Please turn with me to today's sermon text, which is Romans chapter 4

versus 9 through 12. Is this blessing then upon the circumcised or upon the uncircumsized also?

For we say, faith was reckoned to Abraham as righteousness.

How then was it reckoned? While he was circumcised or uncircumcised? Not

while circumcised, but while uncircumcised. And he received the sign of circumcision, a seal of the righteousness of the faith which he had had while uncircumcised that he might be the father of all who believe without being circumcised, that righteousness

might be reckoned to them, and the father of circumcision to those who not only are of the

circumcision, but who also follow in the steps of the faith of our Father

Abraham which he had while uncircumsized.

Now why is Paul so riveted on this truth that a divine righteousness is credited to people by faith apart from works.

Why is he so riveted on this that he dwells on it as long as he does. We're tempted to say, those of you who've been with us now for some weeks, we're tempted to say we got it.

We got it. We got it in 3.22. We got it in 328. We got it in the picture of Abraham in 4. 1 to 5. We got it in the blessing of David in 4, 6 to 8.

We got it.

And he keeps going.

He keeps going right on through chapter 4, right on through chapter four right on through chapter five. Why is this man

so riveted in the most important letter he ever wrote on this truth that there is a divine

righteousness credited to people through faith apart from works. Now so far up through this text the

answer to that question is four fold. There are four reasons

why he is so

fixed on this

two of them we've already seen two of them are in this text.

So let me rehearse the two we've seen and then unpack the flow of those verses that were just read and see the next two

reasons and build our message today around those four reasons for why Paul is so

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