S3 E15 How Genesis 15 Shows Salvation By Faith Alone

We trace Genesis 15 to show how God steadies fear, names Himself Sovereign Lord, and credits faith as righteousness. From stars to circumcision debates, we follow the promise that precedes performance and sets the stage for the cross.

• why “I am your shield” reframes fear and reward 
• how refusing Sodom’s spoils clarifies loyalty 
• why Adonai Yahweh signals covenant authority 
• what the stars teach about identity and mission 
• belief credited as righteousness before any sign 
• Paul’s case against works as a ticket to grace 
• assurance in John 10 and Romans 4 
• blessings of obedience without boasting in works 
• preview of the covenant’s direct link to the cross

We really would love a shout out because I just want to spread this around

Transcript

From Ancient Text To Living Story

Fear, Shield, And Refusing Sodom’s Reward

Sovereign Lord And Covenant Threads

Stars, Ishmael, And True Descendants

Belief Credited As Righteousness

Faith Versus Works In The Early Church

Once Saved, Always Saved Grounded In Scripture

Romans 4 And Grace Guaranteed

Teasing The Covenant’s Link To The Cross

Closing Encouragement And Callouts

SPEAKER_00 0:20

Welcome and good day to the Biblically Wired Podcast. My name is Barb here out of Minneapolis. As a group, we are sashing through Genesis. And our plan is to get to Mount Sinai with some background so we can really allow Mount Sinai to almost become like a volcano, a volcano of fun, a volcano of excitement, a volcano of God's absolute personality, person, promise, faithfulness. It goes on and on. So when God lands on Mount Sinai and in this absolute thundernation of an event, we are going to see him emulate himself in a way that the Israelites would see as God, but also in a way that he has projected himself through the story thus far. And it gives us such a beautiful picture of his consistency as God and also this absolutely romantic moment where he comes down to pursue the hearts of all mankind. Now, just a little tidbit, the Bible was not divided into chapters and verses until the 12th century. So sometime in the 1200s, it was divided rudimentarily, and it wasn't until the Geneva Bible that it seemed set. The Geneva Bible was produced in 1560. So I want us to just set back and remember when the Israelites are reading the scroll, the Old Testament is being read. It is all together, not divided. And in certain portions, believe it or not, the Hebrew doesn't even have spaces between the letters. So you go back into these ancient documents and you wonder how, other than the power of God Himself, did we get all of this preserved and understood in our language today? We cannot take that for granted for a second. Now, the reason I mention that is we are coming off of chapter 14, which we're not going to talk that much about. We're not going to get all into Lot and the difference between Lot and Abram and all this and how God treats them both. We can do that another time. What we are trying to do is get to Mount Sinai. And what we have here in Genesis 15 is what many scholars and theologians say is one of the most important chapters in the Old Testament. And they compare it only to chapter 22, also in the Abrahamic story. The Abrahamic covenant is so outstanding. We study the Mosaic law, we study the Mosaic covenant, we hear about it. Not even always in the right reference, but we've all heard about it. But many of us have never dug into the Abrahamic covenant. And you could study for a decade. I mean, it's layers and layers and layers, but we are going to get into what matters when it comes to the gospel of Jesus Christ here. So 15 after these things, after what things, Abram and his 318 trained men that were raised up in his house. I was not kidding when I said Abram and Sarah are not like off on their own with a couple goats. They are a big community. Abraham, as the patriarch of that community, and they are set apart dedicated to God. So after these things, the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision. There is a theory that the only way a human being can come before God Himself is one in a vision. And we see that a lot where these people have a vision and they see God. Otherwise, through an angel. And the other way is obviously if they're sinless. Now, Adam was sinless. He got some time with God Himself in the flesh. We do see Moses have this incredible time with God later. So there's always that caveat that goes on. And that's up to God, right? But the reason why is people cannot see God and live. So we couldn't fully take him in. Not in our person. Our spirit, I think, would jump right out of our body and leave our flesh behind. Okay, so what does God come to say in this vision? He starts out with, do not fear Abram. I am a shield to you. And the reason many people say this is twofold. One, what is he afraid about? He's probably afraid that the kings and communities he just defeated with his 318 men are going to come to his camp without walls. They're a nomadic community. They could be taken over a lot easier than other communities, and that they are going to be attacked. But God is saying, I'm a shield to you, do not fear. I love, love, love that God comes and first addresses Abraham's heart before going forward with what he wants to say. So he needs Abraham to calm down. You're in a vision. This is a theophany. So this is a theophany, which is usually a very fearful event, and it elicits a very fearful response when people see God in any type of way. So the theophany is overwhelming. And then God goes on to say, Your reward shall be very great. Well, for those that don't know, Abraham just refused to take a reward from a more wicked king, the king of Sodom. And the king of Sodom said, Hey, Abram, you saved us. You take anything you want from our goods, and I love his answer. Abram says to the king in 1422, to the king of Sodom, I have sworn to the Lord God most high, possessor of heaven and earth, that I will not take a thread or a sandal thong or anything that is yours, for I fear you would say, I have made Abram rich. I will take nothing except what the young men have eaten and the share of the men who went with me. So Abram's like, I want nothing to do with it. I won't even take your trash over to my community and burn it in the fire. I want nothing to do with your spoils of war, O king of Sodom. I am under the protection and I have been delivered from my Egypt, the community of Ur, and I have sworn to the Lord God most high. That is a long, long intro, um, introduction of God Himself, possessor of heaven and earth, possessor of heaven and earth. Have have I ever started my prayer, oh Lord God, most high, possessor of heaven and earth. Wow, what a statement about God from God's friend Abraham. So here he says, I'm a shield to you, your your reward's gonna be very great. So Abram says, Oh yeah, about that in chapter 15, verse 2, oh, about that, oh Lord God, what will you give me since I am childless and the heir of my house is Eleazar of Damascus. So that is his servant. Okay, this is kind of cool because basically it doesn't matter how much inheritance you give me if I have nothing to pass on. I have no children to pass it on to. But I want a child, and you did, in fact, promise that we would become a nation. So, you know, since I have you here, what's going on? You have given no offspring to me. So one born in my house needs to be my heir. Some people have asked me, why not Lot? Lot is his nephew in our day and age. If we can't find children, we go to the next relative. Well, Lot has left Abraham and Crew. Lot has already separated himself as an option. Lot went out on his own. Lot is not nomadic. And you see in the story of Lot that the Lot went east and pitched his tent, not nomadically, but close to the city. In the Old Testament, especially, when you see city, often it's talking about sin, going towards sin. Cities or groups of people were usually a point of sinful activity. We usually sin more in groups. We usually start getting more gray in our convictions from the Holy Spirit when we're part of more of a modern city. We tend to get involved in more sin. But when we hold back and we're nomadic and we're counting on God, literally counting on God as our shield and provider, we are less likely to get involved in a bunch of shenanigans. So that's that's super cool. So what does God say back? Because this guy, his main priority is all right, when is my offspring coming? Theologians think this is about 10 years after chapter 12. In chapter 12, we saw his promises. And hey, just quick, I realized after editing that talk, we didn't go through the fact there's seven promises. We did talk about that being complete. The first three are to Abraham himself, completely promised descendants, prosperity, and reputation. Now, the last four are talking about the world. You're gonna be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you. All the families of the earth will be blessed. The last four are for the world, and four is the number for the world. I forgot to mention that in the last conversation. Either way, it's been 10 years. Abram has been seeking God and keeping after what God asked him to do. So where is my offspring? Now, according to Kenneth Matthews, his mega thick commentary on Genesis, he says in this portion, it is the first time that God employs the name sovereign Lord. That's Adonai Yahweh, sovereign Lord. I think you guys have all heard probably the name of God, Adonai. And here it means sovereign Lord. And what is kind of massive about this is sovereign Lord will become a theme in some very important portions of the word going forward. And most of the time it's connected to some type of covenant. It's a divine name, it's super rare in the Pentateuch, but it's common among the prophets. There is a link of this word to the Davidic covenant. The Davidic covenant basically tells David there will always be someone on the throne, and that's part of the seed promise where Jesus ends up being that king that's always reigning on the throne of David. But that verbal link of the sovereign Lord occurs seven times in the Davidic covenant. The meaning of sovereign is so fascinating. How do we even describe it? Sovereign is someone who is absolute, a supreme authority, has control over every single creation, from the stars to the little butterflies that flutter around. Being a sovereign God is kind of the theme or one of the huge themes in the book of Job. With everything Job goes through, eventually God comes to answer some of the questions and basically says, Where were you when I created the earth? You who are sitting there with all these questions. Did you think I am not sovereign? Do you think I didn't notice? Do you think I haven't been near? Where were you when I created the girth of the horse, the might of the horse, or taught the owl to fly? It's just this incredible portion in the book of Job that I look to, and I just want to sit in it and chew on it because it's about God's absolute power and authority over every piece of creation. So that's what that's what we're going at here. The sovereign Lord. Abram says, Sovereign Lord, what will you give me since I am childless? You're in charge of everything, right? And then God says basically, this man won't be your heir, but one who will come forth from your own body, he shall be your heir. So he reiterates that to Abraham exactly what he had told him in Genesis 12. And then get this. Well, we know he's already compared his descendants to dust, and he will to grains of sand. Basically, your descendants are uncountable. Now it's it's fascinating because we can get in this mindset that the descendants of Abraham are the Jewish people, and then going forward, all Christians that are grafted into that Abrahamic tree. But we are forgetting Ishmael. Ishmael, Ishmael. He is a big piece to the Abrahamic story, and Ishmael, believe it or not, is saved. So all descendants of Abraham have the right to follow God. And God still loves them and imparts his ways on them. He is still perfectly just no matter where they go. And we see this again and again, especially when God is waiting on repentance. In Noah, the time of Noah, there was 120 years for them to repent. God gives them time. God is not a vicious God, throwing everything around, big spears of lightning coming down to shock someone's body. That is not God. So going out to see the stars, as we have studied Abraham, we have realized that he is a celestial genius. He knows more about the stars probably than any human being out there. We know, according to ancient documents, he went into the courts of the communities around him and taught people why the stars demand the belief in one creator God. Now, I can't look at the stars and come up with that reason, but Abraham could. So God, who knows Abraham's a celestial genius, is going out to say your descendants will be like stars. That's going to be one of their qualities. Now, according to the ancient cultures, the stars were gods. So minimally, God is saying that we will be a light in the darkness. We will be a light in the darkness, we will be like God. In ancient days, again, the stars were gods, right? So figuratively, the very light of the heavens will be his descendants. And then incredibly, we see Jesus called the morning star. The morning star. Right now, they say that the morning star or the brightest morning star is Venus. Venus is the last star to disappear, but we have Jesus as the morning star. Incredible. So Abram and the ancient population would have used the stars for navigation on land and at sea. Stars were guides. What does that say about us as Jesus' descendants? As the descendants of the morning star, as descendants of the one whose birth announcement was a star. What does it say about us as his descendants? It says that we need to emulate being guides, right? So God compares his followers to stars. Now, going on here in these times, I came up with seven reasons. This is just me. This isn't like seven complete. Stars are reliable and consistent. Like still today, shepherds and herders use stars over GPS. Stars are reliable and consistent. Stars guide people's lives. The culture looked at stars for direction. Stars reveal God's glory. Stars are each unique. And I love this one. The stars are not clustered in one area, but they're spread out to light the entire world. And I think that is super incredible. Each star is unique in its attributes and named by God Himself. Wow. In 1 Corinthians 15, it says, There is also a glory of the sun and a glory of the moon and a glory of the stars. And one star differs from another in glory. That's first Corinthians 15, 41. And in Daniel 12, 3, all those who have insight will shine like the glow of the expanse of heaven, and those who lead the many to righteousness like the stars forever and ever. I mean, this scene just leaves me speechless. Abram has been waiting on one child, and God shows them that multitudes will come through his life. Abraham's question, when will I have an heir? God's answers, wow. Check out the stars, Abram. That's how many heirs you're going to have. So we're going to end here with the bomb of an absolute incredible verse here, chapter 15 of Genesis, verse 6. Incredible. What does it say? What does it say? This is the first mention of the word believed or had faith. Then, what does Abraham say? Then he believed in the Lord, and God reckoned it to him as righteousness. God reckoned Abraham's belief alone as righteousness. Righteousness is being right with God. Righteousness is Sadaka, S-E-D-A-Q-A. When we talked about Noah being blameless in his generation and walking with God and being righteous, there is a way to act righteous and there is a way to be deemed righteous. So all of us are considered righteous in Christ, but that doesn't mean we're going to act righteously, right? But here we go. We can't miss this. Abraham's faith alone made him righteous. He is saved. He is saved by the grace of God based on his faith alone, no works. So a good way to look at faith is trusting in something, but following it with action. If I have faith that my husband is going to drive us somewhere, I'm gonna get in the car. I have faith that he will drive us through the snowstorm, whatever. There is trusting and then there's action. So this is this first mention of The word believe. And Abraham here is not merely believing in God. He's not just believing about God, but he's believing God for the impossible. He is believing God. He is believing in the works of God that the one who created the stars could give me offspring. So this is the root of our salvation. Genesis 15, 6. This is the root of our salvation through belief. Do we believe God? Our faith is knitted to his word, and his word reveals him. So the word believe in Hebrew is amon. It is a verb that means supporting, confirming, and trusting. So it's full of meanings based on sentence structure, but it is mostly a verb. It is an action. It is also used in the phrase turning to the right. That's crazy to me because turning to the right is thematically choosing God's way. The act of repentance is seen as turning to the right. We don't need some undisclosed amount of trust in God to be saved. We are saved when we repent and believe Jesus in his works on our behalf. We don't believe in Jesus, we don't believe of Jesus. We believe Jesus. Abraham's story emphasizes that he believed God and his work. Really, really incredible. And why is this important? This is such a key lesson in Scripture. It gets important, important, important. In the early church with Apostle Paul, this was a big issue. It was basically, these people need to be circumcised. This is an everlasting covenant that went back to our father Abraham. These people need to be circumcised. They need to follow some of our ways if they are truly saved. Basically, works salvation. I came from a background of this human performance needed. And we do this to others. We do this to others. Wait a second. I thought they were Christian. Wait a second. I'm so stunned that he got into this big financial mess and he's busted for stealing finances from his company when he's a Christian. I always thought he was saved. Is he saved? We have to realize that if he believes in Jesus and the work on the cross that was done on his behalf, he is saved. He is saved. We all have temptations and we can end up on a very dark road. But we are saved at that point. We can't think there are works to be done. We will never rest in our salvation if that's the case. How should I be a Christian? I have never read the Old Testament. I am a Gentile. I'm an ex-Roman soldier, so to speak. Now I'm a follower of the way. I'm a follower of Jesus Christ. I know He's God. I know His blood covered my sins. I have repented. I have been baptized. And I become part of this community. And suddenly all this stuff is coming at me. If you're a Christian, you will do this. Or we don't do this. We do this. Who is we? Who is we? Who is we? Galatians 3 is an incredible spot, and we're going to end in Romans 4. And in Galatians 3, which is such a book on grace. Grace, grace. Humans fall short. And that's why Jesus came and died. Listen to Galatians 3, 16 and 17. Now the promises were spoken to Abraham and to his seed. He does not say end to seeds plural as referring to many, but rather to one. And to your seed that is Christ. What I am saying is this the law, which came 430 years later, does not invalidate a covenant previously ratified by God so as to nullify the promise. So basically, what is he saying here? He's saying, wait a second, God believed Abraham was righteous. He already called him righteous. He was saved, he was under his wing. He was part of the future promise of the seed of Christ and salvation. And what he's saying is, wait a second, Genesis 15 comes a long way before Moses brings the law. And as a matter of fact, he will go on in other teachings to say Genesis 15 comes before Genesis 17, where God asks them and requires them to be circumcised. So there's this big issue in the early church, circumcised or not circumcised. Who should be circumcised? And a lot of new believers were becoming circumcised, believing this was something that God wanted from them. But Apostle Paul was fighting against that. And there's this man named Titus. I tell people, I'm going to name my next dog Titus, because he just stood up and said, I know, no one's touching my organs. I don't have to be circumcised. That does not make me more a believer. And I don't stand for it on principle. And I'm going to I'm going to stick with Paul on this. And he does. In the book of Acts, they have this big council meeting about it. And it is decided against the Pharisees, rabbis, etc. And they decide that indeed no one needs to be circumcised. There is no work we can do to add to our salvation. Now, what does that mean, though? Are there blessings from obedience? Indeed. Indeed, there is. Indeed, there is. But it's not about our salvation. Romans 4, we're going to end with some verses in Romans 4, where there's this a big hitter chapter here on justification by faith alone. Justification by faith alone, being justified now as being right in God's eyes and being in Christ. And I am in Christ and I'm there to stay. Chapter 4, verse 2. For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about, but not before God. And okay, that's it in a nutshell. If we are justified by our works, if we are made right with God by our works, that means we have something to boast about. Can you imagine? When does God get the glory? If we're all in heaven, high-fiving each other about our works. How did you get here? Well, I did believe God, but I was justified because I started such and such ministry and I gave to this and I gave to that, and I stayed married to one woman, etc. No, no, no. People will not get the glory in heaven. And I say that also, and I'm a big advocate of once saved, always saved. You can walk very far from God, but you are saved. And the reason I say that is, where would the glory go? If the truth of the matter is we were saved, but then we had to stay saved. Where would the glory go when we get to heaven? Can you imagine me running into someone and saying, Okay, when were you born again? And they said, Oh, when I was 12. And and when did you die? I was 72. You kept your faith 60 years? 60 years, you kept your faith. You stayed in it, you stuck to it, like you put your feet in cement. Where does the glory go at that point? It's interesting because there have been people in my life who say, Yeah, I get your point. I kind of believe that, but do you dare say that? Do you dare say that to people? Because what if it's not true? What if people can lose their faith and you are the cause? I'm I'm like, guys, no. I believe in the promises of God. I believe He is sovereign. I believe that when we're born again, we have a heart change, and the Holy Spirit indwells us and it will not let us down. John 10, let's start in 27. John 10, 27. My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me, and I give eternal life to them, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. The very next verse, my father who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the father's hand. Then it goes on in verse 30. I and the Father are one. And then what happens? Whoop, the Jews pick up stones to stone him. So we are doubly held. I don't want to walk around with weak knees. Can I lose my faith? There could be times that I have forgotten about my sovereign Lord. I have in a way walked away from him. I am not in the word. I'm not allowing that Holy Spirit to direct me, and conviction or consequence eventually falls upon me, and I return back to Father God. All right, so now look at this, you guys, in Romans 4, again, starting in verse 7. Blessed are those whose lawless deeds have been forgiven and whose sins have been covered. Blessed is the man whose sin the Lord will not take into account. Is this blessing then on the circumcised or on the uncircumcised also? For we say faith was credited to Abraham as righteousness. How then was it credited? While he was circumcised or uncircumcised, he was uncircumcised. We know this because he won't be circumcised until chapter 17. So this is pretty big stuff. And basically, what Apostle Paul continues to fight against is this law-minded spirit that wants to come and place a heavy burden on the shoulders of the faithful. In verse 16 of chapter 4, for this reason it is by faith, in order that it may be in accordance with grace, so that the promise will be the promise will be what? Guaranteed to all the descendants, not only to those who are of the law, but also to those who are of the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all. Wow. Yes, it's by grace we are saved. It is by grace we are saved. And nobody needs to be holding that over our head, questioning our faith on every single turn. We can barely be convicted by the Holy Spirit because people are always yapping in our ear. We don't need that, and that's not what God wants for us. Now, the next teaching is going to be about the covenant that has the biggest direct link to the cross since Adam. This covenant coming up is so big in the story of Jesus Christ and the death on the cross. It wow, it just is so powerful. It just slays me every time. So the next time we meet, get that notebook out. Take some time away from your phone, and let's together glorify God and his goodness and his nature in this next portion of the word because it solidifies over and over and over again his unconditional, merciful, and grace-minded heart for humanity. And it's so good, it's so healing, it's so healing when we are on earth trying to endure the wilderness to know that we have this awesome sovereign Lord. I hope this was good. I really would love a shout out because I just want to spread this around. And God has definitely empowered me and entrusted me, no matter how much I fought it, to do this podcast because I really have this utmost calling on my heart to bring people to the point that I was finally brought to through years and years of digging, years and years of trial and error, and finally a big relenting of my will and a good decision to believe God is good. Keep it up out there, keep your chin up and enjoy the next week and get ready for a big one. Buckle up for the rest of Genesis 15.