Abraham & Sarah’s Life Of Faith Series

HEBREWS 11: 8-12

ABRAHAM & SARAH’S LIFE OF FAITH [Leaving a Legacy Series]

[Romans 4:20-22; Acts 7:2-5; Gen. 12, 17, 18]

There are only two ways to live. One way, by far the most common, is to live by sight, to base everything on what you can see. This is an empirical or scientific way. The other way, far less common, is to live by faith, to base your life primarily and ultimately on what you cannot see. The Christian way, of course, is the faith way. We have never seen God, or Jesus Christ, or heaven, or hell, or the Holy Spirit. We have never seen any of the people who wrote the Bible or an original manuscript of the Bible. Though we see the results of them, the virtues that God commands or the graces that He gives are not readily seen like banners or metals. Yet we live in the conviction of all these things, by faith. We bank our earthly lives and our eternal destiny on things which we have never seen. That is the way the people of God have always lived. [MacArthur, John. Hebrews. Moody. 1983. pg. 326.]

The life of faith has some specific ingredients, which are pointed out in this text as reflected in the life of Abraham and Sarah. Abraham’s faith produced obedience to the God who gave him promises. Yet, Abraham and Sarah did not quickly inherit the promises. They were called to a pilgrimage of faith that they might learn the patience of faith and the power of faith. And because of their assurance in the faithfulness of the God who called them and conviction of an unseen reality, they based their life upon the future fulfillment of divine promises. They exhibited their faith by living the present life in the hope of the future fulfillment of God’s promises (CIT).

I. THE PILGRIMAGE OF FAITH, 8.

II. THE PATIENCE OF FAITH, 9-10.

III. THE POWER OF FAITH, 11-12.

Verse 8 declares that it was faith in God’s word that enabled Abraham to leave the known and familiar to go wherever God would lead him. “By faith Abraham, when he was called, obeyed by going out to a place which he was to receive for an inheritance; and he went out, not knowing where he was going.”

The call that came to Abraham in Genesis 12:1-4 consisted of two parts: a command and a promise. Abraham believed that both the command and the promise came from God and therefore obeyed the command and expected the fulfillment of the promise. If Abraham had not believed the call came from God or that God would not keep His promise, he would have stayed in Terah, Mesopotamia, but because he believed, he obeyed. He broke the strong bonds that bound men to their country, family, friends and job, to undertake a journey of unknown length, difficulty, and danger to a country of which he knew nothing but that God had said to him “to a land, which I will show you.” Obedient actions demonstrate the reality of our faith.

Abraham believed the covenant that God made with him and in obedience, followed God. His obedience was the outward evidence of his inward faith. Can obedience be shown in some other way than by action? No (Genesis 26:5). Abraham’s faith was evident in his action of following God’s promises, and so is ours.

Abraham did not know where God’s will would lead him, he simply followed God’s will each day of his earthly pilgrimage as it was revealed to him. He went into the unknown because of a God known only by the evidences of faith. This obedience is a remarkable example of the power of faith enabling a believer to perform a difficult duty. Nothing but faith in God could have enabled Abraham to act as he did.

I wonder just what would happen to us if we took God at His word also and acted on His commandments and promises? Most of us live a cautious life on the principle of safety first, but to live the Christian life there is of necessity a certain reckless willingness to adventure with God. If your faith must see every step of the way it is not really faith. It is sometimes necessary for the Christian to take the way where the voice of God is calling without knowing what the consequences will be. Like Abraham you are to venture out “not knowing where” your obedience will lead.

It is equally necessary now as then. “Nothing but the faith of the Gospel can induce a man to abandon the world and begin a faith pilgrimage towards heaven. Yet wherever there is the faith of the Gospel, there will be such an abandonment and a commencement. If Abraham had continued in Mesopotamia or stopped short of Canaan it would have proved that he did not believe the divine testimony. And whenever men continue to love the world or become foresakers of the Christian pilgrimage whatever may be the profession the evidence is clear that they have not believed the Gospel.” [Brown, John. The Epistle of Hebrews. Banner of Truth. 1961. Edinburgh. pg. 508]