Justified by Faith // October 15, 2023

read: Genesis 15

In Genesis chapter 12, Abraham’s story begins with God calling him and giving him a HUGE promise: to bless him and make him a blessing to all nations.  God promises that this will happen through his offspring in a land God will give him, and from there all peoples will be blessed. Things will be set right again. Big promises!!

But what happens next? The land he is sent to is hit with a famine. Abram wanders into Egypt and makes a bunch of mistakes. Then his nephew gets captured as a prisoner of war. Abram rescues nephew.  All the while, Abram is getting old, and many years have passed since he heard the call of God.  To top it off, he has no child and no land of his own. 

Abram has the Promises of God.  Abram sees his situation.  But there is a huge gap.  As if he is on one side of the Grand Canyon and God and His promises are on the other side, Abram is “living in the gap between promise and reality”.

Then we come to Genesis 15, which gets to the very heart of how it is possible to live by faith even when we feel like the gap between us and God’s promises is huge. There are 3 things we are given in the chapter that are essential vital components to the life of faith.

• Permission to honestly name our struggles to believe

• Declaration of God for those who believe despite the struggle and doubts

• Guarantee of God to assure us he will certainly keep all his promises.

1. Permission | God gives us permission to name our struggles with honesty.  In verse 1, God comes to Abram in a vision and speaks personally to Abram.  He calls him by name and speaks tenderly to him, meeting him in his fears and anxiety.  God is his shield, his protector, and his defense!

Abram’s response to God is humble and reverent, yet honest and raw.  Abram admits honestly that there is quite a gap between His promise/word and his life – “I am childless…you have given me no offspring.” In this first recorded prayer of Abram, we have in his story, he speaks an honest complaint we would probably all feel very uncomfortable praying, especially after a vision of God!

How does God reply? God receives Abram’s prayer, acknowledges his complaint, and answers it. God gives him a visual sign and shows him the sky and the countless stars, and promises that his offspring will be that numerous. God responds to Abram by graciously meeting him where he is and by giving him a visual reminder that He will keep His word. As one author commented on this passage, “God is never shocked when you tell him the truth about your feelings” When we are feeling the gap, God gives us permission to honestly name our struggles to have faith in Him.  

2. Declaration | In verse 6, we have a declaration of God for those who believe despite the struggle, doubts, and gaps.  “Abram believed the Lord, and he (the Lord) credited it to him (Abram) as righteousness.”  This is one of the most important verses in all of the Bible. It is a declaration in which the narrator speaks to us, declaring what is happening.  

In Romans chapter 4:22, the apostle Paul says, “Therefore, it was credited to him for (as) righteousness.”  To be “righteous” is to be fully right with God, to have nothing standing between you and his favor, no sin, no unbelief.  It is to have his full approval, acceptance, and vindication of your life. All who are right with God, (who are accepted by Him, declared not guilty, who are in good standing as a part of His people) have a claim and right to all his promises. God would be unjust and unrighteous if he does not fulfill his promises to a person who is right with him.

What is being declared here is incredible! Unbelievable! God credits this to Abram as righteousness.  Credit has two meanings. On one hand, it is an accounting word; in Abram’s account with God, he has righteousness.  On the other hand, credit is a legal word; in the holy courtroom of God’s judgment, he is declared righteous! 

In Romans 4:22, Paul says this is a declaration for us! How is this possible?

22 Therefore, it was credited to him for (as) righteousness. 23 Now it was credited to him was not written for Abraham alone, 24 but also for us. It will be credited to us who believe in him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead. 25 He was delivered up for our trespasses and raised for our justification.

What are we credited when we believe? The perfect faith and obedience of Jesus. All that Jesus deserves, earned, and is his by right - is ours! Simply by faith - this is the gospel. In our “account” with God, we have the righteousness of Jesus Christ. Because of His complete and full obedience and his death for our trespasses and sins, we do not have to die for our failures.  He already did it on our account. We don’t have to live a perfect life of faithfulness and trust. He already did on our account. 

How does his righteousness get into our account with God? By faith alone. That’s how we receive the gift and that is how we get the credit!  If we are justified by faith in Christ, we never have to wonder IF the promises of God are true for us personally. 

This means that even in trials, pain, and seasons of darkness, we can know with certainty that God will make good on his promise.  He has to! We can have assurance that God is not mad at us.  He is not punishing us. He has not abandoned us and He has not forgotten about us. We can trust and wait in faith “in the gap” knowing that when we are right with God he WILL set all things right for us. 

3.  Guarantee | On top of this amazing declaration, we have a guarantee.  In verse 8, we know that Abram believes, and has faith, and God himself counted him as righteous.  But, he still has doubts and needs assurance, and asks “how can I know?” 

God’s response seems bizarre to us.  He shows Abram a bunch of animals and slices them in half and in verse 18 (key to understanding what is happening), “The Lord made a covenant with Abram.”  A covenant is a super promise.  It is a vow, a solemn obligation where you are binding yourself and your life to your promise. God guarantees his promise by way of a covenant. 

This was a common Ancient Near East practice, where they would take animals, cut them in two (“cut a covenant”), and walk through them. It was a physical picture of what they were covenanting to each other - that if I don’t keep my part of the covenant – I forfeit my life. 

What is most remarkable here is that only God passes through the pieces. It’s a one-way covenant. God is invoking a curse on himself (!) if he does not keep his covenant.  

This is God saying to Abram that if he does not keep his covenant promise, he forfeits his life. But this isn’t possible for God the creator of the stars to die! 

But yes, it is.  The gospel tells us that God did walk through the pieces.  “Christ became a curse for us”; Jesus said of the bread and wine, “this is the new (renewed) covenant in my blood”; “my body broken”. God – who became man – did forfeit his life. His body was torn and his blood was shed. He shuddered in the darkness under the curse. 

Here is the power of the one-way covenant guarantee - when God walked alone through the pieces. He was saying, “If I don’t keep my end of the covenant, I take the curse” AND “Abram, if you don’t keep your end, I take the curse”. No matter what, God alone guarantees his promise will come to pass. There is no stronger guarantee we can have. Every other religion says “You do your part, and I will do my part.”  Only the gospel says – I’ll do my part. You just trust me, even when we waver, struggle, suffer, or wonder where God is. Even if we falter in our faith, the cross is our guarantee - for all who trust in Jesus the promises cannot fail. The God who passed through “the pieces” will see it through. 

QUESTIONS:

1. What about the sermon most impacted you or left you with questions?

2. Think of the Grand Canyon.  Do you ever feel like you are on one side of the canyon and everything you know about God and His promises are on the other side, and there is a huge GAP that separates the two? What is this gap for you right now? How big is this gap? 

3. Abram honestly and transparently admits to God that there is a huge gap between His promise and his life (verse 6).  Is Abram’s posture surprising to you?  How do you feel about praying to God with such raw honesty?  

4. “God is never shocked when you tell him the truth about your feelings” and God gives us permission to honestly name our struggles to believe and have faith in Him.  Do you believe that you have this permission to go to God?  Have you ever told God how it feels to be in the gap?  Do you struggle with telling Him that you doubt His promises?

5. Application of question #4 to our church community: At any moment in time in the church, there will be those feeling the gap and struggling to have faith.  How can we be honest with each other about our struggles? What are some barriers to being open and vulnerable with each other? Practically as a member of God’s family, how can we be a friend (rather than an obstacle) to those who need support and encouragement?  

6. Martin Luther famously said, “Because if this article [of justification] stands, the church stands; if this article collapses, the church collapses.”  He claims that Romans 4:22 is the very heart of the gospel. Why would Luther make such a strong claim? Do you agree with him? Why or why not?

7. Imagine checking your bank balance and doing a double-take because you see $3 billion in your account. You did not earn it.  Then you get a text from Jeff Bezos, “A little something from me.” He earned it but it was credited to your account.  How would you feel? How does righteousness get into your account with God? Do you struggle with unbelief in this regard, and if so, how can we be certain that God will make good on His promises?

8. God makes a covenant with Abram by passing through the pieces of the animals cut in two. It is a one-way covenant where God says, “I’ll do my part, you just trust me.”  How is this good news to you? How might the Lord be calling you today to trust him more? What would it look like for you to believe the guarantee of God - that his promise to set all things right cannot fail? What difference would this make?

Faith and the Test of Prosperity // October 8, 2023

READ Gen 13:1-18

Abram means “exalted father,” and Abraham means “father of a multitude.” These two names tell us that he is the founding father of all who believe. His journey can teach us what it means to live by faith from beginning to end, especially when our faith is tested. Abram’s story is told as a series of tests. We have seen the test of his call and the test of famine, but this chapter tells us about the test of prosperity. 

1. The Test of Prosperity

The test of prosperity is one most of us would sign up for any day! But the bible cautions us. Prosperity is a gift of God, but it is also one of the most difficult tests, greatest dangers, and threats to living by faith. The passage tells us that both Abram and Lot had become so wealthy that they could not stay together. In v. 7, we see quarreling between the herdsman of Abram and Lot. They are left with a choice to separate (v.8). This choice becomes a significant turning point in both of their lives.

This test is not only one for Abram and Lot but for us today. The Bible tells us in many places that prosperity can increase our pride, decrease our reliance upon God, and even lead us to destruction. All this should be a flashing warning lot for anyone living a culture of prosperity like ours. 

2. Lot’s Choice

Abram gives Lot the first choice of the land. Lot chooses the entire plain of the Jordan for himself. His choice makes sense because it is lush, fertile, and great for livestock, but there’s something Lot didn’t see or chose to ignore. Lot decided to go to the very edge of the promised land near Sodom, where the people were described as “evil, sinning immensely against the Lord.” Lot thought something we all do: “I could be dangerously close to evil, but it will never affect me.”

Why would Lot put himself in this situation? The text reveals Lot’s perspective, who saw the land was “watered everywhere like the Lord’s garden” (v. 10). It wasn’t just about material prosperity, but a way back to the garden of Eden. Prosperity isn’t bad or sinful in itself; it’s what we believe our prosperity will do for us that leads us away from God. Here Lot looked and saw what looked like the garden of the Lord, but one thing was missing… The Lord! His choice is a lot like the first temptation in the garden: you can have all you want and even more without God and His rule, His word, or His boundaries.

3. Abram’s Choice

Abram faced the same choice as Lot, but his response was not only counterintuitive but countercultural. As the head of the family, including Lot, and the one initially promised the land, he could have simply chosen the best land for himself. Abram let go of the opportunity to advance himself, his wealth, and his riches. There are a few reasons for this:

• Abram valued his relationship with Lot more than his wealth.

• Abram valued his relationship with God more than his wealth.

No one would ever say aloud, “I value money more than my relationships,” but we often act like it in how we live. Our pursuit of security and significance ends up squeezing out all our time or leaving us so empty we have nothing left to give those we love or God Himself. Abram let it all go so he could preserve his relationship with Lot and the Lord. 

4. Our Choice

Lot chose the garden without the Lord over the Lord of the garden. The result for him was ruin. By contrast, the result of Abram’s choice was God promising to give it all back to Him - not just for him alone but for all his descendants (v.14)!

Abram here points us to his greater Son, Jesus, who passed an even greater test of prosperity and earned an even greater blessing for his family.

He left His Father's throne above,

So free, so infinite His grace.

Emptied Himself of all but love,

And bled for Adam's helpless race.

In our sin, we chose the garden without the Lord. On the cross, Jesus took the judgment of that choice in our place – a life apart from God. Now, we can come back to the Lord of the garden and find the safety, security and significance we long for in him. This sets us free from the “hook” of prosperity so we can live countercultural and counterintuitive lives like Abram. We can become poor (by letting go and being generous) so others can be enriched. By doing so, we bear witness to the One who gave it all up to restore our relationship to Him. 

QUESTIONS

1. What about the sermon most impacted you or left you with questions?

2. How can prosperity be a gift of God and also something that leads us away from God? How does this relate to our faith? How have you seen this play out in your life? 

3. Look up Deut. 8:12-18, Prov. 30:8,9, Mk. 10:23, 1 Tim. 6:9-10. What practical insights can you take from these passages regarding having prosperity or wanting more of it?

4. When Lot saw prosperity - he was blind to the evil he was getting dangerously close to (in Sodom). How can this happen in our pursuit of success, wealth or prosperity?

5. How is a desire for prosperity looking for a “way back to the garden without the Lord”? Why doesn’t it work? How is it like the bait on a hook that draws us away from God? 

6. Abram made his choice because he valued his relationships with Lot and with God more than gaining more wealth/success. How can our desire for prosperity, quest for more security, safety, significance harm our relationships? How have you seen this in your life? 

7. Jesus passed an even greater test and earned an even greater blessing for us. How does Jesus letting it all go, emptying himself, and giving everything up for us set us free from seeking prosperity as our “god”? 

8. How might Jesus be calling you to look at your own financial situation, needs and pursuits differently? How might He be calling you - like Abram - to give something up to be free and bear witness to his promise?

Listen to the sermon on SoundCloud here.

Leadership By Faith // October 1, 2023

bible passage: Genesis 14

As we celebrate the ordination and installment of our new elders at Trinity, we consider the relationship between faith and leadership. The story of Abram is not only about him learning to live a life of faith for himself but also about leading by faith as one called to bring God’s blessing to all nations. His example of leadership in a challenging context of kings, conflicts, and family provides three leadership lessons for our new elders and for us.

1. The Motive for Leadership

In the midst of a conflict, Abram is pressed to help his nephew Lot ( and others) trapped in a terrible situation. We find Abram is willing to go out on a long and dangerous journey on their behalf. Why would he go through that? 

The answer is found In v.14. The word for kin or relative is the same word for “brother” from Cain’s infamous question, “Am I my brother’s keeper?” Abram’s motive for taking leadership is simply that Lot is his brother, his family. Despite previous tension and the fact Lot got himself into this situation, he saw Lot as his brother, which meant looking out for him in all circumstances. 

Abram’s response ultimately points us to Jesus, whose motive to take leadership for our redemption was the same. He did it for his family, his “brothers and sisters” (Heb 2:14-17). The example of Jesus reminds us that church is family, and our leaders are called to be, in essence, like older brothers. Elders are the first to say, “I will be your keeper,” in the way that Abram did for Lot and the way that Jesus did for us. The motive for leadership is not whether or not others “deserve it” or even whether we “feel like it”. The motive for leadership is the value and importance we place on other people. If they are family - their needs are ours, their predicament ours. 

2. The Call to Leadership

We often think of the call to leadership as the call to take charge, get people to take orders, and be at the top while others do the hard work from which you have earned your way out. The Bible presents a very different picture of the call to leadership. Abram’s call to lead was not a call to comfort and safety but a call to risk, suffer, step out; to make himself vulnerable when he could have chosen otherwise. The other leaders (kings) mentioned in this passage risked much by going to war, but they did it to take advantage of spoils for themselves. Abram even refused the spoils of victory, displaying the sincerity of his leadership.

For Abram to be his brother’s keeper meant he had to choose situations that would bring him pain instead of staying nice and safe in Mamre, where things were well. The call of leadership for him, our elders, and all Christians is to take risks, become vulnerable, and suffer on behalf of others. The Bible teaches us that this  how God chooses to bless others through us. We see this in Jesus, for whom the call to lead was the call to serve and give his life as a ransom for many.

3. The Choice of Leadership

We carry a lot of suspicion and lack of trust these days toward leadership. It doesn’t help that stories about abuses in leadership abound, whether political, corporate, or religious. The behavior of several kings in this passage reminds us that this issue goes far back in history. Most bad leaders don’t begin with intentions to harm others, so how do they get there? The answer is recognizing that every kind of leadership comes with a choice (or temptation). What did Abram choose? He made a vow to the righteous king, Melchizedek, over the king of Sodom, who represents the world’s way of leadership. He vowed that no one except God would get the glory for his leadership success.

Immediately after his call to ministry, Jesus faced the same choice in the wilderness. He could have led by the world’s ways, taking his place as Most High over the splendor of all the world’s kingdoms by making a vow to Satan. No. Jesus made a vow to God - “Not my will, but yours be done.” He chose to empty himself of all divine rights to be made a servant, humbling himself to the lowest point possible, choosing to become a gift to bless others. 

Melchizedek taught Abram a fundamental lesson, one that is central to all Christian leadership: we are not the hero; God is. God deserves all the glory. It is not our wisdom, gifts, abilities, strategies, skills, meetings, or decisions that win the victory. Our greatest victory is pointing people to Jesus – the real hero – with our lives of faith and our leadership in faith. Our elders made significant vows before the congregation, choosing not to receive glory but to give it all to the Lord and become a blessing for others. May they be filled with the grace of God to live out this high calling and help us to do the same.

QUESTIONS

1. What about the sermon most impacted you or left you with questions?

2. What kinds of motives drive people to seek and take positions of leadership? How is Abram’s motive for taking leadership different? 

3. If leadership according to the Bible is the being the first to say in a community (family) I am my brother/sisters’ keeper, what does this look like practically?  

4. How does Hebrews 2:14-17 describe the motive of Jesus in becoming our leader for our salvation? How might this passage from Hebrews provide us with a description/traits of biblical  leadership? Come up with as many traits as you can from the text. 

5. How does a leader's willingness to suffer, be vulnerable and risk pain for you relate to your ability to trust that leader? How is this true of your ability to trust in Jesus’ leadership over your life? How should this look in church leadership? other forms of leadership (parents, workplace, coaches)?

6. It was said in the sermon - all leadership comes with a choice. 1) Use the position for your own advantage/glory OR 2) Use the position to give glory to God? Do you agree? How have you seen this play out? 

7. We see how Abram was able to make the choice to give glory to God by the intervention of Melchizedek. He reminded Abram of the central lesson of spiritual leadership - God is the hero, not us. How might this truth help us in our leadership to be a blessing to others (and not take from them)? to make it about God and not ourselves? 

Listen to the sermon on SoundCloud here.

The Journey of Faith // September 24, 2023

Bible Passage: Gen 12:4-13:4

Even though Abraham lived thousands of years before Jesus Christ, the New Testament presents his story like a map for Christians to use to follow in his footsteps as our father in the faith (Rom 4:12). Without a good map (or any map), we might find ourselves disoriented, confused, or lost along the way. This passage doesn’t give us the whole map, but it does give us three things we must know about living by faith.

Expect a Journey

What did it look like for Abram after he heard the call of God, took a radical step of faith to obey, and left everything behind? These verses tell us what it looked like – “he set out” (v. 5), “he passed through the land” (v. 6), he “moved on” (v. 8), and “journeyed by stages to the Negev” (v. 9). The passage reveals something we should expect: a “journeying-by-stages faith”. Faith is not just for the beginning of the Christian life; it’s for the whole journey. The faith that begins the journey grows, matures, and deepens as we journey through stages.

So much spiritual discouragement and disappointment comes from losing sight of the journey for the enticing idea of arrival. When Abram obeyed in faith, he did not immediately arrive in the Promised Land as if his faith was accomplished. We will see that his journey is anything but straightforward – he sinned, doubted, failed, feared, and even questioned God. For Abram, the journey of faith was a learning to trust God that lasted his whole life. The same is true for us.

Expect Trials on the Journey

What happens after Abram responds to the call of God with a radical step of faith? In our passage, we read that “there was a famine in the land” (v. 10). So Abram stays and faces it head-on with the power of faith, right? Not even close. He went to Egypt, which is never a positive step in the Bible. He also lied about his wife, Sarai, to protect himself and jeopardized her and his offspring by letting her be kidnapped. As a whole, this short passage paints a picture of a lack of faith in an unexpected trial. Instead of being a blessing to the nations, he brought further affliction to them (v. 17-20).

We might not rejoice when faced with trial, but we can certainly be encouraged by the Bible’s honesty. One of the greatest acts of faith by the “father of faith” was followed by an immediate lack of faith and failure. Like Abraham, we can expect trials and even failure, but this is never a disqualification. We are told that he resumed his journey by returning to where he started (13:1-3). On a map, we would call this a U-turn or repentance. As Christians today, we must not forget that our map does not teach that we will avoid trials but will go through them for the refining of our faith.

Expect God’s Faithfulness Throughout the Journey

This is a story of Abram and his journey, but more importantly, it’s a story about God and his faithfulness. God wasn’t going to allow Abram’s failure to thwart his covenant promise. He used Pharoah and Abram’s fearful disobedience to accomplish his purpose and advance His promise. He rescued Sarai, gave Abram more resources to get him back on track, and, more importantly, back to Him. Our God can use our lack of faith, fear, and sin to teach us, deepen our faith, and show us his grace. We see a transformation in Abram, who not only came back but “there he called upon the name of the Lord” (13:4). The Lord heard and received him back.

Expect God’s faithfulness throughout the journey. When all you can see is famine - bank on it. When you drift into a whole new territory - count on it. Even when you cave into deceit, lying, and selfishness - receive it. When we enter into a relationship with God by faith in his promise, our lives are joined to Him forever. No matter what happens, it’s never just about us but about His faithfulness.

When Paul faced his final trial, he told Timothy, "Remember Jesus Christ… This is my gospel… if we are faithless, he remains faithful, for he cannot disown himself” (2 Tim 2:8, 13). For Jesus not to be faithful to his promise would be for Jesus to disown himself, which is impossible! To be united to Jesus by faith in the gospel is to have the greatest guarantee of God's faithfulness we could ever imagine. Our lives become a demonstration of his faithfulness. We are inseparably joined to Jesus. No matter what happens on the journey, we can always expect God’s faithfulness in his promise to us, through Christ, will bring us to the end.

QUESTIONS

1. What about the sermon most impacted you or left you with questions?

2. Try to examine your own faith as a “journeying-by-stages.” What stages can you identify that (a) took you off course? (b) changed your outlook? (c) strengthened your faith? How would you describe the stage you are in now?

3. How do you feel the pressure to “arrive” spiritually? How can this mindset be damaging to our faith? How can expecting a journey help?

4. How does expecting trials in your faith help you prepare for trials in your faith?

5. It was said in the sermon that God allows trials (or tests) of faith in order to 1) show us what our faith/trust is really in and 2) to prove his faithfulness to us. Have you found this true in your journey? How so?

6. When we experience failure, why do we tend to focus on our own faithlessness instead of God’s faithfulness? How does it change things to read this story as a story of God’s faithfulness to Abram and his promise?

7. When our lives are united to Jesus by faith in the gospel, we have an astounding promise - Jesus is faithful to us even when we are faithless (lacking trust in him). To not be faithful to us would be for Jesus to disown himself.

8. What would it look like for you to believe this for the trial you are in now? for the whole (unknown) journey ahead of you? What difference would it make?

Listen to the sermon on SoundCloud here.

What Faith Is // September 17, 2023

Bible Passage: Gen 12:1-9

For most people, faith is just a common word used in a positive spiritual context. Perhaps someone has told you to have “more faith” in a situation as if it were akin to magical power. Even for Christians who claim to be saved by faith, justified by faith, and called to walk by faith, can we even describe it clearly? A great definition would help, but nothing beats a living, breathing example of faith in action. That’s where Abraham comes in. In this text, we will explore what faith is and how Abraham’s example directs us not inward but outward to the powerful promise of God’s Word. 

1. Where Does It Come From?

Last week, we learned about Abraham’s background. His family worshipped the moon god, and there were no apparent signs of faith in the one true God. Where did his faith come from suddenly at this turning point in Genesis? In 12:1, we see that it came from the call of God, who commanded him to “go.” Heb 11:8 clarifies, “By faith Abraham, when he was called, obeyed…” Abraham’s faith wasn’t the result of an inward search. In the same way, we don’t work it up or generate it. The source of genuine faith is the powerful, personal call of God in His Word. 

Don’t think to yourself, “Well, if God spoke to me as he did to Abraham…” The apostle Paul reminds us that we are in a better place now! “Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of Christ” (Rom 10:17). The Bible tells us not to expect faith or find it magically within if there is no hearing or listening to the Word- the message of Jesus Christ in the Gospel. By His word, God calls us and calls forth faith in Him.

2. What Are Its Qualities?

How do we know if faith is genuine? We must test its qualities or what makes it up, like trying to determine if something colored gold is real gold. Two essential qualities in Abraham’s initial act of faith are the same for us:

Go From - Our modern context might prevent us from seeing that Abraham’s choice to obey cost him everything - his land, his relatives, and his father’s house. Faith in God would mean faith in Him alone. Lest we think this is only the case for poor Abraham, consider Prov 3:5, “trust in the Lord with all your heart.” Or look to Jesus, who called his disciples to follow him and lose their livelihoods and lives for his mission. Faith always has a going from, and this turning of trust we call repentance - turning our faith from anything that is not God to God alone.

Go To - Where are we going, Lord? “To the land I will show you” (12:1). Heb 11:8 tells us Abraham “went out, even though he did not know where he was going.” Can’t we have a picture, a timeline, or maybe a well-delivered PowerPoint presentation? No. The only faith worth having is one whose quality has been tested. If God had shown Abraham everything he would have gone through, there is a good chance you would not be reading this today. Only in the “go to” and the “go through” do we learn to trust in God alone. 

3. How Do I Get It (And Grow It)? 

Biblical faith is not a floating spiritual force we tap into to increase obedience, force success, or generate a positive attitude. Nor is it a blind leap devoid of a reasonable nature. By definition, every instance of faith requires an object, and the strength or depth of faith depends upon that object. That object makes a promise or covenant with us, leading to a promised future. So how did Abraham have faith to “go from” and “go to?” By sheer grace, God gave Abraham the strongest possible object for his faith: a perfect promise (12:2-3) given by a perfect Promiser. 

All Abraham had to do was receive what was promised. Today, we have even more reasons to trust the Promiser and receive the promise. Gal 3:8-9 reminds us that our gracious God “proclaimed the gospel ahead of time to Abraham” so that “those who have faith are blessed with Abraham, who had faith.” The perfect promise is yours by faith in Christ, for “if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, heirs according to the promise” (Gal 3:29). You don’t need to “get faith” because you already have faith in something. The question is what is the object of your faith? What promises are you trusted will deliver you the future you want? The gospel offers us an unparalleled promise guaranteed by a Promiser who came to fulfill and guarantee it’s completion. 

QUESTIONS

1. What about the sermon most impacted you or left you with questions?

2. The way we often talk about faith, it seems many believe the source of our faith is within us. How does Abram’s story point us to a different source? How does this speak to us when we feel we can’t “garner up” the faith we want?  

3. If the source of faith is the powerful and personal call of God’s Word, then how could you be more receptive to hearing God’s Word in your life? 

4. John Newton describes faith as “a renouncing of everything we are apt to call our own.” What are some ways God is calling you to “go from” in your faith? What’s holding you back? 

5. Martin Luther King Jr. once said, “Faith is taking the first step even when you don't see the whole staircase.” Is this encouraging blind faith? Why or why not? Where is God calling you to go to something unknown in faith? 

6. The power of sin often draws us into false promises that can only be countered by a greater promise. What is a false promise or a faulty object of faith you have given into before? How is the Gospel of Jesus a far better promise? What reasons do we have to trust the promise of the gospel?