The
Faith of Abraham
INTRO – We are clearly taught
that we are sons of Abraham if we have the faith of Abraham. But this word ‘faith’ gets thrown around in
all sorts of circles these days, meaning all kinds of things. Understanding what Abraham’s faith is can be
a source of great comfort, or it can be a great stumbling block. What is the nature of the faith of Abraham,
and do you have that faith?
TEXT – “And he believed in the Lord, and He
accounted it to him for righteousness.”
Gen 15:6
Faith that Justifies – Abraham was already
saved before this account in Genesis 15.
This is clear from his obedience in the previous chapters, and directly
from the testimony in Hebrews 11:8-10.
Faith always justifies whenever it exists. It does not take weeks or months of testing. A young fruit tree is still a fruit tree
even before it is producing fruit. Some
of you may already be saved, but still need to hear today that you are perfect
in Christ, accepted in the Beloved.
This is the nature of Paul’s prayer in Ephesians 3:14ff.
Count the Stars – So why is verse 6
here? Abraham brings his complaints
(vv2-3) and God takes him outside (vv4-5).
Abraham believes in the Lord for seeds, for descendants, and
particularly in a Descendant, a Seed (John 8:56). Abraham was a Christian.
There are several New Testament passages which bring great significance
and broad application for us from Gen 15:6.
Five New Testament Passages:
Rom 4:1-8. There is only one way to be saved. It is the same way both in the OT and the
NT. Abraham was saved by grace through
faith.
Rom 4:13-18. Our faith must be in the same promises that
were given to Abraham. We do not have
the right to simply ‘have faith’ in whatever we want. “I have made you a father of many nations”, “so shall your
descendants be”. The resurrection of
Christ is the salvation of the world.
Rom 4:20-25. The result of this kind of faith is always
imputed righteousness. It was for
Abraham and it is for us. The same
faith produces the same results.
Gal 3:5-6. Galatians 3 is an argument from Paul that
the Christian life is lived the same way it is begun – by faith. In vv5-6 we see that the supplying of the
Spirit to the Galatians and the promise to Abraham are not two detached
things. Instead we can think of them as
promise and fulfillment. So, believing
in the Spirit is believing the promise of His work. The promise of many descendants is the outpouring of the
Holy Spirit.
James 2:20-24. Salvation is not by works. But salvation, once given, certainly produces
works. Vv20-24. Faith by itself is a dead faith. This is not the faith of Abraham – this is
not saving faith. Faith plus human
effort is another gospel. Faith without
manifestation of works is another gospel.
Faith which lives, hopes, prays, and works until death is saving
faith.
Saving Faith is
Imperfect – Abraham’s trust will waver in the following
chapter, 16, where he will take Hagar as a wife. We are told that we can move mountains with faith the size of a
mustard seed, and that the faith of a little child saves. The focus should be on the object of our
faith, and not by trying to measure the amount. We also see that we are to pray that God would increase our faith
(Luke 17:5, Rom 4:20).
Saving Faith is
not its Own Righteousness - Abraham believed in the Lord. Our multicultural, politically-correct
world, the church included, continues to talk about the importance of ‘faith’
and ‘values’. But that kind of talk is
an abomination to the Lord. He is the
object of the faith. Jesus Christ is
our salvation, not our sincere, faceless, impersonal faith.
Saving Faith Rests
Upon Promise, not Rhetoric - We must be persuaded by God, not by some
dog-and-pony show. It is all too easy to
arouse the emotions, to grab attention, to convince you to make a
decision. What is impossible to do is
to raise the dead. I cannot convince
dead men to get up. That takes the word
of God. In days of providential
leanness, we must avoid covering it up with emotional fervor or market
tricks. We must cry out to the Lord to
bring in the harvest and we must preach the gospel. (1 Cor 2:1-5)
Saving Faith Sees
the Impossible - Abraham believed in the Lord for an heir, a
descendant. He believed for a nation
innumerable. He believed he would be
heir of the world (Rom 4:13). We are to
believe that our sins are forgiven. We
are to believe that we are co-heirs of the world. We are to believe that the world will be saved. Faith is the substance of things hoped for,
the evidence of things not seen. These
look impossible. But nothing is
impossible for God.
Saving Faith Deals
with Sin – (vv9-11) Abraham spends all day looking upon the
sacrifice, chasing away vultures as we are to chase away all disturbing and
distracting thoughts. So, we must study
the Lord Jesus Christ and apprehend His sacrifice by faith. We read, we pray, we gather at the Lord’s
Table. We learn and remember that our
covenant is a covenant in blood. It is
because we must deal with sin. It is
not enough to ‘have faith’. We must get
rid of our sin. (1 John 1:8-10, 5:11).
Saving Faith
Embraces Trials, Anticipates Deliverance - Right on the heels of
the promise, God also promises trials (vv 13ff). We see the same pattern in Romans 5:1-5, James 1 and other
passages. But we are also promised
deliverance and an eternal weight of glory far surpassing all the
tribulations. We are to embrace them in
this way, and we can only do so by faith.
Martin Luther: “Strike, Lord,
now my sins are gone; strike Lord as Thou wilt if transgression be covered.”
Saving Faith is
Extended Through Gospel Preaching - Romans 10:17. This teaches us how this faith is
extended: by the effectual calling of
the Spirit in the preaching of the gospel.
The question remains – do you have this faith?
David
R. Hatcher July 4th, 1999