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Published by Victory Christian Center, 13996 Burr Oak Road, Carthage, Missouri 64835

No one can deny that we are saved by grace through faith. The Scriptures are abundantly clear that we are saved by faith in Jesus Christ (Ephesians 2:8.9; John 3:16-18; Acts 16:30,31; Romans 3:22-26; Galatians. 2:16). However, the question is, "What is faith?" What does God mean when He tells us to believe? One way the Word teaches us what is justifying, saving faith is 'to consider' Abraham" (Romans 4:1-25; Galatians. 3:6-19; Hebrews 11:8-12,17-19; 2:14-24). Abraham, more than anyone else in the Bible, is set forth example of saving faith. When God says, "Believe...," He means "Do as Abraham did."

In Romans 4:11 Abraham is called "the father of all who believe but have been circumcised." The twelfth verse continues, "He is also the father of the circumcised who not only are circumcised but who also walk in the foot-steps of the faith that our father Abraham had before he was circumcised." The sixteenth verse tells us, "The promise comes by faith, so that it may be by grace and may be guaranteed to all Abraham's offspring--not only to those who are of the law but also to those who are of the faith of Abraham. He is father of us all." Actually, then, it is an understatement to call Abraham our "example" of faith; he is rather the prototype of saving faith. In Galatians 3 Paul again sets Abraham forth as a proof and example of being justified, by faith: "So those who have faith are blessed with Abraham, the man of faith" (Galatians. 3:9). In the great "faith chapter" of the Bible, Hebrews 11 (which, incidentally, according to the context is speaking about faith for eternal salvation--see Hebrews 10:35-39, then 12:1-4,12-17), no less than twelve verses are given to Abraham--11:8-12,17-19. And James asks us, "Do you want evidence that faith without deeds is useless? Was not our ancestor Abraham considered righteous for what he did when he offered his son Isaac on the altar?" (James 2:20,,21).

In the following study, which is an attempt to enumerate the parallels between Abraham's faith and ours, you can readily see that when God says "believe", He means far more than to give assent to Christ and the gospel. As we "consider Abraham", we can see just how far from the truth today's gospel of "easy believism" actually is.

1. Abraham obeyed by faith God's call to leave his kindred and his country Babylon (the land of the Chaldees) for another land which God would show him (Canaan), all of which is typical of our repentance:

Genesis 12: 1. The Lord had said to Abram, "Leave your country, your people and your father's household and go to the land I will show you."

12:4. So Abram left, as the Lord had told him....

Acts 7:2,3. [Stephen:] "Brothers and fathers, listen to me! The God of glory appeared to our father Abraham while he was Still in Mesopotamia, before he lived in Haran. 'Leave your country and your people,' God said, 'and go to the land I will show you."

Hebrews 11:8. By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going.

Christ, in calling us to salvation, also demands that we forsake sin and the world and relations which are in conflict with the call to salvation:

Hebrews 11:8. By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going.

Matthew 10:32-39. 32. Whoever acknowledges me before men, I will also acknowledge him before my Father in heaven. 33. But whoever disowns me before men, I will disown him before my Father in heaven. 34. Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. 35. For I have come to turn "a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law . . . 36. a man's enemies will be the members of his own household." 37. Anyone who loves; his father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves his son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me; 38. and anyone who does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. 39. Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.

 

Luke 14:15-53. When one of those at the table with him heard this, he said to Jesus, "Blessed is the man who will eat at the feast in the kingdom of God." 16. Jesus replied: "A certain man was preparing a great banquet and invited many guests. 17. At the time of the banquet he sent his servant to tell those who had been invited, 'Come, for everything is now ready.' 18. But they all alike began to make excuses. The first said, 'I have just bought a field, and I must go and see it. Please excuse me.' 19. Another said, 'I have just bought five yoke of oxen, and I'm on my way to try them out. Please excuse me.' 20. Still another said, 'I just got married, so I can't come.' 21. The servant came back and reported this to his master. Then the owner of the house became angry and ordered his servant, 'Go out quickly into the streets and alleys of the town and bring in the poor, the crippled, the blind and the lame.' 22. 'Sir,' the servant said, 'what you ordered has been done, but there is still room.' 23. Then the master told his servant, 'Go out to the roads and country lanes and make them come in, so that my house will be full. 24. I tell you not one of those men who were invited will get a taste of my banquet." 25. Large crowds were traveling with Jesus, and turning to them he said, 26. "If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father and mother, his wife and children, his brothers and sisters--yes, even his own life, he cannot be my disciple. 28. Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Will he not first sit down and estimate the cost to see if he has enough money to complete it? 29. For if he lays the foundation and is not able to finish it, everyone who sees it will ridicule him, 30. saying, 'This fellow began to build and was not able to finish.' 31. Or suppose a king is about to go to war against another king. Will he not first sit down and consider whether he is able with ten thousand men to oppose the one coming against him with twenty thousand? 32. If he is not able, he will send a delegation while the other is still a long way off and will ask for terms of peace. 33. In the same way, any of you who does not give up everything he has cannot be my disciple.

11 Corinthians 6:14-18. Do not be yoked together with unbelievers. For what do righteousness and wickedness have in common? Or what fellowship can light have with darkness? 15. What harmony is there between Christ and Belial? What does a believer have in common with an unbeliever? 16. What agreement is there between the temple of God and idols? For we are the temple of the living God. As God has said: "I will live with them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they will be my people." 17. "Therefore come out from them and be separate, says the Lord. Touch no unclean thing, and I will receive you." 18. "I will be a Father to you, and you will be my sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty."

Philippians 3:7,8. But whatever was to my profit I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. 8. What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ.

Revelation 18:2-5. With a mighty voice he shouted: "Fallen! fallen is Babylon the Great! She has become a home for demons and a haunt for, every evil spirit, a haunt for every unclean and detestable bird. 3. For all the nations have drunk the maddening wine of her adulteries. The kings of the earth committed adultery with her, and the merchants of the earth grew rich from her excessive luxuries." 4. Then I heard another voice from heaven say: "Come out of her, my people, so that you will not share in her sins, so that you will not receive any of her plagues; 5. for her sins are piled up to heaven, and God has remembered her Crimes."

2. Abraham sojourned by faith in the land of Canaan like a pilgrim traveling through a foreign country:

Genesis 12:6-9. Abram traveled through the and as far as the site of the great tree of Moreh at Shechem. At that time the Canaanites were in the land. 7. The Lord appeared to Abram and said, "To your offspring I will give this and." So he built an altar there to the Lord, who had appeared to him. 8. From there he went on toward the east of Bethel and pitched his tent, with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east. There he built an altar to the Lord and called on the name of the Lord. 9. Then Abram set out and continued toward the Negev.

Genesis 13:1. So Abram went up from Egypt to the Negev ....

Genesis 13:3. From the Negev he went from place to place until he came to Bethel, to the place between Bethel and Ai where his tent had been earlier 4. and where he had first built an altar. There Abram called on the name of the Lord.

Genesis 13:3. From the Negev he went from place to place until he came to Bethel, to the place between Bethel and Ai where his tent had been earlier 4. and where he had first built an altar. There Abram called on the name of the Lord.

Genesis 13:8. '50 Abram {separated form Lot} from moved his tents and went to live near the great trees of Mamre at Hebron, where he built an alter to the Lord.

Acts 7:4,5. [Stephen:] 11 So he left the land of the Chaldeans and settled in Haran. After the death of his father, God sent him to this land where you are now living. 5. He gave him no inheritance here, not even a foot of ground. But God promised him that he and his descendants after him would possess the land, even though at that time Abraham had no child.

Hebrews 11:9,10. By faith he made, his home in the promised land like a stranger in a foreign country [he sojourned, KJV]; he lived in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the city with foundations, whose architect and builder was God.

Hebrews11:13-16. All these, people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance. And they admitted [confessed, KJV) that they were strangers [and pilgrims, KJV] on the earth. 14. People who say such things show that they are looking for a country of their own. 15. If they had been thinking of the country they had left, they would have had opportunity to return. 16. Instead, they were longing for a better country ---a heavenly one. Therefore, God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them.

We also are called to be pilgrims on earth, traveling through life as strangers in a foreign country on our way to heaven:

Matthew 5:5. Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth. [Just as Abraham was promised the land of Canaan, yet he only sojourned in it in his lifetime, we are promised that we will inherit the earth, even though we sojourn as strangers in it now.

John 17:11,14-17. 1 will remain in the world no longer, but they are still in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, protect them by the power of your name--the name you gave me--so that they may be one as we are one.... 14. 1 have given them your word and the world has hated them, for they are not of the world any more than I am of the world. 15. My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one. 16. They are not of the world, even as I am not of it. 17. Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth.

Philippians 3:18-20. For, as I have often told you before and now say again even with tears, many live as enemies of the cross of Christ. 19. Their destiny is destruction, their god is their stomach, and their glory is in their shame. Their mind is on earthly things. 20. But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ.

Colossians 3:1-4. Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. 2. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. 3. For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. 4. When Christ, who is your life, appears then you also will appear with him in glory.

Hebrews 13:14,15. For here we do not have an enduring city, but we are looking for the city that is to come. 15. Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise--the fruit of lips that confess his name. 16. And do not forget to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased.

I Peter 2:11,12. Dear friends, I urge you, as aliens and strangers in the world, to abstain from sinful desires, which war against the soul. 12. Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us.

I John 2:15-17. Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 16. For everything in the world--the cravings of sinful man, the lust of his eyes and the boasting of what he has and does--comes not from the Father but from the world 17. The world and its desires pass away, but the man who does the will of God lives forever.

I John 5:19. We know that we are children of God, and that the whole world is under the control of the evil one.

3. Abraham's faith was expressed in prayer (calling on the name of the Lord) and worship:

Read again Genesis 12:7,8; 13:3,4,8, in number 2, above.

Genesis 17:3. Abram fell facedown....

Genesis 22:5. He said to his servants, "Stay here with the donkey while I and the boy go over there. We will worship and then we will come back to you!"

Our faith, if it is true faith, will also naturally be expressed in prayer and worship. (Not everyone who prays or worships has true faith or is a true Christian. But it is certain that everyone who does not do these things does not have a true faith and is not a true Christian. It is impossible to put your trust in Jesus as Lord and Savior, yet ascribe no "worthship" to Him, that is , have little interest in worshiping Him.)

Matthew 4:10. " . . . it is written: 'Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only." [Quoting Deuteronomy 6:13, "fear the Lord thy God"; also Luke 4:81.]

Acts 2:41,42,46,47. Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day. 42. They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer . . . 46. Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, 47. praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.

Acts 2:21. [Quoting Joel 2:32] And everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.

Acts 9:13,14. "Lord," Ananias answered, "I have heard many reports about this man [Saul] and all the harm he has done to your, saints in Jerusalem. 14. And he has come here with authority from the chief priests to arrest, all who call on your name."

Acts 9:20,21. At once tie [Saul began to preach in the synagogues that Jesus is the Son of God. 21. All those who heard him were astonished and asked, "Isn't he the man who raised havoc in Jerusalem among those who call on this name? And hasn't he come here to take them as prisoners to the chief priests?

Acts 22:14-16 "Then he [Ananias] said:' The God of our fathers has chosen you to know his will and to see the Righteous one and to hear words from his mouth. 15. You will be his witness to all men of what you have seen and heard. 16 . And now what are you waiting for? Get up, be baptized and an wash your sins away, calling on his name."

Romans 10-12-14. For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile--the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him, 13. For, "Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved." 14. How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? 15. And how can they preach unless they are sent? . . .

I Corinthians 1:2. To the church of God in Corinth, to those sanctified in Christ Jesus and called to be holy, together with all those everywhere who call on the name of the Lord Jesus Christ--their Lord and ours.

11 Timothy 2:22. Flee the evil desires of youth, and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, along with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart.

I Peter 1:17. Since you call on a Father who judges each man's work impartially, live your lives as strangers here in reverent fear.

John 21-24. Jesus declared, "Believe me, woman, a time is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. 22. You Samaritans worship what you do not know; we worship what we do know, for salvation is from the Jews. 23. Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. 24. God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth."

Philippians 3:3. For it is we who are the circumcision, we who worship by the Spirit of God [or, "God in the spirit"], who glory in Christ Jesus, and who put no confidence in the flesh.

Hebrews 13:15,16. (14. For here we do not have an enduring city, but we are looking for the city that is to come.) 15. Through Jesus, therefore let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise--the fruit of lips that confess [or, give thanks to] his name. 16. And do not forget to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased.

I Peter 2:5. You also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.

4. Abraham was justified by faith:

Genesis 15:6. Abram believed the Lord, and he credited it to him as righteousness.

Romans 4:1-13. What then shall we say that Abraham, our forefather, discovered in this matter? 2. If, in fact, Abraham was justified by works, he had something to boast about--but not before God. 3. What does the Scripture say? "Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness." 4. Now when a man works, his wages are not credited to him as a gift, but as an obligation. 5. However, to the man who does not work but trusts God who justifies the wicked, his faith is credited as righteousness. 6. David says the same thing when he speaks of the blessedness of the man to whom God credits righteousness apart from works: 7. "Blessed are they whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered. 8. Blessed is the man whose sin the Lord will never count against him." 9. Is this blessedness only for the circumcised, or also for the uncircumcised? We have been saying that Abraham's faith was credited to him as righteousness. 10. Under what circumstances was it credited? Was it after he was circumcised, or before? It was not after, but before! 11. And he received the sign of circumcision, a seal of the righteousness that he had by faith while he was still uncircumcised, in order that righteousness might be credited to them. 12. And he is also the father of the circumcised who not only are circumcised but who also walk in the footsteps of the faith that our father Abraham had before he was circumcised. 13. It was not through law that Abraham and his offspring received the promise that he would be heir of the world, but through the righteousness that comes by faith.

Galatians. 3:6. Consider Abraham: "He believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness."

We are justified by faith (in Christ):

Romans 3:21-28. But now a righteousness from God, apart from law, has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. 22. This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference, 23. for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24. and were justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. 25. God presented him as a sacrifice of atonement, through faith in his blood. He did this to demonstrate his justice at the present time, so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus. Where, then, is boasting? It is excluded. On what principle? On that of observing the law? No, but on that of faith. 28. For we maintain that a man is justified by faith apart from observing the law.

Romans 4:23-25. The words "it was credited to him as righteousness." 23. The words "it was credited to him" were written not for him alone, 24. but also for us, to whom God will credit righteousness--for us who believe in him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead. 25. He was delivered over to death for our sins and was raised to life for our justification.

Romans 5:1. Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.

Romans 10:4-10. Christ is the end of the law so that there may be righteousness for everyone who believes. 5. Moses describes in this way the righteousness that is by the law: "The man who does these things will live by them." 6. But the righteousness that is by faith says: "Do not say in your heart, 'Who will ascend into heaven?"' (that is, to bring Christ down) 7. "or 'Who will descend into the deep?"' (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead). 8. But what does it say? "The word is near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart," that is, the word of faith we are proclaiming: 9. That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved.

Galatians. 2:16. We] know that a man is not justified by observing the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ. So we, too, have put our faith in Christ Jesus that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by observing the law, because by observing the law no one will be justified.

Philippians 3:8,9. What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ 9. and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ--the righteousness that comes from God and is by faith.

Acts 13:39. Through him everyone who believes is justified from everything you could not be justified from by the law of Moses.

5 God gave Abraham assurance that he would inherit the land of Canaan by demonstrating that He was making a covenant with him by walking between the divided halves of sacrificial animals:

Genesis 15:8-11,17. But Abram said, "O Sovereign Lord, how can I know that I will gain possession of it?" 9. So the Lord said to him, "Bring me a heifer, a goat and a ram, each three years old, along with a dove and a young pigeon." 10. Abram brought all these to him, cut them in two and arranged the halves opposite each other; the birds, however, he did not cut in half. 11. Then birds of prey came down on the carcasses, but Abram drove them away .... 17. When the sun had set and darkness had fallen, a smoking fire pot with a blazing torch appeared and passed between the pieces.

God assures us of forgiveness of sins and eternal life by "showing" us the sacrifice of Christ:

Matthew 26:26-28. While they were eating, Jesus took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to his disciples, saying, "Take and eat; this is my body." 27. Then he took the cup, gave thanks and offered it to them, saying, "Drink from it, all of you. 28. This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.

John 1:29. The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, "Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!"

John 3:14,15. Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the desert, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, 15. that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life.

Numbers 21:5-9. [The people) spoke against God and against Moses, and said, "Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the desert? There is no bread! There is no water! And we detest this miserable food!" 6. Then the Lord sent venomous snakes among them; they bit the people and many Israelites died. 7. The people came to Moses and said, "We sinned when we spoke against the Lord and against you. Prey that the Lord will take the snakes away from us." So Moses prayed for the People. B. The Lord said to Moses, "Make a snake and put it up on a pole; anyone who is bitten can look at it and live." 9. So Moses made a bronze snake and put it up on a pole. Then when anyone was bitten by a snake and looked at the bronze snake, he lived.

II Corinthians 5:19-21. [ ... God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, KJV], not counting men's sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. 20. We are therefore Christ's ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ's behalf: Be reconciled to God. 21. God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

I John 2:2. He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world.

I John 4:10. This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.

6. God's promise to Abraham and Sarah that they would have a child in old age was beyond hope of human ability to fulfill. Because of the deadness and impotence of their bodies, Abraham had to trust God to give life and perform what was humanly speaking impossible:

Genesis 17:17. Abraham fell facedown; he laughed and said to himself, "Will a son be born to man a hundred years old? Will Sarah bear a child at the age of' ninety?"

Genesis 18:10-15. Then the Lord said, "I will surely return to you about this time next year, and Sarah your wife will have a son." Now Sarah was listening at the entrance to the tent, which was behind him. 11. Abraham and Sarah were already old and well advanced in years, and Sarah was past the age of childbearing. 12. So Sarah laughed to herself as she thought, "After I am worn out and my master is old, will I now have this pleasure?" 13. Then the Lord said to Abraham, "Why did Sarah laugh and say, 'Will I really have a child, now that I am old?' 14. Is anything too hard for the Lord? I will return to you at the appointed time next year and Sarah will have a son." 15. Sarah was afraid so she lied and said, "I did not laugh."But he said, "Yes, you did laugh."

Romans 4: 18-22. Against all hope, Abraham in hope believed and so became the father of many nations, just as it had been said to him, "So shall your offspring be." 19. Without weakening in his faith, he faced the fact that his body was as good as dead--since he was about a hundred years--and that Sarah's womb was also dead. 20. Yet he did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God, but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God, 21. being fully persuaded that God had power to do what he had promised. 22. This is why "it was credited to him as righteousness.

God's promises to us to make us holy (and his commands that we be holy) are just as beyond human ability to produce. We must trust Him to work it in us and give us life:

Ephesians 5:25-27. Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her 26. to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, 27. and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless.

Colossians 1:19-23. For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, 20. and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross. 21. Once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of your evil behavior. 22. But now he has reconciled you by Christ's physical body through death to present you holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation-- 23. if you continue in your faith, established and firm, not moved from the hope held out in the gospel. This is the gospel that you heard and that has been proclaimed to every creature under heaven, and of which 1, Paul, have become a servant.

I Thessalonians 5:23,24. May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. 24. The one who calls you is faithful and he will do it.

I Thessalonians 5:23,24. May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. 24. The one who calls you is faithful and he will do it.

Hebrews 6:11-15. We want each of you to show this same diligence to the very end, in order to make your hope sure. 12. We do not want you to become lazy, but to imitate those who through faith and patience inherit what has been promised. 13. When God made his promise to Abraham, since there was no one greater for him to swear by, he swore by himself, 14. saying, "I will surely bless you and give you many descendants." 15. And so after waiting patiently, Abraham received what was promised.

I Thessalonians 7:25. Therefore he is able to save completely those who come to God through him, because he always lives to intercede for them.

I Thessalonians 10:10. And by that will, we have been made holy through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.

I Thessalonians10:14. because by one sacrifice he has made perfect forever those who are being made holy.

7. Abraham had to become firm and resolved in faith in order for God's promise him to be fulfilled:

Genesis 15:11. Then birds of prey came down on the carcasses, but Abram drove them away.

Romans 4:18-21. Against all hope, Abraham in hope believed and so became the father of many nations, just as it had been said to him, "So shall your offspring be." 19. Without weakening in his faith, he faced the fact that his body was as good as dead--since he was about a hundred years old--and that Sarah's womb was also dead. 20. Yet he did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God, but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God, 21. being fully persuaded that God had power to do what he had promised. 22. This is why "it was credited to him as righteousness."

So our faith in God's promise of salvation through Christ must be firm and resolved:

Mark 16:9-16. When Jesus rose early on the first day of the week, he appeared first to Mary Magdalene, out of whom he had driven seven demons. 10. She went and told those who had been with him and who were mourning and weeping. 11. When they heard that Jesus was alive and that she had seen him, they did not believe it. 12. Afterward Jesus appeared in a different form to two of them while they were walking in the country. 13. These returned and reported it to the rest; but they did not believe them either. 14. Later Jesus appeared to the Eleven as they were eating; he rebuked them for their lack of faith and their stubborn refusal to believe those who had seen him after he had risen. 15. he said to them, "Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation. 16. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned."

John 20:19-31. On the evening of that first day of the week, when the disciples were together, with the doors locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, "Peace be with you!" 20. After he said this, he showed them his hands and side. The disciples were overjoyed when they saw the Lord. 21. Again Jesus said, "Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you." 22. And with that he breathed on them and said, "Receive the Holy Spirit. 23. If you forgive anyone his sins, they are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven." 24.: Now Thomas (called Didymus), one of the Twelve, was not with the disciples when Jesus came. 25. When the other disciples told him that they had seen the Lord, he declared, "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." 26. A week later his disciples were in the house again, and Thomas was with them. Though the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, "Peace be with you!" 27. Then he said to Thomas, "Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe." 28. Thomas said to him, "My Lord and my God!" 29. Then Jesus told him, "Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed." 30. Jesus did many other miraculous signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book. 31. But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.

Mark 16:9-16. When Jesus rose early on the first day of the week, he appeared first to Mary Magdalene, out of whom he had driven seven demons. 10. She went and told those who had been with him and who were mourning and weeping. 11. When they heard that Jesus was alive and that she had seen him, they did not believe it. 12. Afterward Jesus appeared in a different form to two of them while they were walking in the country. 13. These returned and reported it to the rest; but they did not believe them either. 14. Later Jesus appeared to the Eleven as they were eating; he rebuked them for their lack of faith and their stubborn refusal to believe those who had seen him after he had risen. 15. he said to them, "Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation. 16. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned." John 20:19-31. On the evening of that first day of the week, when the disciples were together, with the doors locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, "Peace be with you!" 20. After he said this, he showed them his hands and side. The disciples were overjoyed when they saw the Lord. 21. Again Jesus said, "Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you." 22. And with that he breathed on them and said, "Receive the Holy Spirit. 23. If you forgive anyone his sins, they are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven." 24.: Now Thomas (called Didymus), one of the Twelve, was not with the disciples when Jesus came. 25. When the other disciples told him that they had seen the Lord, he declared, "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." 26. A week later his disciples were in the house again, and Thomas was with them. Though the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, "Peace be with you!" 27. Then he said to Thomas, "Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe." 28. Thomas said to him, "My Lord and my God!" 29. Then Jesus told him, "Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed." 30. Jesus did many other miraculous signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book. 31. But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.

I Corinthians 15:1-4. Now, brothers, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, which you have received and on which you have taken your stand. 2. By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain. 3. For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, 4. that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures.

Ephesians 6:16. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.

Hebrews 3:12-4:11. See to it, brothers, that none of you has a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away the living God. 13. But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called Today, so may be hardened by sin's deceitfulness. 14. We have come to share in Christ if we hold firmly till the end the confidence we had at first. 15. As has just been said: "Today, if you do not harden your hearts as you did in the rebellion." 16. Who were they who heard and rebelled? Were they not all those Moses led out of Egypt? 17. And with whom was he angry for forty years? Was it not with those who sinned, whose bodies fell in the desert? 18. And to whom did God swear that they would never enter his rest if not to those who disobeyed? 19. So we see that they were not able to enter, because of their unbelief. 4:1. Therefore, since the promise of entering his is rest still stands, let us be careful that none of you be found to have fallen short of it. . 2. For we also have had the gospel preached to us, just as they did; but the message they heard was of value to them, because those who heard did not combine it with faith. 3. Now we who have believed enter that rest, just as God as said, "So I declared on oath in my anger, 'They shall never enter my rest. And yet his work has been finished since the creation of the world. 4. For some-where he has spoken about the seventh day in these words: "And on the seventh day God rested from all his work." 5 . And again in the passage above he says, "They shall never enter my rest." 6. It remains that some will enter that rest, and those who formerly had the gospel preached to them did not go in, because of their disobedience. 7. Therefore God again set a certain day, calling it Today when a long time later he spoke through David, as was said before: "Today, if you hear his voice do not harden your hearts." 8. For if Joshua had given them rest, God would not have spoken later about another day. 9. There remains, then, a Sabbath-rest for the people of God; 10. for anyone who enters God's rest also rests from his own work, just as God did from his. 11. Let us, therefore, make every effort to enter that rest, so that no one will fall by following their example of disobedience.

Hebrews 6:12-20 We do not want you to become lazy, but to imitate those who through faith and patience inherit what has been promised. 13. When God made his promise to Abraham, since there was no one greater for him to swear by, he swore by himself, 14. saying, "I will surely bless you and give you many descendants." 15. And so after waiting patiently, Abraham received what was promised. 16. Men swear by someone greater than themselves, and the oath confirms what is said and puts an end to all argument. 17. Because God wanted to make the unchanging nature of his purpose very clear to the heirs of what was promised, he confirmed it with an oath. 18. God did this so that, by two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled to take hold of the hope offered to us may be greatly encouraged. 19. We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure. It enters the inner sanctuary behind the curtain, 20. where Jesus, who went before us, has entered on our behalf. He has become a high priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek.

Hebrews 10:23 Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful.

Hebrews 10:35-39. So do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded. 36. You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised. 37. For in just a very little while, "He who is coming will come and will not delay. 38. But my righteous one will live by faith. And if he shrinks back, I will not be pleased with him." 39. But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who believe and are saved.

I Timothy 6:12. Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called when you made your good confession in the presence of many witnesses.

James 1:5-8. If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him. 6, but when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. 7. That man should not think he will received anything from the Lord; 8. he is a double-minded man, unstable in all he does.

I Peter 5:8,9 Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. 9. Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that your brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same kind of sufferings.

8. After he was justified, God commands us to "walk before" Him and "be perfect" (KJV):

Genesis 17:1. When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the Lord appeared to him and said, "I am God Almighty; walk before me and be blameless.

After we are justified, God commands us to walk with Him and go on to perfection:

Matthew 5:48. Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.

II Corinthians 7:1 Since we have these promises, dear friends, let us purify ourselves from everything that contaminates body and spirit, perfecting holiness out of reverence for God.

II Corinthians 13:11. Finally, brothers, good-by. Aim for perfection, listen to my appeal, be of one mind, live in peace. And the God of love and peace will be with you.

Ephesians 4:1. As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received,

Colossians 1:28. We proclaim him, admonishing and teaching everyone with all wisdom, so that we may present everyone perfect in Christ.

Colossians 1:28. So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live in him, 7. rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness.

I Thessalonians 2: 10-12. You are witnesses, and so is God, of how holy, righteous and blameless we were among you who believed. 11. for you know that we dealt with each of you as a father deals with his own children, 12. encouraging, comforting and urging you to live lives worthy of God, who calls you into his kingdom and glory.

I Thessalonians 3:13. May he strengthen your hearts so that you will be blameless and holy in the presence of our God and Father when our Lord Jesus comes with all his holy ones.

I Thessalonians 4:3-7. It is God's will that you should be holy; that you should avoid sexual immorality; 4. that each of you should learn to control his own body in a way that is holy and honorable, 5. not in passionate lust like the heathen, who do not know God; 6. and that in this matter no one should wrong his brother or take advantage of him. The Lord will punish men for all such sins, as we have already told you and warned you. 7. For God did not call us to be impure, but to live a holy life.

11 Thessalonians 2:1 But we ought always to thank God for you, brothers loved by the Lord, because from the beginning God chose you to be saved through the sanctifying work of the Spirit and through belief in the truth,

Titus 2:11-14. For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men. 12. It teaches us to say "No" to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, 13. while we wait for the blessed hope--the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, 14. who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good.

I Peter 1:15,16. But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; 16. for it is written "Be holy, because I am holy."

11 Peter 3:10-14. But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything in it will be laid bare. 11. Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be? You ought to live holy and godly lives 12. as you look forward to the day of God and speed its coming. 13. But in keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, the home of righteousness. 14. So then, dear friends, since you are looking forward to this, make every effort to be found spotless, blameless and at peace with him.

9. God changed Abram's and Sarai's names to symbolize His changing their persons, making them what He called them to be:

Genesis 17:5. No longer will you be called Abram; your name will be Abraham, for I have made you a father of many nations.

Genesis 17:15. God also said to Abraham, "As for Sarai your wife, you are no longer to call her Sarai; her name will be Sarah.

God makes us new and different people through new birth in Christ:

II Corinthians 5:17. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!

Galatians 6:15. Neither circumcision nor uncircumcision means anything; what counts is a new creation.

Ephesians 2:10. For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

10. God promised that the justified Abraham would be fruitful:

Genesis 17:6 I will make you very fruitful; I will make nations of you, and kings will come from you.

Genesis 17:16,17. 1 will bless her [Sarah] and will surely give you a son by her. I will bless her so that she will be the mother of nations; kings of peoples will come from her." Abraham fell facedown; he laughed and said to himself, "Will a son be born to a man a hundred years old? Will Sarah bear a child at the age of ninety?"

Genesis 13:16. 1 will make your offspring like the dust of the earth, so that if anyone could count the dust, then your offspring could be counted.

Genesis 15:5. He took him outside and said, "Look at the heavens and count the stars--if indeed you can count them." Then he said to him, "So shall your offspring be."

Genesis 16:10. The angel added, "I will so increase your [Hagar's] descendants that they will be too numerous to count."

God has purposed that we who are justified through faith in Christ should be fruitful:

 

John 15:1-17. "I am the true vine and my Father is the gardener. 2. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he trims clean so that it will be even more fruitful. 3. You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. 4. Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. 5. 1 am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. If anyone does not remain in me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. 7. If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you. 8. This is to my Father's glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples. 9. As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. 10. If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have obeyed my Father's commands and remain in his love. 11. I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. 12. My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. 13. Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends. 14. You are my friends if you do what I command. 15. 1 no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master's business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I have learned from my Father I have made known to you. 16. You did not choose me, but I chose you to go and bear fruit--fruit that will last. Then the Father will give you whatever you ask in my name. 17. This is my command: Love each other.

Colossians 1:9,10. For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying -for you and asking God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all spiritual wisdom understanding. 10. And we pray this in order that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God.

11. God promised Abraham many descendants and to be a God to them and bless them as He had blessed Abraham, God's heir:

Genesis 15:1. After this, the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision: "Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your very great reward."

Genesis 17:7,8. I will establish my covenant between me and you and your descendants after you for the generations to come, to be your God and the God of your descendants after you. 8. The whole land of Canaan, where you are now an alien, I will give as an everlasting possession to you and your descendants after you; and I will be their God."

Genesis 22:18. "and through your offspring all nations on earth will be blessed, because you have obeyed me."

Through Christ we are Abraham's descendants; his God is our God, and we are His sons and heirs:

Romans 6:12-17. Therefore, brothers, we have an obligation--but it is not to the sinful nature, to live according to it. 13. For if you live according to the sinful nature, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live, 14. because those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. 15. For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship. And by him we cry, "Abba, Father." 16. The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God's children. 17. Now if we are children, then we are heirs--heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory.

Galatians 3:8,9. The Scripture foresaw that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, and announced the gospel in advance to Abraham: "All nations will be blessed through you." 9. So those who have faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith.

Galatians 3:14. He 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.

Galatians 3:16. The promises were spoken to Abraham and to his seed. The Scripture does not say "and to seeds," meaning many people, but "and to your seed, meaning one person, who is Christ.

Galatians 3:26. You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus.

Galatians 3:29. If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise.

Galatians 4:4-7. But when the time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under law, 5. to redeem those under law, that we might receive the full rights of sons. 6. Because you are sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, "Abba, Father." 7. So you are no longer a slave, but a son; and since you are a son, God has made you also an heir.

12. The justified Abraham was circumcised as an outward sign of the covenant between him and God:

Genesis 17:9-14. Then God said to Abraham, "As for you, you must keep my covenant, you and your descendants after you for the generations to come. 10. This is my covenant with you and your descendants after you, the covenant you are to keep: Every male among you shall be circumcised. 11. You are to undergo circumcision, and it will be the sign of the covenant between me and you. 12. For the generations to come every male among you who is eight days old must be circumcised, including those born in your household or bought with money from a foreigner--those who are not your off-spring. 13. Whether born in your household or bought with your money, they must be circumcised. My covenant in your flesh is to be an everlasting covenant. 14. Any uncircumcised male, who has not been circumcised in the flesh, will be cut off from his people; he has broken my covenant."

Genesis 17:23-27. On that very day Abraham took his son Ishmael and 211 those born in his house-hold or bought with his money, every male in his household, and circumcised them, as God told him. 24. Abraham was ninety-nine years old when he was circumcised, 25. and his son Ishmael was thirteen; 26. Abraham and his son Ishmael were both circumcised on that same day. 27. And every male in Abraham's household, including those born in his household or bought from a foreigner, was circumcised with him.

Though physical circumcision is nothing to us--we are truly circumcised in heart, instead--we do submit to baptism as the outward sign of our faith and covenant with God through Christ:

Romans 2:28,29. A man is not a Jew if he is only one outwardly, nor is circumcision merely out-ward and physical. 29. No, a man is a Jew if he is one inwardly; and circumcision is circumcision of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the written code. Such a man's praise is not from men, but from God.

I Corinthians 7:19. Circumcision is nothing and uncircumcision is nothing. Keeping God's commands is what counts.

Galatians 5:6. For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision has any value. The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love.

Galatians 6:15. Neither circumcision nor uncircumcision means anything; what counts is a new creation.

Philippians 3:2,3. Watch out for those dogs, those men who do evil, those mutilators of the flesh. 3. For it is we who are the circumcision, we who worship by the Spirit of God, who glory in Christ Jesus, and who put no confidence in the flesh.

Colossians 2:11. In him you were also circumcised, in the putting off of the sinful nature, not with a circumcision done by the hands of men but with the circumcision done by Christ, 12. having been buried with him in baptism and raised with him through your faith in the power of God, who raised him from the dead.

Mark 16:15,16. He said to them, "Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation. 16. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned.

Acts 8:34-38. The eunuch asked Philip, "Tell me, please, who is the prophet talking about, him-self or someone else?" 35. Then Philip began with that very passage of Scripture and told him the good news about Jesus. 36. As they traveled along the road, they came to some water and the eunuch said, "Look, here is water. Why shouldn't I be baptized?" 38. And he ordered the chariot to stop. Then both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water and Philip baptized him.

Acts 10:43-48. All the prophets testify about him that everyone who believes on him receives forgiveness of sins through his name." 44. While Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit came on all who heard the message. 45. The circumcised believers who had come with Peter were astonished that the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out even on the Gentiles. 46. For they heard them speaking in tongues and praising God. Then Peter said, 47. "Can anyone keep these people from being baptized with water? They have received the Holy Spirit just as we have." 48. So he ordered that they be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. Then they asked Peter to stay with them for a few days.

13.' Abraham's faith was expressed in love for his "neighbor" Lot as himself, first deferring to him, then risking his own life to rescue him, and finally interceding for his life in prayer:

Genesis 13:5-12. Now Lot, who was moving about with Abram, also had flocks and herds and tents. 6. But the land could not support them while they stayed together, for their possessions were so great that they were not able to stay together. 7. And quarreling arose between Abram's herdsmen and the herdsmen of Lot. The Canaanites and Perizzites were also living in the land at that time. 8. So Abram said to Lot, "Let's not have any quarreling between you and me, or between your herdsmen and mine, for we are brothers. 9. Is not the whole land before you? Let's part company. If you go to the left, I'll go to the right; if you go to the right, I'll go to the left." 10. Lot looked up and saw that the whole plain of the Jordan was well watered, like the garden of the Lord, like the land of Egypt, toward Zoar. (This was before the Lord destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah.) 11. So Lot chose for himself the whole plain of the Jordan and set out toward the east. The two men parted company: 12. Abram lived in the land of Canaan, while Lot lived among the cities of the plain and pitched his tents near Sodom.

Genesis 14:11-16. The four kings seized all the goods of Sodom and Gomorrah and all their food; then they went away. 12. They also carried off Abram's nephew Lot and his possessions, since he was living in Sodom. 13. One who had escaped came and reported this to Abram the Hebrew. Now Abram was living near the great trees of Mamre the Amorite, a brother of Eshcol and Aner, all of whom were allied with Abram. 14. When Abram heard that his relative had been taken captive, he called out the 318 trained men born in his household and went in pursuit as far as Dan. 15. During the night Abram divided his men to attack them and he routed them, pursuing them as far as Hobah, north of Damascus. 16. He recovered all the goods and brought back his relative Lot and his possessions, together with the women and the other people.

Genesis 18:20-25. Then the Lord said, "The outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is so great and their sin so grievous 21. that I will go down and see if what they have done is as bad as the out-cry that has reached me. If not, I will know." 22. The men turned away and went toward Sodom, but Abraham remained standing before the Lord. 23. Then Abraham approached him and said: "Will you sweep away the righteous with the wicked? 24. What if there are fifty righteous people in the city? Will you really sweep it away and not spare the place for the sake of fifty righteous people in it? 25. Far be it from you to do such a thing--to kill the righteous with the wicked, treating the righteous and the wicked alike. Far be it from you! Will not the Judge of all the earth do right?"

Genesis 19:29. So when God destroyed the cities of the plain, he remembered Abraham, and he brought Lot out of the catastrophe that overthrew the cities where Lot had lived.

Our faith must be expressed in loving our neighbor as ourselves, showing ourselves to be children of God:

Matthew 7:12. In everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.

Romans 12:10. Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves.

Galatians 5:6. For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision has any value. The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love.

Galatians 5:14. The entire law is summed up in a single command: "Love your neighbor as yourself. "

James 2:8,9. If you really keep the royal law found in Scripture, "Love your neighbor as your-self," you are doing right. 9. But if you show favoritism, you sin and are convicted by the law as lawbreakers.

I John 3:10. This is how we know who the children of God are and who the children of the devil are: Anyone who does not do what is right is not a child of God; neither is anyone who does not love his brother.

I John 3:14-19. We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love our brothers. Anyone who does not love remains in death. 15. Anyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life in him. 16. This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers. 17. If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him? 18. Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth. 19. This then is how we know that we belong to the truth, and how we set our hearts at rest in his presence.

I John 4:7-12. Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. 8. Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. 9. This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. 10. This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. 11. Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. 12. No one has ever seen God; but if we love each other, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us.

I John 4:16. And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in him.

I John 4:20,21. If anyone says, "I love God," yet hates his brother, he is a liar. For anyone who does not love his brother,, whom he hag seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen. 21. And he has given us this command: Whoever loves God must also love his brother.

14. Abraham expressed his faith in God's promise by directing his children in the way of the Lord:

Genesis 17:7,8. "I will establish my covenant as an everlasting covenant between me and you and your descendants after you for the generations to come, to be your God and the God of your descend-ants after you. 8. The whole land of Canaan, where you are now an alien, I will give as an ever-lasting possession to you and your descendants after you; and I will be their God."

Genesis 18:19. "For I have chosen him, so that he will direct his children and his household after him to keep the way of the Lord by doing what is right and just, so that the Lord will bring about for Abraham what he has promised him."

Hebrews 11:9. By faith he made his home in the promised land like a stranger in a foreign country; he lived in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise. If we truly believe in Christ, we will direct our children to follow Him as we do:

Ephesians 6:4. Fathers, do not exasperate Your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord.

15. Abraham's faith by which he was justified was demonstrated in a work of obedience:

Genesis 22:1-3. Some time later God tested Abraham. He said to him, "Abraham!" "Here I am," he replied. 2. Then God said, "Take, Your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the region of Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains I will tell you about." 3. Early the next morning Abraham got up and saddled his donkey. He took with him two of his servants and his son Isaac. When he had cut enough wood for the burnt offering, he set out for the place God had told him about.

Genesis 22:9-12. When they reached the place, God had told him about, Abraham built an altar there and arranged the wood on it. He bound his son Isaac and laid him on the altar, on top of the wood. 10. Then he reached out his hand and took the knife to slay his son. 11. But the angel of the Lord called to him from heaven, "Abraham, Abraham!" "Here I am," he replied. 12. "Do not lay a hand on the boy," he said. Do not do anything to him. Now I know that you fear God, because you have not withheld from me your son, Your only son."

Genesis 22:15-18. The angel of the, Lord called to Abraham from heaven a second time 16. and said, "I swear by myself, declares the Lord, that because you have done this and have not withheld your son, your only son, 17. 1 will sorely bless you and make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as the sand on the seashore. Your descendants will take possession of the cities of their enemies, 18. Fred through your offspring all nations on earth will be blessed, be-cause you have obeyed me."

Our faith by which we are justified must also be demonstrated by works of obedience; otherwise our faith is dead and cannot save us:

James 2:14-26. What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith buy has no deeds? Can such faith save him 15. Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. 16. If one of you says to him, "Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed," but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it? 17. In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead. 18. But someone will say, "You have faith; I have deeds." Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by what I do. 19. You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that--and shudder. 20. You foolish man, do you want evidence that faith without deeds, is useless? 21. Was not. our ancestor Abraham considered righteous for what he did when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? 22. You see that his faith and his actions were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did. 23. And the scripture was fulfilled that says, "Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness," and he was called God's friend. 24. You see that a person is justified by what he does and not by faith alone. 25. In the same way, was not even Rahab the prostitute considered righteous for what she did when she gave lodging to the spies and sent them off in a different direction? 26. As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead.

16. The genuineness of Abraham's trust in God (by which he was justified) was demonstrated in his offering up to God the thing he loved the most--his son Isaac:

Genesis 22:1,2. Some time later God tested Abraham. He said to him, "Abraham!" "Here I am," he replied. 2. Then God said, "Take your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the region of Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains I will tell you about.

Hebrews 11:17. By faith Abraham, when God tested him, offered Isaac as a sacrifice. He who had received the promises was about to sacrifice his one and only son.

The genuineness of our faith in Christ (by which we are saved) must be demonstrated in our willingness to forsake all for Him and actually forsake all when called to do so:

Matthew 10:37. "Anyone who loves his father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves his son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me."

Mark 10:17-21. As Jesus started on his way, a man ran up to him and fell on his knees before him. "Good teacher," he asked, "what must I do to inherit eternal life?" 18. "Why do you call me good?" Jesus answered. "No one is good--except God alone. 19. You know the commandments: 'Do not murder, do not commit adultery, do not steal, do not give false testimony, do not defraud, honor your father and mother." 20. "Teacher," he declared, "all these I have kept since I was a boy." 21. Jesus looked at him and loved him. "One thing you lack," he said. "Go, sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me."

Matthew 13:44-46. "The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field. Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant looking for fine pearls. 46. When he found one of great value, he went away and sold everything he had and bought it."

Luke 14:15-35. When one of those at the table with him heard this, he said to Jesus, "Blessed is the man who will eat at the feast in the kingdom of God." 16. Jesus replied: "A certain man was preparing a great banquet and invited many guests. 17. At the time of the banquet he sent his servant to tell those who had been invited, 'Come, for everything is now ready.' But they all alike began to make excuses. The first said, 'I have just bought five yoke of oxen, and I'm on my way to try them out. Please excuse me.' 20. Still another said, 11 just got married, so I can't come.' 21. The servant came back and reported this to his master. Then the owner of the house became angry and ordered his servant, 'Go out quickly into the streets and alleys of the town and bring in the poor, the crippled, the blind and the lame. 22. 'Sir,' the servant said, 'what you ordered has been done, but there is still room.' 23. Then the master told his servant, 'Go out to the roads and country lanes and make them come in, so that my house will be full. 24. 1 tell you, not one of those men who were invited will get a taste of my banquet." 25. Large crowds were traveling with Jesus, and turning to them he said: 26. "If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father and mother, his wife and children, his brothers and sisters--yes, even his own life--he cannot be my disciple. 27. And anyone who does not carry his cross and follow me cannot be my disciple. 28. Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Will he not first sit down and estimate the cost to see if he has enough money to complete it? 29. For if he lays the foundation and is not able to finish it, everyone who sees it will ridicule him, 30. saying, 'This fellow began to build and was not able to finish.' 31. Or suppose a king is about to go to war against another king. Will he not first sit down and consider whether he is able with ten thousand men to oppose the one coming against him with twenty thousand? 32. If he is not able, he will send a delegation while the other is still a long way off and will ask for terms of peace. 33. In the same way, any of you who does not give up everything he has cannot be my disciple. 34. Salt is good, but if it loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? 35. It is fit neither for the soil nor for the manure pile; it is thrown out. He who has ears to hear, let him hear."

17. Abraham was commanded, in demonstration of the genuiness of his justifying faith, to put Isaac, his beloved son, to death:

Genesis 22:1,2. Some time later God tested Abraham. He said to him, "Abraham!" "Here I am," he replied. 2. Then God said, "Take your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the region of Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains I will tell you about."

Hebrews 11:17. By faith Abraham, when God tested him, offered Isaac as a sacrifice. He who had received the promises was about to sacrifice his one and only son.

So we must put to death our beloved "self-life" and beloved lusts in demon-stration of the genuineness of our justifying fain:

Matthew 5:29,30. If your right eye causes you to sin, gouge it out and throw it away. it is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. 30. And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to go into hell.

Romans 8:13. For if you live according to the sinful nature, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live.

Romans 12:1. Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God--which is your spiritual worship.

Galatians 5:24. Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its pas-sions and desires.

Colossimine 3:5,6. Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry. 6. Because of these, the wrath of God is coming.

18. Abraham obtained what God promised him only after he had continued in faith, or "patiently endured" (KIV):

Hebrews 6:13-15. When God made his promise to Abraham, since there was no one greater for him to swear by, he swore by himself, saying, 14. "I will surely bless you and give you many descendants." 15. And so after waiting patiently, Abraham received what was promised.

We can obtain what God has promised us--eternal life--only after we have continued in faith, or patiently endured:

Hebrews 6:11,12. We want each of you to show this same diligence to the very end, in order to make your hope sure. 12. We do not want you to become lazy, but to imitate those who through faith and patience inherit what has been promised. [Than verses 13-15 above.]

Hebrews 10: 36,37. You need to persevere so that when ou have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised. 37. For in just a very little while, "He who is coming will come and will not delay."

James 1:12. Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him.

I John 2: 24,25. See that what you have heard from the beginning reains in you. If it does, you also will remain in the Son and in the Father. 25. And this is what he promised us--even eternal life.

Revelation 2:26. To him who overcomes and does my will to the end, I will give authority over the nations.

19. Abraham counted God able to raise Isaac from the dead:

Genesis 22:5. He said to his servants, "Stay here with the donkey while I and the boy go over there. We will worship and then we will come back to you.

Hebrews 11:17-19. by faith Abraham, when God tested him, offered Isaac as a sacrifice. He who had received the promises was about to sacrifice his one and only son, 18. even though God had said to him, "It si through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned." 19. Abraham reasoned that God could raise the dead, and figuratively speaking, he did receive Isaac back from death.

We must believe God raised Jesus from the dead:

Romans 4:23-25. The words "it was credited to him" were written not for him alone, 24. but also for us, to whom God will credit righteousness--for us who believe in him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead. @5. He was delivered over to death for our sins and was raised to life for our justification.

Romans 10"9. That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him form the dead, you will be saved.

Citing numerous Scripture texts, many insist that the only thing necessary for salvation is faith--to believe on Jesus. Certainly no one can deny that faith plays a major, if not the major, role in salvation. But what most people fail to realize is that true faith in Christ either includes or issues in deny-ing self, forsaking all, and following Christ, etc. The account of Abraham, who more than any other individual in the Word of God, is set forth as an example (or prototype) of saving faith, shows us that true faith is much more than an assent to God and a certain set of propositions but is a life-long commitment to Him. And thus, through this study of Abraham, we are led right back to the subjects included in our survey of the New Testament on salvation entitled "Mio Will Be Saved?" It is those who believe on Christ who will be saved, that is true; but it is only those who believe in the same sense that Abraham, our example, did--he was chosen, he repented (forsook his idolatrous land of birth), he believed, he did the will of God, he obeyed God and kept His commandments to him, he denied himself and followed God, he forsook all, he followed holiness, he bore good fruit, he continued until death. We must have an Abraham type of faith to be saved; we must be "of the faith of Abraham" (Rom. 4:16), '%;alk in the footsteps of the faith that our father Abraham had before he was circumcised" (Rom. 4:12). When God says, "Believe," He means (in once sense), "Do as Abraham did."

Have you "obtained" this "like precious faith" of the apostles and patriarchs? (II Peter 1:1). "Examine yourselves, whether ye be in" this "faith" (II Corinthians 13:5). "Strive to enter in at the strait gate," for many, because they have only a deficient, sub-Scriptural faith, "will seek to enter in, and shall not be able." Instead of entering heaven, as they confidently expect, thanks to the false teaching they have received, they will hear the dread sentence: "I know not whence ye are; depart from me, all ye workers of iniquity"! Jesus concluded, "There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when ye shall see Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, and all the prophets, in the kingdom of God, and you yourselves thrust out" (Luke- 13:24,27,28).

(For additional copies of this study or for our survey on salvation, "Who Will Be Saved?" containing 16 subtopics and hundreds of Scriptures, write Victory Christian Center, 13996 Burr Oak Road, Carthage, MO, 64836.)

All Scripture quotations from the New International Version, copyright 1978 by New York International Bible Society.

Leon Stump, Pastor of Victory Christian Center

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