In our church, I teach Sunday School to first, second, and third grade students. My goal is to prepare them to be saved, see them accept Christ, and grow in their faith. We just finished the Romans Road to Salvation. Each week, we memorized a verse, learned the meaning of the verse, and studied its application. Now, we are learning a bible word each week. This past Sunday, our word was grace. We looked at Ephesians 2:8-9 to see that our salvation is not of works but by the grace extended by God and our faith in Him.
Ephesians 2:8-9 “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.”
While I was teaching, an 8-year-old boy asked, “How did Abraham get saved if Jesus wasn’t even born when he was alive?” This was a perfect teaching moment on the unchanging character of God. It shows God’s plan for redemption from the beginning. In Genesis 15:6, the bible teaches us that Abraham believed God, and God counted it to Him for righteousness. This belief is called faith. It is knowing something you cannot see so much that you act upon it as if it were already done.
Genesis 15:6 “And he believed in the LORD; and he counted it to him for righteousness.”
In Romans 4:3, the bible says, “For what saith the scripture? Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness.” This is a repeat of the Old Testament verse in Genesis 15:6. Abraham was looking forward to the promises of God. One of those promises was the coming of the Messiah. Abraham and any other saints who believed in the coming of the Messiah were saved before Jesus died on the cross for their sins. It was not by their keeping the law, no more than it is for us. Their keeping of the law and the sacrifice of animals were symbolic of what was to come. They did those things because they believed already. In Galatians 3:11, Paul writes, “But that no man is justified by the law in the sight of God, it is evident: for, The just shall live by faith.”
Romans 4:20-24 teaches us this truth about Abraham. “He staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief; but was strong in faith, giving glory to God; He staggered not means he did not wavier. The next verse says he was fully persuaded that what God had promised he would do. He teaches us in verses 23-24 that these things are recorded, not just to tell us of how the Old Testament saints received grace and placed their faith in Jesus, but it was a testimony for our sakes.
Romans 4:21-24 “And being fully persuaded that, what he had promised, he was able also to perform. And therefore it was imputed to him for righteousness. Now it was not written for his sake alone, that it was imputed to him; But for us also, to whom it shall be imputed, if we believe on him that raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead;”
Abraham believed in God and acted upon his faith. He believed God would give him a son, and he acted upon what was humanly impossible for a woman of 90 and a man of 100. He believed God when God told him to take Isaac, his only son, and use him as a human sacrifice unto Him. He believed in God so much that he had the knife in his hand. God had promised a great nation through Isaac. Abraham believed it so much that he knew in his heart that if he sacrificed his son as God had said to do, God would raise him from the dead. Just as Abraham was raising the knife to slay his son, God provided a ram in the thicket as a sacrifice.
Genesis 22:10-13 “And Abraham stretched forth his hand, and took the knife to slay his son. And the angel of the LORD called unto him out of heaven, and said, Abraham, Abraham: and he said, Here am I. And he said, Lay not thine hand upon the lad, neither do thou any thing unto him: for now I know that thou fearest God, seeing thou hast not withheld thy son, thine only son from me. And Abraham lifted up his eyes, and looked, and behold behind him a ram caught in a thicket by his horns: and Abraham went and took the ram, and offered him up for a burnt offering in the stead of his son.”
Abraham proved his faith in God that day. He proved his love for God by obeying something that must have been almost impossible even to attempt to obey. How much do you believe? Is your faith strong enough to pass the test? Think about the things you do in life. Do you make excuses for not reaching out to the lost, missing church, not reading and studying your bible, or spending real time in prayer? The answer to these questions does not affect you alone but all who know you, especially your children and grandchildren. They know by the things you do and say how much you love God. If you live as if you can have God and the world, you will lose, and so will they.
