WELCOME
PRAYER
WORD TO MUSIC
SILENCE
Acts 7.4-5
April 3rd 2016
Milk
Alright, last week we talked about some principles we could learn from the speech Stephan gives here in Acts 7.
And we read the first three verses where the High Priest asked Stephan if he was guilty of blasphemy and Stephan replied (in verse 2-3):
“Men, brethren, and fathers, hearken; The God of glory appeared unto our father Abraham, when he was in Mesopotamia, before he dwelt in Charran, and said unto him, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and come into the land which I shall shew thee.”
Let’s continue on with his speech at verse 4 through 5 –
4 Then came he (Abraham) out of the land of the Chaldaeans, and dwelt in Harran: and from thence, when his father was dead, he removed him into this land, wherein ye now dwell.
5 And he (God) gave him (Abraham) none inheritance in it, no, not so much as to set his foot on: yet he promised that he would give it to him for a possession, and to his seed after him, when as yet he had no child.
Let’s stop here with just these two versese because in these two verses – actually in verse five alone – we have the very formula for human righteousness before God and the formula for much that we call Christianity.
I say this because when we think or hear of Christianity, when we say the word and summarize what it “looks like” the first idea is almost always –
Clean living
Good morals
Helping old ladies, etc.
In terms of characteristics what should it INITIALLY mean when someone says:
“I’m a Christian.”
Our answer is found, though initially obscure, in verse five. So let’s jump back to where we left off at verse four and move through these two passages.
So at verse 4 Stephan, speaking of Abraham says:
4 Then came he (Abraham) came out of the land of the Chaldaeans, and dwelt in Harran: and from thence, when his father was dead, he removed him into this land, wherein ye (Stephan’s audience) now dwell.
As we mentioned last week, this passage is difficult due to what the Genesis narrative provides.
And I think we covered the way we might explain the way to see this all things considered.
For Stephan, this was not a master’s thesis but he was merely setting a historical stage to mount a defense and in so doing he first chooses to discuss the father of the Jewish, Christian and Muslim faith – Abraham.
And so he lays out a somewhat loose description of him and how he got to the very land in which Stephan and the other Jews gathered around him stood.
Then he says:
5 And he (God) gave him (Abraham) none inheritance in it, no, not so much as to set his foot on: yet he promised that he would give it to him for a possession, and to his seed after him, when as yet he had no child.
In other words while God promised Abraham a land for his possession Abraham himself led a wandering life; and this passage tells us that he did not himself receive a permanent possession or residence in that land.
The only land Abraham ever owned that he could call his own, according to Genesis 23:1-20, as a burial plot he bought from the children of Heth.
Because Abraham bought this plot and it did not come as a direct gift from God, (nor was it a place of residence), scripture insists that God gave Abraham no place to call home himself or, as the Hebrews would put it he had . . .
“Not so much (land) as to set his foot on.”
When the COI were to pass through the lands of Esau God says to them in Deuteronomy 2:5
“Meddle not with them; for I will not give you of their land, no, not so much as a foot breadth; because I have given mount Seir unto Esau for a possession.
So this line uttered by Stephan, that Abraham would have . . .
“Not so much (land) as to set his foot on,” we can see that it is a proverbial expression of the Jews.
Again, verse 5
5 And he (God) gave him (Abraham) none inheritance in it, no, not so much as to set his foot on: yet he promised that He (God) would give it to him (Abraham) for a possession, and to his seed after him, when as yet he had no child.
Now, since Abraham himself never had any land while alive what can we make of the line:
“yet he promised that He (God) would give it to him (Abraham) for a possession?”
Obviously the promise God gave means that the land would be conferred on the family of Abraham or the family of which he was the father.
We know, in part, that this is what is implied here by the added line:
“yet he promised that He (God) would give it to him (Abraham) for a possession, and to his seed after him, when as yet he had no child.”
In other words this does not mean that God would give it to Abraham while he was alive and we know this how?
Because he didn’t!
We also know that when the promise God made to Abraham, “that he would give that land to his seed after him,” was not possible at the time the promise was made because Abraham had no children!
Not only that, but God made this promise to Abraham when it seemed like children would be an impossibility!
So what we have here, in this scant nascent tale of Abraham some key elements to God and man’s relationship to Him.
In Abraham we have a man – an old man – to whom God has made some promises.
He tells him that he was going to give a land to him (meaning His offspring) which be as the numbers of the stars in heaven, and He not only promised this to Abraham, He made the promise when Abraham had no children AND when it seemed impossible for Him to ever have children.
And guess what?
Abraham believed God’s promises to him.
(long beat)
How significant is this? That Abraham believed God’s promises to Him?
In Psalm 11:7 we read an interesting passage of scripture. It says:
“For the “righteous LORD” loveth righteousness; his countenance doth behold the upright.”
From this passage (and many, many others like it) it is easy to see and admit “God, who is righteous, loves those who are like Him – righteous.
Another way to say this is,
“the Lawful God loves the Lawful,” and that “His countenance (or face) looks upon “the just, the straight, and the upright.”
Because of passages like this we are often led to think that in order to be pleasing to God, to the point that He loves us, that we have to be righteous, right?
I grew up in a faith that imposed this teaching ardently upon me. The trouble was I knew that I could and would never measure up. And while all around me were kids who appeared to have that ability – to be righteous and lawful – I knew that God could never love me because I was so unlawful, so unrighteous.
So in the face of this we have to ask ourselves (and seriously answer our question) By what measurement are humans weighed in God’s eyes and found to be righteous?
Is it by moral purity? Dedication to external facets of religion? Good deeds in the community? Faith, hope, love?
When we think of the word “righteousness” it is axiomatic to think of personal and moral cleanliness, someone without evil and the like.
While this is certainly a part of the definition we have an enormous problem – nobody on earth has ever fit the bill – except Jesus. And even those who do “in the hands” there is certainly a failure “in the heart.”
So while the end hope is certainly for a clean”er” heart and clearn”er” hands, our personal righteousness could not be determined by such things alone because if they were NO one could be considered righteous.
Put it this way, if righteousness is a state of being, and one act of unrighteousness renders the person “not righteous,” then nobody on earth can ever been deemed righteous in and of themselves!
We must therefore arrive at our righteousness in another way, as scripture make this point absolutely clear when it says:
Romans 3:10 “As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one.”
Isn’t it an interesting paradox that Psalms says:
“For the “righteous LORD” loveth righteousness; his countenance doth behold the upright.”
But Paul says that, “There is none righteous, no, not one.”
So, while outward, moral righteousness evidenced through acts of restraint and piety and generosity are certainly loved by God they alone could never be deemed as what makes a person righteous in the eyes of God due to the fact that unrighteousness exists within us, rendering the Psalmist and Paul (who repeats him) to say that, “There is none righteous, no, not one.”
Add in the fact that Isaiah also says
“But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away.” Isaiah 64:6
. . .and we have to look, in scripture, for another way or means to be seen as righteous before God – because obviously there has to be a way for humans TO BE seen as righteous or else the Psalmist would not have said
“For the righteous LORD loveth righteousness; his countenance doth behold the upright.”
We begin to gain some understanding by going back to the beginning and asking,
“What made Adam unrighteous to the point he was removed from the presence of God?”
In response we know that God told Adam “not to eat of the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil because in the day that he did he would surely die.”
We might say that this was something of a promise of God to Adam. Don’t eat the fruit because in the day that you do you will surely die.
We remember that the serpent’s response to Adam was,
“You shall NOT surely die,” a line that directly told Adam NOT trust in the Words of God.
Have you ever thought of this, that what Satan was indirectly telling Adam was that he should not trust God’s words to Him.
Remember this.
In any case Adam, apparently not believing or trusting or caring about the words or promises of the Lord, disobeyed – and went from being “without sin to being with sin.”
Now listen carefully – had Adam chosen to obey and trust in God’s promises He would have not only been seen as “without sin” but also “as righteous.”
Why? Because in trusting or having faith in God righteousness would have been imputed to him.
But by disobeying he was then found “with sin and unrighteous.”
For reiterations sake – prior to the fall Adam was neither sinful nor righteous. Had he trusted in the Words or promises of God Adam would have not only continued to be without sin but He would have been righteous because His faith in God’s words would have caused God to see Him as such.
But because He chose to discount God’s words or promises, he became sinful AND unrighteous.
One more time – from Adam we learn something – had he believed the Lord (which would have been manifested in him not doing what the Lord commanded) he would have been seen as righteous. And therefore, the righteous God would have loved him and His countenance would have looked upon him. Instead, he was cast out of His presence.
Let’s move forward to Cain and Abel.
Hebrews 11:4 says regarding these two brothers (listen closely)
“By faith Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, (1) by which (2) he obtained witness (3) that he was righteous, . . .”
Somehow in the offerings Abel trusted God and his words and promises and Cain did not. By this trust and faith Abel obtained a witness that he was righteous.
Let’s look at Noah.
Genesis 6:11 says:
11 The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence.
12 And God looked upon the earth, and, behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted his way upon the earth.
13 And God said unto Noah, The end of all flesh is come before me; for the earth is filled with violence through them; and, behold, I will destroy them with the earth.
14 Make thee an ark of gopher wood; rooms shalt thou make in the ark, and shalt pitch it within and without with pitch.
We mentioned last week that Noah started in and continued on his ark construction for 120 YEARS before the flood!
That’s faith and trust in the Word and promise of the Lord, right.
And respecting Noah the writer of Hebrews says:
Hebrews 11:7 “By faith Noah, being warned of God of things not seen as yet, moved with fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his house; by the which he condemned the world, and became heir of the righteousness which is by faith.”
Are you catching a common threat in all of this? The direct connection between faith and righteousness?
The writer of Hebrews, at the beginning of the chapter on faith (11) defines faith for us and says:
Hebrews 11:1 “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.”
That line, “hoped for,” is speaking of our hope in the promises and words of God to come true.
Faith is the substance of things hoped for, it is evidence to our heart of things not yet seen.
God told Adam, “If you eat the fruit you will die.” Adam had no faith in this promise of God – and ate it anyway.
Abel, by faith, presented an offering that was acceptable to God – somehow trusting in the manner in which the offering should have been made – and he was declared righteous – but Cain did not trust in God’s ways – and his countenance fell.
Noah by faith, trusted that God’s promise to send a flood could be relied upon acted, and his faith (evidenced by his actions) proved it, and he, as scripture says, “became an heir of righteousness which is by faith.”
So now let’s look to the story of Abraham. In chapter 15 of Genesis we read:
1 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 (meaning Eliezer) 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 (Abram) believed in the LORD; and he (God) counted it to him (Abraham) for righteousness.
And so we have yet another poignant example from scripture of what caused God to see another human being (Abram) as righteous –
It was not his well lived, moral life.
It was not the fact that Abraham was without sin – he wasn’t.
It was that Abram believed on the word/promises of the Lord!
Chapter 11 of Hebrews, making this point more than abundantly clear, gives us a radical example from scripture to prove this point and says at verse 31:
“By faith the harlot Rahab perished not with them that believed not, when she had received the spies with peace.”
In her case, the case of an Old Testament harlot, she trusted in the promises of security for her and her family from two spies from the COI and hid them without knowing that they would make good on their promises – but they did, and here in the NT she is seem as a woman of great faith (and righteousness) despite her stated occupation.
See, we have all, to some degree or another, had “stated” occupations before the Lord.
And if we were ever expected to stand before Him and justify ourselves as righteous we would all have a hard time doing it.
In the case of Abraham, God told Him –
“Abe, I’m going to give you children that number the sands of the sea (when he and his wife were so old His words and promises seemed like an utter impossibility!”
But Abraham believed Him and it was this faith and trust in the Words of God that was accounted to him AS righteousness.
The scripture supports this principle – old and New Testament – clearly, saying in Romans 3:28
“Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law.”
Romans 3:30 adds “Seeing it is one God, which shall justify the circumcision by faith, and uncircumcision through faith.”
Romans 5:1 says “Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.”
This is the guiding principle of the Christian walk – trusting in the promises or words of God.
Listen – when someone – anyone – suggests that we cannot trust “the promises of God” they are echoing the words and attitudes of the Serpent in the Garden who said to Adam,
“Ye shall not surely die,”
It was not by mistake that Jesus was tempted to feed himself in the wilderness He said to Satan:
“It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.”
Galatians 3:11 says:
“no man is justified by the law in the sight of God, it is evident: for, The just shall live by faith.”
Paul adds at verse 22 of the same chapter and book:
“But the scripture hath concluded all under sin, that the promise by faith of Jesus Christ might be given to them that believe.”
Three verses later he adds:
Galatians 3:26 For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus.
This passages let’s us in on one of the promises of God that all believers trust – that we are God’s Children by having faith on His Son Jesus.
Place your faith and trust on these words and promise and we are seen as righteous before Him.
Paul said in Ephesians 3:17
“That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love,”
And he adds in Philippians 3:9
“And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith:”
Stephan has chosen to begin his monologue by citing the father of faith, Abraham, who on more than one occasion proved that He, above all other things (including failures) trusted God.
The writer of Hebrews describes some of the faith Abraham exercised in the living God and says in Hebrews 11:8
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.
So there is one evidence of his faith. God told Him to sojourn out from the land of his father, and not even knowing where He was to go, and he went.
Ever been asked by God to do something not knowing how on earth it would turn out or even how to do it? Abraham did it first.
We know that by faith Abraham trusted that even though he and his wife were as good as dead (in their ability to procreate) he trusted that God’s promises would come true and he would be the father of millions.
Ever been dead in sin? Ever been dead to trusting God? Dead to your trust in another human being? Ever faced a situation where God has assured us that He will work all things out but in the end all we can do is trust him and his promises? Abraham did it first.
Speaking of Abraham the writer of Hebrews adds (11:9)
“By faith he (Abraham) 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.”
Ever get weary of lacking a place to rest your head? Feel like a sojourner on this earth without a home? Think that God has led you out of your comfort zone only to die in the wilderness? Abraham did it first.
Hebrews 11:17 adds:
“By faith Abraham, when he was tried, offered up Isaac: and he that had received the promises offered up his only begotten son,”
Ever been asked by God to live for Him, extend for Him, sacrifice for Him, and you do – only to discover that He asks for more, maybe even an ultimate sacrifice to lay on the alter, one you just don’t think you could ever give?
Abraham did it first – trusting in God’s promises, that God would make good on His word somehow, in someway – even when it seemed absolutely impossible.
(beat)
In and through faith in God’s words and promises Human beings are not only justified before God, we are made righteous, and God’s faces looks upon us as upright by and through such devotion to Him.
And Abraham, known as the father of faith, illustrates this attitude through his allegiance to the promises God made Him, even though he never personally saw God make good on some of them.
This is sort of the big application to us when we think about it.
Yes, God, through His word and by the Spirit reassures us in certain things that he will work things out as promised, and we like Abraham and His only promised Son Isaac get to live to see Him work His magic.
But often, in fact in EVERY Christian, there lies the reality that some of God’s promises to us, like those of Abraham’s seed obtaining their land of Promise, will never be seen or realized while we live in the flesh.
The promise of a resurrection.
The promise of eternal life by faith.
The promise of peace, a place in His Kingdom, the fact that faith and love are God’s true commandments –
Like Abraham we will all go to our graves not knowing – just believing.
But we can NEVER forget that it is in and through such belief that we both please God AND our seen as righteous before Him.
Faithlessness? Not trusting in God’s promises?
(listen) it is the absolute most diabolical path a human can take. It is so diabolical that it is the ONLY sin that has not been forgiven in this world (nor will it be forgiven of (as long as it exists) in the world to come.
I tell my family – no matter what – no matter what you choose to do in your life, no matter how far off course you may find yourselves for whatever reason NEVER, ever let go of your faith in the promises God has given you, which include that He so loved us He gave us His only Begotten Son and that by looking to Him in faith we are justified and sanctified and made righteous before the living God.
(beat)
Because of the weight faith carries in the lives of believers most of this world operates in opposition to it.
Almost everything within the natural human runs counter to faith.
Almost everything smacks against trusting the invisible God – and tells us to trust in our own intellect and wisdom and education and strength.
This world screams to live for today.
It tells us to rely on riches.
It says get revenge, don’t forgive, worry, fear, lie, cheat, serve the self.
But God loves, loves, loves the righteousness that comes by faith and trust in His will and His ways – so poignantly illustrated by the life of Abraham.
Q and A
Play? Meeting tonight 4pm right here.
The script and purpose and positions discussed.
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