The Justification of Abram -- 3/1/09

Sunday, March 1, 2009

THE JUSTIFICATION OF ABRAM
Gen. 15:1-6; Rom. 3:23-4:8

This morning we come back to Abram, whom we know better as Abraham. We have already taken the time this morning to read Genesis 13-14, where we learned about how Abram generously gave Lot the choice of land. By the way, that isn’t the end of the story. Later in Genesis we will find the rest of the story. Let’s do take time to read again Gen. 13:15-18…
For all the land which thou seest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed for ever. 16. And I will make thy seed as the dust of the earth: so that if a man can number the dust of the earth, then shall thy seed also be numbered. 17. Arise, walk through the land in the length of it and in the breadth of it; for I will give it unto thee. 18. Then Abram removed his tent, and came and dwelt in the plain of Mamre, which is in Hebron, and built there an altar unto the LORD.

Then in chapter 14 we have the story of how Abram and 318 men went up against four kings and their armies and rescued Lot, other inhabitants of Sodom and Gomorrah, and their goods. When they returned, Abram was met by Melchizedek. We won’t take time to talk about him this morning, but you can find the rest of that story in Hebrews 5-7. He plays no small part in the argument of Hebrews. But let’s take time to read what happened when Abram was met by the king of Sodom, who was very grateful for what Abram had done. Read Gen. 14:21-24…
And the king of Sodom said unto Abram, Give me the persons, and take the goods to thyself. 22. And Abram said to the king of Sodom, I have lift up mine hand unto the LORD, the most high God, the possessor of heaven and earth, 23. That I will not take from a thread even to a shoelatchet, and that I will not take any thing that is thine, lest thou shouldest say, I have made Abram rich: 24. Save only that which the young men have eaten, and the portion of the men which went with me, Aner, Eshcol, and Mamre; let them take their portion.

Abram made it very clear that his riches came from God and not from any man.

I want to encourage you to continue to read these stories about Abram. Take time this week to read chapters 15-22. I remind you again that you won’t have any trouble reading these chapters; they make very exciting reading.

So where are we with Abram? We have already talked about how God chose Abram and called him out of Ur to a land that was unknown to him. Remember that God didn’t choose Abram because he was better than other people. He chose Him simply because He is a sovereign God and He wanted to take a man and make a nation out of him. Due to nothing in himself, Abram received the call of God and responded to it. As we have seen, he was far from a perfect man, but he did obey God.

The Great Problem

However, we are still left with a great problem. Abram was a man. As a descendant of Adam, he is a sinner to the core of his being. That is why David said to God, “Against thee and thee only have I sinned, and done this evil in thy sight… Behold, I was shapen in iniquity and in sin did my mother conceive me” (Ps. 51:4-5). The problem with Abram is the same problem that we face today. How can a sinful man stand in the presence of a holy God? Listen to the words of Job: "Then Job answered and said, 2. Truly I know it is so, but how can a man be righteous before God? 3. If one wished to contend with Him, he could not answer Him one time out of a thousand" (Job 9:1-3 NKJV). That is the question: “How can anyone be righteous before such a holy God?” Prov. 17:15 (NKJV), “He who justifies the wicked, and he who condemns the just, both of them alike are an abomination to the Lord.” Again in Prov. 24:24 (NKJV), “He who says to the wicked, ‘You are righteous,’ him the people will curse; nations will abhor him.” It is inconceivable that a sinner like I could ever stand in the presence of the God who is described in Ps. 5:4-6…
For you are not a God who takes pleasure in wickedness, nor shall evil dwell with You. The boastful shall not stand in Your sight; You hate all workers of iniquity. You shall destroy those who speak falsehood; the Lord abhors the bloodthirsty and deceitful man.

So we see the problem for Abram and every single human being. We might be tempted to say that Abram was a better man who might be able to stand in God’s presence. If not Abram, then surely there is someone who is good enough. But that is not what we find in the Spirit-breathed truth of God’s Word. Rom. 3:10-18…
As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one: 11. There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God. 12. They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one. 13. Their throat is an open sepulchre; with their tongues they have used deceit; the poison of asps is under their lips: 14. Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness: 15. Their feet are swift to shed blood: 16. Destruction and misery are in their ways: 17. And the way of peace have they not known: 18. There is no fear of God before their eyes.

We know that Abraham became the father of a great nation. He can rightly be called the father of the faithful. His entry is longer than any other in Hebrews 11, the roll call of the faithful. But how could Abram get from being a no good sinner who didn’t fear God to the one whom God called “my friend.” That’s right, “my friend;” read it in Is. 41:8, "But thou, Israel, art my servant, Jacob whom I have chosen, the seed of Abraham my friend."

When we talk about Abram in this way, we are talking about every human being who ever entered life on this planet. There are no exceptions. The problem for every single person is this: “How can I stand in the presence of the holy and righteous God who created me?” As fire consumes everything but itself, how can I not be consumed by His holy presence? I must say with David, “Who may ascend into the hill of the Lord? Or who may stand in His holy place?” (Ps. 24:3 NKJV).

But maybe a person has no desire to be in God’s presence. So can he just do his own thing and forget about it? Well, it isn’t that simple. You see, God created us to have fellowship with Himself. Man wasn’t made to do his own thing. Rather, he was made to find his rest in God. While going your own way is an option, it isn’t without consequences. God is holy, which means that he is set apart to Himself, in a class all by Himself. There is no one like Him. He is Creator, while we are creature. But that isn’t the end of the story; God is also righteous. He is just. Everything He does is just and righteous. Come back to that illustration we have used many times before. A man murders one you love very much. He is apprehended and brought before the judge. The evidence clearly demonstrates that this man is the murderer, but the judge says, “Sir, you are guilty, but because I am a loving judge, I am going to let you go free.” What would you think of a judge like that? He isn’t fit to sit on the bench. Why? Because he doesn’t uphold justice. In the same way, if God did not punish sin, He would not be just. If He did not punish every infraction of His holy law, He would no longer be God, because God is just. So if a person is not able to stand in the presence of God, he will be banished from His loving presence for all eternity. He will endure the indescribable torments of hell forever and ever.

Now let’s suppose a person sees these truths and decides that he is going to make a change. And let’s just suppose that he is able to do so. A 25-year-old man begins to live a life that is perfect before the Lord (if that were possible). Would he be okay? No, he would not. Why not? Because he already has a rap sheet a mile long. All the good living in the world can’t wipe out his previous criminal record. His sins have separated between him and God (Is. 59:2). If there is any hope for any person, that criminal record of sins must be obliterated.

Abram needed to be justified. That is, he needed to be declared right in the sight of God, the righteous Judge. That was not only the need of Abram, but it is the need of every single human being. There are no exceptions. If God does not bring down the gavel on your life and say, “He (or she) is righteous in my sight,” then you have absolutely no hope. If that does not happen, then you and I must pay for our own sins. Yes, Abram needed to be justified, and so do you and I.

Genesis 15:1-6

Now let’s come to Genesis 15 and read Gen. 15:1-6…
After these things the word of the LORD came unto Abram in a vision, saying, Fear not, Abram: I am thy shield, and thy exceeding great reward. 2. And Abram said, Lord GOD, what wilt thou give me, seeing I go childless, and the steward of my house is this Eliezer of Damascus? 3. And Abram said, Behold, to me thou hast given no seed: and, lo, one born in my house is mine heir. 4. And, behold, the word of the LORD came unto him, saying, This shall not be thine heir; but he that shall come forth out of thine own bowels shall be thine heir. 5. And he brought him forth abroad, and said, Look now toward heaven, and tell the stars, if thou be able to number them: and he said unto him, So shall thy seed be. 6. And he believed in the LORD; and he counted it to him for righteousness.
God tells Abram not to fear. Why? “Because I am your shield and your great reward.” Surely we can sympathize with Abram’s response: “But Lord, how can you speak of reward, when I don’t have a child. I’m thankful for my servant and steward Eliezer, but he isn’t my son.” No doubt Abram was having great difficulty reconciling the promises of God with his present experience. How could the Lord make a great nation out of him, when he didn’t even have one son?
Now notice how the Lord responded. The Lord reaffirmed His promises in even stronger and clearer terms than before. “No, this servant will not be your heir. You will have a son. Come out here with me and see if you can count the stars. Look at the multitude of them, Abram. So it will be with your descendants.”
At this point I expect Abram to say something like this: “But, Lord, that is impossible. You ask me to count the stars, but I ask you to look at me. I’m an old man and my wife is barren, but you talk about descendants without number. Lord, do you have me confused with someone else?” But that is not what we find. In verse 6 we have one of the most remarkable statements of the faith found in the entire Bible. Listen to it: “And he believed in the Lord; and he counted it to him for righteousness.” Abram believed; God counted his belief for righteousness.

Now come to the New Testament. Let’s read Rom. 4:1-5…
What shall we say then that Abraham our father, as pertaining to the flesh, hath found? 2. For if Abraham were justified by works, he hath whereof to glory; but not before God. 3. For what saith the scripture? Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness. 4. Now to him that worketh is the reward not reckoned of grace, but of debt. 5. But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness.

You do see the connection, don’t you? In verse 4 Paul quotes the statement we just read in Gen. 15:6. Why? Because Paul has been talking about justification, and now he uses Abraham as the primary Old Testament example. Anyone who knows anything about the Old Testament knows the story of Abraham. Therefore, let’s just go back to the beginning of the history of Israel and see how the father of the nation was justified. Was it by his deeds? No, it was by his faith.

Now let’s go back to chapter 3 and pick up Paul’s discussion of justification. Remember, this isn’t just an issue for Abram, but for every person created by God. Abraham is the great Old Testament illustration of this theme, but its truth goes far beyond him. Earlier we read Rom. 3:10-18.

Romans 3:19-28

Now let’s pick it up there and read Rom. 3:19-28…
Now we know that what things soever the law saith, it saith to them who are under the law: that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God. 20. Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin. 21. But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets; 22. Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference: 23. For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; 24. Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus: 25. Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God; 26. To declare, I say, at this time his righteousness: that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus. 27. Where is boasting then? It is excluded. By what law? of works? Nay: but by the law of faith. 28. Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law.

Why did God give the law? While we may be able to discern some lesser reasons, there is one primary reason for the giving of the law and it is spelled out clearly in verse 20. “By the law is the knowledge of sin.” It is the law of God that reveals our sinfulness. Later Paul would say that he had not known sin, but by the law (Rom. 7:7). Let’s consider a specific example. Suppose I am living a good moral life. I am not conscious that I am doing anything wrong. I’m not killing anyone or even hating anyone. I am not coveting another man’s wife. But then one day I read the first commandment: “Thou shalt have no other gods before me” (Ex. 20:3). I have trouble getting those words out of my mind. The more I think about those words, the more they haunt me. What is a god? Well, I guess a god is that to which I give allegiance. I have always believed in God the Creator of this universe, but now He is asking me if I have another god before Him. I think about pagans who are always bowing down to their idols. I don’t do that. But then a question pops into my mind. Do I bow down before the God I say I believe in? Do I really worship and adore Him? When I am honest, I have to admit that I don’t even think of Him very often. Oh yes, I think about Him on Sunday and when I see a Bible laying around, but I have to admit that I don’t think of Him nearly as often as I think of the people around me. I spend a lot more time taking in the world’s instructions than I do His. So I begin to wonder if other things are not more important to me than God? I don’t want to think so, but I can’t deny that God has very little influence over my day-to-day life. Before I read that commandment, I thought I was doing just fine, but now I am beginning to see my sin and how serious it is. I am violating the first commandment that God has given me.

Paul not only tells us that the law brings the knowledge of sin, but he also makes it celar that no one can ever become right in God’s sight by doing what the law says. The law tells me not to have any other gods before Him. He must have no rival in my life. Since I realize that there are things in my life more important than God, I must set out to correct the situation. I begin to try to minimize the importance of other things. If He is truly to be my one and only God, I must pray to Him. So I begin to pray. I see other sins that I am committing, so I determine that I will no longer do them. But before long, I find that it’s like trying to keep a rotten boat afloat. Every time I plug up one leak, another leak springs up. Why is it that way? Because no one can become right with God by obeying the commands of the law. Is it because the law is defective? No, it is because of my own weakness and corruptness. In reality, the law is doing exactly what it is designed to do; it is revealing my sin and how ugly that sin is.

Praise God that Paul doesn’t stop at the end of verse 20. Notice the first two words of verse 21, “But now…” Praise God for the “but nows” and the “but Gods” of scripture. Read Rom. 3:21, "But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets." Literally, “But now apart from law a righteousness of God has been clearly shown…” God’s righteousness is being made clear. We see from Rom. 1:16-17 that this righteousness of God is being revealed in the gospel. Here that gospel, that good news, is laid out in some detail.

Notice especially that a righteousness of God has been clearly revealed apart from law. We have just been told that no one can be declared righteous by doing what the law says, but now Paul wants everyone to know that this righteousness from God is available. Though it cannot be attained through obeying the law, a person can indeed be declared righteous in God’s sight. Just as it had to be emphasized in Paul’s day, it must be emphasized in our day: No one can be made righteous by the things he does. No one.

Nevertheless, the law and prophets did indeed testify to this kind of righteousness. That is, the Old Testament scriptures speak of people being declared right with God apart from doing what the law says. I know a good example of that, and his name is Abraham. That is exactly what we read just a few minutes ago in Romans 4. So Paul will illustrate the truth of the law’s testimony to this other way of being righteous when he comes to chapter 4.

So if this righteousness of God cannot be attained by obeying the law, then how can a person ever hope to have it? Verse 22, “Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe.” This righteousness does not come through keeping the law, but through faith in Jesus Christ. Yes, this righteousness comes unto all and upon all those who what? Who believe.

But is this true for everyone? 22b-23, “For there is no difference; for all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.” Yes, this is true for everyone, because ultimately all people are alike in that they have sinned and come short of God’s glory. In the Word of God, we can find a number of definitions of sin. For example, I John tells us that sin is the transgression of the law (3:4). But perhaps no concept gives a clearer picture of sin that what we find here. We sin in that we fall short of the glory of God. We can say that we don’t do this and that, but do we live up to the glory of God? We could look far and wide to find a definition of the glory of God, but in the final analysis we have to look no farther than the One mentioned in verse 22, the Lord Jesus Christ. 2 Cor. 4:6, "For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ." If you want to see the fullness of God’s glory, look at Jesus. That is why Jesus could say, “He that hath seen me hath seen the Father” (Jn. 14:7). The New Testament overflows with the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. Col. 2:9, "For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily." Jesus is the glory of God, but we have fallen short of that glory. We have not lived like Jesus lived. If you want to compare yourself with someone, compare yourself with Jesus.

Now come to 3:24, "Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus:" Now Paul is referring back to verse 22, where he says that the righteousness of God is unto all and upon all who believe in Jesus Christ. We who believe in Christ are justified. That is, we have been declared right with God. And it happened freely. Literally, “as a gift.” We are justified as a gift. It has nothing to do what with what we have done; we didn’t earn a right standing with God, but it is a gift. Furthermore, it is by His grace. This grace not only emphasizes that we don’t deserve it, but it also speaks of God’s power that brings it.

So how specifically was God able to grant us this gift, to declare us righteous with Himself. Notice that it is through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus. What is this redemption? It is a buying back. It speaks of paying what someone else owes, of paying a ransom for someone. The term was used in the slave trade. A slave had no means of paying for his own freedom, but a free man could pay for the slave to be freed. He could buy him back out of slavery. That is exactly what Jesus did for us. We owed a great debt in terms of the sins we have committed. We had nothing with which to pay. But praise God that Jesus paid. He gave His righteous life in our place in order to pay our sin debt. Let’s sing it again…

He paid a debt He did not owe.
I owed I debt I could not pay.
I needed someone to wash my sins away.
And now I sing a brand new song, “Amazing Grace.”
Christ Jesus paid a debt that I could never pay.

Paul is painting a graphic picture of what God has done for us in Christ. Not only does he speak of justification and redemption, but in verse 25 he introduces us to propitiation. Let’s read it: "Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God" (3:25). We have read it many times from I John, but let’s read it again in 1 John 4:9-10: "In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him. 10. Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.” “Propitiation” is a big word, but it’s meaning is not that complicated. It simply means that Christ’s sacrifice effectively turned away the wrath of God. We can’t discuss propitiation without talking about God’s wrath. The Bible makes it clear that we were under the wrath of God. John 3:36, "He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him." That is strong language: “the wrath of God abides on him.” In Romans 2 Paul tells us that those who are contentious and do not obey the truth are storing up for themselves “wrath against the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God” (Rom. 2:5,8). When Jesus died on the cross, He took the wrath of God upon Himself. Yes, it pleased the Lord to crush Him (Is. 53:10). In doing so, He turned God’s wrath away from us who believe.

Back to Abram

Now let’s come back to Abram. Abram believed God and it was counted to him for righteousness. What did Abram do to gain the righteousness of God? He did nothing. Abram could not do anything to make himself right with God any more than he could produce a child through his wife Sarah. He was powerless.

At this point, let’s make something very clear. God planned it that way on purpose. Come back to the illustration of Abraham in Romans 4. Let’s read again Rom. 4:4-5, "Now to him that worketh is the reward not reckoned of grace, but of debt. 5. But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness." If I can earn something, then the person from whom I earn it owes me. I work 8 hours and my boss owes me $100. Is that $100 grace? No. I earned it and my boss owes it to me. If that had been the case with Abraham, then he would have had reason to boast (as we read in verse 2). Instead, we read that Abram believed God and it was counted to him for righteousness. What does that mean?

Here Paul introduces us to another wonderful biblical term. It is in verse 5, “But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness.” Notice that word “counted.” The New King James reads “accounted.” Other translations render it “credited” (NIV, Amplified) and “reckoned.” In the King James, this word is translated a number of ways in the New Testament – count, account, reckon, esteem, etc. But the word that is used most often to translate it (logizomai) is the English word “impute.” We don’t use that word any more, but it is full of meaning. Imputation is a wonderful biblical teaching.

Brothers and sisters, this is not complicated. Because Abram believed God, on the basis of that faith God imputed righteousness to Abram. This was actually a banking term. He credited righteousness to Abram’s account. Abram had no righteousness of his own, but on the basis of his faith, God put His own righteousness on Abram’s account. Abram received the imputed righteousness of Christ. Let’s just go ahead and read it here in Rom. 4:6-8…
Even as David also describeth the blessedness of the man, unto whom God imputeth righteousness without works, 7. Saying, Blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven, and whose sins are covered. 8. Blessed is the man to whom the Lord will not impute sin.

Notice again that God imputes righteousness to a man apart from works. It has nothing to do with his deeds, only his faith. Read it in verse 25, “Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood…” His propitiation becomes effective for the person who puts His faith in Christ and His death on the cross.

Now come back to Romans 3. You will see at the end of verse 25 that because of the propitiation of Christ, God is declared to be righteous in forgiving the sins that are past. Paul is talking about the sins of men like Abram, who lived before the life, death, and resurrection of Christ. How were they saved? The same way we are saved – by grace through faith. But how could they believe in Christ, when He had not yet come to earth? What they believed was the Word of God. God spoke and Abram believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness. Abram didn’t have as much revelation as we have, but he responded to what he did have. Remember also that Abram was building altars. He had some understanding that he needed a substitute, that he could not pay for his own sins. Of course, we know that substitute is Jesus. Because of God’s grace and Abram’s faith, his sins were covered in time past. The animals Abram and others sacrificed was only a picture of the Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world.

Now come to verse 26, “To declare, I say, at this time his righteousness; that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believes in Jesus.” Remember, God set forth (in public view) Jesus to be a propitiation to declare His own righteousness. Why? That God might be just. This brings us back to that question that I ask you from time to time. How can God forgive you of your sins? It isn’t just because He is loving and gracious and merciful. Those qualities explain why He is willing to forgive us of our sins, but God does not say, “Ron, you are guilty of rebellion against me, but because I am loving, I send your sins away as far as the east is from the west.” God can never do that because He is righteous, and such an action would not be right. That would undermine the justice of God and He would cease to be God. So how can He forgive us of our sins?

This is the beauty of the cross. At the cross, justice was served. That is, my sins were paid for completely. God’s mercy and grace must never be interpreted to mean that He goes easy on sin. Every sin must be fully punished; there are no exceptions. My sins were punished at the cross, because the Lord hath laid on Him the iniquity of us all (Is. 53:6). God made Him to be sin for us, who knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him (II Cor. 5:21). Love and justice meet at the cross. God loved us in that He provided a way so that we wouldn’t have to pay for our sins. He is just and righteous in that sin was completely punished in Christ. No wonder Paul said, “But God forbid that I should glory save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ” (Gal. 6:14).

You see, God is not only just in the way He sent Christ to be the propitiation for our sin, that which turns away His wrath, but through that same action He is declared to the justifier of him who believes in Jesus. Not only is God righteous in His actions, but now He declares to be righteous everyone who believes in His Son. Read it again in 4:5, “But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness.” God justifies the ungodly. That’s me! I was one of the ungodly, but God justified me.

Let’s get a quick handle on this justification. We can simplify it by saying that it includes three things…

1. Forgiveness of sins. In other words, the charges against us are dropped. Our sin deserves the full punishment of God, but because we are justified in Christ, the charges are dropped.
2. Christ’s righteousness is imputed to us. Through the death and resurrection of Jesus, we are declared righteous in Him. Christ’s righteousness becomes our righteousness. It is not a righteousness of our own; it is His righteousness.
3. It is through faith and nothing but faith. Works do not enter in at all. If works had even a tiny part in our justification, we could boast, but as we read in verse 27, boasting is excluded.

When we put our faith in Christ, when we rest our full weight on Him, our faith is accounted to us for righteousness. The righteousness of Christ is credited to our account and the sin debt we owed is wiped clean. This has been referred to as double imputation – Christ took my sins; I received His righteousness. Some refer to it as the Great Exchance – I receive His righteousness in exchange for my sins!

Conclusion

Now let’s come to Hebrews 11. Sometimes we sing “What a Mighty God We Serve.” Can’t we see that, when we look at justification? What power to wipe out my criminal record and clothe me with the righteousness of His own dear Son. What love to send His own Son to die in my place, to take upon Him the wrath that I deserved. What justice to punish sin fully and completely at the cross. And what can we say about the wisdom of such a plan? Paul says it for us in Rom. 11:33-36…
O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out! 34. For who hath known the mind of the Lord? or who hath been his counsellor? 35. Or who hath first given to him, and it shall be recompensed unto him again? 36. For of him, and through him, and to him, are all things: to whom be glory for ever. Amen.

Are you in Hebrews 11? In a moment we are going to read verses 8-16. He speaks about Abraham, but then he enlarges his subject to include the others who demonstrated the same faith as Abraham. If your faith is truly in Jesus Christ and what He did through His death and resurrection, I want you to include yourself in this company of saints. God is not only just, but He is the justifier of all those who believe in Jesus. Let’s read Heb. 11:8-16…
By faith Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place which he should after receive for an inheritance, obeyed; and he went out, not knowing whither he went. 9. By faith he sojourned in the land of promise, as in a strange country, dwelling in tabernacles with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise: 10. For he looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God. 11. Through faith also Sara herself received strength to conceive seed, and was delivered of a child when she was past age, because she judged him faithful who had promised. 12. Therefore sprang there even of one, and him as good as dead, so many as the stars of the sky in multitude, and as the sand which is by the sea shore innumerable. 13. These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth. 14. For they that say such things declare plainly that they seek a country. 15. And truly, if they had been mindful of that country from whence they came out, they might have had opportunity to have returned. 16. But now they desire a better country, that is, an heavenly: wherefore God is not ashamed to be called their God: for he hath prepared for them a city.

Because we are justified, what hope is ours. We too are looking for a city that has foundations, whose builder and maker is God. This world is not our home, but our citizenship is in heaven, from whence we look for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ (Phil. 3:20). Our faith doesn’t stop at justification, but now we continue to walk by faith, not by sight. Though we haven’t seen Him, we love Him. And though now we don’t see Him, yet believing, putting our faith in Him, we rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory (I Pet. 1:8).