The Faith Of Abraham
Genesis 15:6
One of the greatest men in history has to be the patriarch Abraham.... Three religions look to him as their spiritual progenitor (Judaism, Christianity, Islam). Christians view him as “the father of all them that believe” - Ro 4:11 (“He received the sign of circumcision as a seal of the righteousness that he had by faith while he was still uncircumcised. The purpose was to make him the father of all who believe without being circumcised, so that righteousness would be counted to them as well,”). What is most noteworthy about Abraham was his faith.... Paul made reference to his faith time and again - Ro 4:3 “For what does the Scripture say? "Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness."’, 9 “Is this blessing then only for the circumcised, or also for the uncircumcised? We say that faith was counted to Abraham as righteousness.”, (11,16-22;) Ga 3:7-9 “Know then that it is those of faith who are the sons of Abraham. And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, "In you shall all the nations be blessed." So then, those who are of faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith.” James used his example to illustrate saving faith - Ja 2:21-23 “Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered up his son Isaac on the altar? You see that faith was active along with his works, and faith was completed by his works; and the Scripture was fulfilled that says, "Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness"--and he was called a friend of God.” Both Paul and James make reference to the following OT statement about Abraham’s faith:
“And he believed in the LORD, and He accounted it to him for righteousness.” (Gen 15:6; see also Ro 4:3; Ja 2:23)
What was it about Abraham’s faith that so pleased God? Do we have the same kind of faith? Let’s take a closer look at “The Faith Of Abraham”. Abraham’s faith was based on revelation. God revealed himself to Abraham several times in several places as follows:
In Ur of the Chaldees - Ac 7:2-4; Gen 15:7
At Haran of Mesopotamia - Gen 12:1-4
At Shechem in Canann - Gen 12:6-7
After Lot moved to Sodom - Gen 13:14-17
And many times more - cf. Gen 15:1-17; 17:1-27; 18:1-33; 22:1-19
-- By revealing Himself to Abraham, God provided Abraham ample evidence for him to place his faith and trust in God.
Our faith must also be based upon revelation. Not that God reveals Himself to us as He did to Abraham, but a faith that comes through the Word of God - Ro 10:17 “So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.” It contains evidence that we might believe - Jn 20:30-31 “Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.” The more we read, the more God is revealed to us, especially in the person of His
Son Jesus Christ! -- If we desire to have “The Faith Of Abraham”, we must be receptive to God’s revelation of Himself through His Word!
Next, it is important to note that Abraham’s faith was an obedient faith. By faith, Abraham obeyed God. He left his country - He 11:8 “By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place that he was to receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going.” He sojourned in a foreign land - He 11:9-10 “By faith he went to live in the land of promise, as in a foreign land, living in tents with Isaac and Jacob, heirs with him of the same promise. For he was looking forward to the city that has foundations, whose designer and builder is God.” He offered his son Isaac - He 11:17 “By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises was in the act of offering up his only son,”; Ja 2:21-24 “Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered up his son Isaac on the altar? You see that faith was active along with his works, and faith was completed by his works; and the Scripture was fulfilled that says, "Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness"--and he was called a friend of God. You see that a person is justified by works and not by faith alone.” -- Abraham’s faith was not a dead faith (Ja 2:20,26 “Do you want to be shown, you foolish person, that faith apart from works is useless?” – “For as the body apart from the spirit is dead, so also faith apart from works is dead.”), but a dynamic faith expressing itself in obedience!
By faith we must obey God. For the gospel calls for “obedience to the faith” - Ro 1:5 “through whom we have received grace and apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith for the sake of his name among all the nations,”; 16:25-26 “Now to him who is able to strengthen you according to my gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery that was kept secret for long ages but has now been disclosed and through the prophetic writings has been made known to all nations, according to the command of the eternal God, to bring about the obedience of faith” We must “obey from the heart” the doctrine of Christ - cf. Ro 6:17 “But thanks be to God, that you who were once slaves of sin have become obedient from the heart to the standard of teaching to which you were committed,” Woe to those who do not “obey the gospel” - 2 Th 1:7-9 “and to grant relief to you who are afflicted as well as to us, when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with his mighty angels in flaming fire, inflicting vengeance on those who do not know God and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. They will suffer the punishment of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his might,”; 1 Pe 4:17 “For it is time for judgment to begin at the household of God; and if it begins with us, what will be the outcome for those who do not obey the gospel of God?” -- If we desire to have “The Faith Of Abraham”, we must have a faith that “works through love” (Ga 5:6 “For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision counts for anything, but only faith working through love.”)
While works are an essential element of a saving faith, it is crucial to note that it is the faith behind the works that pleases God (and not the works per se)! Therefore we point out that Abraham’s was a trusting faith. Abraham trusted in God, not his works. Return to our text, and note what is said - Gen 15:6 “And he believed the LORD, and he counted it to him as righteousness.” Abraham believed in the Lord. “It” (his faith) was reckoned or considered for righteousness. It was Abraham’s faith in God that greatly pleased God. Paul stresses this point in his epistle to the Romans - Ro 4:1-3 “What then shall we say was gained by Abraham, our forefather according to the flesh? For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about, but not before God. For what does the Scripture say? "Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness."’ Abraham was not justified because of his works. Abraham was justified (declared blameless) because of his faith! -- Though he had a faith that works, he did not trust in his works; rather in God who justifies the ungodly (Ro 4:5-8 “And to the one who does not work but trusts him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted as righteousness, just as David also speaks of the blessing of the one to whom God counts righteousness apart from works: "Blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven, and whose sins are covered; blessed is the man against whom the Lord will not count his sin."’)
Likewise, we must trust in Jesus, not our works. As noted before, we must obey God which involves certain “works”. Such as faith, which is a “work” - Jn 6:28-29 “Then they said to him, "What must we do, to be doing the works of God?" Jesus answered them, "This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent."’ Even baptism, which is more a work of God than a work of man - Co 2:12-13 “having been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through faith in the powerful working of God, who raised him from the dead. And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses,” But when all is done, we must not put our trust in our obedience as though we somehow earned our salvation. For Christ taught us to realize we are still unworthy - Lk 17:10 “So you also, when you have done all that you were commanded, say, 'We are unworthy servants; we have only done what was our duty.'" -- It is the faith or trust in Jesus prompting us to obey that pleases God, not some meritorious value of the work done to receive God’s grace!
So “The Faith Of Abraham” was an obedient faith that placed its trust in God who justifies the ungodly. To be “the sons of Abraham”, we must have the same kind of faith. Finally, observe that Abraham’s faith was a growing faith. Abraham grew in faith. There were times when his faith was weak. He had Sarah his wife tell a half-truth to save his life - Gen 12:11-20; 20:1-18. He questioned God when he and Sarah did not have children - Gen 15:2-3. He showed weak faith in the case of Hagar - Gen 16:1-4. He offered an alternative to God when he thought it would be impossible for he and Sarah to have children - Gen 17:17-18. But God was patient with Abraham, and his faith grew. He had faith, even against hope, and was able to conceive - Ro 4:18-22. He had faith that God could raise Isaac from the dead, and so was willing to offer him as commanded - He 11:17-19 -- “The Faith Of Abraham” was not a static faith, but an ever-growing faith that came through being “a friend of God” (Ja 2:23 “and the Scripture was fulfilled that says, "Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness"--and he was called a friend of God.”)
We must likewise grow in faith. Just as the apostles of Christ did.... From men with little faith and easily afraid - Mt 8:25-26 “And they went and woke him, saying, "Save us, Lord; we are perishing." And he said to them, "Why are you afraid, O you of little faith?" Then he rose and rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was a great calm.”; 14:31 “Jesus immediately reached out his hand and took hold of him, saying to him, "O you of little faith, why did you doubt?"’ They grew to be men of great boldness - Ac 4:13 “Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated, common men, they were astonished. And they recognized that they had been with Jesus.” Like the Thessalonians whose faith grew - 2 Th 1:3 “We ought always to give thanks to God for you, brothers, as is right, because your faith is growing abundantly, and the love of every one of you for one another is increasing.” Their faith was growing exceedingly. Our faith needs to grow likewise -- Our faith will grow, if we are willing to “walk in the steps of the faith which our father Abraham had” (Ro 4:12).
We have seen that “The Faith Of Abraham” was based upon revelation. Abraham’s faith was an obedient faith, a trusting faith and a growing faith. Why do we need this same kind of faith...? Because “those who are of faith are the sons of Abraham” - Ga 3:7. Because “those who are of faith are blessed with believing Abraham” - Ga 3:9. Indeed, those who have “The Faith Of Abraham” are truly the recipients of the promise made to Abraham:
“In your seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed, because you have obeyed My voice.” (Gen 18:18). Are we walking in the steps of the faith of Abraham, obeying the Word of God given today through the gospel of Christ, even as he obeyed the word given to him?
Genesis 15:6
One of the greatest men in history has to be the patriarch Abraham.... Three religions look to him as their spiritual progenitor (Judaism, Christianity, Islam). Christians view him as “the father of all them that believe” - Ro 4:11 (“He received the sign of circumcision as a seal of the righteousness that he had by faith while he was still uncircumcised. The purpose was to make him the father of all who believe without being circumcised, so that righteousness would be counted to them as well,”). What is most noteworthy about Abraham was his faith.... Paul made reference to his faith time and again - Ro 4:3 “For what does the Scripture say? "Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness."’, 9 “Is this blessing then only for the circumcised, or also for the uncircumcised? We say that faith was counted to Abraham as righteousness.”, (11,16-22;) Ga 3:7-9 “Know then that it is those of faith who are the sons of Abraham. And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, "In you shall all the nations be blessed." So then, those who are of faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith.” James used his example to illustrate saving faith - Ja 2:21-23 “Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered up his son Isaac on the altar? You see that faith was active along with his works, and faith was completed by his works; and the Scripture was fulfilled that says, "Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness"--and he was called a friend of God.” Both Paul and James make reference to the following OT statement about Abraham’s faith:
“And he believed in the LORD, and He accounted it to him for righteousness.” (Gen 15:6; see also Ro 4:3; Ja 2:23)
What was it about Abraham’s faith that so pleased God? Do we have the same kind of faith? Let’s take a closer look at “The Faith Of Abraham”. Abraham’s faith was based on revelation. God revealed himself to Abraham several times in several places as follows:
In Ur of the Chaldees - Ac 7:2-4; Gen 15:7
At Haran of Mesopotamia - Gen 12:1-4
At Shechem in Canann - Gen 12:6-7
After Lot moved to Sodom - Gen 13:14-17
And many times more - cf. Gen 15:1-17; 17:1-27; 18:1-33; 22:1-19
-- By revealing Himself to Abraham, God provided Abraham ample evidence for him to place his faith and trust in God.
Our faith must also be based upon revelation. Not that God reveals Himself to us as He did to Abraham, but a faith that comes through the Word of God - Ro 10:17 “So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.” It contains evidence that we might believe - Jn 20:30-31 “Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.” The more we read, the more God is revealed to us, especially in the person of His
Son Jesus Christ! -- If we desire to have “The Faith Of Abraham”, we must be receptive to God’s revelation of Himself through His Word!
Next, it is important to note that Abraham’s faith was an obedient faith. By faith, Abraham obeyed God. He left his country - He 11:8 “By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place that he was to receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going.” He sojourned in a foreign land - He 11:9-10 “By faith he went to live in the land of promise, as in a foreign land, living in tents with Isaac and Jacob, heirs with him of the same promise. For he was looking forward to the city that has foundations, whose designer and builder is God.” He offered his son Isaac - He 11:17 “By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises was in the act of offering up his only son,”; Ja 2:21-24 “Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered up his son Isaac on the altar? You see that faith was active along with his works, and faith was completed by his works; and the Scripture was fulfilled that says, "Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness"--and he was called a friend of God. You see that a person is justified by works and not by faith alone.” -- Abraham’s faith was not a dead faith (Ja 2:20,26 “Do you want to be shown, you foolish person, that faith apart from works is useless?” – “For as the body apart from the spirit is dead, so also faith apart from works is dead.”), but a dynamic faith expressing itself in obedience!
By faith we must obey God. For the gospel calls for “obedience to the faith” - Ro 1:5 “through whom we have received grace and apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith for the sake of his name among all the nations,”; 16:25-26 “Now to him who is able to strengthen you according to my gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery that was kept secret for long ages but has now been disclosed and through the prophetic writings has been made known to all nations, according to the command of the eternal God, to bring about the obedience of faith” We must “obey from the heart” the doctrine of Christ - cf. Ro 6:17 “But thanks be to God, that you who were once slaves of sin have become obedient from the heart to the standard of teaching to which you were committed,” Woe to those who do not “obey the gospel” - 2 Th 1:7-9 “and to grant relief to you who are afflicted as well as to us, when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with his mighty angels in flaming fire, inflicting vengeance on those who do not know God and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. They will suffer the punishment of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his might,”; 1 Pe 4:17 “For it is time for judgment to begin at the household of God; and if it begins with us, what will be the outcome for those who do not obey the gospel of God?” -- If we desire to have “The Faith Of Abraham”, we must have a faith that “works through love” (Ga 5:6 “For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision counts for anything, but only faith working through love.”)
While works are an essential element of a saving faith, it is crucial to note that it is the faith behind the works that pleases God (and not the works per se)! Therefore we point out that Abraham’s was a trusting faith. Abraham trusted in God, not his works. Return to our text, and note what is said - Gen 15:6 “And he believed the LORD, and he counted it to him as righteousness.” Abraham believed in the Lord. “It” (his faith) was reckoned or considered for righteousness. It was Abraham’s faith in God that greatly pleased God. Paul stresses this point in his epistle to the Romans - Ro 4:1-3 “What then shall we say was gained by Abraham, our forefather according to the flesh? For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about, but not before God. For what does the Scripture say? "Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness."’ Abraham was not justified because of his works. Abraham was justified (declared blameless) because of his faith! -- Though he had a faith that works, he did not trust in his works; rather in God who justifies the ungodly (Ro 4:5-8 “And to the one who does not work but trusts him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted as righteousness, just as David also speaks of the blessing of the one to whom God counts righteousness apart from works: "Blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven, and whose sins are covered; blessed is the man against whom the Lord will not count his sin."’)
Likewise, we must trust in Jesus, not our works. As noted before, we must obey God which involves certain “works”. Such as faith, which is a “work” - Jn 6:28-29 “Then they said to him, "What must we do, to be doing the works of God?" Jesus answered them, "This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent."’ Even baptism, which is more a work of God than a work of man - Co 2:12-13 “having been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through faith in the powerful working of God, who raised him from the dead. And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses,” But when all is done, we must not put our trust in our obedience as though we somehow earned our salvation. For Christ taught us to realize we are still unworthy - Lk 17:10 “So you also, when you have done all that you were commanded, say, 'We are unworthy servants; we have only done what was our duty.'" -- It is the faith or trust in Jesus prompting us to obey that pleases God, not some meritorious value of the work done to receive God’s grace!
So “The Faith Of Abraham” was an obedient faith that placed its trust in God who justifies the ungodly. To be “the sons of Abraham”, we must have the same kind of faith. Finally, observe that Abraham’s faith was a growing faith. Abraham grew in faith. There were times when his faith was weak. He had Sarah his wife tell a half-truth to save his life - Gen 12:11-20; 20:1-18. He questioned God when he and Sarah did not have children - Gen 15:2-3. He showed weak faith in the case of Hagar - Gen 16:1-4. He offered an alternative to God when he thought it would be impossible for he and Sarah to have children - Gen 17:17-18. But God was patient with Abraham, and his faith grew. He had faith, even against hope, and was able to conceive - Ro 4:18-22. He had faith that God could raise Isaac from the dead, and so was willing to offer him as commanded - He 11:17-19 -- “The Faith Of Abraham” was not a static faith, but an ever-growing faith that came through being “a friend of God” (Ja 2:23 “and the Scripture was fulfilled that says, "Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness"--and he was called a friend of God.”)
We must likewise grow in faith. Just as the apostles of Christ did.... From men with little faith and easily afraid - Mt 8:25-26 “And they went and woke him, saying, "Save us, Lord; we are perishing." And he said to them, "Why are you afraid, O you of little faith?" Then he rose and rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was a great calm.”; 14:31 “Jesus immediately reached out his hand and took hold of him, saying to him, "O you of little faith, why did you doubt?"’ They grew to be men of great boldness - Ac 4:13 “Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated, common men, they were astonished. And they recognized that they had been with Jesus.” Like the Thessalonians whose faith grew - 2 Th 1:3 “We ought always to give thanks to God for you, brothers, as is right, because your faith is growing abundantly, and the love of every one of you for one another is increasing.” Their faith was growing exceedingly. Our faith needs to grow likewise -- Our faith will grow, if we are willing to “walk in the steps of the faith which our father Abraham had” (Ro 4:12).
We have seen that “The Faith Of Abraham” was based upon revelation. Abraham’s faith was an obedient faith, a trusting faith and a growing faith. Why do we need this same kind of faith...? Because “those who are of faith are the sons of Abraham” - Ga 3:7. Because “those who are of faith are blessed with believing Abraham” - Ga 3:9. Indeed, those who have “The Faith Of Abraham” are truly the recipients of the promise made to Abraham:
“In your seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed, because you have obeyed My voice.” (Gen 18:18). Are we walking in the steps of the faith of Abraham, obeying the Word of God given today through the gospel of Christ, even as he obeyed the word given to him?
