Genesis #50 - The Gospel According to Genesis #2 - "Gospel Principles" (Genesis 12-50)

John chapter 8. John chapter 8 and verse 48.

John chapter 8 and verse 48 as we get started this morning in the ministry of God's word. If you grabbed one of the red bibles that we give away that is on page 958.

John chapter 8 beginning in verse 48. And if you're able to do so can

I invite you to stand out of respect for God's word as we come to it. John chapter 8 beginning in verse 48.

Brothers and sisters these are God's words to us this morning. The Jews responded to him

Jesus aren't we right in saying that you're a Samaritan and have a demon? I do not have a demon

Jesus answered. On the contrary I honor my father and you dishonor me. I do not seek my own glory.

There is one who seeks it and judges. Truly I tell you if anyone keeps my word he will never see death.

Then the Jew said now we know you have a demon. Abraham died and so did the prophets.

You say if anyone keeps my word he will never taste death. Are you greater than our father

Abraham who died? And the prophets died. Who do you claim to be? If I glorify myself

Jesus answered my glory is nothing. My father about whom you say he is our

God he is the one who glorifies me. You do not know him but I know him.

If I were to say I don't know him I would be a liar like you. But I do know him and I keep his word.

Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day. He saw it and was glad.

The Jews replied you weren't 50 years old yet and you've seen Abraham? Jesus said to them truly

I tell you before Abraham was I am. So they picked up stones to throw at him but Jesus was hidden and went out from the temple.

The gospel is the flower fades but the word of our God will abide forever. Allow me to pray ask for the Lord's help and we will get to work in the word of God this morning.

Let's pray together. Heavenly father we ask that as we open up your word this morning finally bring to a close our lengthy study in the book of Genesis.

We pray that the truth of your word will be written on our hearts. Pray that you would help us to rightly handle the word both in speaking and in hearing.

And we pray that in the midst of all this as we have taken the time to think about your word we trust that your spirit will use this word in our lives for our good and for your glory.

We ask you in Jesus name and for his sake amen. Well we are back in the final part of this short mini -series that we began last week thinking about the gospel according to Genesis giving it the subtitle uh gospel reflections on the first book of the bible.

For those of you who weren't here last week and maybe didn't have a chance to catch the teaching let me give you a very very rapid overview of what we considered last time.

As I said we are kind of concluding our study of Genesis with a sort of final flyover of the book and the aim of this flyover is really to do three things.

I will do my best to fly through this real quickly. First of all I want to encourage you to spend more time in this book like I said last week just because we are ending our exposition of this book does not mean that your study of it should end.

So I want to encourage you to spend more time in this book. Secondly I want to help you to think through how to handle the bible responsibly.

I want to model in a sense how it is that we handle God's word on its own terms.

And I also want to show you to model for you how to view not just Genesis but really any book of the bible through the lens of the overarching purposes of God.

My aim in this overview is not really to look at an overview of all the details of Genesis. That's what we have the whole sermon series for.

You can go back and listen to that. What I really want to do is to show you how the overarching purpose of God is worked out in the pages of this book.

And so that's what we've been trying to do. And last week we began by thinking about how to view the

Old Testament. Again this is just a review you can get all the detail from last time. We said number one you should read the

Old Testament as the word of God. That's what it is because that's what Jesus understood it to be. That's what the apostles understood it to be.

So read the Old Testament as the word of God. Read the Old Testament as a unified revelation that it's not a bunch of disparate or disconnected stories but it is one overarching story regarding the kingdom of God and its king the

Lord Jesus. And since that's the case number three read the Old Testament as pointing to Christ and his work.

And so we did that. We looked at again just by way of review the first 11 chapters of Genesis and I made the case that in Genesis 1 through 11 one of the great insights we get is insight into who

God is. And so in creation we saw God's power on display. In the fall we saw

God's righteousness on display. In the flood you see God's wrath and grace on display.

And in Babel you see God's sovereign and global rule on display.

Again if you want all of that detail or maybe you want to go back and listen to it it's up on our website you can go catch that in your own time.

This morning we're transitioning to the second half of Genesis because Genesis divides into two uneven halves.

You have four key events in Genesis 1 through 11 and then you have four key people in Genesis 12 through 50.

Four key people. Four characters. I'm going to argue all four of them from differing perspectives point us to what

I believe is the central truth of this book. I hope you haven't memorized by now because it's been on the top of every study guide for the last two years.

That despite the failure of God's covenant people God's purposes and plans will come to fulfillment not through the faithfulness of others but through the faithfulness of God.

I believe that you can learn that in 1 through 11 through who God is and you can also learn that in 12 through 50 and as we see how

God works. So for the rest of our time this morning I want us to consider and I want us to learn four key gospel truths as we take a gospel -centered tour of the second half of Genesis and we see how

God works in salvation. So like I said last week this is one sermon in two parts so I gave you point one last week the gospel in Genesis 1 through 11 who

God is morning I want to consider point number two the gospel in Genesis 12 through 50 how

God works. We've thought about who God is now we want to think about how

God works. Well the first main character that I want us to consider is the first one that comes up in Genesis 12.

The man Abraham considered by many to be the father of faith man who's called the friend of God wants to consider the life of Abraham and in the life of Abraham we see a letter a there in your study guide the life of Abraham we see that God declares sinners to be righteous.

God declares sinners to be righteous. Abraham's life as you can see up on screen spans from chapter 11 verse 10 where we get the history of Abraham's family right through to 25 18 when

Abraham dies. I'm not going to look at all of that thankfully but I am this morning going to hone in on just one verse in the life of Abraham that I think makes the point that God works by declaring sinners to be righteous.

If you got a copy of God's word Genesis chapter 15 if you will please Genesis chapter 15 like I said

I want to hone in on just one verse give you some context as you're turning there.

Abraham had heard this word from the Lord that he was going to be the father of nations but this tiny little problem uh

Abraham didn't even have a son at this stage Abraham didn't have a son at this stage so how is a man who is pretty old going with a wife who has never had children going to be the father of a nation when he doesn't even have a single son and that weighs heavy on Abraham's mind as you come to Genesis chapter 15 pick up with me in verse one after these events the word of Yahweh came to Abram in a vision do not be afraid

Abram I am your shield your reward will be very great but Abram said

Lord Yahweh what can you give me since I am childless and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus Abraham continued look you have given me no offspring so a slave born in my house will be my heir now the word of Yahweh came to him this one

Eliezer of Damascus the slave born in his house this one will not be your heir instead one who comes from your own body will be your heir he took him outside and said look at the sky and count the stars if you are able to count them then he said to him your offspring will be that numerous and here's the verse

I want you to focus on verse six Abram believed Yahweh he believed the

Lord and it was credited to him as righteousness

Abraham hears God's word and his response is almost deceptively simple in how it's put it says that Abraham believed

God simple faith and the text says it was credited to him for righteousness that simple description of verse six becomes what becomes one of the bible's great illustrations for how believers are saved and how believers walk with God the fact that Abraham heard the word of God he believed that word and that faith was credited to him for righteousness and so the new testament picks up this illustration as the great proof of the fact that salvation is not on the basis of our works are being good enough or earning enough but it is simply on the basis of faith so i'm with me to romans chapter 4 like i said last week this is going to feel like a bible study at points because we're going to turn to a lot of passages romans chapter 4 romans chapter 4 and look at verse 1 with me romans chapter 4 in verse 1 what then will we say that abraham our forefather according to the flesh is found if abraham was justified declared righteous by works he has something to boast about but not before God for what does the scripture say and here's that verse again genesis 15 6 abraham believed

God and it was credited to him for righteousness now to the one who works pay is not credited as a gift but as something owed but to the one who does not work but believes on him who justifies the ungodly his faith is credited for righteousness simple words from paul but it's with everything paul writes they're pretty weighty so for a moment i want to kind of take these apart so that we can kind of get our arms underneath everything paul is saying here so i just want to make three observations from romans chapter 4 about how