Lives of the Patriarchs - Abraham: Being Made Right with God

Every world religion exists to answer two fundamental life questions. The first question is: Does God exist? The second is: If he does, how do I have a relationship with Him?

Let’s take that first question. All of the mono-theistic religions answer this question with an unqualified “Yes, God exists.” Judaism and Islam and Christianity all teach that a Supreme Being exists who created this world, and everything in the universe.

Other religious groups, such Eastern religions, Mysticism, and Spiritualism all teach that God is “alive in all things.” ILLUS. Think The Force of the Star Wars sagas — a cosmic energy force created by all living things. In the original movie, Jedi Master Yoda explains the force, saying “Life creates it, makes it grow. Its energy surrounds us, binds us.” God is not seen as an external, all-powerful personal spirit but a part of your very own existence.

Then there is that second question: Since God does exist, how do I have a relationship with Him? Most will answer: “In order to please God, you must be good, meet certain religious requirements, and participate in the appropriate religious rituals.” Eastern Religions say, “Just look deep withing your own soul, and you’ll discover god there — and maybe you’ll even discover that you are a god.” Biblical Christianity says, “No, absolutely not.” Biblical Christianity says: “You have a relationship with God through faith alone.”

The life of Abram reveals that a right relationship with God is established and maintained by faith alone.

[Read Genesis 15:1-6]

Let me take a moment to set up the scene for you. At the end of chapter 14, Abram has returned from rescuing his nephew Lot from some enemy kings who had taken him and his family hostage. As he returns home there is an encounter with the mysterious priest-king Melchizedek. Melchizedek blesses Abram and Abram gives Melchizedek one-tenth of the693 spoils of the battle with the kings. There is a conversation between Abram and the king of Sodom who wants to reward him. Abram refuses to take even a thread or a strap of a sandal from the King as a reward. Chapter 15:1-6 picks up the story with God speaking to Abram, and there is an interesting mix of faith and doubt contained in Abram’s conversation with God.

Abram continues to wonder how God’s promise is going to work. Abram still does not have any sons, and he and Sarai are not getting any younger — in fact Sarari is well-past child bearing age. In v.2 Abram says, in essence, “God, how are you going to reward me? I still don’t have any male offspring, and if I were to die today one of my house servants would be the heir of all that I have.” God’s words to Abram are both a reassurance of His promise and a renewal of His covenant with the aged Patriarch. During this conversation, God reiterates the promise he has made to Abram. He takes Abram outside and asks him to look at the stars in the sky. Then he promises to make Abram’s descendants as numerous as all of those uncountable stars he was viewing. Then Moses records some of the most important words in the Old Testament: And he believed the Lord, and he [i.e. the Lord] counted it to him as righteousness.

Do you understand the magnitude of these words? What Moses just said is this: Abram is given a right standing before God simply because he has faith in God. How simple is that? How profound it is! This is the most important lesson we learn from the life of Abraham:

I. RIGHTEOUSNESS HAS ALWAYS COME THROUGH FAITH

1. if you have been ‘born from above’—or as Baptists are more likely to say—if you’ve been ‘saved’ then you’ve been justified by God

a. justification is the central doctrine of the Bible

1) it was a doctrine essentially lost for almost 1,000 years, but recovered by the preachers, pastors and theologians of the Reformation era

2) it is a doctrine that has been at the core of Baptist theology since our forefathers penned their very first Confession of Faith in 1611

ILLUS. In that year, English Baptist pastor, Thomas Helwys wrote simply: “That man is justified only by the righteousness of Christ, apprehended by faith.”

2. the New Testament explicitly teaches that sinful man is justified (that is, he is given a right standing before a holy God) by faith in Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord

a. how does a sinful man or woman enter into God’s presence in heaven for all of eternity?

b. by faith alone in Christ alone

1) the key word there is alone

2) they word implies the sufficiency of faith alone — not faith AND works, not faith AND religious sacrament, not faith AND religious ritual, but faith — genuine, put our life-on-the-line kind of faith that looks alone to Christ and his substitutionary death in our place

3) it is a faith that trusts in nothing else but his promise to do what he says he will

ILLUS. Rock of Ages Cleft for me

Nothing in my hand I bring

Simply to Thy cross I cling

Naked, come to Thee for dress

Helpless, look to Thee for grace

Vile, I to the fountain fly

Wash me, savior, or I die

3. our confusion arises when we start talking about God’s plan of salvation in the Old Testament vs. God’s plan of salvation in the New Testament

a. what determined whether-or-not a person living in the Old Testament time period went to heaven or hell?

1) in other words, how was a Jewish Prophet, or a Jewish King, or a Jewish peasant ‘saved’?

b. the answer is the same: by faith

1) that begs the question: Why was the Law given in the first place?

A. THE LAW WAS GIVEN TO REVEAL THE SINFULNESS OF SIN

1. the Law was never given as a means of salvation but as a means of revealing sin and the sinfulness of sin

“What shall we say, then? Is the law sinful? Certainly not! Nevertheless, I would not have known what sin was had it not been for the law. For I would not have known what coveting really was if the law had not said, “You shall not covet.” 8 But sin, seizing the opportunity afforded by the commandment, produced in me every kind of coveting. For apart from the law, sin was dead.” (Romans 7:7–8, NIV)

ILLUS. We’ve all heard the old adage: “Rules were made to be broken.” Well no, they really were not. Rules and laws are developed and agreed upon among men to guide our behavior in relationships to the broader culture. They are mutually agreed upon rules that, in the end, keep us and those around us safe. God gave Moses the Law. It contained three specific sections: a Moral Code of behavior (best known are the 10 Commandments), a Civil or Legal Code of behavior and a Religious Code of behavior. God dictated the Law to guide how the Israelites were to relate to their God and how they were to relate to each other.

2. when an Israelite disobeyed any of the rules in any of the three areas they were sinning against the Lord, and when you sin against the God you need the mediation of a sacrifice for your sin

a. the Law revealed the evil of sin

1) in his letter to the Christians at Rome, the Apostle Paul was blunt when he wrote,

“For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out.” (Romans 7:18, ESV)

2) the Law revealed the evil of sin, and our desperate need for right standing before God

b. the sacrificial system revealed the grace of God

“And all its fat he shall remove, as the fat is removed from the peace offerings, and the priest shall burn it on the altar for a pleasing aroma to the LORD. And the priest shall make atonement for him, and he shall be forgiven.” (Leviticus 4:31, ESV)

B. THE LAW WAS GIVEN TO POINT MEN TO GOD BY FAITH

1. the Apostle Paul had to address this very issue with the Christians of Galatia

“Why, then, was the law given? It was given alongside the promise to show people their sins. But the law was designed to last only until the coming of the child who was promised. God gave his law through angels to Moses, who was the mediator between God and the people. 20 Now a mediator is helpful if more than one party must reach an agreement. But God, who is one, did not use a mediator when he gave his promise to Abraham. 21 Is there a conflict, then, between God’s law and God’s promises? Absolutely not! If the law could give us new life, we could be made right with God by obeying it. 22 But the Scriptures declare that we are all prisoners of sin, so we receive God’s promise of freedom only by believing in Jesus Christ. 23 Before the way of faith in Christ was available to us, we were placed under guard by the law. We were kept in protective custody, so to speak, until the way of faith was revealed. 24 Let me put it another way. The law was our guardian until Christ came; it protected us until we could be made right with God through faith.” (Galatians 3:19–24, NLT)

1. here is the Apostle Paul’s explanation

a. the Old Testament law was never intended to save anyone

b. it was intended to point people to God’s infinite, matchless grace, and to the coming Savior Jesus Christ

2. perfect obedience to the law of God was not possible for any human being because all were (and still are) born into sinful depravity that depravity is total in that it affects every part of our personality — body, mind, and soul

a. righteousness before God did not and cannot come through obedience to the Law — this was never the plan, salvation by faith was the plan

b. the author of the Book of Hebrews helps us understand this

“The law is only a shadow of the good things that are coming—not the realities themselves. For this reason it can never, by the same sacrifices repeated endlessly year after year, make perfect those who draw near to worship. 2 Otherwise, would they not have stopped being offered? For the worshipers would have been cleansed once for all, and would no longer have felt guilty for their sins. 3 But those sacrifices are an annual reminder of sins. 4 It is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.” (Hebrews 10:1–4, NIV)

c. a few verses later the author says about Jesus ...

“Day after day every priest stands and performs his religious duties; again and again he offers the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. 12 But when this priest [Jesus] had offered for all time one sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God, 13 and since that time he waits for his enemies to be made his footstool. 14 For by one sacrifice he has made perfect forever those who are being made holy.” (Hebrews 10:11–14, NIV)

3. salvation has always been by faith in the promise of God and to make his point the author pens the Hall of Fame of the Faithful in Hebrews, chapter 11

a. the Antediluvians were saved by faith ...

1) by faith Abel ... by faith Enoch ... by faith Noah

b. the Patriarchs were saved by faith ...

1) by faith Abraham ... by faith Sarah ... by faith Isaac ... by faith Jacob

c. the Hebrews Forefathers were saved by faith ...

1) by faith Moses ... by faith the People left Egypt, crossed the Red Sea, defeated Jericho

d. the Hebrew Judges were saved by faith

1) by faith Gideon ... by faith Barak ... by faith Samson ... by faith Jephthah

e. the Israelite Kings and Prophets were saved by faith

1) by faith King David ... by faith the Prophet Samuel

f. and Everyday Israelites Who Are Nameless were saved by faith

1) the author mentions “women”, “some”, and “others”

4. works of the law have never saved a person

a. anyone who is has ever been made right with God has been made righteous by the single offering of Jesus Christ on the cross for the sins of all who would believe

... Righteousness Has Always Come Through Faith

II. ABRAM’S FAITH WAS CREDITED TO HIM AS RIGHTEOUSNESS

“Abram believed the Lord, and he credited it to him as righteousness.” (Genesis 15:6, NIV)

1. this is one of the greatest statements in the Scriptures

a. here in Genesis 15:6 we are explicitly told that it was Abram’s faith that God accepts

b. the Rabbis and Jewish theologians taught that Abraham was justified because he had completely kept the Law and that he was perfect in all his deeds before the Lord

1) which is a good trick since the Law was not given by God through Moses for another 430 years after Abram died

c. the Rabbis argued that Abraham kept the law perfectly long before it was given, keeping it by intuition

2. but, according to the Scriptures, he was made righteous through the same means as everyone else who has ever been made righteous or ever will be made righteous: faith

a. Abram simply said “amen” to God every time God spoke to him

1) God has said, “I will do this for you even though by your human calculation and reasoning it is impossible,” and Abram says to God, “I believe You. Amen. I believe it.”

b. Abram’s life, in spite of his shortcomings, is a testament to faith ... consider ...

1) God says to Abram “I’m going to send you out,” and Abram says “Where?” and God says, “I’ll tell you later, now just go.”

2) God says to Abram , “I’m going to give you a land,” and Abram says “Where?” and God says, “I’ll tell you later, just wander.”

3) God says to Abram, “I’m going to give you a child,” and Abram said “How?” and God says, “I’ll tell you later, just wait.”

4) and then finally God sends Abram a child and when that child is a young man He tells Abram, “Kill your child as a sacrifice to me.” and Abram says, “Why?” and God says, “I’ll tell you later, walk up the mountain.”

c. and in every situation Abram passed that threshold between belief and unbelief and he triumphed in faith

d. and he believed the Lord and it was counted to him for righteousness

A. BY FAITH ALONE GOD CREDITS HIS ELECT AS RIGHTEOUS

1. Paul speaks of this in his epistle to the Romans

“What then shall we say that Abraham, our forefather according to the flesh, discovered in this matter? 2 If, in fact, Abraham was justified by works, he had something to boast about—but not before God. 3 What does Scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.” 4 Now to the one who works, wages are not credited as a gift but as an obligation. 5 However, to the one who does not work but trusts God who justifies the ungodly, their faith is credited as righteousness.” (Romans 4:1–5, NIV)

2. here’s the bad news ... we have no righteousness of our own

a. a Christian is still a foul and filthy and stinking sinner

1) you may have had forty years of the Holy Spirit’s sanctifying work in your life and that same Spirit is creating in you the character of Christ’s image more and more each day

2) but until the Christian stands before God, glorified with the glory of a perfect and complete sanctification — you remain a foul and filthy and stinking sinner

ILLUS. Your righteousness before Christ was no better than a filthy rag, and your own righteousness is still no better than a filthy rag.

b. here’s the good news ... a Christian is seen by God as perfectly righteous and completely blameless because of Christ in you—the hope of glory—which came through an act of faith

1) you believed the promise

2) what’s the promise?

3) that if you put your faith in the crucified and risen Christ you will be saved

c. since you’ve believed the promise God has counted or credited you with righteousness, and that righteousness is the righteousness of his perfect son

3. the word counted means to be placed on deposit or conferred to one’s account

a. it refers to something you didn’t have, but which at someone else’s expense was made available to you

ILLUS. The merits of Christ’s atonement are simply inexhaustible. Imagine writing a bad check. You know it’s a bad check because you know there is not enough deposited in your account to cover it. However, when you go to the bank to make amends, you discover the check was fully covered. Someone has deposited sufficient monies to cover you debt. First your relieved, and then your dumfounded because someone has just delivered you from financial ruin ... and maybe even jail.

b. the sacrifice of Christ covers all our sin-debt!

c. from God’s perspective, the Son has been the Lamb slain for all time, even though from our perspective, the events at Calvary would not take place for another 2,000 after Abraham

“All inhabitants of the earth will worship the beast—all whose names have not been written in the Lamb’s book of life, the Lamb who was slain from the foundation of the world.” (Revelation 13:8, NIV)

1) that phrase, from the foundation of the world, is a synonym for eternity past

2) Jesus is the slaughtered lamb from all eternity past

3) when the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the deep in Genesis 1:1 the Second Person of the Trinity was already the slaughtered lamb

4) when God said, “Let us make man in our own image ... “ Christ was already the slaughtered lamb

5) when the serpent slithered into the garden, and hissed at Eve, “If you eat, you’ll be as wise as God,” Christ was already the slaughtered lamb

4. the righteousness of Christ is credited to Abram’s account

a. Jesus lived the righteous life that Abram couldn’t live

1) he lives the righteous life we couldn’t live

b. and God, looking at the Lamb who was slain from the foundation of the world, credits Abram with a foreign righteousness

... Abram’s Faith Was Credited to Him as Righteousness as Is Ours

III. OUR FAITH IS CREDITED TO US AS RIGHTEOUSNESS

1. if you’ll come to God by faith this morning, confessing His only begotten Son and Savior and Lord, God will give you the righteousness of His Son that’ll bring you into His kingdom

”The words “it was credited to him” were written not for him alone, 24 but also for us, to whom God will credit righteousness—for us who believe in him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead. 25 He was delivered over to death for our sins and was raised to life for our justification.” (Romans 4:23–25, NIV)

2. because Abraham believed that God would bring the blessing of salvation to the world through his seed, it was counted to him as righteousness

a. but Paul says the same thing is true of us

b. when you believe in him who raised Jesus from the dead as the fulfillment of the promise to Abraham that faith is counted to you as righteousness

3. how do I please God?

a. I don’t

b. I accept in faith his pleasing sacrifice on my behalf

4. but—and this is an important ‘but’—that doesn’t mean that how we live is unimportant

a. that doesn’t mean that good works and obedience to God’s commands are not needed

b. it does mean that good works and obedience are the natural response of a person

CONCLUSION

Here is how I want you to apply this to you own life. As a follower of Christ, you were justified by faith in Jesus alone. That faith produces new behavior in your life. But there is a tendency for us to think that once we know Christ we can get to the finish line on our own. We flip flop the roles of works and faith in our lives; and we get tricked into thinking that our continued acceptance before God is based upon things that we do. We must fight against that. We come into the family of God through faith and we continue in the family of God through faith.

Listen to how Paul warned the Galatians about this is Galatians 3: “You foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? Before your very eyes Jesus Christ was clearly portrayed as crucified. 2 I would like to learn just one thing from you: Did you receive the Spirit by the works of the law, or by believing what you heard? 3 Are you so foolish? After beginning by means of the Spirit, are you now trying to finish by means of the flesh? 4 Have you experienced so much in vain—if it really was in vain? 5 So again I ask, does God give you his Spirit and work miracles among you by the works of the law, or by your believing what you heard? 6 So also Abraham “believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.” 7 Understand, then, that those who have faith are children of Abraham. 8 Scripture foresaw that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, and announced the gospel in advance to Abraham: “All nations will be blessed through you.” 9 So those who rely on faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith.” (Galatians 3:1–9, NIV)

So my encouragement to us today is this: may we understand like Abram did that it is faith alone that makes us accepted before God; and may we continually integrate that understanding into our Christian walk – knowing that by grace through faith we started this race, and by grace through faith we will finish it.

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