BaptistWay Bible Series for May 2: Abraham: Following by faith

BaptistWay Bible Series for May 2: Abraham: Following by faith focuses on Genesis 11:31-12:7; 15:1-6; 17:1-8.

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Abram’s faith does not know the destination (Genesis 11:27-12:1)

To be sure, God knows the destination, but it is not shared with Abram. Instead, the instruction is for Abram to “go to the land I (God) will show you” (Genesis 12:1). Abram’s faith led him not to the place he was led but to the one doing the leading, not to Canaan but with God. The essence of faith is to trust the one giving the instructions, not the instructions themselves. It is the giver of the word, not the word itself, who inspires Abram’s faith.

God has specific calls for each of us. They just are not the same calls. For some, God's call has to do with where we put down our roots, for he has people there whom we must meet and to whom we must minister. For others, the call is unique to a specific task, for he will take our labors and do divine things with them. For others, the call has to do with how we serve him, and we can do that in any of a number of places.

The Apostle Paul gets a specific call that guides his every step for the rest of his life. Abram, on the other hand, hears a very nonspecific call: “Leave here, and go to a place I will show you.” Abram is told neither where he is going nor what he will do when he gets there. For every Jonah who gets a specific call to Ninevah, there are many who resemble Matthew (“leave your booth”), Andrew (“leave your nets”), Moses (“go talk to Pharoah, and I will tell you what to say when you get there”), Peter (“walk like you see Jesus walking”), Esther (“be in the right place for such a time as you are needed”) or the many disciples of Jesus who simply hear “follow me.”

Abram’s faith is grounded in belief (Genesis 15:1-6)

No doubt, faith without works is dead. Of course, our faith manifests itself in the “practices” of our faith—both service of others and service of God in worship, Sabbath-keeping, prayer and the like.

Before the works and the practices, though, comes the belief. If Abram does not first determine that what God is telling him is true and correct, nothing else happens. Abram looks up into the sky and counts the stars, and he believes that his offspring will be that numerous—despite the obvious hindrances of his own age and the age of his wife, despite his history of having no offspring, despite Sarai’s barrenness.

Why did God credit Abram’s belief as righteousness (15:6)? The answer is found in the nature and extent of Abram’s belief. After all, even the demons “believe” in God (James 2:19), so mere assent is clearly not the touchstone. Abram’s belief is more than mere assent, more than an acknowledgement that God has spoken to him. Abram’s belief is that what God has said is true, good and possible. Abram’s belief is the basis for the rest of Abram’s life. Because of this belief, Abram leaves the settled land of Haran, the place his father had taken him, and sets out for unknown country.

Paul argues the key to Abram’s faith is trust in God. Yes, Abram acted, but his actions are not what is credited to him as righteousness. It is his belief, because he trused God was right and good (Romans 4:1-5). The people in Galatia had seen Jesus crucified—they had that knowledge—but they needed more. They needed not just to acknowledge facts and then to perform their works; instead Paul urged them to believe God just as Abram had. Then they would be judged righteous just as Abram was (Galatians 3:1-7).

Abram’s faith is matched by more promises from God (Genesis 17:1-8)

God’s covenant with Abram is repeated, and as Abram demonstrates his faith, God deepens the covenant and expands its signs. As always, when our relationship with God grows, God demands more from us and gives more to us.


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First, God demands Abram walk blameless before him (Genesis 17:1). Mirroring language used earlier about Enoch (Genesis 5:22) and Noah (6:8-9), this description of what Abram is to do and be comes chapters after the covenant is extended to him. Critically, God’s call for Abram’s pure actions comes after Abram’s belief has been credited to him as righteousness; in other words, while God wants us to be blameless, he first seeks our faith.  

There is an order to things. God’s promise comes first in chapter 12; it is repeated in chapter 15. Along the way, Abram’s adventures with Pharoah in Egypt, with Lot in the Negev, with the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah, with Melchizedek, and with Hagar and Ishmael all pass without God’s calling Abram to a blameless walk. Though it all, Abram “believes” God.  

Only in chapter 17, with the third expression of the covenant, when Abram’s faith has been demonstrated repeatedly, does God call on Abram for blamelessness. The time has come. Faith has been established. Twenty-four years after first asking for Abram’s faith, God now demands blamelessness. As our relationship with God grows, God expects more of us.

This demand for blamelessness is matched by new promises from God. Abram becomes “Abraham,” literally the “father of many nations” (Genesis 17:5). The covenant is explained as being multigenerational, without a foreseeable end (v. 7). More importantly, the promise that God “will be their God” (v. 8) signifies God’s relationship with the descendants of Abraham. And of course, the descendants of Abraham are not genetically or racially determined, for God could raise those up out of the stones (Luke 3:8); the descendants of Abraham are those who “believe” (Galatians 3:7).

It is the faith of Abraham that signals the eternal covenant with God, and God honors that covenant with all who show their kinship with Abraham through their faith.


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