Blessed Are The Forgiven (Romans 4:1-8)

Valley View Baptist Church                                                              Pastor Curt Audet 

6N656 Route 25                                                                                    March 1, 2026 

St. Charles, IL 60174                vvbcil.com

“Blessed Are The Forgiven” 

(Romans 4:1-8) – A message by Ken Stout 

BI: The disciple of Christ is reconciled in relationship with God by His grace. 

Today we’re going to be talking about Romans 4.  In Romans 4 we’ll see that there are 4 people who have been powerfully impacted by forgiveness. (Abraham, David, Paul, YOU/ME). Forgiveness is the treasured blessing of God’s grace.  Forgivness of sin is the greatest need all people have.  

Why does a person have to be forgiven? (Of utmost importance: The Gospel!) 

How is a person forgiven? 

How was Abraham forgiven? By works? Or by God’s grace? 

How is someone saved by works? (By having NO sin and being perfect.) 

How is someone saved by grace? (By turning from sin, by turning to Jesus) 

Let’s look our text where we see how grace operates in this area faith and forgiveness.  

I. Abraham discovered the grace of God. (4:3-4; Genesis 15:1-6) 

What then shall we say is gained by Abraham, our forefather according to the flesh? ² For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about, but not before God. ³ For what does the Scripture say?  “Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness.”⁴ Now to the one who works, his wages are not counted as a gift but as his due. ⁵ And to the one who does not work but believes in him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted as righteousness, ⁶ just as David also speaks of the blessing of the one to whom God counts righteousness apart from works: ⁷”Blessed are those who lawless deeds are forgiven, and whose sins are covered;  ⁸ blessed is the man against whom the Lord will not count his sin.” 

Notice that nothing here says that Abraham was able to do anything or say anything that made him righteous on his own merit.  Let’s walk through a few snapshots of Abraham’s journey of faith and forgiveness in Genesis for better understanding.  Let’s start with his story starts in Genesis 12: 

¹ Now the Lord said to Abram, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. ² and I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. ³ I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.” (Genesis 12: 1-3) 

Just think, Abram was 75 years old when he headed out on this journey.  He took his wife Sarai, his nephew Lot and all their possessions, and they set off.  How much faith would it take for you, or me to leave everyone and everything we know and take a journey like this? After some time out on the road, Abram and Lot decided that they needed to part ways.  They had gotten too much livestock, flocks and possessions that the land couldn’t support them any longer together. One went to the right and the other to the left.  Would you have the confidence to listen to the Lord, and the faith that He is going to bless you? 

Not long after this, Abram’s nephew Lot and his city and his people were attacked by power tribal kings.  They were captured along with all their possessions.  Abram assembled 318 of his own trained men.  They went at night and saved Lot, his people, and returned with all their goods that had been taken.  

Again, God showed His righteousness to Abram, and Abram showed his faithfulness.  We have all been through battles with things that overwhelm us.  We know that we can get through it with Jesus at our side. The more we face with Jesus by our side, the greater our trust and the more faith we should have. Abram found that God was beside blessing the dangerous mission to rescue Lot and everyone with him.  Look what Abram is confirmed to see here Genesis 14: 18-20, 

“Melchizedek, king of Salem brought out bread and wine. (He was priest of God Most High.) ¹⁹ And he blessed him and said, ‘Blessed be Abram by God Most High, possessor of heaven and earth; ²⁰ and blessed be God Most High, who has delivered your enemies into your hand!” And Abram gave him a tenth of everything.” 

For Abram this was one of many ways God was blessing him as he walked by faith trusting Him.   No one could have anticipated this bold affirmation of the Lord for him.  Now look to Genesis 15:1-6, 

After these things the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision: “Fear not, Abram, I am your shield; your reward shall be very great.” ² But Abram  said, “O Lord God, what will you give me, for I continue childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?” ³ And Abram said, “Behold, you have given me no offspring, and a member of my household will be my heir.” ⁴ And behold, the word of the Lord came to him: “This man shall not be your heir; your very own son shall be your heir.” ⁵ And he brought him outside and said, “Look toward heaven, and number the stars, if you are able to number them.” Then he said to him, “So shall your offspring be.” ⁶ And he believed the Lord, and he counted it to him as righteousness.” 

Later in Genesis, the Lord came to Abram in a vision. He promised Abram protection, and a great reward. Abram questioned who this would be passed down through since he had no children of his own. The Lord told Abram that not only will his heir come from his body, but that his offspring will be as numerous as the stars. Abram believed in the Lord, that even in his old age these promises would come to pass, and he was credited with righteousness.  

Walk with me to Genesis 17:1-8,                                                                 

“When Abram was ninety-nine years old the Lord appeared to Abram and said to him, “I am God Almighty;^[a] walk before me, and be blameless, ² that I may make my covenant between me and you, and may multiply you greatly.” ³ Then Abram fell on his face. And God said to him, ⁴ “Behold, my covenant is with you, and you shall be the father of a multitude of nations. ⁵ No longer shall your name be called Abram,^[b] but your name shall be Abraham,^[c] for I have made you the father of a multitude of nations. ⁶ I will make you exceedingly fruitful, and I will make you into nations, and kings shall come from you. ⁷ And I will establish my covenant between me and you and your offspring after you throughout their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and to your offspring after you. ⁸ And I will give to you and to your offspring after you the land of your sojournings, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession, and I will be their God.” (Genesis 17: 1-8) 

Later in Genesis, the Bible talks about Abram and his wife Sarai living in Canaan for 10 years and still being childless. Sarai asks Abram to take their servnant Hagar as a wife and have a child with her.  This is where Sarai’s faith had not trusted in the promise of God. Abram was 86 years old when Hagar gave birth to their son, Ishmael. 

When Abram was 99, the Lord appeared to him to establish a covenant between God and Abram who would henceforth be known as Abraham, and his wife would be now known as Sarah. God told Abraham that would be blessed with a son from Sarah.  As all of the parents here today can probably relate, this had to be very hard to believe that at 100 years old for Abraham, and 90 years old for Sarah, having a newborn of their own really didn’t seem possible.  Abraham still chose to believe God would do as He promised. God kept his promise, Abraham and Sarah had a son, and they named him Isaac. Open Genesis 22 with me: 

⁷ And Isaac said to his father Abraham, “My father!” And he said, “Here I am, my son.” He said, “Behold, the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?” ⁸ Abraham said, “God will provide for himself the lamb for a burnt offering, my son.” So they went both of them together.  

⁹ When they came to the place of which God had told him, Abraham built the altar there and laid the wood in order and bound Isaac his son and laid him on the altar, on top of the wood. ¹⁰ Then Abraham reached out his hand and took the knife to slaughter his son. ¹¹ But the angel of the Lord called to him from heaven and said, “Abraham, Abraham!” And he said, “Here I am.” ¹² He said, “Do not lay your hand on the boy or do anything to him, for now I know that you fear God, seeing you have not withheld your son, your only son, from me.” ¹³ And Abraham lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, behind him was a ram, caught in a thicket by his horns. And Abraham went and took the ram and offered it up as a burnt offering instead of his son. ¹⁴ So Abraham called the name of that place, “The Lord will provide”; as it is said to this day, “On the mount of the Lord it shall be provided.” (Gen 22:7-14) 

After Isaac grew into a boy, Abraham was again tested by the Lord.  Abraham was asked to sacrifice his precious son that he waited for his whole life to have, the boy he loved so much.  Abraham again did everything the Lord asked and was about to sacrifice Isaac when he was stopped by an angel of the Lord. Abraham had shown so much faith that he would sacrifice his son that the Lord promised He would make a great nation come from Isaac and his offspring. 

Abraham’s faith was so strong that he didn’t hold back anything from the Lord.   

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make straight your path.” (Pr 3:5-6)  

Abraham might not have understood how the Lord was going to work things out, but he trusted that the Lord would. 

Now,a quick review: Roman 4:5-8, “And to the one who does not work but believes in him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted as righteousness, 6 just as David also speaks of the blessing of the one to whom God counts righteousness apart from works: 7 “Blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven, and whose sins are covered; 8 blessed is the man against whom the Lord will not count his sin.” 

How was David forgiven?   

Did he need forgiveness ( yes, all are sinners.)  

Did he turn from his sin? (Not at first, but in time, yes.) 

 II. David discovered the grace of God. (4:5-8; Psalm 32:1-4) 

Psalm 32:1-4  “Blessed is the one whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. ² Blessed is the man against whom the Lord counts no iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no deceit. ³ For when I kept silent, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long. ⁴ For day and night your hand was heavy upon me; my strength was dried up^[b] as by the heat of summer. Selah 

> Transition comments – This is how you talk to God about repenting. 

Psalm 51:1-17 “Have mercy on me,^[a] O God, according to your steadfast love; according to your abundant mercy blot out my transgressions. ² Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin! ³ For I know my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me. ⁴ Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight, so that you may be justified in your words and blameless in your judgment. ⁵ Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me. ⁶ Behold, you delight in truth in the inward being, and you teach me wisdom in the secret heart. ⁷ Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. ⁸ Let me hear joy and gladness; let the bones that you have broken rejoice. ⁹ Hide your face from my sins, and blot out all my iniquities. ¹⁰ Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right^[b] spirit within me. ¹¹ Cast me not away from your presence, and take not your Holy Spirit from me. ¹² Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and uphold me with a willing spirit. ¹³ Then I will teach transgressors your ways, and sinners will return to you.  

¹⁴ Deliver me from bloodguiltiness, O God, O God of my salvation, and my tongue will sing aloud of your righteousness. ¹⁵ O Lord, open my lips, and my mouth will declare your praise. ¹⁶ For you will not delight in sacrifice, or I would give it; you will not be pleased with a burnt offering. ¹⁷ The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit;  a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise. 

> Transition comments back from Ps 51 to Ps 32 – Outcome of repenting. 

⁵I acknowledged my sin to you, and I did not cover my iniquity; I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord,” and you forgave the iniquity of my sin. Selah  

⁶Therefore let everyone who is godly offer prayer to you at a time when you may be found; surely in the rush of great waters, they shall not reach him. ⁷You are a hiding place for me; you preserve me from trouble; you surround me with shouts of deliverance. Selah 

⁸I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with my eye upon you. ⁹Be not like a horse or a mule, without understanding, which must be curbed with bit and bridle, or it will not stay near you. ¹⁰Many are the sorrows of the wicked, but steadfast love surrounds the one who trusts in the Lord. ¹¹Be glad in the Lord, and rejoice, O righteous, and shout for joy, all you upright in heart! 

Romans 4:1-8 shows us that Abraham was justified by faith, not works. Establishing that righteousness is a gift of grace credited to those who believe rather than earned. Paul uses Abraham’s example to show that God justifies the ungodly through faith, supporting this with David’s words in the blessing of forgiven sins, independent of human effort.  Receiving forgiveness is a blessing to everyone who so humbles themselves to seek this from God. 

III. Have YOU discovered the grace of God? (John 3:1-5, 16-21; Ephesians 2:1-10) Romans 10: 9-10,  13) 

Are YOU forgiven?  

Have you turned from YOUR sin?  

Have you turned to Jesus as YOUR Lord for forgiveness?  

Prayer