Decide on Faith

DECIDING TO RELY UPON FAITH

So Abram departed as the Lord had spoken……Genesis 12:4

Abraham is not only one of the greatest names in history, he is one of the greatest of the great.
No man ever marked a greater turning point in history. No man ever became father to greater posterity.
No man ever received greater personal promises from God.

More than being a great historical figure, he can be measured as great because of his personal character.

Because of certain distinguishing qualities he can distinctively be called the “friend of God.” Isaiah 41:8

It is with the spiritual significance of Abraham that we are concerned at this moment.

He moves before us in a typical and representative way as the man of faith.
Whatever else he may or may not be, Abraham is outstandingly representative of the man “who believed God.” Romans 4:3.

Some of the most precious and vital lessons of the faith life can be learned by studying his personal history.

Let us examine the twelfth and thirteenth chapters of Genesis, where we have the call of Abraham and his first stepping forth into the walk of faith.

Three verses become key 12:5 “Abram went forth” 12:10 “Abram went down” ; 13:1 “Abram went up.”

In the first of these we see that Abram went forth into Canaan.

In the second we are told that Abram went down into Egypt.

And in the third Abram went “up back into Canaan.

Why was it that Abram went forth into Canaan?
He went in response to a divine call.

Why was it that Abram went down into Egypt?
He went as a result of a decision based upon his own mind.

Why was it then that “Abram went up out of Egypt?
He went back because he learned the lesson that faith in God is better than trusting in our own human reasoning.

In this we have a great example of three lessons in one.

In the first part we see that “Abram went forth into Canaan” which is faith responding.

In the second part we learn that “Abram went down into Egypt” (because of famine) we see faith receding.

In the third part of the lesson we learn that “Abram went up out of Egypt” back to “the place of the altar which he had made there (in Canaan) at the first”, we are seeing faith returning.

Let us think on the first of these FAITH RESPONDING
Chapter 12:4 reads, “So Abram departed, as Jehovah had spoken.”

Faith is always a response to the word of God.

Therefore faith is not a presumption, or a believing without a reason.
Nor, is it ever against reason, thought it is sometimes above reason.

Suppose for a moment, please, that someone reading these very lines has been aroused, by the Spirit of God to consider a sense of personal sin and the need of salvation.

The first thing for one to ask is, “Has God spoken any word for me?”

Then if convinced that the Bible is without doubt the Word of God, the next step is to accept passages such as Hebrews 1:1-3 “( God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets, has in these last days spoken to us by his Son, whom he has appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds; Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high) or John 5:24 (Truly, truly, I say to you, He that hears my word, and believes on him that sent me, has everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death to life.)

Knowing that the words are spoken directly without waiver to the reader who says in his heart that I believe those are for me, and is then able declare that I am now saved, will see that it is not unreasonable to accept the assurances of Gods Word, and to say that I am now a Child of the Living God.

And it is no longer presumptuous for me to accept and to act upon the promises of Gods Word for that very Word itself tells me that they are all “yeah and amen” to me, in Christ Jesus.

We live in a day and time when people in and out of the church cannot define what Sin is.

This is a horrible problem in any society.

God has said in Isaiah 5:20 “Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil: that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!”

Whenever a people or a nation can no longer distinguish between good and evil, those people are quickly on their way to destruction.

History is full of nation after nation that fell from global influence to that of no consequence, and even into the pages of non-existence, when their standards of good and evil were changed.

We must have a way to determine right from wrong, good from evil.

We must have a rule that we live by, a standard, else we become no more than “blind leaders of the blind. And if the blind lead the blind, both, shall fall into a ditch.” (Matthew 15:14)

In the spiritual realm there must be a standard for good and evil, or else we have no standard at all.

If good is an arbitrary standard based only on how I feel or think, then what about the person who believes theft is acceptable?

What then about the murderer, or the adulterer, or the abortionist?

How can any of us judge what is right or wrong based only upon what satisfies humanity?

The Bible tells us “that all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.” (Romans 3:23)

Our spiritual compass is broken.
We are all sold into sin.

We must have a standard outside ourselves for right and wrong if morality is to be anything more than just a word.

The only true standard exists in Jesus Christ and the written Word of God.

Many are the souls who have been led to believe that salvation by faith in Christ does not require a changed life.

There is no truth in that belief according to Holy Scripture.

There were two thieves hanging next to Jesus as He suffered for us on the cross.
One of the thieves railed against the Son of God and said “ if you are the Son of God, then get yourself and us down from these crosses.” While the other thief said, “Lord, remember me when you come into your kingdom…”(Luke 23:42).

The one thief who repented of his deed and had a change of heart was saved at that moment.
The other thief who had mockery in his heart, and who was unrepentant and loved his iniquitous lifestyle, was lost …….forever.

Scripture reveals abundant examples of lives who underwent a change of heart and were saved.

The woman caught in the act of adultery called Jesus, “Lord” and was saved.

The leper came to Jesus in Matthew ch 8 vs. 2 “Lord if Thou wilt, Thou canst make me clean.”
Upon the foundational statement of “Lord” he was healed by Jesus.

The centurion who called Jesus, “Lord“ in Matthew ch 8 saw his servant healed.

The blind men who said “yes Lord” to Jesus in Matthew ch 9 were healed.

Over and over again in Scripture we see that those who accepted Jesus as Savior and named Him as “Lord” and placed their very lives and souls to Him were saved.

It is absolutely false for someone to claim Jesus Christ as Savior, and yet reject Him as Lord.

It is absolutely false and completely unbiblical for a person to claim that he is a child of God, and yet wallow in the mud of sin, unwilling to take the steps to flee iniquity and to deny a life of self.

Those who are truly Christ’s become new creatures, children of God by faith in Christ and by the supernatural empowerment of the Holy Spirit of God.

If you can claim the name of Jesus , then live like the one who bears the name that you claim.