By Faith, Abraham

Hebrews 11 and the Faith of Abraham

Turn with me once again, please to Hebrews chapter 11. Hebrews chapter 11. We continue our series in the study of this tremendous epistle. Looking at that chapter known as the chapter of faith Hebrews Chapter 11 we will be beginning with verse 8.

Hebrews chapter 11 beginning at verse 8 and once again before we open God's Word. Let us ask him to bless our time together. Our gracious Heavenly Father we need your spirit to come and to open our hearts our minds to give us strength Concentration or protect us from distraction.

Let us hear from your word this morning. So that you may be honored and glorified in all things we pray in Christ's name. Amen. We have been studying through the book of Hebrews when I have opportunity of Speaking here.

It has taken us quite some time as is of course the tradition that we have amongst Reformed Baptists any summary treatment of any book causes us all to be very nervous and So it's good that we go very slowly through these texts.

We don't like change and that's why what's going on in the world causes a lot of us much discomfort. So we are slowly working our way through the book of Hebrews and slowly working our way through chapter 11.

We come now to the section that deals with Abraham rivaled only in Size in this chapter by the section that deals with Moses which makes some level of sense and of course we know That there are three major religions in the world that are called the great Abrahamic faiths.

That is Judaism Christianity and Islam. What that means of course is that each of these faiths looks to Abraham as part of their story or even the originator of their story. Judaism of course would insist that unless you are physically related to Abraham Genealogically Genetically shall we say that you're not really of the faith of Abraham unless of course you go through the process of proselytization into that faith.

We as Christians of course believe that we are related to Abraham first and foremost by his faith. That is the argument of Romans chapter 4 and we will have Occasion to look at that as we try to answer some of the questions that are raised By this section in Hebrews chapter 11, but we insist that the proper relationship to Abraham Is one of faith that we need to have the faith of Abraham as is also found in the gospel accounts as well.

Now what you may not be aware of is that Muslims likewise see themselves as the true heirs of Abrahamic faith. They believe that Abraham and his son Ishmael Traveled down to modern-day Mecca and there established what is called the Kaaba the place of the the locusts of Islamic worship even to this day even doubly seeing pictures of the Kaaba in the Grand Mosque as people are Circumambulating the Kaaba seven times and of course when Muslims pray they pray toward the Kaaba specifically toward the black stone in the corner of the Kaaba which they believe was placed there and that Abraham and his son originally intended it to be a place of Monotheistic worship and that was only changed over time when idolatry came and then Muhammad came and got rid of that idolatry.

And so you have three religions that look back to Abraham and each one says that the other is in essence in error. Judaism would say that our understanding is incorrect and certainly the Islamic one is incorrect and we would say that the Jews have missed the spiritual faith aspect of Abraham and in fact that the promise to Abraham was that his descendants would be at the fan of the sea.

And that this blessing would be to all nations and we see this fulfillment in the gospel. And of course both Jews and Christians would say to our Muslim friends There's just no evidence that Abraham did any of those things certainly no evidence that Abraham Founded or built the Kaaba or anything like that at all.

And so you have the Abrahamic faiths. Going back to this one man Abraham now what we're seeing in the book of Hebrews. Of course as we've come to this chapter where you have exhortation to faithful continuing Obedience remember once again chapter 10 ended with that that signal text.

We are not of those who draw back to destruction. So once again, what's the whole focus of the book of Hebrews? But it is a book seeking to encourage us in faith. Seeking to encourage us to press forward and be faithful.

And so we are looking at these men we look for example last time that we looked at this text. We looked at Noah we looked at Enoch and these early progenitors of the faith and we saw how they were faithful and how Noah by his steadfast obedience the calling of God Condemned the world the world that mocked him the world that refused to believe and now we encounter Abraham and of course Abraham is Mentioned many times in the New Testament.

And in fact the signal passage in Genesis 15 6 where Abraham believes God Yahweh shows him the stars the heavens says your descendants will will be like these in number and It is said that Abraham Believed in Yahweh.

It's the first time the word belief is even used in the Bible in Genesis 15 6. Now we know that Abraham that Abraham was not the first person to believe in God. We know that Noah was a faithful man and Enoch was a faithful man.

But the first time that the word appears in either the Hebrew or Greek Septuagint is There in Genesis 15 6 and it is reckoned to him as righteousness. And of course this text quoted numerous times particularly by the Apostle Paul in his Discussion of how we become right before God and so Abraham is extremely important, but not just in that sense.

We we think of the fact that Abraham rejoiced to see the days of Jesus that according to John chapter 8. Well, what does that mean? And of course Abraham comes up over and over again in Jesus's disputes with the Jews and so a Central figure and so what can we learn about his faith and especially about the steadfastness of his faith?

The obedience of his faith. And especially in regards to Abraham we have Brought out for us a theme that will really be picked up in this text. And that is the concept of being a pilgrim an exile a stranger in the land.

Which would be of course very important to these? Hebrew Christians who themselves have felt they have their exiles they have been Separated from their former community. They are in a world that is hostile to them from every perspective.

The the pagan world is hostile toward them because of their monotheism. Their belief in the cross and Jesus and so on so forth the Jewish world is hostile toward them as well. And so this concept of exiles and pilgrims comes out as well.

So let's let's take a look at what this attack says and start the rather daunting effort of working through. What is this is says about Abraham? Hebrews 11 8 by faith Abraham when he was called Obeyed by going out to a place which he was to receive for an inheritance.

And he went out not knowing where he was going. By faith he lived as an alien in the land of promise as in a foreign land dwelling in tents with Isaac and Jacob fellow heirs the same promise for he was looking for the city which has foundations whose architect and Builder is God.

By faith even Sarah herself received ability to conceive even beyond the proper time of life. Since she considered him faithful who had promised therefore there was born even of one man and him as good as dead at that as Many descendants of the stars of heaven and number and innumerable the sandwiches by the seashore all these died in faith without receiving the promises but having seen them and having welcomed them from a distance and having confessed that they were strangers and exiles on the earth.

For those who say such things Make it clear that they are seeking a country of their own and indeed if they had been thinking of that country From which they went out they would have had opportunity to return.

But as it is they desire a better country that is a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God for he has prepared a city for them. By faith Abraham when he was tested Offered up Isaac and he who had received the promises was offering up his only begotten son.

It was he to whom it was said in Isaac your descendants shall be called. He considered that God is able to raise people even from the dead from which he also received him back as they type Amen. So here is the section on Abraham you notice that it is broken up into Two sections the first section and then you have sort of a digression a expansion a discussion of how all of these people up to this point were strangers and exiles upon the earth and then it returns to Abraham and that signal passage in regards to his offering of Isaac and That's going to be a real challenge to handle that particular incident.

It is a section that I've wanted to preach upon for a long time. Well when you preach through a book verse by verse eventually you get forced to deal with whatever You were afraid of dealing with in the first place.

The Call of Abraham and the Life of Pilgrim Faith

So We will take a look at that. But obviously we will not be able to get all the way to that point in our studies today. Beginning at verse 8 by faith Abraham when he was called Obeyed by going out to a place Which he was to receive an inheritance and he went out not knowing where he was going now.

I have Mentioned as we began this text that we need to try to hear the Aspects of faith that the writer is emphasizing to us and to try to avoid as best we can. Asking questions of the writers presentation that he really isn't seeking to answer.

What do I mean by that? Well there are certain aspects of Abraham's faith that are highlighted that can give us encouragement that we didn't find in looking at Enoch that we didn't find in looking at Noah.

I mean when you think about the the multifaceted thing that faith is It would be difficult to use any one individual outside of the faithfulness of Jesus Christ. I would assume to try to illustrate all these things.

I Think about the way that God places us in certain in certain situations in our lives where he works in a certain way to conform us to the image of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and and That's not the same for every single individual certainly being conformed the image of Christ is yes.

But how that works in each one of our lives Isn't always the same at all and even when we go through similar Situations very often how we respond and and the specific area of of our life that God is working On will be will be different and so while we might Gain insights from others who have gone through similar tragedies or difficulties the sickness disease Issues in the home or work or whatever it might be while we might find others who can come alongside and and have similar experiences.

No matter how similar they are there's also always differences, too, and so when we look at Faith as illustrated by Abraham. We need to try as best we can to look specifically at What is said about Abraham so we look at this first verse?

What is the element of? Faith that the writer is seeking to say to us. This is the element of faith that you need to emulate. This is what you need to take as encouragement and as I've already suggested it seems that one of the primary emphases in at least this first portion regarding the faith of Abraham is the fact that we as believers do not have a foothold in this world in the sense of a city with foundations in other words this concept of being strangers aliens.

Living in tents you'll notice by faith He lives as an alien in the land of promises in a foreign land dwelling in tents with Isaac and Jacob. We think back at the story of Abraham. And and it does strike us as somewhat unusual how often the text emphasizes this.

We have Abraham dwelling in tents now. He clearly was a fairly well-to-do man. He has a pretty big household. He has a lot of servants and Yet he dwells in tents. Now certainly there were people who are just shepherds of sheep and things like that.

They had to be able to be mobile and to move Where they could take their flocks. A flock could devastate one particular particular area pretty quickly, so certainly there would be some aspects of this.

But there were people who lived in land who are well well-to-do. Who would have servants that would take care of things like that, but they would build a home. And I would imagine I've never done this, but I would imagine it's On on on on par more comfortable to live in a home than to live in a tent.

Especially in a desert climb. I would I would imagine. Especially during thunderstorms and things like that. I I've only stayed in a tent a few times. I'm just not one of those guys I I'm I'm not brother Callahan who's out there in the in the woods.

You know. Just living off the woods killing everything around and eating it. It's just you know. You know building the tent out of the skin of the animal you shot your eyes. You know that's just not really my thing which means if the zombie apocalypse ever happens.

I'm toast fairly early on so. And brother Callahan will be the last man standing. There's no question about that, but but This is not my thing and so you would you would think that someone with all these Servants and stuff like that you could sort of peel ten of them off to build you a nice place to stay you know.

And to entertain people and things like that well Abraham doesn't doesn't do this and and even when Faraday He's got to go and he's got to find some he's got to buy a plot of land. He's a he is the very the term is he's he's an immigrant.

He's an alien. He's a stranger in the land even though the land is promised to him he remains a stranger in it and That is an interesting Aspect that is then brought out for us later on that we need to recognize.

That there is an element of faith. There is an element of obedience. Maybe even an element shall we say of endurance? That must be ours in this world. Abraham first of all obeys the call that is given to him.

Now he clearly was probably not a hurtin as far as finances went even where he wants. But he was called to go out to a place which he was receiver inheritance, and he went out not knowing where he was going.

So here is an element of faith as well. Abraham is called to go to a place that never seen. Now at this point we could you know stop and start doing a lengthy section on calls to foreign missions and things like that and I think that would be perfectly appropriate.

You're talking with someone who has been who has been called to go to a place that they have never seen. Clearly we have experience with people who said, you know, the Lord just laid upon my heart of a particular people group.

I Saw something about them. I saw how they lived and I just I couldn't get them out of my heart and out of my thoughts. I just had to be used of God to bring the gospel to these people and We think of probably the most famous martyr story in the past Hundred years Jim Elliott's and and what took place in that situation and and and how many of us have been greatly Benefited by even considering the self-sacrificial nature of people like that and so on.

I am in no way shape or form saying that that's not a proper element of this to see that is when God calls you you go and You do not question God and say well, you know if you really want me to go then you're going to Reveal to me everything.

I'm going to need to know before I get there I I need a lot of information. That's how I would be. There's no question about that you know, I get upset when people move my cheese and so the idea of Just picking up and and going is pretty foreign to me and and it's easy for me to go well I would need to work this out and need to work that out and and And all the rest these things and if I have been Abraham He never would have gotten out of Irritabilities because I would have been making so many excuses and taking so long getting around to doing it.

But Abraham obeys the call. He goes out to a place which he was to receive for an inheritance but he went out not knowing where he was going and So he has a call. He has a direction. This is where you're supposed to go.

I know you've never been there before. I know you don't know the way but there is something about faith that Accepts that we are under the authority of the one who commands us. We are under the authority of the one who commands us.

God has a right to ask of us that which may not be Comfortable to us a lot of definitions of faith running around in Christianity today most of which are focused upon our satisfying our desires Fulfilling what we want for ourselves our own self-made definition of who we are going to be.

But biblically this kind of faith the kind of faith that the writer of the Hebrews is saying you need to have in seeing what's coming towards you in recognizing that you're under constant pressure to go back to the old ways in Recognizing that you've seen people who have gone back and recognizing that things aren't going to be getting easier for you.

One of the elements of faith that you must understand is That the one who has lordship over you has the right to command you to do as he says now. That is an element of faith. That is missing in a lot of modern-day Christianity.

I Haven't gotten a chance to do it yet. I am going to do it. I am just making a commitment to get it done, but I read a Letter to the church this week. I haven't mentioned it to anybody. I've saved the the bookmark.

I'm going to be Responding to it. Probably I was thinking about doing in fact. It struck me It's written by a young person. It's the letter by a young person a letter from my generation to the church.

And it points out that that we're losing 70 80 percent of the next generation and The reason for this is because they have homosexual friends and The church is known as being anti-homosexual and therefore we're in danger of losing them and the church needs to get with it and As I read this particular Letter and there's an attached Video song with it, and it's all meant to tug at the heartstrings and things like that.

I was really struck once again I mean the letter even says in it, you know, if it comes down to my gay friends or Discovering that the Bible says that they're wrong. Well, I'm going to take my friends like well, you know Okay, we we know what kind of church you're saying you're you're going to be comfortable with but as I think on how many people Respond to the commandments of God's Word today.

I cannot help but but think that this element of faith Really needs to be emphasized as well. In other words Many people have been taught that you can have faith in God Without being obedient to his commands in your life.

Oh I believe in God. Really? What does he commanded you to do in life? What? Well, you said you believe in God. Yeah, I believe there's a God. Well, you see Christian faith means you believe he exists, but it also means you will be obedient to him.

So what does he commanded you to do? He has commands for me. Or what's even worse? Well, I Really don't think that he's commanded me to do anything. In fact, it seems that there are certain theologies out there that Reverse the whole situation and say you can command God.

You can name it and claim it your words create the reality around you and all the rest of this foolishness that parades under the name of Christianity and There are even some Who would accuse me for what?

I've just said Of being a legalist now those of you who know how many times I have defended Salvation by grace alone through faith alone would probably find it rather humorous That I would be accused of being a legalist but there are many people who think that if you emphasize the fact that God has the right to command you and That he has commandments.

So we are to fill in life. Well You must be a legalist. No, I'm just recognizing what the Word of God says and that God is not silent as to how we are to live our lives in such a way as to bring honor and glory to Jesus Christ and to live our lives in such a way as to actually experience fulfillment and hope and what God has designed us to be in our lives and When we ignore what he says to us when we ignore the revelation of his will in that area we do so only to our own self-destruction and nothing else and so Abraham Does not engage in an argument with God.

He does not demand of God certain upfront information there is a submission in faith. That is seemingly foreign to many people today. Now it makes perfect sense to Abraham if this is my creator I have no choice but to submit to him and it's certainly true that as we consider the later incident noted specifically by the writer in regards to the offering of Isaac a level of implicit trust in God is clearly present a level of that kind of trust that says I cannot see Past this point in time.

I must trust in your goodness. There is that there I mean we know that you have Abraham. Exercising faith in the promises of God there are things that God says. But sometimes how those promises are going to be fulfilled.

We can't see and in the issue with Isaac and we're not going to get there yet. But it's sort of hard not to see it coming. It's you know, sort of like that big train coming through the tunnel in The issue of Isaac the text itself brings up the tension and That is God had said It's through Isaac that the promises can be fulfilled through him.

You're gonna have all these ascendants and now he's saying offer him offer him. There's a tension there there is there is. There are times when the only basis upon which we have to act is the assurance of the settled character of God Himself and Nothing else and only those who know him only those who have walked with him through the dark times only those who have impatient endurance experience suffering and Difficulty in life really build that kind of Settled assurance in their hearts and we know those Saints they're the Saints that are not blown about by every little thing.

They're not troubled by every little thing that comes along they're not always looking for some new ism or anything like that. You know those mature Saints. It's because they've walked with God. They've come to know who he is.

And if you're a young person in Christ, if you've only known Christ for a certain period of time, that should be your goal your goal should be to cultivate a character of patience and endurance and Faith in God knowing his character so well that no matter what he calls you to do no matter what he calls you to experience or to suffer You Will be able to do so you will be able to present to him a heart that trusts.

That he is only going to do what is best and that he gets to define what best is. Not you. That's a hard calling. We don't know anything about Abraham before this. We know he comes out of a of a land filled with idolatry.

We don't know when God first started working in the heart of Abraham had he even as a young person caused Abraham to doubt the polytheistic religions around him. How had he brought a knowledge of the fact?

There's only one true God Abraham. We simply are not told. People can speculate people have speculated. All sorts of stories have been told down to the centuries try to fill things in. But we're not told.

But what we are told is that when he was called Abraham obeyed. He didn't argue he went out and He probably did so with his family and friends saying why. You're leaving the good land for a land you don't know.

There are probably all sorts of arguments that were presented, but he went out not knowing where he was going this was an act of faith and By faith he lived as an alien in the land of promise is in a foreign land dwelling in tents with Isaac and Jacob fellow heirs the same promise and So he Remains patient.

He waits upon God. Even when he enters into the land. He does not say okay. This is mine and tries to push God's timetable. He leaves it in God's hands. Now we remember in regards to Isaac and Jacob. We remember.

These are not perfect men. We remember that Abraham for example in regards to the marriage of Isaac. Very concerned about going back to the old land and Remember a little bit later on it says in this text itself.

It says, you know, they're strangers that they had wanted to go back to the old land they could have but they were looking for a better city a heavenly city. I'm sure there were difficult times the incident with with lot for example.

That probably crossed the mind man, you know, we added a whole lot better backward back home. Let's go back. But no. Instead he lived as an alien in the land of promise. So here's someone who's been given a promise.

It's all gonna be yours but the fulfillment is still down the road and What's the immediate Natural thing for you and I to do well if I've been given a promise it needs to be fulfilled right now. Oh How impatient.

Many of us are. I'm not gonna say every single one. There are some very patient folks and I think that's one of the greatest Gifts God can give to somebody is just to make someone a patient individual.

We all have our limits though, I remember once my dad's always been a patient person really has. But I remember once as a kid the first time I saw my dad loses cool. He had just finished fixing up this car.

I mean he could my dad can fix could in the past and he was fix anything. I mean we had a car once the brake went out on it. They rolled down a hill and Into a line of trees. For most people that's it.

It's scrap metal. He dragged this thing Back up stuck it in this garage and three days in a row because he was a salesman. He needed this car to be able to travel around and do his selling three days day and night.

I Remember the sounds coming from that garage and three days later out rolled a car. Body work done engine work done everything. He did it all himself and he was mainly self-taught at all that stuff.

So he fixes this car up and I remember because I was sitting in the passenger seat, this is in Pennsylvania so I was just a little kid and We're waiting to the light and this guy behind this decides. He just cannot wait and So he tries to sneak around us and hits us.

Well, I don't know if it had been a bad day. I don't know what was going on the window is down next to me and all I know is all of a sudden my dad. It's right here yelling out that window at that guy and a volume of voice.

I had never heard before. Now he avoided any off-color language, but he let the guy know what he thought of his level of intelligence in the process. And I was just you know, my eyes were this big. I just you know, I thought that my dad had the patience of Job but everybody has that that that breaking point at some point in their life and.

And Patience. Especially on our city streets. Isn't it funny you'll find out more about a person person's true level of patience. Driving down the road with them. Much more than being at work with them or anything else.

It's for so what is it about the road? That causes all of us our sanctification level to just collapse To to an amazingly low level. I I've not figured it out. But I experienced it myself and I don't and I've even done the calculations.

Okay, I get stuck behind this person on I 17 coming down to church. It means I'm gonna sit here early 30 seconds less than if I get around this person, but I'm. What is that. I just I don't understand it.

I don't know where it comes from but my it does seem to happen. Patience. Why am I impatient? Why do any of us experience impatience? But we know we're not in charge. We know there are things there's completely outside of our control.

I Mean a thought crossed my mind this morning as I was getting to the car. What would ever happen if this car wouldn't start and I'm supposed to be preaching this morning I was supposed to be doing I mean Yeah I'm gonna go on who'd I get a call and you know all the rest of this kind of stuff what I what I get.

I'm a little scooter and try to get her my scooter. You know, I really wouldn't want to do that. I don't know I Realize there are things that could happen and probably would eventually. Someday will happen that could just throw all my plans right out the window and I don't like when my plans are changed.

I Don't like it. But you see What Abraham recognized is God had made the promise God had brought him into the land he was being obedient to God, but God gets to set the timetable for the fulfillment and that's where we we chase it that We chase it.

Especially in our modern day where everything has to be right now right now right now I'm that way most of us are that way in Fact when you think about the inventions we've come up with what are they all meant to do save us time save us time.

I mean, what was it like? Before a microwave oven. I've used the illustration many times. It's good illustration. I think it would be good for many people to have to learn to use Jiffy Pop. The old kind what I mean.

That young people are going what is he doing? John some of the older folks going. Oh, yeah, and we didn't have the nice smooth burners on the other. We had that you know the old coils, so you take that you take that thing which out.

They even make him anymore. They do make him. Oh, man. I'm gonna have to find one of those even though it might not work on my oven anymore because I got one of those flat ones, but but. You'd sit there, and if you wanted to have popcorn you had to sit there and then start popping you know and You got good at it after a while.

No, right when the stock because he went too far then everything the bottom is all black and burned and stuff like that. But man then the steam starts coming out of it remember the steam coming out of the thing out of the aluminum foil and stuff.

And oh that but you know I took a while. Now you know you want some popcorn and popcorn. You come back you know 90 seconds later. You have popcorn. What was that all about there absolutely no need for patience at all.

Boy when I look at the younger generation, and we've got to have everything right now and by the time I'm 20 I need to own a house and you need to pay for my college education. And and pay for my give me give me give me give me give me I Go.

I think you need jiffy pop. I really do every day I Really this patience thing this patience thing. If there's something good about having to wait and and Realize you're not in control of everything and and sometimes your desires don't get to be fulfilled exactly when you want them and you see what people like Joseph and Abraham and Isaac what they learned is sometimes it doesn't even happen in this life.

Sometimes there are promises God gives that we can only see the fulfillment from afar. And the question is how many of us? would be faithful to The promise of God in our lives if it's just it's all the way down there, but you see all of us are called for that every believer.

There are promises that have been given to us the now and the not yet. And we can only see them from afar. Instant gratification is not a Christian virtue and. And one of the greatest problems we have is not embracing this element of Endurance of not demanding God it needs to be right now.

Our prayers are so often. Oh Lord aren't you listening? Haven't you heard me? Yes, but you only started praying five minutes ago. But what would it what was five hours five days five weeks five months?

What's the dividing line. It's up to God. How long was Joseph in prison. Don't know he remained faithful. He had that kind of endurance in his faith. So Abraham dwells in tents. With Isaac and Jacob who are fellow heirs the same promise so their faith is going to be noted later on but a part portion of it is right here and Why did they say intense where he was looking for the city which has Foundations whose architect and builder is God.

And when you're looking for what God has promised you. What the world will offer in its place will never be enough. Don't get me wrong. I Didn't say that the world won't offer you something in its place.

The world will and when you settle for it It's always a cheap imitation. It's never satisfying and we all know that. Everyone in this room Who has had any experience in the Christian life knows that every single time we try to shortcut?

God's work of sanctification in our lives take the easy route. Skip the hard work. Skip the suffering. Go with the instant spirituality. Grab what the world had to offer. It didn't satisfy. It can't satisfy not for a true believer.

If it does satisfy that might tell you you've got a real spiritual problem. You might not be a real believer. It is only that Which comes from the will of God comes from the Spirit of God that will satisfy the child of God because Abraham was looking for the city which has foundations whose architect and builder is God.

He was looking for the fulfillment of God's promise. And God had promised him something he could only see from afar but his patient endurance and faithfulness. Wells made him one of the biggest names in all of human history.

Everyone looks back to Abraham why because of his faith and only God Can design and build? That which will fulfill the heart of the true child of God. It's only that city. It's only that place to dwell you see the amazing thing is Yes, there is the heavenly fulfillment of that which we all see down the road, but there is a sense in which what this is saying is is God will provide you the perfect place for you to dwell if you will but believe him and that includes Exhortations to these Hebrews who are suffering they've been cut off from their people.