01-22-2023 No Faith No Future
Text: Genesis 12:1-3; 15:1-6
As Christians we put a huge emphasis on faith. But what is faith? It’s the confidence based on past experience that God’s new and fresh surprises will most certainly be ours. Our Bible tells us we must have faith. Why is faith so important? Because we are part of a fallen world that is ruled by Satan and we rely on things that happened when we weren’t around to see them. Paul tells us in Hebrews 11:1 that “Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” Our anticipation for the fulfillment of God’s promises is dependent on things that we haven’t seen. The simple truth is that we can’t be a Christian without faith and without faith, we have no future. The birth, life, death, and resurrection of Jesus is the basis of our faith but no one on this earth today was there to see it actually happen. As Christians, we accept it because of our faith in the Word of God. Our faith includes a lot of promises from God such as eternal life and reunification with loved ones who have gone on before us. This morning I’d like to share with you how Abram’s faith affected his life in the hope we can all adopt the strength of faith that Abram showed.
The first part of our text comes from Genesis 12:1-3 which say: “(1) Now the Lord had said unto Abram, get thee out of your country, and from your kindred, and from your father’s house, unto a land that I will show you; (2) and I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you, and make your name great; and you shall be a blessing. (3) And I will bless them who bless you and curse him who curses you; and in you shall all families of the earth be blessed.” When God called Abram to leave his home in Ur and make his way to eventually settle in Canaan, He established a covenant that allowed him to be the start of a great nation what would be blessed and that other nations of the earth would be blessed through Abram’s descendants. The people of Israel, the nation that would come from Abram, were to follow God and influence those with whom they came in contact. But the greatest blessing that came from this covenant is that through Abram’s family tree, Jesus Christ was born to save all of humanity. Through Christ, people can have a personal relationship with God and be blessed beyond measure. Lucky for us, Abram accepted all that was offered By God. Paul tells us in Galatians 3:16 that God promised Abram a seed and this blessed seed became Jesus Christ.
God’s covenant with Abram shows us God cares about families and that our faith affects our families. Abram was to leave his home in Ur to go where God was to send him. Abram was to be a blessing to all families of the earth. This is a reinforcement of God’s interest in families and the importance of families to believers. Recall how God called Noah and his family to the safety of the Ark in Genesis 7:1. We read in Acts 16:31 when Paul and Silas were imprisoned that the Philippian jailer was offered salvation for him and his family.
The second part of our text is found in Genesis 15:1-6 which reads: “(1) After these things the Word of the Lord came unto Abram in a vision saying: Fear not Abram, I am your shield and your exceeding great reward. (2) And Abram said, Lord God what will you give me seeing I go childless, and the steward of my house is this Eliezer of Damascus? (3) And Abram said: behold to me You have given no seed and lo, one born in my house is my heir? (4) And behold the Word of the Lord came unto him saying: This shall not be your heir but he who shall come forth out of your own bowels shall be your heir. (5) And He [God] brought him forth abroad, and said: Look now toward Heaven, and tell the stars, if you be able to number them; and He [God] said unto him, so shall your seed be. (6) And he believed in the Lord; and He [God] counted it to him for righteousness.”
Remember, Abram and his wife were well beyond the childbearing years and never had children of their own so as we see in verse 3, Abram struggled with the part of the covenant about having a family. Then in verses 4-5 we’re shown how our faith affects our futures. Because he was childless Abram thought that perhaps his house stewart would be his heir because the man was born there, but God had other plans. He told Abram that his seed will be as many as the stars in the heavens and so it is. Then we see in verse 6 how Abram chose to believe God’s promises about his future and how God then counted him as righteous. And we know God kept his promise to give them a son in spite of their advanced age. They Isaac brought Isaac into this world.
This passage is an extremely important Scripture as we see that by believing and trusting in the Lord, we experience the meaning of ‘Justification by Faith.’ Abram was saved by grace through faith, not by his good works. There is no other way of Salvation anywhere in the Bible. Believing in God doesn’t get you into Heaven. God demands righteousness; however, it is the righteousness comes by faith and acceptance of Christ and Christ alone. Anything else is self-righteousness and completely unacceptable to God. Nonbelievers do good to satisfy their own egos and no other reason. When the sinner believes God’s testimony about His Beloved Son, the sinners are not only declared righteous, they are also made children and heirs of the Living God. It’s our faith that redeems us in the sight of God. Doing good or being good is not going to get anyone to Heaven. It’s only faith and trust in Jesus and His sacrifice on the cross that will accomplish that.
Our faith absolutely affects our future. If Abram didn’t have faith and refused to accept what God was offering him, he wouldn’t have had the blessings from God which included being a father, being taken to the promised land in Canaan, becoming the patriarch to descendants who would be a blessing and numbered as the stars, his name would become great and remembered (which it is!). This all happened because of Abram’s faith in the promises of God. And you know what? Abram’s God is also our God.
We see in verse 6 that it was faith that brought Abram into a right relationship with God. Abram was justified before God. Because of his faith, God counted Abram as righteous allowing him to receive all of God’s promises. Romans 3:23 reminds us that we are all sinners and come short of the glory of God. But we are justified or made clean, by God’s grace through the redemption that came with Jesus’ death on the cross. All we need do is, like Abram, is accept on faith what God is offering. Once we do that and allow Jesus to rule our hearts and minds, we become an example to our families and all with whom we have contact of how faith in Jesus as our Savoir can change us which will then open a door for us to explain all that awaits forgiven sinners.
So, this morning, I ask each of you if your faith is strong enough to be an example to your families and if they can truly see Christ in you. Does your faith make you confident about your future – will you be going to Heaven or spend eternity in Hell? And finally, do you have fellowship with God through your faith in Jesus – do you follow His example as you live your life? Do you see and feel Him working in your life each and every day? If you can answer yes to these questions, you have a strong faith-based relationship with God and your future is secured. If you can’t answer yes all of these questions, it’s imperative that you examine your life and make needed changes so that you, like Abram, can be counted as righteous and partake of all the promises God offers of love, peace, protection, and eternal life. Without faith, there is no future that you will want part of.
May God bless you richly today and all the days ahead of you.