According to the NT we see that Abraham lived a life of faith (Heb. 11:8-19). Abraham's life is characterized so much by faith that Paul calls him Abraham "the believer" (Gal. 3:9).

In the previous lesson we saw that Abraham was made right with God only on the basis of his faith. Whereas some would interpret Abraham's faith to be faithfulness, we actually saw that the faith which saved Abraham was not faithfulness but rather belief. God promised both Abraham and his seed (Jesus) to bless him and through him to bless all peoples. All Abraham did was to believe God. The author of Hebrews highlights this when he writes (Heb. 11:8) "By FAITH Abraham when he was called obeyed by going out to a place which he was to receive for an inheritance"; (Heb. 11:11): "By FAITH even Sarah herself conceived"; and (Heb. 11;17): "By FAITH Abraham when he was tested offered up Issac." When Abraham responded by faith, God assigned the value of righteousness to Abraham's belief (Gen. 15:6). Abraham is now righteous, that is, right with God.

In this lesson we shall see that Abraham does not merely give a mental assent to God's promise. We shall actually see that true biblical faith changes a person's actions; it changes a person's life. Faith which does not change a person positively is not biblical faith. The world may consider it faith, but the Bible does not. Here we shall see how faith affected Abraham's actions.

THE GENESIS ACCOUNT

The Journey of Abraham (Gen. 12:1-13:3)

Abraham is so much characterized by faith that Paul calls him "Abraham the believer" (Gal. 3: 9). When God calls Abraham, what does He instruct him to do: "Go forth from your house and from your relatives and from your father's house, to the land I will show you" (Gen. 12:1).

When God calls Abraham the first time to follow Him, Abraham is living in Ur of the Chaldees in Mesopotamia, modern-day southern Iraq (Acts 7:2, 4). (Look on the map at the back of your Bible and discover where this place is located.) When Abraham left this place, he made it as far as Haran, far north of modern-day Israel. (For whatever reason Abraham settles in Haran Gen. 11:31). After Abraham's father Terah dies in Haran, God once more calls Abraham to follow him to the land which He will show him (Gen. 12:1). This second time (after an unfortunate detour through Egypt) God leads Abraham to Bethel (Gen. 13:3). (Locate this also on your map.)

Several things to note about this journey. First, when God called Abraham to follow Him, He did not reveal to Abraham where He was taking him (Heb. 11:8). All Abraham knew was that he was supposed to follow God to the land He would give him. Second, although God promised to give Abraham all the land from the Nile River to the Euphrates River (from Egypt to Iraq), during his lifetime Abraham never actually possessed the land. In fact Acts 7:5 says that he didn't even ever owned a foot of ground in Canaan. (The fulfillment of the promise was to come much later.) Basically, Abraham was following God for the sake of his future descendants.

Now look at how Abraham's faith was working. He believed God so much that when God called Abraham to follow Him, Abraham did. Now that is faith. Moreover, in order to understand the magnitude of Abraham's faith when God called Abraham to follow Him, Abraham did not simply throw a few bags into an SUV with his wife, make sure he had enough ready cash and credit cards with him, and then head up I-35N to some unknown destination with hotels and restaurants along the way. Abraham was the head of a large family with hired servants and large flocks of sheep. This was a massive undertaking which demanded great faith on Abraham's part.

Conflict with Lot Over the Land (Gen. 13:5-18)

As was stated above, Abraham took along with him a large family. Part of that family was his nephew Lot. Lot in addition to Abraham was the owner of a large flock of sheep. After they arrived in Canaan, a dispute broke out between Abraham's men and Lot's men about grazing rights for their sheep. They were basically wanting to graze their sheep on the same plot of land (Gen. 13:5-7).

To understand better what Abraham does next, remember the promise God made to Abraham. Whereas because Abraham followed God, he was supposed to possess all the land from the Nile River to the Euphrates River (Gen. 12:7), God did not promise to give any of the land to lot (Gen. 12:7). Lot had only followed Abraham, while Abraham was the one following God. Yet even though the land was to be Abraham's, he turns around and gives Lot the first pick of the land (Gen. 13:8-9). Although at first glance it looks like Lot got the better of Abraham because Lot chose the fertile valley around the Dead Sea, Lot made a disastrous choice (13:10-13). At the time though Abraham does not really know the terrible mistake Lot has made. All he knows is that Lot has chosen the best of the land.

This offer is even more amazing in light of the fact that Abraham was the head of the household. As the head he had the right to make the first choice. Instead of exercising his prerogatives, Abraham deferred to Lot. At first glance it appears that Abraham is the loser in this situation. Yet God honors Abraham's humility and faith. After Lot gets the better of Abraham, God speaks to Abraham again. God shows that He is not restricted by what others do. He has promised the land to Abraham, and Abraham is going to get that land. He instructs Abraham to walk the length and breadth of the land so that he can see the extent of the land God has promised him. (Gen. 13:14-17).

When God promises us something, we don't have to grasp it and hold onto it tightly as if to make sure we get what God has promised us. God is the One who promised and God is the One who is responsible to make sure the promised is fulfilled. We don't have to worry about it. Abraham could have been like most of us and have gripped tightly the land God had given him; instead he lets go. God honors his faith so much that He gives Abraham a vision of how wonderful the promise is actually going to be. Through his descendants Abraham is going to possess all the land from the Nile River in Egypt to the Euphrates River in modern-day Iraq.

Abraham and Melchizedek (Gen. 14:1-24)

Abraham's nephew Lot falls into dire straits because of his choice. Because Sodom and Gomorrah were considered wealthy cities at that time, they were open to attack. In the valley of Siddim the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah with 3 other kings are attacked by another coalition of three kings. (To identify these kings, read Gen. 14). During this conflict the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah are defeated, and Lot is captured and taken prisoner. When Abraham receives news of Lot's capture, he gathers together a small army and not only rescues Lot but also defeats the coalition of 3 kings (Gen. 14:13-16).

What happens next is truly extraordinary. Upon Abraham's return home, he is met by a priest of Salem named Melchizedek (Gen. 14:18-20). This priest is described as a priest of the Most High God (Gen. 14:18). Just exactly who was this Melchizedek? Some claim that he was no one less than Jesus Himself who appeared on earth as Melchizedek before He was born in Bethlehem. I don't believe that because the Bible NEVER equates the 2; however, the NT is definitely impressed with Melchizedek and his priesthood. He was such a great priest that even Abraham the father of the Jewish priests paid Melchizedek homage. The author of Hebrews says that Jesus was not a priest like the Jewish priests who served in the Temple; rather He was of the priesthood of Melchizedek, the greatest of priests until Jesus came (Heb. 7).

Abraham honors Melchizedek's position as God's priest by offering him a tithe of all he possessed (Gen. 14:20). This was Abraham's way of expressing his faith that God is the owner and lord of all things. Now some try to make tithing a legalistic rite which you don't have to honor; however, for all practical purposes the Bible says that it is a necessary way you can demonstrate your faith that God really does own all things. If you don't tithe, then you need to show another practical way to show that you believe God does own all things. Faith always leads to practical actions and results.

After the captives of Sodom and Gomorrah have been rescued, the king of Sodom shows his appreciation to Abraham by offering Abraham the spoils of war--gold, silver, weapons, etc. Now this was Abraham's big chance. Already wealthy Abraham has a chance to become even wealthier. Abraham though knew that God was going to bless him. He did not need a wicked, perverted king to be the source of Abraham's blessing. In fact he wanted to make sure that, when God blessed him, nobody could even mistakenly claim the blessings came from the kingd of Sodom. Abraham knew that God was going to bless him and that God did not need or even want the help of this perverse king. Even if God was not going to bless him materially though, Abraham was not going to accept what the king of Sodom had to offer. He was going to attain God's blessings by means of righteousness; he was not going to accept it by means of godless, perverse people. (Gen. 14:21-24).

In the same way we can trust God to bless us without having to resort to wickedness. I've seen ministers stab other ministers in the back in order to increase the size of their church. One minister would even visit the sick from other churches and then express "surprise" whenever they joined his church. This doesn't happen just in churches; it can happen in the secular work place as well. I saw another minister cotton up to a certain Christian organization, using his church to further that organization, even though it did not help the church. One day when the organization gave him a lucrative position, he claimed that he was touched by this great honor. Great honor? He had worked for it so long that the organization basically owed it to him. Did he do anything illegal? No. Did he do anything unethical? Not necessarily. But did he act in faith? No.

Abraham ReasonsWith God (Gen. 18:20-33)

Finally, God informs Abraham that the sinful outcry of Sodom and Gomorrah has reached His ears and that the outcry is so great that He is going to go down to see for Himself how wicked the city is. Why did God inform Abraham of what He was about to do? Most likely because Lot was living in Sodom (Gen. 19:1), and therefore, Abraham had a vested interest in this city.

Apparently Abraham realizes that the sin in these 2 cities is so great that God will have no other choice but to destroy the 2 cities. With his nephew living in the city, Abraham tries to avert disaster by reasoning and pleading with God. Notice how Abraham approaches God: "Shall not the JUDGE of all the earth deal RIGHTEOUSLY?" (Gen. 18:25). In other words, Abraham is saying, "God, this is who You are, and I believe that You will act according to who You are." If God is love, then you can appeal to His love. If God is just, then you can appeal to His sense of justice. If God is merciful, then you can appeal to His sense of mercy. The reason you appeal to God this way is not because He needs reminding but because YOU need to remember for yourself these things are true about God and you need to relate to Him these ways.

Abraham then asks God to spare the city if 50 of the Sodomites are righteous (18:24). Abraham then goes on and reduces the number of righteous people. Beside each Scripture passage write down the number of righteous people Abraham refers to: 45 (18:28), 40 (18:29), 30 (18:30), and 20 (18:31), and finally 10 (18:32). Yet even Abraham knows that there is a limit to God's patience. At the number 10 Abraham stops pleading with God (18:32). Moreover, there comes a point when Abraham had gone any further, then God would no longer have been the righteous Judge Abraham had claimed Him to be.

As a side issue look at the boldness and confidence with which Abraham approaches God. There is none of this "God's will is going to be done no matter what!" (That's the way the Greeks, Augustine, and Calvin thought about God, not the Hebrew OT or Christian NT.) Abraham boldy prays for the safety of Sodom so that his nephew might be saved. He has a relationship with God which allows him to approach God with boldness and confidence. What is even more marvelous is that we have the right to approach God in the same way (Heb. 4:16).

The tragic thing is that there were not even 10 righteous people in all of Sodom. His sons-in-law were not righteous. Later his daughters who rape him are not righteous. Not even his wife who is turned to salt is righteous. The moral fabric of that city has come completely unraveled.

God does not spare Sodom and Gomorrah; so on the surface it looks like God did not answer positively Abraham's prayer. Yet why did Abraham really want God to spare Sodom and Gomorrah? He asked because he wanted Lot spared. We all know from what happens later that God does spare Lot and his 2 daughters. So for all practical purposes Abraham's request was answered positively.

Abraham is able to approach God like this because he was "My [God's] FRIEND" (Isaiah 41:8). In fact he is the only person in the entire OT who is called this. In the same way God wants us to ask bold prayers and to approach him with confidence (Heb. 4:16). According to James the reason we don't receive blessings from God the way Abraham did is that we don't ask (James 4:3), or if we do ask, we ask out of selfish motives, or we ask for small, puny things not really worth God's time. In prayer we approach the great God of the universe. Our prayers should be worthy of such a God.

Why can we approach God and Jesus with the same confidence Abraham approached God? When Jesus saves us, we enter into the same kind of relationship that Abraham had with God. Jesus says, "I have called you FRIENDS" (John 15:15). In other words what was true of Abraham can be true of us too. What's even better though is that if God will answer Abraham's prayers because he was God's friend, how much more will He answer our prayers because we are His sons and daughters.

CONCLUSION

Too many times we think of the Christian life as being of one going to church all the time. How many times though in our study did we see Abraham going to church? NONE. I'm not saying that we shouldn't go to church; we should. What I am saying is that the Christian life is more than going to church. The Christian life should be a life of faith. (Milton says that Jesus spoke more about what people did on their way to church than what they actually did in church.) The Christian life should be following God wherever He leads us, a life of peace in which we don't have to grasp on tightly to what God has given us, a life in which we honor God not only with our money but also with everything we possess, and a life in which we boldly approach Him with complete confidence. In our study of Genesis 1 we saw that God has made us His sons and daughters. Well, if God is going to give His friend Abraham this wonderful life of faith, how much more will He lavish upon His sons and daughters wonderful lives of faith.