So those who rely on faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith.
Summary: How we view faith is important. How trusting Jesus changes our lives is even more important.
Being of a somewhat suspicious nature, I tend to avoid taking things at face value. This kind of caution can be good if you are buying a used car, but when it comes to God’s Word, it can lead to misunderstanding.
The passage today sounds innocuous enough. People who rely on faith are blessed along with Abraham because Abraham also was a man of faith. The problem I have with this statement is not that I disagree with it, but that I question how people might interpret it.
In my mind’s eye, it is easy to imagine that someone might look at Paul’s words and think, “I need to work on my faith so I can be like Abraham.”
Is faith something we “work on?”
Relying on our “faith” is a bit like relying on the gas gauge in that used car we wanted to buy. Is the tank really half full? Do I really have enough gas to get all the way home? I can work on my “faith” in how much gas I have, but that doesn’t do anything to alter the actual amount of gas in the tank.
When it comes to our “faith,” Paul is describing is our trust in Jesus. The “gas gauge” of faith is not measured in gallons of gas, but in how quickly we obey the Lord and how completely we trust God. Whether we are prompted by God’s Word, his Holy Spirit, or both, the measure of faith is how we respond.
If our used car has a leaky gas tank, we are not going to go as far as we might expect. If the gas gauge is stuck, it could proclaim the tank to be full, when, in fact, there are only a couple of gallons in it.
To “rely on faith” is to trust the concept of salvation by faith in Jesus Christ instead of putting our faith in the Old Covenant laws. To “rely on faith” is to live according to the words of Jesus and not live by physical cravings or unworthy desires. Ultimately, to “rely on faith” is to be willing to trust Jesus with your life.
Application: Trust Jesus!
Food for Thought: What things did Abraham do that earned him the title, “The Man of Faith”?
As I read today’s devotion and the question at the end, there is this “want” in me to want to provide a list. But as I read in the Bible about the life of Abraham, I saw a consistency in his faith.
Abraham answered God immediately. When I read the words “here I am Lord” I get the sense that he knew God knew where he physically was, Abraham was laying everything aside and focusing on God. A verbal expression of His complete attention.
Abraham asked questions. He didn’t question God’s judgement, he was asking God to help him with his faith. That he placed his relationship with God above himself, and in doing so, desired the faith it takes to obey.
Abraham believed God’s Will is good. That he served a loving God. I think he really demonstrated this faith in God when God told him to sacrifice Isaac. Genesis 22: 8 8 “Abraham answered, ‘God himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering, my son.’ And the two of them went on together.” There was no accusation or anger or fear in Abraham’s words. He believed in God’s covenant with Him and his descendant’s.
Thanks, Chris!
I like your emphasis on the “consistency” of Abraham’s faith response. That is an important trait for those of us who want faith to emulate.
Thanks CH. I like your example.
The book of Hebrews also specifically answers this question.
Hebrews 11: 8 – 19: By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, without knowing where he was going. 9By faith he dwelt in the promised land as a stranger in a foreign country. He lived in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise. 10For he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God.
11By faith Sarah, even though she was barren and beyond the proper age, was enabled to conceive a child, because she considered Him faithful who had promised. 12And so from one man, and he as good as dead, came descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as countless as the sand on the seashore.
13All these people died in faith, without having received the things they were promised. However, they saw them and welcomed them from afar. And they acknowledged that they were strangers and exiles on the earth.
14Now those who say such things show that they are seeking a country of their own. 15If they had been thinking of the country they had left, they would have had opportunity to return. 16Instead, 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.
17By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac on the altar. He who had received the promises was ready to offer his one and only son,c 18even though God had said to him, “Through Isaac your offspring will be reckoned.”d 19Abraham reasoned that God could raise the dead, and in a sense, he did receive Isaac back from death.
Well, yes…
There’s that. 🙂
Thanks, Rich!
03-19-2024, What things did Abraham do that earned him the title, “The Man of Faith”?
Abraham lived a life of wavering faith, growing as he sought to live I obedience to God. His mature faith was demonstrated by action when he was called to sacrifice his son Isaac. In faith he prepared his son, raised his knife and was stopped by God. He was blessed by God and is today an example to all.
Romans 4:3, Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.
Hebrews 11:6, But without faith it is impossible to please God.
Abraham put his faith in God, trusted God, and in obedience to His command, prepared to sacrifice his only son, Isaac.
Genesis 22:15-19, The Angel of the Lord called to Abraham from heaven a second time 16 and said, “By Myself I have sworn, declares the Lord, that since you have done this thing and have not withheld your son, your only son, 17 indeed I will greatly bless you, and I will greatly multiply your descendants like the stars of the heavens and like the sand on the seashore; and your seed shall possess the gate of their enemies. 18 Through your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, because you have heard and obeyed My voice.” 19 So Abraham returned to his servants, and they got up and went with him to Beersheba; and Abraham settled in Beersheba.
Thanks Ron!
There is a theme here. Being responsive to God is the result or manifestation of faith in God.
Yep! If people only knew the great wonderful gifts we receive as we learn to submit and allow God to live through us. Life with Jesus in our hearts is all pluses.
Ron
🙂