Results From Abraham’s Obedience
Gleaned from Pathway to Victory
Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered up Isaac his son on the altar? You see that faith was working with his works, and as a result of the works, faith was perfected; and the Scripture was fulfilled which says, “And Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness,” and he was called the friend of God. –James 2:21-23
I want you to notice three results of Abraham’s obedience to God in Genesis 22. First, God Himself provided the sacrifice. “Behold, behind him a ram caught in the thicket by his horns; and Abraham went and took the ram and offered him up for a burnt offering in the place of his son. Abraham called the name of that place The Lord Will Provide” (vv. 13-14). God was teaching not only Abraham, but also all of us, an important spiritual lesson: we cannot provide an adequate sacrifice for our sins. We try to use our good works; we try to use our church membership; we try to use baptism; we try to use all these things to atone for our sins. We cannot provide an adequate covering for our sin, but God provided the sacrifice when He offered His Son, Jesus Christ, as the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.
The second result of Abraham’s obedience was that God renewed His covenant with Abraham. God had already promised Abraham, but now He swore His promise to Abraham by His own name (vv. 16-18).
The third result of Abraham’s obedience was that God called Abraham his friend. James 2:21-23 says, “Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered up Isaac his son on the altar? You see that faith was working with his works, and as a result of the works, faith was perfected; and the Scripture was fulfilled which says, ‘And Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness,’ and he was called the friend of God.” When Abraham looked at the stars in Genesis 15 and believed the promise of God, God counted Abraham’s faith as righteousness. But his obedience to God 40 years later proved his righteousness. It proved he had been justified. And from that time on God called him “friend.” Can you imagine any greater compliment than to have God call you His friend? Jesus said, “You are My friends if you do what I command you” (John 15:14).
Today’s devotion is excerpted from “When God Asks the Unthinkable” by Dr. Robert Jeffress, 2015.
