1. Faith. In the Old Testament faith is a
personal, trusting response to God, who speaks words of promise. This same
basic meaning is carried over into the New Testament as well. In different ages
the word of promise has been different: to Abraham, it was God’s promise of a
Promised Land, a son to be born to him and Sarah and the nation that would come
from this his son Isaac. To us, the word of promise is Jesus Himself. When we
respond, as Abraham did, with a simple trust in God, we receive the same gift
he was given—righteousness, and a personal relationship with God.[1]
2. Hebrews 11:8–19
focuses on three events in Abraham’s life that God fondly remembers:
By
faith, Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance,
obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going. By faith he
made his home in the Promised Land like a stranger in a foreign country; he
lived in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same
promise. For he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose
architect and builder is God.
By faith Abraham, even though he was past age—and
Sarah herself was barren—was enabled to become a father because he considered
Him faithful who had made the promise. And so from this one man, and he as good
as dead, came descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as countless
as the sand of the seashore.
By faith Abraham, when God tested him,
offered Isaac as a sacrifice. He who had received the promises was about to
sacrifice his one and only son, even though God had said to him, “It is through
Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned.” Abraham reasoned that God could
raise the dead, and figuratively speaking, he did receive Isaac back from
death.[2]
-First,
Abraham showed faith by his following God’s command to live his home and move
to another land. We had to be ready if
God asks us to give up our familiar surroundings in order to carry out His
will. As Christians our life is not our
own but we surrender it to Christ and by doing so if God wants us somewhere
else we have to be bold and go in faith.
-Second,
even though Abraham and Sarah were very old, God still made it that they could
conceive a child. My mom was told she
was too old to have a child, but here I am.
Jenny and I have not been blessed with a child, but our faith is that
what ever God’s will is it will be.
-Third, Abraham was willing to give up his son as God
had commanded. What has God asked us to
give up? Money, Possessions, Comfort,
Pleasures, Security Abraham was willing
to give up everything and he was rewarded.
How much more will we be rewarded when we give up everything to God.
3. We can compare Abraham with Mary in many
ways. First, Mary was promised and given
a child even though she was a virgin.
Second, Mary had to go to a far away land not once but twice to
Bethlehem and Egypt with the promise of God that she would be okay. Third, she was asked to sacrifice her son,
but the difference her son had and did die.
Mary’s faith made her very special.
If Abraham is the father of the Jews, we could say the Mary is the
mother of the Christians.
4. Abraham considered God faithful: God had given Abraham great promises
which hinged on having a son. When Abraham raised this issue with God, the Lord
promised, “A son from your own body shall be your heir” (Genesis 15:4). God then went on to promise Abraham great amount
of descendants. “Abram believed the Lord; and He credited it to him as
righteousness” (Gen. 15:6).
The
New Testament emphasizes the great trust this act of faith required. “Without
weakening in his faith, he faced the fact that his body was as good as
dead—since he was about a hundred years old—and that Sarah’s womb was also
dead. Yet he did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God, but
was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God, being fully persuaded that
God had power to do what He had promised” (Rom.
4:19–21).
Abraham
stands here as evidence that God can be trusted to keep His word, and
that such trust is never disappointed.
Several
factors need to be noted to grasp the message God is communicating.
The
promises. Abraham did not exercise
blind faith. Instead, he responded to what God had said. We too do not live by
blind faith. We instead respond to
Christ’s call and teachings to follow him and we will receive the reward of
eternal life.
John 3:14-15; the Son of Man must be lifted up, 15 that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life.[3]
The
Person. Abraham’s confidence was in
God as a Person who is both able and committed to do what He promises.
Sometimes we only see faith” as something we do. Abraham’s kind of faith puts
reliance on God. It is God’s trustworthiness and not our trusting that is critical. Our faith really is more than just believing
that Christ died and was raised in 3 days.
It is that Christ will return and to take His bridge the church to
heaven.
Luke
22:29-30; And I confer on you a kingdom, just as my
Father conferred one on me, 30 so
that you may eat and drink at my table in my kingdom[4]
The
perspective. Abraham boldly faced the
fact of his and Sarah’s ages. He realistically looked at the situation, and
just as realistically ignored the circumstances! Realism understands that
physical and other limitations do not apply to God, for God is the underlying
reality; and whatever the circumstances, God can bring to pass what He
promises. If we had the faith we should,
there truly would be nothing we could not do.
Matthew
21:21-22; Jesus replied, “I tell you the truth, if you
have faith and do not doubt, not only can you do what was done to the fig tree,
but also you can say to this mountain, ‘Go, throw yourself into the sea,’ and
it will be done. 22 If you believe,
you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer.” [5]
The
product. God announced it: “It was
credited to him as righteousness” (Rom. 4:22).
We are not righteous and neither was Abraham. There was no basis on which God
and Abraham could fellowship until God revealed that He would accept faith and,
because of it, credited Abraham with righteousness. We are made righteous and clean and white
because God has accepted Christ’s death for our sins and our faith in Christ
was righteousness.
Revelation
3:5; He who overcomes will, like them, be dressed in
white. I will never blot out his name from the book of life, but will
acknowledge his name before my Father and his angels.[6]
5.
Abraham reasoned: In Gen. 22 we
read an amazing story. After Isaac was
born God spoke to Abraham. Gen. 22:2-3; “Take
your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the region of Mariah.
Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains I will tell you
about. Early the next morning Abraham
got up and saddled his donkey. He took with him two of his servants and his son
Isaac. When he had cut enough wood for the burnt offering, he set out for the
place God had told him about.” There was
no hesitation. Abraham obeyed.
We
can’t know how Abraham felt on the three-day journey. But we do know that according to Heb. 11:9; “Abraham
reasoned that God could raise the dead.”
As
Abraham was about to plunge the knife into his son, the Lord stopped him and
pointed out a ram whose horns had been caught in a thicket. The ram was slain;
the boy was freed. God Himself had provided a substitute.
There
is much we can learn here?
*
Faith’s life. The life of faith that
God calls us to is not an easy one. Like Abraham we may well be called to make
some tough decisions. But also like Abraham, we can trust in God.
John
16:33, “I have told you these things, so that in me you
may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome
the world.” [7]
*
A reasoned faith. Faith is not
opposed to reason. The man who relies on God simply takes more into account
than the man who does not believe. In the decisions we make, do we look only at
factors we can see? Or do we reason that God is able to alter circumstances to
fit His will?
Abraham
reasoned that God’s will is the ultimate reality and that His expressed
purposes are sure. It was this kind of reasoning—that takes God into
account—that was part of Abraham’s faith. And must become a part of ours.
Matthew
6:26; Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or
reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you
not much more valuable than they?[8]
*
An unhesitant faith. Abraham did not
wait. He rose up early to obey God. Often our feelings and desires struggle
against our intention to respond to God.
Abraham’s
journey is portrayed in Scripture as a test. It was a test that Abraham passed,
and in passing demonstrated to God, to himself, to Isaac—and to us the reality
of his trust in God.[9]
God
is going to test us. He is going to put
us through trials. He is going to allow
bad things to happen to good people. All
so our faith can grow.
Side
Note: This story also shows the faith
Isaac had. He was know small child at
this time and Abraham was very old. Had
Isaac not had faith in God and trusted Abraham, he would never allowed Abraham
to tie him down.
Faith
is an intelligent response to God’s word.
[1] Richards, Larry ; Richards,
Lawrence O.: The Teacher's Commentary. Wheaton, Ill. : Victor Books, 1987, S.
52
[2] Richards, Larry ; Richards,
Lawrence O.: The Teacher's Commentary. Wheaton, Ill. : Victor Books, 1987, S.
52
[3] The Holy Bible : New International Version. electronic ed.
Grand Rapids : Zondervan, 1996, c1984, S. Jn 3:14-15
[4] The Holy Bible : New International Version. electronic ed.
Grand Rapids : Zondervan, 1996, c1984, S. Lk 22:29-30
[5] The Holy Bible : New International Version. electronic ed.
Grand Rapids : Zondervan, 1996, c1984, S. Mt 21:21-22
[6] The Holy Bible : New International Version. electronic ed.
Grand Rapids : Zondervan, 1996, c1984, S. Re 3:5
[7] The Holy Bible : New International Version. electronic ed.
Grand Rapids : Zondervan, 1996, c1984, S. Jn 16:33
[8] The Holy Bible : New International Version. electronic ed.
Grand Rapids : Zondervan, 1996, c1984, S. Mt 6:26
[9] Richards, Larry ; Richards,
Lawrence O.: The Teacher's Commentary. Wheaton, Ill. : Victor Books, 1987, S.
55
