The Life of Abraham: Keeping the way of the Lord

Genesis 18 Keeping the way of the Lord Introduction: In Genesis chapter 18 we have a few things that grab at our attention. First we have here an appearance of Jehovah in human form. This is commonly called a Christophany which is an appearance of Jesus Christ before his incarnation. How do we know it’s Jesus and not the Father? John 1:18 “No one has ever seen God; the only God, who is at the Father’s side, he has made him known.” We also see again a manifestation of the generosity of Abraham as he prepares a meal and serves his guest. Thirdly there is the promise of the birth of Isaac within a a years time. Finally there is the issue of the judgment of Sodom and Gomorrah; which it turns out is the reason that God has visited Abraham. As many of us know God destroyed the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah. Genesis 19:24–25 says, “Then the Lord rained on Sodom and Gomorrah sulfur and fire from the Lord out of heaven. 25 And he overthrew those cities, and all the valley, and all the inhabitants of the cities, and what grew on the ground.” These words emphasize the divine nature of the punishment, the consequence of which is the total destruction of all the inhabitants of Sodom and Gomorrah and all the vegetation. The theme of universal destruction echoes the flood story. This judgment on Sodom and Gomorrah, the flood of chapters 6–9, and the later destruction of the Canaanites when the people of Israel entered the Promised Land (Deut. 20:16–18) all vividly demonstrate God's righteous wrath against sin, his mercy in rescuing the godly from destruction, and the certainty of the final judgment to come (cf. 2 Pet. 2:4–10). Now I believe that we covered these pretty thoroughly in our studies “The Doctrine of Sin” and “The Certainty of Judgment”. If you are looking for more information and understanding on the topic of God’s righteous judgment I would point you to those studies. (they can be found on the podcast.) For the sake of not repeating myself I want to draw your attention to something else within the text. Two weeks ago we looked at the Doctrine of Justification by Faith showing that grace (God’s unearned favor in regards to salvation) is the unique teaching of Christianity. God justifies the ungodly. We receive justification from God not by adhering to a set of rules but by simply believing in the work that Jesus accomplished on the cross. Last week we saw that the proof of our justification or the sign or seal that we are truly God’s forgiven people is the Holy Spirit at work in our lives. If we truly have been justified by God there will be evidence of it in our lives there will be fruit from this new relationship. But God has justified us and filled us with his Holy spirit for a purpose. Abraham has received justification before God (by faith), he has been given a seal of this covenant with God (circumcision). Now what is Abraham supposed to do? What is next for Abraham? Earlier in chapter 17 God spoke to Abraham that He was to be his God and his descendants God and they were to be his people - this was the covenant between God and Abraham. Here in chapter 18 God reveals his long term plans for Abraham and his descendants; and what exactly it means to be God’s people. He says, “Shall I hide from Abraham what I am about to do, 18 seeing that Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him? 19 For I have chosen him, that he may command his children and his household after him to keep the way of the Lord by doing righteousness and justice, so that the Lord may bring to Abraham what he has promised him.” 20 Then the Lord said, “Because the outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is great and their sin is very grave, 21 I will go down to see whether they have done altogether according to the outcry that has come to me. And if not, I will know.” - Genesis 18:17-21 1. Keeping the way of the Lord a. God’s intention for Abraham and his descendants was to be a unique people on earth. They were to be a people who were separate from all other people, a people that stood out. They would be a nation that demonstrated and proclaimed God’s righteousness and justice, they would be a light to the other nations to draw them to worship the true God. b. A people who kept the way of the Lord, by doing righteousness and justice. c. Exodus19:5-6 “Now therefore, if you will indeed obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my treasured possession among all peoples, for all the earth is mine; 6 and you shall be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. These are the words that you shall speak to the people of Israel.” d. The nation of Israel did not fail to continue to sacrifice to Jehovah but what they did do is they failed to demonstrate God’s righteousness and justice. i. Because of this God said things like this to them, “What to me is the multitude of your sacrifices? says the Lord; I have had enough of burnt offerings of rams and the fat of well-fed beasts; I do not delight in the blood of bulls, or of lambs, or of goats......Bring no more vain offerings; incense is an abomination to me. New moon and Sabbath and the calling of convocations— I cannot endure iniquity and solemn assembly. Your new moons and your appointed feasts my soul hates; they have become a burden to me; I am weary of bearing them. When you spread out your hands, I will hide my eyes from you; even though you make many prayers, I will not listen; your hands are full of blood. -Isaiah 1 i. Over and over again through the prophets God is indicting the nation for failing to uphold justice, righteousness and mercy. 1. Isaiah 1:16-17 “Wash yourselves; make yourselves clean; remove the evil of your deeds from before my eyes; cease to do evil, learn to do good; seek justice, correct oppression; bring justice to the fatherless, plead the widow’s cause. 2. Amos 5:15 “Hate evil, and love good, and establish justice in the gate; it may be that the Lord, the God of hosts, will be gracious to the remnant of Joseph.” 3. Amos 5:23-24 “Take away from me the noise of your songs; to the melody of your harps I will not listen. But let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.” 2. Doing righteousness and justice a. The nation of Israel thought that their covenant with God consisted in the sacrifices and offerings that they made, the songs that they sang, and law that they memorized. i. But God shows that none of this honored him because of the justice, righteousness and mercy that they neglected to do. 1. Though they honored God with lip service their hearts were far from him. ii. I wonder how many of us think that we are doing the work of God by simply coming to church, reading our Bibles, singing hymns or songs about God and to God, praying together, sharing in communion with one another. 1. Please don’t misunderstand me, all of this is a part of our worship to God, but it is only a part. a. Most of our worship to God is done outside of these walls! b. Remember worship according to Romans 12:1-2 is giving up or giving over the obedience of our bodies. i. So essentially everything we do is worship to someone or something. c. So I would ask these question, what is your home life like? Do other people, like your neighbors and co-workers know that you are a Christian by your character? Are you an individual who demonstrates righteousness and justice? Are you passionate for the truth? d. Or are you like the Jews were who had religiosity down, you have compartmentalized your life so well that nothing spills over from your family life into your work life into your spiritual life? e. The Church is to be a people who keep the way of the Lord by doing righteousness and justice in every area of life. We are to demonstrate God’s kingdom policies! Which are righteousness and Justice! i. Psalm 89:14 “Righteousness and justice are the foundation of your throne; steadfast love and faithfulness go before you.” ii. Peter takes those same words that were spoken in Exodus 19 about Israel and applies them to the Church. 1. He says, “But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.....Beloved, I urge you as sojourners and exiles to abstain from the passions of the flesh, which wage war against your soul. Keep your conduct among the Gentiles honorable, so that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day of visitation. iii. Don’t you want it to be said of Refuge Christian Fellowship, “those people care about real things, they’re passionate about righteousness and justice, not just about their Church services? iv. I know God desires that we would be known as a people who keep his ways by demonstrating righteousness and Justice. 3. Canaan as the beachhead for God’s kingdom. a. Remember it was from the land of Canaan that God was going to use Abraham’s descendants to bless the whole world. Canaan was to be the beachhead, and from there God’s kingdom would spread. It was God’s Normandy! b. This is ultimately fulfilled by the Church i. Acts 2:6-8 So when they had come together, they asked him, “Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?” It is not for you to know times or seasons that the Father has fixed by his own authority. 8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” ii. The Kingdom of Heaven, God’s kingdom is to be advanced by his Church through the power of the Holy Spirit. Conclusion: 1. How do we do this? a. If all the Commandments can be summed up in,“You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.” b. Then I would say that we can safely assume that this would be a good way to keep the way of the Lord by doing righteousness and justice. i. Whatever the situation that is put before you, whether it be an ethical issue, a person in need, a moment of temptation to sin, an opportunity to share Christ, whatever it might be, it can be covered under these two headings. 2. How can we motivate ourselves to do this? a. Keeping the way of the Lord, by doing righteousness and Justice, can only come through the Holy Spirit within you and a deep appreciation for what Christ did for you at the Cross. Get a good view of the cross and keep it in view. b. Sir Isaac Watts penned these words and they have often reminded me of my indebtedness to my Savior, and have always brought out a strong passion for his name and his kingdom policy! i. When I survey the wondrous cross On which the Prince of glory died, My richest gain I count but loss, And pour contempt on all my pride. ii. Forbid it, Lord, that I should boast, Save in the death of Christ my God! All the vain things that charm me most, I sacrifice them to His blood. iii. See from His head, His hands, His feet, Sorrow and love flow mingled down! Did e’er such love and sorrow meet, Or thorns compose so rich a crown? iv. His dying crimson, like a robe, Spreads o’er His body on the tree; Then I am dead to all the globe, And all the globe is dead to me. v. Were the whole realm of nature mine, That were a present far too small; Love so amazing, so divine, Demands my soul, my life, my all.