“And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.” (Hebrews 11:6)
“You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus, for all of you who were baptised into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ.” (Galatians 3:26-27)
“What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ — the righteousness that comes from God and is by faith.” (Philippians 3:8-9)
Faith Responds in Obedience
Faith is essential if we are to be right with God. But what does faith mean?
Faith means to trust, to believe. And in Abraham we have a model for that type of faith. His life is punctuated with demonstrations of faith, trust, belief in God.
He was told by God to leave his home and go to a foreign land:
“By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going.” (Hebrews 11:8) That’s faith.
Faith Believes the Impossible
God promised Abraham a son. Time passed and the promise remained unfulfilled. Abraham was now 99 years old and his wife, Sarah, was 90. God spoke again to him again about the promise of a son. Though surrounded by physical impossibilities, Abraham had faith that what God said would indeed come to pass:
“By faith Abraham, even though he was past age — and Sarah herself was barren — was enabled to become a father because he considered him faithful who had made the promise.” (Hebrews 11:11) That’s faith!
And when Isaac was grown, Abraham was commanded to offer him as a sacrifice.
“By faith Abraham, when God tested him, offered Isaac as a sacrifice.” (Hebrews 11:17)
God never allowed Abraham to take the young boy’s life, though Abraham was prepared to do so, and for this reason Abraham is called “God’s friend”. (James 2:23) That’s faith!
The type of faith Abraham displayed is the kind of faith we are to have. It is a faith that trusts in God, a faith that believes God, a faith that obeys God.