20230625 Genesis 20: A Lapse in Faith But Not in Grace (2)
Genesis: Looking Back in Order to Move Ahead Spiritually • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
0 ratings
· 3 viewsNotes
Transcript
Handout
1 From there Abraham journeyed toward the territory of the Negeb and lived between Kadesh and Shur; and he sojourned in Gerar. 2 And Abraham said of Sarah his wife, “She is my sister.” And Abimelech king of Gerar sent and took Sarah. 3 But God came to Abimelech in a dream by night and said to him, “Behold, you are a dead man because of the woman whom you have taken, for she is a man’s wife.” 4 Now Abimelech had not approached her. So he said, “Lord, will you kill an innocent people? 5 Did he not himself say to me, ‘She is my sister’? And she herself said, ‘He is my brother.’ In the integrity of my heart and the innocence of my hands I have done this.” 6 Then God said to him in the dream, “Yes, I know that you have done this in the integrity of your heart, and it was I who kept you from sinning against me. Therefore I did not let you touch her. 7 Now then, return the man’s wife, for he is a prophet, so that he will pray for you, and you shall live. But if you do not return her, know that you shall surely die, you and all who are yours.” 8 So Abimelech rose early in the morning and called all his servants and told them all these things. And the men were very much afraid. 9 Then Abimelech called Abraham and said to him, “What have you done to us? And how have I sinned against you, that you have brought on me and my kingdom a great sin? You have done to me things that ought not to be done.” 10 And Abimelech said to Abraham, “What did you see, that you did this thing?” 11 Abraham said, “I did it because I thought, ‘There is no fear of God at all in this place, and they will kill me because of my wife.’ 12 Besides, she is indeed my sister, the daughter of my father though not the daughter of my mother, and she became my wife. 13 And when God caused me to wander from my father’s house, I said to her, ‘This is the kindness you must do me: at every place to which we come, say of me, “He is my brother.” ’ ” 14 Then Abimelech took sheep and oxen, and male servants and female servants, and gave them to Abraham, and returned Sarah his wife to him. 15 And Abimelech said, “Behold, my land is before you; dwell where it pleases you.” 16 To Sarah he said, “Behold, I have given your brother a thousand pieces of silver. It is a sign of your innocence in the eyes of all who are with you, and before everyone you are vindicated.” 17 Then Abraham prayed to God, and God healed Abimelech, and also healed his wife and female slaves so that they bore children. 18 For the Lord had closed all the wombs of the house of Abimelech because of Sarah, Abraham’s wife.
The ESV Study Bible (Chapter 20)
Abimelech’s actions place in jeopardy the fulfillment of God’s promise to Abraham that Sarah will bear him a son.
Closely resembling the earlier taking of Sarah by Pharaoh (12:10–20), this account presupposes the reader’s knowledge of that event.
Abimelech means “my father is King” and was a common royal name
I know what’s on a big mac. It’s burned in my mind
At McDonalds, you deserve a break today
Have you ever thought about what you deserve?
You deserve a day off
You deserve a raise
What do you deserve the mom asked her two sons when they were at the grocery store and said that they deserved a treat.
84) Q: What does every sin deserve?
A: Every sin deserves God's wrath and curse, both in this life, and that which is to come.
James 2:10 For whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become accountable for all of it.
85) Q: What does God require of us that we may escape his wrath and curse due to us for sin?
A: To escape the wrath and curse of God due to us for sin, God requires of us faith in Jesus Christ, repentance unto life, with diligent use of all outward means whereby Christ communicates to us the benefits of redemption.
We deserve nothing less than God's anger in this life, and, if we get what we deserve, will receive nothing less than the full wrath of God poured out upon us in the next life.
I know what Augustine said about the New in the old and the Old in the New. But there’s another way to look at Old and new Testaments
(1) We need the Old Testament to understand the New Testament: we see the examples of the NT teachings in the lives of the OT characters
You’ll never understand wickedness and evil and spiritual rebellion unless you read the Old Testament
6 Now these things took place as examples for us, that we might not desire evil as they did.
4 For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, that through endurance and through the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.
Notice the contrast between these two verses
(2) We need the New Testament to understand the Old Testament: the OT reinforces the truth that salvation is by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone
10 as it is written: “None is righteous, no, not one; 11 no one understands; no one seeks for God. 12 All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one.”
8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast.
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.
23 But he turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a hindrance to me. For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man.”
7 for we walk by faith, not by sight.
(3) While we deserve punishment, our loving and merciful God provides grace: on this the OT and NT agree
Grace is God’s undeserved favor: While we often think of grace in terms of saving grace, God’s give grace to both believers and unbelievers: In Genesis 20 we God’s common grace.
9 The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?
18 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.
24 Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?
25 Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself serve the law of God with my mind, but with my flesh I serve the law of sin.
1 There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.
9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
The Westminster Standard Kids Catechism
Q. 36. What is that sinful nature which we inherit from Adam called?
A. Original sin.
Q. 37. What does every sin deserve?
A. The wrath and curse of God.
Q. 38. Can any one go to heaven with this sinful nature?
A. No; our hearts must be changed before we can be fit for heaven.
Q. 39. What is a change of heart called?
A. Regeneration.
Q. 40. Who can change a sinner’s heart?
A. The Holy Spirit alone.
You are just like Abraham. If you have been justified by faith, it you have received the new life that is given through the Spirit. If you desire to love the Lord with all of your heart, soul, mind and strength, then know that just like Abraham, apart from Christ you can do nothing. And there will be times, like Abraham in Gen 20, and like Paul in Romans 7 , where you waiver in your faith.
But remember the grace and mercy and forgiveness of our Lord, the Lord who has said, I have loved you with an everlasting love. I will never leave you or forsake you.
Let’s pray.