Abraham, Patriarch of Our Faith

Faith is handed down from one generation to the next through the way people see the testimony of Christ in our lives. The strength of every generation of faith depends on the previous generations witness of faith.

Abel had a testimony of faith in worship, but Cain did not

Enoch had a testimony of faith in his walk with God, and he was raptured!

Noah had a testimony of faith in work as he built an ark before the flood, but only 8 people were saved by grace through faith

It is clearly evident that before the flood, that the darkness of men had become greater than the light of God in men at that time. The question I ask is “Why?”

First is the sin of men;

Genesis 6:5 NKJV

5 Then the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.

John 3:19–20 (NKJV)

19 And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.

20 For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed.

Second is the weak testimony of our faith;

James 1:21–22 NKJV

21 Therefore lay aside all filthiness and overflow of wickedness, and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls. 22 But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.

Now we come to our text tonight as we look at “Abraham, Patriarch of Our Faith”

Text; Heb. 11:8-10

Hebrews 11:8–10 NKJV

8 By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to the place which he would receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going. 9 By faith he dwelt in the land of promise as in a foreign country, dwelling in tents with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise; 10 for he waited for the city which has foundations, whose builder and maker is God.

1. Who is Abraham;

Abraham is from the linage of Noah’s son Shem, and his father’s name is Terah [Gen. 11].

Abram/Abraham was the youngest son of Terah and was born in Ur of the Chaldees.

The modern site is known as Tell el Muqayyar, “The Mound of Bitumen,” near Nasiriyah in southern Iraq. Abraham came from a great city, cultured, sophisticated, and powerful. The landscape was dominated by the ziggurat, or temple tower, and the life of the city was controlled by a religion with a multiplicity of gods. The chief deity was Nannar, or Sin, the moon god, who was also worshiped at Haran. Near his ziggurat was a temple dedicated to his consort, the moon goddess, Ningal.

Elwell, W. A., & Comfort, P. W. (2001). In Tyndale Bible dictionary (p. 1281). Tyndale House Publishers.

With this information, what does this tell us about who Abraham is? Abraham’s parents were sinful heathens and he was a sinful heathen who grew up in an unbelieving and idolatrous society.

2. Abrahams Faith; 8

If the word “faith” means to trust, then “obedience” has to be part of faith!

God placed a call on Abraham to leave where he was and go to where God wanted him. [Gen. 12:1-4] turn and read

Genesis 12:1–4 NKJV

1 Now the Lord had said to Abram: “Get out of your country, From your family And from your father’s house, To a land that I will show you. 2 I will make you a great nation; I will bless you And make your name great; And you shall be a blessing. 3 I will bless those who bless you, And I will curse him who curses you; And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.” 4 So Abram departed as the Lord had spoken to him, and Lot went with him. And Abram was seventy-five years old when he departed from Haran.

This is called the Abrahamic Covenant [read highlighted summary in Bible]

This covenant is made by God to Abraham and is unconditional.

National- I will make you a great nation

Personal- I will bless you and you shall be a blessing

Universal- in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed [Messiah]

This covenant is the seat of our faith and salvation in the Patriarch Abraham.

[4] At the age of 75, Abraham places his faith in God and gives proof of his faith through obedience by following God!

Abraham was an old man. He had his roots firmly established in Mesopotamia. That’s where his family was. That’s where his possessions were. That’s where his heritage was. But then, in his old age, God came to him and said: “I want you to get out of this land. Get out of your place where you’re culturally comfortable. I am going to make you a stranger in a foreign land. I’ll show you where it is.”

When any person comes to Jesus Christ in faith, God demands of him a pilgrimage from his old pattern of living into a new kind of life, just as Abraham’s faith separated him from paganism and unbelief and started him toward a new land and a new kind of life.

2 Corinthians 5:17 NKJV

17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.

Salvation brings separation from the world. The Lord works in the heart the total willingness to leave behind everything that is not pleasing to Him. He cannot lead us into new ways of living until He leads us out of the old. Giving up the old life is one of the greatest obstacles to coming to Christ, and is also one of the greatest obstacles to faithful living once we are in Christ.

MacArthur, J. F., Jr. (1983). Hebrews (p. 328). Moody Press.

[8b] “Not knowing where he was going”

A person who truly believes God obeys God. Faith, many times, is not knowing quite where we’re heading but we are willing to follow.

Faith has an element of adventure.

Faith will stretch our vision. [Spiritual sight]

Faith is always heading out and moving forward following the teaching of the Lord and the example of godly Christians.

Close;

Faith that saves has one distinguishing quality; saving faith is a faith that produces obedience, it is a faith that brings about a way of life.