Ed and Patsy now live in Athens, Alabama and are members at the Pepper Road church. As administrator of this blog, he enjoys sharing thoughts about spiritual maters. Not only his thoughts but good articles from other authors. He is also thankful to have been able to preach the unsearchable riches of Christ for over sixty years.
The faith of Abraham is held up by New Testament writers, especially Paul, as an example for us all. No event of the Old Testament better illustrates faith under trial than Abraham’s offering of his son. The story is recorded in Genesis 22 and subsequently referenced by biblical writers over the following years. One such reference is in Hebrews 11:17-19 (NKJV)
“By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises offered up his only begotten son, of whom it was said, ‘In Isaac your seed shall be called,’ concluding that God was able to raise him up, even from the dead, from which he also received him in a figurative sense.”
To be told, by God, to kill one’s own child would severely test anyone’s faith. In this case, Abraham and Sarah had waited for decades for this child. He must have truly been the apple of their eye. What a test this command must have been to Abraham’s faith at this stage of his life!
But the testing of his faith goes beyond seeing how he would react to the death of a child. It was a test of Abraham’s faith in the promise that God had previously made to him concerning things to transpire hundreds of years later
- His decedents would become a great nation – Israel.
- That nation would be given a great land – Canaan.
- Eventually, all nations (families) of the whole earth would be blessed in his seed (descendant) – Jesus the Christ.
How could any of this happen if he killed his only rightful heir? By obeying God’s command he demonstrated his faith in both the power and promise of his God. His faith was so strong in the promise of God that he was willing to obey God in killing his son, believing that God was willing and able to fulfill his promise even if He had to raise Isaac from the dead. We read of the fulfillment of the nation and land in the Old Testament and the seed in the New Testament (Gal. 3:16).
The apostle Paul had a lot to say about salvation or justification being of faith in this age and not by the works of the law of Moses or by meritorious works. Especially in Romans and Galatians, he invokes the example of Abraham’s faith as an example of one having been justified (saved, made righteous) by faith rather than by the law of Moses or by merit (perfect obedience). Abraham could not have been justified by the law (of Moses) because he died hundreds of years before the law was given. Nor did he merit salvation. He was justified by an obedient working faith in the promise made to him (see James 2:21; Heb. 11).
Abraham was justified by faith because of his faith in the promise of God to bless all mankind (Abraham’s descendants and everyone else) through a single promised descendant yet to come – enough faith to obey God in whatever He commanded him to do. We follow his example by having faith enough in that same descendant (Jesus Christ) who has already come and done His redemptive work on earth and is enthroned at the right hand of God as King and Priest continuing His work. The faith by which Abraham was justified was not just any faith nor is ours to be. Abraham had faith that the promise would be fulfilled and we must have faith that the promise is fulfilled in Jesus the Christ.
In Galatians 3:8-9, Paul writes “And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel to Abraham beforehand, saying, ‘In you all the nations shall be blessed.’ So then those who are of faith are blessed with believing Abraham.” Here Paul depicts the gospel that Abraham believed as the promise that in him all nations would be blessed. Because of his faith in this promise he acted by obeying God’s commands – thus, justified by faith. In verse 9, he refers to Christians as “those who are of faith,” not just any faith, but faith like that of “believing Abraham.” Then he goes on in the next few verses to show why one cannot be justified by the law of Moses. He shows that it is evident that one cannot be justified by the law because it is said that “the just shall live by faith.” (v. 11). He contrasts two systems – “the law” and “faith.” Under the first system (the law) people became children of God (Jews) by being born as physical descendants of Abraham. Under the second system, people become children of God by faith. What faith? Faith in the gospel that was preached to Abraham – that all nations would be blessed in the fulfillment of the promise that all nations would be blessed “that the blessing of Abraham might come upon the Gentiles in Christ Jesus, that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith (v 14).” The promise is of the Spirit in that it originated and was revealed to Abraham by the Spirit and later recorded by Moses by the Spirit. We access the blessings of that promise “through faith” in it.
In verse 17, Paul shows that “the law” (of Moses) which came 430 years after the promise made to Abraham could not annul the promise (viewed a covenant). Then in verse 18, there is strong evidence what Paul meant by being “justified by faith.” He says, “For if the inheritance is of the law, it is no longer of promise; but God gave it to Abraham by promise.” The inheritance is our salvation or justification. He says that if it can be of the law, given many years after the promise, then it is “no longer of promise.” To be “of promise” and “of faith” are synonymous. To show further that Paul used “faith” in a special way, he says “before faith came” (v. 23) they were kept under the law, but “after faith came” they were no longer under the law of Moses (v. 25). There was a time before “faith” came and a time after “faith” came. Here again “faith” seems to be used interchangeably with “promise” – the Abrahamic promise.
So, in verse 26 he declared Christians to be “children of God by faith” (rather than the law and the system that went with it – eb). Who are these. They are those who have been baptized into Christ (v. 27) – which includes all people who have done so (v. 28). This makes them the spiritual descendants of Abraham and heirs according to the promise (or faith).
In every age God has always required faith in his word and obedience to it. It was true during the law (Mosaic) age, the pre-Mosaic age and the post-Mosaic age. So, even under “faith” salvation is conditioned on obedience (Heb. 5:8-9).
We need to understand, appreciate, and obey “the faith” (see Roman 15; 1626). What faith? The faith of Abraham – faith in the promised seed through whom Jew and Gentile (all nations) alike are saved (blessed).