Do you believe the unbelievable?
The Guinness Book of World Records contains many unbelievable facts. For instance, did you know that the heaviest man in the world weighed 1,235 pounds? It’s hard to believe, but it’s true! A Mexican man named Manuel Uribe reportedly hit this staggering weight before he died in 2014. He slimmed down to 840 pounds in 2007, but gained some of it back, reportedly weighing 980 pounds by March 2012.
Did you know that the tallest man in the world was 8’11” and wore a size 37 shoe? It’s hard to believe, but it’s true! Robert Pershing Wadlow, from Alton, Illinois, recorded this height when last measured on June 27, 1940.
Did you know that Feodor Vassilyev and his first wife, a peasant from Shuya, Russia, hold the record for the most children a couple has parented? She gave birth to a total of 69 children – sixteen pairs of twins, seven sets of triplets and four sets of quadruplets – between 1725 and 1765, in a total of 27 births. 67 of the 69 children born were said to have survived infancy. Vassilyev also had six sets of twins and two sets of triplets with a second wife, for another 18 children in eight births; he fathered a total of 87 children. This is really hard to believe, but it is true! The case was reported to Moscow by the Monastery of Nikolsk on Feb. 27, 1782, which had recorded every birth. (Now fellas, allow me to take a quick time out from my sermon to give you a bit of pastoral advice: Whatever you do, don’t ask your wife if she wants to get into the Guinness Book of World Records!)
And finally, did you know that a British woman who gave birth at the age of 59 is believed to be the world’s oldest natural mother? On August 20, 1997, Dawn Brooke gave birth without the aid of fertility treatment, breaking the previous world record for a natural pregnancy by two years. Mr. Brooke, who was age 74 at the time, said the pregnancy was unplanned and had come as a shock to him and his wife. (No kidding!) Like the other examples, this report is hard to believe, but it is true. However, the Guinness Book of World Records got this one wrong! This record actually belongs to another! (Hughs 91)
The final portion of Romans 4 focuses on the events surrounding the true world record for the oldest mother and the world-changing implications of that birth! Do you remember the story of Abraham and Sarah from the Book of Genesis? It’s almost unbelievable!
Abraham Believes God’s Unbelievable Promise
Somewhere around 2000 B.C., Abraham was born and raised in Ur of the Chaldeans, a city in ancient Mesopotamia (modern day Iraq). He married a local girl named Sarah and they began their lives together with a bright future. Like most young couples, they had high hopes of starting their own family. In those days, a full quiver was not only source of pride and joy, but it was also a sign of God’s blessing. So, as soon as Sarah tossed her bouquet to her bridesmaids, she and Abraham went to work!
But after a few months, Sarah wasn’t pregnant. But this was no reason to overreact, at least not yet. Thankfully, their friends and family kept their awkward comments to themselves. However, after six months and a year went by and Sarah still wasn’t pregnant, they were bombarded with a barrage of blundering remarks, inappropriate questions, and unsolicited advice, including: “Maybe you’re not doing it right!”, “What’s wrong with you guys?”, “Perhaps you should go away on a romantic vacation!” These “helpful” attempts were actually quite hurtful!
Before they knew it, one year turned into two and then the years passed into decades, and they still didn’t have any kids. Even though they were successful in other areas of their life, the lack of children left a sadness in their souls. By the time Abraham and Sarah reached their retirement years and began drawing social security, they had given up hope. They had long concluded that Sarah was barren—her womb was dead and unable to produce life. Ah! But God has a way of bringing life out of death!
When the patriarchal couple reached the ages of 75 and 65 respectively, God appeared to Abraham and said, “Leave your country and your kindred and go to the land that I will show you. 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…and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.” (Genesis 12:1-3) This would have been hard to believe, wouldn’t it?
Even though Abraham and Sarah didn’t understand how God was going to use an old barren couple like them to produce a great nation, they believed God’s unbelievable promise! So, they packed up all their belongings and headed west toward the Promised Land.
If Sarah had gotten pregnant at age 65, it would have been enough to make the neighbors talk. But God had another plan! A few more years went by and her biological clock kept tick, tick, ticking away. As Abraham entered his eighties, he became more confused about God’s plan. Although he never lost faith in the promise, he couldn’t figure out how God was going to keep it. So, one-night God reassured him: He took him outside and told him to look up and count the stars. Then God said, “So shall your offspring be!” This too, must have been hard to believe!
When Abraham was eighty-six, he wound up fathering a child with his wife’s servant Hagar. (This episode shows us shows us that when we take matters into our own hands rather than trusting in the Lord, we make life so much more complicated than it needs to be.) But this child was not the son God had promised! Abraham and Sarah would have to wait another 14 years until God would fulfill his promise.
It wasn’t until Abraham was 100 and Sarah was 90 that she finally gave birth to a bouncing baby boy named Isaac. And regardless of what the Guinness Book of World Records says, Sarah still holds the record for the oldest woman to give birth!
God’s promise was unbelievable, but Abraham believed the unbelievable. And because of his faith in God’s ability to bring life from death, Abraham’s faith was credited to him as righteousness and his soul was saved! This story is still hard to believe, but it is true! Do you believe the unbelievable?
But you may still be wondering how God kept his promise to use Abraham to bless all the families of the earth? He took a long time to fulfill this promise too, but it came through another unbelievable birth.
Jesus Raised to Life
Abraham and Sarah wound up having many grandchildren, and their family line produced the nation of Israel. About 2000 years after Sarah delivered her son, there was another unbelievable birth in Israel. But this time it wasn’t to a 90-year-old woman; it was a young virgin mother named Mary. This son was Abraham’s heir, his far-off great-grandson. This baby boy eventually grew into a man—he changed water into wine—he healed the sick—he cured the lame—he gave sight to the blind—he walked on water—and although he lived a sinless life, the religious leaders falsely accused him, the political leaders unjustly punished him, and the bloodthirsty crowd relentlessly shouted, “Crucify! Crucify! Crucify him!”
They dressed him in royal robes—they mocked and made fun of him—they beat his body and spit in his face—they twisted a crown of thorns and pressed it into his head—they nailed his hands and feet to a wooden cross and they hung him up to die. After he committed his Spirit to the Father and breathed his final breath, the women wept—the earth quaked—the soldiers trembled—the graves burst—and the curtain was torn in two. His clothing was gambled—his body was buried—and his tomb was sealed!
But three days later, on the first day of the week, very early in the morning, the women who prepared spices to anoint his body, went to the tomb and found that the stone had been rolled away! The two angels asked that wonderful question, “Why do you look for the living among the dead?” The women then knew that Jesus, who was crucified, had been raised from the dead!
This is the great Easter story! It’s hard to believe, but it is true! Through Jesus’ death on the cross and his resurrection from the dead, he offers forgiveness of sins and the hope of everlasting life. He offers his righteousness in exchange for our sinfulness! He offers to heal our wounded spirits and restore our broken relationships with God! He offers all of this to those who believe in God’s ability to bring life from death!
Salvation is through Faith Alone (Romans 4:13-25)
So, why would I share the Abraham story and the Easter story together? Because that is exactly what the Apostle Paul does in Romans 4:13-25. Throughout Romans 3-4, Paul has been trying to convince the Christians at Rome that salvation comes through faith alone, not from obedience to God’s law. Abraham received God’s righteousness through his faith; it had nothing to do with the law. The purpose of the law is to show people that they don’t have any righteousness of their own. This is what Paul is saying in verses 13-15.
Paul goes on to explain that Abraham is not only the father of the Jewish race, but he is the father of everyone who puts their faith in God’s promise, whether Jew or Gentile. Salvation does not depend on national/ethnic identity or obedience, it depends on faith in the one who can give life to the dead and create something out of nothing. This is what he is saying in verses 16-17.
And in verses 18-25, Paul links Abraham’s justification through faith in God’s promise to the justification through faith in Jesus’ death and resurrection. Allow me to read these words again! Just as Abraham was justified by believing an unbelievable promise, we can be justified by believing in an unbelievable resurrection from the dead!
Friends, this is the gospel of Jesus Christ! As we have gathered together on this Easter morning to celebrate Jesus’ resurrection from the dead, we must remember that we are all sinners who have fallen short of God’s glory! We must remember that we cannot save ourselves by being “good people” or doing “good deeds.” We must remember that Jesus died on the cross to pay the penalty for our sins! We must remember that Jesus rose on the third day to conquer death and offer eternal life. And we must remember that the only way to receive salvation from God’s wrath is by putting our faith in Jesus Christ!
Abraham was justified because he believed the unbelievable promise of God! We can be justified by believing in the unbelievable resurrection of Jesus Christ, which is the great Easter hope. So, let me ask: Do you believe the unbelievable?