Have you ever been asked to trust someone when everything in you wanted proof first?
It’s one thing to say you believe in something — it’s another to stake your future on it.
Imagine standing at the edge of a cliff with a rope in your hands. You’re told the rope will hold you
- You don’t really know until you lean all your weight into it.
- That moment when you shift from nodding your head to stepping out that’s real faith.
In Romans 4, Paul holds up Abraham as the ultimate example of this kind of faith — not faith as a label, but faith that moves.
Abraham didn’t just nod along with God’s promises
- He left everything familiar behind.
- He waited for decades when the promise seemed impossible.
- He trusted when everyone else would have called him crazy.
He shows us that real faith is more than believing God exists. Real faith is trusting Him enough to obey — even when it doesn’t make sense.
So today, we’re going to see how Abraham’s faith can shape ours:
- A faith that isn’t just words, but a changed life.
- A faith that clings to God’s promises when hope feels gone.
- A faith that acts — because trusting always moves you.
My question for you is simple: Is your faith just a label? Or is it the rope you’re willing to lean your whole weight on?
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1. Faith Is Not Just a Label
Romans 4:1–5
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What then shall we say that Abraham, our forefather according to the flesh, discovered in this matter? 2 If, in fact, Abraham was justified by works, he had something to boast about—but not before God. 3 What does Scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.”
4 Now to the one who works, wages are not credited as a gift but as an obligation. 5 However, to the one who does not work but trusts God who justifies the ungodly, their faith is credited as righteousness.
Abraham had staked everything on a promise, that God would give him a land and a family.
- He left Ur
- Had now sojourned for many years in caanen
- Didn’t yet have a son
- But still believed God would deliver
To ignore all the Abraham had done would be to miss the point
Lots of people say they “believe in God,” but real faith changes how you live.
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2. Faith Trusts God’s Promises
(Even When It Seems Impossible)
Romans 4:18–21
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In hope he believed against hope, that he should become the father of many nations, as he had been told, “So shall your offspring be.” 19 He did not weaken in faith when he considered his own body, which was as good as dead (since he was about a hundred years old), or when he considered the barrenness of Sarah’s womb. 20 No unbelief made him waver concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God, 21 fully convinced that God was able to do what he had promised.
Abraham was nearly 100 years old — the promise seemed impossible! But he trusted that God keeps His word.
- Where do you struggle to believe God?
- Trusting God might feel impossible when friends mock your faith, or you’re asked to step out of your comfort zone.
Like sitting in a chair — you trust it to hold your weight. Faith means you sit down, not just say the chair “could” hold you.
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3. Faith Acts on What God Says
Romans 4 doesn’t tell the whole story, so connect it to Genesis:
- Abraham left his home (Genesis 12),
- waited for a child,
- and was willing to sacrifice Isaac (Genesis 22)
His actions proved his trust.
Faith is not just words — it’s steps.
What is God asking you to do right now? Forgive someone? Invite a friend? Get serious about your spiritual life?
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James 2:21–24
Was not our father Abraham considered righteous for what he did when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? 22 You see that his faith and his actions were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did. 23 And the scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness,” and he was called God’s friend. 24 You see that a person is considered righteous by what they do and not by faith
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alone.
James and Katie Present
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4. Jesus Is the Proof & Promise for Us
Romans 4:23–25
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.
Abraham looked forward to what God would do — we look back at what Jesus has done. Our faith rests on His death and resurrection.
You don’t have to “earn” it — Jesus did what you never could.
But you do have to trust Him enough to follow.
