Why We Can Be Saved

2 Corinthians 5:20-21

April 20, 2014

 

Well we are here once again on an Easter morning

Remembering the most amazing event in all of human history.

 

We come every Lord’s Day, but especially this one

To remember the sacrifice of the Lord and His resurrection from the dead.

 

And this morning as we remember this wonderful event

We are simply going to examine one verse of Scripture.

 

I don’t ordinarily like to study just one verse, but I think it is fitting today to do so.

 

This one verse clearly depicts WHY we can be saved.

 

This is obviously important for you and I to understand.

 

If I go out to the streets of Spur tomorrow and ask various people, “How can we be saved?”

 

• Some would say, “Believe in Jesus”

• Some would say, “Believe and be baptized”

• Some would say, “You need to do good works”

 

Now obviously there is a right and wrong answer to that question.

We believe that man is saved “by grace through faith”

 

But that is just the answer to HOW to be saved.

This morning I want you to understand WHY we can be saved.

Those debates may seek to answer the question as to how salvation occurs

But none of them answer the question as to why salvation can occur.

 

• For if the crucifixion and the resurrection do not occur, then it doesn’t matter if you have faith or not.

 

• If the crucifixion and the resurrection do not occur, then it doesn’t matter if you’ve been baptized or not.

 

• If the crucifixion and the resurrection do not occur, then it doesn’t matter how many prayers you recite, how many dollars you give, how many miles you walk…

 

• If the crucifixion and the resurrection do not occur, then it doesn’t matter what you do, you cannot be saved.

 

People may argue the means by which we enter God’s salvation,

But one thing is for sure, none of those means even matter

If Christ did not die and rise again.

 

This morning I want to show you why salvation is even possible.

 

Now before we get into our text, it is important for you to understand

WHY SALVATION IS NECESSARY.

 

It really all started back in the Garden of Eden.

God created this world and said that it was good.

 

However Satan tempted Adam and Eve

And they chose to transgress the commandment of God.

 

Adam and Eve were kicked out of the garden and sin was upon us.

 

Romans 5:12 “Therefore, just as through one man sin entered into the world, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men, because all sinned”

 

That verse clearly depicts not only the sin of Adam,

But the contagious reality of Adam’s sin.

 

We are all literally chips right off the old block.

And when given the opportunity

We all follow right in the footsteps of our father Adam.

 

We all sin.

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

 

Now this may not seem like such a big deal to our world today, but it is.

 

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,”

 

The reality is that sinners are under God’s wrath.

 

Ephesians 2:1-3 “And you were dead in your trespasses and sins, in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience. Among them we too all formerly lived in the lusts of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest.”

 

And so the picture is hopefully forming in your mind.

Humanity was in the worst possible predicament.

We have sinned, and our sin has angered the Creator of this world.

 

Furthermore His need for holy justice

Requires that payment for that iniquity be made

And this payment is nothing less than eternity in hell.

 

Matthew 25:41 “Then He will also say to those on His left, ‘Depart from Me, accursed ones, into the eternal fire which has been prepared for the devil and his angels;”

 

By now the problem has become clear.

God requires perfect righteousness.

Anything short of perfect righteousness requires payment in hell.

 

So man has two problems.

• The Presence of Sin which God judges

• The Absence of Righteousness which God requires.

 

The only possible way for man to be saved

Is if somehow he could have his sin paid for without having to go to hell

And righteousness given to him so that he could go to heaven.

 

Apart from that, it doesn’t matter how much faith he has,

Or how many times he is baptized.

 

And that is the reason for the cross and resurrection.

 

This morning I just want to take you through

What has quickly become my favorite verse in the entire Bible.

 

• No verse gives me more hope…

• No verse give me more satisfaction…

• No verse produces more gratitude in me…

• No verse produces more wonder in me…

Than 2 Corinthians 5:21

 

And this morning I just want to take you through

5 important realities about this verse.

 

#1 THE PERSONALITIES

2 Corinthians 5:21

 

The verse starts out in rather vague fashion.

“He made Him”

 

Well obviously we are in need of a little context here

To determine who “He” is and who “Him” is.

 

All you really need is the preceding verse:

2 Corinthians 5:20 “Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were making an appeal through us; we beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.”

 

• The “He” then in the verse is obviously God.

• The “Him” in the verse is obviously Christ.

 

Paul is saying “God made Christ”

 

And even before we get into exactly why this was special

And what exactly it was that God did in Christ.

I first want you to fully understand who the CATALYST for all this was.

 

Whatever occurs here in verse 21,

It is important for you to understand that God was the reason it occurred.

• The idea was God’s…

• The motivation was God’s…

• The desire was God’s…

 

This did not originate in the mind or heart of man.

1 Corinthians 2:9 “but just as it is written, “THINGS WHICH EYE HAS NOT SEEN AND EAR HAS NOT HEARD, AND which HAVE NOT ENTERED THE HEART OF MAN, ALL THAT GOD HAS PREPARED FOR THOSE WHO LOVE HIM.”

 

This plan of salvation was all God’s doing.

 

And His motivation is clear:

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.”

 

Is God grieved over sinners? Yes

Genesis 6:5-6 “Then the LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great on the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. The LORD was sorry that He had made man on the earth, and He was grieved in His heart.”

 

Is God angry at sinners? Yes

Psalms 7:11 “God is a righteous judge, And a God who has indignation every day.”

 

Or as the KJV says, “God judgeth the righteous, and God is angry with the wicked every day.”

 

But in spite of His grief and anger, God still chooses to love sinners.

 

Romans 5:8 “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.”

 

It is nothing short of the magnificent love of God that instigated salvation.

Man didn’t do it, God did it.

“He made Him”

 

Incidentally, Christ was also a willing accomplice

He wasn’t forced to save against His will.

 

Philippians 2:5-8 “Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.”

 

Christ willingly forsook His place in Heaven

That He might come and humble Himself and die upon a cross.

 

No man thought this up

No man made Him do it

Love was the motive

God designed it, and Christ volunteered

 

You have to understand the Personalities who are responsible.

#2 THE PURITY

2 Corinthians 5:21

 

“He made Him who knew no sin”

 

And this is very important piece of the puzzle.

 

We mentioned earlier that the only possible way for mankind to avoid hell and enter heaven is if somehow his sin could be removed and he could obtain righteousness.

 

The question is then raised: Who has righteousness that we might try to obtain it from them?

 

• If you want diamonds you go to a jeweler…

• If you want to money you go to a bank…

• If you want an education you go to college…

• If you want medicine you go to a doctor…

 

But if you want righteousness where do you go to get it?

 

It is imperative that you and I find one

Who possesses no sin and perfect righteousness.

 

THAT IS PRECISELY WHO CHRIST IS.

According to Paul, Jesus Christ “knew no sin”

 

The writer of Hebrews said:

Hebrews 4:15 “For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin.”

 

And if you won’t take his word for it,

Then listen to the voice of God the Father.

 

Matthew 3:16-17 “After being baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending as a dove and lighting on Him, and behold, a voice out of the heavens said, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well-pleased.”

 

And again:

Matthew 17:5 “While he was still speaking, a bright cloud overshadowed them, and behold, a voice out of the cloud said, “This is My beloved Son, with whom I am well-pleased; listen to Him!”

 

What we are talking about when we talk about Jesus Christ

Is absolute perfection.

 

He never sinned, not even once.

• He never broke a single command.

• He never had an evil thought.

• He never sinned in His anger

• He never had a lustful thought

• He never held bitterness in His heart

• He never coveted someone else’s possession

• He never blamed God

• He never cursed God

• He never did anything that was even close to sinful in the eyes of God

 

When God looked at the man Jesus Christ, God saw nothing against Him.

 

He was in fact the perfect, spotless, completely innocent Son of God.

 

And for the first time the earth not only had an example of perfect righteousness, but also a place to find it.

 

He would be the righteousness broker for all of humanity.

It is exclusive to Him

 

He “knew no sin”

 

The Personalities, The Purity

#3 THE PROPITIATION

2 Corinthians 5:21

 

“He made Him who knew no sin to be sin”

 

Propitiation is a word that means “APPEASEMENT”

 

And this is precisely what Christ did before God.

Jesus Christ appeased God’s wrath on sin.

 

1 John 2:2 “and He Himself is the propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only, but also for those of the whole world.”

 

It is Jesus Christ who was in fact this “propitiation for our sins”

 

In some way He appeased the wrath of God

In some way He satisfied the holiness of God

 

The question is: “HOW DID HE DO IT?”

 

That is the answer Paul gives here.

“He made Him who knew no sin to be sin”

 

Now first let me tell you what that does not mean.

It does not mean that Christ became a sinner on the cross.

 

The previous phrase “who knew no sin”

Completely rules that possibility out.

Christ did not become a sinner.

He remained pure and sinless throughout His life and death.

 

We even have testimony of this from the one who died next to Him.

The thief on the cross boldly stating that this man has done nothing worthy of death.

 

Christ did not become a sinner.

 

Others have suggested in some weird way that Christ became the embodiment of sin.

 

That in some sort of strange occurrence

He actually became the persona of sin itself.

This is also is not what Paul was talking about.

 

WHAT DOES PAUL MEAN?

 

The answer was given centuries earlier by the prophet Isaiah.

Isaiah 53:1-6 “Who has believed our message? And to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed? For He grew up before Him like a tender shoot, And like a root out of parched ground; He has no stately form or majesty That we should look upon Him, Nor appearance that we should be attracted to Him. He was despised and forsaken of men, A man of sorrows and acquainted with grief; And like one from whom men hide their face He was despised, and we did not esteem Him. Surely our griefs He Himself bore, And our sorrows He carried; Yet we ourselves esteemed Him stricken, Smitten of God, and afflicted. But He was pierced through for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; The chastening for our well-being fell upon Him, And by His scourging we are healed. All of us like sheep have gone astray, Each of us has turned to his own way; But the LORD has caused the iniquity of us all To fall on Him.”

 

And this is precisely what Paul is referencing.

The One who was totally pure and sinless in every way

Actually took upon Himself the sin of God’s people.

 

He bore our sin.

 

He was sinless, He was pure,

And yet He was treated as though He was a sinner.

 

• When you look at the suffering of the cross…

• When you look at the torment…

• When you look at the grief…

 

That is what God’s justice demanded should happen to you and I.

 

It was the punishment for sin.

But God took the sinless pure Savior and imputed our sin to Him.

 

1 Peter 2:24 “and He Himself bore our sins in His body on the cross, so that we might die to sin and live to righteousness; for by His wounds you were healed.”

 

This mystery is what occurred on the cross.

This phenomenon is how Christ became the propitiation for our sins.

 

He took the fall for sin He did not commit

 

And this wrath is clearly seen in the crucifixion account.

(Not just the wrath of Rome, but the wrath of God)

 

Matthew 27:45-46 “Now from the sixth hour darkness fell upon all the land until the ninth hour. About the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, “ELI, ELI, LAMA SABACHTHANI?” that is, “MY GOD, MY GOD, WHY HAVE YOU FORSAKEN ME?”

 

The sixth hour is 12 noon.

You will recall that Christ crucifixion began on the third hour which is 9am

 

From 9 to noon man dished out the worst possible torment

That humanity could devise.

The cross was a cruel and torturous death

 

But at noon the strangest thing happened.

“darkness fell” for three hours.

 

WHY?

Because this was God pouring out His wrath on sin.

 

Zephaniah 1:14-15 “Near is the great day of the LORD, Near and coming very quickly; Listen, the day of the LORD! In it the warrior cries out bitterly. A day of wrath is that day, A day of trouble and distress, A day of destruction and desolation, A day of darkness and gloom, A day of clouds and thick darkness,”

 

It is this wrath of God which was being poured out on Christ.

And when the three hours was over Christ cried

“My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?”

 

Christ was paying for sin He did not commit

He was the propitiation

 

The Personalities, The Purity, The Propitiation

#4 THE PARDONED

2 Corinthians 5:21

 

“He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf,”

 

Now this is important.

We ask the question, “Whose sin did Christ pay for?”

 

The traditional answer is “everybody’s”

“He paid for every body’s sin on the cross”

 

But be careful.

You can’t make that argument from this text.

 

Let’s look at the two verses here again.

2 Corinthians 5:20-21 “Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were making an appeal through us; we beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.”

 

When you read verse 20 you see two distinct groups emerge.

You have “we”

And you have “you”

 

• “We” are those who are “ambassadors for Christ”

• “We” are those whom God is making an appeal through

 

• “You” are those who are not reconciled to God, but need to be.

 

So we have “we” and we have “you”

 

And then in verse 21 Paul says “He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on [“our” or “your”] behalf,”

 

Do you see it?

Paul says Christ was made sin on “our” behalf.

The same group that is now ambassadors and who are now making an appeal.

 

Christ paid for the sin of the redeemed.

Christ paid for the sin of those who would be His.

 

And here is why you need to see that.

• If you do not come to Christ…

• If you are not reconciled to God through Him…

 

Then your sin will also be paid for,

But guess who will pay for it – YOU

 

Revelation 21:8 “But for the cowardly and unbelieving and abominable and murderers and immoral persons and sorcerers and idolaters and all liars, their part will be in the lake that burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.”

 

If Christ had paid for everyone’s sin on the cross,

Then there would be no need for these people to then be paying for it again.

 

The reality is that Christ fully and totally and permanently

Atoned for those who are His on the cross.

 

It was the sin of the redeemed that He took.

It was the sin of those who are reconciled to God through Him

That He bore.

 

Christ did that on our behalf.

What Christ did was to actually and fully pardon His children.

 

He paid for my sin

He was treated as though He did what I did.

 

• All my times of rebellion…

• All my foolish choices…

• All my fleshly indulgences…

• All my worldly desires…

• All my carnal deeds…

 

Christ was punished as though He did them and not me.

He bore my sin on the cross so that I could be pardoned.

 

And this is obviously a wonderful truth.

But it is NOT ALL of the truth yet.

 

That is only half of the equation.

Humanity has two problems.

 

1) The Presence of Sin (just saw that one taken care of)

2) The Absence of Righteousness

 

Look at the final truth of this verse.

 

#5 THE PURPOSE

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.”

 

It was in fact the trade of the century.

 

He was treated as though He committed my sin

And I am now treated as though I fulfilled His righteousness.

 

He became sin

We become righteous

 

Now again, Christ did not become a sinner on the cross, He was merely treated as though He was.

 

And I am not now perfectly righteous, I am merely treated as though I am.

 

And now when I read verses like “You shall be holy as I am holy”

Or “You shall be perfect as your Heavenly Father is perfect”

 

I no longer have to hang my head in shame.

Because of what Christ did in bearing my sin and sharing His righteousness, I am now viewed as holy. I am now treated as perfect.

 

AND FRIENDS, THAT IS WHY WE CAN BE SAVED.

 

• Yes I believe we come to Christ by faith alone,

• But my faith isn’t even the reason I can be saved.

 

The reason I can be saved is because Jesus Christ

Bore my sin and offered His righteousness to me in return.

 

Without that all the faith in the world would not save you.

It is all about what Christ did.

 

And incidentally, just so you will know His work was EFFECTIVE.

That is why we are here this morning.

 

Romans 4:25 “He who was delivered over because of our transgressions, and was raised because of our justification.”

 

We understand that He was “delivered over because of our transgressions”

He certainly wasn’t delivered over because of His transgressions – He had none.

 

It was our sin that brought about His death on the cross.

 

So why was He raised?

“because of our justification”

 

His resurrection did not justify us – His death did that.

His resurrection proved that His death was successful.

His resurrection proved that we had been justified.

 

Had Christ claimed to take our sin and then died and stayed dead,

We would forever wonder if His sacrifice worked.

 

What if He had some secret sin?

What if He had some carnal thought?

What if He only paid for His own sin and not mine?

 

We know that wasn’t the case because He rose from the dead.

The resurrection validates the cross.

 

When we sing “He Arose! He Arose! Hallelujah Christ Arose!”

 

In effect we are singing “The Cross Worked! The Cross Worked! Hallelujah the Cross Worked!”

 

And that is the truth of the gospel message.

Christ died that we might live.

 

And to that I only give you Paul’s invitation.

 

2 Corinthians 5:20 “Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were making an appeal through us; we beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.”

 

By reason of sin humanity is separated from God.

And there is but one way to be reconciled

And that is through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

 

He paid a debt He did not owe

So that we could receive a benefit we did not deserve.

 

“we beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.”

 

• Come to Christ, place your faith in His atoning work.

• Trust in Him as your only means of salvation and submit your life to God.

 

For when you do, Christ’s righteousness is also credited to you

And you can enjoy fellowship with the Father.

 

I don’t know how to explain it any clearer than that,

It is the gospel message of God and it demands not only your faith,

But also your worship.

 

That is what today is all about.

 

“Where the whole realm of nature mine, that were an offering far too small. Love so amazing, so divine, demands my soul, my life, my all.”

 

Growing Sarah’s Faith

Genesis 18:1-15

April 27, 2013

 

Well most recently we have been studying the life of Abraham

And how God used Abraham as a model picture of salvation.

 

We have seen grace in his life

We have seen faith in his life

And most recently we have watched as God began to grow that faith.

 

Well this morning Abraham gets a bit of a break

Because we get to see God do a little work on Sarah’s faith.

 

By now you probably realize that

Abraham wasn’t the only one who was chosen.

 

Sarah was also chosen by God.

• God wouldn’t let Pharaoh CORRUPT her

• God wouldn’t let Hagar REPLACE her

• God wouldn’t let Abraham RETIRE her

 

And while Sarah’s selection has been understood from the beginning,

It was really made clear in the last chapter.

 

Genesis 17:15-19 “Then God said to Abraham, “As for Sarai your wife, you shall not call her name Sarai, but Sarah shall be her name. “I will bless her, and indeed I will give you a son by her. Then I will bless her, and she shall be a mother of nations; kings of peoples will come from her.” Then Abraham fell on his face and laughed, and said in his heart, “Will a child be born to a man one hundred years old? And will Sarah, who is ninety years old, bear a child?” And Abraham said to God, “Oh that Ishmael might live before You!” But God said, “No, but Sarah your wife will bear you a son, and you shall call his name Isaac; and I will establish My covenant with him for an everlasting covenant for his descendants after him.”

 

It was obvious that God was choosing Sarah.

 

We talked about how it was peculiar that God would choose Abraham.

Abraham was an idolater, a worldly man and a barren man.

 

But you should know that it is just as peculiar that God would choose Sarah

To be the woman through whom His grace would flow.

 

For not only was Sarah also pagan and barren, but in addition, Sarah didn’t always exhibit the best qualities for a woman to mother a nation.

 

If you will remember Sarah could be a little difficult.

Whose idea was the whole Hagar affair?

That was Sarah’s idea.

 

And when it didn’t work out as planned, do you remember Sarah’s response?

Genesis 16:5 “And Sarai said to Abram, “May the wrong done me be upon you. I gave my maid into your arms, but when she saw that she had conceived, I was despised in her sight. May the LORD judge between you and me.”

 

Now admit it guys, that is precisely the type of woman

You like to spend time with.

 

The type of woman that gives you her idea, expects you to take it,

And then when it doesn’t work, blames it all on you.

But that was Sarah

 

Beyond that, Sarah also had a touch of bitterness.

In the chapter we are studying this morning, after God makes the promise of a child, notice her response:

 

(12) “Sarah laughed to herself, saying, “After I have become old, shall I have pleasure, my lord being old also?”

 

Do you detect the bitterness?

 

There may have been a time when she thought God would do it,

But now she is old and admittedly is a woman with no “pleasure”

 

So Sarah is old, barren, bitter, and at times a little head strong.

That is NOT the type of woman we would choose to be the mother of a nation.

 

SO WHY DID GOD CHOOSE HER?

Grace

 

In case you haven’t realized it yet,

God loves to use the unusable.

 

Remember the famous missionary of the New Testament?

Acts 9:10-15 “Now there was a disciple at Damascus named Ananias; and the Lord said to him in a vision, “Ananias.” And he said, “Here I am, Lord.” And the Lord said to him, “Get up and go to the street called Straight, and inquire at the house of Judas for a man from Tarsus named Saul, for he is praying, and he has seen in a vision a man named Ananias come in and lay his hands on him, so that he might regain his sight.” But Ananias answered, “Lord, I have heard from many about this man, how much harm he did to Your saints at Jerusalem; and here he has authority from the chief priests to bind all who call on Your name.” But the Lord said to him, “Go, for he is a chosen instrument of Mine, to bear My name before the Gentiles and kings and the sons of Israel;”

 

Saul (whom you know as Paul) wasn’t exactly missionary material.

• Saul wasn’t a Gentile

• Saul wasn’t a compassionate man

• Saul didn’t even like Jesus

 

And yet God saw a prime candidate.

 

Later even Paul would say:

1 Timothy 1:12-16 “I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has strengthened me, because He considered me faithful, putting me into service, even though I was formerly a blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent aggressor. Yet I was shown mercy because I acted ignorantly in unbelief; and the grace of our Lord was more than abundant, with the faith and love which are found in Christ Jesus. It is a trustworthy statement, deserving full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, among whom I am foremost of all. Yet for this reason I found mercy, so that in me as the foremost, Jesus Christ might demonstrate His perfect patience as an example for those who would believe in Him for eternal life.”

 

Paul was chosen specifically because he wasn’t useable.

 

And of course you realize that was true for all of us.

1 Corinthians 1:26-29 “For consider your calling, brethren, that there were not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble; but God has chosen the foolish things of the world to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to shame the things which are strong, and the base things of the world and the despised God has chosen, the things that are not, so that He may nullify the things that are, so that no man may boast before God.”

 

Sarah didn’t look like a prime candidate to you and I,

But she was precisely the type of person God was looking for.

 

Anyone could use Hagar to start a nation, only God could use Sarah.

 

But in order for God to use Sarah, Sarah needed to have faith.

 

Hebrews 11:11-12 “By faith even Sarah herself received ability to conceive, even beyond the proper time of life, since she considered Him faithful who had promised. Therefore there was born even of one man, and him as good as dead at that, as many descendants AS THE STARS OF HEAVEN IN NUMBER, AND INNUMERABLE AS THE SAND WHICH IS BY THE SEASHORE.”

 

Scripture reveals that Sarah conceived “by faith”

And so it is faith that God must teach her.

 

The first 15 verses of chapter 18 reveal God teaching Sarah that faith.

 

It is important for you to realize that Sarah didn’t have that faith yet.

 

It is not far-fetched to assume that Sarah did have a measure of faith,

After all she was still living with Abraham in this land of Canaan.

 

But we know Sarah’s faith is not yet strong enough.

She looked to Hagar to fulfill the promise, not God.

 

But God wants to use Sarah and so her faith must grow.

 

Here we find the event that caused Sarah’s faith to skyrocket.

It was a simple revelation about her God and also about herself.

 

And through it God would grow Sarah’s faith to the point

Where she could conceive and become the mother of a nation.

Now the first 8 verses of this chapter really just form the setting.

 

It begins with three visitors arriving before Abraham.

(1-5) “Now the LORD appeared to him by the oaks of Mamre, while he was sitting at the tent door in the heat of the day. When he lifted up his eyes and looked, behold, three men were standing opposite him; and when he saw them, he ran from the tent door to meet them and bowed himself to the earth, and said, “My Lord, if now I have found favor in Your sight, please do not pass Your servant by. “Please let a little water be brought and wash your feet, and rest yourselves under the tree; and I will bring a piece of bread, that you may refresh yourselves; after that you may go on, since you have visited your servant.” And they said, “So do, as you have said.”

 

Now we don’t know the purpose for this visit.

It is true that through this visit God will grow Sarah’s faith

And God will teach Abraham the value of righteousness.

 

Certainly those are valid points, but beyond that, the reason for this visit is not given.

 

But it is not far-fetched to assume that God simply liked Abraham’s company.

The New Testament calls Abraham the friend of God.

 

And I don’t have a problem in the world with seeing this visit initially

As nothing more than God fellowshipping with His child.

 

And I hope you understand that reality.

God does delight in fellowship with you.

He likes to spend time with His children.

 

That is both simple and yet profound.

It puts you and me in a special category for sure.

 

But here God comes to visit Abraham.

And we don’t know if Abraham initially recognizes this as God, but he will.

 

At the very least Abraham has learned to be a hospitable man

And that hospitality is paying off.

 

Hebrews 13:1-2 “Let love of the brethren continue. Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by this some have entertained angels without knowing it.”

 

After all Jesus said when you do it for the least of these, you do it for Me.

And if you want special fellowship with Jesus,

Hospitality may just be the best way to have it.

 

That is certainly true here.

Abraham is hospitable, compassionate, humble, and genuine.

He pleads with these men to stay and they do.

 

I particularly like the meal portion of this visit.

(6-8) “So Abraham hurried into the tent to Sarah, and said, “Quickly, prepare three measures of fine flour, knead it and make bread cakes.” Abraham also ran to the herd, and took a tender and choice calf and gave it to the servant, and he hurried to prepare it. He took curds and milk and the calf which he had prepared, and placed it before them; and he was standing by them under the tree as they ate.”

 

I especially like the “Quickly” part.

(It’s no big deal, just go whip up some homemade bread)

 

Obviously Abraham and Sarah went to a great deal of trouble

To make their guests feel welcome.

By way of contrast these guests won’t get nearly as nice a welcome in Sodom.

 

But Abraham and Sarah are practicing great hospitality.

And you’ll notice that Abraham did not eat with them but rather stood by them.

 

Abraham was the waiter.

 

This story encompasses every aspect of service and humility and hospitality.

If one wanted to study what hospitality looked like

This story would be a good place to start.

 

But for the point of the chapter, that is really just the setting to get to the point.

 

It is the after dinner conversation that Moses is particularly interested in.

For in this conversation God is going to work on Sarah.

 

And I want to break it down a little this morning.

 

6 things we can see here.

#1 THE PROMISE

Genesis 18:9-10

 

(9) “Then they said to him, “Where is Sarah your wife?” And he said, “There, in the tent.”

 

Now of course this was God.

He knew where Sarah was.

 

But you know what was going on, He was getting Sarah’s attention.

At the very least Sarah would have wanted to know

What they thought about the meal.

 

But if you hear your name mentioned you automatically perk up.

Now Sarah is a listener.

 

And here is the promise.

(10) “He said, “I will surely return to you at this time next year; and behold, Sarah your wife will have a son.” And Sarah was listening at the tent door, which was behind him.”

 

Now put that in perspective please.

• It had been at least 23 years since Abraham broke the news to Sarah that they were moving to Canaan to become a great nation.

 

• It had been at least 13 years since that whole Hagar – Ishmael incident.

 

There may have been a time when Sarah thought she was going to have children, but time had caused reality to set in.

 

How long are you supposed to wait?

 

Well, that time is here.

It is finally time.

 

I don’t know if Sarah just wasn’t old enough before,

But God has finally reached the time when He desires to work the miracle.

And so He comes states the promise specifically.

 

I’ll be back in a year and when I come back I’ll meet Isaac face to face.

 

The Promise

#2 THE PROBLEM

Genesis 18:11

 

Certainly by now we are aware of this detail,

But Moses makes sure you and I realize that the promise which was just made to Sarah was a little on the impossible side.

 

2 main things stood in her way of having a son.

• One is that she has always been barren

• And two is that even if she were not barren, she is now too old

 

Even fertile women, don’t have babies at her age.

 

This promise that God is making is humanly impossible.

It cannot happen by human means.

 

It falls in the category of absurd

It falls in the category of illogical

By human standards it is not going to happen

 

And might I remind you that many of God’s promises

Fall directly in this category?

 

God is not looking for you to believe what you see,

He’s asking you to walk by faith.

 

This promise will require walking by faith.

 

And here is why.

I think it’s probably safe to say that at this point in their life Abraham and Sarah have probably stopped trying to have children.

 

At this point in their life I would doubt that intimacy

Between the two is really a regularity.

 

You can imagine that to some extent to even go and try to conceive again would probably make you feel a little silly.

 

The point is that this is no logical promise.

It is a promise in spite of obvious difficulty.

 

The Promise, the Problem

#3 THE PESSIMIST

Genesis 18:12

 

Now we have a part of the story that we can relate to.

Sarah laughed

 

• No she didn’t bust out laughing – this wasn’t funny

• She laughed to herself in doubt and disbelief.

 

“After I have become old, shall I have pleasure, my lord being old also?”

 

As we mentioned earlier,

• You can detect a little bitterness there…

• You can detect a sore spot…

• You can certainly detect doubt…

 

Sarah doesn’t think this is going to happen

And she laughs to herself

IT IS CLEAR THAT SHE DOESN’T BELIEVE.

 

And if she doesn’t believe she will never conceive,

Most likely because she will never try.

It is pessimism

 

And this we can all identify with.

I think we’d all be lying if we didn’t admit to having a little Thomas in us.

The very world we live in makes us a little cynical

 

Every where we look someone is offering us something too good to be true.

But when we take it, it often is.

 

And when we talk about doubting,

I don’t know that a person in this room can say, “that’s not me”.

 

It certainly was Sarah.

 

The Promise, The Problem, The Pessimist

#4 THE PECULIARITY

Genesis 18:13

 

As I studied this chapter,

This was the verse that really seemed to make a dent on my heart.

 

You’d think it would be the next verse,

Which really forms the point of the text, but for me it was this verse.

 

God looks square at Abraham and says, “Why did Sarah laugh..?”

 

I hope you ponder that for a moment.

• God just spoke words of sober truth.

• God just made a gracious promise

 

And Sarah laughed – doubted what He said.

 

And you can see that God is dead serious when He asked why.

Can you feel the disappointment in God?

Can you feel the frustration that came over Him?

 

Let me put it to you this way:

A LACK OF FAITH IS PECULIAR TO GOD

 

God knows who He is

God knows what He is capable of

God knows how faithful He is

And it is peculiar to Him that His creation so often doesn’t

 

How it must puzzle Him to see humanity doubt what He says.

• Has He ever lied before?

• Has He ever broken a promise before?

• Has He ever not been able to do what He said?

• Does He commonly fail?

• Is He routinely too weak?

 

What reason does Sarah have to doubt God now?

Her lack of faith is peculiar to God.

 

And incidentally this never changes.

 

In the Sermon on the Mount

Matthew 6:28 “And why are you worried about clothing? Observe how the lilies of the field grow; they do not toil nor do they spin,”

 

When the disciples were in the storm

Matthew 8:26 “He said to them, “Why are you afraid, you men of little faith?” Then He got up and rebuked the winds and the sea, and it became perfectly calm.”

When Peter sank on the water:

Matthew 14:31 “Immediately Jesus stretched out His hand and took hold of him, and said to him, “You of little faith, why did you doubt?”

 

When the disciples forgot the bread

Matthew 16:8-9 “But Jesus, aware of this, said, “You men of little faith, why do you discuss among yourselves that you have no bread? “Do you not yet understand or remember the five loaves of the five thousand, and how many baskets full you picked up?”

 

A lack of faith is always peculiar to God.

Mark 6:6 “And He wondered at their unbelief.”

 

I suppose it would make more sense if He routinely broke His word,

But He doesn’t.

 

He has always done what He says He’ll do.

And so a lack of faith must feel like a betrayal to Him.

 

What Sarah did cut God deep.

 

The Promise, the Problem, the Pessimist, The Peculiarity

#5 THE PROPOSITION

Genesis 18:14

 

Here comes the truth that really sets apart the chapter.

It is that propositional truth that God wants Sarah to ponder.

 

“Is anything too difficult for the LORD?

 

Now make sure you understand that He DID NOT SAY,

“Is anything too difficult for you…”

 

There are people who think that is what God meant.

You’ve all heard that misapplied verse out of 1 Corinthians.

 

1 Corinthians 10:13 “No temptation has overtaken you but such as is common to man; and God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will provide the way of escape also, so that you will be able to endure it.”

 

And people often say, “I know God won’t put more on me than I can handle.”

 

That is, “He won’t allow anything that is too difficult for me.”

 

YEAH RIGHT!

That verse says He won’t let you be tempted to sin, more than you can resist,

But life is full of things too difficult to handle.

 

That is the point.

If God never put anything too difficult for you in your life

Then you’d never have to trust Him.

The point is that there are all sorts of things too difficult for you.

 

The question is, “Is anything too difficult for the Lord?”

 

I had a teacher in college that talked about being in the military and being asked to take charge of a group of soldiers for an assignment.

 

He looked over the group and asked, “Does anybody in this group think they are tough enough to whip me?”

 

One man raised his hand and said, “Yes sire, I believe I can whip you.”

He told that man, “You come up here”

That man came forward and my teacher told him, “You’re second in command, does anybody out there think they can whip both of us?”

 

Look, we aren’t looking for what you can handle,

We are talking about what God can handle.

 

• Do you really suppose old age to be a problem too big for God?

• Do you really suppose a closed womb to be a problem too big for God?

 

That’s what God is asking Sarah.

Sarah, you are laughing like I can’t do it.

Is that really what you think?

 

Well you and I know that we serve a God without limits.

 

Ephesians 3:20 “Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us,”

 

That means your ability to dream is more limited than God’s power.

You can’t even imagine as much as He can do.

 

There is nothing too difficult for God.

“At the appointed time I will return to you, at this time next year, and Sarah will have a son.”

 

God is promising to do it.

 

The Promise, the Problem, the Pessimist, the Peculiarity, the Proposition

#6 THE POINT

Genesis 18:15

 

And again this is just like us.

“Sarah denied it however, saying, “I did not laugh”; for she was afraid. And He said, “No, but you did laugh.”

 

I guess in one sense Sarah was telling the truth

Since the Scripture says she laughed to herself.

But God sees the heart and He heard it loud and clear.

Now what does this passage teach us?

 

It shows us two things.

1) Sarah had a lack of faith

2) Sarah didn’t realize it

 

God just forced Sarah to look in the mirror.

He just forced her to see that her faith was not yet what it had to be.

 

She doubted God’s power and she didn’t even realize it.

 

And friends that is just like us as well.

It is certainly like the children of Israel.

 

We often fancy ourselves to be people who believe God,

And the reality is we have far more doubt than we even realize.

 

We are all prone to be pessimists like Thomas or Sarah

We are all prone to let a little delay cause us to think God isn’t coming

 

Sarah didn’t like it when God revealed to her that she didn’t believe,

But she didn’t, and she needed to know it.

 

But let me tell you this.

SARAH WOULD NEVER DOUBT AGAIN.

 

Sarah is about to go to Abraham and conceive Isaac…

 

Hebrews 11:11 “By faith even Sarah herself received ability to conceive, even beyond the proper time of life, since she considered Him faithful who had promised.”

 

And after Isaac is born and Ishmael starts to mock him,

Sarah will understand and ask Abraham to send Ishmael away.

 

Abraham won’t want to, he will vacillate, but not Sarah.

Sarah is firm.

 

And in chapter 22 when God asks Abraham to sacrifice Isaac,

You won’t find Sarah running up the mountain trying to stop it.

(like the TV show suggested)

 

Sarah had small faith, but when God showed it to her,

She kissed it good-bye.

 

AND THAT IS HOW FAITH GROWS.

 

Over and over Jesus showed the disciples how little their faith was,

And He did it so that next time their faith might be stronger.

 

Well my guess is you have a list of failures

Where your faith wasn’t strong enough too. (I certainly do)

Those are painful moments…

• I don’t always like to look in the mirror…

• Sometimes I even argue with God like Sarah did…

 

But the point behind those failures and times when God exposes you

Is that you recognize that you are what God says you are

And that you grow from that knowledge.

 

That is also what Sarah did.

God showed her that she had weak faith,

And she allowed her faith to grow as a result.

 

This is what He asks of you.

WHY?

 

Because He still has things He desires to do in and through your life,

But it will require faith to accomplish it.

 

So learn from your moments of confrontation as well.

Maybe your faith was weak, just let it grow so that it doesn’t stay weak.

 

We’ve all been like Peter and been punched in the stomach

By the reality of how little our faith actually is.

 

The goal is to return and not to let our faith stay little.

We are called to trust God.

 

After all, is anything too difficult for Him?

 

Achieving the Blessing

Galatians 3:6-14

April 13, 2014

 

Well, you know we are studying through the book of Galatians

And it is a letter with a very distinct theme.

It is a letter written to refute legalism and to secure freedom in Christ.

 

And Paul has wasted no time exposing this vicious deception

And shaming the Galatians for entertaining it.

 

In fact last week Paul called them “foolish”

They had believed that which they never should have believed.

 

They were believing that the way to now please God

Was through the works of the Law, namely circumcision.

 

And to that Paul asked a series of questions meant to cause them

To analyze the truth of the situation more accurately.

 

How did you get the Spirit? Works or Faith

So if it started with faith, why would it finish with works?

 

And the point was that you didn’t earn salvation through works

And you don’t perfect salvation through works.

 

God does all that He does in your life on the basis of faith, not merit.

 

And tonight we take the next step and understand why this matters.

 

IT ALL COMES DOWN TO THE REALITY OF BLESSING.

Is that not what we want?

 

When we really get honest, we want to please God

Because we want the blessing of God to be on our lives.

 

And so, the legalistic thought is, if I’ll just do enough good then God will be pleased and God will bless me.

 

Is that really how it works?

• You know, go to church enough…

• Read my Bible enough…

• Pray enough…

• Give enough…

• Don’t cuss, steal, lie, or cheat…

 

And if I keep that sort of basic code then God will be pleased

And the result will be blessing in my life.

 

But by now you should realize that this is a backward thought.

Let me ask you a few questions:

 

What was the greatest blessing God ever gave you?

-Salvation

 

Did He give that in response to your good behavior?

-No

 

He blessed you with salvation

When your behavior was as bad as it ever was.

 

He blessed you with your greatest blessing

When your works were at an all time low.

 

Romans 5:7-8 “For one will hardly die for a righteous man; though perhaps for the good man someone would dare even to die. But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.”

 

What did you do that prompted that blessing?

-Faith

 

Romans 5:1-2 “Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom also we have obtained our introduction by faith into this grace in which we stand; and we exult in hope of the glory of God.”

 

So if God gives His greatest blessing in response to faith,

In what manner will He give the lesser blessings?

 

And you see what Paul is talking about.

 

We are not knocking works – works are important

But you must understand that the blessings of God

Are not given in response to works,

They are given in response to faith.

 

And Paul is continuing to drive that point home to the Galatians here.

 

And to do that Paul pulls out his favorite Old Testament example.

(Hopefully because of our study in Genesis, you can see why)

 

But Paul’s favorite Old Testament example is none other than Abraham.

 

And Abraham is a wonderful example,

Not only because his life clearly depicts the salvation of God,

But because the argument Paul is facing is in regard to Judaism

And Abraham is the father of the Jews.

 

So tonight let’s further emphasize that God works in regard to faith,

Not works, and see this in the life of Abraham.

 

3 things in our text.

#1 THE BLESSING OF FAITH

Galatians 3:6-9

 

Now again, we know what it was that the Galatians wanted.

They wanted the blessing of God

 

They wanted God’s favor on their lives.

 

Galatians 3:5 “So then, does He who provides you with the Spirit and works miracles among you, do it by the works of the Law, or by hearing with faith?

 

They were after God’s blessings in their lives.

 

And they wanted it so badly that they were willing to be circumcised

And come under the Law in order to have it.

 

And this idea of circumcision came from the Judaizers.

They were the ones who came in and told the Galatians

That circumcision was the means by which you obtain God’s blessing.

 

NOW WHERE WOULD THEY HAVE GOTTEN SUCH A THOUGHT?

(We looked at it this morning)

 

Genesis 17:9-11 “God said further to Abraham, “Now as for you, you shall keep My covenant, you and your descendants after you throughout their generations. “This is My covenant, which you shall keep, between Me and you and your descendants after you: every male among you shall be circumcised. “And you shall be circumcised in the flesh of your foreskin, and it shall be the sign of the covenant between Me and you.”

 

Well that command was clear enough.

And you’ll remember from our study this morning that anyone who did not obey that command was to be cut off from the people of God.

 

I mean, from a Bible stand point

It sure seems like the Judaizers have a strong point.

 

After all, if circumcision was required of Abraham, why wouldn’t it be required of the Galatians?

 

Let me tell you why.

Because the Judaizers were quoting the wrong Scripture.

 

(Can that actually happen? – Of course it can. This is the danger of studying Scripture out of context and then pulling it to fit your argument or desire)

 

We studied this just this morning

But let me hit it again briefly to make sure you fully grasp it.

 

Genesis 17 had nothing to do with

The promise of blessing that God had for Abraham.

Genesis 17 revealed the sign and the seal of the covenant,

Which was circumcision.

 

But if you study that chapter you will NOT find where God says, “If you don’t do this, then I’m changing My mind and the promise is off.”

 

God didn’t say that, because this chapter

Was not about Abraham earning God’s blessing.

 

If the Judaizers wanted to read Scripture that pertained to

Being blessed by God they should have read chapter 15.

 

Which is what Paul quotes here.

Genesis 15:1-6 “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.” 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.” 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.” Then he believed in the LORD; and He reckoned it to him as righteousness.”

 

This is the chapter where Abraham pleased God

This is the chapter where God gave Abraham the greatest blessing

 

And what prompted God to do that?

Abraham’s faith.

 

ABRAM DID RECEIVE GOD’S BLESSING

BUT HE RECEIVED IT THROUGH FAITH, NOT WORKS!

 

So if you want to receive the blessing of Abraham,

You don’t do it through works.

 

(7) “Therefore be sure that it is those who are of faith who are sons of Abraham.”

 

And I hope you pick up on the slam Paul just put on the Judaizers.

Those men claim to be Jews…

They claim to be sons of Abraham…

 

But the true sons of Abraham are those who are like him,

And Abraham was not a man of works, Abraham was a man of faith.

 

Romans 4:7-12 “BLESSED ARE THOSE WHOSE LAWLESS DEEDS HAVE BEEN FORGIVEN, AND WHOSE SINS HAVE BEEN COVERED. “BLESSED IS THE MAN WHOSE SIN THE LORD WILL NOT TAKE INTO ACCOUNT.” 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.”

 

Abraham was saved by faith, not works,

So you don’t become a child of Abraham by works.

You become a child of Abraham by faith.

 

Consider Abraham’s life.

Hebrews 11:8-10 “By faith Abraham, when he was called, obeyed by going out to a place which he was to receive for an inheritance; and he went out, not knowing where he was going. 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; for he was looking for the city which has foundations, whose architect and builder is God.”

 

Hebrews 11:17-19 “By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises was offering up his only begotten son; it was he to whom it was said, “IN ISAAC YOUR DESCENDANTS SHALL BE CALLED.” He considered that God is able to raise people even from the dead, from which he also received him back as a type.”

 

Abraham was a man of faith.

This is what it means to be like Abraham.

We see that.

 

And then we see that it is not just Jews who can be children of Abraham.

 

(8) “The Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, “ALL THE NATIONS WILL BE BLESSED IN YOU.”

 

God told Abraham that more than just Jews would share in his blessing.

“All the nations will be blessed in you”

(A promise made in Genesis 12:3 – also before circumcision)

 

Not just Israel, everyone can share in your blessing.

 

HOW?

(9) “So then those who are of faith are blessed with Abraham, the believer.”

 

And so I hope you see the point.

 

There was a promised blessing to Abraham and his descendants.

But this promise was never restricted to the circumcised.

 

This promise was to anyone who pleased God the same way Abraham did,

AND THAT WAS THROUGH FAITH.

 

Abraham didn’t please God by works.

If you’ll remember Abraham had some pretty questionable works.

Abraham pleased God with faith.

 

And it is those who follow the example of Abraham

Who are really his children and who share in his blessing.

 

AND DO YOU SEE WHAT THE JUDAIZERS WERE DOING?

 

They were piecing Scriptures together, out of context,

And using them to make a very convincing argument about legalism.

 

It really baffles me today when someone so boldly asserts

That works are required for salvation.

 

And sure, but picking verses here and there,

They can even make a pretty convincing argument.

 

But you can’t study Scripture as a whole in context

And make any argument at all.

 

When people do this, I just want to ask:

• “Have you never read Romans 4?”

• “Have you never read Galatians?”

• “Have you never read the entire life of Abraham?”

 

Scripture is so clear that salvation is totally by faith,

The only possible way you can add works to it

Is by quoting verses out of context and applying them

In a way in which God did not intend.

 

I mean, show my one person in the Bible

Who was saved because of something they did.

No one was

 

And the blessings of God don’t come that way either.

Faith brings the blessing.

 

The Blessing of Faith

#2 THE CURSE OF THE LAW

Galatians 3:10-12

 

Here is an often forgotten reality

When it comes to offering people a blessing.

 

The Galatians wanted God’s blessing…

The Judaizers said it comes through obeying the Law…

 

REALLY?

The Law was a source of blessing?

Hmm

 

Not according to Paul.

(10) “For as many as are of the works of the Law are under a curse; for it is written, “CURSED IS EVERYONE WHO DOES NOT ABIDE BY ALL THINGS WRITTEN IN THE BOOK OF THE LAW, TO PERFORM THEM.”

 

Deuteronomy 27:26 “Cursed is he who does not confirm the words of this law by doing them.’ And all the people shall say, ‘Amen.’”

 

Just listen to the Law

 

Deuteronomy 28:15 “But it shall come about, if you do not obey the LORD your God, to observe to do all His commandments and His statutes with which I charge you today, that all these curses will come upon you and overtake you:”

 

Deuteronomy 28:45 “So all these curses shall come on you and pursue you and overtake you until you are destroyed, because you would not obey the LORD your God by keeping His commandments and His statutes which He commanded you.”

 

Deuteronomy 28:58-68 “If you are not careful to observe all the words of this law which are written in this book, to fear this honored and awesome name, the LORD your God, then the LORD will bring extraordinary plagues on you and your descendants, even severe and lasting plagues, and miserable and chronic sicknesses. “He will bring back on you all the diseases of Egypt of which you were afraid, and they will cling to you. “Also every sickness and every plague which, not written in the book of this law, the LORD will bring on you until you are destroyed. “Then you shall be left few in number, whereas you were as numerous as the stars of heaven, because you did not obey the LORD your God. “It shall come about that as the LORD delighted over you to prosper you, and multiply you, so the LORD will delight over you to make you perish and destroy you; and you will be torn from the land where you are entering to possess it. “Moreover, the LORD will scatter you among all peoples, from one end of the earth to the other end of the earth; and there you shall serve other gods, wood and stone, which you or your fathers have not known. “Among those nations you shall find no rest, and there will be no resting place for the sole of your foot; but there the LORD will give you a trembling heart, failing of eyes, and despair of soul. “So your life shall hang in doubt before you; and you will be in dread night and day, and shall have no assurance of your life. “In the morning you shall say, ‘Would that it were evening!’ And at evening you shall say, ‘Would that it were morning!’ because of the dread of your heart which you dread, and for the sight of your eyes which you will see. “The LORD will bring you back to Egypt in ships, by the way about which I spoke to you, ‘You will never see it again!’ And there you will offer yourselves for sale to your enemies as male and female slaves, but there will be no buyer.”

 

Well that sounds pleasant doesn’t it?

That sure sounds like the path to blessing…

 

WRONG!

That is a threat – that is a curse waiting to happen

There was no blessing there.

 

Now it is true that perfect obedience to the Law did offer blessing.

But may I stress the word “PERFECT” obedience.

If you failed the Law at any one point

You were no longer under the blessing, now you were under the curse.

 

James 2:10 “For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles in one point, he has become guilty of all.”

 

You break one command and you are a law breaker

And there goes the blessing, here comes the curse.

 

If you think the Law is your ticket to pleasing God and obtaining His blessing you are greatly mistaken.

 

Do you not remember the veil?

Do you not remember the YEARLY sacrifices?

Do you not remember the countless restitutions?

 

The Law did not usher men into blessing,

It ushered men into condemnation and a curse.

 

The Law didn’t save anyone

(11) “Now that no one is justified by the Law before God is evident; for, “THE RIGHTEOUS MAN SHALL LIVE BY FAITH.”

 

Here Paul pulls out another Old Testament passage.

If the Law only brought condemnation, then what brought justification?

 

That’s easy – faith.

It was faith that brought justification to Abraham,

And that was true for everyone.

 

Habakkuk 2:4 “Behold, as for the proud one, His soul is not right within him; But the righteous will live by his faith.”

 

(Incidentally, that was the verse that broke Martin Luther)

 

The Old Testament teaches that righteous men were righteous

Not because of their flawless observance of the Law,

But because of their faith in God.

 

They never pleased God with works, it was always by faith.

 

Do you remember what a thug Moses could be?

Do you remember the heinous sins of David?

IT WASN’T THEIR WORKS, IT WAS THEIR FAITH

 

Hebrews 11:32-39 “And what more shall I say? For time will fail me if I tell of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, of David and Samuel and the prophets, who by faith conquered kingdoms, performed acts of righteousness, obtained promises, shut the mouths of lions, quenched the power of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, from weakness were made strong, became mighty in war, put foreign armies to flight. Women received back their dead by resurrection; and others were tortured, not accepting their release, so that they might obtain a better resurrection; and others experienced mockings and scourgings, yes, also chains and imprisonment. They were stoned, they were sawn in two, they were tempted, they were put to death with the sword; they went about in sheepskins, in goatskins, being destitute, afflicted, ill-treated (men of whom the world was not worthy), wandering in deserts and mountains and caves and holes in the ground. And all these, having gained approval through their faith”

 

IT WAS FAITH THAT BROUGHT THEM THE BLESSING

 

TIMEOUT

What about that often used statement:

“Obedience brings blessing, disobedience brings a curse”?

 

Isn’t that clearly seen in the Old Testament?

Yes, but it is not in regard to pleasing God.

 

Obedience brings blessing in the sense that

Doing what is right has favorable results.

 

God’s commands are perfect,

And obeying them does yield positive results.

 

Breaking His commands does bring negative consequences.

 

But it is never your works that usher in God’s blessing, it is your faith.

 

And notice Paul’s next point:

(12) “However, the Law is not of faith; on the contrary, “HE WHO PRACTICES THEM SHALL LIVE BY THEM.”

 

Now there is a unique statement.

“the Law is not of faith”

 

WHAT DOES HE MEAN?

Well, he quotes Leviticus 18:5

 

Leviticus 18:5 “So you shall keep My statutes and My judgments, by which a man may live if he does them; I am the LORD.”

 

There is no faith involved there.

Why?

 

Because there is no expectation for God to do anything.

The burden of the Law does not fall on God – it falls on you.

 

Seeking to keep the Law is trusting in your own abilities, not God’s

 

When you seek to justify yourself or usher in the blessing through works,

You are putting the entire burden squarely on your back.

 

You are saying, “I’ll take care of it…”

But the one who does not work, and instead trusts God for righteousness, puts the entire burden on the back of God.

 

One is trusting in self

The other is trusting in God

 

And only one of those receives the blessing

And the righteousness of God.

 

And so the question to the Galatians is obvious.

HOW DO YOU PLAN ON BEING BLESSED IF THE BLESSING IS BASED ON FAITH, BUT YOU PERSIST IN WORKS?

 

The Law won’t bring you a blessing, it only brings a curse.

 

The Blessing of Faith – The Curse of the Law

#3 THE REDEMPTION OF CHRIST

Galatians 3:13-14

 

Now here is where the gospel message of salvation comes in.

“Christ redeemed us from the curse of the Law”

 

That is to say that Christ bought us back

Christ paid off our debt

 

WHAT WERE WE UNDER?

Not just the Law, but “the curse of the Law”

(as Gentiles the Law was written on our hearts and our consciences condemned us)

 

Why were we under such a curse?

Because we had not kept it perfectly.

 

You break one command and you are guilty and the curse is here.

 

But Christ “redeemed us from the curse”

 

He bought us out of it.

HOW?

 

By “becoming a curse for us”

 

In other words, He took our curse upon Himself.

 

And that is clearly seen:

“for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree.”

 

The crucifixion itself was in and of itself a divine curse.

Christ died upon a cross because He was taking our curse.

 

 

The entire curse of the Law…

• All the plagues…

• All the judgments…

 

Christ took them all.

He bore our curse.

 

Colossians 2:13-14 “When you were dead in your transgressions and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He made you alive together with Him, having forgiven us all our transgressions, having canceled out the certificate of debt consisting of decrees against us, which was hostile to us; and He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross.”

 

WHY?

(14) “in order that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, so that we would receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.”

 

Christ took the curse so we could get the what?

“the blessing of Abraham”

 

And “the promise of the Spirit”

 

And it all comes “through faith”

Faith in what He did

Faith in His success

 

We put the burden on Christ, not our own back.

He told us to come to Him if we were weak and heavy laden

And He would give us rest.

 

And the point is simple,

We are NOT now trying to get a blessing through works.

 

We are seeking the blessing through the work of Christ.

We are betting everything on Him.

(Not only our salvation, but also our blessings in life)

 

AND SO WE SEEK THE BLESSING THROUGH FAITH

 

When someone throws over your head this legalistic mindset

That you must do something to earn God’s favor and be pleasing to Him.

They are simply following in the foot steps of their fathers the Judaizers.

But it is not the truth.

 

The Galatians were contemplating trying to please God

By coming under the Law, and Paul says, “That is foolish”

 

No one ever pleased God by coming under the Law.

Anyone who thinks that, obviously hasn’t read the Bible.

The Law is a killer…

The Law is a condemner…

The Law is a curse bringer…

Don’t run to the Law as a means of obtaining blessing.

 

Christ set us free from the Law by becoming a curse.

 

If you want the blessing…

If you want to be pleasing to God…

Then pursue it the only way it works, by faith.

 

And tonight that is all I want to ask you to do.

I want to ask you to trust God.

 

Trust that what Jesus did was successful.

Trust that if you never did another good thing, Jesus did enough.

Trust that what He did can and will save you, apart from your help.

 

Now I’m not advocating a license to sin

And I’m not advocating a freedom from righteous living

 

We know the truth about such things.

I am merely encouraging you not to trust in those things.

 

Trust in what Christ did

As all you’ll ever need to be pleasing to the Father.

And when you give God that kind of faith,

The blessing of Abraham is yours.

 

God blessed Abraham because of his faith, not his works

And the same is true for you.

 

So, you foolish Galatians, quit thinking you need a circumcision appointment.

Quite thinking you need to go do something to please God.

 

What Jesus did is enough.

And the blessing is yours if you will simply trust that.

 

YOU ARE BLESSED

Galatians 3:9 “So then those who are of faith are blessed with Abraham, the believer.”

 

The Expectation of Grace

Genesis 17:1-27

April 13, 2014

 

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

 

We are calling it “The Gospel According to Moses”

 

Galatians 3:8 “The Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, “ALL THE NATIONS WILL BE BLESSED IN YOU.”

 

Make no mistake what is being recorded here in Genesis is “the gospel”

Moses is carefully revealing that message to his congregation

As they travel through the wilderness.

 

We’ve seen sin in Adam

We’ve seen judgment in Noah

And now we are looking at salvation in Abram

 

And in Abram we have first seen grace

And are now presently looking at faith.

 

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.”

 

Seeing both grace and faith in Abram’s life has not been difficult.

• God chose him when he was a pagan idolater

• God granted him the faith to believe

• And Abram did in fact believe in God so that God granted righteousness to Abram.

 

We are currently in the process of Abram’s life

In which God is growing Abram’s faith.

 

We know where his faith is headed.

In chapter 22, he will be asked to sacrifice his own son and Scripture records that Abram will do that believing that God is able even to raise him from the dead.

 

Abram’s faith will be great.

But it didn’t start out that way.

 

His faith started small, and we saw evidence of that last week.

• As the promise was 10 years old and still unfulfilled, Abram and Sarai resorted to fulfilling the promise through the flesh.

• Sarai gave her made Hagar to Abram, and Abram conceived a son with her named Ishmael.

• When the result was not as fulfilling as Sarai had hoped she mistreated Hagar and Hagar fled.

• However God sent her back.

• Her son was to be named “Ishmael” (God Hears)

• And she went back with a testimony that God sees

This Ishmael would be a living reminder to Abram

That even if the promise does not come as soon as think it should,

That does not mean that God does not see you

And it does not mean that God does not hear you.

 

So God has been growing Abram’s faith.

 

Well this morning it is time for Abram’s faith to grow again.

We are now 13 yrs. later.

 

Ishmael was born in chapter 16, he is now 13yrs old in chapter 17.

 

So Abram has now been in the land 23 years

And still yet to see the promise fulfilled.

 

He has believed God and God is growing his faith.

 

AND NOW COMES THE NEXT STEP.

And that is THE EXPECTATION OF GRACE

 

Grace requires a response from you.

Grace is offered free of charge, but those who respond to it

Are expected to respond in a certain way.

 

WHAT DO I MEAN?

Ephesians 2:8-10 “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. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.”

 

Verse 10 indicates the expectation.

We are not saved by works, but we are saved for works.

 

In Romans 6 Paul asked:

Romans 6:1-2 “What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin so that grace may increase? May it never be! How shall we who died to sin still live in it?”

 

Paul was there refuting any abuse of grace.

• Grace is not a license to sin.

• Grace is not a free pass to do as you please.

• Grace is freely bestowed on undeserving people (like Abraham), but it does expect that it will have a positive effect on your life.

 

In short grace comes with an expectation.

And that is where we are in Abram’s story.

 

In fact the chapter begins by stating the whole point.

(1-2) “Now when Abram was ninety-nine years old, the LORD appeared to Abram and said to him, “I am God Almighty; Walk before Me, and be blameless. “I will establish My covenant between Me and you, And I will multiply you exceedingly.”

These two verses reveal for us the point of the chapter.

God has been gracious and now He expects something from Abram in return.

 

WHAT DOES GOD EXPECT?

“Walk before Me, and be blameless”

 

Ephesians 1:3-4 “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and blameless before Him.”

 

This is what God expects of Abram.

 

Now make sure you keep your theology correct.

God has already made the promise to Abram,

This is not a condition added later.

 

The promise belongs to Abram,

It is not a condition, it is an expectation.

 

God is still going to give the promise to Abram,

But He does expect Abram to respond to it in a proper way,

Which is to “be blameless”

 

Grace is not a license to sin.

Anyone who uses it in that fashion has perverted thinking.

 

Grace is a driving force to be holy.

 

And in the remainder of the chapter we see that unfold.

 

4 things

#1 THE SUMMARY OF THE COVENANT

Genesis 17:1-8

 

Here God just reminds Abram

Of all that He has done and is doing in Abram’s life.

 

Now let me quickly point out to you 4 realities

About the grace of God in Abram’s life.

 

1) YOUR POSTERITY (3-5)

“Abram fell on his face, and God talked with him, saying, “As for Me, behold, My covenant is with you, And you will be the father of a multitude of nations. “No longer shall your name be called Abram, But your name shall be Abraham; For I have made you the father of a multitude of nations.”

There God again reminds Abram that

He has promised to make a great nation out of him.

And to further solidify that promise,

God has a name change in store for Abram.

 

• Abram means “exalted father” it insinuates an important man.

• Abraham means “father of a multitude” something Abram was not – YET

 

And isn’t that just like God?

He doesn’t name us for what we are, but for what He will make us.

 

Remember Simon?

John 1:42 “He brought him to Jesus. Jesus looked at him and said, “You are Simon the son of John; you shall be called Cephas” (which is translated Peter).”

 

Jesus saw Simon and said, “No, your name is Rock”

Now you know Peter, he was no rock.

If anything Peter was fickle

• One minute confessing, the next getting in the way

• One minute boasting, the next retreating

• One minute defending, the next denying

 

The only time Peter resembled a rock

Was when he sank while walking on the water

 

But Jesus didn’t name him Peter because he was a rock,

But because Jesus would make him a rock – and He did.

 

Peter was the rock who stood in the city which crucified the Lord

And boldly preached at Pentecost.

 

God names us according to what He will do in and through us.

 

That’s true for you.

If I ask you if you are a sinner, you will tell me “yes” because we still sin.

But if I ask you what God calls you, what is it? “SAINT”

Because that is what He is doing in you.

 

And so it is for Abram.

God is going to make him a great nation

And so God changes his name to Abraham.

 

“For I have made you the father of a multitude of nations”

 

That is God’s grace in Abram’s life to make him a posterity.

2) YOUR PROSPERITY (6)

“I will make you exceedingly fruitful, and I will make nations of you, and kings will come forth from you.”

 

And you have to love that promise.

You won’t just have many descendants, but you will have important ones.

 

“I will make you exceedingly fruitful”

 

HOW FRUITFUL?

“nations…and kings”

 

I’m not make just some average race from you, but a great one.

 

Your Posterity, Your Prosperity

3) YOUR PERMANENCE (7)

“I will establish My covenant between Me and you and your descendants after you throughout their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and to your descendants after you.”

 

I hope you picked up on the two very important words there:

“everlasting covenant”

 

We love the fact that the gifts and calling of God are irrevocable.

• God did not make a temporary covenant

• God did not make a fragile covenant

• God made an “everlasting covenant”

 

He will not break it, nor let it fail.

What God is promising to Abraham will endure.

 

4) YOUR POSSESSION (8)

“I will give to you and to your descendants after you, the land of your sojournings, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession; and I will be their God.”

 

And there is another reminder that the land

Is for your descendants forever.

 

AND OF COURSE NONE OF THIS NEWS IS NEW.

We’ve seen all of this news before.

 

This is merely God reminding Abraham

Of all the grace that has been bestowed upon him.

 

Incidentally it is important that you also remember

All the grace that has been bestowed upon you.

 

• Once called sinner, you are now called Saint

• Once a dry tree, you are now promised to be fruitful

• Once in constant limbo, you are now firmly established and secure

• Once a spiritual beggar, you now have a heavenly inheritance

 

Ephesians 2:1-9 “And you were dead in your trespasses and sins, in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience. Among them we too all formerly lived in the lusts of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest. 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.”

 

Grace has been good to you, just as it was good to Abraham.

And it is important to remember that.

 

WHY?

Because that grace is supposed to motivate your obedience.

Grace comes with an expectation.

 

Ephesians 2:10 “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.”

 

So having seen the covenant again, now let’s move on to the expectation.

#2 THE SIGN OF THE COVENANT

Genesis 17:9-14

 

Here we see the expectation

“God said further to Abraham, “Now as for you, you shall keep My covenant…”

 

The covenant was freely given and is totally permanent,

But it does come with the expectation that Abraham will keep it.

 

HOW DOES HE KEEP IT?

Through obedience

 

(10-11) “This is My covenant, which you shall keep, between Me and you and your descendants after you: every male among you shall be circumcised. “And you shall be circumcised in the flesh of your foreskin, and it shall be the sign of the covenant between Me and you.”

 

There it is.

The sign of the covenant is circumcision.

 

To put it in terminology you can understand,

This is the “wedding ring” so to speak.

 

And you notice that everyone in the covenant is required to participate. And if they will not participate they are to be cut off from the people.

 

(READ 12-14)

So circumcision is the sign of the covenant.

WHY CIRCUMCISION?

 

You have to understand sin to understand circumcision.

Sin is a major problem, and it is passed down to us from our father Adam.

 

Romans 5:12 “Therefore, just as through one man sin entered into the world, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men, because all sinned”

 

Romans 5:18 “So then as through one transgression there resulted condemnation to all men…”

 

Romans 5:19 “For as through the one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners…”

 

1 Corinthians 15:22 “For as in Adam all die…”

 

In Adam all of humanity fell.

He is our father and through him we all inherited a sin nature.

 

Had a debate about this with a pastor last week.

He adamantly claims children have “no sin”

That is not true.

 

Children are referred to as “innocent” in the Scripture in the sense of

No awareness of their sin, but they are not without sin.

 

That is why God could command the destruction of men, women, and children in places like Jericho.

 

Children are born with a fallen sin nature, bent toward sin,

And that is why every human when given the opportunity chooses sin.

 

That’s also why Christ was virgin born.

He, like Adam, was born without a sin nature.

Christ is the second Adam.

 

But where Adam chose sin, Christ chose righteousness.

 

But thanks to Adam we are all now conceived in iniquity

And born with a sin nature.

 

That is why circumcision was the sign of the covenant.

It was the removal of the flesh from the procreative organ.

It was symbolic of a break with sin.

 

Now, did circumcision make you holy? No

It was a sign a symbol

 

IT WAS AN OUTWARD REPRESENTATION OF AN INWARD REALITY.

The fact was God didn’t just want His people to be

Circumcised in the flesh, but circumcised in the heart.

Deuteronomy 30:6 “Moreover the LORD your God will circumcise your heart and the heart of your descendants, to love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul, so that you may live.”

 

Jeremiah 4:4 “Circumcise yourselves to the LORD And remove the foreskins of your heart, Men of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem, Or else My wrath will go forth like fire And burn with none to quench it, Because of the evil of your deeds.”

 

Jeremiah 9:25-26 “Behold, the days are coming,” declares the LORD, “that I will punish all who are circumcised and yet uncircumcised — Egypt and Judah, and Edom and the sons of Ammon, and Moab and all those inhabiting the desert who clip the hair on their temples; for all the nations are uncircumcised, and all the house of Israel are uncircumcised of heart.”

 

That’s why Paul even wrote:

Romans 2:28-29 “For he is not a Jew who is one outwardly, nor is circumcision that which is outward in the flesh. But he is a Jew who is one inwardly; and circumcision is that which is of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the letter; and his praise is not from men, but from God.”

 

Circumcision then was the sign of the covenant.

It was the outward picture of

What God desired to do in the heart of Abraham.

 

NOW, WE ALSO HAVE A SIGN OF OUR COVENANT.

Our sign is not circumcision.

 

What is the sign of our covenant?

Baptism

 

1 Peter 3:21-22 “Corresponding to that, baptism now saves you — not the removal of dirt from the flesh, but an appeal to God for a good conscience — through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, who is at the right hand of God, having gone into heaven, after angels and authorities and powers had been subjected to Him.”

 

Peter is adamant there that it is not the water that God is talking about.

The water is the outward symbol.

 

The baptism that saves you is the “appeal to God for a good conscience”

The baptism that saves you is of the heart.

 

Water baptism is in outward picture of an inward reality.

We do it as a sign of what God has done in saving us.

 

And this is proven in Abraham.

 

Paul spends the entire chapter of Romans 4

Proving that Abraham was saved before he was ever circumcised.

 

Abraham was saved back in chapter 15. It has been at least 13 years since that day and Abraham is just now getting circumcised.

His circumcision did not save him – it was a sign

Our baptism does not save us – it is a sign

 

But it is an important sign

So important in fact, that if a person refuses to do it we have a problem.

 

In regard to circumcision if a person refused,

They were to be cut off from God’s people.

 

We indicate ourselves as one of God’s people through our baptism,

If a person refuses they are refusing

To identify themselves with the people of God.

 

Neither circumcision nor baptism saves you,

But the refusal to do it is a major problem.

For they are sign of the covenant.

 

The Summary of the Covenant, The Sign of the Covenant

#3 THE SPECIFICS OF THE COVENANT

Genesis 17:15-22

 

These few verses may actually appear to be a bit of a deviation

From the point of the chapter,

But in reality that address a very important issue

In regard to God’s command.

 

See, God is commanding a human work from Abraham.

 

But it is important that Abraham fully understand that

No physical work will ever usher in the promise of God.

 

Works of the flesh can never obtain the promise of God.

We know what obtains the promise of God – faith

 

And these verses drive that point home to Abraham.

 

God not only has a new name for Abraham,

But He also has a new name for Sarai.

 

(15) “Then God said to Abraham, “As for Sarai your wife, you shall not call her name Sarai, but Sarah shall be her name.”

 

WHY SARAH?

Sarah means “princess” and that is a fitting name for the mother of kings.

 

(16) “I will bless her, and indeed I will give you a son by her. Then I will bless her, and she shall be a mother of nations; kings of peoples will come from her.”

 

 

See God is reiterating His plan to use supernatural means

To fulfill the promise to Abraham.

 

And this idea by God is so far-fetched that Abraham thinks it’s a joke.

 

(17) “Then Abraham fell on his face and laughed, and said in his heart, “Will a child be born to a man one hundred years old? And will Sarah, who is ninety years old, bear a child?”

 

Abraham was pretty confident that Sarah wasn’t going to get pregnant.

That ship had sailed.

And yet God promised it – and Abraham laughed.

 

Then Abraham revealed what he had thought God was going to do.

(18) “And Abraham said to God, “Oh that Ishmael might live before You!”

 

First Abraham thought it was going to be Lot

Now Abraham thinks it is going to be Ishmael.

 

And he points that out to God.

 

But pay special attention to verse 19 – it is SO IMPORTANT

To understanding Abraham’s walk of faith.

 

(19) “But God said, “No, but Sarah your wife will bear you a son, and you shall call his name Isaac; and I will establish My covenant with him for an everlasting covenant for his descendants after him.”

 

This is now the first time that God ADAMANTLY and FORCEFULLY

Tells Abraham that it is not Ishmael, it is Isaac

 

Isaac is the franchise

Isaac is the promise

Everything that is coming is coming through Isaac

 

God is driving that point home to Abraham.

It is important that you understand that so when God asks Abraham to sacrifice Isaac you will understand why Abraham was so confident that God would at the very least raise him from the dead.

 

God was adamant – Isaac, Isaac, Isaac, Isaac

 

Now, that does not mean that Abraham is not capable of doing great things in his flesh – he is.

 

(20) “As for Ishmael, I have heard you; behold, I will bless him, and will make him fruitful and will multiply him exceedingly. He shall become the father of twelve princes, and I will make him a great nation.”

 

Abraham is very capable in his flesh.

In his flesh he is capable of starting a nation with 12 princes

There was nothing supernatural about that,

It was the natural course of human procreation.

 

Abraham was cable in his flesh

(21) “But My covenant I will establish with Isaac, whom Sarah will bear to you at this season next year.”

 

WHAT WAS GOD SAYING?

 

Abraham I know that in your flesh you are capable of great things, BUT YOU CAN’T USHER IN MY PROMISE THROUGH THE FLESH.

 

You can accomplish a lot through your own works,

But you cannot accomplish enough.

My promise only comes through faith, not works.

 

AND WE DO GOOD TO REMEMBER THAT

(many have missed it)

 

God has also given us a physical act to perform, but that does not mean that our promise is ushered in through the flesh either.

 

Baptism is important, but it does not and can not usher in the promise.

ONLY FAITH CAN DO THAT.

 

The Summary of the Covenant, The Sign of the Covenant, The Specifics of the Covenant

#4 THE SEAL OF THE COVENANT

Genesis 17:23-27

 

WHAT DO WE SEE HERE?

Obedience

• Abraham did what God commanded. (he and all his household)

• And Abraham did it that same day.

• He fully obeyed God.

 

Did that save him?

No he was given righteousness way back in chapter 15

 

THIS WAS NOT THE SOURCE OF HIS SALVATION, IT WAS A SEAL.

 

Romans 4:11 “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,”

 

Paul said Abraham’s circumcision was a sign (that we got)

He also said it was “a seal of the righteousness of the faith which he had while uncircumcised”

 

Perhaps a better word than “seal” is the word “indicator”

 

Did Abraham receive righteousness before or after circumcision. (Before)

 

How do we know?

(well Scripture says so)

 

But apart from that, if that verse was not included, how would you know that Abraham already had a righteous believing heart?

 

You know that because he obeyed.

His obedience, his work was an indicator (a seal)

That he was righteous, that he had faith.

 

Now listen to me very closely, many stray here,

And I want you to understand this accurately.

 

There is seemingly a contradiction in Scripture.

Let me show it to you.

 

Romans 3:28 “For we maintain that a man is justified by faith apart from works of the Law.”

 

James 2:24 “You see that a man is justified by works and not by faith alone.”

 

WOOPS – What do we do with that?

Could it get more contradicting?

 

Let me explain it to you.

 

NO FAITH = NO SALVATION

• Because we are justified by faith

• It was by faith that God credited righteousness to Abraham

 

If you have no faith then you have no salvation.

(That is what Paul was talking about in Romans 3)

 

Here it is:

NO WORKS = NO FAITH

And that is what James was talking about in James 2

James 2:18-26 “But someone may well say, “You have faith and I have works; show me your faith without the works, and I will show you my faith by my works.” You believe that God is one. You do well; the demons also believe, and shudder. But are you willing to recognize, you foolish fellow, that faith without works is useless? Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered up Isaac his son on the altar? You see that faith was working with his works, and as a result of the works, faith was perfected; and the Scripture was fulfilled which says, “AND ABRAHAM BELIEVED GOD, AND IT WAS RECKONED TO HIM AS RIGHTEOUSNESS,” and he was called the friend of God. You see that a man is justified by works and not by faith alone. In the same way, was not Rahab the harlot also justified by works when she received the messengers and sent them out by another way? For just as the body without the spirit is dead, so also faith without works is dead.”

Listen to me closely.

If you were to ask James if a man is justified by faith he would say, “Yes, but it must be real faith.”

 

You would ask, “What is the difference between real faith and fake faith?”

James would say, “Real faith obeys God”

 

James’ point is that we are certainly justified by faith,

But it must be real genuine faith,

The kind of faith that obeys the commands of God.

 

If you don’t obey the commands of God, then I don’t know what you have,

But it most certainly is not faith.

 

And if you don’t have faith, then you are not saved,

Because we are saved through faith.

 

So to say it again:

• No Faith = No Salvation

• No Works = No Faith

 

And that is what makes Abraham’s circumcision a seal or an indicator.

The fact that Abraham instantly obeyed God proved that his faith was real,

Thus indicating that his salvation was real.

 

Circumcision didn’t save him,

But his obedience in circumcision proved he was in fact saved.

 

Now, let me bring it home to us.

(You know I don’t push for flashy invitations)

 

I believe people are saved as they listen to the proclaimed word of God, not necessarily in a pushy invitation

 

Just like Cornelius was saved in the middle of Peter’s sermon

(Cornelius, incidentally, was also clearly saved

Before he was baptized since he had the Holy Spirit first)

 

So I know that it is possible that there are some who have been saved,

But never walked an aisle or made a public decision –

You simply believed the word and God has begun to change your heart.

 

If you are like that, then you need to listen.

You also have a work of obedience that you need to do.

 

There is a sign of our covenant

There is a seal of our covenant

 

It will not save you, it is not enough, but it is required of God.

That sign, that seal is water baptism.

 

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.”

 

I am NOT telling you that if you have never placed your faith in Christ

That you need to be baptized.

 

If you’ve never placed your faith in Christ, it won’t do you any good.

 

I’m telling you if you have trusted Christ

And He has granted to you His righteousness,

That it is time for you to be obedient and be baptized.

 

And just as Abraham went that same day and was circumcised,

That is the call to you.

 

And this obedience is another step that God has in store

In order to grow your faith.

 

He is teaching the value of obedience.

And so just as God required obedience of Abraham,

He now requires it of you.

 

And I want to ask you, to be obedient.

 

Ephesians 2:8-10 “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. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.”

 

Were It Not For Grace

 

Songwriters HAMILTON, DAVID ROSS/MCHUGH, PHILL
Read more:  Larnelle Harris – Were It Not For Grace Lyrics | MetroLyrics