Through Faith – part 1 (Genesis 15:1-6)
Through Faith – part 1
Genesis 15:1-6
March 23, 2014
As you know we are studying through this book of Genesis.
We are calling this study “The Gospel According to Moses”
It is far more than history or sentimental stories.
Moses has us on a theological journey
To show us the very gospel message of God.
• In Adam we saw the tragic reality of sin.
• In Noah we saw the terrible reality of judgment.
• In Abram we see the terrific reality of salvation.
And in studying Abram’s life we have quite easily been following
That great verse of salvation recorded in the New Testament.
Ephesians 2:8 “For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God;”
Salvation is first “by grace”
And then “through faith”
And no one can at this point refute that Abram was saved “by grace”
• He was a pagan idolater
• He was a barren wanderer
• He was a worldly entrepreneur
And yet God chose this man.
• God called him
• God promised him Canaan
• God protected that promise for him
• And God pruned Abram of all things that would get in the way of that
promise.
Thus far, we have seen tidbits of faith from Abram,
But the overwhelming reality that we have seen is that
Before Abram was ever a man of faith, he was first a man of grace.
Abram was saved “by grace”
Well, this morning we move ahead and
We begin to look at the second part of this salvation in Abram’s life.
We begin to look at the “through faith” part of Abram’s salvation.
If someone asks WHY God saved Abram? The answer is “by grace”
If someone asks HOW God saved Abram? The answer is “through faith”
We have actually been studying this same reality on Sunday nights
As we have studied the book of Galatians.
Job 25:4 “How then can a man be just with God? Or how can he be clean who is born of woman?”
Bildad actually asked that question of Job, and it was a good question.
It is a question you had better know the answer to.
• Bildad wasn’t debating the sinfulness of man.
• Bildad wasn’t debating the necessity of righteousness.
• Bildad just wondered how a sinful man was supposed to get it.
And that is a good question.
Well that is a question that the Bible began answering
All the way back in the days of Abraham.
And that is that man is justified by faith before God.
And that is the part of the story we have now reached in Abram’s life.
We’ve seen the grace that saved him.
Now let’s look at the faith that justified him.
There are four main points to this chapter. (we’ll look at a couple)
#1 PERSEVERANCE REWARDED
Genesis 15:1-5
You will notice right off the bat that Moses says, “After these things…”
And that is very important transitional statement.
Everything in Genesis builds on top of itself.
You actually find yourself in a great bit of trouble when you start cherry picking stories and studying them out of context.
The “things” Moses is referring to is Abram’s decision
To forsake the world and entrust his prosperity to God.
As we mentioned God has been systematically
Producing and pruning Abram’s faith.
God first gave him faith, and then God began to grow that faith.
And it was actually very early on when God proved to Abram
That He had the ability to bless him and the ability to protect that blessing.
And the real defining moment for Abram
Came in the previous story back in Genesis 14.
To make a long story short, a war broke out in the area
And Lot was kidnapped as a result of it.
Abram then went and rescued Lot (a feat Abram should never have been able to accomplish) and when Abram returned he was met with a choice.
Abram was confronted by two kings.
1) The King of Salem (a picture of Christ)
2) The King of Sodom (a picture of Satan)
The King of Salem brought a blessing, the King of Sodom brought a bribe.
And the reason this was such a defining moment for Abram
Is because Abram had been a very worldly man his whole life.
Abram loved the world, Abram pursued the world, Abram sought to acquire the world.
And yet at this moment he had a choice to make.
To either accept the blessing of God or the benefits of the world.
Well you remember that Abram chose grace.
He refused the bribe of the king of Sodom and instead
Chose to give a tithe of all his possessions to the servant of God.
Abram was letting go of the weeds in his heart
And pledging to let God be his portion and provider.
It was a monumental step of faith.
And one that we should easily understand.
When we examine the gospel message throughout the New Testament,
It is true that the New Testament routinely asks us to “believe”.
But “believe” is NEVER the first word used.
When John the Baptist came preaching in the wilderness:
Matthew 3:1-2 “Now in those days John the Baptist came, preaching in the wilderness of Judea, saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”
When Jesus began His earthly ministry:
Matthew 4:17 “From that time Jesus began to preach and say, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”
When Peter preached at Pentecost:
Acts 2:38 “Peter said to them, “Repent, and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.”
When Paul preached in Athens:
Acts 17:30-31 “Therefore having overlooked the times of ignorance, God is now declaring to men that all people everywhere should repent, because He has fixed a day in which He will judge the world in righteousness through a Man whom He has appointed, having furnished proof to all men by raising Him from the dead.”
The point is that repentance always precedes faith.
Part of the process of accepting the seed of the gospel
Is first removing the weeds from the heart that will choke it out.
There are many people in the world today who try to
Skip the repentance part and move directly to the believing part.
But God not cohabitate with idols in your heart.
He demands, not just a throne, but the only throne in your life.
If He cannot be Lord, He will not be Savior.
Repentance must occur.
And that is precisely what Abram did.
He removed the weeds.
He allowed the Lord to have his heart.
And because of this, he is now ready for the next step of salvation.
Abram is ready to believe the promise of God.
And God is ready to offer the relationship.
First comes some tremendous reassurance.
“After these things the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision, saying, “Do not fear, Abram, I am a shield to you; Your reward shall be very great.”
Now at first that may seem like a strange statement,
But not when you consider the decision Abram just made.
He just turned his back on his usual way of getting ahead.
He just left his worldly security behind.
In short, he quit banking on the world system
And put all of his surety on the back of God.
And anyone who has done that
Certainly knows the type of anxiety that can come with it.
For a parallel, Abram just did what the Rich Young Ruler would not.
He agreed to forsake his possessions for the sake of something greater.
Now you also remember that when the Rich Young Ruler left Jesus,
It got the disciples to thinking.
Matthew 19:27 “Then Peter said to Him, “Behold, we have left everything and followed You; what then will there be for us?”
Can you detect the anxiety in Peter’s question?
Well Jesus assured Peter that they would be rewarded for their sacrifice, and that is precisely what God is doing for Abram here.
“Do not fear, Abram, I am a shield to you; your reward shall be very great.”
God was promising to protect the interests of Abram
And to prosper him accordingly.
Abram did not make a costly decision with the king of Sodom, Abram made the smartest decision of his life.
Placing his future and his hope on the back of God
Was the safest thing Abram ever did, and God is reminding him of that.
Any time we forsake the world there is a natural anxiety that grips us.
It is the fear of relinquishing control.
But Jesus addressed that specifically.
Matthew 6:25 “For this reason I say to you, do not be worried about your life, as to what you will eat or what you will drink; nor for your body, as to what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing?”
Matthew 6:31-33 “Do not worry then, saying, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear for clothing?’ “For the Gentiles eagerly seek all these things; for your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. “But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.”
It can be scary to step out on God and forsake this world,
But God is reminding Abram that He can carry the load.
Asaph said:
Psalms 73:25-28 “Whom have I in heaven but You? And besides You, I desire nothing on earth. My flesh and my heart may fail, But God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever. For, behold, those who are far from You will perish; You have destroyed all those who are unfaithful to You. But as for me, the nearness of God is my good; I have made the Lord GOD my refuge, That I may tell of all Your works.”
God will teach Abram to say the same.
God is rewarding Abram’s decision to leave the world and stick with Him.
But no sooner does God say that,
Then does Abram reveal his biggest hurdle.
(2-3) “Abram said, “O Lord GOD, what will You give me, since I am childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?” And Abram said, “Since You have given no offspring to me, one born in my house is my heir.”
Now understand this.
• Abram is not doubting if God can give him a great inheritance…
• Abram is not doubting if God will give him a great inheritance…
God has already proven those things to Abram.
Abram is merely questioning the purpose of it since he has no heir.
GET THIS:
Abram is not doubting God, Abram is doubting Abram.
He doesn’t think that he can be the man God just spoke of.
Ever feel that way?
You know God can, you just don’t know if you can.
You know God is powerful, you just know you are weak.
Abram was analyzing the promise of God while looking in the mirror.
And if you analyze the promises of God while looking in the mirror,
You won’t believe them either.
But don’t analyze God’s promises in front of the mirror.
Instead analyze God’s promises in front of the window.
(4-5) “Then behold, the word of the LORD came to him, saying, “This man will not be your heir; but one who will come forth from your own body, he shall be your heir.” And He took him outside and said, “Now look toward the heavens, and count the stars, if you are able to count them.” And He said to him, “So shall your descendants be.”
God told Abram to quit looking in the mirror
And start looking out the window.
Look at these stars Abram!
Is there anything I can’t do?
Abram, I’m going to bring forth one
“from your own body, he shall be your heir.”
God was promising to do in Abram
Something that Abram could never do for himself.
And listen, that is the great God we serve!
Are you limited? Of course you are.
If it were up to you to secure the intentions of God you’d be in a world of hurt.
But it is not what you do for God, it’s what God does through you.
• When God says you are – you are
• When God says you can – you can
• When God says you will – you will
• When God says you must – you must
Abram had forsaken the world that he might obtain God,
And God was rewarding that commitment
In a way that Abram never even thought possible.
And just to make sure you understand exactly where we are.
This is God’s proposal to Abram.
I’ve told you that the call of God is very much a process in a person’s life.
Often times God begins by revealing pieces of Himself,
And giving tastes of His goodness.
He breathes enough life into the dead man
To give the dead man the ability to see what this life is all about.
It is not full blown salvation, it is merely a taste, a courtship.
But then, after God has revealed Himself,
Then comes the offer or the proposal.
And that is the moment where salvation either occurs or not.
Everything in Abram’s life so far has been God leading up to this moment.
• He’s been revealing more and more of Himself…
• He’s been giving Abram tasted after taste…
• He’s been showing Abram what a life with Him will be like…
And now it is time to make the offer.
That is what God is doing here.
And please understand that is all grace.
From the second Abram entered the scene,
Until verse 5 of this chapter it has been all grace.
God has been offering something to Abram that he did not deserve.
It is all “by grace”.
BUT for salvation to be reckoned, faith must be involved.
And that is what we see next.
Perseverance Rewarded
#2 PARDON RECKONED
Genesis 15:6-7
If you want to talk about amazing and far-reaching verses, try these.
The apostle Paul built most of his theology on verse 6 alone.
For the first time we get saving faith from Abram.
He has just moved from TASTING to TRUSTING.
• He is done feeling God out…
• He is done listening to the proof…
• Abram is seen enough and heard enough…
Abram is all in.
He is entrusting all that he is to God.
He now believes in God and what God will do.
Now that is a good thing.
At the very least it is DESERVED.
One would certainly say that after all God had done for Abram,
The very least he could do is believe God.
Nothing about this faith is backward or out of order or bizarre.
After all God has done for Abram in the last 4 chapters,
Abram SHOULD believe God.
That is only right.
ABRAM IS DOING WHAT HE SHOULD HAVE DONE
Romans 4:18-22 “In hope against hope he believed, so that he might become a father of many nations according to that which had been spoken, “SO SHALL YOUR DESCENDANTS BE.” Without becoming weak in faith he contemplated his own body, now as good as dead since he was about a hundred years old, and the deadness of Sarah’s womb; yet, with respect to the promise of God, he did not waver in unbelief but grew strong in faith, giving glory to God, and being fully assured that what God had promised, He was able also to perform. Therefore IT WAS ALSO CREDITED TO HIM AS RIGHTEOUSNESS.”
Abram wasn’t just sentimental…
Abram wasn’t just intellectual…
Abram believed God.
• He’d seen God graciously offer a promise…
• He’d seen God graciously protect that promise…
• He’d seen God prepare him for that promise…
Abram believed God.
And if the story ended there, it would be a perfect happy ending to a perfect story.
BUT…
There is so much more here than just that.
“he believed in the Lord; and He reckoned it to him as righteousness.”
WHOA! STOP THE CAR!
God did what?
God “reckoned it to him as righteousness.”
What was Bildad’s question?
Job 25:4 “How then can a man be just with God? Or how can he be clean who is born of woman?”
How can a man be just with God?
How can a sinful man be vindicated in the sight of a holy God?
And please understand the issue at hand here.
I find that so many today fail to understand this foundational issue.
Today we often talk about being saved.
And people often think that they are saved from hell,
And saved so that they can go to heaven.
And they think this is the whole point and purpose of salvation.
Now it is true that being saved does rescue you from hell and grant you access to heaven, but that is not the point nor the purpose.
The purpose of salvation is to save you from sin,
So that you can be righteous.
SALVATION IS ALL ABOUT OBTAINING RIGHTEOUSNESS
That is the goal
That is what we are after
Just like Bildad said, righteousness is what matters.
WHY?
Romans 1:18 “For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness,”
If you don’t have righteousness, you are under God’s wrath and judgment
The quest is for righteousness.
And here we learn that if you give God faith,
He will then give you righteousness.
Righteousness is granted “through faith”
Hebrews 11:1-6 “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. For by it the men of old gained approval. By faith we understand that the worlds were prepared by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things which are visible. By faith Abel offered to God a better sacrifice than Cain, through which he obtained the testimony that he was righteous, God testifying about his gifts, and through faith, though he is dead, he still speaks. By faith Enoch was taken up so that he would not see death; AND HE WAS NOT FOUND BECAUSE GOD TOOK HIM UP; for he obtained the witness that before his being taken up he was pleasing to God. And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him.”
FAITH IS THE ONLY CURRENCY GOD ACCEPTS
In fact, God trades righteousness for faith.
He does NOT trade in “works”
“Works” are without value to Him.
Isaiah 64:6 “For all of us have become like one who is unclean, And all our righteous deeds are like a filthy garment; And all of us wither like a leaf, And our iniquities, like the wind, take us away.”
Even good works are detestable to God.
He only trades righteousness for faith.
HAVE YOU EVER WONDERED WHY?
• Why doesn’t God trade righteousness for works?
• Why doesn’t God trade righteousness for good intentions?
Why faith?
Romans 4:16 “For this reason it is by faith, in order that it may be in accordance with grace, so that the promise will be guaranteed to all the descendants, not only to those who are of the Law, but also to those who are of the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all,”
Justification is by faith so that salvation can be by grace.
If God justifies by works then salvation is not by grace, but by works.
And if salvation is by works then God gets no glory.
Furthermore only those with the Law can be saved, since only they know what to do, and Gentiles are excluded from salvation.
That is what Paul meant when he said:
“so that the promise will be guaranteed to all the descendants, not only to those who are of the Law, but also to those who are of the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all,”
God chooses to justify men by faith and not works
Because then salvation is by grace and available to everyone.
And that is a beautiful reality.
Here Abram was:
• A pagan sinner
• A barren wanderer
• A worldly entrepreneur
And yet God graciously gave this man righteousness
Simply because he believed God.
That is the gospel message right there.
That is “By grace are you saved through faith,
and this not of yourselves, it is the gift of God.”
When Abram gave God faith, God gave Abram righteousness,
And Abram was no longer a man in danger of the judgment of God.
Now, what this passage won’t tell you
Is in fact clearly explained in the New Testament.
And that WHY GOD WAS ABLE
To give perfect righteousness to a sinner like Abram.
The New Testament explains why God is able
To give perfect righteousness to a sinner like you and me.
2 Corinthians 5:21 “He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.”
The fancy word is “IMPUTATION”
God took the sin of Abram and imputed it to Christ,
So He could take the righteousness of Christ and impute it to Abram.
That is why Jesus said:
John 8:56 “Your father Abraham rejoiced to see My day, and he saw it and was glad.”
The reason God could give righteousness to Abram
• Was because 2,000 years after the time of Abram, Christ would
come to this earth and live a perfectly righteous life.
• Christ would then take upon Himself Abram’s sin and suffer for it.
• All of Abram’s pagan idolatry…
• All of Abram’s worldly ambitions…
• Every sin Abram committed…
Christ would pay for it 2,000 years later on the cross.
• And in return Christ would give His righteousness to Abram.
Righteousness would be “reckoned” to Abram.
And by now you realize that we are not so different from Abram after all (though none of us would claim to have faith as great as he)
But Abram looked ahead 2,000 years to the payment of his sin,
We now look back 2,000 years to the payment of ours.
It was on the same cross where Christ bore Abram’s sin,
That He also bore our sin.
And in exchange He credited His righteousness to our account.
He did NOT trade His righteousness for your good works.
He traded His righteousness for your faith.
IT WAS THE MOST GRACIOUS OFFER EVER GIVEN.
If you would give God faith,
He would give you righteousness and you would be saved.
And this morning it is that very offer that we celebrate.
We are here to partake of the Lord’s Supper.
• We have before us the bread which symbolizes the body of Christ.
• And we have the juice which symbolizes the blood of Christ.
Together they remind us of the death of Christ.
(His payment for our sin)
He bore on His body our sin and took in His body our punishment.
And when we give Him our faith, He gives us His righteousness in return.
We come periodically to this table to remember that very fact.
• To make sure none of us begin to think that our works really are important.
• To make sure none of us begin to think that our sin wasn’t really that bad.
• To make sure none of us begin to think that righteousness is easy to come by.
We come back to the cross and remember.
Before we do, we have a time of preparation.
1 Corinthians 11:26-29 “For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until He comes. Therefore whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner, shall be guilty of the body and the blood of the Lord. But a man must examine himself, and in so doing he is to eat of the bread and drink of the cup. For he who eats and drinks, eats and drinks judgment to himself if he does not judge the body rightly.”
We are commanded not to partake in an unworthy manner.
That does not mean we are commanded to be worthy to partake.
None are worthy to partake – that’s really the point.
The point is HOW we partake.
That we partake in a worthy manner.
YOU PARTAKE IN FAITH.
• You partake with the understanding that it was this sacrifice that allowed you to obtain righteousness and be called a child of God.
• You partake believing that what Christ did was successful.
• And you partake in a grateful heart knowing that if He had not done this for you, it would not have been done.
We are about to have a time of preparation,
It is a time for you to examine yourself.
• Have you left the world as Abram did?
• Have you believed God as Abram did?
• Are you trusting in Christ alone for your righteousness?
