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BY GRACE THROUGH FAITH – Part 2 (Genesis 11.27 -13:18 October 7, 2007)

When I first read the biography of John Newton, one thing struck me. How does a man who becomes a Christian stay a slave trader and become a slave ship captain and stay in that trade for years? And slaving was not his only sin. How could a Christian have these lapses and failures? But then I realised – Newton’s life is like that of every child of God. His life was just like mine. Soon after becoming a Christian – I had to face the question of what salvation meant for me in terms of how a Christian lives. The men who led me to the Lord drummed into me the truth of Romans 6:6-7:

For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin—because anyone who has died has been freed from sin.

When I became a Christian – there were many ways in which my life changed 180 degrees. I turned away from some besetting sins. I went to men I had offended and asked forgiveness. For a time my life was great. I seriously thought that I was done with sin. That salvation meant I would not sin again. How wrong I was! Sin still dwelt in my heart. I had my struggles and failures and I remember asking myself the question of whether I was truly saved. And I admit the question of my sin – my failures – my struggles – still raise doubts and questions in my mind today. But one of the passages that has helped me understand the nature of salvation – helped me understand our failures after salvation – is our passage at this morning.

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In Romans 4 and Galatians 3 – the Apostle Paul makes it very clear that Abraham is the model for all the saved. The faith of Abraham – the life of Abraham – is a model for everyone who would share in the blessing of Abraham. And like Newton and like me – Abraham’s life as a believer had its highs and its lows. Last week we looked at the call of Abraham – back when he was known as Abram and living in Ur.

We saw was that the Call of Abram was:

By Grace 11:27-32 Through Faith 12:1-9

His call was by grace. Nothing in Abram caused God to choose him. He was a moon-worshipping pagan. The man chosen to be the father of a great nation was childless. And even when he was called – he was half-hearted – instead of obeying the call to go to Canaan – he only made it to Haran and he stopped. And his call was through faith. God spoke once again to Abram and told him to leave his country, his people and his father’s household and go to the land the Lord would show him. This time Abram responded in faith. He counted the cost. He believed God. He acted – he went to Canaan and claimed the land in faith. And he worshipped. He built an altar and called on the name of the Lord. There is a temptation to view Abram’s life from this point on as a life of towering monumental faith. This man of ninety-nine who trusts God will make him the father of many nations. This man of such faith that he would plunge a knife into his beloved son Isaac – believing God would raise him from the dead. But Abram’s life is not like that. If you plot out Abram’s walk with the Lord – it would look more like this:

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Straight after the high of the call of Abram – you have the low of his time in Egypt – but that is followed by a return to Canaan and a reaffirmation of faith. Then this is followed by the low of his dealings with Lot – and yet another reaffirmation of faith in Canaan. Then we have the high of his faith in the promise of God. Listen to Genesis 15:4-6:

Then the word of the LORD came to him: “… A son coming from your own body will be your heir.” He took him outside and said, “Look up at the heavens and count the stars—if indeed you can count them.” Then he said to him, “So shall your offspring be.” Abram believed the LORD, and he credited it to him as righteousness.

Genesis 15:6 – Abram believed the LORD, and he credited it to him as righteousness – is one of the most famous verses in Scripture. But this high of faith is followed by Abram sleeping with his slave Hagar in order to gain a son and Ishmael is born. Then God comes back and says – you got it wrong – the son of promise will come through Sarah. And how does Abraham respond? He laughs and asks God to bless Ishmael. Then in chapter 21 he repeats his sin of lying saying Sarah is his sister and stands by as Abimelech takes her into his harem. But this is followed by chapter 22 where we have the great show of faith as Abraham intends to sacrifice Isaac in obedience to God. There are actually several more highs and lows along the way – but this gives you the idea. Abram’s life is filled with a rollercoaster of highs and lows. True faith does not mean never failing – never having your faith waiver.

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Here is Abram – the father of faith – and as we will see – there are times when his faith fails – fails miserably. He can simply no longer cling to the bare word of God – so he turns to natural means with terrible results. But, and here is the crucial point – God is faithful. He never allows the flame of faith to be extinguished in those He calls. He keeps stirring faith – and Abraham keeps returning to God in faith. And as we will see – despite Abraham’s failures – God never allows the plan to be derailed. God keeps the plan of salvation right on track. Time and again, Abraham repents of his sins, his lack of faith, his failures and he reaffirms his faith – his trust in God. I am so thankful for the whole life of Abraham. If we just had chapter 11:27 to 12:9 – the impression might be that real faith soars along – with no dips – no failures – no struggles. And without these passages, all of us who have our dips and our struggles might stop and ask – am I truly saved – do I have faith like Abraham? But the real picture of saving faith is a life of struggle and failure – we are still sinners – our faith waivers – but shining though is the grace of God that forgives our sins and always brings us back to Him. Today I want you to see that:

The Call of Abram is: By Grace 11:27-32 Through Faith 12:1-9 And:

By More Grace 12:10-13:2 Through More Faith 13:3-4 By More Grace 13:5-17 Through More Faith 13:18

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When we reached chapter 12 verse 9 – Abram is in the Promised Land. Yes the Canaanites possess it – but Abram is claiming it by faith. He has acted on the word of God and shown incredible faith to go to this land simply on the bare word of God. God had said to Abram:

I will make you into a great nation and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.

That is pretty heady stuff. The Creator of the universe declares that He will bless you. Then you act in obedience and take your family and servants to the land of Canaan. When he got there, Abram marched the length of the land – claiming it in faith and then setting up an altar to worship God. What do you think he expected to happen next? I would think that he would have expected Sarai to fall pregnant – the Canaanites to recognise his God-given authority over the land of Canaan – and for his already considerable wealth to expand rapidly. Not so. Now we find that the Call of Abram is: By Grace 11:27-32 Through Faith 12:1-9 And:

By More Grace 12:10-13:2 Look at Genesis 12:10:

Now there was a famine in the land. A life of faith is filled with tests of faith. Abram – like us – had to learn that the real blessing of God is eternal. A heavenly city and eternal blessings. Instead of earthly blessings – Abram encountered a natural disaster – a famine. He is a stranger in the land – no allies – seemingly no way to survive in a famine. Here he is the man who God has chosen to bless the nations and he faces starving to death.

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What would he do when life doesn’t go the way he expected? The end of verse 10:

Abram went down to Egypt to live there for a while because the famine was severe.

Egypt was incredibly fertile in the Nile Valley. Egypt usually escaped the worst of famines – there should be food there. But that is not the whole story. Look at verses 11-13:

As he was about to enter Egypt, he said to his wife Sarai, “I know what a beautiful woman you are. When the Egyptians see you, they will say, ‘This is his wife.’ Then they will kill me but will let you live. Say you are my sister, so that I will be treated well for your sake and my life will be spared because of you.”

Let’s be clear about what is happening here. Sarai is a beautiful woman. Yes, she is sixty-five. But remember, at that time their life-spans were double ours. Abraham died at 175. So Sarai would be something like our early thirties. Abram knows she is beautiful. She is clearly a rare beauty because he knows that the eyes of men are always drawn to her – and he knows the eyes of the Egyptian men will be drawn to her. He is going into a powerful empire. His servants will not be able to protect him there. He suspects that some of the Egyptians will look at Sarai and realise she is a prize. They will want her for themselves or for some powerful man – like Pharaoh. Let me be clear about what is at stake. She would not be entering their harem to cook and wash – her honour and intimacy are at risk. She would be heading to another man’s bed. Abram is aware that if they know she is married – they would have no hesitation killing him and taking her. If she is unmarried – if Abram is just her brother – then they can negotiate a price for her – treat him well. Notice this happens before they enter Egypt. Abram knows the danger of going to Egypt. Sarai may well end up in some man’s bed. So he concocts a plan – say you are my sister. We find out later that this has some truth to it. She is his half-sister – Terah is also her father – but she has a different mother to Abram.

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So putting all this together. Abram is in Canaan. A severe famine arrives. In his mind he has two unpalatable choices. Choice One. Stay in Canaan and starve to death. Choice Two. Go to Egypt but realise for him to survive it may mean Sarai ending up in someone else’s bed. Those are not his only choices. Humanly speaking they appear to be the options. But what about faith? Where is this giant of the faith? How can a man who later is willing to plunge a knife into his only son – trusting that God will raise him from the dead – how can He not trust the explicit promise of God to bless him? The truth is his faith failed him. I hope you see that these choices are purely human in nature. They neglect God. Here was the first test of his newly minted faith and he failed miserably. God had explicitly told him to go to the land of Canaan. He got there and God specifically said, “To your offspring I will give this land.” God promised to bless him, to make him into a great nation and that through him all the nations of the earth would be blessed. If God promises you that – you are not going to die childless in a famine. God would preserve him. And if all the promised blessings involve a son – you are not going to do something that might put your wife in someone else’s bed. It was though Abram’s seed that the blessing would come. Put Sarai in Pharaoh’s bed and the son might come through Pharaoh – the seed line might be ended. Yet amazingly, Abram, the father of faith, chooses to leave the Promised Land, to put Sarai and thus the promised son at risk. I have to be frank. I struggle with Abram at this point. This is the father of faith? This is the man God chose to bless the nations through? If God says He will bless you – you won’t die in the famine – stay in Canaan – protect Sarai – protect the seed line. What is he thinking? I think of what I would do – I have no promise from God concerning blessings on this earth. I have no assurance from God that I would survive a famine. But, if my choice

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is possible death in a famine or sacrificing my wife’s virtue – I would like to think that I could never be so selfish as to put her in that situation. What type of moral pygmy sacrifices his wife so he can survive? And what about Sarai? Did she object – did she just say – OK? We don’t know. I struggle with her going along with this plan. Some want to give Abram the benefit of the doubt. They argue – you never know till you are faced with the choice. Or maybe Abram and Sarai thought he was so important to God’s plan his survival was crucial – even at the cost of Sarai’s virtue. Others say that Abram expected blessing not famine – it seemed that God was not blessing him – he had to fend for himself. The point is that however you cut it – his faith failed. He could only see the human situation and not the divine hand of promise. Then I realise – how like us Abram is! How often does our faith fail? How often do we lose sight of the promises of God? How many times in our lives have we faced a trial. Our life has not gone in the direction we thought it should. A child off the rails. Financial hardship. Wife with cancer. A pathological boss at work. Where is the blessing for us as a child of God? But God never promised health, wealth and smooth sailing – earthly blessings. He promised to never leave us or forsake us. To give us strength for every trial. To bless us in the heavenlies. In fact He promised we would face trials – trials that cost us dearly. In fact in James 1:2-4 we are told:

Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.

That takes faith. To believe that trusting God through trials leads to blessing. To believe that God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose. Abram’s faith failed. He went to Egypt. He left the land of promise – he put Sarai at risk. And his worst fears were realised.

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Verses 14 and 15:

When Abram came to Egypt, the Egyptians saw that she was a very beautiful woman. And when Pharaoh’s officials saw her, they praised her to Pharaoh, and she was taken into his palace.

Just as Abram feared. Sarai becomes Pharaoh’s wife. But it is not all bad for him. Verse 16:

Pharaoh treated Abram well for her sake, and Abram acquired sheep and cattle, male and female donkeys, menservants and maidservants, and camels.

Sarai was a prize – so Pharaoh compensated Abram well. He became a wealthy man. Donkeys – especially female ones –were the animal of choice to ride in those days – they were thought to be more docile and easier to control. They were only possessed by the rich. And the gift of camels shows how much Pharaoh blessed Abram. For years critics of the Bible said there were no camels in Egypt at this time. Now archaeologists tell us they were there. They had just arrived and were so rare they were gifts of the highest value. Let me put verse 16 in today’s terms:

Pharaoh treated Abram well for her sake, and Abram acquired seaside land and mansions, expensive cars and yachts and domestic help and personal assistants.

Sarai must have been something. So, let’s step back for a moment. Abram leaves the famine of Canaan. Now he is in Egypt – he is taken under the protection of Pharaoh himself and made fabulously wealthy. He can have any number of wives and concubines and slaves. He could live out his years in Egypt in comfort. Sarai would be well taken care of in Pharaoh’s palace. He could rationalise – God had failed not him. God sent the famine – he just reacted. He could settle in Egypt. Not bad. Life in Canaan in the midst of a famine – surrounded by Canaanites – or life amid the upper class of fabulous Egypt? In earthly terms – Abram has done well. But what of the promise? What of the seed line? What of God’s plan to save the nations?

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No seed line, no Jesus, no salvation for anyone – including Abram. He might have eighty more years of luxury in Egypt – but then comes eternal hell. Let me pause here. I hope you see parallels here with the account of Israel going down into Egypt.

Abram Exodus Famine Egypt Abram blessed by Pharaoh Plagues Exodus to Canaan

Famine Egypt Moses blessed by Pharaoh Plagues Exodus to Canaan

There are actually many more linguistic and thematic parallels. But the point is clear. In both cases the ones through whom the Promised Messiah will come are in danger in Egypt. And it is God who has to act. Abram could have enjoyed the riches of Egypt. Moses could have enjoyed the riches of Egypt. Sarai could have stayed a wife to Pharaoh. Israel could have stayed a slave to Pharaoh. The line of promise could have been snuffed out. God could have deserted Abram – left him to rot in Egypt. But here is the point. When God calls us – He doesn’t just give us grace once – but daily until our time is gone. John Newton was saved when he was on a slave boat in the midst of a terrible storm. But he stayed a slaver for years. He became a slave Captain. Read his biography – even as a Christian he did some terrible things. But years later when he wrote his famous hymn – Amazing Grace – he wrote this:

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Tis grace has brought me safe this far and grace will lead me home.

God’s grace does not stop at our salvation. We need grace to lead us home. To cover over all our sins. To open our eyes to our failing and bring us in repentance back to God. The Call of Abram is: By Grace 11:27-32 Through Faith 12:1-9 And:

By More Grace 12:10-13:2 Grace means God will not leave Abram to get what he deserves in Egypt. Grace will not allow the plan of salvation to be sidetracked. Grace overcomes sin and faithlessness. Verse 17:

But the LORD inflicted serious diseases on Pharaoh and his household because of Abram’s wife Sarai.

I don’t know why the NIV tones this down. Listen to the NASB.

But the Lord struck Pharaoh and his house with great plagues because of Sarai, Abram’s wife.

Plagues – the same word as in the plagues of Exodus fell on Pharaoh and his house. God begins to act to protect Abram, Sarai and bring about His plan of salvation. Verse 18:

So Pharaoh summoned Abram. “What have you done to me?” he said. “Why didn’t you tell me she was your wife?”

How did Pharaoh know? Some suppose that the plague was boils and skin diseases and Sarai was spared. When questioned why she was spared she told the truth. More likely God came to Pharaoh in a dream as he does to Abimelech in chapter 20. Regardless, Pharaoh now knows the truth and is not happy. Verse 19:

Why did you say, ‘She is my sister,’ so that I took her to be my wife?

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Why did you lie – so I took this woman – who is married to you – to be my wife – and now I suffer from the plagues of God? This verse has elicited much debate. I took her to be my wife. Does this mean that Pharaoh slept with Sarai? There is no way to be sure. Pharaoh’s had many wives and usually a new wife would be prepared and trained for quite some time before spending the night with Pharaoh. Think of Esther – she had a twelve month preparation before being taken to the King. I think most likely Sarai had not slept with Pharaoh. In chapter 20 – Abraham makes the same mistake with Abimelech. God comes to him in a dream and specifically says that He did not let the King touch her. So I think God intervened to protect Sarai – and the line of promise – before her virtue was taken and she was at risk of bearing a child to Pharaoh instead of to Abram. Pharaoh is pretty terse with Abram at the end of verse 19:

Now then, here is your wife. Take her and go! In Hebrew his command is just four words long.

Behold wife. Take. Go. Here is your wife. Now get out of Egypt. Genesis 12:20-13:2:

Then Pharaoh gave orders about Abram to his men, and they sent him on his way, with his wife and everything he had. So Abram went up from Egypt to the Negev, with his wife and everything he had, and Lot went with him. Abram had become very wealthy in livestock and in silver and gold.

To make sure they got out – he sent some men to escort them out. He let Abram keep his wealth – probably because he didn’t want any more plagues. So Abram leaves Egypt to return to Canaan. You know – I liked Abram better as a pagan, childless, half-hearted moon-worshipper rather than this man who leaves the land of promise and puts his wife into the bedroom of another man to save his life. But the Lord likes him just the same. The old Abram and the new one both need grace. Here is the point. Like Abram – we are saved by grace and more grace and more grace.

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Salvation did not make Abram a perfect flawless man. He still had lapses of faith and morality and judgment. But God was gracious. He saved him and drew him out of Egypt – as he will do to the nation of Israel. And He blessed him in spite of his sin. And He will use him in spite of his sin. The Call of Abram is: By Grace 11:27-32 Through Faith 12:1-9 And:

By More Grace 12:10-13:2 Through More Faith 13:3-4

Here is the crucial point. True faith perseveres. When it fails – it repents and looks up to God and confesses its sins and reaffirms its faith. Genesis 13:3-4:

From the Negev he went from place to place until he came to Bethel, to the place between Bethel and Ai where his tent had been earlier and where he had first built an altar. There Abram called on the name of the LORD.

Abram could have said – I have failed. Pick someone else to be the father of the nation. My faith is not up to it. But he returned to the Promised Land. He went back to the place between Bethel and Ai where he had first built an altar. There he called on the name of the LORD. He went back to God in faith. I failed – here I am – through grace use me. 1 John 1:8-9:

If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.

Being a child of Abraham means we know that we are sinners. We fail. But when we fail – we come to God and confess our sins and plead for Him to strengthen us and know that in the death of Christ – all our sins are washed away. This is not a licence to sin. This means that we call on God to strengthen us and help us in our infirmities. But we are still flesh. We will sin.

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Grace is there for those sins after salvation. Part of the heresy of the Galatians was to misunderstand the nature of our salvation. Listen to Galatians 3:3:

Are you so foolish? After beginning with the Spirit, are you now trying to attain your goal by human effort?

Salvation is not:

By grace through faith and then sustained by works. It is not that it is all of God up until the moment we are saved and then it is all up to us. No! It is all of God till the moment we die. We are sinners. We fail. Our faith fails. But God never fails. His grace sustains us and washes away our repeated sins. He forgives seventy times seven. But, the true child of God is sickened and repents and confesses his sin and desires to live holy. Abram knew he had failed this test of faith. But he knew where forgiveness lay – and he came to God. We are saved: By Grace Through Faith And:

By More Grace Through More Faith

But then as if that isn’t enough – it becomes clear in the rest of the story of Abraham that we need more grace and more faith. More failures, more repentance, more acts of faith. This is the normal life of faith. As soon as Abram returned to Canaan – he makes yet another mistake. His faith fails again. The Call of Abram is: By Grace 11:27-32 Through Faith 12:1-9 And:

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By More Grace 12:10-13:2 Through More Faith 13:3-4 By More Grace 13:5-17

Look at verses 5-7:

Now Lot, who was moving about with Abram, also had flocks and herds and tents. But the land could not support them while they stayed together, for their possessions were so great that they were not able to stay together. And quarrelling arose between Abram’s herdsmen and the herdsmen of Lot. The Canaanites and Perizzites were also living in the land at that time.

Abram comes out of Egypt loaded with possessions. But those possessions are not a blessing – they are a curse. In chapter 16 we find that one of the maidservants that come out of Egypt with Abram is called Hagar. And of course we know how that ends with Abram failing to trust God would provide an heir. He sleeps with her and the result is Ishmael – the father of many nations who will oppose Israel. But here in these verses we see that these possessions cause a division between Abram and Lot. They have so many flocks and herds and tents that the water and grazing won’t support them all. A quarrel broke out among their herdsmen. It is ironic that the land is not empty. The Canaanites and Perizzites are living in the land. They can live with these foreign pagans – but not with each other. Lot ends up living with the Sodomites. Abram lives with the Canaanites. But their flocks and possessions mean they can’t live with each other. Possessions are a constant source of strife in families. Watch how a dead relative and a will can tear a close family apart. What should Abram have done? No doubt he should have found a way to keep Lot close. God made it clear that the blessing comes through Abram and those associated with Abram. This is first and foremost a spiritual blessing – but it is also a physical blessing. Lot separates from Abram and in chapter 14, Lot is kidnapped. In chapter 19 his city of Sodom is destroyed, his wife is killed and his daughters sleep with him leading to the origin of the Moabites and the Ammonites. Leaving Abram was a disaster for Lot.

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Abram may have thought it was a loving thing to let Lot go. But the promise had been – I will bless those who bless you – all the peoples of the earth will be blessed through you. But even worse than simply letting Lot go, look what Abram did. Verses 8 and 9:

So Abram said to Lot, “Let’s not have any quarrelling between you and me, or between your herdsmen and mine, for we are brothers. Is not the whole land before you? Let’s part company. If you go to the left, I’ll go to the right; if you go to the right, I’ll go to the left.”

Understand what is going on here. Abraham and Lot are standing at the southern end of the Dead Sea. To the west is the Promised Land. To the east is the cities of the plain – including Zoar and Sodom and Gomorrah. Abram says – take your pick. If you go to the left, I’ll go to the right; if you go to the right, I’ll go to the left. I am sure Abram actually was being magnanimous and generous. But let us not forget – God gave the Promised Land to him and to his descendants – not to Lot. Lot would become the father of the Moabites and Ammonites – not the Israelites. Abram had to believe that the land was for him – not Lot. Abram had to believe that Lot would be blessed by staying with him. Abram had to believe the promise of God. If Abram really trusted the promise of God – he would not flirt with giving away the Promised Land – nor would he let Lot leave. He should find a way for them to exist together. Give away some possessions if need be. Get rid of some herdsmen who can’t get on. Find a way. Instead he gives Lot the choice. Lot could say – I will go west to the Promised Land. But God was gracious – again. He preserves the land of promise for Abram. Verses 10-11:

Lot looked up and saw that the whole plain of the Jordan was well watered, like the garden of the LORD, like the land of Egypt, toward Zoar. (This was before the LORD destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah.) So Lot chose for himself the whole plain of the Jordan and set out toward the east. The two men parted company.

There are all sorts of links here with Eve’s choice in the garden. Saw. Watered. Garden of the Lord. And like Eve – Lot chose poorly.

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He went east – and as we have seen in Genesis – east is away from the presence of God. And how true that was. What a disaster going to live in Sodom was. Verses 12-13:

Abram lived in the land of Canaan, while Lot lived among the cities of the plain and pitched his tents near Sodom. Now the men of Sodom were wicked and were sinning greatly against the LORD.

The cities of the plain might have looked good – they were filled with men of incredible wickedness. Abram’s faith failed again. He did not keep Lot with him. He offered to give away the Promised Land. Abram needed God’s grace yet again to preserve him and the promise. But Lot also needed grace. You read through Genesis – and Lot seems to be a selfish, weak-willed man. He moves away from Abram for greed. He lives in Sodom. When the evil men of Sodom want to have relations with the angels who visit Lot – he says – take my virgin daughters instead. That is as bad or worse than what Abram did with Sarai. Later he gets drunk not once but twice and sleeps with his daughters – leading to the nations of Moab and Ammon. Lot seems to be a man who is not righteous. But listen to what Peter says of Lot. 2 Peter 2:7-8:

If he rescued Lot, a righteous man, who was distressed by the filthy lives of lawless men (for that righteous man, living among them day after day, was tormented in his righteous soul by the lawless deeds he saw and heard).

Righteous Lot??? Three times called righteous! And then I remembered – righteousness comes by grace through faith – not by our works. We will see later in Genesis that in the midst of his failings – there is faith in Lot – and much, much grace from God. Lot is righteous because of God’s grace.

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Abram is righteous – Abram is the father of faith – because of God’s grace. Both of these men fail in human terms – but by grace through faith – they are saved. God’s grace reigns upon Abram yet again. Look at verses 14-17:

The LORD said to Abram after Lot had parted from him, “Lift up your eyes from where you are and look north and south, east and west. All the land that you see I will give to you and your offspring forever. I will make your offspring like the dust of the earth, so that if anyone could count the dust, then your offspring could be counted. Go, walk through the length and breadth of the land, for I am giving it to you.”

Abram would have given the Promised Land to Lot and thus to the Ammonites and Moabites – but God was gracious. God kept him in the Promised Land. God will give him a seed and give his seed the land. God’s plan cannot be thwarted. His word will come to pass. Abram will become the father of a nation – Christ will come from that nation – and all the peoples of the earth will be blessed through Him.

And then we come to see that the Call of Abram is: By Grace 11:27-32 Through Faith 12:1-9 And:

By More Grace 12:10-13:2 Through More Faith 13:3-4 By More Grace 13:5-17 Through More Faith 13:18

Verse 18:

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So Abram moved his tents and went to live near the great trees of Mamre at Hebron, where he built an altar to the LORD.

Once again, Abram returned to the roots of his faith. He worshipped God. He proclaimed his faith in God. Abraham is the father of faith. Faith is not:

Salvation turns us forever from sin and makes us holy and then we stay sinless until we die. Nor is it even:

A continuous progression to holiness without backward steps. Instead, the life of Abram shows us that faith:

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Has its struggles, its failures, its disappointments. But our lives are underpinned by the grace of God. And by grace, our lives always return to the bedrock of faith. We turn from our failure to embrace the glory of faith – faith in God who cannot fail. Don’t put yourself or great men and women of history or leaders in the church today on too high a pedestal. They are mere men. They have their failures. Instead – give the glory to God who uses such weak vessels to work His purposes. Look at the greatest men and women of faith. They all had their failures and struggles. Moses can move from the call of the burning bush and the Exodus – to anger and striking the rock – and not entering the Promised Land. David can move from the faith that enables him to slay Goliath, to the depths of adultery with Bathsheba and killing Uriah, back to the glory of the Psalms. The disciples can move from the call to follow Christ, to failing to know who He is, to the glory of the Last Supper to the lows of deserting Him in Gethsemane and the cross back to the high of the resurrection and Pentecost. That is the essence of grace and faith. Humanly speaking we can’t do it. But divinely – God does it for us. He pays for our sins in Christ. He forgives us our trespasses – before and after salvation. He only asks that we trust Him in faith. So what does that mean for us – for you and me? It means that when we fail, when we sin, when our faith fails – and it will – this does not necessarily mean we are not saved. It can mean that. If we sin without real remorse. If there is no growing holiness over time. If there is no God given power to fight sin in our lives. Then we may be unsaved.

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But, salvation is not sinlessness. It does not mean we never fail. It does not mean that we never have lapses of faith. All Christians sin. We have our failures. We have times when faith fails. But we confess our sins. We repent. We ask God to strengthen us. And God is gracious to forgive us – again and again. The Christian life is more grace, more faith, more grace, more faith.

Tis grace has brought me safe this far and grace will lead me home. So when the struggles come – ask God for strength to seek to trust Him – to chose the way of promise – not the way of natural man. Pray that your faith will not fail. But if it does. Don’t stay in Egypt or Sodom. Go back to Canaan. Repent. Ask for forgiveness. The God who forgives Abram his many sins and failures – just read these chapters – this is the father of faith – this God stands ready to forgive us in love and grace. This is grace – and it truly is amazing.