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Commentary on "Justification and the Law"

PHIL HARRIS

 

Day 7: Friday, July 30, 2010 - Further Study

 

Overview

The lesson for today has a suggested list of readings from the published works of Ellen White. There are numerous items that could be addressed in this material but that would be like attempting to look at all the possible ways of forging a ‘ten dollar bill’ when being fully acquainted with the real thing would be more productive. Of course, an obvious requirement would be fully knowledgeable as to what the real looks like. Even Paul expected and encouraged Spirit led Christians to search the Scriptures to know if what he said conformed to the known inspired word of God.

With that in mind we will now return to Romans Chapter Four and explore more fully the ‘faith of Abraham’. If our goal is to really understand the role of God’s JUSTIFICATION in our lives this is the Further Study we should be doing. After all, the faith of Abraham is the center piece Paul’s argument in this chapter.

 

Observations

We have already seen that the faith Abraham had in God was founded upon belief in what God said to him. The promises God made to him were made long before there was the giving of the law which came much later in the time of Moses. Furthermore, he knew his works could not produce even a small measure of righteousness in his life. God counted him righteous, that is imputed his own righteousness upon Abraham, solely because of Abraham’s faith expressed in the belief in what God said to him. Because of his faith God said he would be the father of many nations.

Notice carefully how Abraham responded to this renewed promise made by God:

He did not weaken in faith when he considered his own body, which was as good as dead (since he was about a hundred years old), or when he considered the barrenness of Sarah's womb. No distrust made him waver concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God, fully convinced that God was able to do what he had promised. (Rom. 4:19-21 ESV)

When you turn to Genesis chapters 17 and 18 you will see that both Abraham and Sara laughed at God when they heard this promise. Yet, Abraham’s faith in God’s promise never wavered. Both Sarah and Abraham considered themselves too old to have a son. There was no way they would be able to ‘help God’ do what only God could do.

Therein is the secret of Abraham’s faith. Nothing he could do would bring about the fulfillment of God’s promise. He wasn’t even close to being a perfect person. One of the most serious things he could have done at that time was to laugh at God. He was simply a sinner who happened to fully trust God.

Turn to Genesis and read this account for yourself in chapters 17 and 18.

Then Abraham fell on his face and laughed and said to himself, "Shall a child be born to a man who is a hundred years old? Shall Sarah, who is ninety years old, bear a child?" And Abraham said to God, "Oh that Ishmael might live before you!" (Gen. 17:17-18 ESV)

Abraham laughed at God and then pleaded with God to do something God had already said would not happen. Yet his faith in God was intact. As for self made righteousness or any evidence of perfection, there was none. We must repeat what has already been said. He believed God in faith and God counted him righteous. Nothing more and nothing less.

Understanding the faith of Abraham gives us extra insight into the following verse:

Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. (Heb. 11:1 ESV)

When we read down to Heb.11:8-13 we see that both Abraham and Sarah’s faith did not waver. They both were fully assured God would do what he promised and it had nothing to do with their own righteousness, works or cooperation.

 

Summary

  1. What God promises to do God will do. It never depends on own cooperation. Even God’s conditional promises will be fulfilled totally within the framework of what God says he will do.
  2. Abraham’s faith is best illustrated in his old age when he knew it was impossible to be a part of what only God could and would do.
  3. God doesn’t ask us to do the impossible. Instead, he expects us to trust him to do what we consider to be not possible.
  4. Abraham’s example to us is not that of a person whose works became a model of righteous. Even in his old age, he was just as much a sinner as when God first imputed his righteousness upon him. The bible never calls Abraham “the paragon of holiness and virtue”.
  5. Our greatest strength is when we admit our total weakness and complete depravity before God. When, in faith, we believe and accept the complete atoning work of Jesus Christ to cleans us from all our sins, we will then have imputed upon us ‘the faith of Abraham’ and the promise of the indwelling Seal of the Holy Spirit.

 

 

Copyright 2010 BibleStudiesForAdventists.com. All rights reserved. Revised July 12, 2010. This website is published by Life Assurance Ministries, Glendale, Arizona, USA, the publisher of Proclamation! Magazine. Contact email: BibleStudiesForAdventists@gmail.com.

The Sabbath School Bible Study Guide and the corresponding E.G. White Notes are published by Pacific Press Publishing Association, which is owned and operated by the Seventh-day Adventist church. The current quarter's editions are pictured above.

 

Official Adventist Resources

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