WHAT IS THE FAITH
OF ABRAHAM?
by James Mattison
As
many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on
Christ... and if ye be Christ’s, then are ye Abraham’s
seed, and heirs according to the promise”
(Gal.
3:27,29).
What
does the scripture tell us? It says that if one is
baptized into Christ, he has but on Christ, or become a
Christian. Then, when you have become a Christian, you are a
true descendant of Abraham, and an heir of the promise. Now
this does not mean, that we are Jews. Abraham himself was not
a Jew. He was a Chaldean and came from Ur of the Chaldees.
The
outstanding thing about Abraham was his faith. He developed a
faith that was accounted perfect in God’s eyes. David
developed the same kind of faith. Jesus had perfect faith
also, and to a greater degree than either Abraham or David,
for Jesus was God’s own Son.
We
are interested in having the same kind of faith Abraham had
because this verse declares that, if we belong to Christ, we
have something in common with Abraham, and will be heirs of
great promise.
What
kind of faith did Abraham have? In the first place, he left
his home in Ur of the Chaldees and traveled to a strange
country because he believed God. God had told him that if he
would move to a far country, even Palestine, God would make
him into a great nation, would bless him, would make his name
great, and he would be a blessing to many people. Because
Abraham believed, he went.
Later,
when Abraham had a son, God asked him to offer that son as a
sacrifice upon an altar. Though Abraham was deeply tested in
this, he did not falter. He did as God had commanded. He
obeyed God. In Abraham’s mind, Isaac was as good as dead
because God had commanded him to slay Isaac. We know that God
stayed Abraham’s hand as the knife was uplifted, and a
ram was provided for the offering. The New Testament tells us
that the reason Abraham was willing to obey God in this
matter of slaying his son was because Abraham believed that
God was able to resurrect Isaac from the dead. (Heb. 11:19.)
Abraham’s life was one experience after another of
believing God and obeying God. Because he had such great
faith in God and was so obedient to God, Abraham’s faith
was counted to him for righteousness.
Because
Abraham had such great faith, he is called the father of the
faithful in the New Testament. If we, then, have as much
faith as Abraham had, we would have the faith of Abraham. This
is exactly what Romans 4:11, 12, 13, and 16 says: “He
received the sign of circumcision, a seal of the
righteousness of the faith which he had yet being
uncircumcised: that he might be the father of all them
that believe, though they be not circumcised; that
righteousness might be imputed unto them also; the father
of circumcision to them who are not of the circumcision only,
but who also walk in the steps of that faith of our father
Abraham, which he had being yet uncircumcised. For the
promise, that he should be the heir of the world was not to
Abraham, or to his seed, through the law, but through the
righteousness of faith . . . . Therefore it is of faith that
it might be by grace; to the end the promise might be sure to
all the seed; not to that only which is of the law, but to
that also which is of the faith of Abraham; who is the
father of us all.”
There
are two main truths we see here. First, Abraham is the father
of all godly people; that is, the father of all faithful
people in this matter of having faith. Second, because of his
faith, God made him a promise. That promise is here stated in
Romans 4:13: Abraham is to be heir of the world; he is to
inherit the earth. Verse sixteen adds that all who have the
faith of Abraham come under this promise. They also shall
inherit the earth.
Now
we are beginning to see into the depths of God’s meaning
when He said, “If ye be Christ’s, then are ye
Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.”
Let
us look a little further into the promises God made to
Abraham, for there were several promises that God made to
him. According to Galatians 3:29, any promise that God made
to Abraham comes to us through Jesus Christ.
Turn
first to Genesis 13:14 and 15. God told Abraham, “Lift
us now thine eyes, and look from the place where thou art
northward, and southward, and eastward, and westward: for all
the land which thou seest, to thee will I give it, and to thy
seed for ever.” This promise included two things:
inheritance, and everlasting life. God said Abraham was to
inherit land, and that inheritance was to last forever.
Here,
then, are two promises that every Christian can claim—inheritance
in the earth, and eternal life (to be given when that
inheritance is given to us). Jesus gave His people the same
promise in Matthew 5:5. “Blessed are the meek,
for they shall inherit the earth.” Some would tell us
today that we are going to heaven to live forever, but Jesus
said that His people would inherit the earth. He further
said, in Revelation 5:9, 10, that His people would reign on
the earth. Then He said that they would reign a thousand
years. By putting these together it is easy to see that our
hope is in the coming of Jesus to give us the earth, to give
us eternal life, and permit us to reign with Him a thousand
years. This is the Bible hope. Our part in these promises
depends upon our faith.
Another
promise that God gave Abraham is found in Genesis 22:17 and
18. It concerned a Seed that Abraham would have. Notice that
the passage mentions two seeds: a multitudinous seed and a
single Seed. We will read only about the single Seed, who was
Jesus Christ. “Thy seed shall possess the gate of his
enemies; and in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth
be blessed.”
Now
you say, “How do you know this is speaking of Christ?”
The answer is found in Galatians 3:16:
“Now
to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He saith
not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, and
to thy seed, which is Christ. “
So
the promises were made to Abraham and his seed. Jesus was
Abraham’s seed, and we are Abraham’s seed if we are
in Jesus.
Now
these promises that God has made to the faithful are of great
value. The object of Jesus’ life was to confirm these
promises. This is recorded in Romans 15:18: “Now I say
that Jesus Christ was a minister of the circumcision for the
truth of God, to confirm the promises made unto the
fathers.”
God
has made what promises to us for the future? We all know that
He will today give the “faithful” peace and
comfort, strength and encouragement, and will guide each one
through life. But what has God promised to His people for
eternity? These promises we have read are the promises God
has made to His people for eternity: eternal life and eternal
inheritance of the earth. Jesus confirmed them. He promises
us the same promises. These promises are sure.
Jesus
is the Seed of Abraham and will possess the gate of His
enemies. Jesus shall rule over this earth when He comes.
Hearken to the signs of the times, my friends, for Jesus’
return is at hand. Repent and do the first works, or else you
must suffer the wrath of God.
So,
you see that it is important to have faith in God and faith
in God’s promises. Abraham is not more important than
Jesus Christ our Saviour. God had a place for them both in
His plan for us. He gave the promises to Abraham and his
seed. Christ is the Seed of Abraham. Through Christ we become
heirs of God’s promises to Abraham — eternal
inheritance and eternal life. This is why the Bible speaks of
those who have “the faith of Abraham” as being
heirs of the promises.