First things first: Click here for the Bible reading plan. There are very few spiritual practices more beneficial than this one. Happy reading.
Ok, now for the homework. God says in Genesis 17:7 that he will be God to Abraham and to his descendants after him. The rest of scripture makes clear: if you are of Abraham, you are an heir to the promises, if you are not of Abraham, you are not an heir. So how do you know if you are an heir or not? Are there verses that would lead us to believe we are (can be) children of Abraham? What are they?
Don't stop there, though. Take one more step. Are there any conditions on being a child of Abraham? What do we have to do to be a child of Abraham?
This isn't merely a mental exercise. I want your hope to be sure because, believe me (believe the scriptures), if you are not of Abraham you can not expect any salvation from God.
Blessings,
Pastor Brian
16 comments:
Galatians 3:7
Understand, then, that those who believe are children of Abraham.
Act 13:26
My brothers, children of the family of Abraham, and those among you who have the fear of God, to us the word of this salvation is sent.
Galatians 3:6-9
Thus Abraham "believed God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness." So you see that it is men of faith who are the sons of Abraham. And the scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, "In you shall all the nations be blessed." So then, those who are men of faith are blessed with Abraham who had faith.
http://www.desiringgod.org/ResourceLibrary/Sermons/ByDate/1983/382_Those_Who_Have_Faith_Are_the_Sons_of_Abraham/
Galatians 3:29
If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise.
The entire chapter of Romans 4 is about Abrahams promise, but my favorite is verses 16-17
"Therfore, the promise comes by faith so that it may be by grace and may be guaranteed to all Abrahams offspring - Not only to those who are of the law but also to those who are of the faith of Abraham. He is the father of us all.....He is our father in the sight of God, in whom he believed, the God who gives life to the dead and calls things that are not as though they were."
Galatians 3:14
"He has redeemed us in order that the blessing given to Abraham might come to the Gentiles through Christ Jesus, so that by faith we might receive the promise of the Spirit."
Wow, you guys totally went to town on this! Great job. Certainly, Gal. 3 is a pivotal passage, Gal. 3:29 probably being the climax of the entire argument. Romans 4 is significant, too.
Along these lines, I love what John the Baptist says in Matthew 3:9, "And do not presume to say to yourselves, 'We have Abraham as our father,' for I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children for Abraham." Do you see what John was getting at? He was attacking these religious leaders false hope of simply being a ethnic descendant of Abraham when they didn't have Abraham's faith. That won't save you! You must have his faith. And who brings that faith about? God does, for he can even create children for Abraham from the rocks on the road.
So nothing less than a miracle from God is required to make children for Abraham.
Great work. Any other thoughts?
Brian
Genesis 12:3
I will bless those who bless you and curse those who curse you. All the Families of the earth will be blessed through you.
1 John 3:1
How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him.
How about the conversation between Jesus and the Jews in John 8:12-59? They got so mad that they were ready to stone Him! And interestingly enough, this was Jews who had believed in Him (see 8:31). Apparently one time belief is not enough. But I have seen an awful lot about faith in all the verses you guys came up with. So what characterizes the faith that makes us children of Abraham?
I feel that it is more than a belief...it is a conviction....you can believe what is right, but unless you are convicted you will not follow through....They believed what he was saying, but lacked the conviction to follow through....Abraham had his down falls, but all in all he ACTED on his beliefs.
John 1:12
Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God--children born not of natural descent nor of human decision or a husband's will, but born of God.
Notes from my study bible: Membership in God's family is by grace alone, the gift of God. It is never a human achievement, yet the imparting of the gift is dependent on Man's reception of it, as the words "received" and "believed" make clear.
AMEN
This may sound like I am in left field....but in reference to my post before, we have all suffered doubt, or lack of belief before....look at Thomas, he walked with Jesus, talked with Jesus...but still did not believe that Christ had risen from the dead..."Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe it."John 20:25...I just feel that most Christians have felt the doubt, but the conviction is still there...Abraham, Daniel in his den full of lions...Believing can be hard...conviction is knowing that this life is nothing more than a foretaste of what is to come, and knowing that God is above doubt and that unbelief is of THIS world...not the next... I hope that made some sort of sense...lol
Hey Marybeth,
I'm with you; I think I know what you're trying to get at. I think there is a difference between doubt and unbelief, so that's a helpful distinction for me. Unbelief is the rejection of what you hear... a la, "I don't accept Jesus' work on the cross." Doubt is a middle, risky area where you are unsure. You can be unsure of something, but yet still hold on firmly in spite of your uncertainty.
Also, belief isn't simply an either/or or all or nothing kind of thing. I want to think I "believe" that Jesus is sufficient for all my needs, but sometimes when the pressure comes I sin by turning to something other than Jesus. Do I believe or not? well, I do, but I don't. I believe in Jesus, but that confidence hasn't reached the recesses of my heart sufficiently where I always turn to Jesus. God is still perfecting me.
I think this is in line with the believing/unbelieving father of the boy who was healed in Mark 9. He cried out to Jesus, "I believe, help my unbelief."
So yes, let us keep holding on to Jesus as he keeps holding on to us even in times of uncertainty. Let us know slip into unbelief where we say, "ah, forget about it. I'll do this thing on my on."
any thoughts?
Brian
Thank you Brian! Awesome post....I completely agree with you on the difference between doubt and unbelief...
I think when our doubt takes its toll and Christ conquers it is the most beautiful lesson learned! That stands for more than just doubt...any hardship is worth the result of a closer walk..."How could I know the morning if I knew not midnight" is one of my favorite sayings...I don't feel that you NEED to go through pain to feel closer to God, but every moment of hurt or doubt in my life only resulted in a deeper love for a Father that reminded me of who I am in him...and that no matter what I am blessed beyond what I deserve in any situation because of his presence in my life!
I agree..."Let us keep holding on to Jesus as he keeps holding on to us"...because I also agree with C.S. Lewis when he said "God cannot give us a happiness and peace apart from Himself, because it is not there. There is no such thing."
I have really enjoyed this blog...I love the study of Abraham! You bring up awesome points! Thank you for letting me go off on my bunny trail once again!!lol
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