Faith Like Abraham

Faith Like Abraham

Abraham is our father in the faith. Romans 4:11-12 (HCSB) And he received the sign of circumcision as a seal of the righteousness that he had by faith while still uncircumcised. This was to make him the father of all who believe but are not circumcised, so that righteousness may be credited to them also. And he became the father of the circumcised, who are not only circumcised but who also follow in the footsteps of the faith our father Abraham had while he was still uncircumcised. Galatians 3:6-7 (HCSB) Just as Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him for righteousness, then understand that those who have faith are Abraham’s sons. Should we not look to see how he was justified to make sure we are his children?

Abram was called by God. Genesis 12:1-3 (HCSB) The LORD said to Abram: Go out from your land, your relatives, and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. I will make you into a great nation, I will bless you, I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, I will curse those who treat you with contempt, and all the peoples on earth will be blessed through you.

Abram obeyed God. Genesis 12:4-6 (HCSB) So Abram went, as the LORD had told him, and Lot went with him. Abram was 75 years old when he left Haran. He took his wife Sarai, his nephew Lot, all the possessions they had accumulated, and the people he had acquired in Haran, and they set out for the land of Canaan. When they came to the land of Canaan, Abram passed through the land to the site of Shechem, at the oak of Moreh. At that time the Canaanites were in the land.

Abram believed God. Genesis 15:2-6 (HCSB) But Abram said, “Lord GOD, what can You give me, since I am childless and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?” Abram continued, “Look, You have given me no offspring, so a slave born in my house will be my heir.” Now the word of the LORD came to him: “This one will not be your heir; instead, one who comes from your own body will be your heir.” He took him outside and said, “Look at the sky and count the stars, if you are able to count them.” Then He said to him, “Your offspring will be that numerous.” Abram believed the LORD, and He credited it to him as righteousness.

That last word, righteousness, is a Hebrew word which, in this context, means vindicated by God; justified. This took place in conjunction with Abram believing God – justification by faith.

So, what happened at the cross? Payment for sin was made. For all the sheep of God, past and future, regarding the death and resurrection of Christ. We see this in the record of Abraham, as noted in Hebrews 11:1-2 (HCSB) Now faith is the reality of what is hoped for, the proof of what is not seen. For our ancestors won God’s approval by it. And in Hebrews 11:39-40 (HCSB) All these were approved through their faith, but they did not receive what was promised, since God had provided something better for us, so that they would not be made perfect without us. The opening and closing of this “faith chapter” show that the saints of God are approved/justified by the faith He gives us.

This sequence, if you will, is what we see in the New Covenant Scriptures:

Romans 3:24-26; (HCSB) They are justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus. God presented Him as a propitiation through faith in His blood, to demonstrate His righteousness, because in His restraint God passed over the sins previously committed. God presented Him to demonstrate His righteousness at the present time, so that He would be righteous and declare righteous the one who has faith in Jesus. We are gifted grace and faith by God (Eph. 2:8) and through these gifts we are justified. Not when Christ paid the price of our redemption (which was required), but when we were given saving faith in Him. This is portrayed in Romans 3:27-28, Romans 5:1-2, Romans 5:6-11, Romans 5:6-11, Galatians 2:15-16, and Galatians 3:23-24 as well. This is the same as we read about Abram and the Old Covenant saints – justified/approved by faith; and that faith is a gift of God so no one will boast in himself.

The death and resurrection of Christ and the giving of the Holy Spirit sealed and secured the promise. As one song writer put it, “Before the cross they were saved on credit; after the cross we’ve been saved on debit.”[1] Without the propitiating death of Christ, nobody could be saved. He had to drink the cup of wrath appointed us to complete the work of redemption promised so long along to our earthly father in the faith, Abram – who believed God and was justified by God.

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[1] Shai Linne, Random Thoughts 3 

Hebrews 10:1-10; Just Give Me Jesus

While the author continues to stress the futility of law-keeping as a means to reconciliation with God, the deeper issue is the underlying condition of the human being. We are inclined to trust what we can comprehend with our natural senses; what we can touch, see, and hear. Jesus said, “Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” We are to look for that which is unseen, things that are eternal. We must have Jesus!

 

The Death of a Saint

The Death of a Saint

"Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of his saints." (Ps. 116:15)

When Jesus was told that Lazarus, on whom He loved, was ill, His first response was this: “This sickness will not end in death but is for the glory of God, so that the Son of God may be glorified through it.” (John 11:4)  But Lazarus would die – what did Jesus mean?

There are two deaths mentioned in Scripture. Mankind is destined for the first death, when our frail flesh expires. The saints are told by Jesus, don’t fear those who kill the body, and after that can do nothing more (Luke 12:4). People naturally cling to temporal life, that being their only known existence. Those in Christ are told to not be controlled by fear of the death of our body – carefully noting that bodily death is not the end. He goes on to declare the One who should be feared - Him who has authority to throw people into hell after death.

The sisters of Lazarus were grieving over the bodily death of their brother, each of whom Jesus loved. Because He loved them, He stayed two more days before He got up to the tomb. His disciples and the two sisters did not yet understand what was going on. He told them, “I’m glad for you that I wasn’t there so that you may believe. But let’s go to him.” (John 11:15) Jesus was more concerned that His disciples believe on Him than have happy circumstances. When they arrived, many people were there; some of them said, “Couldn’t He who opened the blind man’s eyes also have kept this man from dying? ” (vs 37). Their focus was on preventing bodily death; His focus was on the glory of His Father.

By this time, 4 days had passed and John records this for emphasis: “Remove the stone,” Jesus said. Martha, the dead man’s sister, told Him, “Lord, he’s already decaying. It’s been four days.” (vs 39) The man was dead. He was dead four days. His body was seeing decay. In the ancient near east, medical science did not have a precise way of determining if someone was dead. The medical standard was that a body that seemed dead for three days was considered dead. Lazarus was a day beyond that – no doubt at all that he was dead. Jesus could have prevented his death – the people knew this. The stumbling block for natural man is the resurrection from the dead. Many Jews believed in a general resurrection at the end of the age, but Jesus was explaining to them that He was the resurrection and the life.

Some time earlier, Jesus had taught this mind-blowing truth: “I assure you: Anyone who hears My word and believes Him who sent Me has eternal life and will not come under judgment but has passed from death to life.” (John 5:24) This reality of being united with Christ for eternal life was a foundational truth to the kingdom He had been announcing. When a sinner comes to saving faith in Christ, he is no longer subject to the wrath of God or the second death – he has passed from (spiritual) death to (spiritual) life. This is the first resurrection for mortal man, the beginning of eternal life.

When a redeemed person dies, he is no longer entangled by the sin that he battled with while in the flesh. The peace we enter when we are saved is more complete when the sinful flesh is left in the grave. It will be fulfilled and fully complete on that great day when the Lord Jesus returns to judge the nations, gather His people, and make all things new.

1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 (HCSB) We do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, concerning those who are asleep, so that you will not grieve like the rest, who have no hope. Since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, in the same way God will bring with Him those who have fallen asleep through Jesus. For we say this to you by a revelation from the Lord: We who are still alive at the Lord’s coming will certainly have no advantage over those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the archangel’s voice, and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are still alive will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air and so we will always be with the Lord. Therefore encourage one another with these words.

Those who are asleep, have died the first death; we who are still here grieve that loss, realizing such is temporary and the sure hope we have is eternal. When our Lord returns, we will be gathered together with Him and dwell with Him on the new earth forever. The death of a beloved saint is not the end. It is the next step in our being conformed to Christ. This world is passing away and those who are in Christ will be taken up to be glorified by the Lord of Glory Himself. And we all will be full of unrestrained joy as we sing praises to Christ without end. Therefore encourage one another with these words. 

Hebrews 9:11-28; Substance

The first half chapter 9 reviewed the pattern of the tabernacle and what it consisted of; then it reviewed the practice within that tabernacle. This is to provide a contrast between the shadow and the substance, which is where we are today. Let no one judge you in food or in drink, or regarding a festival or a new moon or sabbaths, which are a shadow of things to come, but the substance is of Christ. (Col. 2:16-17)

Hebrews 9:1-10; Shadowland

Chapter 8 revealed that the Levitical religion and all its rites were a shadow of the heavenlies. Shadows can be very detailed, but they lack substance. The first half chapter 9 reviews the pattern of the tabernacle and what it consisted of; then it reviews the practice within that tabernacle. This is to provide a contrast between the shadow and the substance, which follows. Let no one judge you in food or in drink, or regarding a festival or a new moon or sabbaths, which are a shadow of things to come, but the substance is of Christ. (Col. 2:16-17) 

Hebrews 8 - The Main Thing

Here's my message from Hebrews 8 - The Main Thing. When myriad things cloud our minds and distract us for the Lord, His Spirit reminds us Who is the Main Thing and calls us back to worship and honor Him.

Hebrews 7:11-28 The Priest We Need

The opening phrase presupposes that perfection is not possible through the Levitical priesthood – it was a temporal priesthood that only covered sins for a season. This point is emphasized by the observation that the Mosaic Law was received under that priesthood. Law is tied to covenant; both are dependent on the priesthood given. Since the Levitical priesthood was unable to bring eternal life, there was a need for a priesthood that could do so – we see, again, this reference to the man of mystery, Melchizedek. We need a priest from his order, not that of Aaron! The author specifies that he speaks about the One, He, the Lord Jesus, being from a different tribe than Aaron’s – a tribe from which no one has served at the altar in the Hebrew sanctuary. He sums up by observing that Christ came from the tribe of Judah and that Moses said nothing about priests coming from that tribe. We have the perfect priest from that tribe; a priest Who is a lion. This was said about Him: The scepter shall not depart from Judah, Nor a lawgiver from between his feet, Until Shiloh comes; And to Him shall be the obedience of the people. (Gen .49:10) The scepter, meaning rule, will always be His; the obedience of the redeemed people will be His. Consider Him!