensity of the battle for a right understanding of this teaching has died down, though it never goes completely away. People turn their attention to other teachings. Some believe the really pressing issue is how people live their lives each day. Whether God’s saving promises come by faith or by works doesn’t seem so critical. What difference does it make?

Paul’s words reinforce that it makes all the difference in the world. It is not an overstatement when our spiritual forefathers spoke of this issue as the teaching on which the church rises or falls. If we don’t get this right, nothing else will matter–including how we live our lives each day. Only the righteousness that comes by faith makes Abraham and his spiritual descendants heirs of the world…and the world to come.

Joshua 23:7-8 “Do not associate with these nations that remain among you; do not invoke the names of their gods or swear by them. You must not serve them or bow down to them. But you must hold fast to the Lord your God, as you have until now.”

You probably know enough Old Testament history to know that Joshua’s warning was something of a prophecy. Israel was constantly dabbling in the religions of their neighbors. Why were these other gods so appealing? For the most part, these other religions were much more “this worldly.” The native religions of ancient Canaan were fertility cults. That meant that they were focused on the here and now. Worship was all about making a living and having a family. Do it right and your land would produce a good crop, your sheep would have lambs, and your wife would give you children. There wasn’t so much focus on the life to come which seemed so far away. Worship was about everyday life. Worship was practical.

On top of all that, worship was fun. There was none of this heavy talk about sin and forgiveness. It was supercharged with emotion. Even sex was a big part of the program. It was all designed to make you feel good. It’s not hard to see the appeal.

Finally, these other gods seemed to demand less faithfulness. These other religions were less exclusive. You were free to practice more than one of them at the same time. There was none of this “our god is the only god,” or “our way is the only way.”

Practical. Fun. Open-minded. It’s not that God wants Christian faith to be impractical and boring, but real faith deals with weightier things, issues of life and death, heaven or hell. And the God of the Bible is the only God. His way is the only way. Everything else is just imaginary. If Christianity makes exclusive truth claims, that’s because its God is the only one who actually exists.

Christians in our time seem less and less sold on these truths. According to a survey taken by the Pew Forum several years ago, the majority of Protestant Christians, the majority of Catholic Christians, and the majority of Evangelical Christians believe that many religions lead to eternal life. Now, if by “many religions” they mean “other Christian denominations” I have no argument. But if they mean non-Christian religions, they are out of tune with the warning Joshua is giving us here.

The issue is not one of Christians being better than the followers of other religions. Christians are just as bad as they are. Christians are so bad that they can be saved only by God’s grace, only by a Savior fulfilling all that God demanded instead of them, only by Jesus dying for their sins in place of them. But Christians aren’t worse than the followers of every other religion, either. No man, of any faith, can save himself by his good character or his selfless charity or his kind actions or his exceptional love. Jesus is the only Savior God has given humanity to rescue us from sin and death, because Jesus is the only Savior who has done all of the saving work for us.

Joshua’s God offers more than instant fun and success. He gives his people more than a few principles by which to live. He gives life and immortality. He paid for it by giving himself. Hold fast to him.

Joshua 23:6 “Be very strong; be careful to obey all that is written in the Book of the Law of Moses, without turning aside to the right or to the left.”

Are Christians weak or are they strong? We can look at great Biblical leaders of the past–men like Noah, Abraham, Moses, David, the prophets, Peter, and Paul. We can see how they took their stand on the truth, and lived and sometimes even died there, and it looks to us as though they are strong. Maybe you have had some great Christian role model in your life. You have seen how he or she resisted temptation, weathered personal tragedy or persecution with a robust, unwavering faith, and you aspired to stand strong like they do. Maybe Christians are strong.

Oh, but “pride goeth before a fall.” Noah got drunk, Abraham slept with a servant girl, Moses and David committed murder, Peter denied his Lord, and Paul admitted his unending struggle with sin. The idea that the church is more a hospital for wounded sinners than a gymnasium for burly saints goes back at least as far as Luther. Given enough time, even the Christians you respect the most will let you down. Their feet are made of clay, not iron. Maybe Christians are weak.

So which is it–are they weak or are they strong? True to reality, it’s not a simple “either/or.” The best answer is “both.” Like Paul says, “Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.”

Huh? In these words of farewell to his people Joshua urges us, “Be very strong.” But what’s the point of telling people to do that if they always are? Because we often struggle, we need this encouragement. But we also need to know what real strength looks like and where real strength comes from. That’s where Joshua’s words direct us.

When Joshua says “Obey everything written in the law of Moses,” he is commanding more than obedience to a list of rules. “The Law of Moses” was the technical term for the first five books of the Bible. While it is true they contained many commands, they were also filled with history and promises and examples. A fuller translation of “obey” would include the words “keep” and “do.” There were certainly things to “do” here. None of the commandments was optional.

But just as important as the laws were the promises and examples for them to keep and preserve in their hearts. These five books of Moses contained the first promises of a Savior–the One who would crush Satan’s head, make Israel a blessing to all nations, a Ruler who would come from Judah, a Prophet who knew God more intimately than Moses, the Sacrifice that all the sacrifices at the Tabernacle were pointing to. Joshua and his people knew this Savior as a promise. We know him as Jesus, and we know the full story of his love and the full forgiveness he died to give us. If you are standing on a foundation of God’s grace and love like that, you can be strong for the struggle.

These five books of Moses contained examples of God’s great power to deliver his people like Noah’s Ark, Joseph’s rise to power in Egypt, the 10 plagues and the Passover, and the crossing of the Red Sea. They were filled with providential promises like, “There is no one like the God of Jeshurun who rides on the heavens to help you and on the clouds in his majesty. The eternal God is your refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms” (Deut. 33:26-27). An old hymn reminds us that we are “Standing on the Promises,” and that is just what Joshua was urging his people to do so that they would stay on the right path.

When God’s weak, fallible people hold on to the promises, and depend on his power, they don’t just find help. They are very strong.

Romans 13:1 Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God… Do you want to be free from fear of the one in authority? Then do what is right and he will commend you. 4 For he is God’s servant to do you good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword for nothing. He is God’s servant, an agent of wrath to bring punishment on the wrongdoer.

The Lord called a friend of mine to teach at a Lutheran seminary in the Ukraine. One of the most difficult adjustments he had to make was getting used to the way government works in this formerly communist country. Just to get his car registered, he had to go through these steps:

1) He drove to the customs department on the other side of town.

2) After waiting for half an hour, he was sent to a second office in another part of town.

3) There he waited another 45 minutes while his application was being typed and he paid a fee.

4) He was sent across town again to have the car’s value professionally estimated.

5) The people in that office sent him to another office.

6) He waited 45 minutes for another application to be typed and paid a fee.

7) By now it was closing time. He had to wait until the next day to continue his quest.

8) When he went back to the customs office the next morning, he was told he needed a form from the police department.

9) When he reached the police department, they had no idea what form was needed.

10) He went back to the customs office, where the man in charge learned he was a religious worker. As a result, he sent him to the Dept. of Religious Affairs for a work permit, then to the police to get a special stamp for his passport.

11) In order to make sure that the man at the customs department would follow through with this the next day, he had to pay a “token of gratitude” (a bribe).

12) The next day he was told he would need to have a full medical examination and submit the medical records before the car could be registered.

13) Finally he phoned a high ranking friend, who simply gave the order, “Just give them the sticker.”

And we sometimes complain about the way our government works.

So long as our government provides peace and order, it is a blessing of God for which we ought to give our thanks. The Lord has established two great kingdoms on earth to take care of us. One watches over our bodies, the other watches over our souls. He places his representatives in each of them to work for our good.

For our souls God gives us the church with its pastors and teachers. Here the emphasis is not so much on what we do for him, but what he did for us to save us. Here God leaves no role for us to play in our own salvation, whether big or small. He simply points us to Jesus who has done it all. Here we find full forgiveness for our failure to submit to God’s commands and those who enforce them. Here God rules us not by force but by faith, not by guns but by grace, not by laws but by his love that captivates our hearts and makes us want to follow him wherever he leads us to go.

Those who govern us work in the other great kingdom God has established. They take care of our bodies, and they do so in a particular way. “But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword for nothing. He is God’s servant, an agent of wrath to bring punishment on the wrongdoer.” In general, we might say that the purpose of government and those who govern is to protect the weak from the strong. In a world where not everyone trusts God or willingly follows his ways, God has given those who govern weapons of force and punishment. If the policeman cannot use his sidearm, if the soldier cannot fire his rifle, if the judge cannot sentence people to jail or even to death, then the government cannot keep us safe.

But so long as the government has the power to punish, God can use it to protect us from those who want to take our property, our freedom, and even our lives. When we are submitting to the government ourselves, they are in a better position to protect us, and that is all for our personal benefit.

Perhaps no one on earth is better protected by their government than we Americans. As we celebrate our nation’s anniversary, let’s be thankful for the blessing of peace and order it provides.

Acts 5:29-31 “Peter and the other apostles replied, ‘We must obey God rather than men! The God of our fathers raised Jesus from the dead–whom you had killed by hanging him on a tree. God exalted him to his own right hand as Prince and Savior that he might give repentance and forgiveness of sins to Israel.”

An astounding change had taken place in these men since the morning Jesus rose from the dead. John described their earlier lack of courage: “On the evening of that first day of the week, when the disciples were together, with the doors locked for fear of the Jews…” Not much confidence or determination there. Their only determination then was not to end up executed as Jesus was.

Now they were ready to stand before the highest ruling body of their people and defy their orders with no apparent concern for what happened to them. In the course of time, all but one of them would die an unnatural death, executed for their refusal to stop preaching Jesus’ death and resurrection. What inspires men to display such determination? Certainly not a hoax, a cover-up, something you know to be false. You don’t sacrifice every earthly advantage, you don’t accept rejection, torture, and even death for something you know to be a lie.

Wasn’t their determination the result of the resurrection of Jesus they had witnessed, and concerning which they now gave their witness? “The God of our fathers raised Jesus from the dead.” Here is an event that puts an end to every fear. Here was living proof that life after death is not just a possibility. It is a certainty. In Jesus they had seen what would become of their own bodies. In Jesus they had the promise that God himself was on their side and fully intended to raise their bodies.

For Jesus’ resurrection is more than a display of the raw power of God. That might be a rather frightening thing. You better watch out for a God who can bring dead bodies back to life, if that is all you know about him. Nor was Jesus’ resurrection merely an entertaining magic trick. Of what value is that? “Hey, that was fun. Do it again!”

No, these men understood more than the fact of the resurrection. They understood its meaning. Yes, it demonstrated God’s power and Jesus’ glory, “God exalted him to his own right hand as Prince…” But the main intent was to demonstrate their love and grace. “God exalted him to his own right hand as Prince and Savior that me might give repentance and forgiveness to Israel.” By his death and resurrection and ascension to God’s right hand Jesus is the Savior who brings us to repent of our sins and grants us full forgiveness for them. Here we know that God loves us. Here we know that we are safe with him no matter what happens. Here we know that he has secured our eternal future. Here we find the determination to obey him no matter what men threaten to do to us. Here we reap the results of witnessing Jesus’ resurrection–they through their eyes, we through their words.

This determination can carry through to every other Christian service or endeavor. Have you ever heard anyone speak of a resurrection faith? Of course, all true Christian faith believes in Jesus’ resurrection, and in ours as well. But when people speak of a resurrection faith, they are talking about letting our faith live out the implications of that wonderful truth. That is what the apostles were demonstrating here. A resurrection faith is brimming with confidence, confident that God is on our side and God is the winner, so in the end we win, too.

That does not mean that our service to him will always be easy. It doesn’t mean that we will always meet with earthly success. It means that even if our service is filled with opposition, and ridicule, and heartache, and setbacks, and even ends in death, we don’t lose our determination because Jesus lives and we win.