..To Ancient SDA's ............ To "What's New?"

by

Ron Parsons

The aim of this series:

“Then He said to them, ‘O fools, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken: ought not Christ to have suffered these things, and to enter into His glory?’ And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, He expounded to them in all the scriptures the things concerning Himself.” Luke 24:25-27.

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Genesis 12d:

Separation

Here I am back again with Abram’s call,

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Genesis 12:

1 Now the LORD had said to Abram, “[If you want to follow Me] Get you out of your country, and from your kindred, and from your father's house, to a land that I will show you: 2 and I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you, and make your name great; and you shall be a blessing: 3 and I will bless them that bless you, and curse him that curses you: and in you shall all families of the earth be blessed.”

4 So Abram departed, as the LORD had spoken to him; and Lot went [to Haran] with him: and Abram was seventy-five years old when he departed out of Haran.

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God communicated His will to Abraham, and gave him a distinct knowledge of the requirements of His law and of the salvation that would be accomplished through Christ. There was also given to Abraham the promise, especially dear to the people of that age, of a large number of descendants, and of international greatness. 

And to this was added the assurance, precious above every other to the inheritor of faith, that of his family line the Redeemer of the world should come: “In you shall all families of the earth be blessed.” Verse 3.

 Yet, as the first condition of fulfilment, there was to be a test of faith; a sacrifice was demanded for his own good. 

The message of God came:

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Genesis 12:

1 “Get you out of your country, and from your kindred, and from your father's house, to a land that I will show you.” 

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In order that Jesus might qualify him for his great work as a keeper of the sacred oracles (Romans 3:1-2), Abraham must be separated from the associations of his early life.  Like Moses of later years, the influence of kindred and friends would interfere with the training which the LORD desired to give His servant.  Now that Abraham was, in a special sense, connected with heaven, he must dwell among strangers for his own safety.  His character would be peculiar, differing from all the world.  1 Peter 2:9.

He could not even explain his course of action so as to be understood by his friends.  Spiritual things are spiritually discerned, and his motives and actions were not comprehended by his idolatrous relations.   1 Corinthians 2:14-15.

But he had to do three things. 

1) Leave Ur and become a stateless one on earth. 

2) Leave his earthly father and cling to his Heavenly One. 

3) Leave his earthly relations and enter the family of God. 

The first was relatively easy.  He moved to Haran in northern Canaan.  The second was harder because his father was head of the house and Abraham believed strongly in family obedience. So he persuaded his father to go with him out of Chaldea and then waited until he died.  “And Terah took Abram his son, and Lot the son of Haran his son's son, and Sarai his daughter in law, his son Abram's wife; and they went forth with them from Ur of the Chaldees, to go into the land of Canaan; and they came to Haran, and dwelt there. And the days of Terah were two hundred and five years: and Terah died in Haran.”  Genesis 11:31-32.  Now the second condition had been met.  Jesus waited also, for “His love never fails”. 1 Corinthians 13:8. (Consider Matthew 10:37.)  The third condition would take quite a while, however, as we will see in a later reading.

After the death of Terah:

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Genesis 12:

5  And Abram took Sarai [aka Sarah] his wife, and Lot his brother's son, and all their substance that they had gathered, and the souls that they had gotten [through the gospel] in Haran [in the north of what was to become Israel]; and they went forth [south] to go into the land of Canaan; and into the land of Canaan they came.

6 And Abram passed through the land to the place of Shechem, to the plain of Moreh.  And the Canaanite [the heathen] was then in [possession of] the land.

7 And the LORD [the Son of God] appeared to Abram, and said, “To your Seed will I give this land:” and there he built an altar to the LORD, who appeared to him. 8 And he removed from there to a mountain on the east of Bethel, and pitched his tent, having Bethel on the west, and Hai on the east: and there he built an[other] altar to the LORD, and called upon the name of the LORD.

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Abraham was a man of God. When he pitched his tent he at once erected his altar for sacrifice and invited the Son of God to abide with him.  By these altars and the sacrifices he burnt on them, he educated his “family” and passers-by about the Gift of God to save humanity from original sin, and thereby hope to introduce Him to them. 

Not long after this Abraham was able to raise 318 fighting men from his group to rescue Lot.  Genesis 14:13-16.  That means that his extended family must have numbered more than 1,000 with women and children! 

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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 where he went.”

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Abraham's unquestioning obedience is one of the most striking evidences of faith to be found in all the Bible.  To him, faith IN GOD’S WORD was “the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” Hebrews 11:1.

Relying upon the divine promise, without the least outward assurance of its fulfilment, he abandoned native land and father, and went forth, he knew not where, to follow where the Spirit of God should lead. 

A general faith is entertained by many, and their assent is given that Christianity is the only hope for perishing souls.  But to believe this intellectually is not sufficient for salvation. 

There is need not only of faith but of a trust in God every day.  This is the true faith of Abraham, a faith which produced fruits.  “Abraham believed God, and it was imputed to him for righteousness.” James 2:23.  Abraham was saved by faith in Christ then as verily as we are saved by faith in Christ today.  He looked back to the Son of God’s sacrifice in the Garden of Eden, as we may, and then translated that into a present experience for himself, as we may.  If we have trouble with that understanding, then we may look at the Son of man perishing on Calvary’s cross to get the picture.

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Romans 4:

20 He [Abraham] staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief; but was strong in faith, giving glory to God; 21 and being fully persuaded that, what He had promised, He was able also to perform. 22 And therefore it was imputed to him for righteousness.

23 Now it was not written for his sake alone, that it was imputed to him; 24 but for us also, to whom it shall be imputed, if we believe on Him that raised up Jesus our LORD from the dead; 25 who was delivered for our offences, and was raised again for our justification. 

5:1 Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our LORD Jesus Christ: 2 by whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God. 

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The faith that justifies always produces first true repentance, and then good works, which are the fruit of that faith.  There is no saving faith that does not produce good fruit.  God gave Christ to our world to become our substitute.  The moment true faith in the merits of the costly atoning sacrifice is exercised, claiming Christ as a personal Saviour, that moment the sinner is justified before God, because he is pardoned.

John said, “Behold the Lamb of God, which takes away the sin of the world.” John 1:29.  There is a great deal in that “takes away.” The question is, Shall we keep on sinning as though it were an impossibility for us to overcome? How are we to overcome? As Christ overcame, and that is the only way.  He prayed to His heavenly Father.  We can do the same. 

When tempted to speak wrong and do wrong resist Satan and say, “I will not surrender my will to your control.  I will cooperate with divine power and through grace be conqueror.” Romans 8:37.  Those who are justified no longer automatically lose the battle with sin, but have a choice!  Christ is in us, the hope of future glory (see Colossians 1:27), and we have to reject Him to be able to sin.  If we do that by choosing to sin, He restrains His power until invited to take control again.

Thus it is written:

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Romans 6:

16 Know you not [don’t you know], that to whom you yield yourselves servants to obey [your choice], his servants you are to whom you obey; whether of sin to death, or of obedience to righteousness?

17 But God be thanked, that you were the servants of sin, but you have obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine which was delivered you. 18 Being then made free from sin, you became the servants of righteousness.

19 I speak after the manner of men because of the infirmity of your flesh: for as you have yielded your members [in the past] servants to uncleanness and to iniquity to iniquity; even so now yield your members servants to righteousness to holiness. 20 For when you were the servants of sin, you were free from [without] righteousness. 21 What fruit had you then in those things whereof you are now ashamed?  For the end of those things is death.

22 But now being made free from sin, and become servants to God, you have your fruit to holiness, and the end everlasting life. 23 For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our LORD.

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Like all Christians, Abram had his mind set on seeing Christ face to face:

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Hebrews 11:

9 By faith he sojourned in the land of promise, as in a strange country, dwelling in tabernacles [tents] with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise: 10 for he looked for a city which has foundations, whose builder and maker is [the Son of] God.

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Jesus told us, “Let not your heart be troubled: you believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you.  I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also. And whither I go you know, and the way you know.” John 14:1-4.

It was no light test that was thus brought upon Abram, no small sacrifice that was required of him.  There were strong ties to bind him to his country, his home, and his kindred.  But he did not hesitate to obey the call.  He had no question to ask concerning the land of promise –  whether the soil was fertile and the climate healthful; whether the country afforded agreeable surroundings and would afford opportunities for amassing wealth.  God had spoken, and His servant must obey; the happiest place on earth for him was the place where God would have him to be.  

Many of us are still tested as was Abraham.  We may not hear the voice of God speaking directly from heaven, but He calls us by the teachings of His word and the events of His providence.  We may be required to abandon a career that promises wealth and honour, to leave congenial and profitable associations and separate from kindred, to enter upon what appears to be only a path of self-denial, hardship, and sacrifice.  The Son of God has a work for us to do; but a life of ease and the influence of friends and kindred would hinder the development of the very traits essential for its accomplishment. 

He calls us away from human influences and aid, and leads us to feel the need of His help, AND TO DEPEND UPON HIM ALONE, that He may reveal Himself to us. 

Who is ready at the call of Providence to renounce cherished plans and familiar associations? Who will accept new duties and enter untried fields, doing God's work with firm and willing heart, for Christ's sake counting his losses gain?

He or she who will do this has the faith of Abraham, and will share with him that “far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory,” with which “the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared.” 2 Corinthians 4:17; Romans 8:18.  

As we have already read:

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Genesis 12:

6 And Abram passed through the land to the place of Sichem, to the plain of Moreh.  And the Canaanite was then in the land. 7 And the LORD appeared to Abram, and said, “To your Seed will I give this land:” and there built he an altar to the LORD, who appeared to him.

8 And he removed from there to a mountain on the east of Bethel, and pitched his tent, having Bethel on the west, and Hai on the east: and there he built an altar to the LORD, and called upon the name of the LORD.

9 And Abram journeyed, going on still toward the south.

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Still with me? 

Let’s see what happened to him next week.

Bye for now, 

Ron

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Some of the comments in these readings are adapted from books in my library.  No recognition is given because they are not intended as authorities, but are used because they express my understanding clearly.  All the ideas expressed in these readings, right or wrong, are my own.

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Romans 3:

1 What advantage then has the Jew?  Or what profit is there of circumcision? 

2 Much every way: chiefly, because that to them were committed the oracles of God.  Back

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1 Peter 2:

9 But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a peculiar people; that you should show forth the praises of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvellous light.  Back

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1 Corinthians 2:

14 But the natural man receives not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness to him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned. 15 But he that is spiritual judges [understands] all things, yet he himself is judged [understood] of no man. 

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Matthew 10:

37 “He that loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me: and he that loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me.” Back

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Genesis 14:

13 And there came one that had escaped, and told Abram the Hebrew; for he dwelt in the plain of Mamre the Amorite, brother of Eshcol, and brother of Aner: and these were confederate [friends] with Abram. 14 And when Abram heard that his brother [in the faith] was taken captive, he armed his trained servants, born in his own house, three hundred and eighteen, and pursued them to Dan.

 

15 And he divided himself against them [made two groups], he and his servants, by night, and smote them, and pursued them to Hobah, which is on the left hand of Damascus. 16 And he brought back all the goods, and also brought again his brother Lot, and his goods, and the women also, and the people.  Back

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Galatians 3:

16. Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made.  He says not, “And to seeds,” as of many; but as of one, “And to your Seed,” which is Christ.  Back

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Colossians 1:

25  . . . I am made a minister, according to the dispensation of God which is given to me for you, to fulfil the word of God; 26 even the mystery which has been hid from ages and from generations, but now is made manifest to His saints: 27 to whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.

28 Whom we preach, warning every man, and teaching every man in all wisdom; that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus: 29 whereunto I also labour, striving according to His working, which works in me mightily.  Back

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