Abraham Obeys God

 

Our text for this morning’s bulletin on the characteristic of obedience is a famous passage among Christians, Gen. 22:1-19. This is the recorded event of Abraham taking Isaac to the mountains of Moriah to offer him in sacrifice to God. There are so many matters of obedience here upon which I would love to “wax eloquent” (to use an old phrase). Tomorrow, we will consider more. However, today we will concentrate our study around one question that can arise from this event. I pray this is helpful to you.

 

Why did God give this command? I can easily understand commands that require, courteous, kind, ethical or moral behavior toward our fellow man. I can understand instructions that have provide some logical flow or order to a process such as how to worship. But this command seems to have had no real purpose from the human standpoint.  Here is what I mean. Our God is the all-knowing God, who sees things before they happen (witness the fulfillment of every prophecy), before whom “all things are naked and open” (Heb. 4:13), who can read the hearts of men (Jn. 2:24-25; 1 Jn. 3:20; Prov. 24:12). You know that after about 120 years of watching and dealing with Abraham, God knew he was faithful and God already knew that Abraham would obey this command.  Why not simply accept the faith that He could read in Moses’ heart without going through the theatrics of this sacrifice that God knew He was never going to allow anyway?

 

Let me start by saying that I cannot answer that question. No one can see the mind of God and, unless He has revealed His thoughts to us in scripture, we cannot know. But let me ask you a question to contemplate. Do you believe for a moment, that if Abraham had refused to obey what God told him to do, that God would still have counted him faithful? His faith was shown by his works (James 2:18). God could read his heart but still did not count him faithful without his obedient works. The point of James 2:18-22 is that no successful argument for faith can be made apart from the evidence of works because there is no real faith without real works. Abraham was justified by works that issued from his faith (James 2:21-22).

 

But there is a modern similarity in this command to Abraham and to commands that men are given today. Men today are commanded to be baptized (Mt. 28:19; Acts 2:38; Acts 22:16) and are told that obedience in baptism is the answer or demand of their faith toward God (1 Pet. 3:21; Col. 2:12). And that work of faith “avails” (Gal. 5:6), puts us among the saved (Heb. 5:8-9). When we are told today that it is what is in our heart that counts, that is right, but only if it issues from our hearts into obedient action. Consider the chief rulers that believed but were afraid to act on what their heart told them (Jn. 12:42).

 

Many Christians also miss this lesson from Abraham and James. The illustration that James uses of dead faith is of a Christian who has the welfare of another in his heart, but who does not go out of his way to take care of the need.  The thought is nice, but worthless – no profit to the needy. Likewise, friends, if God has commanded a thing – evangelism, pure speech, faithful worship, regular study, etc., our claim of faithfulness could only be substantiated by our action in following “every word that proceeds from the mouth of God” (Mt. 4:4).

 

We will learn more from Abraham’s obedience in our next study. Today, obey all the way.

   

Mike Glenn