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"What shall we say then that Abraham our father, as pertaining to the flesh, hath
found? For if Abraham were justified by works, he hath whereof to glory; but not
before God. For what saith the scripture? Abraham believed God, and it was counted
unto him for righteousness." (Rom. 4:1-3).
Abraham is one of the outstanding characters of the Bible. He is known as one who had faith in God, though he was from a family who did not believe in God. What kind of faith did Abraham have? Our text says, Abraham believed God. This is a commentary on Genesis 15:1-6, where we read, "And he believed in the Lord; and he counted it to him for righteousness." There are other examples where it is said people believed God. For example, after Jonah preached to the people of Nineveh, we read, "So the people of Nineveh believed God, and proclaimed a fast, and put on sackcloth, from the greatest of them even to the least of them." (Jon. 3:5). When Paul, as a prisoner, was on a ship headed for Rome when a storm arose, the people feared certain death. But Paul informed them that an angel of God had told him, "...Fear not Paul: thou must be brought before Caesar: and, lo, God hath given thee all them that sail with thee. Wherefore, sirs, be of good cheer: for I believe God, that it shall be even as it was told me." (Acts 27:23-25). In each case, it simply means that the people believed God's word — what God had said. Believing in God can be said to be a compound faith. We ". . . believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him." (Heb. 11:6). This means that God really does exist, and that He will bless those who serve Him. When God told Noah that He was going to destroy the earth with a flood, and gave instructions for him to build the ark, Noah believed what God said. We read, "By faith Noah, being warned of God of things not seen as yet, moved with fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his house..." (Heb. 11:7). Noah did not try to substitute something else for what God commanded, but we are told, "Thus did Noah; according to all that God commanded him, so did he." (Gen. 6:22). Again, we read, "And Noah did according unto all that the Lord commanded him." (Gen. 7:5). It is evident that Noah was a man of faith. Getting back to Abraham, let us look at the circumstances under which he believed God. He was told, "...Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father's house, unto a land that I will shew thee: And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing: And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed." (Gen. 12:1-3). We are told that Abraham, "...went out, not knowing whither he went." (Heb. 11:8). At the time Abraham obeyed God, he had no seed, but this was explained to him in Genesis 15 and he believed what God told him (Gen. 15:6). This took great faith because of his age and the deadness of Sarah's womb (Gen. 17). All of this was contrary to human reasoning, but it is said of Abraham, "Who against hope believed in hope..." (Rom. 4:18). In fact, we are told that he was "...fully persuaded that, what he had promised, he was able also to perform." (Rom. 4:21). This is one of the greatest definitions to be found anywhere in the Bible. Abraham believed God regardless of the circumstances or costs involved. Do we have that kind of faith today? Let us look at a few other Bible examples where faith was needed in order to secure the desired blessing. When "the Lord sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people; and much people of Israel died." (Num. 21:6), Moses was told to make a "fiery serpent, and set it on a pole." (v. 8). Moses made a "serpent of brass, and put it upon a pole, and it came to pass, that if a serpent had bitten any man, when he beheld the serpent of brass, he lived." (v. 9). In order to be healed, one had to have enough faith to look at the serpent. In order for the children of Israel to capture Jericho, they had to have enough faith to do what God told them to do. We read of this in Joshua 6 and are later told that By faith the walls of Jericho fell down, after they were compassed about seven days (Heb. 11:30). Naaman had to have enough faith to dip seven times in the river Jordan to be healed of his leprosy. (2 Ki. 5). The blind man had to have enough faith to go and wash in the pool of Siloam (Jn. 9). When he complied with the Lord's instructions, he received his sight. The things we have mentioned seemed rather foolish from man's point of view. But when they — by faith — obeyed the Lord, they were blessed. What about today? Some people consider the Lord's commands to be foolish, and Paul wrote about this in I Corinthians 1:18-19. Do you believe what the Lord has said? Do you believe what He said in Mark 16:15-16? Many people do not, but we need to remember that we will be judged by what the Lord has said (Jn. 12:48). The false doctrine of "faith only" is directly opposed to the faith of Abraham. |