Romans Chapter 4:

Romans Chapter 4:

16 Therefore it is of faith, that it might be by grace; to the end 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,

17 (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.

18 Who against hope believed in hope, that he might become the father of many nations, according to that which was spoken, So shall thy seed be.

19 And being not weak in faith, he considered not his own body now dead, when he was about an hundred years old, neither yet the deadness of Sara's womb:

20 He staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief; but was strong in faith, giving glory to God;

21 And being fully persuaded that, what he had promised, he was able also to perform.

22 And therefore it was imputed to him for righteousness. 23 Now it was not written for his sake alone, that it was imputed to him;

24 But for us also, to whom it shall be imputed, if we believe on him that raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead;

25 Who was delivered for our offences, and was raised again for our justification.

Wow! Faith, faith and more faith! That's what this Gospel is all about, and it's not about anything else. Reason being that this Gospel is all about Jesus, and Jesus is not here in person because he is in heaven. The resurrection from the dead and the world of glory to follow are not presently here either. That is why the scripture tells us the following: "Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen" (Room. 11:1). That is also why we are instructed as follows: "For we walk by faith, not by sight" (II Cor. 5:7). Speaking of "things hoped for," we are also told that hope is what does and will save us: "For we are saved by hope: but hope that is seen is not hope: for what a man seeth, why doth he yet hope for? But if we hope for that we see not, then do we with patience wait for it" (Rom. 8:24,25). So hope and faith are generally synonymous because they both pertain to things that we cannot see presently, meaning Christ and the glory that he will bring to the faithful when he comes. The point I want to establish is the exact same point that the apostle Paul was making with this writing. That point is that nothing but pure faith in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ can make us right with God, because it is ONLY by faith in Jesus that we can be 'in him,' and only by being in him are we transformed into 'a new creature:' "Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new" (II Cor. 5:17). As it says, IF any man be IN CHRIST. That takes us to HOW any man GETS in Christ: "For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit" (I Cor. 12:13).

So it is the baptism of the holy Ghost, which first was given at Pentecost after Jesus went back to heaven, that puts anyone INTO Christ. That is the same baptism of the holy Ghost that John the Baptist said Jesus was coming to provide, which Jesus also promised his followers right before he went back to heaven (Mk. 1:8; Acts 1:4,5). It's really integral to understand this staple truth of the Gospel, because there is so much modern Christian tradition that confuses this truth, and thereby stifles much of God's Spirit in the lives of his people. It is totally erroneous to believe that anyone is born again before they are baptized with the holy Ghost with the inseparable sign of speaking with other tongues. This is the experience of faith in Christ that puts us into his body, which in turn makes us partakers of his death and his resurrection (Jn. 7:38,39; Rom. 6:3,4; Col. 2:12). Somehow the body of Christ has been duped into believing that it is water baptism that puts us into Christ, and into his death and resurrection. But water baptism is not of faith, because it is a 'work' that is done by a man, and not by Christ. It is Christ who baptizes with the holy Ghost, and no one receives that experience apart from faith. The Spirit baptism is not done by a man on earth, but rather by the man who died and rose, and went back to heaven to be able to do it. The faith of Abraham was not based on anything he could see, but rather it was strictly based on what God has SAID to him. Baptism in water was given to John the Baptist to introduce Jesus to Israel, and John told us the same (Jn. 1:31).

Baptism in water is something that we can presently see, as well as something we do and experience altogether by earthly means. But the baptism of the Spirit is what Jesus TOLD his followers to wait for, that he would send to them after he went away (Acts 1:4,5). So it is the holy Ghost baptism that we can NOT presently see, that is administered by Jesus from heaven, whom we also do NOT presently see. Again, it is that experience of faith in Jesus that puts us into his body, and thereby into his death and resurrection; and that is how we have our sins taken away, and have eternal life imparted to us. Nothing apart from that experience constitutes anyone being born again, and the Bible clearly confirms that, as we have seen. This truth is perfectly tied into the faith of Abraham, as the scripture tells us: "But that no man is justified by the law in the sight of God, it is evident: for, The just shall live by faith. And the law is not of faith: but, The man that doeth them shall live in them. Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree: That the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ; that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith" (Gal. 3:11-14). So "the promise of the Spirit," which is the same promise of the Spirit that Jesus told his followers to wait for when he went back to heaven; IS "the blessing of Abraham," which we receive only by faith.That passage of scripture also shows us that "the law is not of faith," which means the ceremonial law of the old covenant.

Two scriptures clearly show us that water baptism was a 'work' of the ceremonial law, and also that Jesus fulfilled it, which is to say he took it away (Mat. 5:17; Mat. 3:15; Heb. 8:13). The ceremonial law was not 'of faith' because it pertained to earthly things that were performed by earthly men, both of which are presently seen. Many have been erroneously taught that it is an 'act of obedience' to be baptized in water, but the scripture says that God gives the holy Ghost to "them that obey him" (Acts 5:32). Obedience to God is total faith in the death and resurrection of his Son, and walking in the love, the power, and the divine righteousness that is produced by that faith (Rom. 5:5; Rom. 8:14; Rom. 14:17,18; Gal. 5:16). Nothing else amounts to any obedience to God, and absolutely nothing else will have anything to do with anyone reaching the glory world to come. It's really is all about Jesus, even as John the Baptist insisted that it was and is: "And he confessed, and denied not; but confessed, I am not the Christ... John answered them, saying, I baptize with water: but there standeth one among you, whom ye know not... This is he of whom I said, After me cometh a man which is preferred before me: for he was before me... He must increase, but I must decrease" (Jn. 1:20,26,30; Jn. 3:30). Jesus summed it all up in one power-packed statement: "Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent" (Jn. 6:29). Somewhere in the distance I can hear a loud, resounding AMEN from Abraham. And I second the motion!