WEBVTT 00:00:18.480 --> 00:00:22.640 It's written in Galatians three, verse one to nine. 00:00:23.199 --> 00:00:26.800 O foolish Galatians, who has bewitched you? 00:00:26.960 --> 00:00:32.079 It was before your eyes that Jesus Christ was publicly portrayed as crucified. 00:00:32.240 --> 00:00:33.840 Let me ask you only this. 00:00:34.159 --> 00:00:38.079 Did you receive the Spirit by works of the law or by hearing with faith? 00:00:38.320 --> 00:00:41.679 Are you so foolish, having begun by the Spirit? 00:00:41.840 --> 00:00:44.240 Are you now being perfected by the flesh? 00:00:44.479 --> 00:00:48.640 Did you suffer so many things in vain, if indeed it was in vain? 00:00:48.960 --> 00:01:00.880 Does he who supplies the spirit to you and works miracles among you do so by works of the law or by hearing with faith, just as Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness? 00:01:01.439 --> 00:01:07.120 Now then that it is those of faith who are the sons of Abraham. 00:01:07.359 --> 00:01:18.079 And the scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, In you shall all the nations be blessed. 00:01:18.319 --> 00:01:23.200 So then, those who are of faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith. 00:01:23.359 --> 00:01:24.640 And so read God's word. 00:01:29.519 --> 00:01:35.200 Next week, uh we will begin this series properly, uh, called Being Human. 00:01:35.280 --> 00:01:47.760 This morning is a kind of a prelude, uh, a uh a week just to kind of set up why it is that we're going to be to be looking at the the book of Genesis for the next 14 weeks. 00:01:48.000 --> 00:01:53.280 By the time we are by the time we are done with Abraham, your Christmas tree will be up. 00:01:53.519 --> 00:01:56.319 We will be ready for our cow service. 00:01:56.480 --> 00:01:57.040 Yeah. 00:01:57.359 --> 00:02:05.280 The uh the the pumpkin spice lattes will be all drained to the dregs, and and we will be ready for for Christmas. 00:02:05.680 --> 00:02:31.199 Uh, and so this morning, what I wanted to do is I want to use our time probably slightly more briefly than uh than usual, um, and some of you may be breathing a sigh of relief, um, to set up why it is that we should spend 14 weeks considering a guy and considering a part of the Bible that uh is about events 4,000 years ago. 00:02:31.520 --> 00:02:40.800 How does a man like Abraham have any sort of relevance uh for us here in 21st century Dublin? 00:02:41.039 --> 00:02:49.919 And that's why we read from Galatians because Galatians, which is a book in the New Testament, Paul thinks that Abraham is kind of important. 00:02:50.080 --> 00:02:51.840 Uh-huh, he's kind of a big deal. 00:02:51.919 --> 00:03:02.000 Uh, and so Paul, when he writes in various letters in the book of uh Romans or here in the book of Galatians, he's making an argument that actually Abraham matters. 00:03:02.240 --> 00:03:14.000 You need to know who Abraham is and what Abraham did, because he matters for our own understanding of who God is and what it means to follow him and what faith is like. 00:03:14.240 --> 00:03:16.080 Abraham thinks that he's important. 00:03:16.240 --> 00:03:31.280 Also, the writer to the book of Hebrews, if you've ever read that book, towards the end of the New Testament, in chapter 11, there is this uh there's this great lineup of people in the Old Testament who are uh examples of faith. 00:03:31.520 --> 00:03:36.560 And Abraham is given the longest section in chapter 11. 00:03:36.639 --> 00:03:45.120 The writer of Hebrews thinks that Abraham is important, that he did something that is worth us knowing as believers in Jesus. 00:03:45.360 --> 00:03:57.280 And so I want to draw some of those out, four of those out uh for you this morning, in order that you might come back next week thinking, yes, I am ready for 14 weeks of Abraham. 00:03:57.439 --> 00:03:58.080 Let's do it. 00:03:58.240 --> 00:04:00.319 Okay, so first one. 00:04:00.879 --> 00:04:08.159 Abraham is an example to us of faith in a world of unbelief. 00:04:08.800 --> 00:04:14.000 Abraham is an example of faith in a world of unbelief. 00:04:14.240 --> 00:04:19.199 Let me give you the story so far in the book of Genesis, because we're jumping in in chapter 12. 00:04:19.360 --> 00:04:22.160 If by the way you're wondering, why are we jumping in in chapter 12? 00:04:22.319 --> 00:04:27.920 Well, one of the things that I know that most of you don't know is that we actually did do chapters 1 to 11. 00:04:28.160 --> 00:04:30.800 Some people, I see you, nodding in the darkness. 00:04:30.879 --> 00:04:36.000 Uh the year before COVID, we did do 1 to 11, and we called it being human. 00:04:36.079 --> 00:04:39.519 And I just I thought, well, eventually we'll get back to it. 00:04:39.759 --> 00:04:42.399 But then COVID happened, but now here we are. 00:04:42.639 --> 00:04:46.079 So it is a it is a resumption of sorts. 00:04:46.240 --> 00:04:54.959 But for those of you who maybe weren't here back in late 2018, uh, perhaps I should let you know what the story is so far. 00:04:55.120 --> 00:04:58.319 Well, pick up the story from chapter three. 00:04:58.480 --> 00:05:08.959 Chapter three of Genesis is the account of what we call the fall, the fall of humanity from that state of grace and perfect relationship with God. 00:05:09.920 --> 00:05:21.519 The fracturing of relationships between the man and the woman, the fracturing of relationship between human beings and God, and the fracturing of relationship between humans and the rest of creation. 00:05:21.680 --> 00:05:24.800 That's really what Genesis 3 is all about. 00:05:24.959 --> 00:05:31.839 That chaos has entered our world in the form of the serpent. 00:05:32.000 --> 00:05:34.319 The serpent is an ancient image of chaos. 00:05:34.399 --> 00:05:38.720 And so when he slithers on into the garden, you know that chaos is coming. 00:05:39.040 --> 00:05:55.279 Chaos has come into our world, and uh, and as a result of uh human beings' treason against God and our choice to reject and rebel against him, that chaos has spread. 00:05:55.519 --> 00:06:01.040 And the chapters 4 to 11 of Genesis are a recounting of that spread. 00:06:01.360 --> 00:06:04.639 So uh quick in your own mind, Bible quiz. 00:06:04.800 --> 00:06:06.879 So uh who are the two sons of Eve? 00:06:06.959 --> 00:06:10.000 Well, Eve gives birth to Cain, right? 00:06:10.160 --> 00:06:15.120 Uh and then after Cain is born, uh she gives birth to Abel. 00:06:15.279 --> 00:06:16.959 And what happens to them? 00:06:17.120 --> 00:06:23.680 Well, Cain becomes the first murderer and kills his brother Abel. 00:06:24.800 --> 00:06:34.000 You go on uh after Cain and Abel, you get a descendant of Cain, a fellow called Lamech, and Lamech says, I'm gonna kill anybody who looks at me the wrong way. 00:06:34.240 --> 00:06:36.720 Anybody who disrespects me, they're gonna be gone. 00:06:36.800 --> 00:06:40.800 He's the first mob boss of uh of humanity. 00:06:41.920 --> 00:06:49.360 And chapter five is uh, I don't know if you've ever read Genesis chapter five, but Genesis chapter five is the first genealogy. 00:06:49.600 --> 00:06:55.759 I remember sitting down as a new Christian, I was 16 years old, and I said, I'm gonna read the Bible, cover to cover. 00:06:56.160 --> 00:06:58.800 Genesis 1 to Revelation 22. 00:06:58.879 --> 00:06:59.600 Let's do this thing. 00:06:59.759 --> 00:07:00.959 Do you know how far I got? 00:07:01.600 --> 00:07:02.959 Genesis 5. 00:07:03.759 --> 00:07:04.959 Do you know why? 00:07:05.279 --> 00:07:07.920 Because Genesis 5 is a long list of names. 00:07:08.319 --> 00:07:16.560 It's about somebody who begat another person, who begat another person, who had many other sons and daughters, and who lived to this age and then begat another person. 00:07:18.000 --> 00:07:27.439 But that's not really what's going on in Genesis chapter 5, because the thing that matters in Genesis chapter 5 is the repeated refrain all the way through the chapter and then he died. 00:07:28.399 --> 00:07:29.519 And then he died. 00:07:30.319 --> 00:07:31.439 And then he died. 00:07:32.079 --> 00:07:33.040 And then he died. 00:07:33.600 --> 00:07:38.399 See, it doesn't stick out to us because we've become kind of used and numb to death. 00:07:39.920 --> 00:07:41.519 But Genesis 5 really matters. 00:07:41.680 --> 00:07:50.800 Genesis 5 is the spreading of the curse throughout all of humanity, down the generations, and then he died, and then he died, and then he died. 00:07:51.199 --> 00:07:53.199 You see a little blip actually in the middle. 00:07:53.439 --> 00:07:57.360 You find Enoch, Enoch walked with God and was not. 00:08:00.720 --> 00:08:07.600 Then we get into the flood narrative, and the flood story begins with the divine assessment of all of humanity. 00:08:07.759 --> 00:08:18.240 And the divine assessment at the start of Genesis chapter 6 is this that the thoughts of men's hearts, men and women, the thoughts of men's hearts was only evil all of the time. 00:08:19.600 --> 00:08:31.360 And God decides that he is going to start again and do so through Noah and through his family, saving them over the waters of chaos. 00:08:32.879 --> 00:08:37.840 But even after the flood still subsides, sin still persists. 00:08:38.639 --> 00:08:48.480 And it culminates in Genesis chapter 11, with the building of what we call the Tower of Babel, the Tower of Babel. 00:08:49.759 --> 00:09:03.120 And when we get to Genesis chapter 11, one of the movements that has occurred is that sin has spread from a family, Adam and Eve, Cain and Abel, Lamach and his wives, on down. 00:09:03.759 --> 00:09:09.200 So what has happened by the time you get to Genesis chapter 11 is that sin has spread to a society. 00:09:09.919 --> 00:09:16.000 That all of humanity is coming together and saying, Let's make our names great. 00:09:16.399 --> 00:09:18.799 Let's make a name for ourselves. 00:09:19.679 --> 00:09:26.720 We're going to build a tower, and we're going to get back to God by scaling that tower. 00:09:27.120 --> 00:09:28.879 We don't need God's help. 00:09:30.159 --> 00:09:32.879 We can make our way back to Him. 00:09:33.840 --> 00:09:39.519 It was a project that was conceived in and born out in pride. 00:09:40.960 --> 00:09:47.919 That's why God comes and He confuses the languages and scatters the Babel builders. 00:09:49.120 --> 00:09:52.000 And the story is actually wonderfully full of irony. 00:09:52.799 --> 00:09:58.720 The Babel builders say, let us build a tower that reaches to the heavens. 00:09:58.960 --> 00:10:09.039 And so they stand up and they their necks are craned right back as they marvel at this huge ziggurat, this huge steppe pyramid that they have built. 00:10:10.399 --> 00:10:18.480 And then the narrative switches to God's perspective, and God says, Let us go down and see the tower that the men have built. 00:10:18.559 --> 00:10:23.679 So it's they're all craning up like that, and God comes down and goes, That's a nice tower. 00:10:25.440 --> 00:10:27.360 That's kind of gets to my toenail. 00:10:27.519 --> 00:10:29.039 Good tower, right? 00:10:30.080 --> 00:10:35.679 He scatters them because sin has spread to all of society and confuses their languages. 00:10:37.360 --> 00:10:44.639 And it is in the midst of that disorder and unbelief that God steps in in Genesis chapter 12. 00:10:44.720 --> 00:10:49.840 And Genesis chapter 12 is a major turning point in your Bibles. 00:10:50.799 --> 00:10:56.960 It is hugely important for understanding how it is that the Bible fits together. 00:10:57.360 --> 00:11:05.519 Because it is God's determination in Genesis chapter 12 to change the fortunes of humanity. 00:11:06.559 --> 00:11:08.799 And he begins with Abraham. 00:11:09.759 --> 00:11:12.799 You won't know him when we get into it as Abraham. 00:11:13.759 --> 00:11:27.759 For a good few chapters, he'll be called Abram or Abram, which means exalted father, which in itself is ironic because he is, when we meet him, childless. 00:11:31.600 --> 00:11:43.360 God calls this man and makes promises to him, and so starts God's redeeming work in all of mankind. 00:11:44.480 --> 00:11:55.120 And through the rest of the Bible, the story of Abram becomes an example of how to trust God in the midst of unbelief and chaos and personal trial. 00:11:55.200 --> 00:11:59.519 I mean, one of the things that we'll see next week is that Abram was nothing special. 00:11:59.600 --> 00:12:04.799 He didn't come from a background that worshipped the God of the Bible. 00:12:04.879 --> 00:12:08.480 He was living out in Iraq, in a place called Ur. 00:12:09.120 --> 00:12:14.879 He was worshiping the pagan gods of the day, and it was God who came and who spoke to him. 00:12:15.840 --> 00:12:18.320 And he took God at his word. 00:12:19.759 --> 00:12:22.159 Paul in our reading describes Abraham. 00:12:22.240 --> 00:12:24.480 Oh, by the way, on the reading, that was my bad. 00:12:24.559 --> 00:12:29.279 I should have said uh Galatians 1 to uh Galatians 3, 1 to 9. 00:12:29.440 --> 00:12:31.039 I didn't, I communicated 1 to 7. 00:12:31.120 --> 00:12:34.639 That's why the slides are wrong, but Kariani was, she had me, she had my back. 00:12:34.720 --> 00:12:35.759 I appreciate that. 00:12:36.000 --> 00:12:40.000 Um so but if you have it open in front of you, then you'll know where it is. 00:12:40.240 --> 00:12:47.279 Paul in the reading describes Abraham as the man of faith in verse 9, right at the very end. 00:12:47.360 --> 00:12:53.120 So he says, So then those who are of faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith. 00:12:53.759 --> 00:13:04.799 Now, some wrongly think that faith is believing in things for which there is no evidence. 00:13:06.960 --> 00:13:14.799 But that's not what faith is, and that's not what's going on with Abraham, and that's not what our faith is. 00:13:16.080 --> 00:13:35.759 No faith, as we will see, is trust and reliance upon a God who speaks, it is taking God at his word, it is trusting his promises, regardless of the circumstances that we find ourselves in. 00:13:38.000 --> 00:13:52.720 Abraham's faith isn't blind, it is grounded in who God is, it is grounded in the speaking God who speaks and who acts in history. 00:13:54.480 --> 00:14:07.440 And as a result, that faith grows over the course of his life, over the course of the trials and tests that he faces, his faith grows and it deepens. 00:14:07.519 --> 00:14:09.759 It's not perfectly formed right at the beginning. 00:14:11.279 --> 00:14:12.320 So take heart. 00:14:13.120 --> 00:14:20.879 Take heart, particularly those who those of you here who might be new to Christian things, who might be new in your faith. 00:14:21.840 --> 00:14:27.279 You think, oh my faith isn't as deep, isn't as strong, isn't as clear as I would like it to be. 00:14:27.519 --> 00:14:28.879 Well, neither was Abraham's. 00:14:30.240 --> 00:14:39.759 One of the things that we'll see over the next couple of months is his faith deepening and growing as he learns to take God at his word and to trust his promises. 00:14:41.360 --> 00:14:48.080 We learn about Abraham to learn how we should deepen our faith from the man of faith. 00:14:49.360 --> 00:14:50.240 Second. 00:14:51.440 --> 00:14:57.519 Abraham is both faithful and flawed, and that's a very good thing. 00:14:58.080 --> 00:15:01.279 Abraham is both faithful and flawed. 00:15:01.919 --> 00:15:16.559 I deliberately call the series being human because I think that Genesis is actually a case study of what humanity is like, what humanity has always been like. 00:15:16.720 --> 00:15:21.600 It is a study of human nature at its very core and essence. 00:15:22.639 --> 00:15:28.080 In the 4,000 years since Abraham, human civilization has, of course, developed. 00:15:28.240 --> 00:15:30.399 We have developed massively technologically. 00:15:30.480 --> 00:15:34.879 That's why I guess in part it feels so foreign to read the Old Testament. 00:15:35.039 --> 00:15:40.480 Yet the thing that has not changed is what human beings are like. 00:15:41.279 --> 00:15:44.000 Human nature is still much the same. 00:15:44.720 --> 00:15:54.799 In the book of Genesis, people get resentful and angry, lustful and proud, they take matters into their own hands, they question the goodness of God. 00:15:54.879 --> 00:16:08.320 And Abraham, as we shall see, uh, will make a fairly terrible decision and then repent of it and realize that he was wrong, and then after a couple of chapters, do exactly the same thing again. 00:16:10.240 --> 00:16:12.000 Is that not relatable? 00:16:12.879 --> 00:16:18.320 When you've done your bargaining with God, when you realize, oh, that was a I shouldn't have done that, I shouldn't have made that decision. 00:16:18.480 --> 00:16:20.480 And so you go to God and go, Do you know what, God? 00:16:20.559 --> 00:16:21.679 I was such an idiot. 00:16:21.759 --> 00:16:23.279 Would you please forgive me? 00:16:23.440 --> 00:16:30.399 And then you continue on down the line down the line six months or a year or a couple of years, and then you realize that you've done the same thing again. 00:16:32.000 --> 00:16:34.559 Such it is with Abraham. 00:16:37.279 --> 00:16:54.879 This should be an encouragement to us because Abraham does not simply stand above us as an example to follow, he stands also alongside us as a flawed human being who is working out what it means to follow God. 00:16:55.919 --> 00:16:56.480 That's the thing. 00:16:56.639 --> 00:16:59.600 Abraham's not the hero of the story, God is. 00:17:01.120 --> 00:17:06.319 And Abraham stands alongside us, encouraging us in our faith. 00:17:06.400 --> 00:17:14.000 And I guess, in a sense, it's kind of looking at us going, here, do yourself a favor, don't make the mistakes that I did. 00:17:16.319 --> 00:17:19.680 That's how Hebrews 11 kind of understands him. 00:17:20.400 --> 00:17:28.720 In Hebrews 11, the writer is encouraging the Christians to persist and to persevere in their faith. 00:17:28.880 --> 00:17:51.680 And that's why he lists all of these examples of faith, whether it's uh whether it's Abraham or Moses or David or the prophets, because they're all standing in the sidelines now in glory, looking at you running your race, and they're saying, keep going. 00:17:52.240 --> 00:17:53.519 It's worth it. 00:17:53.839 --> 00:18:02.559 Persist, keep the faith, keep taking God at His word, don't lose heart, don't make mistakes that we did, but keep going. 00:18:03.599 --> 00:18:06.160 And that's why we study Abraham. 00:18:08.079 --> 00:18:18.240 Paul in the passage here, uh, my hope is actually to get to Galatians uh before the the academic year is uh is out. 00:18:18.640 --> 00:18:45.279 Um but one of the things that's going on uh in the letter to the Galatians is that Paul is perplexed that these young Christians think that even though God has He's brought them to life, spiritually speaking, that they were dead, that He's brought them to life, that these Christians now stand there and go, we can take it from here. 00:18:45.519 --> 00:18:46.400 Thanks, God. 00:18:47.599 --> 00:18:51.839 We can uh we can manage the rest the way on our own. 00:18:51.920 --> 00:18:57.119 Uh we'll uh we'll keep all the laws and do all the right things. 00:18:57.200 --> 00:18:59.200 And uh yeah, we've got this. 00:18:59.359 --> 00:19:03.200 Thank you for getting us started, but we'll get ourselves to the end. 00:19:03.279 --> 00:19:16.000 They think that even though the spirit made them alive, that their their flesh can can keep them to the end, that their own strength is what is going to cause them to persevere in the Christian life. 00:19:16.160 --> 00:19:24.240 And Paul, all the way through Galatians, but particularly here in Galatians 3, is arguing, no, it was never that way. 00:19:24.400 --> 00:19:27.119 That's why he says, Oh, foolish Galatians, who's bewitched you? 00:19:27.279 --> 00:19:39.759 Who's who's cast a spell over your mind that you think that even though God is the one who brought you to life, that you can then perfect your own faith by your own strength? 00:19:40.160 --> 00:19:41.440 He says, No, no, no. 00:19:42.079 --> 00:19:45.839 You can't, the flesh can't make you perfect. 00:19:46.400 --> 00:19:50.079 It's faith from beginning to end, it's faith all the way down. 00:19:51.440 --> 00:19:56.559 When you try to take matters into your own hands, that's when things go wrong. 00:19:56.720 --> 00:19:58.160 Have you noticed that? 00:19:58.880 --> 00:20:01.119 And that's why he brings up Abraham. 00:20:01.519 --> 00:20:16.480 Because as we shall see, every time Abraham tries to force God's hand or to act like God by controlling a situation, that's when things go wrong. 00:20:16.799 --> 00:20:23.039 When Abraham starts to trust his flesh, that's when there's problems. 00:20:23.839 --> 00:20:25.519 Have you ever experienced that? 00:20:26.319 --> 00:20:27.759 So why do we learn about Abraham? 00:20:27.920 --> 00:20:41.440 Well, we learn about Abraham to deepen our faith and to learn to turn from our flawed flesh, to turn from that reliance on self and on our own strength. 00:20:42.240 --> 00:20:46.559 Because it is because that is not what will keep us to the end. 00:20:49.759 --> 00:20:58.960 Third, we study Abraham because in the Abraham story we see a God who always keeps his promises. 00:21:00.079 --> 00:21:01.279 That's our third point. 00:21:01.599 --> 00:21:05.200 God keeps his promises. 00:21:08.880 --> 00:21:16.000 Sometimes uh the Old Testament can seem uh pretty foreign to our ears. 00:21:16.319 --> 00:21:18.000 It's hard to conceive of. 00:21:18.160 --> 00:21:27.359 And so people mistakenly begin to think, well, maybe the God of the Old Testament is different to the God of the New Testament. 00:21:28.160 --> 00:21:33.839 Because the God of the Old Testament, well, he seems quite seems quite cold and quite harsh. 00:21:34.079 --> 00:21:35.359 He's a bit judgy. 00:21:36.000 --> 00:21:47.119 Whereas the God of the New Testament, well, the God of the New Testament, it's Jesus is lovely, he's got nice hair, he's got a nice beard, and we can give him a hug, and he says, you know, to love one another. 00:21:47.279 --> 00:21:59.039 And uh, and so we think, well, there must be must be two different, at least manifestations of God going on between the two testaments. 00:22:02.240 --> 00:22:05.920 To think that way would be a mistake. 00:22:09.359 --> 00:22:26.559 When it comes to Abraham's flaws, to his sins, God is gracious and patient, yes, he's corrective, he's gentle and kind to Abraham. 00:22:26.640 --> 00:22:34.960 There's even a point where Abraham very curiously is able to negotiate with God, to bargain with him. 00:22:41.359 --> 00:22:51.920 But more than that, what we will see is that in studying Abraham, we see a God who keeps his promises all the way through to the end. 00:22:53.680 --> 00:22:56.480 Next week we'll begin Genesis 12. 00:22:56.559 --> 00:22:58.400 We'll study the first half. 00:22:59.279 --> 00:23:06.079 And it begins with right off the bat, God making these promises to Abram. 00:23:06.960 --> 00:23:16.960 And one of them is that God promises Abram that through his descendants all of the nations of the world would be blessed. 00:23:17.279 --> 00:23:19.519 More details on that next week. 00:23:20.640 --> 00:23:28.319 And here in Galatians, Paul looks back at that promise and sees that it has been fulfilled. 00:23:28.559 --> 00:23:47.039 That it's been fulfilled in ways far beyond Paul's own imaginings, fulfilled in ways that even the writers of the Old Testament could only glimpse and barely conceive of. 00:23:48.079 --> 00:23:56.880 That is, that the promise made long ago to bless the nations is fulfilled in the coming of Jesus. 00:23:59.440 --> 00:24:22.000 That Jesus would come, and as a result, faith, faith that makes us right with God, faith that forgives our sins, that restores our humanity, that that faith would not be limited to one ethnic group, but to all people. 00:24:23.359 --> 00:24:28.640 So when God back in Genesis 12 says, Through you I'm going to bless the nations, well, what's the blessing? 00:24:28.960 --> 00:24:39.839 The blessing is that through his descendant, Jesus, all nations would have access to the God who made them. 00:24:40.880 --> 00:24:42.960 That it's a restoring of all things. 00:24:44.000 --> 00:24:48.480 And so Paul looks back and goes, God's always kept his promises. 00:24:49.119 --> 00:24:58.400 God was faithful to that promise to bring blessing to the nations, and he's done it through his son, the descendant of Abraham, according to the flesh. 00:24:59.599 --> 00:25:04.319 That he has saved every tribe and tongue and people. 00:25:08.079 --> 00:25:18.720 And so if God keeps his promises on down the millennia, then perhaps we can begin to see that God has proven his faithfulness. 00:25:20.000 --> 00:25:22.799 And that matters a great deal for you right now. 00:25:24.240 --> 00:25:29.279 Because one of the things that happens to us every now and again is that we doubt the faithfulness of God. 00:25:30.000 --> 00:25:32.240 We doubt the goodness of God. 00:25:33.519 --> 00:25:36.000 We doubt that God will be God to us. 00:25:36.480 --> 00:25:39.119 We think that perhaps he has rejected us. 00:25:39.920 --> 00:25:55.759 One of the things that the Bible encourages us to do is to look back at God's past faithfulness, that he keeps his promises, and to use that to steal and to strengthen your faith now. 00:25:56.960 --> 00:26:01.519 That's a really good reason for why we're spending 14 weeks looking at Abraham. 00:26:02.799 --> 00:26:15.119 We learn about Abraham to deepen our faith, to turn from our flawed flesh, and to trust the promise-keeping God. 00:26:18.880 --> 00:26:26.640 Fourth, and finally, we study the book of Abraham, the book of Abraham. 00:26:26.720 --> 00:26:36.000 We study Abraham in the book of Genesis because salvation is the same. 00:26:37.440 --> 00:26:40.400 Because salvation is the same. 00:26:40.720 --> 00:26:47.519 This is another disconnect between what people assume about the Old Testament and the New Testament. 00:26:47.759 --> 00:26:57.119 People assume that in the Old Testament, you were saved, that is, made right with God, by keeping God's law. 00:26:57.279 --> 00:27:00.880 In Genesis, you'll hear talk about things like circumcision. 00:27:01.039 --> 00:27:02.640 Now we got that in the next 14 weeks. 00:27:02.799 --> 00:27:03.519 Congratulations. 00:27:04.160 --> 00:27:05.519 Looking forward to it. 00:27:06.000 --> 00:27:08.640 But the circumcision is a sign of God's promises. 00:27:13.839 --> 00:27:17.119 Keeping his laws, food laws, the sacrificial system. 00:27:17.279 --> 00:27:22.160 People look at the Old Testament and think, in the Old Testament, you were saved by your good works. 00:27:22.319 --> 00:27:24.960 As long as you did the good things, God saved you. 00:27:25.279 --> 00:27:27.359 But people find that quite hard. 00:27:27.519 --> 00:27:35.279 And so in the New Testament, again, when Jesus comes lovely hair, hugging lambs, being all nice, that sort of thing, what he said was, that's all really hard. 00:27:35.359 --> 00:27:37.920 Why don't I just do it and I'll give you my grace? 00:27:38.240 --> 00:27:40.079 People think that that's what's going on. 00:27:40.240 --> 00:27:42.079 In the Old Testament, you're saved by works. 00:27:42.240 --> 00:27:44.559 In the New Testament, you're saved by faith. 00:27:45.759 --> 00:27:47.279 That's not right. 00:27:47.599 --> 00:27:48.720 It's wrong. 00:27:48.960 --> 00:27:50.880 That's not how it works. 00:27:51.119 --> 00:27:58.400 And one of the things that we will see from Abraham is that it's the same in both testaments. 00:27:59.359 --> 00:28:03.039 God saves those who trust in him. 00:28:03.680 --> 00:28:07.519 And it has been thus forever. 00:28:08.240 --> 00:28:13.599 God hasn't changed the mode of salvation just because Jesus came. 00:28:13.680 --> 00:28:16.400 Now, Jesus is the culmination, as we will see. 00:28:16.960 --> 00:28:18.240 It's all faith. 00:28:18.400 --> 00:28:20.160 It's all Jesus' grace. 00:28:20.400 --> 00:28:22.880 It is not law-keeping. 00:28:27.519 --> 00:28:31.440 And that's one of the things that we're going to see in the story of Abraham. 00:28:32.400 --> 00:28:36.000 That it will teach us that salvation has always been by faith. 00:28:36.559 --> 00:28:42.160 That God has always been a God who shows grace and mercy to those who trust his promises. 00:28:44.960 --> 00:28:56.799 In the New Testament, this is this is perhaps the key lesson that the New Testament writers want us to learn from studying the life of Abraham. 00:28:57.359 --> 00:29:10.559 So Paul, again, who wrote Galatians and Romans, brings it up in Romans 4 and here in Galatians 3 and asks the question: how did Abraham get right with God? 00:29:10.799 --> 00:29:13.119 How was Abraham saved? 00:29:13.839 --> 00:29:15.680 Was it by his actions? 00:29:16.480 --> 00:29:18.480 Was it by the things that he did? 00:29:18.720 --> 00:29:20.720 Was it by circumcision? 00:29:21.039 --> 00:29:41.119 That matters not because I just want to say the word circumcision all the time, but because uh that's that's what was in the kind of in the um the ancient Jewish mind, that because Abraham did what was required, that is, circumcise himself in his flesh and in that of his descendants, that that's what made him right with God. 00:29:42.000 --> 00:29:45.200 And so Paul brings up the question, well, was it that? 00:29:45.359 --> 00:29:47.200 Was it that that saved him? 00:29:48.960 --> 00:29:53.279 And Paul makes the case that that is a misunderstanding. 00:29:53.599 --> 00:29:54.240 But no. 00:29:56.799 --> 00:30:05.359 Circumcision, as we will see, as a sign of God's faithfulness, was instituted in Genesis chapter 17. 00:30:06.880 --> 00:30:34.000 But two chapters earlier, God reiterates his promises to Abraham, and we are told in Genesis 15, and this is what Paul quotes here in Galatians 3, that Abraham believed God, and it was counted, credited, reckoned to him as righteousness. 00:30:34.720 --> 00:30:39.440 This, folks, should blow your hair back. 00:30:39.759 --> 00:30:42.079 This is the dynamite verse. 00:30:42.559 --> 00:30:49.759 It's one of the most important concepts for understanding how God relates to humanity. 00:30:50.240 --> 00:31:02.079 That before Abraham ever did anything moral in God's sight, he trusted God's promise and God declared him innocent. 00:31:03.839 --> 00:31:11.599 That is what Paul is getting at here in Galatians 3 and in Romans 4. 00:31:13.279 --> 00:31:14.640 Listen to what Paul says. 00:31:14.799 --> 00:31:22.799 Does he who supplies the Spirit to you and works miracles among you do so by works of the law or by the hearing of faith? 00:31:23.680 --> 00:31:28.559 Just as Abraham believed God and it was counted to him as righteousness. 00:31:28.720 --> 00:31:31.680 He said, Did you become a Christian because you were a moral person? 00:31:32.079 --> 00:31:37.519 Did God save you and set his love upon you because you were, uh you did good things? 00:31:39.599 --> 00:31:39.920 No. 00:31:41.680 --> 00:31:45.920 Those things happened because you trusted the promises of God. 00:31:46.240 --> 00:31:47.839 That's how it's always been. 00:31:48.079 --> 00:31:49.359 And how do we know? 00:31:49.680 --> 00:31:50.559 Abraham. 00:31:51.839 --> 00:31:57.680 It's hugely important to spend our time studying and learning about Abraham. 00:31:57.920 --> 00:31:59.759 Abraham believed God. 00:32:00.160 --> 00:32:05.119 No works, no moral goodness, no religious action, faith alone. 00:32:05.279 --> 00:32:06.799 And what did God do? 00:32:07.680 --> 00:32:11.680 God counted his faith as righteousness. 00:32:12.400 --> 00:32:13.839 We wouldn't normally talk that way. 00:32:13.920 --> 00:32:15.200 So what does that mean? 00:32:15.440 --> 00:32:32.240 That is that trust in God caused God to declare Abraham righteous, innocent in his sight. 00:32:34.880 --> 00:32:44.240 Now, those of you who are well caffeinated and have your brain switched on this morning, you might ask, well, what about all of Abraham's flaws? 00:32:44.559 --> 00:32:47.119 What about Abraham's sins? 00:32:48.079 --> 00:32:49.519 What happened to them? 00:32:50.319 --> 00:32:54.720 The sacrificial systems that not do anything? 00:32:55.839 --> 00:32:57.920 What happened to Abraham's sins? 00:32:58.559 --> 00:32:59.839 You know the answer? 00:33:01.119 --> 00:33:03.039 The cross of the Lord Jesus. 00:33:04.240 --> 00:33:06.240 Where were Abraham's sins paid for? 00:33:06.319 --> 00:33:07.119 Where were David's? 00:33:07.200 --> 00:33:08.160 Where were Moses's? 00:33:08.319 --> 00:33:09.599 Where were Elijah's? 00:33:09.759 --> 00:33:11.119 Where were Isaiah's? 00:33:11.279 --> 00:33:13.599 Or Isaiah's, if you're American. 00:33:13.920 --> 00:33:16.079 Where were those sins paid for? 00:33:16.960 --> 00:33:19.839 They were paid for at the cross of the Lord Jesus. 00:33:22.880 --> 00:33:29.759 The sacrifices of the Old Testament never made anyone innocent or took away anyone's sins. 00:33:29.839 --> 00:33:32.640 That's another argument made by the book of Hebrews. 00:33:32.880 --> 00:33:35.440 So the blood of bulls and goats could never take away sin. 00:33:35.519 --> 00:33:35.839 Why? 00:33:36.079 --> 00:33:38.480 Because you're not a bull or a goat. 00:33:39.279 --> 00:33:41.359 It's not a fair trade. 00:33:43.519 --> 00:33:45.039 They could never take away sins. 00:33:45.119 --> 00:33:46.960 They were only pointers. 00:33:47.200 --> 00:33:55.039 They themselves were promises that would also be fulfilled by the promise-keeping God in his Son, the Lord Jesus. 00:33:56.079 --> 00:34:04.319 So here's one of the things you need to realize about the death of Jesus on the cross is that it works backwards as well as forwards. 00:34:07.920 --> 00:34:16.880 That on that Good Friday, Abraham had his sin paid for at the very same moment that you did. 00:34:17.679 --> 00:34:20.079 Those of you who are trusting in him. 00:34:22.639 --> 00:34:30.400 As a result, that is why Paul can then say that we share the same faith as Abraham. 00:34:31.440 --> 00:34:42.719 Abraham was, in a sense, peering at shadows down the corridor of time. 00:34:43.360 --> 00:34:46.320 That's why his faith is actually so mind-blowing. 00:34:46.880 --> 00:34:49.199 Abraham didn't didn't have any Bible. 00:34:49.679 --> 00:34:52.079 Abraham didn't have Jesus to look back to. 00:34:58.000 --> 00:35:00.159 Again, Hebrews 11 tells us that. 00:35:00.880 --> 00:35:06.960 He's saying that Abraham was looking to a better city whose architect and builder is God. 00:35:08.159 --> 00:35:10.480 But it was all shadowy for him. 00:35:12.800 --> 00:35:20.960 We are in a blessed position that we actually see with greater clarity now the unfolding promises of God. 00:35:22.079 --> 00:35:35.039 So if Abraham, the man of faith, could trust the shadows, the wisps of mist that he could perceive through the corridors of time, would you not trust him who has spoken in his most excellent word? 00:35:35.519 --> 00:35:40.079 Would you not trust him as you look back at the cross of the Lord Jesus? 00:35:40.239 --> 00:35:49.360 It is the same faith because the object of that faith is ultimately the same. 00:35:50.719 --> 00:36:10.000 That is why in Galatians 3, Paul makes this argument that the descendants of Abraham are not those who share Abraham's DNA, not those who share his ethnicity, but those who share his faith. 00:36:12.559 --> 00:36:25.199 So one of the reasons why we study the book of Genesis and read about Abraham is because that history is our history. 00:36:26.480 --> 00:36:28.400 It's our history by faith. 00:36:31.199 --> 00:36:37.760 We are, spiritually speaking, descendants of Abraham because we trust the same God. 00:36:38.719 --> 00:36:45.920 We trust the promises fulfilled in Jesus, laid down in the book of Genesis. 00:36:46.880 --> 00:36:48.880 Why do we learn about Abraham? 00:36:49.760 --> 00:37:04.000 To deepen our faith, to turn from our flawed flesh, and to trust in the promise-keeping God who saves us all by faith in Jesus. 00:37:04.960 --> 00:37:06.559 See you next week.