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Shoe-Leather Theology: A Study of James 35 These study notes are produced to coordinate with the weekly teaching series “Shoe-Leather Theology: A Study of James” by First Family Church, Ankeny, IA. More resources on this series are available at ffclife.com.

Shoe-Leather Theology: Study of James

Week 8 Genesis 22:1-19

Abraham: A Working Man’s Faith But the angel of the LORD called to him from heaven and said, “Abraham, Abraham!” And he said, “Here I am.” 12 He said, “Do not lay your hand on the boy or do anything to him, for now I know that you fear God, seeing you

have not withheld your son, your only son, from me.”–Genesis 22:11-12

"Be astonished, O heavens! at this; and wonder, O earth! Here is an act of faith and obedience, which deserves to be a spectacle to God, angels, and men. Abraham's darling, Sarah's laughter, the church's hope, the heir of promise, lies ready to bleed and die by his own father's hand, who never shrinks at the doing of it."–Matthew Henry

Although the Bible often depicts Abraham as an exalted figure, his journey of faith resembles our own. Along with the glory of his victories, the Bible fully describes the scandalous details of his failures. It does not hide Abraham’s shortcomings; instead, it recounts these examples of failure so that we might have hope. In Abraham, we observe someone uniquely chosen to receive a grand promise: that he would become the father of a great nation and a channel of blessing to the world. Abraham embraced this promise, but it was 25 years before he saw it realized. As he waited on God, he battled fear, anxiety, and doubt. In Abraham, we see a reflection of ourselves.130

130 Michael R. Grigoni et al., Abraham: Following God’s Promise (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2012).

Shoe-Leather Theology: A Study of James These study notes are produced to coordinate with the weekly teaching series “Shoe-Leather Theology: A Study of James” by First Family Church, Ankeny, IA. More resources on this series are available at ffclife.com.

Where Does Abraham Fit?

Genesis 22:1–19

1 After these things God tested Abraham and said to him, “Abraham!” And he said, “Here I am.”

The dawn of this chapter opens with the words, "after these things God did tempt Abraham." What things is the Lord talking about? I believe they refer to the events that have been taking place in Abraham's life which would include:

• The Start of his trust in God—12:1-9 • The Stumbling in his trust—12:10-13:4 • The Strife in his family—13:5-18 • The Struggle for freedom—14 • The Steadfastness of his trust—15-21:8 • The Seed of opposition in Ishmael—21:9-21

Shoe-Leather Theology: A Study of James Page 137 These study notes are produced to coordinate with the weekly teaching series “Shoe-Leather Theology: A Study of James” by First Family Church, Ankeny, IA. More resources on this series are available at ffclife.com.

• The Substantiation of his trust in the Lord—22

God tempts Abraham like never before. This word "tempt" means "to test or prove." All the little tests that Abraham has been going through have been used to prepare him now for the greatest test of his life. A test that defies logic, yet, God knew what He was doing and what He was trying to accomplish in Abraham's life.131

How Old Was Isaac?

The opening words, "after these things", especially when read along with 21:34, "many days", suggest that there had been a lapse of perhaps quite a few years since Isaac was weaned. Guesses of Isaac's age in ch. 22—and they are only guesses—vary greatly, from an incredible thirty-seven years to a small fraction of that age. He seems at least to have been able to go on an extended journey and to have carried timber up a mountain side. He was no child in our modern sense of child. There may even be a hint that his age was comparable to Ishmael's when he was driven out, for in the two stories (21:17, compare 22:5, 12) Ishmael and then Isaac are referred to as "the lad".132

2 He said, “Take your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you.”

God struck right at Abraham’s heart as he asked for his son, his "only" son, whom he loved and who had brought joy as the one fulfilling the promise. "Only" means only in the sense of unique, one-of-kind, and special. Isaac was Abraham’s only hope for the fulfillment of God’s salvation-promise. Hebrews 11:17 refers to this by the Greek word monogenes, the same word used of Jesus in John 3:16. Isaac representing Abraham’s "only" son whom he loved thus became a type of God’s "only" Son who is also called His "beloved" Son (Matt. 3:17).133

God's words begin gently and can be rendered, "Please take ...". But the sentence is weighty with dreadful import concerning "thy son, thy dear son, whom thou lovest, Isaac". Abraham by this time had only one son left, for he had, at God's command, cast out his dear Ishmael. Years had passed by and now his dear son was Isaac, doubly so because all the promises were vested in him, apart from the natural affection which had developed in those years.

131 Rod Mattoon, Mattoon's Treasures – Treasures from Genesis, (Springfield, IL: Lincoln Land Baptist Church, n.d.), WORDsearch CROSS e-book, 279.

132 J. Wesley Ferguson, What the Bible teaches – Genesis, (Kilmarnock, Scotland: John Richie, Ltd., 2010), WORDsearch CROSS e-book, 141-142.

133 The Complete Biblical Library – Genesis, (Springfield, IL: World Library Press, Inc., 1996), WORDsearch CROSS e-book, Under: "Chapter 22".


Abraham had to face the test of "taking" his son and every word in the opening moves closer to his heart, climaxing in "Isaac", the last word of the description. He was to "take himself" into the region of Moriah. The verb (HALAK—<H3212>) is the one God had used in 12:1, "Get thee out ..." of Ur. Even the sequence of "thy country, and ... thy kindred and ... thy father's house" is echoed in the series of references here, ending in "Isaac". What began with that first call upon his faith was reaching its climax in this last call upon it. The place name Moriah is paraphrased by some (see Knox's translation, for example) as "Clear Vision". In Moriah he was to "offer him there for a burnt offering"—a horrendous demand by any standard. The reader has been warned in v. 1 that this was God's test for Abraham's faith, but discovers, a few verses later, that all worked out well. Abraham however had only this painfully slow opening and dreadful demand, without explanation. Did he remember the echo of 12:1 in the "Take yourself to the region", or in "one of the mountains which I will tell thee of" the parallel in 12:1, "unto a land that I will show thee"?

Nothing like this had been asked of him before. When he left his country, he had God's promise of a land. When he was called upon to sacrifice Isaac he was being asked to sacrifice the son in whom God's promises were stored up, without any promise restated to support his faith. How could this be right? And who had ever heard of God asking for human sacrifice? Molech perhaps, but not God. Only a careful, clear-headed consideration of his own path with God could ever have guided Abraham through this nightmarish moment. Could God bring life out of death? Yes, He had done so in giving him Isaac when he was as good as dead and Sarah's womb was dead (compare Rom 4:19).

The place name Moriah occurs in Scripture in only one other reference, 2 Chronicles 3:1, where it is the site of the temple built by Solomon. If, as seems probable, the places are identical then this was going to be a place of sacrifice in later history. And Abraham was being asked to offer up a burnt offering, the offering which was wholly for God, the offering in which the offerer, in effect, said to God, "All that I am I give to Thee in my proper substitute, this victim". If Abraham could rise to this challenge this event would indeed lead to "clear vision", the vision of man upon earth owing everything to his Creator and prepared to give back everything to Him in worship. This is not something which takes place merely as a theory in a person's head; it is as practical and as costly as it can possibly be.134

The Canaanites believed that the greatest way they could please a god was to offer a firstborn son as a sacrifice to the god. Abraham did not know the one true God did not want human sacrifices. So the test was very real.135

134 Ferguson, 141-142. 135 The Complete Biblical Library – Genesis.


3 So Abraham rose early in the morning, saddled his donkey, and took two of his young men with him, and his son Isaac. And he cut the wood for the burnt offering and arose and went to the place of which God had told him.

4 On the third day Abraham lifted up his eyes and saw the place from afar.

There are many instances in the OT of people who had three days in which to face up to their decisions, and the experience was often sobering. Israel went three days into the wilderness, found no water, found bitter water at Marah, then saw the waters "healed" by God's power (Ex 15:22-26). Similarly, when they were approaching Jordan in their journey to Canaan, they stayed for three days before the final approach to Jordan to prove the power of God to open a way through for them (Josh 3:2).136

Abraham's trip from Beersheba to Moriah was about a fifty-mile trip. Moriah is only a few hundred feet above the valleys that are adjacent to it. It is not very big. Its length is about 1-1/2 miles from one end to the other end. Its Neighboring mountains are much bigger including the Mount of Olives. This hill was on the border between the tribes of Judah and Benjamin.

Moriah was the location of the Temple Mount (2 Chronicles 3:1) and in the vicinity not far from Calvary. Moriah was the highest peak of surrender for any man other than Jesus Christ who willingly surrendered His life on a higher peak, Mt. Calvary. Moriah may be small in its size, but its significance is astronomical. This one spot on the planet is probably the most valuable piece of real estate on earth. This one little area is hotly contested by religions and nations. It is a sacred area to the Christians because of the ministry of Jesus Christ in Jerusalem. It is a sacred area to Muslims because the Dome of the Rock, a shrine built 1300 years ago, commemorates the Muslim tradition that the prophet Muhammad miraculously traveled to Jerusalem by night and ascended from there into Heaven. There is no evidence, however, that Muhammad was ever in Jerusalem and Jerusalem is not mentioned by name at all in the Koran.

Mount Moriah is important to the Jews because this is the place where Abraham, in an act of dedication and consecration to the Lord, offered up his son Isaac as a sacrifice to the Lord because of God's command. God tested Abraham's dedication and faith. Because of this event, King David purchased the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite about 1000 years later and built an altar to the Lord to hold back a plague from God's people (2 Samuel 24:18, 21). It was purchased for 600 shekels of gold. This purchase is an important fact since it demonstrates that the

136 Ferguson, 143.


Jews received this area through a legal transaction. The Temple mount is their property legally.

When David died, his son Solomon constructed a magnificent temple to the Lord on the property. He leveled this area for a platform where the Temple could be constructed. The temple mount was to be a place of dedication and consecration to the Lord.137

5 Then Abraham said to his young men, “Stay here with the donkey; I and the boy will go over there and worship and come again to you.”

This the first reference in Scripture to worship in the strict sense—18:2 is not quite comparable. Abraham was prepared to give God his dearest possession, his son. It seems, though, that he was by now trusting in God to do the humanly impossible and grant him to return safely with Isaac—hence the words "and come again" quoted above. This interpretation gives more cohesion to the story than, for instance, a suggestion that Abraham was saying what he believed to be inaccurate, if it is assumed that he did not believe Isaac would come back.138

What Do We Learn About Worship from Abraham’s Example?

The principles of worship revealed in this chapter are applicable to us today.

• Worship involves Compliance—Obedience to God is the beginning of worship of the Lord. How can we show our love and adoration for Him if we are not willing to do what He says? Abraham obeyed God and did what He commanded. Abraham attributed "worth" to God. Worship is the “worth ship” of the Lord you love.

• Worship involves Control of Self—It takes discipline to obey God and do what He says. Abraham had learned from his mistakes and put God's commands above his reasoning.

• Worship involves Consistency—A daily walk with the Lord is vital to stability and victory in the Christian life. When we cool off spiritually, our worship cools too. Abraham, except for a few failures, was consistent in his obedience to the Lord.

• Worship involves Cessation—It involves denying your will and putting God's will first in your life.

• Worship involves Contriving—Preparation for worship is important. Our life is to be daily prepared by holy living and obedience. Our mind,

137 Dr. Rod Mattoon, Mattoon's Treasures – Treasures from Bible Mountains, (Springfield, IL: Lincoln Land Baptist Church, 2014), WORDsearch CROSS e-book, 23-24.

138 Ferguson, 143.


emotions, and will are to be prepared and yielded for God's leading in our lives. Abraham prepared himself by taking wood, fire, and the knife for the burnt offering.

• Worship involves Conduct—The attitude of faith is to be followed by the application and action of our faith. The profession of our love is to be followed by the performance of our love. You will serve the one you love and worship. Our worship of the Lord will precede our service to the Lord.

• Worship involves Completeness—Worship involves the whole being of a person including his mind, emotions, and his will. Jesus scalded the Pharisees and scribes when he quoted Isaiah who said the people drew near with their mouths and honored God with their lips, but their hearts are far from me (Matt. 15:7, 8). God wants us to love Him with all our heart, mind, and soul. Abraham yielded his mind to God because what God asked him to do defied logic. He yielded his emotions because he loved Isaac so much. He yielded his will because he was determined to do God's will no matter how difficult it seemed.

• Worship involves Cleanliness—Sin should be confessed to the Lord. God wants us to have clean hands and a pure heart (Ps. 24:3, 4).

Hindrances to Worship

• Unbelief—doubt • Unsurrendered Heart—rebellion, self-willed (Luke 9:23) • Unconcern—apathy, discouragement, fatigue • Unconfessed Sin • Unfriendly Opposition-Satan (James 4:7) • Unsound Attitudes—Bitterness, Jealousy, Anger139

6 And 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 they went both of them together.

The moment had come for Isaac to begin to feel his part in the event. He must bear the wood on which he would be laid on the altar. Commentators understandably feel here echoes of the story of the Lord Jesus when He "bearing his cross went forth" (Jn 19:17) to be crucified. Abraham himself accepted the burden of the flint—which appears to be what is meant by the "fire"—and the knife. They must have been heavy in the old man's hands. "And they went both of them together".140

139 Mattoon, 281-282. 140 Ferguson, 143.


7 And Isaac said to his father Abraham, “My father!” And he said, “Here I am, my son.” He said, “Behold, the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?”

8 Abraham said, “God will provide for himself the lamb for a burnt offering, my son.” So they went both of them together.

9 When they came to the place of which God had told him, Abraham built the altar there and laid the wood in order and bound Isaac his son and laid him on the altar, on top of the wood.

10 Then Abraham reached out his hand and took the knife to slaughter his son.

"Be astonished, O heavens! at this; and wonder, O earth! Here is an act of faith and obedience, which deserves to be a spectacle to God, angels, and men. Abraham's darling, Sarah's laughter, the church's hope, the heir of promise, lies ready to bleed and die by his own father's hand, who never shrinks at the doing of it."–Matthew Henry

11 But the angel of the LORD called to him from heaven and said, “Abraham, Abraham!” And he said, “Here I am.”

12 He said, “Do not lay your hand on the boy or do anything to him, for now I know that you fear God, seeing you have not withheld your son, your only son, from me.”

The verse in Hebrews 11 goes on (RV): "yea, he that had gladly received the promises was offering up his only begotten son". The word "was offering up" indicates that he was prevented from completing the action. It was never completed, for heaven's response to the obediently lifted knife was swift and urgent. This is one of those great occasions when God called men by name with the urgency of a double call. Abraham as so often was quick to respond, "Here am I". God's message to him was to do "the lad" no harm; the point had been fully established: "for now I know that thou fearest God". God of course knew it all along, but Abraham had to prove it. Now God knew it experientially. Faith must be "made perfect", as James would say, by works. This was the supreme test of faith, and Abraham's faith had stood the test. His faith caused him to view God with fitting reverence, here called "fear".

God's words in v. 12 are wonderful: "thou hast not withheld thy son, thine only son, from me". The Septuagint renders this: "for my sake thou hast not spared thy beloved son". The mind goes to Romans 8:32: "He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things?". Is it too much to read in this incident in Genesis 22 a faith and devotion which


moved the heart of God as He looked forward to what was already an established purpose, that He would show His wonderful grace by not sparing His own Son? Paul's adaptation of the words from Genesis suggests that he sees Genesis as a picture of God giving His Son. God understood how Abraham felt, in the sense that He had already purposed to give His Son for us.141

13 And Abraham lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, behind him was a ram, caught in a thicket by his horns. And Abraham went and took the ram and offered it up as a burnt offering instead of his son.

Philip Henry, in a sermon dated October 24, 1658, noted,

"Isaac and the ram were types of Christ. Isaac in two respects:

1. In his willingness to be offered; there was no resistance: so Christ,—Lo, I come.

2. He was laid upon the altar, but rose again; a type of Christ's resurrection.

The ram also, in two respects:

1. He was caught in a thicket; Christ was crowned with thorns.

2. He was sacrificed; so Christ was a Sacrifice of God's providing."

14 So Abraham called the name of that place, “The LORD will provide”; as it is said to this day, “On the mount of the LORD it shall be provided.”

When Abraham called that place "Jehovah-jireh," (Heb. Yahweh Yireh; Jehovah is a non-biblical name made up of the Latin consonant of Yahweh combined with the vowels taken from the Hebrew word for Lord. The Latin used a "j" for a consonantal "y") "The Lord will see to [and provide]," he showed he understood something of God’s plan of redemption. God would see the need of sinners and provide a substitute who would die the death we deserve. This was one of the times, surely a most significant time, that Abraham saw Christ’s day and was glad (John 8:56). This test drew him closer to God and made him appreciate God’s promises more than ever. Tests can drive us away from God or cause us to draw near to Him.142

15 And the angel of the LORD called to Abraham a second time from heaven

16 and said, “By myself I have sworn, declares the LORD, because you have done this and have not withheld your son, your only son,

17 I will surely bless you, and I will surely multiply your offspring as the

141 Ferguson, 144. 142 The Complete Biblical Library – Genesis.


stars of heaven and as the sand that is on the seashore. And your offspring shall possess the gate of his enemies,

18 and in your offspring shall all the nations of the earth be blessed, because you have obeyed my voice.”

19 So Abraham returned to his young men, and they arose and went together to Beersheba. And Abraham lived at Beersheba.

The God of Abraham Praise

The God of Abraham praise, Who reigns enthroned above;

Ancient of Everlasting Days, and God of love.

Jehovah, great I Am, by Earth and Heaven confess;

I bow and bless the sacred Name, forever blest.

The God of Abraham praise, at Whose supreme command

From Earth I rise, and seek the joys at His right Hand.

I all on Earth forsake, its wisdom, fame, and power;

And Him my only portion make, my shield and tower.

He by Himself has sworn, I on His oath depend,

I shall, on eagles’ wings upborne, to Heaven ascend;

I shall behold His face, I shall His Power adore,

And sing the wonders of His Grace forevermore.

The whole triumphant host give thanks

to God on high; ‘Hail, Father, Son, and Holy Ghost!’

they ever cry. Hail, Abraham’s God and mine!

I join the Heavenly lays; All might and majesty are Thine,

and endless praise.”


Faith: Look, Examine, Test By Adrian Rogers

Introduction

Would you turn to Genesis 22? Immediately you will remember, that, several weeks ago, we spoke from this chapter as a foretaste of Calvary. And we showed how Isaac, represented the Lord Jesus Christ, and how Abraham offered up Isaac, and was a wonderful picture of God, the Father, offering up His beloved Son. But the Bible is so rich, so full, there's so much in this chapter that we did not get to speak on. I want to talk to you, tonight, from another aspect from Genesis 22, and I want to talk to you, tonight, about your faith. You know, the Bible tells us to be strong in faith. And I want us to think, tonight, about our faith, and I want us to look at our faith. I want us to examine our faith. I want us to test our faith. Because you see, folks, faith that cannot be tested cannot be trusted.

How do you know that your faith is real and strong? Would you like to, fly on an airplane that had never been tested? I mean, would you like for it to be built but never once put to any test that you want to get on it and commit your life to that airplane, and it never been tested? Would you like for a doctor to do surgery on you who went through medical school without a test? Ha ha, a man was about to have surgery and the doctor said, "You look kind of nervous." He said, "I am nervous. This is my first surgery." The doctor said, "I know how you feel. It's my first surgery also."

Do you want to put your faith and your confidence in something that hasn't been tested? Again, I want to tell you, the faith that cannot be tested cannot be trusted. Now, notice here that God is testing Abraham. 22:1, "And it came to pass after these things, that God did tempt Abraham..." Now, if you're using the King James Version, as I do, you will recognize that the word tempt is used in two different ways. It is to mean a test or it is used to mean a solicitation to do wrong, to do evil. Now, God tests us, and the devil tempts us. The devil tempts us to cause us to fall. God tests us to cause us to stand.

Now, what God is doing here is not get Abraham to do evil, but what God is doing, now, is encouraging Abraham to do good. And so, He's giving Abraham a test and the test for Abraham is a test, in many ways, for us tonight.

And so, we want to look at this. This is an incredible story; let's continue to read. "God did test Abraham, and said unto him, Abraham: and he said, Behold, here I am. And he said..." that is, God said to him, "... Take now thy son, thine only son Isaac, whom thou lovest, and get thee into the land of Moriah; and offer him there for a burnt offering upon one of the mountains which I will tell thee of. And Abraham rose up early in the morning, and saddled his ass, and took two of his young men with him, and Isaac his son, and clave the wood for the burnt offering, and rose up, and went unto the place of which God had told him." This is an incredible story. Never before had God asked for a human sacrifice. And now God is telling a man to take his son, the son of promise, the son of hope, the son of prophesy, the only begotten son, in that sense, and offer him up as a sacrifice. Again, you see a foretaste, a preview, of Calvary in this story. And Abraham obeys God. He lets God have His way. Now, the liberal theologians tell us that this could


not be, that this story, some how, is a misinterpretation. But, friend, when God is sovereign, He can do anything He pleases, and God is sovereign. And this is what God told Abraham to do. And so the command is given and then next morning, without hesitation, early in the morning, Abraham takes Isaac, his beloved son, the son of prophecy, the son of promise, the son of hope, the beloved son. He cuts wood for a wood sacrifice and he and the lad head toward Mount Moriah, where Isaac is to be offered up.

Folks, if you have any imagination at all, any empathy at all, any of fatherhood or motherhood in you, if there's a sympathetic chord in your being, this story will deeply, deeply stir you.

When we bought, from Mid-America Seminary, the Jewish Temple there, on Poplar, near old Bellevue, I went over to look over those buildings and our Jewish friends had there in the lobby of that building, a figure. It was a statue, or a figurine, of Abraham. Abraham has, under his arm, a young man, a lad, Isaac. And the lad is looking up into the face of his father, Abraham. And Abraham is looking up into the face of his Father, Almighty God. It's a very touching thing. As the boy's look to Abraham and Abraham is looking to Almighty God. And there's a sermon, a lesson in all of that.

I wonder what Abraham thought, as they sat that night, around the campfire. I wonder, as he looked into the face of that boy through the flickering flames. I wonder if Abraham thought, "What will he think? What will he say? How will he feel? What will his last words be? What will his last look be?" as Abraham goes to offer up Isaac. Now, the key to the whole thing is this, that God is testing Abraham's faith. Now, Abraham is the Father of the Faithful. Abraham is known as a man of faith and he's the brightest star in the Hebrew Heaven, and he's worthy of our study as God is testing his faith.

Now, if you were to measure faith, how would you measure faith? Well, you could measure it with the dimensions of faith; you could measure it by its depth. You could measure it by its height. You could measure it by its length, or you could measure it by its wideness. Now, we're going to measure faith that way, tonight. And we're going to test faith that way tonight.

I. The Depth of Its Devotion

How was Abraham's faith measured? How was it qualified? First of all, it was qualified by the depth of its devotion—by the depth of its devotion. You see, what was this test? It seems to me that Abraham had begun to love Isaac more than he loved God Himself. And you know, there's always that danger. There's always the danger that when God blesses us that we come to love the gift that God has given us more than the Giver Himself. And God will never willingly let anything or anybody other than Himself be in first place in our lives. Now, I've told you before that God does not want a place in your life, God does not want prominence in your life, God desires, deserves, and demands preeminence. God absolutely demands preeminence. God is not satisfied to be a part-time deity with a duplex for a throne. Now, it was not wrong for Abraham to love his son. It was right for Abraham to love his son. God had given Abraham this son, and it was well and good for Abraham to love his son, and yet, he is to love the Father even more than he loves his own son.


I've told you, many times, I love Joyce, with all of my heart. But she knows that she's second in my life. She's not first. That doesn't mean that I love her less when I say she's second in my life. That only means I love her more because when I love God, in first place, I can love Joyce with a Godly love. But I could not love her if God were not first place in my life.

And sometimes there are things that take first place out of our, lives, or, take the place of the Lord. And I told you before, anything you love more, fear more, serve more, desire more than Almighty God, for you, is an idol. And now, God has given to Abraham, Isaac. And could it be, could it be that Abraham had taken his devotion and placed it upon Isaac, God says, "Take your son, your beloved son, and offer him up."

Is there anything you love more than Jesus, tonight? After His resurrection, the Lord Jesus appeared on the shore of Galilee to Simon Peter. And, Simon Peter was there, and Simon Peter cursed and swore and denied the Lord Jesus prior to Calvary, and now, in the post-resurrection appearance of the Lord Jesus, He says to Simon Peter, "Simon Peter, do you love me more than these?" Now, that's a question, do you love me more than these? It can be put two ways. "Simon, do you love me more than James and John? Do you love me more than Matthew?" He could be asking the question that way and maybe He was. Or maybe He was saying to Simon Peter, "Simon, do you love me more than these boats? Do you love me more than these nets? Do you love me more than this, these fish, the old life that you went back to? Do you love me more than these things?" And I think that's what the Lord wants to know of me tonight. "Adrian, if I've blessed you with Bellevue Church, if I've blessed you wih friends, if I've blessed you with a family, if I've blessed you with help, if I've blessed you with a ministry, Adrian, do you love me more than these?" He's asking you that question. Is there anything, anybody that has taken first place in your life? If so, get thee up to Moriah, and sacrifice it there.

His faith was measured, I say, by the depth of its devotion. If there's no greater love in your life than the love for Jesus, rejoice and praise God for it, and say, my faith has passed that test. Abraham's did.

II. The Height of Its Sacrifice

And I'll tell you another way Abraham's faith was tested, not only by its depth, but by its height. It was measured not only by the depth of its devotion, but the height of its sacrifice. Now Abraham and Isaac went up Mount Moriah itself, not a particularly high mountain, two thousand seven hundred feet above sea level, but spiritually, no man has ever climbed higher than Abraham and, Isaac climbed that day in Genesis 22. He went up to that mountain to make a sacrifice, to our Lord.

Now, sacrifice will go to any heights if there's love there. You might want to turn to, Hebrews 11:17. If you don't turn to it, let me read it to you. Maybe that will be the quickest thing. The Bible says they are commenting on this Old Testament sacrifice, this Old Testament passage, "By faith," now listen, they're talking about Abraham's faith, "By faith Abraham, when he was tried, offered up Isaac: and he that had received the promises offered up his only begotten son." Now, he did this by faith. By faith he offered up Isaac. Now, it doesn't say by faith he was willing to offer up Isaac. By faith he offered up Isaac. That is, in his heart it was done. Don't get the idea that Abraham did not slay Isaac.

8 Shoe-Leather Theology: A Study of James These study notes are produced to coordinate with the weekly teaching series “Shoe-Leather Theology: A Study of James” by First Family Church, Ankeny, IA. More resources on this series are available at ffclife.com.

Abraham offered Isaac. Now, literally, Isaac did not die. Literally, God stopped the knife before it plunged into, the pulsating heart of Isaac. But in the heart and mind of Abraham, the sacrifice was made. Because, you see, when we love, love will go to any sacrifice, love so amazing, so divine, demands my soul, my life, my all.

You think about what was in that sacrifice when he offered up Isaac. What was he doing? Well, he was sacrificing his future because all of his hopes were in Isaac. God said to Abram, "In Isaac will your future be." "You're going to be the father of many nations, but it's all wrapped up in Isaac. You're to be a great nation. I will give you a great name. And now," he says, "Take your future, take your future and sacrifice it." Not only is he called upon to sacrifice his future; he was called upon to sacrifice his family. Have you ever thought about what he had to say to Sarah? Can you imagine him going to Sarah and she says, "Where is, where's Isaac?" "Sweetheart, I sacrificed him. I put him to death." Can you imagine what would have happened in the family? Abraham was willing to do that because he could not put his family first. Your faith will always give your children up the Lord for anything God asks of your children. And by the way, that's one of the greatest sacrifices that faith can make. He sacrificed his future. He sacrificed his family. He sacrificed his fellowship. Nobody else could understand that day. Abraham and Isaac went alone up that mountain. No one would have understood what was in his heart. And the man who follows God, the woman who follows God, sometimes must do it absolutely alone.

III. The Length of Its Obedience

Faith is measured by the depth of its devotion. Faith is measured by the height of its sacrifice. Faith is measured by the length of its obedience. That's the third way. You see, we're not saved by faith and works. But we are saved by faith that works. And the Bible tells us, here, that as soon as the command was given to sacrifice Isaac, immediately, the next morning, he rose up and went his way. Verse 3, "And Abraham rose up early in the morning, and saddled his ass, and took two of his young men with him, and Isaac his son..." No hesitation. No consultation. Just simply, "God you say it and now I must obey." Obedience is the greatest proof of devotion and the means of sacrifice. Now, do you have faith? I mean do you have faith to lay the dearest thing that you own at God's feet? Do you have faith to sacrifice at any cost when God speaks to you? Do you have faith to obey God immediately, instantaneously? What kind of obedience am I talking about when I'm talking about the length of its obedience? I'm talking about immediate obedience. Did you know that procrastination is a form of sin when God speaks to you?

In Fellsmere, Florida, I just preached, last Monday night in Fellsmere, Florida, my first little church. I pastored that church when I was a nineteen-year-old boy. They were having homecoming, fifty years, and nothing would do them but for me to come back, and I went back. A little church running about seventy-five in Sunday school, out in the, near the edge of the everglades. I went back there last Monday night and preached for those people. In that town, we had a revival meeting when I was a college student. There were about five hundred people in that town and God laid it upon my heart to visit every home in that little town, every home, and invite those people to revival. You won’t believe this, but the way we went visiting was on horseback. I, there were so many, there was, it


was kind of rough country and some places it was hard to get around, and so, we saddled up a couple of horses, the evangelist and myself. Got a couple of cowboy hats, rode up to the doors of those houses. Kicked on the door, when the people came out, we're still sitting on the horse, say "Howdy, Ma'am. We're having a revival meeting and want to invite you to come to that revival meeting." God blessed. We, by automobile, by foot, or by horseback, visited every home, to my remembrance, except one home. And I remember passing that home and thinking, "I'm tired. We've worked so hard; I'm not going to visit that particular home. Maybe later I will visit, but not today." Later on, a matter of days, I never did get to the home to visit that home, I was driving down the little road there that went past that house and that house was back in an orange grove, and I saw a woman come out of that, driveway. She had, it seemed like both hands in the air, I don't know how she was steering the automobile, and she was screaming at the top of her voice. I wheeled my car around and came alongside of her and I said, "Ma'am, tell me what is wrong." She said, "It is terrible, it is horrible. He has killed himself. He has killed himself. He has killed himself." And I said, "Let me go see." And I went up into that orange grove there and found that body. That man had taken a high-powered gun and propped it up in a tree and put it to his temple and pulled the trigger. It wasn't a beautiful sight to see. I've never been able to forget it because I wondered in my heart and in my mind, "Adrian, why didn't you go to that house? That was the one house you didn't go to. You said you were going to go to every house. You were going to visit every house. That's the one house you didn't visit." I don't know if I could have led that man to Jesus or not. I don't know. But friend, in my mind, right now, I can see that man. I see that corpse. I see, that, body that was stiff and stark with the bullet hole there in the temple.

You know, folks, when God tells you to do something, you need to do it. You need to do it immediately. Real obedience is instantaneous obedience. Procrastination is a form of sin. It is a form of disobedience. Now so, we must, we must obey Him. It must be instant obedience. And it must be intelligent obedience. You just don't run around knocking things over. Abraham heard God speak. What do you hear God speak? You can't obey Him instantly if you've not heard Him speak, and, you'll not hear him speak unless you're listening. God came to Abraham and God could talk to Abraham face-to-face as a man speaks to his own friend. Abraham was a friend of God. He had the heart, the mind of God.

So many times we may call ourselves serving God but we're not obeying God. God doesn't appreciate what He doesn't initiate. What we need to do is to get in the place where we can hear God so we can obey God. It has to be instantaneous obedience. It has to be intelligent obedience. It has to be intentional obedience. You see, don't get the idea that just because God hasn't told you anything, you're excused. You may not have reported for duty. You may not have listened to Almighty God. And it must be impassioned obedience. There ought to be a zeal to obey God. The cause of this church and all churches is hurt more by Sunday-morning benchwarmers who think they do God a favor by coming to church than all the infidels put together. We need a burning, passionate, blazing, emotional love for the Lord Jesus Christ.

Now, faith is measured by the depth of its devotion. Is there anything that you love more than God, than the Lord Jesus, if there is, you don't have faith like Abraham had. Faith is measured by the height of its sacrifice. Is there anything that you would, withhold


from God if He asked you for it? Faith is measured by the length of its obedience—immediate, intelligent, intentional, impassioned obedience.

IV. The Wideness of Its Confidence

Now I want to tell you, frankly, as I studied this, and thought it out, I was challenged, and I want to tell you that I don't think I measure up and I want to grow. But I want to say, again, faith is tested one other way. Not only by its depth, it's height, its length, but it's tested by the wideness, the broadness of its confidence. Why was Abraham willing to do this? What went through the mind of Abraham? God says to Abraham, "Abraham, I'm going to give you a son. This son is going to be a miracle son. This son is going to come out of your dead body." That is, your reproductive organs are dead; your wife is, past the age of bearing children. You are sterile and she is sterile and yet, you're going to have a child. God made this promise to Abram. Abram believed God, God says to Abram, "I'm going to take this child and I'm going to make him a blessing to all the world." And now God says, "Take him and sacrifice him." Or how could Abraham put that together? Let me tell you what went through his mind. We don't have to guess about it. You can find this also in Hebrews 11:17-19. Now, we're talking about the testing of his faith, and listen to it, "By faith Abraham, when he was tried, offered up Isaac..." that is, in his heart and mind Isaac was offered, it's past tense, he offered up Isaac, "and he that had received the promises offered up his only begotten son, Of whom it was said, That in Isaac shall thy seed be called." Now, Isaac had not yet had any descendants, and God said, "In Isaac, all of your children are going to be called. He's going to be the progenitor of your grandchildren, your great-grandchildren, your great-great-great-grandchildren." And now God says, "Put him to death." Well, how was he able to do that? Look in the next verse, "Accounting," verse 19, "that God was able to raise him up, even from the dead; from whence also he received him in a figure." That is, figuratively, he had already sacrificed him and when God did not allow the ultimate sacrifice, in a figure he received this man back from the dead. That's the reason I'm glad we sang that little get-acquainted chorus tonight, "What a mighty God we serve." What Abraham learned is that there is nothing too hard for God.

Did God give Isaac back? Indeed he did. Abraham did not know he would do it, or he did not know how he would do it. However, I believe his conversation with Isaac must have been something like this. "Son, have a seat. Look Daddy in the face. Son, there's something I need to tell you. Son, do you remember the covenant that I told you that God made with me when I met with Him under the oak tree? Do you remember that covenant, Son, I've told you about it many times. And Son, do you know that you are a miracle child? Son, did you know that you were born as a result of a miracle? You are a covenant child. Son, I want you to understand, therefore, you don't really belong to me. You never really belonged to me. Son, you belong to God. Now, Son, three days ago, He asked me to give you to Him. And, Son, I have no recourse, but to give Him back to you because I'm in covenant with Him. Son, do you understand that?" Isaac seemed to understand and cooperate. Isaac knew that he was a covenant child. He'd been told from a child that he belonged to the Lord. And now, his hands are bound. He's placed on that wood and he's ready to be offered. God sends an angel to hold back that knife and to say, "Abraham,


hold back. Don't kill the child." Verse 10, "And Abraham stretched forth his hand, and took the knife to slay his son. And the angel of the LORD called unto him out of heaven, and said, [Abram] Abraham, Abraham: and he said, Here am I. And he said, Lay not thine hand upon the lad, neither do thou any thing unto him," now watch this, "for now I know that thou fearest God," here's the key, "seeing thou hast not withheld thy son, thine only son from me."

What is all of this about, Ladies and Gentlemen? God is testing this man's faith. "Abraham, you will withhold nothing from me. And now, Abraham I will withhold nothing from you." Now, here's the bottom line, it wasn't Isaac that God really wanted, it was Abraham's supreme devotion. You've got to learn that. Here's the heart of the message. Are you ready for the bottom line? Listen to me: if you love it, let it go. If it's yours, you'll get it back. But if not, you'll be saved from a fate worse than death. And that fate will be to hold on to something that is an impairment to your spiritual life. Jesus taught the same thing in Mark 8:34, "And when he had called the people unto him with his disciples also, he said unto them, Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me." Give it to God. Take up your cross. Give everything to the Lord.

When I was a child, we used to play a little game called "Finders, Keepers, Losers, Weepers." But our Lord is saying, Losers, Finders, Keeper's, Weepers." Give it to God. If you'll lay your Isaac upon the altar, and God doesn't want you to have him, then you're better off without him. If the gift is from God, anything that God has given you, you can trust Him with. Anything He has not given you, you do not need. And so, after Abraham had passed this test, the test of devotion, the test of obedience, the test of sacrifice, and the test of confidence, God gave to Abraham an incredible blessing. His faith was tested and it passed the test. He doesn't have to worry now about losing something that he's already given to God. And God revealed Himself to Abraham that day as Jehovah Jireh, which literally means, the God who will see to it. It literally means, the God who is a provider. It's the word we get providence from. God sees ahead.

There's a ram that started up the mountain that side, when Abraham and Isaac started up the other side. That ram was there ready to be sacrificed in Isaac's place. The ram did not get there ahead of time and the ram was there on time, no earlier and no later than he was needed. Abraham passed the test, and I have to ask myself this question, "Adrian, would you pass that test? If God were to say to you, 'Adrian, take the dearest thing on earth and give it to me.'" I hope I would. I want to. And I believe you do.

Conclusion

Faith is measured by the depth of its devotion, the height of its sacrifice, the length of its obedience, and the wideness of confidence.

Would you bow your heads in prayer? And while heads are bowed why don't you pray, "Lord, increase my faith. And Lord, when the test comes, when you ask of me something to go somewhere, to give something, to sacrifice something, Lord help me to obey. May my obedience be quick, intentional, instantaneous, impassioned, intelligent." You don't have to think up things to sacrifice. You just have to say, "Lord, all that I am, all that I have belongs to you." Father, seal the message to our hearts and if there's somebody


here who doesn't know Jesus, let me help you to receive Him as your Lord and Savior right now. If you'd like to be saved, if you'd like to become a child of God, if you'd like to pass from death to life, from darkness to light, from judgment and condemnation to grace and freedom and forgiveness. Would you pray a prayer like this, "Lord Jesus, thank you for dying for me. Thank you for being my sacrifice on that cross.

I believe you are the Son of God. I believe you paid for my sin with your blood on the cross. I believe it. And now, this moment, I receive you into my heart as my Lord and my Savior. Come into my heart. Forgive my sin. Save me Lord Jesus." Would you pray that prayer? "Save me, Lord Jesus. And, Lord, Jesus, help me now, tonight, to trust you once and for all, now and forever. I do trust you. Thank you, Jesus. Now, Lord, give me the courage to make it public. Help me never to be ashamed of you. In your name I pray, Amen."143

143 The Adrian Rogers Legacy Collection - The Adrian Rogers Legacy Collection – Sermons.

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