Showing posts with label Abraham. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Abraham. Show all posts
Friday, December 27, 2024
Friday, January 10, 2014
The Separation of Church and State
When God said to Abraham, "Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father's house, unto a land that I will show thee," Abraham "went out, not knowing whither he went" (Heb. 11:8).
God had not yet showed to him the land or country into which he was to go, and which was to be his. So far, the Lord had only promised to show it to him.
There were three things, however, which Abraham must do before he could fairly expect God to show him the country which He had promised, and which was to be his. First, he was to get out of his country; secondly, from his kindred; thirdly, from his father's house.
He left his country; but when he did so, his father and his kindred went with him to Haran, and dwelt there. There his father died; and now, separated from his father's house, he went on to the land of Canaan.
But there accompanied him yet one of his kindred -- Lot, his brother's son. While Lot was with him, and he was thus not separated from his kindred, though separated from his country and his father's house, the time could come for God to show to him the land, nor the country which He would give him.
But there came a day when Lot should be separated from him. Lot chose all the plain of the Jordan, and journeyed east, and "they separated thus, one from the other" (Gen. 13:11).
And just then it was that God showed to Abraham the land which He had promised to show him, the country which should be his. "And the Lord said unto Abraham, after that Lot was separated from him, Lift up now thine eyes, and look from the place where thou art northward, and southward, and eastward, and westward; for all the land which thou seest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed forever" (Gen. 13:14, 15).
And the country which the Lord then showed to Abraham, and which He there promised him should be his for an everlasting possession -- that country embraced the world; for "the promise, that he should be the heir of the world, was not to Abraham, or to his seed, through the law, but through the righteousness of faith" (Rom. 4:13).
Therefore, when at the word of the Lord Abraham lifted up his eyes to see what the Lord would show him, he saw "the world to come," which is to be the everlasting possession of all them which be of faith. For "if ye be Christ's, then are ye Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise" (Gal. 3:29).
Tuesday, November 30, 2010
Promises for the Righteous
1Hearken to me, ye that follow after righteousness, ye that seek the LORD: look unto the rock whence ye are hewn, and to the hole of the pit whence ye are digged.
2Look unto Abraham your father, and unto Sarah that bare you: for I called him alone, and blessed him, and increased him.
3For the LORD shall comfort Zion: he will comfort all her waste places; and he will make her wilderness like Eden, and her desert like the garden of the LORD; joy and gladness shall be found therein, thanksgiving, and the voice of melody.
2Look unto Abraham your father, and unto Sarah that bare you: for I called him alone, and blessed him, and increased him.
3For the LORD shall comfort Zion: he will comfort all her waste places; and he will make her wilderness like Eden, and her desert like the garden of the LORD; joy and gladness shall be found therein, thanksgiving, and the voice of melody.
Isaiah 51:1-3.
Sunday, September 26, 2010
For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus
Illustration (Courtesy) http://versebyversebibleteaching.com So then they which be of faith are blessed with faithful Abraham.
Galatians 3
1O foolish Galatians, who hath bewitched you, that ye should not obey the truth, before whose eyes Jesus Christ hath been evidently set forth, crucified among you?
2This only would I learn of you, Received ye the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith?
3Are ye so foolish? having begun in the Spirit, are ye now made perfect by the flesh?
4Have ye suffered so many things in vain? if it be yet in vain.
5He therefore that ministereth to you the Spirit, and worketh miracles among you, doeth he it by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith?
6Even as Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.
7Know ye therefore that they which are of faith, the same are the children of Abraham.
8And the scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the heathen through faith, preached before the gospel unto Abraham, saying, In thee shall all nations be blessed.
9So then they which be of faith are blessed with faithful Abraham.
10For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse: for it is written, Cursed is every one that continueth not in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them.
11But that no man is justified by the law in the sight of God, it is evident: for, The just shall live by faith.
12And the law is not of faith: but, The man that doeth them shall live in them.
13Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree:
14That the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ; that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.
15Brethren, I speak after the manner of men; Though it be but a man's covenant, yet if it be confirmed, no man disannulleth, or addeth thereto.
16Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to thy seed, which is Christ.
17And this I say, that the covenant, that was confirmed before of God in Christ, the law, which was four hundred and thirty years after, cannot disannul, that it should make the promise of none effect.
18For if the inheritance be of the law, it is no more of promise: but God gave it to Abraham by promise.
19Wherefore then serveth the law? It was added because of transgressions, till the seed should come to whom the promise was made; and it was ordained by angels in the hand of a mediator.
20Now a mediator is not a mediator of one, but God is one.
21Is the law then against the promises of God? God forbid: for if there had been a law given which could have given life, verily righteousness should have been by the law.
22But the scripture hath concluded all under sin, that the promise by faith of Jesus Christ might be given to them that believe.
23But before faith came, we were kept under the law, shut up unto the faith which should afterwards be revealed.
24Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith.
25But after that faith is come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster.
26For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus.
27For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ.
28There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus.
29And if ye be Christ's, then are ye Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise.
King James Version (KJV)
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Friday, March 19, 2010
The Children of Abraham
The Pharisees had declared themselves the children of Abraham. Jesus told them that this claim could be established only by doing the works of Abraham. The true children of Abraham would live, as he did, a life of obedience to God. They would not try to kill One who was speaking the truth that was given Him from God. In plotting against Christ, the rabbis were not doing the works of Abraham. A mere lineal descent from Abraham was of no value. Without a spiritual connection with him, which would be manifested in possessing the same spirit, and doing the same works, they were not his children.
This principle bears with equal weight upon a question that has long agitated the Christian world,--the question of apostolic succession. Descent from Abraham was proved, not by name and lineage, but by likeness of character. So the apostolic succession rests not upon the transmission of ecclesiastical authority, but upon spiritual relationship. A life actuated by the apostles' spirit, the belief and teaching of the truth they taught, this is the true evidence of apostolic succession. This is what constitutes men the successors of the first teachers of the gospel. {DA 467.1}
Jesus denied that the Jews were children of Abraham. He said, "Ye do the deeds of your father." In mockery they answered, "We be not born of fornication; we have one Father, even God." These words, in allusion to the circumstances of His birth, were intended as a thrust against Christ in the presence of those who were beginning to believe on Him. Jesus gave no heed to the base insinuation, but said, "If God were your Father, ye would love Me: for I proceeded forth and came from God."
This principle bears with equal weight upon a question that has long agitated the Christian world,--the question of apostolic succession. Descent from Abraham was proved, not by name and lineage, but by likeness of character. So the apostolic succession rests not upon the transmission of ecclesiastical authority, but upon spiritual relationship. A life actuated by the apostles' spirit, the belief and teaching of the truth they taught, this is the true evidence of apostolic succession. This is what constitutes men the successors of the first teachers of the gospel. {DA 467.1}
Jesus denied that the Jews were children of Abraham. He said, "Ye do the deeds of your father." In mockery they answered, "We be not born of fornication; we have one Father, even God." These words, in allusion to the circumstances of His birth, were intended as a thrust against Christ in the presence of those who were beginning to believe on Him. Jesus gave no heed to the base insinuation, but said, "If God were your Father, ye would love Me: for I proceeded forth and came from God."
Their works testified of their relationship to him who was a liar and a murderer. "Ye are of your father the devil," said Jesus, "and the lusts of your father it is your will to do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and stood not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. . . . Because I say the truth, ye believe Me not." John 8:44, 45, R. V. The fact that Jesus spoke the truth, and that with certainty, was why He was not received by the Jewish leaders. It was the truth that offended these self-righteous men. The truth exposed the fallacy of error; it condemned their teaching and practice, and it was unwelcome. They would rather close their eyes to the truth than humble themselves to confess that they had been in error. They did not love the truth. They did not desire it, even though it was truth.
The Desire of Ages (1898), E. g. White, pp.466, 467.
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Friday, October 09, 2009
"How the End Begins"
Grace Baptist Church, Franklin, MA
Download the ASCII text version of this sermon
Text: Genesis 13:5-12
Introduction:
If you throw a ball straight up in the air when does it start to come down? If a nation begins to build an empire, when does that empire begin to decline? When does the Sun or the Moon begin to set? When do mountain climber start their descent? When does a Christian begin to backslide? When does the fervor for Christ begin to slip? When does the power begin to dissipate? When does it happen?
Genesis 13:5-12 5 And Lot also, which went with Abram, had flocks, and herds, and tents. 6 And the land was not able to bear them, that they might dwell together: for their substance was great, so that they could not dwell together. 7 And there was a strife between the herdmen of Abram's cattle and the herdmen of Lot's cattle: and the Canaanite and the Perizzite dwelled then in the land. 8 And Abram said unto Lot, Let there be no strife, I pray thee, between me and thee, and between my herdmen and thy herdmen; for we be brethren. 9 Is not the whole land before thee? separate thyself, I pray thee, from me: if thou wilt take the left hand, then I will go to the right; or if thou depart to the right hand, then I will go to the left. 10 And Lot lifted up his eyes, and beheld all the plain of Jordan, that it was well watered every where, before the LORD destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah, even as the garden of the LORD, like the land of Egypt, as thou comest unto Zoar. 11 Then Lot chose him all the plain of Jordan; and Lot journeyed east: and they separated themselves the one from the other. 12 Abram dwelled in the land of Canaan, and Lot dwelled in the cities of the plain, and pitched his tent toward Sodom.
He Pitched His Tent Toward Sodom
I. Pitching His Tent Toward Sodom
This began Lot's decline. One day he woke up on the side of a mountain from a drunken stupor. Each of his daughters carried his child. His wife was a pillar of salt in the valley below. All of his earthly goods, his home, his wealth, his flocks, his prestige lay buried in the ashes of fire and brimstone. And it all started on the day when he pitched his tent toward Sodom. He had had it all!
II. Pitching His Tent Toward Sodom
This made good sense, to the natural mind. Plenty of provisions but a discernable distance between he and the world. You have to interact with the World. His position toward Sodom would place him in position to be a witness to the inhabitants. As God blessed him, the world would be able to see it, and would come and ask "How" and "Why" giving him great influence with the people. He could demonstrate that being one of God's does not make one a dangerous extremist.
III. Pitching His Tent Toward Sodom
This allowed the brilliant prospects of the immediate to blind him to the ultimate and unavoidable conclusion. He thought that he was strong enough to withstand the temptations. He thought he could protect his children from their influence.
IV. Application - We are No Different from Lot.
A.We Pitch Our Tent Toward Sodom - When we go to church for spiritual things but go to the world for entertainment.
B. We Pitch Our Tent Toward Sodom - When we go to church for spiritual advice but go to the world for other advice.
C. We Pitch Our Tent Toward Sodom - When we go to church to get spiritual and to the world to get fashionable.
D. We Pitch Our Tent Toward Sodom - When we get our Message from the Bible but our Method from the World.
E. We Pitch Our Tent Toward Sodom - When we get our vision from the Bible but our Priorities from the World.
F. We Pitch Our Tent Toward Sodom - When we get our focus from the Bible but our motivation from the World. "Doing a right thing in the flesh is only one step away from doing a wrong thing in the flesh. (Dr. Jack Hyles)"
G. We Pitch Our Tent Toward Sodom - When we set our standards from the Bible, but our behavior from the Flesh.
H. We Pitch Our Tent Toward Sodom - When we get our Commission from the Scriptures but our Resources from the flesh.
I. We Pitch Our Tent Toward Sodom - When we get our song lyrics from the Bible and our Music from the World.
J. We Pitch Our Tent Toward Sodom - When we get our Assignments from the Holy Ghost and our Excuses from our world
K. We Pitch Our Tent Toward Sodom - When we want our children to serve the Lord after we have educated them to succed in the World.
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Text: Genesis 13:5-12
Introduction:
If you throw a ball straight up in the air when does it start to come down? If a nation begins to build an empire, when does that empire begin to decline? When does the Sun or the Moon begin to set? When do mountain climber start their descent? When does a Christian begin to backslide? When does the fervor for Christ begin to slip? When does the power begin to dissipate? When does it happen?
Genesis 13:5-12 5 And Lot also, which went with Abram, had flocks, and herds, and tents. 6 And the land was not able to bear them, that they might dwell together: for their substance was great, so that they could not dwell together. 7 And there was a strife between the herdmen of Abram's cattle and the herdmen of Lot's cattle: and the Canaanite and the Perizzite dwelled then in the land. 8 And Abram said unto Lot, Let there be no strife, I pray thee, between me and thee, and between my herdmen and thy herdmen; for we be brethren. 9 Is not the whole land before thee? separate thyself, I pray thee, from me: if thou wilt take the left hand, then I will go to the right; or if thou depart to the right hand, then I will go to the left. 10 And Lot lifted up his eyes, and beheld all the plain of Jordan, that it was well watered every where, before the LORD destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah, even as the garden of the LORD, like the land of Egypt, as thou comest unto Zoar. 11 Then Lot chose him all the plain of Jordan; and Lot journeyed east: and they separated themselves the one from the other. 12 Abram dwelled in the land of Canaan, and Lot dwelled in the cities of the plain, and pitched his tent toward Sodom.
He Pitched His Tent Toward Sodom
I. Pitching His Tent Toward Sodom
This began Lot's decline. One day he woke up on the side of a mountain from a drunken stupor. Each of his daughters carried his child. His wife was a pillar of salt in the valley below. All of his earthly goods, his home, his wealth, his flocks, his prestige lay buried in the ashes of fire and brimstone. And it all started on the day when he pitched his tent toward Sodom. He had had it all!
II. Pitching His Tent Toward Sodom
This made good sense, to the natural mind. Plenty of provisions but a discernable distance between he and the world. You have to interact with the World. His position toward Sodom would place him in position to be a witness to the inhabitants. As God blessed him, the world would be able to see it, and would come and ask "How" and "Why" giving him great influence with the people. He could demonstrate that being one of God's does not make one a dangerous extremist.
III. Pitching His Tent Toward Sodom
This allowed the brilliant prospects of the immediate to blind him to the ultimate and unavoidable conclusion. He thought that he was strong enough to withstand the temptations. He thought he could protect his children from their influence.
IV. Application - We are No Different from Lot.
A.We Pitch Our Tent Toward Sodom - When we go to church for spiritual things but go to the world for entertainment.
B. We Pitch Our Tent Toward Sodom - When we go to church for spiritual advice but go to the world for other advice.
C. We Pitch Our Tent Toward Sodom - When we go to church to get spiritual and to the world to get fashionable.
D. We Pitch Our Tent Toward Sodom - When we get our Message from the Bible but our Method from the World.
E. We Pitch Our Tent Toward Sodom - When we get our vision from the Bible but our Priorities from the World.
F. We Pitch Our Tent Toward Sodom - When we get our focus from the Bible but our motivation from the World. "Doing a right thing in the flesh is only one step away from doing a wrong thing in the flesh. (Dr. Jack Hyles)"
G. We Pitch Our Tent Toward Sodom - When we set our standards from the Bible, but our behavior from the Flesh.
H. We Pitch Our Tent Toward Sodom - When we get our Commission from the Scriptures but our Resources from the flesh.
I. We Pitch Our Tent Toward Sodom - When we get our song lyrics from the Bible and our Music from the World.
J. We Pitch Our Tent Toward Sodom - When we get our Assignments from the Holy Ghost and our Excuses from our world
K. We Pitch Our Tent Toward Sodom - When we want our children to serve the Lord after we have educated them to succed in the World.
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Friday, December 12, 2008
If I find in Sodom fifty righteous within the city...
Genesis 18
1And the LORD appeared unto him in the plains of Mamre: and he sat in the tent door in the heat of the day;
2And he lift up his eyes and looked, and, lo, three men stood by him: and when he saw them, he ran to meet them from the tent door, and bowed himself toward the ground,
3And said, My LORD, if now I have found favour in thy sight, pass not away, I pray thee, from thy servant:
4Let a little water, I pray you, be fetched, and wash your feet, and rest yourselves under the tree:
5And I will fetch a morsel of bread, and comfort ye your hearts; after that ye shall pass on: for therefore are ye come to your servant. And they said, So do, as thou hast said.
6And Abraham hastened into the tent unto Sarah, and said, Make ready quickly three measures of fine meal, knead it, and make cakes upon the hearth.
7And Abraham ran unto the herd, and fetcht a calf tender and good, and gave it unto a young man; and he hasted to dress it.
8And he took butter, and milk, and the calf which he had dressed, and set it before them; and he stood by them under the tree, and they did eat.
9And they said unto him, Where is Sarah thy wife? And he said, Behold, in the tent.
10And he said, I will certainly return unto thee according to the time of life; and, lo, Sarah thy wife shall have a son. And Sarah heard it in the tent door, which was behind him.
11Now Abraham and Sarah were old and well stricken in age; and it ceased to be with Sarah after the manner of women.
12Therefore Sarah laughed within herself, saying, After I am waxed old shall I have pleasure, my lord being old also?
13And the LORD said unto Abraham, Wherefore did Sarah laugh, saying, Shall I of a surety bear a child, which am old?
14Is any thing too hard for the LORD? At the time appointed I will return unto thee, according to the time of life, and Sarah shall have a son.
15Then Sarah denied, saying, I laughed not; for she was afraid. And he said, Nay; but thou didst laugh.
16And the men rose up from thence, and looked toward Sodom: and Abraham went with them to bring them on the way.
17And the LORD said, Shall I hide from Abraham that thing which I do;
18Seeing that Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him?
19For I know him, that he will command his children and his household after him, and they shall keep the way of the LORD, to do justice and judgment; that the LORD may bring upon Abraham that which he hath spoken of him.
20And the LORD said, Because the cry of Sodom and Gomorrah is great, and because their sin is very grievous;
21I will go down now, and see whether they have done altogether according to the cry of it, which is come unto me; and if not, I will know.
22And the men turned their faces from thence, and went toward Sodom: but Abraham stood yet before the LORD.
23And Abraham drew near, and said, Wilt thou also destroy the righteous with the wicked?
24Peradventure there be fifty righteous within the city: wilt thou also destroy and not spare the place for the fifty righteous that are therein?
25That be far from thee to do after this manner, to slay the righteous with the wicked: and that the righteous should be as the wicked, that be far from thee: Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?
26And the LORD said, If I find in Sodom fifty righteous within the city, then I will spare all the place for their sakes.
27And Abraham answered and said, Behold now, I have taken upon me to speak unto the LORD, which am but dust and ashes:
28Peradventure there shall lack five of the fifty righteous: wilt thou destroy all the city for lack of five? And he said, If I find there forty and five, I will not destroy it.
29And he spake unto him yet again, and said, Peradventure there shall be forty found there. And he said, I will not do it for forty's sake.
30And he said unto him, Oh let not the LORD be angry, and I will speak: Peradventure there shall thirty be found there. And he said, I will not do it, if I find thirty there.
31And he said, Behold now, I have taken upon me to speak unto the LORD: Peradventure there shall be twenty found there. And he said, I will not destroy it for twenty's sake.
32And he said, Oh let not the LORD be angry, and I will speak yet but this once: Peradventure ten shall be found there. And he said, I will not destroy it for ten's sake.
33And the LORD went his way, as soon as he had left communing with Abraham: and Abraham returned unto his place.
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