Through Faith – part 2

Genesis 15:7-21

March 30, 2014

 

As you know we are studying through the book of Genesis.

We have called it “The Gospel According to Moses”

 

And most recently we have been seeing that gospel

Form into shape centered around the life of Abram.

 

Abram was a pagan idol worshiper who loved the world.

And yet Abram was also a recipient of God’s amazing grace.

 

• God visited Abram

• God called Abram

• God promised Abram the land of Canaan

• God protected that blessing for Abram

• And God pruned away lesser blessings from him

 

We call that grace.

And we know that “By grace are you saved…”

 

And Abram was certainly a man of grace.

 

But grace is only the first part of the gospel, there is a second.

 

Ephesians 2:8 “For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God;”

 

We are saved “by grace…through faith”

 

And so having witnessed the grace in Abram’s life

It is now time to start seeing the faith.

 

God requires faith.

Hebrews 11:6 “And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him.”

 

As we said last week:

“Faith is the only currency God accepts”

 

And if you will recall it is faith that God has been producing in Abram.

• God taught Abram to trust His promises

• God taught Abram to trust His protection

• God taught Abram to trust His plan

 

God has been growing Abram’s faith.

 

And last week this call for faith began to come to a head.

 

We looked at the first 6 verses of Genesis 15.

Let me revisit those briefly.

#1 PERSEVERANCE REWARDED

Genesis 15:1-5

 

You will remember that God told Abram “Do not fear”

 

What cause did Abram have to fear?

Well, if you will remember in chapter 14 Abram just made the life changing decision to stop seeking the benefits of the world and to start seeking the blessing of God.

 

Formerly Abram was a man of the world

Who was used to obtaining all that he could.

 

But in chapter 14 he was met with a decision.

 

The King of Salem offered him a BLESSING.

The King of Sodom offered him a BRIBE.

 

And for the first time in his life Abram turned down the world

That he might know the things of God.

 

And for everyone in here who has ever done anything similar

YOU KNOW THAT THIS IS A SCARY REALITY.

 

But God told Abram not to fear,

For He would “shield” and “reward” him for his decision.

 

However, Abram did have one major obstacle in his mind

That he was having trouble justifying.

 

Abram could not have kids.

And if you’ll remember God had even removed Lot from the equation.

 

So now, it didn’t matter what God would give him

Abram would not be able to leave it to anyone.

 

(2) “Abram said, “O Lord God, what will you give me, since I am childless..?”

 

It wasn’t that Abram doubted that God COULD or even that God WOULD.

He just didn’t understand why God SHOULD.

 

Ecclesiastes 2:21 “When there is a man who has labored with wisdom, knowledge and skill, then he gives his legacy to one who has not labored with them. This too is vanity and a great evil.”

 

That is where Abram was.

“God, would you give me all of this just so I can leave it to my servant?”

 

But if you will remember we said that

Abram was listening to the promise of God while looking in the mirror.

 

And if you do that, you won’t believe them either.

 

God told him to stop looking in the mirror

And start looking out the window.

“Now look toward the heavens, and count the stars, if you are able to count them…so shall your descendants be.”

 

God told Abram that he would have a son

And through that son he would have numerous descendants.

 

It is obvious that God was rewarding Abram’s decision

To choose Him over the things of the world.

 

It was Perseverance Rewarded.

 

And then came the pinnacle verse.

#2 PARDON RECKONED

Genesis 15:6-7

 

And we only made it half way through this point last week.

 

But after God made the promise to Abram, Moses records:

“Then he believed in the Lord; and He reckoned it to him as righteousness.”

 

Abram didn’t just believe the Lord, he “believed in the Lord”

Abram chose to place his faith God.

 

WHAT’S THE DIFFERENCE?

Let’s say you come to me and say,

I’m thinking about quitting my job and starting my own business.

 

Then I say, “I believe you”

(I don’t think you’re lying, I think you’ll do it)

 

But suppose I say, “I believe IN you”

(that’s a whole different thing)

 

Abram “believed in the Lord”

 

Not only did he not think God was lying,

Abram fully believed God was able, and would accomplish it.

 

The faith Abram had here was not intellectual or academic

This was genuine trust in God from Abram’s part.

 

And as we noted, this is not strange, or peculiar, or backward.

Abram had no reason not to believe in the Lord.

• Had God ever steered him wrong?

• Had God ever reneged on a promise?

• Had God ever not done what He said?

• Had God ever deceived him?

 

NO.

The faith Abram gave to God was the most natural and logical thing

That could have happened.

 

It wasn’t weird or quirky or bizarre, it was extremely fitting.

Abram had no reason not to believe in the Lord.

 

And if the story had ended there,

It would have all the warmth and pageantry of a nice novel.

 

But it is the next statement that literally blows our minds

“and He reckoned it to him as righteousness.”

 

WHAT!?

 

Now we are on a whole new playing field.

If you think a son and descendants are valuable,

That all pales in comparison to what God gave him here.

 

God gave Abram “righteousness”

 

WHY IS THAT SO IMPORTANT?

Because you can’t see God or go to heaven without it.

 

To have eternal life you must be righteous.

• You must be “holy as I am holy”

• You must be “perfect as Your heavenly Father is perfect”

 

God does not tolerate sin.

 

Romans 1:18 “For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness,”

 

Salvation then, is above all else a quest for righteousness.

It is the most valuable commodity you could ever possess.

 

Proverbs 11:4 “Riches do not profit in the day of wrath, But righteousness delivers from death.”

 

AND GOD JUST GAVE IT TO ABRAM.

 

And we saw how.

GOD TRADED HIS RIGHTEOUSNESS FOR ABRAM’S FAITH.

• God doesn’t accept works…

• God doesn’t accept tradition…

• God doesn’t accept sincerity…

• God doesn’t accept morality…

• God doesn’t accept bribes or promises or intentions…

 

God only accepts faith.

And we learn from Abram that if you will give God faith

He will give you righteousness.

 

And this payment is all possible because of

The transaction that Christ made on Abram’s behalf.

 

2 Corinthians 5:21 “He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.”

 

Abram’s sin was imputed to Christ

His righteousness was imputed to Abram

 

And the same is true for those of us who have trusted in Christ.

 

SO ARE YOU BEGINNING TO SEE THE IMPORTANCE OF FAITH?

You can’t obtain righteousness without it.

 

So Abram believed God and Abram received righteousness.

Abram was just saved.

 

He went from being Abram the pagan,

To Abram, the child of the living God.

 

And after God justified Abram He then said this to him:

(7) “And He said to him, “I am the Lord who brought you out of Ur of the Chaldeans, to give you this land to possess it.”

 

This is God recounting what He has done in Abram’s life,

And it is nothing short of monumental.

 

It helps us remember who gets the credit for salvation.

Abram here believed, but we still don’t give credit to Abram for salvation.

THIS WHOLE THING IS WHAT GOD HAS BEEN DOING.

 

DO YOU KNOW WHY ABRAM BELIEVED?

• Because that is the way God wanted it.

• That is the way God ordained it.

 

God says, I “brought you out of Ur”

 

You didn’t come out – I brought you out

You didn’t leave of your own accord – I performed it for you

 

For those in here who are saved, the same can be said for you.

• You didn’t leave the world…

• You didn’t leave sin…

• It wasn’t your idea…

 

God did that in your life.

He is the reason you are no longer in your old life.

 

And get this:

I “brought YOU out”

 

• What about all the others who lived in Ur?

• What about all the others who still remain worshiping gods that cannot

save?

 

God did a special thing for Abram, and Abram could have nothing but gratitude for that tremendous act of favor toward him.

 

And God brought Abram out for a purpose.

“to give you this land to possess it.”

 

I brought you out to bring you in.

I removed you that I might bless you.

 

I mean to give you this land, and I mean for you to keep it.

It is yours and it is yours to possess.

 

WHAT A PLAN GOD HAD FOR ABRAM!

 

God determined to save and bless Abram.

God gets all the credit for that.

 

And is that not the plan He had for each of us?

Ephesians 2:4-9 “But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ ( by grace you have been saved), and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the ages to come He might show the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast.”

 

He called us out of a life of sin; out of the world.

That He might give us a better country;

A heavenly one, and that we might possess it.

 

What God is doing in Abram’s life and what God is doing in your life

IS IN YOUR BEST INTEREST.

 

Trusting God was the best thing Abram ever did

And it is the best thing you’ve ever done.

God delivered Him – God blessed Him – And God gave Him righteousness

 

Perseverance Rewarded Pardon Reckoned

#3 PROOF RENDERED

Genesis 15:8-16

 

And here is a part that we can all identify greatly with.

We fully understand Abram’s question here.

 

In addition to granting him the necessary righteousness for salvation

God had also promised Abram a country a son and a nation.

 

But notice Abram’s question.

“He said, “O Lord God, how may I know that I will possess it?”

 

Some might be tempted to critique Abram here

For what now looks like a lack of belief.

 

First he believes God and now he wants a sign?

That isn’t it at all.

 

Abram isn’t in search of a sign, Abram is in search of security.

 

And might I remind you that:

The search for security is neither unnatural nor unnecessary.

 

We need security.

And the beauty is that God wants you to have it.

 

Notice what God does here for Abram.

(9-10) “So He said to him, “Bring Me a three year old heifer, and a three year old female goat, and a three year old ram, and a turtledove, and a young pigeon.” Then he brought all these to Him and cut them in two, and laid each half opposite the other; but he did not cut the birds.”

 

Now these scene may seem a little strange to you, but it obviously wasn’t to Abram. (And I promise it wasn’t to the children of Israel)

 

He understood what was occurring here.

God was about to make a covenant, a guarantee, a promise.

Abram understood that God was about to take an oath.

 

And the sacrifice of these animals

Is a picture of the blood that will ratify the promise.

 

Hebrews 9:16-18 “For where a covenant is, there must of necessity be the death of the one who made it. For a covenant is valid only when men are dead, for it is never in force while the one who made it lives. Therefore even the first covenant was not inaugurated without blood.”

 

The “first covenant” spoken of there was not this one,

It was the covenant of the Law given through Moses.

 

But the picture is the same.

When you read the word “covenant”

You can better understand it if you call it a “will”.

 

When someone makes an offer of inheritance

You don’t collect that inheritance until the one offering it dies.

Death is required to put it into effect.

 

And here we have the symbolic death

Which will put into effect the covenant God is making with Abram.

 

And so Abram readies the scene.

 

(11) “The birds of prey came down upon the carcasses, and Abram drove them away.”

 

This indicates that it did not happen instantly.

There was some time that lapsed.

 

God is making a covenant, but He is not jumping through hoops.

 

Just as a side note, God is more than happy to answer your prayers and to give assurance and security, but He does not always do it at your beck and call, nor as quickly as you might always like.

 

Abram was getting some assurance,

But he was having to be diligent about it.

 

(12-16) “Now when the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell upon Abram; and behold, terror and great darkness fell upon him. God said to Abram, “Know for certain that your descendants will be strangers in a land that is not theirs, where they will be enslaved and oppressed four hundred years. “But I will also judge the nation whom they will serve, and afterward they will come out with many possessions. “As for you, you shall go to your fathers in peace; you will be buried at a good old age. “Then in the fourth generation they will return here, for the iniquity of the Amorite is not yet complete.”

 

And there is the statement Abram was waiting for.

“Know for certain…”

 

There is no reason to doubt Abram for God has said it.

 

But pay special attention to what else God said.

For God mentions some things

That must have come as a bit of a surprise to Abram.

• Your descendants will be slaves and oppressed 400 years

• You will die before all that happens

 

WHY MENTION THAT?

 

Because God wants Abram to know that the presence of hardship

Does not equal the forfeiture of the promise.

 

Neither difficulty (slavery)

Nor delay (400 years)

Are indicators that God has forgotten or that He has changed His mind.

 

Sometimes that is the way we feel about it.

 

We hear the promises of God, we read the promises of God,

And yet let a little hardship come or let the promises delay

And we instantly go to asking if God changed His mind.

 

Casting Crowns has a song:

“Lord I was sure by now, that You would have reached down, and wiped our tears away, stepped in and saved the day. But once again, I say amen, and it’s still raining”

 

Maybe you’ve been there.

You certainly aren’t alone.

 

Remember John the Baptist?

Matthew 11:2-6 “Now when John, while imprisoned, heard of the works of Christ, he sent word by his disciples and said to Him, “Are You the Expected One, or shall we look for someone else?” Jesus answered and said to them, “Go and report to John what you hear and see: the BLIND RECEIVE SIGHT and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the POOR HAVE THE GOSPEL PREACHED TO THEM. “And blessed is he who does not take offense at Me.”

 

John is in prison and was not seeing the fulfillment of what he expected.

 

Hence the, “Are You the Expected One..?”

 

John had an expectation of Jesus being the Messiah.

Why wouldn’t he? God promised that the One he saw the dove lighting on was in fact the savior of the world.

 

But John was suffering, and it was continuing

And he wondered if somehow the promise was wrong.

 

We are all prone to such thinking.

 

That is why Jesus told His disciples the night before He was crucified:

John 16:1-4 “These things I have spoken to you so that you may be kept from stumbling. “They will make you outcasts from the synagogue, but an hour is coming for everyone who kills you to think that he is offering service to God. “These things they will do because they have not known the Father or Me. “But these things I have spoken to you, so that when their hour comes, you may remember that I told you of them. These things I did not say to you at the beginning, because I was with you.”

 

Jesus told the disciples of their coming hardship ahead of time.

 

WHY?

Why would Jesus tell John not to stumble?

Why would Jesus mention the coming hardship?

Why would God tell Abram about this coming difficulty?

 

BECAUSE GOD DOESN’T WANT ABRAM’S FAITH TO STOP

FAITH MATTERS TO GOD

 

(13) “God said to Abram, “Know for certain that your descendants will be strangers in a land that is not theirs, where they will be enslaved and oppressed four hundred years.”

 

There will be DIFFICULTY, but it will end in deliverance

(14) “But I will also judge the nation whom they will serve, and afterward they will come out with many possessions.”

 

There will be a DELAY, but it will end in prosperity

(15-16) “As for you, you shall go to your fathers in peace; you will be buried at a good old age. “Then in the fourth generation they will return here, for the iniquity of the Amorite is not yet complete.”

 

That also explains to all of Moses’ congregation

Why the slavery in Egypt had to last so long.

 

You know through all those days of brick making and pyramid building, when they were crying out to God, “How Long?”

 

I bet they never figured it was because God

Was not yet willing to judge the Amorites.

 

Understand that when your hardship lasts longer than expected, God has a reason, it may not be a thing in the world you would have ever guessed.

 

BUT GOD IS GIVING ABRAM SECURITY

BECAUSE HE WANTS ABRAM’S FAITH TO ENDURE.

 

And God wants you to know for certain as well!

1 John 5:11-13 “And the testimony is this, that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He who has the Son has the life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have the life. These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know that you have eternal life.”

 

In fact, that is much of the reason to why God gave you the Holy Spirit.

 

Ephesians 1:13-14 “In Him, you also, after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation — having also believed, you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise, who is given as a pledge of our inheritance, with a view to the redemption of God’s own possession, to the praise of His glory.”

 

God gives you security

God promises you are His

Because even in difficult times, God wants your faith to endure.

 

So when enduring slavery, trust God

When enduring hardship, trust God

Don’t quit giving Him faith – it is valuable!

 

Perseverance was Rewarded Pardon was Reckoned Proof was Rendered

#4 PROMISE RATIFIED

Genesis 15:17-21

 

Here God gives the guarantee that Abram was wanting.

(17) “It came about when the sun had set, that it was very dark, and behold, there appeared a smoking oven and a flaming torch which passed between these pieces.”

 

Many have wondered why the symbols of an oven and a torch?

 

The “smoking oven” pictures the dark slavery.

 

Deuteronomy 4:20 “But the LORD has taken you and brought you out of the iron furnace, from Egypt, to be a people for His own possession, as today.”

 

Isaiah 48:10 “Behold, I have refined you, but not as silver; I have tested you in the furnace of affliction.”

 

The “flaming torch” pictures the light of God’s deliverance in the midst of the darkness.

 

Zechariah 12:6 “In that day I will make the clans of Judah like a firepot among pieces of wood and a flaming torch among sheaves, so they will consume on the right hand and on the left all the surrounding peoples, while the inhabitants of Jerusalem again dwell on their own sites in Jerusalem.”

 

By those pieces passing through the middle of the sacrifice

God was reinforcing that the hardship of Egypt

Does not indicate a void of the promise.

 

And God passed through the pieces

In order to ratify or “sign” that covenant.

 

(18-21) “On that day the LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying, “To your descendants I have given this land, From the river of Egypt as far as the great river, the river Euphrates: the Kenite and the Kenizzite and the Kadmonite and the Hittite and the Perizzite and the Rephaim and the Amorite and the Canaanite and the Girgashite and the Jebusite.”

 

Not will give, but “have given”

 

• God made the promise…

• God drew up the paperwork…

• God signed the agreement…

• IT IS DONE – AND GOD IS LIABLE

 

AGAIN WHY?

Because God wants Abram’s faith to continue.

 

AND OF COURSE ABRAM’S FAITH DID

 

Hebrews 11:13-16 “All these died in faith, without receiving the promises, but having seen them and having welcomed them from a distance, and having confessed that they were strangers and exiles on the earth. For those who say such things make it clear that they are seeking a country of their own. And indeed if they had been thinking of that country from which they went out, they would have had opportunity to return. But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God; for He has prepared a city for them.”

 

DON’T UNDERVALUE THE IMPORTANCE OF FAITH.

• WHY DID GOD SAVE ABRAM? – By Grace

• HOW DID GOD SAVE ABRAM? – Through Faith

 

Faith is the response that God wants to His grace.

He simply wants you to believe in Him and to keep believing in Him

 

And it is so important that you cannot be saved without it.

Without faith it is impossible to please Him.

 

THE QUESTION THIS MORNING IS – DO YOU?

 

• Have you recognized God’s grace in your life?

• Have you heard God’s promise for your future?

• Are you willing to believe in Him to secure it?

 

Don’t let difficulty upset your faith,

God knew about that before He made the promise.

Just continue believing in Him.

 

Abram did and God was not ashamed to be called his God.

 

God gives grace – and He wants faith in return.

 

Ephesians 2:8-9 “For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast.”

 

The Reality of Legalism

Galatians 2:11-14

March 23, 2014

 

Last week, we saw Paul give a recount of a prior event in his life.

 

His point was to give vindication to God’s gospel,

As the one and only true gospel,

And the one that God has chosen to protect.

 

• Paul spoke of how he went to Jerusalem in order to have a meeting with the

big-wigs of the church to determine their official doctrine on circumcision.

 

• Of course while they were there, Paul says that God showed up and

determined what our official position would be.

 

• The only choice that anyone could come to was that I was a true apostle of

God, that salvation was by grace alone through faith alone, and that faith

was the only thing that Gentiles needed to offer God in order to be saved.

 

Any notion of additional works…

Any notion of legalism…

Had to be thrown out the window.

 

God’s gospel is that man is saved by grace through faith.

 

Tonight Paul continues giving illustrations from the past

In order to drive home his point.

 

Now Paul relates a time when Peter came to Antioch,

And Paul reveals an altercation the two had at that time.

 

One could see many reasons why Paul mentions this confrontation

• To defend his own apostolic authority.

• To reveal to the Galatians that his rebuke is not personal.

• But mostly to show the Galatians the destructive effects of both practicing legalism, and letting it endure.

 

Perhaps it is possible that the Galatians failed to see

Just how dangerous their flirtation with legalism had become.

 

After all, it is just circumcision. It’s not like it was some carnal practice.

Why was Paul getting so bent out of shape?

 

Well as you and I know, it was not circumcision that got Paul so irate.

Acts 16:1-3 “Paul came also to Derbe and to Lystra. And a disciple was there, named Timothy, the son of a Jewish woman who was a believer, but his father was a Greek, and he was well spoken of by the brethren who were in Lystra and Iconium. Paul wanted this man to go with him; and he took him and circumcised him because of the Jews who were in those parts, for they all knew that his father was a Greek.”

It was in the very regions of Galatia that Paul circumcised Timothy.

So we know circumcision wasn’t the issue.

 

In fact, Paul even wrote to the Corinthians:

1 Corinthians 7:19 “Circumcision is nothing, and uncircumcision is nothing, but what matters is the keeping of the commandments of God.”

 

Paul’s disgust was not over the actual practice of circumcision

But the legalism which was enforcing it.

 

And tonight, Paul will reveal to the Galatians

That regardless of the actual event it inspires,

Legalism is a dangerous cancer that has no place in the Church.

• It doesn’t matter if the issue is circumcision…

• It doesn’t matter if the issue is Saturday worship…

• It doesn’t matter if the issue is baptism…

• It doesn’t matter if the issue is what direction you pray in…

• It doesn’t matter if the issue is where you eat your meals…

 

If legalism is the motive behind it, it must be dealt with.

 

And to reveal that point,

Paul recalls a confrontation with Peter in which legalism had reared it’s ugly head.

Only in this event the issue wasn’t in regard to circumcision, but in regard to where you eat your meals.

 

There are two main points tonight.

#1 THE EVENT

Galatians 2:11-12

 

You will notice right off the bat that Paul recalls an event

In which he and Peter were at odds.

 

“But when Cephas came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face, because he stood condemned.”

 

Now we are all aware of Peter.

One moment the hero, the next moment the goat.

One moment confessing Christ, the next moment rebuking Him.

 

In the passage we studied last week, we just saw Peter standing before the counsel and giving brilliant testimony as to how God used him to bring salvation to the Gentiles.

 

Of course the hero of the day was God, but Peter was certainly on the right team.

 

Well, according to Paul, after that event, Peter then traveled to Antioch.

This was in the region of Galatia.

 

Most likely Peter, having won a major victory with the decision of the counsel, was now (in typical Peter fashion) acting out on their decision.

 

Since Gentiles were now part of the family, Peter was going all the way.

But when he got there, it eventually led to an altercation.

 

Paul says, “I opposed him to his face, because he stood condemned.”

 

Some translate it that Peter was “self-condemned”.

The idea is that deep down, whatever Peter did,

He knew that it was wrong when he did it.

 

Paul was God’s agent of conviction to openly confront Peter’s condemning action and pull him back onto the straight and narrow.

 

WHAT WAS IT THAT PETER DID?

(12) “For prior to the coming of certain men from James, he used to eat with the Gentiles; but when they came, he began to withdraw and hold himself aloof, fearing the party of the circumcision.”

 

And so now we have a clearer picture.

 

When Peter came to Antioch, he came with proper motives.

• These were brothers,

• These were free,

• These were made clean by Christ,

• So Peter could openly and freely fellowship with them.

 

In fact, “he used to eat with the Gentiles;”

 

No doubt this spoke of casual fellowship,

But also of the partaking of the Lord’s supper with them.

 

Formerly such action was strictly forbidden, as Gentiles were seen as unclean, But now, because of the blood of Christ,

There was absolutely nothing wrong with Peter’s actions.

 

In fact, God had personally taught this lesson to Peter.

READ ACTS 11:1-18

 

And all Peter was doing was walking in his new found freedom.

 

BUT THEN SOMETHING HAPPENED

“the coming of certain men from James”

 

It is probably better understood that these men

Merely said James had sent them, but that he actually did not.

 

In fact, we read last week, that even James was aware

That there were some people who pretended to act on his authority

That he in no way approved of.

 

Acts 15:24 “Since we have heard that some of our number to whom we gave no instruction have disturbed you with their words, unsettling your souls,”

 

No doubt it was men like this who came to Peter.

• They were legalists.

• They were Judaizers.

• They were outward Jewish zealots, and they wore their religion on their garments.

 

They were the Christian version of the Pharisee

(Not true Christians, just as the Pharisees were not true Jews).

 

But they walked around in their outward legalism,

Putting their piety on display, and no doubt

Looked down on anyone who was less holy than they.

 

And their condescending attitude eventually got to Peter.

 

“but when they came, he began to withdraw and hold himself aloof,”

 

The Greek text indicates here that Peter’s action

WAS NOT A SUDDEN BREAK, but a gradual one.

 

Peter knew what he was doing was wrong,

And therefore did not immediately do it,

But did it stealthily so as not to attract attention to himself.

 

• He gradually began to pull away from the Gentiles.

• Declining their invitations…

• Eventually skipping their love feasts…

• Until he began to “hold himself aloof,”

 

Just like a scene from a school play ground in which someone seeking popularity is seen talking to the wrong type of kid, Peter pulls away and joins the crowd.

 

Paul even tells us why he did it.

“fearing the party of the circumcision.”

 

Paul says Peter did it because he feared them.

 

It is important to note that the Judaizers claimed to be Christian,

And so they would have had NO PHYSICAL THREAT over Peter.

 

That could not possibly have been what Peter feared.

Rather, Peter feared the loss of status, or being verbally maligned by them.

 

And because Peter feared their verbal jabs,

He pulled away and fell into their same ways of legalism.

 

NOW LET’S ANALYZE THE SITUATION

 

Is it that big of a deal?

 

I mean, it’s just eating meals.

 

And certainly there are no commands that say who you have to eat with.

Why worry about such a little, insignificant event?

 

#2 THE EFFECTS

Galatians 2:13-14

 

As we read those two verses,

Hopefully you saw the disastrous effects of Peter’s choice.

 

Let’s look at three things that arose

From Peter’s little insignificant display of legalism.

 

1) THE BODY WAS DIVIDED (13)

 

Peter made a small, sly, and secretive choice not to eat with Gentiles,

But to separate from them.

 

Surely no one would notice, and it wouldn’t be that big of a deal.

 

“The rest of the Jews joined him in hypocrisy”

 

Now certainly we understand that Peter was a man of much authority and clout, and we do learn again that teaching of the Lord, “To whom much is given, much is required.”

 

The esteemed of the world must be even more careful how they walk.

That is even why Paul told Timothy:

 

1 Timothy 5:19-20 “Do not receive an accusation against an elder except on the basis of two or three witnesses. Those who continue in sin, rebuke in the presence of all, so that the rest also will be fearful of sinning.”

 

Certainly Peter’s status in the church did not help the situation.

 

Regardless of how hard he tried, his decision became obvious and

“the rest of the Jews joined him in hypocrisy.”

 

It was just one little choice,

And now the Church has been split right down the middle.

 

HOW BAD IS THE SPLIT?

“with the result that even Barnabas was carried away by their hypocrisy.”

 

WHY DID PAUL MENTION THAT?

• It was not to get Barnabas in trouble, but to reveal the scope of the division. Barnabas was “The son of encouragement.”

• Barnabas accepted everyone (Remember John Mark)

• Barnabas was as easy to get along with as anyone in the world.

 

So when he falls into the division, it is a serious division.

 

One little choice by Peter to follow legalism,

And the entire church at Antioch was split right down the middle.

 

This is one of the reasons that legalism is so dangerous.

IT IS THE NATURAL INCLINATION OF THE HUMAN FLESH.

 

• Your flesh desperately wants to fall into legalism.

• Your flesh desperately wants a reason to glorify itself.

• And if you open the door, it can carry you away in an instant.

 

All Peter did was secretly go along,

And the entire church was split asunder.

 

GOD DOES NOT WANT HIS CHURCH SPLIT

 

Romans 15:7 “Therefore, accept one another, just as Christ also accepted us to the glory of God.”

 

1 Corinthians 1:10 “Now I exhort you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all agree and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be made complete in the same mind and in the same judgment.”

 

God hates division in the body,

And that is precisely what legalism accomplishes.

It cannot be tolerated.

 

But that is not the only effect of legalism.

 

The Body was Divided

2) THE GOSPEL WAS DISTORTED (14a)

“But when I saw that they were not straightforward about the truth of the gospel”

 

This is the real issue at hand.

 

Peter never verbally preached a sermon,

And there is not one recorded by any of the other Jews either.

 

But, by pulling away from the Gentiles,

It is obvious that the message they believe

Is that regardless of the work of Jesus on the cross,

There is still an obvious advantage to being Jewish.

 

Their action attacked the sufficiency of the work of Jesus.

 

Their action said that the blood of Jesus on the cross

Could not make a Gentile equal with a Jew.

 

And of course this is an absolute heresy!

 

John 12:32 “And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to Myself.”

 

That statement by Jesus was one of

The greatest statements of sufficiency He ever made.

 

His death may be limited in application,

But it is absolutely unlimited in sufficiency!

 

It magnifies other truths He gave:

John 3:16 “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.”

 

John 4:21-24 “Jesus said to her, “Woman, believe Me, an hour is coming when neither in this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father. “You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews. “But an hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for such people the Father seeks to be His worshipers. “God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.”

 

Paul wrote on this very topic to the Ephesians.

Ephesians 2:13-22 “But now in Christ Jesus you who formerly were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For He Himself is our peace, who made both groups into one and broke down the barrier of the dividing wall, by abolishing in His flesh the enmity, which is the Law of commandments contained in ordinances, so that in Himself He might make the two into one new man, thus establishing peace, and might reconcile them both in one body to God through the cross, by it having put to death the enmity. AND HE CAME AND PREACHED PEACE TO YOU WHO WERE FAR AWAY, AND PEACE TO THOSE WHO WERE NEAR; for through Him we both have our access in one Spirit to the Father. So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints, and are of God’s household, having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus Himself being the corner stone, in whom the whole building, being fitted together, is growing into a holy temple in the Lord, in whom you also are being built together into a dwelling of God in the Spirit.”

 

The point to all those passages is that the blood of Jesus

Is 100% sufficient by itself to save the vilest sinner

And transform him into a child of God.

 

And amongst children of God there is NO DISTINCTION

Paul will say later:

Galatians 3:28 “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free man, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus.”

 

The point is that

When we act like there is benefit in any work of the flesh,

Rather it be circumcision, baptism, or who you eat with,

We are taking away from the sufficiency of the death of Christ.

 

That was actually the message that Peter was now preaching.

 

By holding himself aloof,

• He preached to everyone that it was still beneficial to be Jewish,

• And therefore all the Jews separated as well,

• And any lost Gentile would be drastically confused as to how to be saved.

 

One little, silent act of legalism and:

The Body was Divided

The Gospel was Distorted

 

3) THE REBUKE WAS DESERVED (14b)

“I said to Cephas in the presence of all, “If you, being a Jew, live like the Gentiles and not like the Jews, how is it that you compel the Gentiles to live like Jews?”

 

Now of course that is not all of the rebuke.

We will finish this discourse next week.

 

But here Paul has Peter over a barrel.

 

Peter, are you saved by being Jewish?

If Peter answers no: Then why are you magnifying Judaism?

If Peter answers yes: Then why do you live like a Gentile?

 

Paul had already nailed Peter’s action in verse 13 as “hypocrisy”

 

Peter’s actions did not match his heart,

And HYPOCRISY ALWAYS WARRANTS A REBUKE from the Father.

 

You cannot claim that the blood of Jesus

Is sufficient to cleans us from all sin

And then require a person to do something else

In order to be saved.

NOW, WHY DID PAUL MENTION THIS ALTERCATION TO THE GALATIANS?

 

Because they needed to understand

The magnitude of the decision that is before them.

 

IN OUR DAY OF BLIND TOLERANCE,

LEGALISM CANNOT BE TOLERATED.

 

Legalism is no laughing matter.

It is lethally destructive,

And the Galatian church must not fall into it’s trap.

 

THE SAME IS FOR US

• We must watch out for this doctrine of Satan which always places too much emphasis on the work of man.

 

• And we must be careful to avoid it, for the consequences of yielding to it are nothing short of disastrous.

 

Legalism divides the body, distorts the gospel, and deserves a rebuke.

 

And that means that any expression of it

In our lives, our church, or our message must be rooted out.

Vindicating the Gospel

Galatians 2:1-10

March 16, 2014

 

You are familiar with the opening theme of this book.

Paul has started on a rampage.

 

He pushed his foot onto the accelerator and has not let off,

Nor does he intend to.

 

He began by literally shaming the Galatians.

(6-7) “I am amazed that you are so quickly deserting Him who called you by the grace of Christ, for a different gospel; which is really not another; only there are some who are disturbing you and want to distort the gospel of Christ.”

 

The Judaizers had come in and were distorting the gospel of God.

The problem was that the Galatian churches

Were buying their heresy “hook, line, and sinker.”

 

After pronouncing judgment on those who would pervert the gospel,

Paul immediately went into defense of himself and the true gospel of God.

 

Last week we learned how to spot a false teacher.

Their Motive (10)

Why do they preach? Is it to gain popularity, or is it out of obedience to Christ?

 

Their Message (11-12)

Do they preach a message that they received from God, or do they steal messages from other people?

 

Their Mission (13-24)

Is their mission to be faithful and obedient, or is it to make sure that everyone knows and loves them?

 

Paul was called by God to preach the message that God revealed to him, and that is precisely what he did.

 

And so last week we saw Paul give a little vindication to his ministry.

 

Tonight he continues on theme,

Except here he focuses more on giving vindication to the gospel.

 

Tonight, Paul is going to reveal why he knows that

The gospel he preaches is the gospel of God.

 

And what is Paul’s gospel?

We do not have time to go into great detail about it here tonight, but it does benefit us to hit the high points.

 

Depravity of Man (Romans 1-3)

Probably the easiest verse to see is:

Romans 3:23 “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,”

 

Paul was adamant that man is sinful. He has fallen short of God’s glory

And is need of forgiveness and salvation.

 

The Substitutionary Death of Christ (Romans 3)

 

Romans 3:23-26 “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus; whom God displayed publicly as a propitiation in His blood through faith. This was to demonstrate His righteousness, because in the forbearance of God He passed over the sins previously committed; for the demonstration, I say, of His righteousness at the present time, so that He would be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.”

 

The point being that sinful man didn’t pull himself up.

Rather it was holy Christ who gave Himself up.

Christ paid the debt of sinners on the cross.

 

Justification by Faith (Romans 4)

 

Romans 4:3 “For what does the Scripture say? “ABRAHAM BELIEVED GOD, AND IT WAS CREDITED TO HIM AS RIGHTEOUSNESS.”

 

Giving Abraham as the chief example,

Paul reminds us that no one is saved by his own religious efforts,

But by placing his faith in the sacrificial atonement of Christ.

 

And finally:

The Security of Salvation (Romans 5-8)

 

Paul actually spends his longest section defending that

Christ’s atoning work is complete, total, and enduring.

 

Romans 8:38-39 “For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

 

That is really Paul’s gospel

• Man is sinful in need of a Savior

• Christ is that Savior who died in their place

• Man is saved when he places his faith in the Savior

• And that salvation is total, complete, and permanent

 

And the argument of this book centers on that third point,

Which is justification by grace through faith.

 

Paul did not believe a man could be saved by works of the Law.

Paul only believed a man could be condemned by the Law.

 

Romans 3:19-20 “Now we know that whatever the Law says, it speaks to those who are under the Law, so that every mouth may be closed and all the world may become accountable to God; because by the works of the Law no flesh will be justified in His sight; for through the Law comes the knowledge of sin.”

 

Paul believed that man could only be saved

By trusting in the saving work of Jesus Christ.

 

Romans 3:21-24 “But now apart from the Law the righteousness of God has been manifested, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets, even the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all those who believe; for there is no distinction; for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus;”

 

In short, Paul believed that to be saved,

You can not just trust in Jesus a lot,

You have to trust in Jesus alone.

 

You must reject all attempts at moral goodness as a means of salvation,

And rely solely upon the spilled blood of the Savior

As your means of righteousness before God.

 

Paul believed it so much that he was NOT requiring Gentiles to be circumcised, and that is what caused the heat of the debate.

 

According to the Jewish zealots, “Who was Paul to say we don’t have to do what God commanded Abraham to do?”

 

Certainly to stop requiring circumcision

Would be the blasphemy of all blasphemies against God.

 

But if you will remember,

Paul answered this question quite thoroughly in the book of Romans.

 

Romans 4:9-12 “Is this blessing then on the circumcised, or on the uncircumcised also? For we say, “FAITH WAS CREDITED TO ABRAHAM AS RIGHTEOUSNESS.” How then was it credited? While he was circumcised, or uncircumcised? Not while circumcised, but while uncircumcised; and he received the sign of circumcision, a seal of the righteousness of the faith which he had while uncircumcised, so that he might be the father of all who believe without being circumcised, that righteousness might be credited to them, and the father of circumcision to those who not only are of the circumcision, but who also follow in the steps of the faith of our father Abraham which he had while uncircumcised.”

 

Paul was clear there that salvation preceded circumcision.

Abraham was saved by faith – works never saved anyone.

 

There is no doubt Paul understands the gospel of God,

And this is what he preaches.

 

Yet it is this gospel that has come under attack.

The Judaizers have sought to throw the yoke of bondage around the neck of the Gentiles, and Paul is livid.

 

So tonight we study Paul’s defense of the gospel he preaches.

 

His desire is to prove that the gospel he preaches

Is not only the gospel that is endorsed by the leaders,

But that the gospel he preaches is the very gospel of God.

 

Tonight, as Paul recounts a past incident regarding this matter,

There are four points we will see.

 

#1 VISIT DEMANDED

Galatians 2:1-2

 

If you remember your timeline, after Paul was saved,

He was not interested in making a name for himself,

So it was actually three years before he ever went to Jerusalem.

 

Then when he did, he only stayed 15 days, and really only met Peter.

 

He then left and began preaching the gospel to the Gentiles,

For that is what God called him to do.

 

However, “after an interval of fourteen years I went up again to Jerusalem with Barnabas, taking Titus along also. It was because of a revelation that I went up;”

 

My Bible has an alternate translation to verse 2

Which says, “according to revelation I went up”

 

Which means,

• You could look at it as though God gave Paul a supernatural revelation to go to Jerusalem and straighten this mess up.

 

• Or you could look at it as though Paul was fed up with the debate, and decided to go to Jerusalem to seek clarity and to settle the situation once and for all.

 

Acts 15:1-2 “Some men came down from Judea and began teaching the brethren, “Unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved.” And when Paul and Barnabas had great dissension and debate with them, the brethren determined that Paul and Barnabas and some others of them should go up to Jerusalem to the apostles and elders concerning this issue.”

 

• It may have also been that the brethren wanted Paul to go, but he did not want to until God convince him otherwise.

 

Either way Paul headed off for the great meeting of the minds to get a final verdict from the leaders of the Church in Jerusalem.

 

After Paul got there,

(2) “I submitted to them the gospel which I preach among the Gentiles, but I did so in private to those who were of reputation, for fear that I might be running, or had run, in vain.”

 

Acts 15:3-4 “Therefore, being sent on their way by the church, they were passing through both Phoenicia and Samaria, describing in detail the conversion of the Gentiles, and were bringing great joy to all the brethren. When they arrived at Jerusalem, they were received by the church and the apostles and the elders, and they reported all that God had done with them.”

 

While it is not reported in Acts, it is apparent that before the open council was convened, Paul first met with the big wigs in private to submit “to them the gospel which [he] preach[ed] among the Gentiles.”

 

Paul said why he did this.

“for fear that I might be running, or had run, in vain.”

 

Paul was afraid that if he didn’t have time

To make sure his gospel was clearly presented,

That the Church at Jerusalem might compromise

And thus undo his entire ministry.

 

You see the setting.

The tension and debate over whether or not

A person could be saved apart from works was at a boiling point.

 

The battle was so hot, that Paul and the pillars of the Church

Are called to hammer this out.

 

WE SHOULD BE THANKFUL FOR SUCH A MEETING.

 

This meeting was vitally important to our understanding of the gospel.

Now let’s see what the pillars or the Church decided.

 

Could a man be justified by faith alone,

Or was there some extra form of obedience required first?

 

A Visit Demanded

#2 VERDICT DELIVERED

Galatians 2:3

 

It is certain that Paul preached with passion to the pillars of the Church,

I would even expect there were some tremendous times of discussion.

 

However, when the discussion ended, and the word of God was revealed, the verdict was clear.

 

“But not even Titus, who was with me, though he was a Greek, was compelled to be circumcised.”

 

It is obvious that the verdict was unanimous that

Salvation is obtained by faith and faith alone.

 

There is no additional work that need be done.

And the hymn writers got busy!

 

“Jesus paid it all, all to Him I owe, sin had left a crimson stain, He washed it white as snow.”

 

“What can wash away my sin? Nothing but the blood of Jesus. What can make me whole again? Nothing but the blood of Jesus. Oh precious is the flow, that makes me white as snow. No other fount I know, nothing but the blood of Jesus.”

 

And although the verdict is not explicitly stated,

The decision of one man leaves the verdict blatantly obvious.

 

Titus, even though a Greek, and obviously a man who desired to pleasing to God left that meeting with a conviction.

 

He determined that he would not be circumcised.

In other words, Titus left that meeting determined

To place his entire eternity solely upon the sacrificial work of Jesus.

 

Titus was not a Jew, Titus was a Greek.

He had no Abrahamic covenant…

He had no Mosaic covenant…

 

He was willing to bet his entire eternity upon the work of Jesus.

If Jesus blood was not enough, then Titus is going to hell.

 

The decision was made.

And you can read Acts to see that the verdict was then made public.

 

READ Acts 15:5-21

 

And there you learn that the gospel endorsed by the Church

Is that man is saved by grace alone through faith alone.

 

NO OTHER ADDITIONAL WORKS ARE NEEDED

TO SECURE A PERSON’S SALVATION.

 

That was the decision rendered by those who walked with Jesus.

That is the official gospel of the Church of God.

The Visit was Demanded, the Verdict was Delivered.

 

But the pillars of the Church went even further than that, as does Paul here.

#3 VILLAIN DESCRIBED

Galatians 2:4-5

 

Paul could have just relayed the gospel that they all agreed upon

And then went on, but he knew that there was more that must be done.

 

There were some usurpers, there were some deceivers,

There were some false brethren that needed to be exposed.

 

You see, there is only one gospel.

Therefore you are either a preacher of the gospel,

Or a false prophet preaching a man-made gospel.

 

And false prophets must be exposed, which Paul does here.

 

And look at some of the characteristics he gives.

“false brethren secretly brought in”

 

That means that someone else was behind what they were doing.

Of course you and I know who, it is Satan.

 

He is constantly trying to bring in “false brethren”

To contaminate the body of Christ.

 

Matthew 13:24-25 “Jesus presented another parable to them, saying, “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a man who sowed good seed in his field. “But while his men were sleeping, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat, and went away.”

 

So Satan plants them.

Or at least it is him that gives them to urge to come.

 

And then, once they have been convinced to come Paul says, they “sneaked in to spy out our liberty which we have in Christ Jesus”

 

So the first mission of the enemy is first one of surveillance.

He first wants to know if you really believe the true gospel or not.

 

If you don’t believe the true gospel, then he has no need to mess with you.

 

If you do believe the true gospel, then he goes a step further,

Which is “to bring us into bondage.”

 

He starts working to convince people for their need of legalism,

Or they will not be able to please God.

 

 

He uses guilt

He uses pride

He uses people’s ignorance of the truth

 

And he does it for the purpose of enslaving others.

 

No doubt it is a confusing and tempting argument.

 

But it is a destructive one, and look at what Paul said,

(5) “But we did not yield in subjection to them for even an hour; so that the truth of the gospel would remain with you.”

 

• There was absolutely no tolerance here.

• There was no compromise here.

• There was no agreeing to disagree here.

 

Paul would not yield, he would not submit.

HE STUCK FAITHFULLY TO THE TRUE GOSPEL.

 

I love the Adrian Rogers quote:

“Adrian, if you don’t compromise, we’ll never get together. I looked at that dear friend and I said, ‘We don’t have to get together. The Southern Baptist Convention doesn’t have to survive. I don’t have to be the pastor at Bellevue. I don’t have to live. But I’m not going to compromise the word of God.”

 

That is where Paul was.

He wouldn’t compromise.

 

Paul knew that if he gave an inch, the gospel could be perverted,

And without a true gospel, man could not be saved.

 

WHAT A DANGER.

 

It is no wonder Jude said:

Jude 3 “Beloved, while I was making every effort to write you about our common salvation, I felt the necessity to write to you appealing that you contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all handed down to the saints.”

 

If you lose the gospel, people will not get saved.

And so after revealing the true gospel,

Paul then exposes the villains of the gospel,

So that the Galatians will no longer be deceived by them.

 

And Paul was not the only one.

Even the pillars of the Church did the same thing.

 

In the letter they wrote to the Gentile churches, look at what they said:

Acts 15:24 “Since we have heard that some of our number to whom we gave no instruction have disturbed you with their words, unsettling your souls,”

 

Visit Demanded, Verdict Delivered, Villain Described

#4 VINDICATION DESERVED

Galatians 2:6-10

 

And now Paul gets to the main point.

Certainly he wanted the Galatians to know that the gospel he preached was the official gospel of the Church.

 

But that was not good enough.

For certainly the Judaizers would not hesitate to label

Peter, James, and John heretics too.

 

Paul wanted to give the gospel the vindication it deserved.

And so look at what he says here.

 

What Paul is going to reveal is that when the verdict was rendered,

And the decision was reached.

 

THIS DECISION WAS NOT MADE

BECAUSE JAMES, PETER, AND JOHN CONSENTED TO IT.

 

THIS DECISION WAS MADE BECAUSE GOD MADE SUCH AN OVERWHELMING CASE FOR HIS OWN GOSPEL THAT JAMES, PETER, AND JOHN HAD NO CHOICE IN THE MATTER.

 

Look at what Paul says:

(6) “But from those who were of high reputation (what they were makes no difference to me; God shows no partiality) — well, those who were of reputation contributed nothing to me.”

 

Notice Paul says, “those who were of reputation contributed nothing to me.”

 

In other words, their agreement with me

Was NOT what made us agree that this was the true gospel.

 

Their consent that I was right had absolutely nothing to do with the decision that this was the true gospel.

 

READ 7-9

WHAT DID MAKE THE DIFFERENCE?

 

(7) “seeing that I had been entrusted”

(8) “for He who effectually worked for Peter…effectually worked for me also…”

(9) “recognizing the grace that had been given to me”

 

WHAT COULD NOT BE DENIED WAS THAT GOD’S HOLY SPIRIT

WAS ALL OVER THIS GOSPEL.

 

• Paul, apart from any training at all, showed up preaching the same gospel God had told Peter to preach.

 

• And just like God was showing up to supernaturally help Peter, God was showing up to supernaturally help Paul.

 

1 Corinthians 2:1-5 “And when I came to you, brethren, I did not come with superiority of speech or of wisdom, proclaiming to you the testimony of God. For I determined to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ, and Him crucified. I was with you in weakness and in fear and in much trembling, and my message and my preaching were not in persuasive words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, so that your faith would not rest on the wisdom of men, but on the power of God.”

 

Paul’s gospel was vindicated by God.

 

And since it was obvious that Paul was preaching God’s gospel, because God vindicated His own word, then Peter, James, and John had no choice but to, give “to me and Barnabas the right hand of fellowship, so that we might go to the Gentiles and they to the circumcised.”

 

In fact, the only thing they urged Paul to do at all,

Was something he already had on his agenda.

 

(10) “They only asked us to remember the poor — the very thing I also was eager to do.”

 

PAUL’S POINT IS THAT WHAT HE IS PREACHING

• Not only is his gospel…

• Not only is the churches gospel…

• BUT ALSO IS THE VERY GOSPEL OF GOD

 

God’s gospel stood the test of all scrutiny,

And even if it looked as though it was in danger,

The Holy Spirit was not about to let His gospel fade away into oblivion.

 

God’s word will endure!

Isaiah 40:8 “The grass withers, the flower fades, But the word of our God stands forever.”

 

THE MESSAGE TO THE GALATIANS:

If you yield to the Judaizers, you are not just going along with those who see things a little differently.

 

If you follow those who pervert the gospel,

You are straying from the gospel of God.

 

You are wrong, your beliefs are wrong, and you are trusting in something that has absolutely no power to save.

 

In short, you are the brink of apostasy,

And in danger of eternal destruction.

No wonder Paul said in chapter 1:

 

Galatians 1:6 “I am amazed that you are so quickly deserting Him who called you by the grace of Christ, for a different gospel;”

 

Do not let someone smooth talk you away from the truth.

Trust the gospel of God that man is saved

By grace alone through faith alone.

 

It is all about the blood of Jesus!

 

Through Faith – part 1

Genesis 15:1-6

March 23, 2014

 

As you know we are studying through this book of Genesis.

We are calling this study “The Gospel According to Moses”

 

It is far more than history or sentimental stories.

Moses has us on a theological journey

To show us the very gospel message of God.

 

• In Adam we saw the tragic reality of sin.

• In Noah we saw the terrible reality of judgment.

• In Abram we see the terrific reality of salvation.

 

And in studying Abram’s life we have quite easily been following

That great verse of salvation recorded in the New Testament.

 

Ephesians 2:8 “For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God;”

 

Salvation is first “by grace”

And then “through faith”

 

And no one can at this point refute that Abram was saved “by grace”

• He was a pagan idolater

• He was a barren wanderer

• He was a worldly entrepreneur

 

And yet God chose this man.

• God called him

• God promised him Canaan

• God protected that promise for him

• And God pruned Abram of all things that would get in the way of that

promise.

 

Thus far, we have seen tidbits of faith from Abram,

But the overwhelming reality that we have seen is that

Before Abram was ever a man of faith, he was first a man of grace.

 

Abram was saved “by grace”

 

Well, this morning we move ahead and

We begin to look at the second part of this salvation in Abram’s life.

 

We begin to look at the “through faith” part of Abram’s salvation.

 

If someone asks WHY God saved Abram? The answer is “by grace”

If someone asks HOW God saved Abram? The answer is “through faith”

 

We have actually been studying this same reality on Sunday nights

As we have studied the book of Galatians.

 

Job 25:4 “How then can a man be just with God? Or how can he be clean who is born of woman?”

 

Bildad actually asked that question of Job, and it was a good question.

It is a question you had better know the answer to.

 

• Bildad wasn’t debating the sinfulness of man.

• Bildad wasn’t debating the necessity of righteousness.

• Bildad just wondered how a sinful man was supposed to get it.

 

And that is a good question.

Well that is a question that the Bible began answering

All the way back in the days of Abraham.

 

And that is that man is justified by faith before God.

And that is the part of the story we have now reached in Abram’s life.

 

We’ve seen the grace that saved him.

Now let’s look at the faith that justified him.

 

There are four main points to this chapter. (we’ll look at a couple)

#1 PERSEVERANCE REWARDED

Genesis 15:1-5

 

You will notice right off the bat that Moses says, “After these things…”

And that is very important transitional statement.

 

Everything in Genesis builds on top of itself.

You actually find yourself in a great bit of trouble when you start cherry picking stories and studying them out of context.

 

The “things” Moses is referring to is Abram’s decision

To forsake the world and entrust his prosperity to God.

 

As we mentioned God has been systematically

Producing and pruning Abram’s faith.

God first gave him faith, and then God began to grow that faith.

 

And it was actually very early on when God proved to Abram

That He had the ability to bless him and the ability to protect that blessing.

 

And the real defining moment for Abram

Came in the previous story back in Genesis 14.

 

To make a long story short, a war broke out in the area

And Lot was kidnapped as a result of it.

Abram then went and rescued Lot (a feat Abram should never have been able to accomplish) and when Abram returned he was met with a choice.

 

Abram was confronted by two kings.

1) The King of Salem (a picture of Christ)

2) The King of Sodom (a picture of Satan)

 

The King of Salem brought a blessing, the King of Sodom brought a bribe.

 

And the reason this was such a defining moment for Abram

Is because Abram had been a very worldly man his whole life.

 

Abram loved the world, Abram pursued the world, Abram sought to acquire the world.

 

And yet at this moment he had a choice to make.

To either accept the blessing of God or the benefits of the world.

 

Well you remember that Abram chose grace.

He refused the bribe of the king of Sodom and instead

Chose to give a tithe of all his possessions to the servant of God.

 

Abram was letting go of the weeds in his heart

And pledging to let God be his portion and provider.

It was a monumental step of faith.

 

And one that we should easily understand.

When we examine the gospel message throughout the New Testament,

It is true that the New Testament routinely asks us to “believe”.

 

But “believe” is NEVER the first word used.

 

When John the Baptist came preaching in the wilderness:

Matthew 3:1-2 “Now in those days John the Baptist came, preaching in the wilderness of Judea, saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”

 

When Jesus began His earthly ministry:

Matthew 4:17 “From that time Jesus began to preach and say, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”

 

When Peter preached at Pentecost:

Acts 2:38 “Peter said to them, “Repent, and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.”

 

When Paul preached in Athens:

Acts 17:30-31 “Therefore having overlooked the times of ignorance, God is now declaring to men that all people everywhere should repent, because He has fixed a day in which He will judge the world in righteousness through a Man whom He has appointed, having furnished proof to all men by raising Him from the dead.”

 

The point is that repentance always precedes faith.

 

Part of the process of accepting the seed of the gospel

Is first removing the weeds from the heart that will choke it out.

 

There are many people in the world today who try to

Skip the repentance part and move directly to the believing part.

 

But God not cohabitate with idols in your heart.

He demands, not just a throne, but the only throne in your life.

 

If He cannot be Lord, He will not be Savior.

Repentance must occur.

 

And that is precisely what Abram did.

He removed the weeds.

He allowed the Lord to have his heart.

 

And because of this, he is now ready for the next step of salvation.

 

Abram is ready to believe the promise of God.

And God is ready to offer the relationship.

 

First comes some tremendous reassurance.

“After these things the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision, saying, “Do not fear, Abram, I am a shield to you; Your reward shall be very great.”

 

Now at first that may seem like a strange statement,

But not when you consider the decision Abram just made.

 

He just turned his back on his usual way of getting ahead.

He just left his worldly security behind.

 

In short, he quit banking on the world system

And put all of his surety on the back of God.

 

And anyone who has done that

Certainly knows the type of anxiety that can come with it.

 

For a parallel, Abram just did what the Rich Young Ruler would not.

He agreed to forsake his possessions for the sake of something greater.

 

Now you also remember that when the Rich Young Ruler left Jesus,

It got the disciples to thinking.

 

Matthew 19:27 “Then Peter said to Him, “Behold, we have left everything and followed You; what then will there be for us?”

 

Can you detect the anxiety in Peter’s question?

Well Jesus assured Peter that they would be rewarded for their sacrifice, and that is precisely what God is doing for Abram here.

“Do not fear, Abram, I am a shield to you; your reward shall be very great.”

 

God was promising to protect the interests of Abram

And to prosper him accordingly.

 

Abram did not make a costly decision with the king of Sodom, Abram made the smartest decision of his life.

 

Placing his future and his hope on the back of God

Was the safest thing Abram ever did, and God is reminding him of that.

 

Any time we forsake the world there is a natural anxiety that grips us.

It is the fear of relinquishing control.

 

But Jesus addressed that specifically.

Matthew 6:25 “For this reason I say to you, do not be worried about your life, as to what you will eat or what you will drink; nor for your body, as to what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing?”

 

Matthew 6:31-33 “Do not worry then, saying, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear for clothing?’ “For the Gentiles eagerly seek all these things; for your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. “But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.”

 

It can be scary to step out on God and forsake this world,

But God is reminding Abram that He can carry the load.

 

Asaph said:

Psalms 73:25-28 “Whom have I in heaven but You? And besides You, I desire nothing on earth. My flesh and my heart may fail, But God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever. For, behold, those who are far from You will perish; You have destroyed all those who are unfaithful to You. But as for me, the nearness of God is my good; I have made the Lord GOD my refuge, That I may tell of all Your works.”

 

God will teach Abram to say the same.

God is rewarding Abram’s decision to leave the world and stick with Him.

 

But no sooner does God say that,

Then does Abram reveal his biggest hurdle.

 

(2-3) “Abram said, “O Lord GOD, what will You give me, since I am childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?” And Abram said, “Since You have given no offspring to me, one born in my house is my heir.”

 

Now understand this.

• Abram is not doubting if God can give him a great inheritance…

• Abram is not doubting if God will give him a great inheritance…

 

God has already proven those things to Abram.

Abram is merely questioning the purpose of it since he has no heir.

 

GET THIS:

Abram is not doubting God, Abram is doubting Abram.

He doesn’t think that he can be the man God just spoke of.

 

Ever feel that way?

You know God can, you just don’t know if you can.

You know God is powerful, you just know you are weak.

 

Abram was analyzing the promise of God while looking in the mirror.

And if you analyze the promises of God while looking in the mirror,

You won’t believe them either.

 

But don’t analyze God’s promises in front of the mirror.

Instead analyze God’s promises in front of the window.

 

(4-5) “Then behold, the word of the LORD came to him, saying, “This man will not be your heir; but one who will come forth from your own body, he shall be your heir.” And He took him outside and said, “Now look toward the heavens, and count the stars, if you are able to count them.” And He said to him, “So shall your descendants be.”

 

God told Abram to quit looking in the mirror

And start looking out the window.

 

Look at these stars Abram!

Is there anything I can’t do?

 

Abram, I’m going to bring forth one

“from your own body, he shall be your heir.”

 

God was promising to do in Abram

Something that Abram could never do for himself.

 

And listen, that is the great God we serve!

 

Are you limited? Of course you are.

If it were up to you to secure the intentions of God you’d be in a world of hurt.

 

But it is not what you do for God, it’s what God does through you.

• When God says you are – you are

• When God says you can – you can

• When God says you will – you will

• When God says you must – you must

 

Abram had forsaken the world that he might obtain God,

And God was rewarding that commitment

In a way that Abram never even thought possible.

And just to make sure you understand exactly where we are.

This is God’s proposal to Abram.

 

I’ve told you that the call of God is very much a process in a person’s life.

 

Often times God begins by revealing pieces of Himself,

And giving tastes of His goodness.

 

He breathes enough life into the dead man

To give the dead man the ability to see what this life is all about.

It is not full blown salvation, it is merely a taste, a courtship.

 

But then, after God has revealed Himself,

Then comes the offer or the proposal.

 

And that is the moment where salvation either occurs or not.

 

Everything in Abram’s life so far has been God leading up to this moment.

• He’s been revealing more and more of Himself…

• He’s been giving Abram tasted after taste…

• He’s been showing Abram what a life with Him will be like…

 

And now it is time to make the offer.

That is what God is doing here.

 

And please understand that is all grace.

 

From the second Abram entered the scene,

Until verse 5 of this chapter it has been all grace.

 

God has been offering something to Abram that he did not deserve.

It is all “by grace”.

 

BUT for salvation to be reckoned, faith must be involved.

And that is what we see next.

 

Perseverance Rewarded

#2 PARDON RECKONED

Genesis 15:6-7

 

If you want to talk about amazing and far-reaching verses, try these.

The apostle Paul built most of his theology on verse 6 alone.

 

For the first time we get saving faith from Abram.

He has just moved from TASTING to TRUSTING.

 

• He is done feeling God out…

• He is done listening to the proof…

• Abram is seen enough and heard enough…

Abram is all in.

He is entrusting all that he is to God.

He now believes in God and what God will do.

 

Now that is a good thing.

At the very least it is DESERVED.

 

One would certainly say that after all God had done for Abram,

The very least he could do is believe God.

 

Nothing about this faith is backward or out of order or bizarre.

After all God has done for Abram in the last 4 chapters,

Abram SHOULD believe God.

 

That is only right.

 

ABRAM IS DOING WHAT HE SHOULD HAVE DONE

Romans 4:18-22 “In hope against hope he believed, so that he might become a father of many nations according to that which had been spoken, “SO SHALL YOUR DESCENDANTS BE.” Without becoming weak in faith he contemplated his own body, now as good as dead since he was about a hundred years old, and the deadness of Sarah’s womb; yet, with respect to the promise of God, he did not waver in unbelief but grew strong in faith, giving glory to God, and being fully assured that what God had promised, He was able also to perform. Therefore IT WAS ALSO CREDITED TO HIM AS RIGHTEOUSNESS.”

 

Abram wasn’t just sentimental…

Abram wasn’t just intellectual…

Abram believed God.

 

• He’d seen God graciously offer a promise…

• He’d seen God graciously protect that promise…

• He’d seen God prepare him for that promise…

 

Abram believed God.

 

And if the story ended there, it would be a perfect happy ending to a perfect story.

BUT…

 

There is so much more here than just that.

“he believed in the Lord; and He reckoned it to him as righteousness.”

 

WHOA! STOP THE CAR!

 

God did what?

God “reckoned it to him as righteousness.”

 

What was Bildad’s question?

Job 25:4 “How then can a man be just with God? Or how can he be clean who is born of woman?”

How can a man be just with God?

How can a sinful man be vindicated in the sight of a holy God?

 

And please understand the issue at hand here.

I find that so many today fail to understand this foundational issue.

 

Today we often talk about being saved.

And people often think that they are saved from hell,

And saved so that they can go to heaven.

 

And they think this is the whole point and purpose of salvation.

 

Now it is true that being saved does rescue you from hell and grant you access to heaven, but that is not the point nor the purpose.

 

The purpose of salvation is to save you from sin,

So that you can be righteous.

SALVATION IS ALL ABOUT OBTAINING RIGHTEOUSNESS

 

That is the goal

That is what we are after

 

Just like Bildad said, righteousness is what matters.

WHY?

 

Romans 1:18 “For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness,”

 

If you don’t have righteousness, you are under God’s wrath and judgment

The quest is for righteousness.

 

And here we learn that if you give God faith,

He will then give you righteousness.

 

Righteousness is granted “through faith”

 

Hebrews 11:1-6 “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. For by it the men of old gained approval. By faith we understand that the worlds were prepared by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things which are visible. By faith Abel offered to God a better sacrifice than Cain, through which he obtained the testimony that he was righteous, God testifying about his gifts, and through faith, though he is dead, he still speaks. By faith Enoch was taken up so that he would not see death; AND HE WAS NOT FOUND BECAUSE GOD TOOK HIM UP; for he obtained the witness that before his being taken up he was pleasing to God. And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him.”

 

FAITH IS THE ONLY CURRENCY GOD ACCEPTS

 

In fact, God trades righteousness for faith.

 

He does NOT trade in “works”

“Works” are without value to Him.

 

Isaiah 64:6 “For all of us have become like one who is unclean, And all our righteous deeds are like a filthy garment; And all of us wither like a leaf, And our iniquities, like the wind, take us away.”

 

Even good works are detestable to God.

He only trades righteousness for faith.

 

HAVE YOU EVER WONDERED WHY?

• Why doesn’t God trade righteousness for works?

• Why doesn’t God trade righteousness for good intentions?

Why faith?

 

Romans 4:16 “For this reason it is by faith, in order that it may be in accordance with grace, so that the promise will be guaranteed to all the descendants, not only to those who are of the Law, but also to those who are of the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all,”

 

Justification is by faith so that salvation can be by grace.

If God justifies by works then salvation is not by grace, but by works.

And if salvation is by works then God gets no glory.

 

Furthermore only those with the Law can be saved, since only they know what to do, and Gentiles are excluded from salvation.

 

That is what Paul meant when he said:

“so that the promise will be guaranteed to all the descendants, not only to those who are of the Law, but also to those who are of the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all,”

 

God chooses to justify men by faith and not works

Because then salvation is by grace and available to everyone.

 

And that is a beautiful reality.

 

Here Abram was:

• A pagan sinner

• A barren wanderer

• A worldly entrepreneur

 

And yet God graciously gave this man righteousness

Simply because he believed God.

 

That is the gospel message right there.

That is “By grace are you saved through faith,

and this not of yourselves, it is the gift of God.”

 

When Abram gave God faith, God gave Abram righteousness,

And Abram was no longer a man in danger of the judgment of God.

Now, what this passage won’t tell you

Is in fact clearly explained in the New Testament.

 

And that WHY GOD WAS ABLE

To give perfect righteousness to a sinner like Abram.

 

The New Testament explains why God is able

To give perfect righteousness to a sinner like you and me.

 

2 Corinthians 5:21 “He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.”

 

The fancy word is “IMPUTATION”

 

God took the sin of Abram and imputed it to Christ,

So He could take the righteousness of Christ and impute it to Abram.

 

That is why Jesus said:

John 8:56 “Your father Abraham rejoiced to see My day, and he saw it and was glad.”

 

The reason God could give righteousness to Abram

• Was because 2,000 years after the time of Abram, Christ would

come to this earth and live a perfectly righteous life.

 

• Christ would then take upon Himself Abram’s sin and suffer for it.

• All of Abram’s pagan idolatry…

• All of Abram’s worldly ambitions…

• Every sin Abram committed…

Christ would pay for it 2,000 years later on the cross.

 

• And in return Christ would give His righteousness to Abram.

Righteousness would be “reckoned” to Abram.

 

And by now you realize that we are not so different from Abram after all (though none of us would claim to have faith as great as he)

 

But Abram looked ahead 2,000 years to the payment of his sin,

We now look back 2,000 years to the payment of ours.

 

It was on the same cross where Christ bore Abram’s sin,

That He also bore our sin.

 

And in exchange He credited His righteousness to our account.

 

He did NOT trade His righteousness for your good works.

He traded His righteousness for your faith.

 

IT WAS THE MOST GRACIOUS OFFER EVER GIVEN.

If you would give God faith,

He would give you righteousness and you would be saved.

And this morning it is that very offer that we celebrate.

We are here to partake of the Lord’s Supper.

 

• We have before us the bread which symbolizes the body of Christ.

• And we have the juice which symbolizes the blood of Christ.

Together they remind us of the death of Christ.

(His payment for our sin)

 

He bore on His body our sin and took in His body our punishment.

And when we give Him our faith, He gives us His righteousness in return.

 

We come periodically to this table to remember that very fact.

• To make sure none of us begin to think that our works really are important.

• To make sure none of us begin to think that our sin wasn’t really that bad.

• To make sure none of us begin to think that righteousness is easy to come by.

 

We come back to the cross and remember.

 

Before we do, we have a time of preparation.

1 Corinthians 11:26-29 “For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until He comes. Therefore whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner, shall be guilty of the body and the blood of the Lord. But a man must examine himself, and in so doing he is to eat of the bread and drink of the cup. For he who eats and drinks, eats and drinks judgment to himself if he does not judge the body rightly.”

 

We are commanded not to partake in an unworthy manner.

 

That does not mean we are commanded to be worthy to partake.

None are worthy to partake – that’s really the point.

 

The point is HOW we partake.

That we partake in a worthy manner.

 

YOU PARTAKE IN FAITH.

 

• You partake with the understanding that it was this sacrifice that allowed you to obtain righteousness and be called a child of God.

 

• You partake believing that what Christ did was successful.

 

• And you partake in a grateful heart knowing that if He had not done this for you, it would not have been done.

 

We are about to have a time of preparation,

It is a time for you to examine yourself.

 

• Have you left the world as Abram did?

• Have you believed God as Abram did?

• Are you trusting in Christ alone for your righteousness?

 

Abram Chooses Grace

Genesis 14:1-24

March 16, 2014

 

As you know we are working through what we have called

“The Gospel According to Moses”.

 

It is a study of the book of Genesis.

Far from a history book, Genesis is

Moses’ gospel message to the children of Israel.

 

By highlighting God’s work in the lives of certain individuals,

We have been able to see the God chooses to work with humanity.

 

In Adam – the tragic reality of sin

In Noah – the terrible reality of judgment

In Abram – the terrific reality of salvation

 

And again, just to remind you, Abram teaches us far more than faith.

Abram’s life is not just about faith, but is about salvation.

 

Salvation is not just about faith.

Faith is the requirement of the sinner who comes to God.

But that is only half of the equation.

 

Long before faith ever enters the scene,

We first must recognize God’s part, which is grace.

 

Ephesians 2:8 “For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God;”

 

And this reality is certainly true in the life of Abram.

 

Abram has such a sparkling reputation for his walk of faith, that many times People forget what type of person Abram was when God chose him.

 

• Abram was a pagan idol worshiper

• Abram had a barren wife

• Abram loved the world

 

All of that has been seen repeatedly in our study of Genesis.

 

And as we saw all that, it became exceedingly clear that Abram

• Was not a righteous man

• Was not a capable man

• Was not an interested man (not seeking God)

 

If it were not for the grace of God toward Abram,

You would never know about the tremendous faith

We so often see displayed in the New Testament.

Abram was saved “by grace…through faith”

 

And thus far we have yet to get to the faith part of Abram’s life.

That will primarily come next week in chapter 15.

 

Now we have seen tidbits of faith from Abram.

• He did leave Ur of the Chaldeans

• He did trust God with his inheritance, letting Lot choose first

 

Abram’s faith is present, and it is growing.

And in chapter 15 Abram’s faith will become saving faith.

 

Genesis 15:6 “Then he believed in the LORD; and He reckoned it to him as righteousness.”

 

Right now Abram is TASTING God.

In chapter 15, he will begin to start fully TRUSTING God.

 

And this too is an act of grace toward him.

God has granted Abram his faith, and God is growing and shaping that faith, until it is saving faith.

 

This is a gracious work God does in the lives of all His children.

Which is why we say that even our faith is a gift to us from God.

It is “not of yourselves”

 

But we have yet to embark on a study of Abram’s faith.

Right now we are still in the “grace” part of the equation.

 

And to try and really simplify what we have seen.

 

We saw God’s grace to Abram:

THROUGH GOD’S PROMISE

• God spoke to Abram and promised to give him an inheritance and descendants as numerous as the dust of the earth.

 

• Abram didn’t deserve it, Abram couldn’t have achieved it, but God was promising it.

 

THROUGH GOD’S PROTECTION

• You will remember that Abram immediately jumped at the promise of God, but when a few dark clouds appeared on the horizon, Abram threw the promise behind his back and headed for Egypt where he traded off his wife for momentary prosperity.

 

• However, God would not let Sarai be corrupted, or Abram forsake his inheritance.

 

• God intervened, sent a plague on Egypt and sent Abram back to Canaan.

 

• God was graciously protecting the promise.

THROUGH GOD’S PRUNING

• God had made a massive promise to Abram, and yet Abram was content to settle for less than what God had promised.

 

• God promised a son, descendants, and a mighty nation.

• Abram was content with a nephew named Lot.

 

• In fact, despite God’s requirement that Abram leave his relatives and his father’s house, Abram had still hung on to Lot.

 

• Without a doubt Abram expected Lot to be his heir.

• But God had bigger plans, and so God had to prune Lot from his life.

 

• The nephew had to be removed to make way for the son.

 

It was pruning, it was painful, but it most certainly was only done

For the purpose of increasing Abram’s fruit.

 

Jesus said:

John 15:1-2 “I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. “Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit, He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit, He prunes it so that it may bear more fruit.”

 

And that is what God was doing to Abram.

God was graciously pruning him, that he might be even more fruitful.

 

Well this morning we are still looking at GRACE,

And to a degree we are still looking at PRUNING.

 

However there is a difference.

When God pruned Lot, God really did it without any help of Abram at all.

God just orchestrated the events and took care of it.

 

But here, Abram will have to make the choice of

Whether or not he will let go of the weeds that will get in his way.

 

Sometimes pruning consists of God removing things (like Lot),

Sometimes pruning is when God asks us to remove things (here).

 

First, TURN TO: LUKE 8:11-15

You are most likely familiar with this wonderful parable given to us by the Lord.

 

I would like to jump to the end of this (and the next parable)

To make sure you understand the point.

 

Luke 8:18 “So take care how you listen; for whoever has, to him more shall be given; and whoever does not have, even what he thinks he has shall be taken away from him.”

 

The point of the parable of the sower is in fact listening.

How do you listen to God?

 

Now some, as you see, don’t listen at all.

(12) “Those beside the road are those who have heard; then the devil comes and takes away the word from their heart, so that they will not believe and be saved.”

 

They are the hard soil, and when the word comes, it just rolls right off their back.

Obviously they produce no fruit, they never even took the seed.

 

Some, do listen, but they don’t listen well.

(13) “Those on the rocky soil are those who, when they hear, receive the word with joy; and these have no firm root; they believe for a while, and in time of temptation fall away.

 

They hear all that is said about the blessing,

But fail to hear anything about the requirement or the hardship.

 

So when a little hardship hits, they bale and also produce no fruit.

 

Then we have some who listen well, and understand what is required, they just don’t believe what they hear, in the sense that they don’t think the blessing is as good as God says it is, and they trade that blessing for earthly treasure.

(14) “The seed which fell among the thorns, these are the ones who have heard, and as they go on their way they are choked with worries and riches and pleasures of this life, and bring no fruit to maturity.”

 

And then of course we get the good listener, who listens carefully, believes what he heard and thus produces fruit.

(15) “But the seed in the good soil, these are the ones who have heard the word in an honest and good heart, and hold it fast, and bear fruit with perseverance.”

 

And I bring that illustration up to you because this morning

Abram is going to have to choose what to do with the weeds in his heart.

 

Jesus identified those weeds as

“the worries and riches and pleasures of this life”.

 

And according to Jesus those weeds will

Choke out the word and cause a person to be unfruitful.

 

And we know these are weeds that have been thriving in Abram’s life.

A little reminder?

 

When Abram and his dad left Ur of the Chaldeans…

Genesis 11:31 “Terah took Abram his son, and Lot the son of Haran, his grandson, and Sarai his daughter-in-law, his son Abram’s wife; and they went out together from Ur of the Chaldeans in order to enter the land of Canaan; and they went as far as Haran, and settled there.”

 

We asked what did they do there?

Genesis 12:5 “Abram took Sarai his wife and Lot his nephew, and all their possessions which they had accumulated, and the persons which they had acquired in Haran, and they set out for the land of Canaan; thus they came to the land of Canaan.”

 

They got rich, they bought slaves, they accumulated the world.

James 4:13-17 “Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, and spend a year there and engage in business and make a profit.” Yet you do not know what your life will be like tomorrow. You are just a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes away. Instead, you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and also do this or that.” But as it is, you boast in your arrogance; all such boasting is evil. Therefore, to one who knows the right thing to do and does not do it, to him it is sin.”

That was Abram.

 

And even after God called Abram to this new land of promise,

We still see these weeds growing in his life.

 

What was it that caused Abram to leave the land of Canaan? Famine.

I think that would classify as “the worries” that Jesus was talking about.

 

When Abram came out of Egypt, we read about him:

Genesis 13:2 “Now Abram was very rich in livestock, in silver and in gold.”

 

The point being that Abram has been a man who loves the world,

Who loves the “riches and pleasures of this life”

And who “worries” about them.

 

But as Jesus taught us, this is a weed that must be dealt with

Or Abram will never produce the fruit that God intends.

 

Matthew 6:19-24 “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. “But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal; for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. “The eye is the lamp of the body; so then if your eye is clear, your whole body will be full of light. “But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light that is in you is darkness, how great is the darkness! “No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth.”

 

That is a familiar passage from the Lord.

“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth”

In other words, quit planting weeds in your garden.

 

Why? Because “where your treasure is, there your heart will be also”

 

Your heart follows your treasure.

 

And then the great reality.

“No one can serve two masters…You cannot serve God and wealth”

 

NOTHING HINDERS THE FRUITFUL LIFE

LIKE A LITTLE LOVE OF THE WORLD.

 

1 John 2:15-17 “Do not love the world nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world. The world is passing away, and also its lusts; but the one who does the will of God lives forever.”

 

• And the reality is, if you desire to be fruitful…

• If you desire to fulfill all that God has in store for you…

A little pruning will have to occur.

 

And this is certainly going to have to happen in Abram’s life.

God isn’t going to make Abram poor,

But he is going to MAKE ABRAM CHOOSE which he wants.

 

This choice occurs here in chapter 14.

 

Now if you have read through Genesis (and most of you have),

This is another of those stories that can cause you to scratch your head.

 

It sort of stands out from the norm, kind of like the story of

The tower of Babel or of Noah getting drunk.

 

It just seems strange.

That is why you must keep it in context of the flow

Of what Moses is teaching us.

 

Moses is reminding us of how God called a sinner like Abram

Then pruned and shaped on him until he was the father of faith.

 

This event was a monumental day in the life of Abram

As to the type of man he would become.

 

For today, Abram would have to choose the benefits of the world,

Or the blessing of God.

We will find that Abram chooses grace.

 

Incidentally, that is a choice that you have to make as well.

• You must choose the benefit of the world or the blessing of God.

• You must choose the weeds or the fruit.

• You must choose this life or God’s life.

 

In short you must choose if you are going to live in the flesh,

Or if you are going to live in grace.

 

Three things here.

#1 A MAJOR DELIMMA

Genesis 14:1-12

 

Now I really hoped to take turns with us all reading these names out loud.

(No one ever said Bible reading wasn’t an adventure)

 

But because of the difficulty of names, and the way they are recorded, the whole story can be a little confusing to understand, so let me see if I can make it clear to you.

 

In verses 1-3 Moses is reminding the children of Israel of a war that occurred in the days of Abram.

 

(1-3) “And it came about in the days of Amraphel king of Shinar, Arioch king of Ellasar, Chedorlaomer king of Elam, and Tidal king of Goiim, that they made war with Bera king of Sodom, and with Birsha king of Gomorrah, Shinab king of Admah, and Shemeber king of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela (that is, Zoar). All these came as allies to the valley of Siddim (that is, the Salt Sea).”

 

Now, to move further, verses 4-9 explain the reason for that war.

 

(4) “Twelve years they had served Chedorlaomer, but the thirteenth year they rebelled.”

 

Here is what happened.

There were 5 kings who served Chedorlaomer,

And they served him for 12 years.

 

That meant they had to pay some sort of tax or duty to him and were in his subjects.

 

But after serving him for 12 years,

In the 13th year they had enough and the rebelled.

 

These 5 kings were:

• The King of Sodom

• The King of Gomorrah

• The King of Admah

• The King of Zeboiim

• The King of Zoar

 

So these five had enough and the all banded together

To form a sort of coalition to resist Chedorlaomer.

 

Now when they revolted Chedorlaomer took counter measures.

He then took three more kings and formed a coalition of his own.

 

• The King of Shinar (Babylon)

• The King of Ellasar

• The King of Goiim

 

And he with these other 3 kings went on the war path,

Seeking to pillage, plunder, and wipe out any rebellion.

 

And verses 5-7 give a brief description of Chedorlaomer and his three friends on the war path.

 

(READ 5-7)

And really you just need to see that these men were lethal,

And no one seemed to be able to stand against them.

 

And that brings about the battle previously mentioned in verses 1-3.

(READ 8-9)

 

So we have Chedorlaomer and his 3 friends,

Squaring off in battle against the 5 kings that revolted against him.

 

As Moses says, “four kings against five”

 

So there is the war, and there is the reason for the war.

 

Verses 10-12 show us the result of the war.

 

(10-12) “Now the valley of Siddim was full of tar pits; and the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah fled, and they fell into them. But those who survived fled to the hill country. Then they took all the goods of Sodom and Gomorrah and all their food supply, and departed. They also took Lot, Abram’s nephew, and his possessions and departed, for he was living in Sodom.”

 

To make a long story short, the four kings defeated the five.

And when the Chedorlaomer was looting the towns,

He kidnapped Lot and all the possessions of the city and departed.

 

So there is the real point of the story.

Moses told you all that, to tell you this – Lot was kidnapped.

 

That is the MAJOR DELIMMA

#2 A MIRACULOUS DELIVERANCE

Genesis 14:13-16

 

So now the story continues with word of this defeat

Reaching the ears of Abram.

 

(13) “Then a fugitive came and told Abram the Hebrew. Now he was living by the oaks of Mamre the Amorite, brother of Eshcol and brother of Aner, and these were allies with Abram.”

 

Incidentally, this is the first time we see the word “Hebrew” used.

It literally means “one who crosses over” (as in the river)

 

The people of the land recognized Abram as a stranger in a foreign land.

 

Hebrews 11:9 “By faith he lived as an alien in the land of promise, as in a foreign land, dwelling in tents with Isaac and Jacob, fellow heirs of the same promise;”

 

And now this outsider has lost a nephew

And one who escaped the battle has come and told Abram.

 

And this is where the story gets interesting.

 

Might I remind you who has taken Lot?

The King of Elam named Chedorlaomer.

 

• The same Chedorlaomer that held 5 other kingdoms in subjection for 12 years.

• The same Chedorlaomer that squashed down the rebellion of all 5 kings combined.

• The same Chedorlaomer that also squashed the Rephaim, the Zuzim, the Emim, and the Horites.

• The same Chedorlaomer who also conquered all the lands of the Amorites and the Amalekites.

 

My point?

This is no pushover who has taken Lot.

Thus far no king or no coalition has been able to stand against him.

 

That is what makes Abram’s response seem a little hasty.

(This is a David and Goliath type battle)

 

(14) “When Abram heard that his relative had been taken captive, he led out his trained men, born in his house, three hundred and eighteen, and went in pursuit as far as Dan.”

 

Now we don’t know the size of the armies of Chedorlaomer and his 3 friends, but I think it is safe to say that it was bigger than 318.

 

The obvious observation is that Abram is way overmatched.

But Abram goes to war.

 

And then, the unthinkable happens!

(15-16) “He divided his forces against them by night, he and his servants, and defeated them, and pursued them as far as Hobah, which is north of Damascus. He brought back all the goods, and also brought back his relative Lot with his possessions, and also the women, and the people.”

 

Now if you don’t see the miracle here,

Then you are not looking hard enough.

 

Melchizedek will certainly see it here in a minute

As he recognizes that God must certainly be with Abram.

 

But the point is that Abram just defeated someone

He never should have been able to defeat.

 

Abram just dispossessed a king he never should have been able to dispossess.

The Major Dilemma, The Miraculous Deliverance

#3 A MONUMENTAL DECISION

Genesis 14:17-24

 

Now I don’t have to tell you that the first 16 verses

Were really just for the point of getting to this situation.

(All that to tell you this)

 

First you must notice that Abram is instantly confronted by two kings.

 

(17-18) “Then after his return from the defeat of Chedorlaomer and the kings who were with him, the king of Sodom went out to meet him at the valley of Shaveh (that is, the King’s Valley). And Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine; now he was a priest of God Most High.”

 

So Abram is confronted by two kings.

1) The King of Salem

2) The King of Sodom

 

LET’S SEE THE CHARACTER OF THESE TWO KINGS.

 

We know about Melchizedek.

Hebrews 7:1-3 “For this Melchizedek, king of Salem, priest of the Most High God, who met Abraham as he was returning from the slaughter of the kings and blessed him, to whom also Abraham apportioned a tenth part of all the spoils, was first of all, by the translation of his name, king of righteousness, and then also king of Salem, which is king of peace. Without father, without mother, without genealogy, having neither beginning of days nor end of life, but made like the Son of God, he remains a priest perpetually.”

 

Melchizedek was a righteous man,

Who was actually a foreshadow of Christ.

 

Just as Melchizedek was both king and priest without being of the tribe of Levi,

So also Christ was both king and priest without being of the tribe of Levi.

So we know about Melchizedek.

 

We also know about the King of Sodom.

(We don’t know him specifically, but we know about his city)

 

Under his leadership this city

Would become the poster child for immorality.

 

• It would become a city so depraved that angels could not safely stay at the square.

• It would become a city so depraved that God would not even be able to find 10 righteous among them.

• It would become a city so depraved that God would make an example out of them for the ages.

So I think it is safe to say that we are dealing with two kings

Who are opposites in every possible way.

 

One would foreshadow Christ’s kingdom.

One would foreshadow Satan’s kingdom.

 

THE SECOND THING WE RECOGNIZE ABOUT THESE TWO MEN IS THAT THEY EACH BROUGHT SOMETHING DIFFERENT TO ABRAM.

 

The King of Salem brought a blessing.

(18-20) “And Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine; now he was a priest of God Most High. He blessed him and said, “Blessed be Abram of God Most High, Possessor of heaven and earth; And blessed be God Most High, Who has delivered your enemies into your hand.”

 

Melchizedek recognized the favor of God on Abram.

 

Melchizedek understood that the only reason Abram was victorious

Was because “God Most High” was with him.

 

The important reality here is that grace was now visible on Abram’s life.

It was apparent even to those around him

That God was in fact blessing this man.

 

And Melchizedek recognizes this blessing and repeats it.

He brought a blessing.

 

The King of Sodom however brought a bribe.

(21) “The king of Sodom said to Abram, “Give the people to me and take the goods for yourself.”

 

Now it may just seem like a nice gesture on this king’s part,

But Abram knew exactly what was going on here.

 

He understood that if he took anything from the king of Sodom,

Then he would look on that as a favor.

(Many of you have seen The Godfather)

 

Abram would be indebted to him.

 

This man was a manipulator.

He offered the world, but there were always strings attached.

 

And so you see that these men are in fact different,

Offering different things.

 

One is offering the blessing of God.

One is offering the benefits of the world.

And Abram will have to choose which he wants.

Abram will either choose to pursue the grace of God, or his own flesh.

 

And I remind you again that Abram had a history here.

The Abram back in Ur or Haran would have taken the money without thought.

 

After all, Abram raised Lot, and that is what Lot did.

He learned it somewhere.

 

But God is pruning Abram, and it is time

For Abram to choose who he is going to serve.

 

Abram will either have to recognize the value of grace and follow God

Or embrace the value of gold and become like all the rest.

 

Well, the blessing is that you and I know what Abram chose.

ABRAM CHOSE GRACE!

 

To Melchizedek

(20b) “He gave him a tenth of all.”

 

Abram tithed before titheing was commanded.

This wasn’t a required ordinance, this was a gift from the heart.

 

Abram willingly parted with his possessions as a way

To say thank you to the God who had been so gracious to him.

 

Abram loved God and chose to place his future in God’s hands.

(Abram will give a sacrifice along this same line later, with his son)

 

To the King of Sodom

(22-24) “Abram said to the king of Sodom, “I have sworn to the LORD God Most High, possessor of heaven and earth, that I will not take a thread or a sandal thong or anything that is yours, for fear you would say, ‘I have made Abram rich.’ “I will take nothing except what the young men have eaten, and the share of the men who went with me, Aner, Eshcol, and Mamre; let them take their share.”

 

Abram was letting the king of Sodom know that

He would not be indebted to him.

 

Abram was making a declaration:

• I know where my blessing comes from, and I will stick with Him.

• I know who secures my future, and I will trust Him.

 

Abram forsook the wealth of the world

That he might obtain the grace of God.

 

 

This was a monumental moment in Abram’s life.

• Abram decided to pull the weeds from his heart, and let God have it all.

• Abram decided that he was going to be a follower of God Most High.

 

He wanted grace.

 

And friend that is a decision that each of us must make in our own lives.

The reality is that you cannot love God and wealth.

You cannot take this world and the next.

 

Now that old devil, like the king of Sodom,

Will come offering you all sorts of worldly attractions,

But there are always strings attached.

 

Someone once said, “Give the devil an inch, and he’ll want to be your ruler”

 

You must be willing to part ways with him.

 

On the other hand there is God, who offers you grace.

But get this – He also demands to be your ruler.

 

The difference is that the grace He offers

Far outweighs the momentary pleasure the devil offers.

For God loves you and the devil does not.

 

Abram saw that.

Abram knew where he was in life.

 

• He had a God who had chosen him

• He had a God who had protected him

• He had a God who was looking out for his best interest

 

And Abram is now deciding to put it all in His hands.

He rejected the wealth of the world that he might pay a tithe to God.

 

Which do you choose?

The goods of the world or the grace of God?

 

Abram chose grace, I recommend you do the same.

 

Ephesians 2:8-9 “For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast.”