Please take your Bibles and open them up this morning to Genesis chapter 22.
! If you don't have a copy of God's Word of your own, you're welcome to use one in the seat back nearby.
If you don't have a copy of God's Word at all, you're welcome to just take one of those home with you.
That's our gift to you. We want you to be able to have and hold and read the Word of God.
So Genesis chapter 22, and when you found that, let's stand in honor of the reading of God's Word this morning.
After these things, God tested Abraham and said to him, Abraham, he said, here I am.
He said, take your son, your only son, Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains on which I shall tell you.
So Abraham rose early in the morning, saddled his donkey, and took two of his young men with him and his son Isaac.
And he cut the wood for the burnt offering and arose and went to the place of which God had told him.
On the third day, Abraham lifted up his eyes and saw the place from afar.
Then Abraham said to his young men, stay here with the donkey.
I and the boy will go over there and worship and come again to you.
And Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering and laid it on Isaac, his son.
And he took in his hand the fire and the knife.
And so they went both of them together.
And Isaac said to his father, Abraham, my father.
And he said, here I am, my son.
He said, behold the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?
Abraham said, God will provide for himself the lamb for a burnt offering, my son.
So they went both of them together.
When they came to the place of which God had told him, Abraham built the altar there and laid the wood in order
and bound Isaac, his son, and laid him on the altar on top of the wood.
Then Abraham reached out his hand and took the knife to slaughter his son.
But the angel of the Lord called to him from heaven and said, Abraham, Abraham.
And he said, here I am.
He said, do not lay your hand on the boy or do anything to him.
For now I know that you fear God, seeing you have not withheld your son, your only son from me.
And Abraham lifted up his eyes and looked and behold, behind him was a ram caught in a thicket by his horns.
And Abraham went and took the ram and offered it up as a burnt offering instead of his son.
So Abraham called the name of that place, the Lord will provide.
As it is said to this day, on the mount of the Lord it shall be provided.
And the angel of the Lord called to Abraham a second time from heaven and said,
By myself I have sworn, declares the Lord, because you have done this and have not withheld your son, your only son,
I will surely bless you and I will surely multiply your offspring as the stars of heaven and as the sand that is on the seashore.
And your offspring shall possess the gate of his enemies.
And in your offspring shall all the nations of the earth be blessed because you have obeyed my voice.
So Abraham returned to his young men and they arose and went together to Beersheba.
And Abraham lived at Beersheba.
Now after these things it was told to Abraham,
Behold, Milcah has also borne children to your brother Nahor,
Uz his firstborn, and Buzz his brother,
Chemuel the father of Aram,
Chesed, Hazo, Pildash, Jidlaf, and Bethuel.
Bethuel fathered Rebekah.
These eight Milcah bore to Nahor, Abraham's brother.
Moreover his concubine, whose name was Ruma,
bore Teba, Gaham, Tahash, and Makkah.
The grass withers and the flower fades, but the word of the Lord endures forever.
Father, we pray now, again as we open up this text,
as we look to this great example of genuine faith on display.
Lord, would you give us faith in Christ this morning?
We pray in Jesus' name.
Amen.
You may be seated.
Amen.
I got an email in my inbox several weeks ago.
from Ligonier Ministries,
and I opened it up to see what they called,
quote,
the State of Theology Survey 2025.
And in it,
they surveyed over 3,000 Americans
to see,
quote,
what do Americans believe
about God,
the Bible,
and salvation.
And I'll go ahead and tell you,
the results were not pretty.
They gave a statement,
and then you had to respond on a spectrum
from strongly disagree all the way to strongly agree.
And it was clear to me as I looked through these results from this poll
that our culture is incredibly confused about the Christian faith.
It's not just that they're opposed to it.
They don't really even understand what it is.
You can filter the results,
and even those who claimed to be Christians,
evangelical Christians,
the results were concerning.
I'll give you just a few examples.
Okay,
pop quiz for you.
Answer these in your mind.
Statement,
God counts a person as righteous
not because of one's works,
but only because of one's faith in Jesus Christ.
Strongly disagree.
Strongly agree.
We ought to know the answer to this one, right?
The correct answer is yes.
Strongly agree.
We are saved by grace through faith in Christ,
not by works.
And we've seen Abraham believed the Lord,
and it was counted to him as righteousness.
But sadly,
44% of Americans surveyed either disagreed strongly,
or they just weren't sure.
They were on the fence.
That's highly concerning.
Here's another statement.
God accepts the worship of all religions,
including Christianity,
Judaism,
and Islam.
That's a question of which faith is acceptable,
or does it even matter, right?
Well,
the correct answer,
of course,
would be strongly disagree.
Not any old faith will do.
God accepts worship that is according to his word,
worship in the name of Christ.
But surprisingly,
maybe surprisingly,
almost half of all evangelical Christians polled,
47%
affirm that statement to be true.
God accepts the worship of all religions.
That is concerning to me.
Here's one more statement.
Religious belief
is not about objective truth.
Okay?
Meaning,
it is subjective.
The reality of what you believe
doesn't really matter.
Your truth is your truth.
My truth is my truth.
Faith can be whatever I want it to be.
And of course,
the correct response to that statement
would be
strongly disagree.
Right?
No.
That is false.
We actually believe
that the things that we preach
and proclaim
and read about
in God's word,
we believe that the gospel
is true.
Amen?
And Paul says,
if it's not,
if Christ is not
risen from the grave,
our faith is futile.
And we're still
in our sins.
Well,
68% of Americans
and 47%
of evangelical Christians
got
the answer
wrong.
It's clear to me
when we talk about
faith,
church,
we need to clearly define
our terms.
We need to understand
and we need to make sure
everyone else understands
what is real,
genuine,
biblical faith.
Which is why I'm thankful
that we've spent
the past 11 weeks,
now this is week 12,
the past 11 weeks
walking alongside
Abraham,
the man of faith
as Paul calls him.
And we've seen,
yes,
of course,
Abraham has wavered,
he's ebbed,
and he's flowed,
he's been up,
he's been down,
he's not been perfect.
But,
Abraham shows us
what it looks like
to trust in the promises
of God.
And that's what faith is,
by the way.
Faith is,
real,
genuine faith,
is a wholehearted,
battle-tested,
fruit-bearing trust
and reliance
upon the Lord.
And in our passage
this morning,
we get to see
sort of a case study
of what that type of faith
looks like in action.
We see it played out
in Abraham's life
here in Genesis 22.
So,
let's take a look
at the passage
this morning
and what we'll see
is three lessons
in faith
this morning.
This will be our outline
if you're a note-taker,
help you follow along.
Three lessons
in faith
this morning
from Genesis 22.
First,
the first lesson
we see here
is that
genuine faith
will be tested.
genuine faith
will be tested.
Look there to verse 1.
And just,
let's remember
where we are
here in Genesis.
God has promised
Abraham offspring.
He's promised
this miraculous birth.
This promised son,
Isaac,
will come.
And we've waited,
we've waited,
we've waited.
And now,
finally,
some 25 years later,
He is here.
We saw last week.
We ended last time
on this absolute
high note.
Isaac,
the child of promise,
has finally come.
And you might think,
now,
finally,
after all of this,
after everything
that we've been through
to finally get to this point,
now we'll just get to relax.
Abraham can just enjoy life
and live happily ever after,
right?
That's not exactly
what happens,
is it?
Verse 1 says,
after these things,
God tested Abraham.
Take your son,
your only son,
Isaac,
whom you love,
the one that you've been waiting for
for 25 years now,
and take him
and go to the land of Moriah
and offer him there
as a burnt offering
on one of the mountains
of which I shall tell you.
Okay,
just,
just put yourself
in Abraham's shoes
here for a minute.
Can you imagine
the distress
that Abraham is feeling
at this moment?
the Lord
who has promised
to multiply
his offspring,
who has promised
to provide
this miraculous
spiritual birth,
now is telling him,
now Abraham,
it's time to go
and slaughter
this promised child.
Offer him up
as a burnt offering,
which,
as we see in Leviticus,
that means
you take a knife,
you slaughter him,
you lay him there
on the wood
of the altar,
you let the blood
spill out,
you light it all
on fire,
so that sacrifice,
your son,
is totally consumed
by the flame,
so that the smoke
lifts up
and goes up
to the Lord.
Now we see in the law
this was an act
of worship
to the Lord,
but never,
ever,
in all of the law
does God tell
his people
to offer up
their children
in sacrifice.
The pagans do that,
right?
This is totally,
it seems out of place
for the Lord
to say this.
You can imagine
Abraham's distress.
On one level,
there's this natural
paternal distress,
right?
Parents in the room,
take your son,
your beloved son,
the son of your wife,
Sarah,
and kill him.
And parents,
just imagine it,
right?
How would you feel?
The most natural thing
in the world
is for a parent
who want to protect
their child
and to keep them
from harm.
Moms,
I know that you just,
sometimes you stay awake
at night,
laying down,
just worrying
about your kids.
Not because anything's wrong,
but just because
that's what moms do.
And there's nothing
wrong with that.
That is,
I think,
natural.
God's baked that
into your DNA
to want to protect
your children.
But there's also,
there's spiritual,
distress here as well.
Think about it like this.
Why does God call Isaac,
not once,
not twice,
I think it's three times
here in the passage,
why does he call Isaac
Abraham's only son?
Doesn't he have
another kid somewhere?
Didn't we hear
about Ishmael,
Abraham's son,
with Hagar?
It's not his only son,
is it?
Why,
what's so special
about Isaac?
Isaac is the only son
of promise.
Don't you remember?
Isaac is the spiritual
offspring of Abraham,
the one who will be
his heir,
the one God has promised
through whom
all the nations
of the earth
will be blessed.
Ultimately,
he's the one
through whom
the promised
snake crusher
will come,
the promised seed
of the woman
from Genesis 3.15.
The Messiah,
Jesus Christ,
will come through
the line of Isaac.
So on a spiritual level,
you might imagine,
Abraham might be wondering,
God,
what about your promises?
God's promise
of salvation
to the world
is at stake here
in the life of Isaac.
It seems
as if God
is turning his back
on his whole plan
of redemption.
And to Abraham's eyes,
it seems like
the serpent
is going to win.
sin and death
will triumph
if this promised
child dies.
God's promise
dies with him.
How can this be?
You can imagine
the distress
that Abraham
might be feeling.
But as we read this,
Moses clues us in
here to something
important that Abraham
doesn't even know.
Right there in verse 1,
he tells us
all of this
is a test
of Abraham's faith.
God
tested
Abraham.
I wonder
if you have
a category
for that
in your mind.
As you think
about the Lord,
here's a statement,
okay,
strongly disagree,
agree,
strongly agree,
neutral,
here's a statement
for you.
God
will test
the faith
of his people.
Do you agree
or disagree?
If we look
at the scriptures,
an honest answer
would be
strongly agree.
God often
throughout the scriptures,
he tests the faith
and tests
the obedience
of his people.
You might think
of the wilderness
wanderings
in the book
of Exodus,
Exodus chapter 16.
God tells Moses,
I'm going
to rain
down bread
from heaven
for you.
The people
shall go out
and gather
a day's portion
every day.
Why?
That I may
test them,
he says,
whether they
will walk
in my law
or not.
Judges chapter 2,
you go there,
God says he's left
some of the nations
there in the land,
he didn't drive
them out,
in order to test
Israel by them,
he says,
whether they will
walk in the way
of the Lord
as their fathers
did or not.
Strongly agree.
God often
tests the faith
of his people.
And you know,
here's where we
come up against
a common
cultural
misunderstanding
about faith.
Some would
tell you
that faith
is just a
means to
better your
life.
Right?
Have you heard
teaching like this
before?
That faith
really is just
kind of a way
to twist
God's arm
and get him
in your corner.
If you have
enough faith,
then hard things
shouldn't come
into your life.
Right?
If you have
faith,
God ought to
just bless you,
bless you,
bless you.
He wouldn't
do anything
bad to you.
Right?
Some would
even tell you
that if you
just have
enough faith,
you'll be
healthy,
you'll be
wealthy,
you'll be
happy,
you'll be
healed of
sickness,
you'll be
blessed
financially.
Friend,
I hope you
realize by now
that is an
absolute
lie.
God will
never tempt
you.
That's
Satan's job.
But God
will certainly
test you.
God will
never bring a
trial into
your life to
destroy you.
That's Satan's
job.
But God
will certainly
use all
sorts of
trials in
order to
refine you
and to
prove your
faith.
If you say
you have
faith in
Christ and
friend,
you better
prepare.
You can
expect that
faith sometime
or another
to be
tested.
God may
take away
what is
precious to
you in
order to
test you.
God may
put you in
a hard
situation where
you just
can't see the
end of it.
You don't know
a way out.
You're not
sure when
this is going
to end,
how it's
going to
turn out,
in order
to see,
do you
still love
me?
Do you
still cling
to me?
Do you
still obey
me even
without your
health?
Even without
your job
security?
Even without
the approval
of your
family and
your friends?
Even without
your riches?
Even without
your sense of
control over
how things are
going to turn
out in
your life?
God may
remove these
things from
you in
order to
test you.
So Peter
tells us,
do not be
surprised at
the fiery
trial when
it comes
upon you
to test
you,
as though
something
strange were
happening to
you.
But rejoice
insofar as
you share in
Christ's
sufferings,
that you
also may
rejoice and
be glad when
his glory
is revealed.
God will
test your
faith.
The question
is, what
will he
find?
Will he
find a
faith that's
genuine,
that's strengthened
by resistance
training, or
will he find
fair-weather
faith that
only trusts
the Lord
when things
are going
well?
So we
see first
Abraham's
faith is
tested.
Second,
second lesson
here on
faith,
genuine
faith will
be manifested.
Genuine
faith will
be manifested.
There's another
cultural
misunderstanding
about faith,
and here's
what it
is.
Some
would tell
you that
faith is
entirely
private.
This is
a personal
thing.
Don't mess
with my
faith.
That's my
faith.
You can't
call into
question my
faith.
My faith
is invisible.
You can't
see it,
right?
And in
one sense,
yes, that's
correct.
I cannot
see your
faith.
Only God
can see into
your heart
and know
and see
your faith,
but what
the Bible
tells us
is that
that
invisible
faith,
if it is
genuine,
will always
in time
bear visible
external fruit
in your life.
Invisible
faith will
work itself
out in
your life.
It will be
manifested.
And we
see that
here in
three key
ways with
Abraham.
Look there
with me
starting in
verse 3.
The first
way that we
see his
faith manifested
here is
in obedience.
We cannot
see Abraham's
faith, but
what can we
see?
We see his
quick,
prompt,
obedient response
to the word
of the Lord.
You know,
we spent some
time thinking
about his
distress,
imagining his
distress, but
really, that's
all we can do.
We can just
imagine it because
the scripture
doesn't let
us know any
of what he's
thinking or
feeling.
It just
simply moves
right to his
response of
obedience,
doesn't it?
God says,
sacrifice your
son.
What does he
do?
Verse 3.
Abraham gets
up early in
the morning.
No delay.
No putting
it off.
He saddles his
donkey.
He takes two
of his young
men.
He takes his
son.
He cuts the
wood.
He goes to
the place of
which God
had told him.
On the third
day, Abraham
looks up.
He sees the
mountain.
He's had three
days.
Now opportunity
to turn back,
but he's not
turning back.
His faith is
manifested outwards
in obedience.
I'll just say it
another way.
Flip it around.
Obedience is the
necessary fruit
of genuine
faith.
James says it
like this in
James chapter 2.
Faith without
works is what?
It's dead.
He goes on to say
it's useless.
What's it worth
if it doesn't
work itself out?
What is faith
if you can't see
it in your life?
It's dead.
It's useless.
And then he goes
on.
He says something
kind of confusing
in James chapter 2.
I wonder if you've
ever noticed this.
James chapter 2.
He talks about
this story.
He says,
Was not Abraham
our father
justified by
works?
When he offered
up his son Isaac
on the altar?
Now, our ears
ought to perk up
a little bit
when we hear that,
right?
What did he just
say?
Was not Abraham
our father
justified by
works?
Hold on just a minute.
Justified by works?
Now this is
Reformation Doctrine
101,
isn't it?
We are saved
by grace alone,
through faith alone,
in Christ alone,
according to the
scriptures alone,
to the glory of God
alone,
and maybe the
reformers never
read James.
No, they read
James.
James isn't
telling us that
Abraham was
declared righteous
on the basis
of his works.
We know he
believed and that
was counted to him
as righteousness,
right?
What he's saying
is that that
faith was now
confirmed and
demonstrated and
seen and manifested
externally in
works of
obedience.
To quote a
reformer,
we are saved by
faith alone,
but the faith that
saves is never
alone.
In other words,
it is always
accompanied by
the fruit of good
works.
Martin Luther
says,
we do not become
righteous by doing
righteous deeds,
but having been
made righteous,
we do righteous
deeds.
The order is
important here.
Do you see it?
His faith is
manifested in
obedience.
We see a second
way.
Faith is
manifested here
starting in
verse 5.
Faith is
manifested in
confidence.
Look there to
verse 5.
Abraham,
he's about to
head up the
mountain.
He talks to
his young men
and look what he
says to them.
He says,
stay here with
the donkey.
I and the
boy will go
over there and
worship and
come again to
you.
Did you catch
that?
Anything seem
off to you about
that?
I and the
boy will go
worship.
We will go,
we'll go up,
we'll worship,
and we will
return.
What in the
world is he
talking about?
Is he not
about to
slaughter this
child?
He's ready
to go,
he's got the
wood,
he's going to
the spot,
he's got the
fire,
he's got the
knife.
How in the
world can
Abraham say,
we're going to
go, we're
going to come
back?
This is the
confidence of
genuine faith.
Again, what did
we read this
morning from
Hebrews 11?
Hebrews 11
helps us here
again, doesn't
it?
Hebrews 11
verses 17
through 19.
It says,
by faith,
Abraham when
he was tested
offered up
Isaac,
and he who
had received
the promises
was in the
act of offering
up his only
son, of whom
it was said,
through Isaac
shall your
offspring be
named.
He considered
that God
was able
even to
raise him
from the
dead,
from which
figuratively
speaking, he
did receive
him back.
Abraham knows
two things
here, doesn't
he?
For one,
he knows
God has
promised that
Isaac will
be the
heir.
God has
promised that
through Isaac
shall your
offspring be
named.
God's promised
that.
He's staked
everything on
this.
God's promised
blessing to
the world
through Isaac.
God's promised
ultimately again
the Messiah
through Isaac.
He knows
God's promise
and he knows
now God's
command.
Sacrifice
Isaac.
He doesn't
know how those
two things work
together.
How could
he?
How can
he reconcile
these things
in his mind?
He can't.
He does
not know
how this
is going
to turn
out.
But he
is confident
that no matter
what happens
up there on
that hill,
God will
not turn
his back
on his
promises.
He figures
that even
if I have
to go
through with
this,
if necessary,
God is able
even to raise
this child
from the
dead.
God will
not turn
his back
on his
promises.
Church,
this is
faith.
And we
see that
confidence
again in
his conversation
with Isaac.
I mean,
you talk
about an
awkward
moment,
right?
The parents
have an
awkward
conversation
with their
kids.
Verse 6
says,
Abraham
takes the
wood,
he puts
it on
Isaac,
he takes
the fire,
he takes
the knife,
and now
Isaac is
starting to
notice
something's
a little
off here,
something's
missing.
He's looking
around like,
dad,
we got
everything
we need
except one
thing,
and where's
the lamb?
How does
Abraham respond
to his son?
What does
he say?
He looks
at his son
not knowing
how far
he's going
to have to
go with
this,
still not
knowing
exactly how
this is
going to
turn out,
but in
confidence,
in the
confidence
of faith,
he says,
God will
provide for
himself a
lamb,
for the
burnt
offering
my son,
God will
provide.
I see
his faith
is manifested
in obedience,
it's manifested
in confidence,
and now a
third wave
here,
we see
faith is
manifested
in
willingness,
in willingness,
you could
say,
in readiness.
Look there
to verse
nine.
And they
make their
way up the
mountain,
Abraham builds
the altar,
he lays
the wood
in place,
he sets
everything up,
he takes
his son,
he lays
his son
there on
the altar
on top
of the
wood,
he reaches
out his
hand,
he takes
the knife
ready to
slaughter
his son,
and at the
last moment
the angel
of the Lord
calls to
him from
heaven and
says,
Abraham,
and he
says,
here I
am,
do not
lay your
hand on
the boy
or do
anything to
him,
for now I
know that
you fear
God,
seeing that
you have
not withheld
your son,
your only
son,
from me.
Of course,
God is
omniscient,
he already
knew,
he knows
everything,
but now he
sees Abraham's
faith manifested
Abraham's
faith
manifested
in obedience
and in
confidence
and in
willingness
now to
sacrifice
even that
which is
most precious
to him.
Christian,
do you
have faith
like this?
Are you
genuinely
willing to
do anything
the Lord
commands you
to do?
Let me
ask it
another way.
Is there
anything in
your life
that you
would not
be willing
to offer
up to
the Lord?
Is there
any part
of your
life that
you just
want the
Lord to
kind of
stay out
of?
Do not
touch this,
please.
God,
I love
you,
but please
don't mess
with my
Sunday
mornings.
That's the
only me
time I
get.
That's
football,
that's
fishing,
that's
time off
work.
I'll catch
up on a
sermon later
on a
podcast,
YouTube,
whatever it
is.
Just don't
touch my
weekends,
God.
God,
I love
you,
but please
don't touch
my money.
Don't ask
me to give
it away.
Don't touch
my treasures.
God,
I love
you,
but please
don't mess
with my
plans for
my life.
Don't mess
with my
job.
Don't mess
with my
retirement.
Don't mess
with my
plans.
Don't mess
with my
future.
Friend,
do you
realize that
when you
put your
faith in
Christ and
follow him,
that means
everything is
on the
table.
All the
chips are
in.
And when
you trust
Christ by
faith,
when you
put your
faith in
Christ,
you bring
everything to
him,
you lay it
all at his
feet,
and you
say,
this is
yours,
it's not
mine.
You take
this,
you do
what you
want with
it,
everything
that belongs
to me
belongs to
you first
and finally
and ultimately.
If you give
it to me,
it's yours,
you use it
as you see
fit.
The
parents,
do you
realize that
includes even
your children?
Abraham here
is willing to
offer up his
only son,
the son whom
he loves.
You see how
that's repeated
over and
over?
Your only
son.
Why?
Because he
knows ultimately
this child
belongs to
God.
Parents,
do you
realize that
your children
ultimately don't
belong to you,
they belong to
the Lord?
We have
these dreams
that we tell
our kids all
the time.
I'm preaching
to me right
now.
We tell our
kids all the
time,
you're going
to grow
up and
be best
friends,
we're all
going to
still get
along and
you're going
to buy
the house
right next
door and
we're all
going to
live on
this compound
and see
each other
all the
time.
If the
Lord does
that,
praise God.
There's
nothing wrong
with that.
Are we
equally okay
if the
plan of
God is
that your
child goes
to be a
missionary
in a
dangerous
place,
to risk
their life
daily to
spread the
gospel?
South Sudan,
are you
okay with
God not
following your
plans?
Christian,
do you
realize that
everything in
your life
is His,
it is
offered up
to Him?
Paul says
in Romans
that you
yourself are
to be offered
up to Him
as a living
sacrifice.
This is
your spiritual
act of
worship,
He says.
Your time,
your money,
your job,
your family,
your home,
your heart,
your everything
is His.
We gotta
stop hedging
our bets.
And you know,
anything that
you're not
willing to
offer up to
Him,
you know what
the Bible
says that
is?
It's an
idol.
How easy
would it have
been for
Abraham to
make an
idol out of
His precious
Son?
You know,
anywhere that
your heart
says,
I am not
willing to
obey the
word of
the Lord,
you can be
sure that
there's an
idol there
competing with
God for
your heart's
devotion.
What might
that be for
you?
What are
you not
willing to
offer up to
the Lord for
His use?
Jesus tells us
in Matthew
chapter 10.
Whoever
loves father
or mother
more than
me is not
worthy of
me.
Whoever
loves son
or daughter
more than
me is not
worthy of
me.
Whoever
does not
take his
cross and
follow me
is not
worthy of
me.
Are you
willing?
So we see
faith will be
tested.
Second, it
will be
manifested.
But third,
third and
finally, we
see here
genuine
faith in
Christ.
Genuine
faith in
all the
promises of
God.
Third, will
be vindicated.
One more
common
misconception
about faith
from those
who don't
know the
Lord.
They think
ultimately
faith is
pointless.
At the end
of the day,
none of it
matters.
You believe
in something
if you want,
if it makes
you happy
in this
life, that's
fine.
But ultimately,
what's the
point?
It's not
really tied
up to
anything
real.
It's just
kind of
fairy tales
and make
believe.
So you
believe what
you want,
but it
doesn't
matter.
But we
know that
in the
end, praise
God, in
the end, our
faith in
the Lord will
be vindicated.
Look there
to verse
13.
Abraham has
demonstrated
faith in
the Lord,
and now it
says Abraham
lifts up
his eyes
and behold,
behind him
is a ram
caught in
a thicket
by his
horns.
Abraham goes
and takes
the ram,
he offers
the ram
up as a
burnt offering
instead of
his son,
so Abraham
calls the
name of
that place
the Lord
will provide.
It became
sort of a
proverb in
that day,
on the
mount of
the Lord
shall be
provided.
his faith
in God
and his
confidence in
his promises
was vindicated
in this
moment.
He was
right to
trust in
the promises
of the
Lord.
His
obedience and
his willingness,
even his
sacrifice, all
of it, all
of it was
worth it.
Now I
don't know,
we're not
told what
those two
men down at
the bottom
of the hill
thought about
Abraham,
right?
We don't
know how
much they
knew about
his plan,
but I
could imagine
that if they
knew what
he had
planned,
they would
think he
was absolutely
crazy to
say, hey,
we're going
up, I'm
going to
slaughter him
and we'll
be back.
Right?
They would
write him
off as
insane.
No way,
you're going
to go offer
your son as
a burnt
offering,
you're just
trusting the
Lord to
provide,
you're crazy.
You realize
we hear the
same sort of
things today.
as you
share your
faith with
others,
you really
think the
Lord Jesus
is coming
back?
Are you
serious?
That's what
you believe?
You think
that something
that somebody
did 2,000
years ago
has any
bearing on
your life
right now?
Are you
serious?
You're
crazy.
We say,
yes,
I do.
So much
so that I
would be
totally lost
without it.
I have no
hope apart
from what
Jesus has
done for
me.
All my
trust is
in the
gospel of
Jesus Christ.
In fact,
we see
such a
clear picture
of it here,
don't we?
All throughout
this passage,
we see a
picture of
the gospel.
Church,
our faith,
our trust,
is that
Christ Jesus,
like Abraham,
was truly
and totally
obedient to the
word of the
Lord.
Not just
once,
but for an
entire life,
he passed
every test,
not just for
a moment,
but for a
lifetime,
a perfect
record of
full and
total obedience
to the Lord,
and he
obeyed in
our place
where you
and I
have failed.
Our faith
is that
Christ,
like Isaac,
was the
only begotten
son of the
father,
who ascended
the hill
with wood
upon his
shoulders,
headed to
sacrifice.
While Isaac
was near to
death,
Christ Jesus
actually,
truly died.
And for a
moment at the
cross,
it seemed as
if the
salvation of
the world
was lost.
This God
man is dead.
The serpent
has struck
this promised
seed of the
woman.
The plan
of salvation
has failed.
Praise God,
like Isaac.
in a
truer and
better way,
rising from
the grave,
Christ crushed
the serpent's
head.
Our faith
is that
Christ,
like the
ram in
the bush,
is the
substitutionary
offering
for the
sacrifice.
He is
the lamb
who was
slain from
before the
foundations of
the world.
We believe
by faith,
God sent
his son
to die
in our
place.
The gospel,
our faith,
is in the
good news
that the
Lord has
provided a
substitute
for us.
Isaiah 53,
this is
around 700
years before
Jesus was
born.
Isaiah
prophesied
this,
the plan
of God,
surely he
has borne
our griefs
and carried
our sorrows,
yet we
esteemed
him stricken,
smitten by
God and
afflicted.
But he
was pierced
for our
transgressions.
He was
crushed for
our
iniquities.
Upon
him was
the chastisement
that brought
us peace.
With his
wounds,
we are
healed.
All we
like sheep
have gone
astray.
We have
turned
everyone to
his own
way and
the Lord
has laid
on him
the iniquity
of us
all.
Our
faith is
that Christ
is the
perfect
substitute
that we
need for
our
salvation.
Apart
from him,
we are
lost.
Abraham
gets a
small
picture of
this,
doesn't he?
He gets
this foretaste
of the
gospel.
He put
his faith
in the
promises
of God
and his
faith
at last
was vindicated.
He sees
I was
right to
trust in
the Lord.
I was
right to
believe in
his promises.
I was
right to
stake
everything
on the
faithfulness
of God.
To
reaffirm
that in
his heart,
the angel
of the
Lord,
once again,
he doubles
down again
on these
promises.
By
myself I
have sworn,
declares the
Lord,
because you
have done
this and
not
withheld
your son,
your only
son,
I will
surely
bless
you.
I
will
surely
multiply
your
offspring
as the
stars of
heaven and
as the
sand is
on the
seashore.
And your
offspring shall
possess the
gate of his
enemies,
and in
your
offspring shall
all the
nations of
the earth
be blessed,
because you
have obeyed
my voice.
His faith
was not
in vain.
Christian,
your faith
in Christ
will be
tested in
this life.
But praise
God,
one day
the risen
Lord Jesus
will return
and your
faith in
him
will be
vindicated.
It will
be proven
to not
be in
vain.
every
sacrifice
will be
worth it.
Every
act of
obedience
will be
worth it.
Every
offering
unto the
Lord in
this life
will be
worth it.
Every
test
will be
worth it
to the
praise of
his
glorious
grace.
He will
come and
we will
see him
face to
face.
Fran,
how would
you describe
your faith?
Is it
strong?
Is it
weak?
Is it
anchored to
something real
or is it
some just
loose,
undefined
practice that's
distanced from
anything real,
any objective
truth?
Is it
mixed?
Do you
trust some
in yourself
and some
in God
or by
God's
grace?
Do you
fully trust
in all the
promises of
God for
you in
Christ?
Do you
trust Christ
to be your
perfect
substitute?
Do you
have by
the grace
of God
wholehearted,
battle-tested,
fruit-bearing
trust and
reliance
upon the
Lord?
If not,
friend,
what keeps
you this
morning from
putting your
faith in
Christ?
The State
of Theology
survey ended
with two
key questions.
The first,
do you
agree
Jesus'
death on
the cross
is the
only
sacrifice
that could
remove the
penalty of
my sin?
37% of
Americans
disagreed.
22%
only somewhat
agreed.
The final
question,
do you
agree
only those
who trust
in Jesus
Christ alone
as their
Savior receive
God's free
gift of
eternal
salvation?
43%
said no.
22%
somewhat
agree.
I think
it's clear,
church,
we have
work to
do,
not only
to solidify
our own
faith in
Christ and
make certain
of our
full devotion
to Him,
but also
as we
proclaim
this message
to our
neighbors,
family members,
to our
co-workers,
to all
those near
and far,
that we be
clear on
what we
mean when
we say
we have
faith in
Christ.
You too
are called
to put your
faith in
Him.
Father God,
would you
give us
faith
like Abraham,
faith that is
obedient and
faith that is
confident in
all your
promises,
faith that's
willing and
ready to
offer up
anything and
everything,
even that
which is
most precious
to us,
Lord,
that we
would give
it to
you,
knowing,
Father,
that you've
not withheld
what's most
precious to
you.
As you've
offered up
your only
Son for
our salvation,
Lord,
we pray,
God,
that we would
respond to
you now by
worshiping you
as you deserve.
We pray in
Christ's name,
Amen.