The one I'm writing about here is Pastor Robert's sermon from September 22nd, which you can listen to here. I highly recommend doing so before you read any further.
I'll wait.
The core of this sermon is Abraham's story in Genesis, as a picture of faith. As with so many "Christianese" words, faith is a difficult concept to nail down, and it means something entirely different in common usage than it does in Christian usage. A few key points from this sermon:
- Biblical faith is in a Who, not a what. I capitalize Who not because I'm fond of a certain rock band, but because the Who in question is the person of God.
- Faith becomes manifest through action. As James put it, faith without works is dead. We're saved through faith, not through works, but someone who has true faith can't help but take action to honor God.
- Faith isn't just expressed in big, supernatural moments; rather, it's in the mundane. Faith gives us the power to struggle against temptation day after day, week after week, month after month, year after year.
All three of these points are worth considering in their own right, but what really struck me about this sermon was the fourth aspect of Biblical faith. It's tested.
Oh, Abraham is tested indeed.
There are a few great tests of Abraham's faith in Genesis.The first one he passes: God calls him to move his household down to the land of Canaan. Abraham immediately packs up and goes, and when he goes, he builds an altar and worships God.
What's interesting, though, is that the tests that God really uses to grow Abraham are tests that he fails. When Abraham is faced with a drought and forced to flee to Egypt, he claims that his wife, Sarah, is actually his sister in order to save his own neck. Not an especially fine moment, yet God intervenes, rescues Sarah from Pharaoh's harem and brings Abraham back out of that land.
In response, Abraham returns to the altar and worships God.
Later, God tells old, childless Abraham that he will have a child, and that through that child he'll create innumerable offspring who will fill and possess the Promised Land. At first, Abraham believes God, but that trust doesn't last terribly long. Instead of waiting for the promised child, he sleeps with his wife's servant, Hagar, who does indeed give him a child, Ishmael. That's not exactly what God had in mind.
God again promises Abraham that he and Sarah will have a child. Abraham laughs. God promises Sarah that she will bear a child for Abraham. Sarah laughs. Then Sarah has a child.
They name him Isaac, meaning "laughter."
Thus far, we've seen Abraham pass one test, then fail one test, then (apparently not having learned much from the previous one) fail another test. Why, then, do I say his faith has grown so much?
Let's take a look at the final test.
Genesis 22 After these things God tested Abraham and said to him, “Abraham!” And he said, “Here I am.” 2 He said, “Take your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you.”
I've heard this story before, of course. If anyone knows anything about Abraham, it's probably this story. I hadn't, however, heard it since I had a child of my own.
Abraham gets the wood and supplies together for the burnt offering and heads for the mountain where God has told him to sacrifice his son. He tells his servants to stay behind and walks up the mountain with Isaac. His son asks, "Where is the lamb for the burnt offering?"
Abraham, choking back tears, replies, "God will provide."
As a father, I couldn't listen to this sermon without imagining myself in Abraham's shoes. I couldn't help but imagine myself holding Tristan's hand and leading him up the mountain, knowing that this is the last time I'll see him, the last time I'll touch him, the last time I'll hear him laugh or cry.
I couldn't choke back the tears, either.
Still, Abraham makes it to the top of the mountain, and there he builds an altar. He lays out the wood and binds his son and lifts the knife. For God's sake, he's willing to do even this; his faith is that strong.
God provides. Isaac lives.
When Abraham made ready to sacrifice his son, I imagine he was more aware than anyone who has ever lived of the weight of God's wrath. When God sent a ram to sacrifice in Isaac's place, I can't even begin to grasp the amount of relief that Abraham must have felt.
The crazy thing is that this story, as powerful as it is, is only pointing forward to a still greater story.
Generations after Abraham's time, another Father laid out the wood and bound His Son and lifted the knife to offer a whole burnt offering.
Imagine Abraham's pain as he came face-to-face with the death of his son, the miracle baby, the promised baby, whom he loved. Now imagine the Father's pain as He came face-to-face with the death of His Son, His only Son, whom He had loved for all eternity.
You see, we were all in Isaac's place, bound and helpless and about to be sacrificed on the altar. Before that knife could come down, Jesus came, and He cut us loose, and He laid Himself down on that altar, and He gave His life so that sinners could go free.
Praise God.
(All Scriptures ESV)
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