We were talking about Abraham’s faith, because faith is extremely important. It is one of the most important subjects that we could ever discuss. And because Abraham is such a wonderful example of Godly faith. Thus far we noticed a couple of things that do not characterize that man’s faith. And then I pointed out that it was righteous and surrendered to God’s grace. It contained an element which touched on the importance of resurrection. Which, of course, is related not only to Isaac and Sarah, but to the resurrection of the Saviour. Then we concluded by mentioning that Abraham’s faith was sightless and yet expectant.
Having just spent a few weeks reading and studying the first chapters of Genesis, we are reminded that there is so very much about the early days of man of which we know next to nothing. The first dozen chapters of Genesis are filled with mysteries, and between nearly every verse there are gaps and blanks. Oh, what joy it would give us if we had more of that missing information.
For example, I would like to know how much historical assistance Abraham had for this great faith of his. There is no indication that God had ever restored life to a dead man, so where did Abraham get his faith? Were there resurrections of which we haven’t been told, so that it was easy for Abraham to believe? In fact, were there any great, inexplicable miracles at all? How many cases of divine healing are there in Genesis 1-12? How many miraculous feedings? We know that God spoke to some very special people, but what was the nature of those revelations?
Abraham is held up before us as an example of a great, great man of faith. Wasn’t one of the reasons that he is such an example, was because he had little logical reason to be such a man of faith? That points out something which applies today as much as it did back then – Biblical faith is not the result of learning, education, repetition and example. Biblical faith doesn’t necessarily grow on example or a culture of miracles and previous faith. Faith is not a spiritual leaven, mold or fungus. As much of a blessing as it is to read the biographies of the great servants of God, those earthly books, written by men’s hands, cannot instill genuine faith. As it is today, it was in Abraham’s day – “faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the word of God.” “Faith is the gift of God” and the former idolater was given that faith when it was unreasonable to believe.
Abraham had a very strong faith – but that strength didn’t have it’s source in the man himself. In fact there is plenty of evidence that Abraham was as weak and unbelieving as any of the rest of us. There is his lying to kings about Sarah, because he feared them more than he trusted God to protect him. And there is his arguing with God about the Lord’s promises – seeing that he was childless for so long. Abraham could have used the words of the unnamed father in Mark 9 – “Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief.” Despite its imperfections, Abraham still had a remarkable and exemplary faith in God.
The Old Testament Book of Esther is highly interesting. It is full of intrigue, deceit and the mis-use of power; it shows the providence of God without ever mentioning the name of the Lord; it has interesting names and gives us some historical background that is helpful; but it isn’t as theologically uplifting as Romans or the Psalms. There is a really fun and funny incident involving a truly wicked person. The Persian king, Ahasuerus, couldn’t sleep one night, so he pulled out the dull and dry court records, hoping that they would put him to sleep. In it he noted that Esther’s cousin, Mordecai, had discovered a murder plot and saved the king’s life. Although it had been dutifully noted, the man had not been rewarded. When the king heard that Haman was out in the anteroom, he invited him in to talk with him. Without knowing that Haman hated Mordecai enough to have him killed, the king asked, “What shall be done unto the man whom the king delighteth to honour?” Thinking that the king was talking about him, that wicked man, Haman, made some suggestions. Then he, Haman, was ordered to do those things to Mordecai, honoring the man Haman hated more than any other on earth.
What Haman suggested, thinking that he was going to receive them, were: “Let the royal apparel be brought which the king useth to wear, and the horse that the king rideth upon, and the crown royal which is set upon his head.” And let this apparel and horse be delivered to the hand of one of the king’s most noble princes, that they may array the man withal whom the king delighteth to honour, and bring him on horseback through the street of the city, and proclaim before him, Thus shall it be done to the man whom the king delighteth to honour.” Have you ever considered the fact that these three things might be used to illustrate what Jehovah is planning on doing for those whom He delighteth to honour? The saints of God shall rule and reign with Christ – wearing the Lord’s own crowns. They shall be translated from the earth in a way similar to that of Elijah – in a sense, on fiery chariots pulled by flaming horses. And we shall be covered with the Lord’s own robe of righteousness. That has almost nothing to do with this point of our message, but I chased that rabbit while looking for the fox.
How did Abraham glorify God with his faith? By continuing to trust the promise of the Lord, when all logic told him to give it up. He glorified God by putting his tiny crown on the Lord’s head and bowing before Him as sovereign King. He honoured the Lord by mounting the horse that God had given him and riding it into a land of the Lord’s choosing. When his body was dead and nearly destroyed by the curse, he trusted the Almighty to enliven and empower it to do what nature said couldn’t be done. To reverse the illustration of Haman and Mordecai, Abraham magnified God by giving to Him all the tiny honour, power and glory that he could muster. And that small sacrifice became a odor of sweet-smelling savor before the Lord.
I have said this many times, but my repetition doesn’t make it any less true – I can make promises, commitments, vows and assurances, but they are limited to my abilities. I may mean well, and tell you things that I cannot perform because of one reason or another. But that is because I am not God. Jehovah is the omnipotent God, and all his promises are yea and amen! “Blessed be the LORD, that hath given rest unto his people Israel, according to all that he promised: there hath not failed one word of all his good promise, which he promised by the hand of Moses his servant.”
Of course, we live in an evil day. Some of us are horribly cynical, doubting just about everyone and everything. A person’s handshake isn’t good enough to guarantee a transaction anymore – there has to be written copies and signatures. For example, every year, the church gets a letter from the county here at the church address. It wants to know whether or not we are still a church, and if we should be exempt from property tax. Every year I fill in half a dozen blank spots on the pre-printed sheet and return it to the commissioner’s office. But that is not enough, I have to go to the trouble to have my signature authenticated by a notary public. I could have lied throughout that sheet, but my lies have to be notarized. The fact that it is the same sheet, the same address, the same church and the same signature year after year is not sufficient for those county bureaucrats. A notarized written copy of that paper has to be filed every year before they believe that we are a church.
You and I have a blessing that Abraham did not possess. We have a written and notarized copy of all of God’s promises. We have a Bible that has been proven and authenticated for over 2,000 years, which describes a great many exceeding great and precious promises. So why isn’t our faith as great as that of Abraham? That man had no written record – just the verbal promise of God – JUST the verbal word of the Lord. “It is easier for heaven and earth to pass, than one tittle of the law to fail.” No, let’s strengthen that statement – “Heaven and earth shall pass away: but (God’s) words shall not pass away.”
Neither Abraham’s faith, nor our faith, have any reason to be embarrassed – they are founded on the Word of God.
And what was Paul’s point in all this exercise?
Just as I said earlier about grace, the same is true about faith – as wonderful as they are, neither is the end. If I may twist Paul’s words in I Corinthians 13 to make a point – “Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal. And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains…” I might have nothing to show for it. The great result of Abraham’s faith – at least as far as Paul’s current point is concerned – The great result of Abraham’s faith was that “it was counted unto him for righteousness.”
“For by grace are ye saved through faith.” “As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up: That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life. For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” The Lord Jesus said, “Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life.” He said, “I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live.” And Romans, along with the rest of the Bible was written, “that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name.”
I realize that we could delve deeply into wonderful theology on this point. We could argue various Bible references and points of time and chronology. We could talk about man’s depravity and God’s sovereignty. And such discussions would be well worth our time. But at this point let’s stop and simplify – repeating the essence of Paul’s theology. Abraham and David believed God and their faith was counted unto them for righteousness. They were saved by grace through faith. There is no other way for any man, woman or child to be delivered from their sin.
And that leads to my last point.
Even though the theology of the Book of Romans is deep and difficult for the unregenerated, the purpose of this book is not theological. Paul may have been writing to the Christian members of the church in Rome, but many of them were people that he had never met, and false doctrine was running rampant throughout the Mediterranean. He will eventually turn to encouraging the believers to serve God with all their hearts in holiness and truth. But the first half of this book is evangelical. He is assuming that at least some of those people have not been born again. Abraham’s faith is not expounded in order to move mountains and excavate valleys. His faith is used to encourage saving faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.
Are you sure that you are a child of God by faith in Christ Jesus? Absolutely sure? Are you convinced that Jesus our Lord was delivered for your offences, and was raised again for your justification? That is the reason that God has spent so much time showing us Abraham’s faith. We all need that same kind of faith.
It was righteous faith, and resurrection faith, surrendered to God’s grace. It wasn’t dependent on his foresight or his flesh. It was strong faith and glorifying to God because it was grounded on the promise of the Lord. It was justifying faith and used by the Lord to teach us all the principles of true saving faith.