Pastor: Paul D. Nolting

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Hymns: 149; 40; 373:1-5; 151:1-2,6-7

WELCOME in the name of our Savior God, who has delivered us by grace through faith in Jesus Christ alone!

Pre-Service meditation: Psalm 47

Pre-Service prayer:

Responsive Psalm Reading: Psalm 47:8-9; 84:11-12

P: God reigns over the nations;

P: The princes of the people have gathered together, the people of the God of Abraham:

P: For the Lord God is a sun and shield;

P: No good thing will He withhold from those who walk uprightly.

P: Glory be to God!

Old Testament Reading: Genesis 12:1-8

SERMON:

Would the real Abraham please step forward! No, Abraham never was a contestant on a television game show. Yet, given the confusion that exists regarding Abraham within the three world religions of Judaism, Islam, and Christianity, there sure is a need to understand the religious role Abraham actually played and continues to play to this day. In God’s eyes is Abraham really the "father" of the Jewish nation, the epitome of good works, whose merits were so great that they could be credited to his physical descendants for thousands of years? In God’s eyes is he rather the "father" of the Arab nations through his son Ishmael, and one of the great prophets of Allah, espousing the work-righteous approach to salvation revealed in the Five Pillars of Islam? Or in God’s eyes, is he in reality the "father" of all believers in Christ, no matter what their ethnic origin—an example to all of God’s promise that eternal salvation is bestowed by grace through faith?

St. Paul deals with the religious role and significance of Abraham in our text. Under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, he points out very clearly that ABRAHAM IS OUR FATHER, that is, the "father" of every believing Christian. He assures us that Abraham was the object of God’s grace and that he is an example of justification by faith!

Yes, Abraham was the object of God’s grace. In chapter three of his letter to the Romans, St. Paul forcefully defends the proposition that, "By the deeds of the law no flesh will be justified in His (that is, God’s) sight" (Romans 3:20a). The purpose of the law, St. Paul states, is not to save us, but rather to reveal to us our sin, and so our need for a Savior (cf. Romans 3:20b). He then goes on to reveal God’s plan for our salvation—a plan whereby we are "freely justified by His (that is, God’s) grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus" (Romans 3:24). Now, for St. Paul’s claims to have any validity at all in the eyes of the Jewish readers of his day, or we might say in the eyes of Jewish or Islamic readers of our day, his propositions had to apply to Abraham. He was and is, in their eyes, the "father" of their faiths. But did those propositions apply? Was Abraham, too, a sinner in need of a Savior? Was Abraham in need of God’s grace, and did Jesus Christ die to remove the sins of Abraham also?

Those very thoughts would have unsettling to the Jews of St. Paul’s days, even as they are to Jews and Muslims today. Abraham is viewed within Judaism as being an individual who never sinned. Jewish traditions suggest that Abraham passed through ten trials perfectly and that God viewed his faithfulness as a meritorious work worthy of God’s distinct blessing. They believe that God revealed the Mosaic Law to Abraham in a special revelation hundreds of years before it was given to Moses on Mount Sinai, and that he kept it perfectly. Abraham is viewed within Islam in somewhat of a similar way. He is considered a prophet of Allah, who chose to obey and was successful in doing so, thus meriting Allah’s favor and entrance into a blessed afterlife.

St. Paul takes issue with this work-righteous view of Abraham! He asks, "What then shall we say that Abraham our father has found according to the flesh? For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something of which to boast, but not before God." Why could Abraham not boast before God? The reason lies in the fact that he was not perfect, as some suggest, nor could he exercise his will to the extent necessary to please God, as others suggest. God’s law demands of every human being absolute perfection—100% of the time, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, for as many years as we live! If you only read the history of Abraham, you will see that this was not the case in Abraham’s life. God called Abraham to faith out of a life of idolatry (cf. Joshua 24:14-15). Upon at least two occasions, Abraham lied about his relationship with his wife (cf. Genesis 12,20). But what is true about Abraham is what the Scriptures say, "Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to Him for righteousness!" In spite of his sins, God viewed Abraham as being righteous in view of his faith. This was entirely a matter of God’s "grace"—that love of God was freely given and received by Abraham in faith as he trusted in the promised Savior. It was not a matter of works—wages God owed Abraham. No, St. Paul says, God "justifies the ungodly!" That is right—you heard it. God "justifies the ungodly." Jesus died for the sins of the whole world, even though the whole world was ungodly. In this way the punishment those sins deserved was endured, and those sins removed. Abraham was an object of God’s grace!

Why is that important to you and to me today in twenty-first century America? First of all, it is important because we need to understand Abraham and his religious role, if we are to share the gospel with Jewish and Muslim friends, neighbors, and relatives. God has reconciled the world to Himself in Christ Jesus, and has called upon us to be His ambassadors to share the message with everyone. We need to know the message and be able to present it in a convincing way with others! Secondly, it is important for understanding Abraham and his religious role, clarifies for us our personal relationship with God, for just like Abraham we, too, are objects of God’s grace. When God’s law confronts our lives, we see ourselves as we truly are. We are not sinless, nor are we capable of always making the right decisions and following our God in such a way that we can ever merit eternal life. No, when measured by God’s law, we fail to pass His test of perfection. How, then, can we ever be certain of our salvation? How can we live happy and confident lives? The answer to those questions lies in the "grace" of God. God sent Jesus to live and to die for us—we who are ungodly sinners. Like Abraham, we are the objects of God’s grace—justified by God on the basis of the redemption completed by Jesus Christ!

My dear friends, ABRAHAM IS OUR FATHER! He was the object of God’s grace, as we have just seen. He is also an example of justification by faith! How does the righteousness of the holy Son of God become our own? How do we receive the benefits of the sufferings and death of Jesus Christ, which removed our sins? Remember that St. Paul quoted the Old Testament scriptures, which say, "Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness" (cf. Genesis 15:6). He then goes on to say, "Now to him who does not work but believes on Him who justified the ungodly, his faith is accounted for righteousness." We received the righteousness of the Son of God by faith. We are assured of the blessings of our forgiveness when we believe in the atoning sacrifice of Jesus.

St. Paul goes on to explain that the promise to Abraham was never intended to be a promise based on the law, but rather upon the promise of the Savior. Any relationship with God based on the law will result in the wrath of God being pronounced upon the sins of man. So it was for Abraham, and so it is for us. God is holy and cannot abide sin. It is only when sin is removed from the picture through the redemptive work of God’s promised Christ that anyone can stand before God as holy. It is only when the basis of anyone’s relationship with God is grace and not the law, that all transgressions are removed. It is only when individuals are led by the Spirit of God to embrace Jesus Christ by faith that the promises of God become "sure." It is only such individuals—those who embrace Jesus Christ by faith—who can claim Abraham as "father." As St. Paul in an earlier epistle explained to the Galatians, "You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus…. And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise" (3:26,29), even so now he assures the Romans, "Abraham…is the father of us all."

Why was justification by faith important to Abraham? Why is it important to us today? The reason lies in the nature of the relationship that exists between a believer and God. When an individual believes in salvation by works, then his relationship with God will always involve uncertainty. There were always be questions—what must I do to be saved, how well do I have to do it, have I done enough, what will happen on the last day? Such questions mean that the bottom line of my relationship with God is fear. I will strive to do what God wants, but only because I am afraid of what will happen if I do not. On the other hand, when we are led by the Spirit of God to embrace the grace and forgiveness of God provided in Christ Jesus, we can have absolute confidence and certainty with regard to our relationship with God and our eternal destiny. God’s grace is undeserved love. Forgiveness and eternal life are gifts from God—ours as a result of God’s promises. Consequently, in Abraham’s case, he could have absolute confidence in God that He would fulfill His promise to make of him a large nation. God did cause Sarah, who was beyond the age of childbearing, to have a child and so to fulfill God’s promise of an heir—an heir through whom the promised Savior eventually came. For you and for me—that same powerful God, "who gives life to the dead and calls those things which do not exist as though they did," can be trusted. He can, will, and does keep His promises to us.

Therefore, may we with joy claim Abraham as our father. Like him, we are the objects of God's grace. Like him, we have been justified by faith in Jesus Christ. Salvation is ours. Let us live with confidence. Amen.