What is faith? The writer to the Hebrews gives us the definition in just a few simple words: “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” [Heb 11:1] And then he goes on to list, one after another, the heroes of the faith. Abel, Noah, Abraham, Moses, Samuel, David. . . . The list goes on and on. And note that Abraham gets 13 verses while Moses only gets 9. But no matter how many verses they got, they all have one important thing in common. “All of these died in faith without having received the promises, but from a distance they saw and greeted them.” [Heb 11:13]
But it’s not just the number of verses that tells us where Abraham stands in the honor roll. Abraham isn’t just a great model, he’s also the one whose example assures us that faith alone justifies us as well. The church in Galatia was struggling with what it meant to be justified by faith alone, struggling with the idea that non-Jews could be acceptable to God. And Paul points out that Abraham was the first to be justified by faith. “Abraham ‘believed God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness,’” and goes on to reassure these Gentiles that “those who believe are the descendants of Abraham." [Gal 3:6-7]
But do we have enough faith? Many of us wonder if we do. How much is enough? Do you ever find yourself hedging your bets, you know, trying to believe that God will “work all things together for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose,” [Rom 8:28] and yet keeping a little bit of yourself back for your own use, just in case things don’t work out? Or saying to yourself, “God helps those who help themselves,” and going ahead with your own plans to control your future? A lot of people are surprised to find that that’s not in the Bible. The Greek fable-spinner Aesop said it first, but we Americans get it from Benjamin Franklin, probably in Poor Richard’s Almanac. What the Bible says on the subject is a little different: “Those who trust in their own wits are fools.” [Pr 28:26a] But following Proverbs 3:5, “Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not rely on your own insight,” is easier said than done.
But guess what? If you’re one of these wobbly-faithed people, you are far from being alone. In fact, Abraham is right down there in the weeds with us. Even though God made Abraham a specific promise, right out loud, with details.
This is the vow God made to Abraham way back in the 12th chapter of Genesis.
Now the LORD said to Abram, "Go from your country and your kindred and your father's house to the land that I will show you. I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you, and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. . . . When they had come to the land of Canaan, . . .the LORD appeared to Abram, and said, "To your offspring I will give this land." [Gen 12:1-7]
God made seven promises to Abram in this short passage, but not one of them can come true unless Abraham has a son. What’s a blessing worth, anyway, if you can’t pass it on so that your name won’t be forgotten? At least that’s what the people of that time and place thought. And you certainly can’t become a great nation without offspring. And here we are three chapters later, and Abram has not exactly covered himself with glory so far. All right, he did get up and take his household and flocks and set off for Canaan. And he did let Lot have his first choice of what part of the land he got when they had to split up. But look what he did in Egypt! He tried to pass off his wife Sarai as his sister so that Pharaoh wouldn’t kill him when he took her for his harem. It’s a good thing that Abram’s faith was counted as righteousness, because he was occasionally a little short in the actual righteousness department.
But even with all that faith, Abram keeps badgering God. “When are you going to live up to your part of the bargain?” is how our passage begins.
It’s a good thing - for all of us - that God is patient. He doesn’t berate Abram for wavering. In fact, he repeats the promise, and the Bible tells us that Abram believed. This is, in fact, where the phrase Paul quotes comes from: “Abraham ‘believed God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness.’ [v. 6] This very same attitude is shown later on in Jesus’ ministry, when a man who wanted Jesus to heal his daughter cried out "I believe; help my unbelief!" [Mk 9:24] Because, you see, it is not the size of our faith that matters, it is the infinite faithfulness of God - who gives us faith enough to ask.
And so the first thing God does is to remind Abram of what has already taken place. "I am the LORD who brought you from Ur of the Chaldeans, to give you this land to possess." [v. 7] Remembering is the key to faith. Evidence of God’s trustworthiness is what we remember, and what we rely on. We’d be fools to believe without it. But don’t worry. We have plenty of evidence. Even more than Abraham had.
Now if you look back to Chapter 12, when Abraham was called to follow God into a new land, there were certain things Abraham had to do. He had to get up and "Go from your country and your kindred and your father's house.” [Gen 12:1] So God isn’t saying, "Lie back and put your feet up and I will grant you three wishes." It’s our own insight, our own desires and ambitions that we’re not to trust, not God’s clear instructions.
But what happens when Abram does exactly what he’s supposed to do? Immediately a roadblock appears in his way. There’s a famine in the land. He has family and servants, flocks and herds, all of whom have to be fed. So there right away he has a decision to make. Does he go to Egypt or does he stay and trust God to send rain? The Bible doesn’t tell us. And when Abram makes the decision to go to Egypt, there’s no indication at all that God is displeased with the decision. Which may give us a clue: if God hasn’t told you one way or another what to do, be prudent. Take care of your responsibilities the best way you can.
But once Abram got to Egypt! Well, that was another story. Giving your wife to another man to keep from getting killed is not a morally neutral decision. But even then, God didn’t come down very hard on Abraham. Pharaoh was the one who got into real trouble. Why do you suppose God went so easy on Abram? He left Egypt with so much extra livestock - a parting gift from Pharaoh - that he and his nephew Lot had to go their separate ways to keep from overgrazing the land.
I wish I knew. My guess is that God hadn’t given Abram any particular instructions about marriage yet. But my best advice is still, “Take care of your responsibilities the best way you can.” Abraham was responsible for Sarai, and didn’t come off looking very good. Faith comes first, but righteousness – right actions - have its place, too.
But the most important thing we need to take away from these examples is that God’s promises come with testing. It’s not that God is unfaithful or capricious, or that you have to earn his favor. It’s more like a treasure hunt. You know, you have to follow the clues to get to where the treasure is. If you give up because it’s too hard, or ignore the clues, the treasure is still out there, but you’ve either not been listening or have given up too soon.
Now, Abram doesn’t give up. Not exactly. But he does begin to lose heart. And he complains to God: “O Lord GOD, what will you give me, for I continue childless.” [v. 2] Once again, God is patient. “The LORD brought him outside and said, “Look toward heaven and count the stars, if you are able to count them.” Then he said to him, “So shall your descendants be.”[v. 4-5] But this isn’t enough for Abram. He needs proof. But the funny thing is, that it is right here, right in this time of doubt and questioning, that our text says, “Abraham ‘believed God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness.'” This is belief?
Yes. This amount of belief is good enough for God. If you are so much as having a conversation with God, you have an active faith which is pleasing to him. “Without faith it is impossible to please God,” says the writer to the Hebrews, but if all you are sure of is that you “believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him” [Heb 11:6] that is enough to be going on with.
And so when Abram asks, “how am I to know that I shall possess it?” [v. 8] God gives him proof. The strange ceremony that follows, after God puts Abram into a deep sleep, is a formal covenant ceremony that would have been familiar to Abram. It was part of their culture. Kind of the way we would be sure if we were given a signed, notarized affidavit, only more so. You see, this promise is sealed in blood.
And so you would think that Abram’s faith would be rock solid from now on.
Sorry, it doesn’t work out that way. The next thing you know, Sarai talks Abram into getting her maidservant Hagar pregnant. And she gives birth to Ishmael, and guess what? Modern Arabs are descended from Ishmael, and I don’t know that there’s any more bloody sibling rivalry anywhere in the history of the world. I can just hear Abram saying, “It’s not my fault! Sarai nagged me until I had to give in just to have a little peace in the house. Or rather, tent.” It’s not hard to be distracted from following God when daily pressures and worries break in. What gets in your way?
Thirteen more years pass before Isaac finally comes along. And it’s been 25 years in all since Abram and Sarai left Haran for Canaan. But it finally happens. Even then, however, things don’t go all that smoothly for Abraham. Because not only do Ishmael and Hagar have to get kicked out, God asks Abram to sacrifice Isaac. 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 that I shall show you.” [Gen 22:2]
But this time, for once, and astonishingly, Abram doesn’t argue. He doesn’t say a word. He just gets up and does what God has told him he must do.
Commentators throughout history have wrestled with this passage, wondering what Abraham really thought was going to happen. Was God going to do a last-minute rescue, or was Abraham figuring God would give him and Sarah another miracle son? We don’t know. We only know that Abraham went.
What does this have to do with us?
We aren’t going to be asked to sacrifice our children, not in the way Abraham was. But we are asked to trust him with our greatest treasures, putting them into God’s hands. Some of us may, in fact, lose children. Some of us see dreams, relationships, careers, or health crumble under our feet.
But we have a promise. And like the promise confirmed to Abraham so long ago, it is a promise sealed in blood. “For the Son of God, Jesus Christ . . .was not 'Yes and No;' but in him it is always 'Yes.' For in him every one of God's promises is a 'Yes.' For this reason it is through him that we say the “Amen,” to the glory of God." [2 Cor 1:19-20] We say “Amen,” to the glory of God, even when we are disappointed, even when we have to wait, even if we are asked to give up the most precious thing in our lives. We say “Amen,” even if we too, like the heroes in Hebrews 11, “die in faith without having received the promises.”
Jesus went to the cross, for the glory of God. Yes, it was for us, but it was also for the glory that was awaiting him. We too may have to endure a cross. But glory awaits us, too, even if we, like Abram, stumble along the way.
