Genesis 15:1-21 - Our Faithful God

After these things the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision, saying, 
“Do not fear, Abram,
I am a shield to you;
Your reward shall be very great.”
Abram said, “O Lord God, what will You give me, since I am childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?” And Abram said, “Since You have given no offspring to me, one born in my house is my heir.” Then behold, the word of the Lord came to him, saying, “This man will not be your heir; but one who will come forth from your own body, he shall be your heir.” And He took him outside and said, “Now look toward the heavens, and count the stars, if you are able to count them.” And He said to him, “So shall your descendants be.” Then he believed in the Lord; and He reckoned it to him as righteousness. And He said to him, “I am the Lord who brought you out of Ur of the Chaldeans, to give you this land to possess it.” He said, “O Lord God, how may I know that I will possess it?” So He said to him, “Bring Me a three year old heifer, and a three year old female goat, and a three year old ram, and a turtledove, and a young pigeon.” Then he brought all these to Him and cut them in two, and laid each half opposite the other; but he did not cut the birds. The birds of prey came down upon the carcasses, and Abram drove them away.

Now when the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell upon Abram; and behold, terror and great darkness fell upon him. God said to Abram, “Know for certain that your descendants will be strangers in a land that is not theirs, where they will be enslaved and oppressed four hundred years. But I will also judge the nation whom they will serve, and afterward they will come out with many possessions. As for you, you shall go to your fathers in peace; you will be buried at a good old age. Then in the fourth generation they will return here, for the iniquity of the Amorite is not yet complete.”

It came about when the sun had set, that it was very dark, and behold, there appeared a smoking oven and a flaming torch which passed between these pieces. On that day the Lord made a covenant with Abram, saying,
“To your descendants I have given this land,
From the river of Egypt as far as the great river, the river Euphrates: the Kenite and the Kenizzite and the Kadmonite and the Hittite and the Perizzite and the Rephaim and the Amorite and the Canaanite and the Girgashite and the Jebusite.” - Genesis 15:1-21

Message: Our Faithful God

Time:  Genesis is the first book and Moses is credited as authoring. The book spans 2400 years of time. It was originally written in Hebrew.

What the Lord is Saying: 

This month's devotional series is now switching to focus on faith for a bit following a teaching series that RC Sproul did called Living By Faith. Thus far, this study has looked at the idea that we as believers in Christ, we are declared righteous in Him by faith alone (sola fide). Our righteousness is based on the perfect obedience of Christ. We access it by faith and faith alone. And this faith continues to manifest itself daily as we walk and He sanctifies us in Him, moving me toward living Holy as Jesus lived. 

I listened to the first message RC Sproul did for this series. He mentioned this is his favorite chapter in the Bible for it is where faith is declared or salvation is declared and it is where God reveals Himself. And it starts with the phrase "Do not fear" which he believes is a key for all scripture that is repeated to us continually. He begins the message by talking about faith and reason and the idea from some that faith in God is a sort of blind faith. But blind faith is believing though there is no evidence for belief. And with God in our lives, there is evidence of how He has cared for us and demonstrated His kindness toward us. God does not call us to a blind faith. Throughout scripture we have reasons everywhere of why we believe in Him. The true definition of faith is trust. I trust God no matter what. 

In this passage today is one such example of God's trustworthiness. Abraham believed God and wss justified. His belief in God merited Abraham's righteousness. But then Abraham asks God for evidence of His promise and the Lord provides it. In that moment, God comes and passes between the pieces and made a covenant with Abraham that His descendants would be numerous. God must keep His promises. He is God. He cannot die. The curse of death cannot fall upon Him. God will be true. 

Promise: We have a trustworthy God. We can trust God because His very nature prevents Him from breaking His promises. 

Prayer: O God, you are Lord and King. And you have allowed me to experience your peace, your grace, your faithfulness in my life. You grant me a peace that surpasses understanding. This world preaches an opposite message to peace, but one of fear always and seeking solutions that are not in You. Help me to cling to You always, to trust in You no matter and to always treat others the way they want to be treated. I don't want to Fear. I want to be a person of faith. Show me the way. 

Note: I follow the readings from the Tabletalk Magazine devotional, though I am a little behind and working through 2017 devotionals. 2017 is a study of key biblical doctrines celebrating the 500th year of the Reformation. The month of June is about justification; May was about solus Christus - Christ Alone; April, salvation by grace alone; March, the sovereign providence of God; February, the doctrine of revelation and the various aspects of the doctrine of Scripture that sola Scriptura seeks to preserve; January, the doctrine of God.

Mankind's Condition - The Sins of the Gentiles - Though born with God being evident, Gentiles do not honor God or give thanks, look to their selves for truth, and God gives them over to their sin, and in the process God's wrath is sin which will culminate on the Day of the Lord. The Sins of the Jews - Jews thought their status meant only Gentiles were true sinners. Romans 2 and 3 explains that Jews are just as guilty before God. 

The Law Speaks - The Law and Accountability - the Law reminds us we are sinners and doing good will not outweigh this bad; I am condemned. Righteousness According to the Law - The Law can make one righteous if obedient to all, but we are sinners. Human Inability - man cannot make himself righteous because he is a sinner. 

Only Justified through Christ (God) - The Obedience of One - with Jesus all obedience was completed in Him which resulted in Him taking on all sin; we trust only in His words, not ours. God's Initiative In Justification - God initiates the act of justification through the work of Christ alone; he saves us out of His kindness. Faith and Justification - no one is continually righteous; only through Jesus one will be made righteous; to be made righteous one must believe in God, ask for His mercy. 

Saved by Faith - Faith and Righteousness - Faith is what God uses in us to build the bridge to being accepted by God and restored to a right relationship with Him. Justification and Sin - Nothing changes the fact that we are sinners, but our status before God changes by Christ's obedience as this declares us to be righteous. Not by any of our works - Justification is by faith alone. By adding any work, we must add all works. Why Faith - Faith is the instrument [or what we do] to usher in to our life the finished act of righteousness. 

Faith Works - What is Saving Faith - Saving faith is not simply understanding truth, it is believing the truth is true and then living by that truth. Justification and Our Good Works - Once God declares us righteous by the righteousness of Christ, we cannot help but do what is right. Keeping Grace Gracious - if being restored to God's plan is by grace, it is no longer on the basis of works. Don't mix the two. Keep them separate. But keep them both extremely valuable. Faith and Sanctification - I am declared holy by faith, but daily I choose holiness. I am living my entire life by faith.