Now it came about after these things that God
tested Abraham and said to him, Abraham, and
he said, Here I am. He said, Take now your son,
your only son, whom you love, Isaac, and go to
the land of Moriah and offer him there as a burnt
offering on one of the mountains of which I will
tell you. So Abraham rose early in the morning
and saddled his donkey and took two of his young
men with him, and Isaac his son, and he split
wood for the burnt offering and arose and went
to the place of which God had told him. On the
third day Abraham raised his eyes and saw the
place from a distance. Abraham said to his young
men, Stay here with the donkey, and I and the
lad will go over there, and he will worship,
and we will worship and return to you. Abraham
took the wood of the burnt offering and laid
it on Isaac, his son. And he took in his hand
the fire and the knife. So the two of them walked
on together. Isaac spoke to Abraham, his father,
and said, My father. And he said, Here I am,
my son. And he said, Behold the fire and the
wood. But where is the lamb for the burnt offering?
Abraham said, God will provide for himself the
lamb for the burnt offering, my son. So the two
of them walked on together. Then, They came to
the place of which God had told him, and Abraham
built the altar there and arranged the wood.
And he bound his son Isaac and laid him on the
altar on top of the wood. Abraham stretched out
his hands and took the knife to slay his son.
There are various forms of cultural Christianity
today that present erroneous ideas about Christianity,
about what it means to follow Jesus Christ. Some
of those various forms kind of go like this.
They say, I'm going to follow Jesus Christ. But
God doesn't require anything of me. He doesn't
demand anything of me. He doesn't ask anything
of me. I can continue to live and act and believe
and do as I please as long as I'm nice and I'm
loving. God accepts me because God loves me.
God doesn't demand. Anything of me. We all know
the celebrity Christian Christianity that presents
this in our world all over, brothers and sisters.
It's easy to follow Jesus. Go to church and sing
a few praise and worship songs every once in
a while. God loves me. He accepts me. That's
all I have to do because I'm accepted by God.
There's other forms of this which say that God
doesn't require anything of us or that he only
requires certain things of us or certain parts
of our lives. Some forms of Christianity and
erroneous thinking regarding Christianity kind
of go like this. They say, I'm going to give
God... My time on the Lord's Day. I'm going to
go to church. I might even sing a few hymns.
I'll even give some of my money in tithe. But
I'm not giving my marriage. I'm not giving my
relationships. I'm not giving my private life.
I'm not giving my inner thought life to God.
I'll go and I'll go to church. And give God that.
But this is mine. This isn't his. I'm not giving
him my emotions, my feelings. I'm not giving
him my desires and my longings. I'm keeping these
things for myself. They're my own. They are not
his. But then there's others who go about it
a different way. And they say, okay. I'll give
God my desires and my wants and my longings,
but I'm not giving Him any public form of commitment.
I'm not going to be a part of a church. I'm not
going to be a public Christian. I'm not going
to covenant myself to a body. I'm not going to
join God's people. I'm not going to be baptized.
I'm not going to give him that part publicly
or that commitment, that structure in my life,
but I'll give him my personal life. What's the
false thinking in all of these things? What's
the error that binds all these things together?
Brothers and sisters, it's a thought that something
is ours. It's a thought that I have the right
to keep certain parts of my life as my life and
that they are not God's, that they have not been
bought by the precious blood of Jesus Christ.
The erroneous thinking in all of these things
is that God only demands certain things or certain
parts or certain aspects of our lives. It's this
mistaking that God is a loving God, therefore
He doesn't require that much of His people. It
doesn't cost us anything to follow this God.
Brothers and sisters, hear the words of God when
He commands Abraham to take his son. And to sacrifice
him as a burnt offering. To slaughter his son
as an animal. And to be consumed in flames. Take
now your son. Your only son. Whom you love. God
knew that Abraham loved Isaac. And go to the
land of Moriah and offer him there as a burnt
offering. on one of the mountains of which I
will tell you. I wonder how Abraham would have
responded if somebody said, it doesn't cost much
to follow the Lord. It doesn't cost much to obey
God's commands in our lives. It doesn't require
sacrificial giving and submission to God. It
doesn't require self -denial. I wonder how Abraham
would have responded after this incident when
God has given him this very costly command. Think
about what this would have cost Abraham, brothers
and sisters. It would have cost him, it would
cost him, the life of his natural born son. Brothers
and sisters, Abraham was not, a narcissist and
he was not a wicked man. You know why I say that?
Because he was a man who loved God and he was
a man who was a father. And he loved Isaac with
natural affection as a parent loves their child.
And not only was this son his son, but this was
the son of promise on whom Seemingly depended
all his hopes and his dreams, his whole future,
his inheritance, and the very salvation of the
world. And here is God commanding him to offer
that son as a burnt offering. The son that brought
his wife so much celebratory laughter. Remember
Isaac and his birth? And Sarah laughs at this
transformation where she was laughing in unbelief
previously, and now when Isaac is born, she's
laughing out of joy and thanksgiving because
God has given her this blessed boy. That son,
that's the one that God is commanding Abraham
to go and offer as a sacrifice. That which was
very, very dear to him. This wasn't a little
plaything that he disregards and he doesn't care
about. Brothers and sisters, Isaac was dear to
him. He loved that boy with all his affections.
He held Isaac close to his heart. And this is
the very thing that God is commanding him to
sacrifice in Moriah. The thing that he loved.
The thing that was close to him. Have you ever
thought about the implications of this difficult
and this costly command that God gives to him?
What would his wife think? Knowing that Abraham
was going to offer her son as a burnt offering.
What would Sarah think? Brothers and sisters,
how would this affect Isaac's view, who was probably
20 to 25 at this time, how would this affect
Abraham's son's view of his own father? Have
you thought about that? How would the actions
of faith that Abraham is commanded to take part
in affect the view of his son upon him? Would
it change his view? There would certainly be
negative impacts to his obedience. How would
those people around him view him? This child
whom he had in his old age, he's gone off and
he sacrificed him. Brothers and sisters, this
command was not, An easy one. There were severe
implications. It was a very difficult command
that God gave to him. The reality is this. God's
commands, and in order to follow God and Christ,
it requires a great deal of sacrifice. It requires
a great deal of giving up and dying to self.
It's difficult and costly to obey the commands
of God, especially in the midst of trying times.
Especially in the midst of trials and difficulties
in our lives. It requires us to give up things
in our lives. Now consider with me two things
this morning. First, let's consider the... Abraham's
faith or the faith of Abraham. And then secondly,
I would like to consider Abraham's obedience
as we see it in the text. I'll offer us a few
applications once we complete these two. So first
consider Abraham's faith. Now we think, obviously,
Abraham was a man of faith and we see that so
clearly throughout his life. But where in the
text today do we see Abraham's faith particularly?
How do we observe it in the text? There's a couple
places in particular that we see it. Read with
me in verse 5. Abraham said to his young men,
and we don't know exactly why he brought these
young men, but think for first, they didn't do
anything. These two young men that accompanied
Abraham, they didn't do anything at all. They
didn't carry anything. They were just present.
Most likely, Abraham brought these two young
men as witnesses of this event and what was taking
place so that they could observe what was happening.
So we see Abraham in verse 5 coming to these
young men and he says, stay here with the donkey.
And I and the lad will go over there. And we
will worship and return to you. Now the NIV makes
explicit what is implicit in this verse. The
we doesn't just mean go over there. Abraham is
saying that we will go over there and worship
and we will return to you. He's saying, listen,
you two stay here. Me and Isaac, we're going
to go over here and do our thing. And then me
and Isaac, we're going to come back to you. Now,
wait a second. Brothers and sisters, wait a second.
Abraham fully intends to sacrifice his son. He
has every intention within his heart to be obedient.
to the living God who has commanded him to sacrifice
his son as a burnt offering, yet he's saying,
we're going to go over here and worship, and
then we're going to come back to you. How is
this possible? Where does this conflict and this
tension in his life come from, brothers and sisters?
It's a conflict between his understanding of
things and his faith. Do you understand that
he is believing? That in some way, shape, or
form, God is going to still be faithful to the
promise in that boy. That even though he's going
to slay his son and he's going to burn his son
and he's going to be consumed in ashes, God somehow
is going to bring that boy back with him. And
God is still going to fulfill every promise he's
ever made to him in and through. His son, Isaac.
We see faith present in Abraham in the midst
of this trial, brothers and sisters. His faith
stands. It hasn't crumbled and it hasn't fallen
to the wayside. His faith is standing strong.
And that somehow, God is going to bring that
boy back with him. Then we see in verses 7 through
8. Listen to these. Isaac spoke to Abraham, his
father, and said, and maybe the most difficult
words Abraham's ever heard in his life, quite
possibly, from the boy he's raised, the boy that
wasn't possible, he hears these words, my father.
And he said, Here I am, my son. And he said,
behold, the fire and the wood. But where is the
lamb for the burnt offering? Isaac, in curiosity,
wanting to know how the sacrifice is going to
be performed without the most essential part
of the sacrifice. A lamb to offer. And brothers
and sisters, listen to the words of our father
Abraham. Abraham said, God will provide for himself
the lamb for the burnt offering, my son. Do you
see faith present in Abraham's response? Even
though he fully intended to obey the command
of God, he fully... He was convinced in his heart
that God would deal with the situation in some
way, shape, or form. Now, he did not believe,
I do not think, that God was going to provide
a substitutionary land. And we'll see why in
a moment. But he believed that God and his sovereignty
That God in His grace and His demonstrated faithfulness
over the years, that God would care for him and
his son, and that God in His providence would
watch over them, and that God in His faithfulness
would take care of that situation somehow. Brothers
and sisters, not all the answers are given. Not
all the difficulties are resolved in life. But
faith. Can still be present. Faith can remain.
Even in uncertainty. This is evidence in the
life of Abraham. He did not fully understand
everything. And not every issue was resolved
in his life. In this situation. But brothers
and sisters. His faith stood. His faith remained.
No. The Lord is graciously. provided us with
some New Testament clarification on what's taking
place in Abraham's life here in this text. And
literally it's referring to this text. If we
turn to Hebrews chapter 11, we read in verses
17 through 19, By faith Abraham, when he was
tested, offered up Isaac. And he who had received
the promise was offering up his only begotten
son. It was he to whom it was said, In Isaac
your descendants shall be called. Now, listen
to verse 19, brothers and sisters. This is where
we get the help. This is where we get the clarification
regarding Abraham's faith and his thinking in
this situation. He considered. He concluded.
He reasoned. He reckoned that God is able to
raise people even from the dead. Now, in the
midst of Abraham's difficulty in his trial and
this situation, where is his faith at? What is
his faith upon? What is he believing in this
moment, in this time, over this period of three
days as he's taking his son to sacrifice him?
He is believing in God who is able to raise dead
men back to life. You see, brothers and sisters,
Abraham was trusting in the nature. And character
and ability of God to fulfill his promises. And
his power to raise men. He was hoping in the
resurrection. And God's ability and God's power
to raise his son up from the ashes. And to restore
him. so as to fulfill every promise he's ever
made to Abraham in and through his son. Now it's
interesting to me in this text that the author
of Hebrews helps us see that this was not a spur
of the moment thing for Abraham. This was not
an unthought out, unreasoned act of faith in
his life. The text says, He considered. Now this
word means that he reasoned. He concluded. He
thought and prayed and considered what he was
doing and how God would reckon the situation.
His faith remained in God, but his faith was
a thinking faith about God. And what he would
do in this situation. And he landed on the result.
He landed on the reality. That God is sovereign.
That God has already given me a son. When I was
as good as dead. And from the deadness of Sarah's
womb. Can't he bring back my son from the dead?
Is God not able to do that? Is God not powerful
enough to bring back my boy? So as to accomplish
all of his promises. Brothers and sisters, his
faith stood. His faith remained in the midst
of this trying and difficult time. So we see
that Abraham is faithful and he trusts in God
even though the command is exceedingly difficult.
Even though it's exceedingly... He is faithful.
Now consider Abraham's obedience in this text.
If his faith was observable and seen in this
text, then his obedience jumps up off the page
at us. It's that clear. His faith is observable
and clear in the text, but his obedience really
shines forth in... This whole text that Moses
has given to us, if we were to describe his obedience
in this text, we would have to say first that
it was without dispute or argumentation. If there
was ever anything, if there was ever anything
that we were to argue with God, I would think
this might be one of the situations. But Abraham
does not dispute God in the least. He receives
it by faith and he obeys. Now, one of the interesting
things about this is that this call, this command
of God, is fairly similar to the first one that
God gave him in Genesis chapter 12. In Genesis
chapter 12, we read these words in verse 1. Now
the Lord said to Abraham, go forth from your
country and from your relatives and from your
father's house to the land which I will show
you. There are similarities there between that
command and the command he receives here in Genesis
chapter 22. The difference is this. The command
in Genesis chapter 12. has a great incentive
attached to it. It has great motive given along
with the command, does it not, brothers and sisters?
And I will make you a great nation. Is that a
motive? Is that incentive to obey? And I will
bless you. Is that motive, is that incentive
to obey the Lord? Yes. And even in Genesis chapter
12, with the incentive and the motive attached
to the promise or the command, Abraham is still
only partially obedient. Do you realize that
Abraham was supposed to leave Lot in the land
of his father? He wasn't supposed to bring his
nephew. He was supposed to depart and leave and
separate and go away from all of his father's
household. Yet he disobeys partially and brings
Lot with him. So even with the incentive and
the motive attached to the command, Abraham partially
obeys and he partially disobeys. But in the command
in Genesis 22, which is exceedingly more difficult,
notice there's no incentive whatsoever. There's
no motive attached to it. Brothers and sisters,
There's no reasoning or explanation given to
Abraham. It's simply a command from God who he
has known. Yet, we find that he's fully obedient.
He obeys without dispute. He's immediately obeying
the Lord at this point in his life. It says,
so Abraham rose early in the morning. In verse
3, we see that he personally obeys God. Notice
that Abraham saddles his own donkey. That Abraham
splits his own wood for the burnt offering. That
Abraham takes the fire in his own hand. That
Abraham takes the knife in his own hand because
he fully intends to personally be obedient to
God. It's not dependent on anybody else. The
Lord has commanded him to this task. It was deliberate
obedience. It was a period of three days that
this journey took over. Meaning he had three
days to change his mind. Three days to back out.
Three days to chew on this task. That God has
commanded him to do. Brothers and sisters, going
to bed. Waking up. Going to bed. Waking up. Going
to bed. Waking up. Every morning, rising to think
about his son. Every night, going to bed, thinking
about his son. Yet he was determined to be obedient.
And he carries through. It was deliberate obedience.
He had decided in his heart and in his mind that
he was going to obey the God who had called him
from idols. He was going to obey the God who
had given him these gracious promises. He had
decided in his heart and in his mind that he
was going to obey this God who had been so gracious
and so good to him over all. These years. He
made up his mind. That he was going to do this.
Brothers and sisters. I wonder. How many of us.
Have taken time with the Lord. And determined
in our heart. And in our mind. That I am going
to obey. God who has saved me. No matter what.
Have you had time with the Lord where you say,
I will obey you God no matter how much this hurts.
No matter what this costs me Lord, I'm going
to obey you. I'm going to be faithful. I don't
care what I have to give up. I will be faithful
to your commands. Brothers and sisters, that's
what Abraham had to do in his heart. He had to
overcome the strong feelings and the strong emotions
that were telling him, don't do it. He had to
overcome the flesh that was saying, don't obey
this command. But brothers and sisters, he determined
in his mind that he would honor his God. No matter
the cost, no matter how much it hurt. It was
full and complete obedience. We read, In verse
10, Abraham stretched out his hand and took the
knife to slay his son. Brothers and sisters,
he had the fire and the knife in his hand. He
raised his hand to slay his son, brothers and
sisters. This was full and complete obedience.
It was not partial. or incomplete. He carried
through. The only reason that it doesn't go about
is because the Lord providentially and graciously
intervenes in the action. I think the best way
to describe this obedience is sacrificial obedience.
Not just literally, which it was. but brothers
and sisters, figuratively. Do you realize that
Abraham was giving up that which he loved so
dearly in order to obey God. He was sacrificing
not just a little appendage over here that's
connected, but he was attaching, he was sacrificing
his very heart to the living God. The very core
of his being, the thing that mattered most to
him, that which was closest, that which was nearest
and dearest to him, he was giving over to God.
He was submitting it to him. He was saying, here
it is. Sacrificial obedience. It was costly obedience.
It was painful obedience that Abraham was carrying
out. Now when we consider this obedience, it's
important for us to understand his place. As
we think about Abraham's obedience, we have to
understand it does have a relationship with something
else we've already seen in the text. His faith.
His obedience is not what is underneath his faith.
Listen to this, brothers and sisters. His faith
is what undergirds and enables his obedience.
How is it that Abraham is able to pick up the
knife and to pick up the fire to slay his son?
How is he able to obey in such a sacrificial
manner? Because he believes God is able to raise
dead men from the dead. His belief... His trust
in God actually undergirds and enables his obedience
in his life. True faith always produces genuine
obedience. But brothers and sisters, listen.
True obedience is always undergirded by true
faith. Always. There's an inner working, a play
that takes place. But faith comes first. Faith
is the foundation. It's the basis. It's what
works, good works, and obedience blossoms out
of. It's the well that that water comes forth
from. So it has to come first. There's a relationship.
So we see that there's also a relationship between
faith and all disobedience. So if you think about
disobedience in your life, or my life, what is
the root cause of that? What is the root cause
of all disobedience in the life of the believer?
Unbelief. It's not believing what God has said.
What was Adam and Eve's sin? Eating the forbidden
fruit. Why did they eat the forbidden fruit,
as the Catechism says? Because they did not believe
what God had said. Brothers and sisters, disobedience
is the result of unbelief and not believing what
God has said in His Holy Word. So if you're disobeying
in your life, if you're disobeying God's commandments
and God's laws, what God requires of His people,
what Christ has commanded us to do or not to
do, listen, look at the heart before you look
at the actions. Where's your faith? And what
are you believing? And what are you not believing?
That's going to tell you why you're disobeying
in your life. The root cause is the heart that
is full of unbelief. That's toying with unbelief.
That's toying with disbelief and doubt. The result
of that is disobedience in our lives. The issue
is not the behavior. We have to understand that.
The issue is not the actions, brothers and sisters.
The issue is not the words. The issue is not
the speech. Those are the manifestation of a
deeper issue in our lives. What's the deeper
issue? We don't believe what God has said in
His Word. We don't actually trust Him. That's
why we disobey in our lives. We have to get beyond
the outward and look to the inward heart and
see. the faith, or the disbelief. And that will
help us resolve a lot of issues in our life.
Now, we see Abraham, a man of faith. We see his
obedience. But what's the ultimate picture we
see in Abraham here? I mean, think about Joshua
24 .2, which talks about how God called Abraham's
father out. of a foreign land, and from worshiping
idols, meaning Abraham as well. And now we have
Abraham, not a pagan idol worshiper, but now
we have Abraham, a fully consecrated man of faith,
obeying God, worshiping God, and giving him everything
that he has. What has happened to Abraham? What
has made this change in his life? What has transformed
him, brothers and sisters? It's the gospel of
Jesus Christ. The effect in his life of God working
in his life is that he believes and that he obeys.
Abraham has given everything to God. He's willing
to give him anything that he asks because he
knows This God who is commanding me. We come
to this and we think sometimes I'm so grateful.
I'm so thankful that God doesn't require that
of me. I'm so thankful that God would never And
brothers and sisters, I've thought these things.
I'm so thankful that God would never ask me to
do that. I'm so thankful that that was Abraham
and not me. I'm so thankful that God doesn't
demand that of me. I'm so thankful that God doesn't
require that of me. We often think in terms of
this, sometimes too. I'm so thankful that God
is... a little different now. Brothers and sisters,
God still requires everything of His people.
Everything. He still requires your heart. He
still demands your life. He still demands your
thoughts. He still demands your desires. He still
demands your longings. He still demands your
children. He still demands your home. He still
demands your careers. He demands all of you.
Every single aspect. And He requires every inch
of your being. This is why we read in text like
Matthew. Chapter 10, where the Lord Jesus Christ
says, Do not think that I came to bring peace
on the earth. I did not come to bring peace,
but a sword. For I came to set a man against
his father, and a daughter against her mother,
and a daughter -in -law against her mother -in
-law. And a man's enemies will be the members
of his household. It's hard to follow Jesus Christ.
It's going to bring conflict into this world.
It's going to be conflict into your life and
your relationships, brothers and sisters. Therefore,
you need to count the cost of following this
Lord and this Savior. That's what this text is
telling us. He who loves father or mother more
than me is not worthy of me. And he who loves
son or daughter more than me is not worthy of
me. God requires everything of you. If you want
to be a disciple of Jesus Christ, then you have
to give Him everything that is in your being.
And he who does not take up his cross and follow
after me is not worthy of me. He who has found
his life will lose it, and he who has lost his
life for my sake will find it. We read in Luke
14, verse 26, Now large crowds were going along
with him, and he turned and said to them, If
anyone comes to me and does not hate his own
father and mother and wife and children and brothers
and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot
be my disciple. Meaning, your love and your commitment
and your loyalty and your fidelity to Jesus Christ
must overshadow every single other love and fidelity
that you have in your life. Your love for Him
has to be up here. And it must cast a shadow
on everything else down here. That's what Christ
is saying. That your love and your obedience
and your faith and your trust and your commitment
to Him must be exceedingly higher than that of
everyone else. Your love for Him must inform
your love for everything else in your life. He
still requires everything of His people, brothers
and sisters. That's why we read in Romans 12,
verse 1, Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the
mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living
and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which
is your spiritual service of worship. Does that
sound familiar? Brothers and sisters, does that
sound familiar? We have to be willing to have
the same kind of faith and the same kind of obedience
that Abraham had. He may not ask us to sacrifice
our child, but brothers and sisters, he commands
us to sacrifice ourselves daily. To give him
all of us. He wants all of you, brothers and
sisters. Do you not want to entrust your souls
over and over and over? To the God who made you
and the God who redeems you? Is He not sovereign?
Is He not good? Is He not faithful? Is He not
able? Is He not worthy of our faith and our trust
and our obedience? He is unchanged, brothers
and sisters. The commands of God have not changed
and that they're costly. It still requires sacrificial
faith and sacrificial obedience. Why? Because
the transforming power of the gospel has not
changed. Just like the gospel transformed Abraham,
brothers and sisters, the gospel transforms us
so that it gives us a heart that actually longs
after Christ. That actually longs after God.
A heart that actually loves Christ more than
everything else. Therefore, God requires everything
of that regenerate heart. Brothers and sisters,
the gospel makes us willing to give everything
to Christ. The gospel transforms our desires
and our longings and our hearts so that we want.
To obey Him. That's what it does in our hearts,
just like it did in Abraham's life. The nature
of faith has not changed. We have the same kind
of faith as Abraham, brothers and sisters. The
Bible is explicitly clear about that. Your faith,
if you know Jesus Christ, and you are justified
in the sight of God, is the exact same kind of
faith that Abraham had. Possessed. It lays hold.
Of the same gospel. Brothers and sisters. What
God has promised. In the gospel. Has not changed.
The promise that he gave to Abraham. That's the
same today. That it was then. It's just more
fully revealed. And clarified now. In the new
covenant. The same content. And the same realities.
And they are unchanged today. God has given his
people everything in Christ, brothers and sisters.
He has given you all of himself. Brothers and
sisters, he's given you pardon. He's given you
His grace, His mercy. He's given you all of His
eternal, everlasting love on the cross. He's
given you all of Himself in Christ. And we see
it on the cross of Calvary. He requires all of
us. He's given us eternity. He's given us redemption
and salvation. He's given us everything, brothers
and sisters. He's given us hope. He's given us
the resurrection. He's given us immortality and
life and light and power. He's given us the divine
spirit of God to dwell within us. And He requires
all of us. But brothers and sisters, that's our
hope. That we are not our own. Our hope in this
life is that we are not Our own people. There's
one part of this catechism I just want to read
in conclusion. What is our only comfort in life
and death? That both in soul and body, whether
I live or die, I am not my own. But belong wholly
unto my most faithful Lord and Savior, Jesus
Christ. By his most precious blood, fully satisfying
for all my sins. He has delivered me from the
power of the devil, and so preserves me that
without the will of my heavenly Father, not so
much as a hair may fall from my head. Yes, all
things must serve for my safety or good, and
by his Spirit he also assures me of everlasting
life, and makes me ready and prepared that from
now on I may live to him. Brothers and sisters,
our hope, your hope as a believer. is that you
are not your own. That you are God's, that you
are in His hands.