1. Where did Abraham live when the Lord first appeared to him? "And he said, Men, brethren, and fathers, hearken; The God of glory appeared unto our father Abraham, when he was in Mesopotamia, before he dwelt in Charran." (Acts 7:2)
2. What did the Lord say to him? "And said unto him, Get out of your country, and from your kindred, and come into the land which I shall show you." (Acts 7:3)
3. What promise did the Lord then make to him? "Now the Lord had said unto Abram, Get out of your country, and from your kindred, and from your father's house, unto a land that I will show you: 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: 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." (Genesis 12:1-3)
4. What did Abraham then do? "Then came he out of the land of the Chaldeans, and dwelt in Charran: and from thence, when his father was dead, he removed him into this land, wherein you now dwell." (Acts 7:4)
5. How old was he when he went to the land of Canaan? "So Abram departed, as the Lord had spoken unto him; and Lot went with him; and Abram was seventy and five years old when he departed out of Haran. And Abram took Sarai his wife, and Lot his brother's son, and all their substance that they had gathered, and the souls that they had gotten in Haran; and they went forth to go into the land of Canaan; and into the land of Canaan they came." (Genesis 12:4-5)
6. Did he know before he started where he was going? "Now the Lord had said unto Abram, Get out of your country, and from your kindred, and from your father's house, unto a land that I will show you." (Genesis 12:1)
"And said unto him, Get out of your country, and from your kindred, and come into the land which I shall show you." (Acts 7:3)
7. In thus going from his home, what did he manifest? "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." (Hebrews 11:8)
8. What promise did the Lord afterward make him? "And the Lord said unto Abram, after that Lot was separated from him, Lift up now your eyes, and look from the place where you are northward, and southward, and eastward, and westward: For all the land which you see, to you will I give it." (Genesis 13:14-15)
9. To whom besides himself was the promise made? "To your seed for ever." (Genesis 13:15)
10. How numerous did the Lord say that his seed should be? "And I will make your seed as the dust of the earth; so that if a man can number the dust of the earth, then shall your seed also be numbered." (Genesis 13:16)
11. Had Abraham any children at this time? "And Abram said, Lord God, what will you give me, seeing I go childless, and the steward of my house is this Eliezer of Damascus." (Genesis 15:2)
12. What did the Lord again say as to the number of his posterity? "And He brought him forth abroad, and said, Look now toward heaven, and tell the stars, if you be able to number them; and He said unto him, So shall your seed be." (Genesis 15:5)
13. How did Abraham regard the word of the Lord? "And he believed in the Lord." (Genesis 15:6)
14. How did God regard Abraham's faith? "He counted it to him for righteousness." (Genesis 15:6)
15. What is meant by faith being counted for righteousness? The forgiveness of sins.
"But to him that works not, but believes on Him that justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness. Even as David also describes the blessedness of the man, unto whom God imputes righteousness without works, saying, Blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven, and whose sins are covered. Blessed is the man to whom the Lord will not impute sin." (Romans 4:5-8)
16. Through whom were the promises confirmed to Abraham? "And 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." (Galatians 3:17)
17. And who are the promised seed? "And if you be Christ's, then are you Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise." (Galatians 3:29)
18. What is the inheritance of which they, with him, are heirs? "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." (Romans 4:13)
Notes:
"Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness." (Romans 4:3)
What was involved in this? Nothing less than the forgiveness of sins,--the imputing of righteousness without works. Paul, after stating that Abraham's faith was counted to him for righteousness, says that David describes the blessedness of the man unto whom God imputes righteousness without works, but solely on account of faith, in the following words: "Blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven, and whose sins are covered. Blessed is the man to whom the Lord will not impute sin." (Romans 4:7-8)
This counting a man righteous without works is the stumbling-stone over which so many fall. Some say that it is impossible, while others go to the other extreme and say that it at once and forever releases the believer from all obligation to make any effort. But it is done, and it does not release the individual from obligation to put forth continued effort.
How else can a man gain acceptance with God? He cannot do good deeds to make up for his past sins, for it is impossible for him to do more than his duty at any one time. Besides, an evil deed cannot be canceled by a good one. If he gets rid of the sins that he has committed, they must be taken away as an act of free grace on the part of God. Faith is the condition on which they will be removed.
Take Abraham as an example. The Lord made a promise to him, that would have staggered most men, it was so great, so incomprehensible. But Abraham "staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief; but was strong in faith, giving glory to God, and was fully persuaded that, what He had promised, He was able also to perform; and therefore it was imputed to him for righteousness." (Romans 4:20-22)
The Lord made a great promise; Abraham said, I believe; and the Lord, in return for that simple faith, declared his sins forgiven. Thenceforward Abraham lived by faith, and thus it could be said by the Lord: "Abraham obeyed my voice, and kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws." (Genesis 26:5)
He could not have done this without faith, for "without faith it is impossible to please God." (Hebrews 11:6)
In what did Abraham have faith? In just the same thing that we are required to have faith if we would obtain the forgiveness of sins and eternal life,--that is, in the death and resurrection of Christ. Paul says that the promise to Abraham was confirmed in Christ.
"And 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." (Galatians 3:17)
Therefore Abraham's faith was of the same nature that ours must be. He believed in Christ, "whom God has set forth to be a propitiation through faith in His blood, to declare His righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God." (Romans 3:25)
No one can possibly have more perfect or more intelligent faith, than Abraham had, for he is "the father of all them that believe.
"Now it was not written for his sake alone, that it [righteousness] was imputed to him; but for us also, to whom it shall be imputed, if we believe on him that raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead; who was delivered for our offenses, and was raised again for our justification." (Romans 4:11,23-25)
But why is it that this faith does not tend to presumption, and to looseness of life? The reason is this: The possession of such faith as Abraham had, indicates humility, and submission to the will of God. Faith and humility are co-existent. Neither can exist without the other.
"Behold, his soul which is lifted up is not upright in him; but the just shall live by his faith." (Habakkuk 2:4)
The man who will implicitly trust God's word, even against his own judgment, shows that he believes that God knows more than he does; he has put himself into God's hands, to be guided as God shall think best. Then of course as long as he retains that faith, he will gladly do the will of God. Thus true faith always leads to obedience. Abraham's faith was shown to be perfect by his works. (James 2:21-24)--Signs of the Times, February 17, 1888--Lesson 8 - Sabbath, February 25--Genesis 12:1 to 15:6.
E.J. Waggoner