The Faith of Abraham Part 1.

Opening:

It is a beautiful thing to open the Word of God on the Lord’s Day.

Introduction of the Passage:

This morning we are continuing on in our study of the list of the faithful saints of old given in Hebrews 11. The Apostle calls this list, “our great cloud of witnesses.” These are the men and women of faith who lived by faith. And this list is given to us so that we can see what it looks like to live by faith and apply that to our lives. This morning we will be in Hebrews 11:8-10. This begins the Apostle’s referencing of the faith of Abraham. Paul speaks of Abraham’s faith more than any of the other examples in this chapter. So we will be spending quite a bit of time on Abraham. But this morning we see really an overview of the faith of Abraham in regards to his call to follow God. So let us begin.

I would ask you to stand with me for the reading of God’s Word.

Reading of the Passage:

Hebrews 11:8–10“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.”

Behold the Word of God, Let’s pray.

Prayer:

Our gracious Heavenly Father, we commit this time to you this morning. We ask for your blessing upon it. Please sanctify us through your Word this morning. Apply it to our lives. We ask this in Jesus name, Amen.

Introduction:

Out of curiosity, how many of you are familiar with the children’s song “father Abraham?”

“Father Abraham had many sons,

Many sons had father Abraham,

And I am one of them, and so are you.

So let’s all praise the Lord!”

Sometimes, there is deep truth in classic children’s songs of the faith. Abraham is our father. Galatians 3:6–7 says“6 just as Abraham “believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.” 7 Therefore know that only those who are of faith are sons of Abraham.” You see, this passage is telling us that all those who have faith in Christ are sons and daughters of Abraham. And this is because Abraham was a Christian. If you were to keep reading in the Galatians passage you would see that Paul says God preached the gospel to Abraham. Abraham believed the gospel. Before Christ came to earth to live and die for our sins, Abraham believed. And this faith was counted to him as righteousness. You see, the only people who have claim to Abraham as their father, are those who have faith in Christ. The church are the children of Abraham. And this is because the church has faith in Christ, just like Abraham. Church is the city Abraham waited for, the New Jerusalem built by God out of living stones.

And this morning, we see the call of our father into the faith.

Text Idea:

In our text this morning, we see the faith of Abraham in being called out of his homeland and paganism to follow God and trust in His promise.

To summarize the passage: Abraham was called away from all he knew, to go where he did not know, to dwell there for he knew not how long. He did this by faith in the promise of God, looking ahead to it's fulfillment.

Sermon Idea:

This affects our lives because we, as the spiritual children of Abraham are to see the fulfilment of God’s promise to Abraham and follow his example by trusting the promises of God even when we do not see their fulfillment in our lifetime.

Transition:

So let us begin our study. The first thing we see is Abraham’s call.

Abraham’s Call.

Explanation:

Hebrews 11:8 “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.” The apostle here is referencing Abraham’s call in Genesis 11 and 12. You see, Abraham’s father, Terah had three sons. They were from a land called Ur of the Chaldeans. This was a kingdom in modern Iraq. It was a pagan nation, worshipping pagan gods. According to Joshua 24, Terah served these pagan gods. But God called Abraham out. Out of his father’s household, out of his native land, out of his pagan worship.

And we see this call in Genesis 12:1–3 which says, “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.””

The Lord calls Abraham out and promises him and inheritance and a blessing. And Abraham goes. He goes to the place he would receive as an inheritance.

Argumentation:

So God calls Abraham. But what is Abraham’s response? Here is where we see something beautiful. We see:

Abraham’s Faith and Obedience.

The opening words of our text says “By faith Abraham obeyed...” And this touches on one of the most interesting debates in Church history. You see, throughout church history some have attempted to say there is a contradiction between Paul and James when it comes to how Abraham was justified. Was Abraham justified by faith or by works or by a percentage of each? And if we are honest, it is not hard to see where a person would get the idea of there being a contradiction.

Listen to Paul’s words about Abraham’s justification.

Romans 4:2–5“2 For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about, but not before God. 3 For what does the Scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.” 4 Now to him who works, the wages are not counted as grace but as debt. 5 But to him who does not work but believes on Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is accounted for righteousness,”

Seems straight forward, right? It was not Abraham’s works that made him right before God. It was his faith. It was faith, not obedience to the law that saved Abraham. Abraham was justified by faith. In fact, Paul is so explicit in this passage that there is no room to even say it was 99% faith but 1% works that saved Abraham.

And here is where we get into the confusion. Because listen to how James talks about Abraham’s salvation.

James 2:20–24“20 But do you want to know, O foolish man, that faith without works is dead? 21 Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered Isaac his son on the altar? 22 Do you see that faith was working together with his works, and by works faith was made perfect? 23 And the Scripture was fulfilled which says, “Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.” And he was called the friend of God. 24 You see then that a man is justified by works, and not by faith only.”

You see how on the surface these seem to be at odds? Paul leaves no room for justification by works. But James says that faith on its own is dead. So how do we reconcile these two? How was Abraham justified? Well, our text this morning reconciles this quite well.

Hebrews 11:8“8 By faith Abraham obeyed...” What did Abraham’s faith cause? What did his faith do in his life? The Apostle tells us the first thing his faith did was cause him to obey. Think of it, Abraham was wrapped up in pagan idolatry. He was a man of Ur. He lived in that pagan culture, his house worshipped false gods. But upon hearing from God, he believed and immediately obeyed.

You see, James is in fact agreeing with Paul. James is not saying that Abraham was justified by his works. James is saying that true faith is a faith that WILL bring about righteous works. Listen to the context of James argument.

James 2:14–19 “14 What does it profit, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can faith save him? 15 If a brother or sister is naked and destitute of daily food, 16 and one of you says to them, “Depart in peace, be warmed and filled,” but you do not give them the things which are needed for the body, what does it profit? 17 Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead. 18 But someone will say, “You have faith, and I have works.” Show me your faith without your works, and I will show you my faith by my works. 19 You believe that there is one God. You do well. Even the demons believe—and tremble!”

I touched on this last week with Noah. But a faith that does not bear fruit of righteous action is a dead and false faith. James was writing this letter to address people who claimed that they could have faith without ever changing their actions. They believed faith was merely intellectual. They could live however they wanted, claim they believed a few things, and be saved. The example James uses is that of someone seeing their brother or sister in Christ starving and only wishes them well. Is this living faith? No! That person may claim to believe the right things, indeed they may believe them. But there is no true faith. They possess the same faith that demons have. They may intellectually affirm the truths of the faith, but they lack true faith. Because true faith is more than intellectual assent. True faith changes everything. It affect our lives. True faith must be lived out.

And James sums it up so well in James 2:18 “18 But someone will say, “You have faith, and I have works.” Show me your faith without your works, and I will show you my faith by my works.” True faith is shown to be true faith by the works it produces.

If Abraham had heard the call of God and said, “Yes Lord, amen! I believe it! From my loins will come a nation! From my seed all the world will be blessed!” But then he never left his father’s house, would he have been saved? Would he have had faith? He could have believed that God’s Word was true, but the clear answer is no. True faith is proved out by the works it produces. Abraham proved his faith by what he did. He was justified by true faith alone. And that faith caused him to act. It is an active faith. A faith of action.

Transition:

And what was the action? It was a true and genuine trust in God. What do I mean? Well, let’s look at:

Abraham’s Active Faith in God.

Explanation:

Remember our definition of faith. Hebrews 11:1 “1 Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” We see this clearly in Abraham. Look at our passage again. Hebrews 11:8–9“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;”

Abraham obeyed God. He trusted God enough to act even though he did not see the fulfillment. That is why I use the term “active faith.” This was faith that led to action. And what are the actions his trust in God led him to do?

First, he left what he knew.

1. Abraham left what he knew.

He left his father’s house, his homeland, his earthly inheritance. He left it all behind. He took what was his and trusted God. His faith in God’s Word caused him to leave everything he knew to go into the wilderness. The second action is tied to the first.

2. Abraham did not know where he was going.

Abraham acted in faith by leaving everything he knew, not even knowing where he was going. “He went out, not knowing where he was going” is what verse 8 tells us. Think of the demonstration of faith this is. He did not know where God was leading him, but he trusted God enough to leave everything he knew anyway!

It would be hard enough to leave everything you know even if you knew where you were going. But how hard would it be to leave and not know your destination. Imagine packing everything up and just setting out not knowing where you are going. This demonstrates faith. And imagine selling this idea to your wife.

“Alright Sarah, God has called us to leave and go into the wilderness where he will make from us a great nation and bless the whole world.”

Now Sarah is barren, she can’t have children. So that is already a leap of faith just to trust that God would open her womb in her old age. But then Abraham says you’re also leaving you homeland.

“Where are we going?”

Abraham just shrugs his shoulders.

But Sarah obeyed Abraham. No wonder Peter uses her as an example of a faithful wife that all you wives should imitate. Her response to Abraham was, according to Peter, something along the lines of “yes my lord. Let us obey God.” What a woman of faith!

And they do set out. And then:

3. They dwelled in tents for the rest of their lives.

Think of this. They never saw the fulfilment with their own eyes. They never saw the city God had promised. True, they saw Isaac. But they never did see the fulness of the promise. Abraham set out, and spent his life building in faith of God’s promise for a fulfillment he would never see. Truly his faith was the evidence of what he never say, just as our definition says in verse 1.

That is faith. To labor your life away on something you would never see. Imagine beginning a project that your great great great grandchildren would finish. This way of thinking used to be common among people, but in our age of instant gratification, it is nearly gone. We want to work till we are 65 and then retire and sit on a beach enjoying what we built for ourselves. Gone is the idea of laboring in faith so that your great grandchildren would have a better life. But Abraham had this faith.

Argumentation:

And I said Abraham did not see the fulfillment. But that is not strictly true. Abraham, through the eyes of faith did see it. His faith was the evidence of things not seen. His physical eyes died without seeing it, but in faith he did. And that is proved out by the final verse. Let us look now at:

The City Built By God.

Did Abraham see this city? Well, fundamentally, that depends on what this city is. And commentators have disagreed here for a long time. Some have said that this is a reference to heaven. Heaven is the city God has built.

But I disagree with this. In context, it does not track that the fulfillment of Abraham being a blessing to all nations would be heaven. I take the city to be tied to the church and the kingdom of God. And I believe this because just one chapter later in Hebrews we read this in regards to our New Covenant worship.

Hebrews 12:22–24 22 But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, to an innumerable company of angels, 23 to the general assembly and church of the firstborn who are registered in heaven, to God the Judge of all, to the spirits of just men made perfect, 24 to Jesus the Mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling that speaks better things than that of Abel.”

You see, when we come to worship God, we are coming to the city of the Living God, the heavenly or new Jerusalem. And notice, this is something we actively come to. It is explicitly stated to be the church. And this is not the only time we hear language like this. This picture of the New Jerusalem is one that we are familiar with from Revelation.

Revelation 21:2–3“2 Then I, John, saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. 3 And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, “Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people. God Himself will be with them and be their God.”

This is such an interesting passage, because the New Jerusalem is said to be like a bride. Now that language of a bride is one of the most common ways the Bible speaks of the covenant people of God. We see it used a few times in the Old Testament about Israel. But we see it used all the time in the New Testament about the church. The church is the bride of Christ. But maybe you aren’t convinced yet that this holy city is the church. Listen to this.

Revelation 21:9–10“9 Then one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls filled with the seven last plagues came to me and talked with me, saying, “Come, I will show you the bride, the Lamb’s wife.” 10 And he carried me away in the Spirit to a great and high mountain, and showed me the great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God,”

It is so explicit here. The church is the New Jerusalem. What is the dwelling place of God? God dwells in His people, the church. 2 Cor 6:16 says we are the tabernacle of God. Who is the bride of Christ? The church. God is the builder of the heavenly city. Who builds the church? Christ does. Matt 16:18. What does Peter say Christians are? Living stones being built up into a Spiritual house. 1 Peter 2:5.

What is the blessing of God through Abraham unto all the nations? The church and the growth of the Kingdom of God. Remember we are to go and disciple all the nations. And when the nations are discipled, all of them will be children of Abraham because of faith.

But what does this matter? Abraham never physically saw the church with his own eyes. But through faith he did. Jesus says this in John 8:56 “56 Your father Abraham rejoiced to see My day, and he saw it and was glad.””

You see, Abraham, through faith, saw Christ’s day. He saw the fulfillment. He looked in faith and saw that God would fulfil the promise He made to Abraham. I bring all this up to show you, from Scripture that God has fulfilled this promise. The church of our Lord Jesus Christ is proof that God has and is keeping this promise He made to Abraham. Abraham trusted God, and that trust was not in vain. That trust was well placed. God has with certainty kept that promise.

Conclusion:

So let’s apply this to our lives. Let’s summarize.

How Did Abraham Live by Faith?

Abraham lived by faith by believing the promise of God, leaving his home without knowing where he was going, waiting on God to fulfill the promise.

Visualization:

How Can We Live By Faith Like Abraham?

We can live by faith like Abraham by believing God’s promises enough to obey Him even when we may not see the fulfillment in our lifetime.

Reiteration:

You see, we must believe God. And we must believe God enough to obey Him. Our faith must push us to action. And that action is immediate. But often times, the blessings righteous actions bring, are not immediate. We must possess faith that pushes us to act righteously, and we must retain that faith even when we don’t see the fruit in our own lifetime.

Application:

So let’s take this one step at a time. First, we must possess faith that works.

Possess Faith that Works.

Think back to the passage I brought up from James. You may be here and say, “yes, I believe that there is one God. I believe Jesus is God. Sure I believe that he died and rose again.” In fact, you may be able to quote the apostles creed without blinking an eye. Let me quote James, “Good. The demons believe this and tremble.”

But let me ask you this, does that faith change how you act? Are there things you do specifically because of Christ? Are there things you no longer do specifically because of Christ? True faith causes us to act.

Let me demonstrate this. If I told my wife I loved her, but I abused her, do I love her? Obviously not. Because love is not merely an emotion. It is an action, a disposition, a promise of care. Love is active. It comes out in our actions. So it is with faith. Faith is not an emotion. It is not something we merely believe in our heads. Faith comes out our fingertips.

A farmer who claimed he had faith God was going to give him a good harvest but refused to plant his fields, would either be delusional, insane, or wicked. Maybe all three. He should plant his field, water it, tend it, and then have faith that God would bring the growth that God wants.

So we must treat every aspect of life this way. God promises to be the God of us and our children. In baptism, our children are sealed to Christ. But what would you say of a parent who says, “yes I believe that. My children are holy like the Bible says.” But then who never has his kids in Church, who never teaches them from Scripture, who allows them to be raised by, educated by, influenced by, fed by, and catechized by the world and is surprised when their kids become apostate? What would you say of that man? I would say he never had true faith his kids were holy like the Bible says because he never treated them as such. Faith comes out our finger tips. It is expressed in how we live.

So I ask you, how are you living? Do your actions prove out that you trust God? Do they prove out that you believe the Bible? Or do your actions tell a different story? You see Abraham believed God. And that faith was proved by what he did.

And it was a long lasting faith. It was a faith that looked into the future, beyond his lifetime. Because here is a seldom talked about reality.

We do Not Always See the Fulfillment of God’s Promises.

We live in age of instant gratification. We want the blessings now. We want to pay cash and get our goods with 3 day shipping. We want everything now. But that is not how God build the world. There are some things that come quickly, yes. But most of the really great things, take generations.

We have to get past this idea of immediate blessings.

Matthew Henry said “The faith of parents often procures blessings for their posterity.” And I struggle to find a better way of saying it than that. My grandfather was an imperfect man. But he was a Christian saved by faith. And by God’s blessing, he raised my father, who in turn is a man of great faith. My father raised me. I am flawed and imperfect, but I am saved by faith. And now, I am raising two sons, who I myself had the privilege of baptising into Christ.

My grandfather never met Caspian. He never met Arthur. He died years before their birth. But his faith, which shaped my father, which shaped me, is now shaping them and it will - according to the promises of God in Scripture - shape their sons faith which will shape their grandson’s faith and their great grandson’s faith.

We have to get past this idea of immediate blessings. You see:

Faith Means Looking Beyond Our Lifetime.

If we can learn anything from the faith of Abraham that ought to directly affect how we live every moment of our lives, it should be this. Faith means looking beyond our lifetime to see the promises of obedience to God affecting generations down the line. The Christian life is not about just us. Our lives are about more than working for 40 or 50 years just so we can retire and live out hedonistic fantasies. Imagine if we built things that would last for generations. Imagine if we started something that our great great grandchildren would finish. You want something to fight for, that’s something right there.

If I learned anything from all of Caspian’s health issues, it is this: I cannot focus on my life or even his life only. What do I mean? Katharine and I have had to make countless medical decisions for both our sons, but especially for Caspian. And it became clear very early on that we had to think about more than the next year of his life. There were medical decisions we had to make that would affect his life when he is 60, 70, 80. I remember sitting in the hospital when one of these choices was presented to us trying to weigh out which option would allow him to still be healthy for his grandkids. Not his kids, his grandkids. And it hit me like a truck.

Here I am, sitting weighing these things out, thinking about my sons grandkids, my great grandkids. I am thinking of physical health. And that is important, trust me, that is important. But why I am not sitting here thinking about how I can ensure the spiritual health of my great grandkids? Why am I not concerned about the spiritual health of my son’s son’s son?

We so often get caught up in the immediate. “How can get the kids to volleyball practice?” But why don’t we think in longer terms? “Is volleyball practice going to result in the spiritual formation my children and their children?” We must move past this idea of immediate blessings. Think in long terms like Abraham’s faith forced him to. We may not live to see the fruit, but we must always be moving ahead in faith.

And think of where we are right now. Did the founding families of Ramsey Reformed know that 138 years later we would still be here, still worshipping the Lord, still proclaiming the truth of the Word of God? Did they know that this church would survive a trial of two years without a pastor? What about surviving our founding denomination abandoning faithfulness to Christ and His Word? They might not have known, but they built with the intent of building something that lasted. They used stone and brick, not papiermache. They looked ahead and in faith believing the promise of God that He would bless faithfulness, and they built. And so we too must carry on the work they left us. We must continue to build in faith and in faithfulness, not with five years in mind, not even with fifty years in mind. We must build faithfulness that will last five hundred years.

Conclusion:

We must look beyond our lifetimes and believe that God will bless faithfulness. Beloved, remember Zechariah 4:10. Do not despise the day of small beginnings. We must look ahead and walk this life of faith in faithfulness to God trusting Him with the results. God has promised to bless faithfulness.

Appeal:

As we walk this walk of faith, as we build in faith, as we maintain in faith, we must recognize that we may not see the fullness in our lifetime. And that is okay. We are to be faithful, and trust the Lord with the result. Possess a faith that works, trust God even when you do not see immediate fruit, and learn to look long term in faith. And always trust the Lord with the result. Let’s pray.

Closing Prayer:

Offering:

Offertory Prayer:

Benediction:

James 1:2–4“2 My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, 3 knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. 4 But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.”