“The Expression of our Faith”
According to my severely limited understanding of it,
eternity is not defined accurately as “existence for a very long time.” Eternity is existence without time; without an eventual end; without measure; without
schedule limitations; without any need for hurrying; without a final destination. If
a grain of sand represented the size of all of history (from creation until the end of the millennial kingdom of Christ),
then eternity would still be infinitely larger (to such an extent that, the size of our whole globe would be inadequate to
describe the comparison accurately). Thus, the events of this life are infinitesimally
miniscule in contrast to the events occurring after we pass through the doors of death.
It is for this reason that we must know of a certainty where we will spend our eternity. Mark 8:36, “What shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole
world, and lose his own soul?” Surely we can endure the worst of fates in
this brief period of time on earth, if we have absolute confidence of a permanent rest in the bosom of the Father in heaven
after our trials here are over.
I would be a fool to dive blindfolded through a
trap door with no inkling of an idea of what is under that opening. So too a
man is a total fool who gambles flippantly with his everlasting soul. We must
be positive about what awaits us after our decease. Hence, we must be assured
of how we are to go about affecting that destination which results (presumably)
from how we live our lives here and now.
Assuming that the Bible is true (and I do); assuming
that it came directly from God (and I do); assuming that God is a good, honest and benevolent Creator (and I do) – then by
faith we are to take Him at His word. By faith we are confident that He has truthfully
described for us the hereafter:
1. Damnation: hell and then the torments of the eternal lake of fire for all those who do not come
to God in humble faith before their time on earth is through. “The wicked shall be turned into hell…” (Psalm 9:17). “Whosoever is not found written in the book of life will be cast
into the lake of fire” (Revelation 20:15).
2. Blessedness: heaven and the delights of the eternal kingdom of God for those of us who do come to
God in repentance and belief while He still invites us. “Let not your heart be troubled: you believe in God, believe also in Me. In
My Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I
go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will
come again, and receive you unto Myself; that where I am, there you may be also” (John 14:1-3). “You will show me the path of life: in Your presence is fullness
of joy; at Your right hand there are pleasures for evermore” (Psalm 16:11).
It’s all as simple as Deuteronomy 30:19 records. God said, “I have set before you life and death,
blessing and cursing: therefore choose life.” Jesus (who is the way, the
truth and the life) is the ONLY way to the Father. There is no other name given
among men whereby we must be saved. We chose to yield to Him or we remain in
the just condemnation that Adam plunged us all into. Not morality, civility,
sincerity nor sacrifice is sufficient to merit our entrance into God’s presence; only the applied blood of Christ will do
the trick. Faith in His finished work (not our continual efforts) garners for
us a gift of righteousness and perfection that can be obtained no other way. Hallelujah! He is sufficient!
Yet the glories of this arrangement are easily
hidden from our view (at times) as we study the regeneration of some biblical saints.
Indeed, anyone who comes to God must do so in faith. One must believe
that God exists and that He rewards those who respond to His promptings (by seeking after Him). Without faith we can’t possibly bring God any pleasure. Without
faith we can’t have everlasting life.
Doctrinally – faith is a gift from God; faith is
a potential product of hearing the truth of the Word of God; faith is an attitude that is naturally demonstrated in actions;
faith is the opposite of independence, self-sufficiency, self-reliance, self-government and self-determination. In a word… faith in God is the nemesis of idolatry. Anyone
who worships the creature rather than the Creator does so in rebellion and defiance of the necessity of child-like trust directed
toward Jehovah.
Practically – God has “attempted” to regain our
attention and confidence by revealing Himself to us in our conscience, in nature, in His Word, in His Son, in His people and
by His Spirit. Anyone who readily submits to the true light that is directed
at them (regardless of its source) is well on their way to that mystical and mysterious new birth experience which guarantees
adoption into the family of God.
The problem that a Bible student has in applying
all of this good information (to the story of the conversion of individual characters in Biblical accounts) is found in the
mistake of focusing upon the complexity of God’s infinite nature rather than upon the simplicity of God’s plan of salvation. Not that it is wrong to examine the awesome intricacies of God’s ways (as much as
He has uncovered them for us), but we must remember that in Luke 18:17 Jesus declared, “Whosoever
will not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will in no wise enter therein.”
Faith (by nature) requires dependence upon the knowledge of another being (God) rather than knowledge within one’s
own mind. (Of course, faith in anyone or anything other than God is not
actually faith at all, it is utter foolishness).
Children just trust! They may have an extremely limited amount of information about what an adult is leading them to do – yet
they believe, many times without question… or even if they have questions, they will often follow with little or no good answer
to their questions.
I’ve preached messages on the salvation of Abel, Enoch,
Noah, Abraham and Sarah from Hebrews 11. Currently I’m looking at the faith of
Isaac. Was his faith a saving faith? Well,
if Jehovah is known as the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob – I would gather that Isaac the patriarch believed to the saving
of his soul. God is the God of the living, not of the dead – hence Isaac will
be resurrected unto life. I am Isaac’s brother in the faith. We will spend eternity together with the Savior – the Jewish Messiah; the Head of the church.
There is only one true gospel. It has been presented in a tremendous multiplicity of forms, yet it is always the same gospel. In the garden it was presented in very specific (yet incredibly succinct) terms. Amazingly, God was addressing Lucifer in this first presentation of the
plan of redemption. Genesis 3:14 & 15, “The
LORD God said unto the serpent, ‘Because you have done this, you are cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the
field; upon your belly you will go, and dust you will eat all the days of your life: and I will put enmity between you and
the woman, and between your seed and her Seed; It will bruise your head, and you will bruise His
heel.’” Hmm… not a lot
to go on there, eh? Yet evidently this statement (combined with the blood that
was shed in the making of coats for Adam and Eve) was about all Abel had to base his faith upon, yet according to Hebrews
11 his “excellent sacrifice” was an expression of adequate faith. By that firstling of his flock he established a testimony of faith and thereby “…he obtained witness that he was righteous…” Abel was justified by
faith. Did he understand the totality of soteriology – it’s very doubtful. He obeyed God’s example, knowing only that submission to God’s demand was His only
hope. Did he see the cross; the Christ; the crown? only in shadowy symbolism
at best. He seems to have had so little information – yet he was saved!
Now, consider Isaac. Again, Hebrews 11 sheds light on the expression of His confidence in God. Verse
20 says, “By faith Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau concerning
things to come.”
Patiently examine this passage:
Genesis 25:20-23, “Isaac
was forty years old when he took Rebecca to wife… And Isaac entreated the
LORD for his wife, because she was barren: and the LORD was entreated of him, and Rebecca his wife conceived. And the children struggled together within her; and she said, ‘If it be so, why am I thus?’ And she went
to enquire of the LORD. And the LORD said unto her, ‘Two nations are in your
womb, and two manner of people shall be separated from your bowels; and the one people shall be stronger than the other people;
and the elder will serve the younger.’”
In that passage it is apparent that Isaac expressed
faith in God by seeking to Him for children. One would think that the author
of Hebrews would have used that story as his example of Isaac’s faith. Instead,
I he used a slightly less sanctimonious occasion (which we find recorded in Genesis 27:32-40).
“Isaac said,
‘Who are you?’ And he said, ‘I am your son, your firstborn Esau.’ And Isaac trembled very exceedingly, and said, ‘Who? Where is he that has taken venison, and brought it
me, and I have eaten of all before you came, and have blessed him? Yea, and he shall be blessed.’ And when Esau heard the words of his father, he cried with a great and exceeding bitter
cry, and said unto his father, ‘Bless me, even me also, O my father. And he said,
‘Your brother came with subtlety, and has taken away your blessing. And Esau
said, ‘Is not he rightly named Jacob? For he has supplanted me these two times:
he took away my birthright; and, behold, now he has taken away my blessing.’ And
he said, ‘Have you not reserved a blessing for me?’ Isaac answered and said unto Esau, ‘Behold, I have made Jacob your lord,
and all his brethren have I given to him for servants; and with corn and wine have I sustained him: and what shall I do now
unto you, my son?’ And Esau said unto his father, ‘Have you but one blessing,
my father? Bless me, even me also, O my father.’ And
Esau lifted up his voice, and wept. And Isaac his father answered and said unto
him, ‘Behold, thy dwelling shall be the fatness of the earth, and of the dew of heaven from above; and by your sword you shall
live, and shall serve your brother; and it shall come to pass when you shalt have the dominion, that you will break his yoke
from off your neck.”
Isaac was old and blind on this occasion. His wife and younger son had deceived him. His eldest son
was bitter, angry and murderously dangerous. Yet, in the midst of that turmoil
Isaac recognized that he had innocently blessed Jacob with a true blessing from the Sovereign hand of the Almighty God; the
God who knew every detail of the past, present and future. Isaac did not attempt
to renege on his blessing, for he had given it as the anointed head of the family under inspiration from on High. Though Jacob was deceptive and Esau was Isaac’s preferred son, Isaac blessed them prophetically, believing
that God was the rewarder of those who diligently seek Him. Doubtless he recalled
to his mind the words that God had given to Rebecca many years before, “…the elder
will serve the younger.” Concerning “things
to come” – Isaac humbly accepted God’s mysterious “interference” into his simple, selfish and misguided intentions. It was a critical moment for Isaac. When
push came to shove he relinquished his own desires and placed his faith in the only wise God.
Like an ignorant child, he correctly trusted One who knew (better than he did) what needed to be done.
According to the book of Hebrews, Isaac has a good
report; a righteous record; an acceptable life, why? Because he looked with eyes
of faith at the invisible God of his father Abraham and willingly relied upon Him to do righteously in mercy and justice despite
constant human errors.
Isaac had been used by God (Genesis 22) as a young
man to powerfully foreshadow the redemption story; the story of God giving His only begotten son. Isaac had even heard Abraham’s comforting voice utter those deep theological words, “My son, God will provide Himself a lamb…” Yet, there was still that
precise instance in which he was called upon to demonstrate saving faith. He
did so in a simple, yet stunning, fashion.
I don’t know the moment of his conversion any more
than I know the moment of my own conversion. Was I saved during the sermon, the
moment I decided to step out into the isle, when I prayed, when I testified of my faith, while I was being baptized, sometime
earlier or some time later? I think I know.
I’m not sure though. I do know doctrinally. I do not know experientially. I do know that I am saved right
now. I do know that I will always continue to be a saved child of God. But the moment of my new birth is known only by the God who saved me.
It is not important that I know it, only that I know Him who does know it.
What symbols of Isaac’s election can we find from
his life? From Isaac’s circumcision eight days after his birth, to his submission
on a mount in Moriah, to his meditation on his wedding day, to God’s blessings upon him, to his visions of God, to his sacrifices
to God, to his public reputation as a man of God, to his prayer for children for his wife, to his blessing of his twins, until
his yielding up of the ghost after sojourning in Canaan for 180 years… in all of this we see God’s deliberate work in the
life of this man. We see that he responded positively to God’s advances. Still, Hebrews says that by faith he blessed Jacob and Esau concerning things to come… Isaac’s spiritual prognostications about his boys did indeed come to pass, but that
is not the emphasis of the passage (it is only proof of Isaac’s legitimacy).
The emphasis is in the things-to-come-kind-of-faith which
was expressed by Isaac. The future seems to always arise where faith is required. This brings me back to the topic of ETERNITY.
Eternal things are just about as futuristic as one can possibly get. Hebrews
11:6 establishes a concrete principle, “Without faith it is impossible to please Him:
for he that comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him.” He is a rewarder… (Sounds like a later kind of thing to me). If a person humbly comes to Him for help; for aide; for salvation – then they will
get the reward declared by the Father to be bestowed upon believers. Do you believe
that? Be careful! God tests us. What was Abel’s reward? What was Deacon
Stephen’s reward? What is Peggy Davenport’s reward? Peggy’s faith in Jesus is stronger than anyone else’s that I have ever met personally… yet, still in her
40’s, she lies crippled for life in a nursing home, wishing God would take her to be with her husband (who escaped from this
planet and took up residence in a mansion in heaven as a result of the same accident that smashed Peggy’s body and her life).
See – faith involves seeing the invisible, knowing
that which unknowable and loving The One we have never met. It includes living
entirely for a Person from a different demission, investing in a city we’ve not visited and sacrificing sure things for promises
as yet unfulfilled. Only a child would live this way.
How did you first express your faith in God? How are you demonstrating your reliance upon Him today? Could
God write a verse about you and fit it appropriately into Hebrews 11? Are you
and I adding our lives justly to the list of witness whose lives testify of the efficacy of faith in God. Can God be trusted? Does your life serve as evidence that
He can be depended on? Even when troubles would seem to declare that God is nowhere
to be found or that He doesn’t keep His word – can the reputation of your faith vouch for God’s steadfast faithfulness?
Today, Isaac is gone.
Jesus has ascended back to His Father. The apostles have departed. Great spiritual warriors like Martin Luther, John Bunyan and David Livingston are
dead. We are the light of the world!
Are we shinning? Is our faith visible?
Can your neighbor see your faith? Do people know where you stand? Is my fellowship with God evident? Are
we expressing the reality of redemption in a tangible form that can be tested and examined by the world around us?
Someone’s eternal soul is hanging in the balance, awaiting
your faith filled influence and mine…
