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Genesis 12:01-03 – God’s Promises to Abraham – Part 2 – powerpoint – audio
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(Part 1 – Part 2)
Text: Genesis 12:1-3 ESV (Reading by Steven Winland)
Now the LORD said to Abram, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the 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, so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”
(slide 2)
Introduction
- What does the Bible predict will happen in the future?
- How will God fulfill His promises to His people?
- Are the promises that God made to Abraham still being fulfilled?
- Does Israel have a special place in the coming of Christ?
- Will the temple be rebuilt and all Israel be saved?
(slide 3)
The most popular religious teaching concerning these questions is given by the premillennial dispensationalists. They teach that Jesus is returning to rule over a physical kingdom on earth for 1,000 years. Israel will be restored as a nation and return to God corporately through a national conversion to Christ. The temple in Jerusalem will be rebuilt, along with the worship of the Temple.
(slide 4)
Body
I. Israel in the Divine plan:
The Biblical teaching concerning the place of the nation of Israel includes at least four elements:
- Selection;
- Testing;
- Rejection; and
- Replacement.
(slide 5)
A. Selection:
Almost two thousand years before the birth of Christ, Jehovah selected Abraham to be the founder of a new nation. It was declared that through him a seed would come by whom all peoples of the earth would be blessed. God fulfilled the promises of Genesis 12:1-3 ESV.
(slide 6)
1. Abraham’s offspring were delivered from an era of bondage in Egypt. They were given a special law and system of worship designed to separate them from the other nations of the world
Exodus 19:5-6 ESV – Now therefore, if you will indeed obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my treasured possession among all peoples, for all the earth is mine;
(slide 7)
2. God’s selection of Abraham, and thus Israel, was not due to any holy character, or just for their benefit, but as a means whereby He would bring Christ, as the coming Messiah of the Jews, and the Savior of the world.
Galatians 3:24-25 ESV – So the, the law was our guardian until Christ came, in order that we might be justified by faith. But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian.
(slide 8)
B. Testing:
For some fifteen hundred years the Lord God attempted to cultivate the nation of Israel to be a people that reflected His character and purpose. This was in preparation for the coming of Christ. But the nation grossly violated the law, frequently went after “strange gods,” and they viciously persecuted God’s prophets.
Jeremiah 32:23 ESV – And they entered and took possession of it. But they did not obey your voice or walk in your law. They did nothing of all you commanded them to do. Therefore you have made all this disaster come upon them.
Jesus enunciates the failure of Israel to meet the conditions of God’s covenant with them in Luke 13:34 ESV – O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it! How often would I have gathered your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing!
(slide 9)
C. Rejection:
The rebellion of the nation consummated with the murder of Jesus Christ. God rejected the Hebrew people, repudiated their status as His nation and determined to scatter them as dust.
(slide 10)
1. Israel’s unique status with God was conditional: Deuteronomy 28:1 ESV – And if you faithfully obey the voice of the LORD your God, being careful to do all his commandments that I command you today, the LORD your God will set you high above all the nations of the earth.
(slide 11)
2. Jesus foretold this Divine judgment in several of his later parables, including The Parable of the Wicked Tenants: Matt 21:33-44 ESV – “Hear another parable. There was a master of a house who planted a vineyard and put a fence around it and dug a winepress in it and built a tower and leased it to tenants, and went into another country. When the season for fruit drew near, he sent his servants to the tenants to get his fruit. And the tenants took his servants and beat one, killed another, and stoned another. Again he sent other servants, more that the first. And they did the same to them. Finally he sent his son to them, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’ But when the tenants saw the son, they said to themselves, ‘This is the heir. Come, let us kill him and have his inheritance.’ And they took him and threw him out of the vineyard and killed him. When therefore the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those tenants?” They said to him, “He will put those wretches to a miserable death and let out the vineyard to other tenants who will give him the fruits in their seasons.” Jesus said to them, “Have you never read in the Scriptures: ‘The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone; this was the Lord’s doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes?’ Therefore I tell you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people producing its fruits. And the one who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces; and when it falls on anyone, it will crush him.”
(slide 12)
a. This parable came to fulfillment when the Roman armies came against Palestine in A.D. 70, and Judaism was destroyed.
b. According to Jewish historian, Josephus, some 1.1 million Hebrews were slaughtered, and thousands were taken into slavery. All Jewish records were lost in that holocaust. Today, there is not a single Jew who knows his tribal ancestry. The physical nation of Israel is dead. The “Jews” that make up the State of Israel today (less than twenty-five percent of the world Jewish population) cannot legitimately be called a “God’s covenant nation.”
(slide 13)
c. With the coming of Christ, there was also an end to the law of Moses, and thus the separateness of Israel as God’s covenant people.
Ephesians 2:14-16 ESV – For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility by abolishing the law of commandments expressed in ordinances, that he might create in himself one new man in place of the two, so making peace, and might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby killing the hostility.
(slide 14)
d. The writer of Hebrews points out that the law of Moses was inherently weak in several ways and that God had promised a new covenant based upon better promises.
Hebrews 10:9-10 ESV – then he added, “Behold, I have come to do your will.” He does away with the first in order to establish the second. And by that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.
1 Peter 1:18-21 ESV – knowing that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot. He was foreknown before the foundation of the world but was made manifest in the last times for the sake of you who through him are believers in God, who raised him from the dead and gave him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God.
(slide 15)
D. Replacement:
As a consequence of Israel’s rejection of the Messiah, God has replaced physical Israel with a new nation, spiritual Israel. This spiritual Israel has been sanctified by the blood of Jesus. Today, the “Jew” is not one who is so physically, but one who is so inwardly, spiritually.
Romans 2:28-29 ESV – For no one is a Jew who is merely one outwardly, nor is circumcision outward and physical. But a Jew is one inwardly, and circumcision is a matter of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the letter. His praise is not from man but from God.
(slide 16)
1. Those who submit to the gospel plan of redemption—whether Jew or Gentile become children of God, and thus are constituted as the true “offspring of Abraham”
Galatians 3:7-9 ESV – Know then that it is those of faith who are the sons of Abraham. And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, “In you shall all the nations be blessed.” So then, those who are of faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith.
Galatians 3:26-29 ESV – for in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith. For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to promise.
1 Peter 2:9 ESV – But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.
(slide 17)
II. Will All Israel be Saved?
Will there be a national conversion of Israel and the reestablishment of a national Jewish State?
A. Although, in fulfillment of the promises to Abraham, physical Israel was a special people to God, with the coming of the Gospel, there was no intrinsic value in being a physical descendant of Abraham.
John the Baptizer: Matthew 3:8-10 ESV – Bear fruit in keeping with repentance. And do not presume to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father,’ for I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children for Abraham. Even now the axe is laid to the root of the trees. Every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.
1. John’s words are focused on the coming wrath of God (Matthew 3:7 ESV) which was fulfilled in the destruction of Jerusalem by Rome in 70 A.D. The point to be seen is this: When a tree is cut down, there is hope that it will sprout again, provided its stump or roots remain (Isaiah 11:1 ESV – There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse, and a branch from his roots shall bear fruit.) But when the axe is laid at the root, where is the hope of restoration? There simply is none!
In the parable of the barren fig tree of Matthew 21 ESV Jesus declared “May no fruit ever come from you again!” (Matthew 21:19 ESV). Later in that same chapter Jesus announced to the Jews “the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people producing its fruits.” (Matthew 21:43 ESV).
(slide 18)
2. In several of Jesus’ later parables He depicts Israel as those who reject…
1) the royal invitation to the marriage (Matt. 22:1-8 ESV);
2) the reign of the Nobleman over his household (Luke 19:14 ESV);
3) or the invitation to a great supper (Luke 14 ESV).
In each of these parables the punishment for such rejection is swift and final.
Luke 14:24 ESV – For I tell you, none of those men who were invited shall taste my banquet.
This refers, of course, to the Jewish majority that refused the gospel (a remnant accepted the invitation – Romans 11:5 ESV).
(slide 19)
B . Although Israel, as a nation, lost its land and its status as a favored nation in the eyes of God, the spiritual blessing of salvation remained. This was always the primary goal of the promises to Abraham.
Romans 10:12-15 ESV – For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, bestowing his riches on all who call on him. For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!”
(slide 20)
1. Paul goes on to say that God has not cast off His people, but rather provided “ a remnant, chosen by grace” (Romans 11:5 ESV). After counseling the Gentiles to not be haughty about their position in the kingdom, he states that Jew can be “grafted” into the tree if they do not continue in unbelief. (Romans 11:23 ESV)
Romans 11:26-27 ESV – And in this way all Israel will be saved, as it is written, “The Deliverer will come from Zion, he will banish ungodliness from Jacob”; “and this will be my covenant with them when I take away their sins.”
The context provides the correct meaning of “all Israel will be saved.” It is in this way (the way of obeying Christ) that all Israel (who are saved) shall be saved. This passage does not affirm a nation-wide conversion of the people of Israel, but the true and only hope of the gospel of Jesus Christ.
(slide 21)
2. Paul anguished over his brethren in the flesh: In the previous chapter in Romans – Romans 9:1-5 ESV – I am speaking the truth in Christ – I am not lying; my conscience bears me witness in the Holy Spirit – that I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart. For I could wish that I myself were accursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my brothers, my kinsmen according to the flesh. They are Israelites, and to them belong the adoption, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the worship, and the promises. To them belong the patriarchs, and from their race, according to the flesh is Christ, who is God over all, blessed forever. Amen.
Romans 10:1 ESV – Brothers, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for them is that they may be saved.
Paul’s anguish is inexplicable if Israel was to be converted as a nation in some future time. Israel’s blessing was spiritual, not physical. Israel’s hope was in Christ alone, and not is a physical connection with Abraham or the Law of Moses.
(slide 22)
Conclusion
Israel fulfilled it’s purpose in the Divine plan.
- Selection
- Testing
- Rejection
- Replacement
Israel can be saved just as we can be saved only through Jesus Christ.
Galatians 3:26-29 ESV – For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.
Content by Andrew Perkins
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Genesis 12:01-03 – God’s Promises to Abraham – Part 1 – powerpoint – audio
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[Download the PowerPoint Presentation]
(Part 1 – Part 2)
Text: Genesis 12:1-3 ESV
Now the LORD said to Abram, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the 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, so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”
(slide 2)
Introduction
The words God spoke to Abram here form a spiritual foundation for our understanding of the rest of the scriptures. From God’s special calling and choosing of Abram we are able to see His progressive work that consummated is the coming of Christ, His death on Calvary and His resurrection from the dead. We need to understand how God fulfilled His promises to Abram (later Abraham).
(slide 3)
I. The Elements of the Promise:
When we describe the words of Genesis 12:1-3 ESV, we often speak of them as containing 3 interrelated promises. This is a good way to categorize the many promises that God made to Abraham. (Some suggest that it is best to understand the promise as a twofold promise:
1) A nation and land promise which was physical; and
2) a seed promise, which was spiritual).
The content of God’s promises to Abraham and His children were:
(slide 4)
A . A Great Nation
- Genesis 22:17 ESV – I will surely bless you, and I will surely multiply your offspring as the stars of heaven and as the sand that is on the seashore. And your offspring shall possess the gate of his enemies, God promised to turn Abram’s children into a great nation (I will surely multiply your offspring)
- All males of his household were given the special covenant of circumcision (Gen.17:1-14 ESV);
- His previously barren wife, Sarah, bore him a son (“of promise”) when he was “one hundred years old” (Gen.21:1-7 ESV).
- Later, that son, Isaac, took a wife from among his father’s people (Gen.24 ESV); and Jacob, the “chosen” son of Isaac, took a wife from his mother’s people (Gen.28:1-4 ESV). Both men were warned to take no wives of the Canaanites, nor of other nations where they dwelt, a warning extended throughout the generations yet to come. This was the “building” of a race of people who were to serve God’s purposes in a special way.
- Later known as the nation of Israel, (Jacob named called Israel by God). Israel became God’s nation through the giving of the law at Sinai, and God sanctified them through His commandments.
1. Prior to entering the land of the “promised land” of Canaan, Moses said, “The LORD your God has multiplied you, and behold, you are today as numerous as the stars of heaven.” (Deuteronomy 1:10 ESV)
2. Later Israel is identified as God’s special people, a great nation of His own making: 2 Sam. 7:23 ESV – And who is like your people Israel, the one nation on the earth whom God went to redeem to be his people, making himself a name and doing for them great and awesome things by driving out before your people, whom you redeem for yourself from Egypt, a nation and its gods?
(slide 5)
B . The Land of Canaan
After Abram entered the land God led him to, God reiterated His intentions concerning the land: Genesis 13:14-15 ESV The LORD said to Abram, after Lot had separated from him, “Lift up your eyes and look from the place where you are, northward and southward and eastward and westward, for all the land that you see I will give to you and to your offspring forever.
God later provided definitive boundaries to the promised land to Abraham: Genesis 15:18-21 ESV – On that day the LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying, “To your offspring I give this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the river Euphrates, the land of the Kenites, the Kenizzites, the Kadmonites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Rephaim, the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Girgashites and the Jebusites.”
(slide 6)
C. The Offspring
“in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.” A repetition of the promise in Genesis 22:18 ESV reads, “in your offspring shall all the nations of the earth be blessed.” We are not left to guess the meaning. Paul writes, “Now the promises were made to Abraham and to his offspring. It does not say, ‘And to offsprings,’ referring to many, but referring to one, ‘And to your offspring,’ who is Christ. (Galatians 3:16 ESV).
Paul’s grammatical emphasis makes it clear that the blessings for “all nations” did not depend upon Israel as a nation, nor upon Jews as a people, but upon one of Abraham’s descendants, Jesus Christ.
(slide 7)
II. The Fulfillment of the Promises
It is crucial that we understand the manner in which God fulfilled the promises He made to Abram in Genesis 12 ESV. Much false doctrine, especially the false teachings of pre-millennialism, has roots in a misinterpretation of these promises, and a failure to recognize their proper fulfillment.
(slide 8)
A. Pre-millennialism alleges that Jesus will return to this earth before he commences a thousand-year reign on David’s throne in Jerusalem. Pre-millennialism, and its theological sister, dispensationalism, argue that God intends to reestablish a physical Jewish kingdom in Palestine. The doctrine contends that there is yet a purpose to be served by physical Israel (interpreted as the present physical state of Israel that began in 1948). Dispensationalists also allege that in the “seven-year tribulation period,” just prior to Christ’s “millennial reign,” God will restore the Jews to Palestine, and a national conversion of the Hebrew people will occur.
(slide 9)
B. However, a careful consideration of the Bible text will indicate that God fulfilled every physical element of the promises He made to Abraham. Note: The physical aspects of these promises were but means to a far more important and eternal purpose of salvation from sins for all mankind. “for in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith. For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to promise.” (Galatians 3:26-29 ESV).
(slide 10)
1. We have already seen that God fulfilled His promise to make Abraham’s children a great nation. This special covenant relationship was driven by the law given at Sinai, and predicated on their keeping of that law. In speaking about the value of the law to Israel Moses said… – Keep them and do them, for that will be your wisdom and your understanding in the sight of the peoples, who, when they hear all these statutes, will say, ‘Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people.’ For what great nation is there that has a god so near to it as the LORD our God is to us, whenever we call upon him? And what great nation is there, that has statutes and rules so righteous as all this law that I set before you today? (Deuteronomy 4:6-8 ESV).
(slide 11)
2. God gave all the land He promised – Scriptures clearly refute all of the present “land claims” of the pre-millennialists. Joshua 21:43-45 ESV – Thus the LORD gave to Israel all the land that he swore to give to their fathers. And they took possession of it, and they settled there. And the LORD gave them rest on every side just as he had sworn to their fathers. Not one of all their enemies had withstood them, for the LORD had given all their enemies into their hands. Not one word of all the good promises that the LORD had made to the house of Israel had failed; all came to pass.
(slide 12)
The retention of the land was conditional on their faithfulness. Joshua 23:11-16 ESV – Be very careful, therefore, to love the LORD your God. For if you turn back and cling to the remnant of these nations remaining among you and make marriages with them, so that you, know for certain that the LORD your God will no longer drive out these nations before you, but they shall be a snare and a trap for you, a whip on your sides and thorns in your eyes, until you perish from off this good ground that the LORD your God has given you. “And now I about to go the way of all the earth, and you know in your hearts and souls, all of you, that not one word has failed of all the good things that the LORD your God promised concerning you. All have come to pass for you; not one of them has failed. But just as all the good things that the LORD your God promised concerning you have been fulfilled for you, so the LORD will bring upon you all the evil things, until he has destroyed you from off this good land that the LORD your God has given you, if you transgress the covenant of the LORD you God, which he commanded you, and go and serve other gods and bow down to them. Then the anger of the LORD will be kindled against you, and you shall perish quickly from off the good land that he has given to you.”
(slide 13)
3. God returned a remnant to the land: There is not a single New Testament passage that speaks of a restoration of national Israel and the literal return of Hebrews to Palestine at some future time. The prophets did speak about a restoration of Israel to the land after the 70 years of exile in Babylon. Jeremiah 29:10 ESV – For thus says the LORD: When seventy years are completed for Babylon. I will visit you, and I will fulfill to you my promise and bring you back to this place.
(slide 14)
a. Ezra 1:1 ESV – In the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, that the word of the LORD by the mouth of Jeremiah might be fulfilled, the LORD stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, so that he made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom and also put it in writing: Jeremiah’s prophecy was fulfilled in the days of Cyrus, king of Persia, through the work of Ezra and Nehemiah.
(slide 15)
b. Other predictions, which speak of a “restoration” of Israel, refer to a spiritual restoration (to God, not Palestine – such as Isaiah 49:6-9 ESV; where Isaiah speaks of Jehovah’s Servant (the Messiah) restoring Israel and blessing all nations. Paul references this verse twice (2 Cor. 6 ESV and Acts 13 ESV in Antioch) in connection with the preaching of the gospel to both the Jew and the Gentile.
(slide 16)
Conclusion
God promised Abraham:
- A nation
- A land
- An offspring
God fulfilled these promises in the nation of Israel, the Promised Land and Jesus Christ.
Content by Andrew Perkins
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Galatians 04:21-31 The Allegory of Hagar and Sarah
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Text: Galatians 4:21-31
Introduction
1. In the first four chapters of Galatians, Paul defends
a. His apostleship as being from God, not man – Galatians 1-2
b. His gospel of justification by faith in Christ, not by the Law of Moses – Galatians 3-4
2. In defending the gospel of justification by faith in Christ, Paul makes five arguments
a. Personal argument – the Galatians’ own experience – Galatians 3:1-5
b. Scriptural argument – the testimony of the Old Testament – Galatians 3: 6-25
c. Practical argument – how one becomes a son and heir of God – Galatians 3: 26-4:7
d. Sentimental argument – appealing to their relationship with Paul – Galatians 4:8-20
e. Allegorical argument – using Hagar and Sarah as an illustration – Galatians 4:21-31
3. In this study, we will consider Paul’s allegorical argument
a. “Allegory” comes from Greek allos (other) and agoreuein (to speak in public)
b. An allegory is “a figurative representation conveying a meaning other than and in addition to the literal”
4. It is important to note
a. Paul does not deny the actual historical narrative, but he simply uses it in an allegorical sense to illustrate his point for the benefit of his readers who are tempted to go under the burden of the law” – Robertson’s Word Pictures
b. The apostle gives an allegorical interpretation to the historical narrative of Hagar and Sarah, not treating that narrative as an allegory in itself
Body
I. THE HISTORICAL ACCOUNT
A. SARAH AND HAGAR
1. Sarah, who is barren, has a handmaiden named Hagar – Genesis 16:1
2. Sarah gives Hagar to Abraham to bear a child in her place – Genesis 16:2-3
3. Hagar conceives and despises her mistress Sarah – Genesis 16:4
4. Sarah deals harshly with Hagar – Genesis 16:5-6
5. Hagar returns to Sarah, and bears Ishmael – Genesis 16:7-16
B. ISHMAEL AND ISAAC
1. God promises that Sarah will have a son – Genesis 17:15-17
2. God confirms the covenant will be through Isaac, not Ishmael – Genesis 17:18-21
3. Sarah bears Isaac as God promised – Genesis 21:1-8
4. Sarah has Abraham send Hagar away – Genesis 21:9-14
II. PAUL’S APPLICATION
A. PAUL REVIEWS THE HISTORICAL ACCOUNT
1. Abraham had two sons – Galatians 4:21-22a
2. One (Ishmael) by a slave woman (Hagar) – Galatians 4:22b
3. One (Isaac) by a free woman (Sarah) – Galatians 4:22b
4. The son of the slave was born of the flesh – Galatians 4:23a
a. Ishmael’s conception was natural
b. When Abraham went into Hagar
5. The son of the free woman was born through promise – Galatians 4:23b
a. Isaac’s conception was by God’s power – Hebrews 11:11-12
b. As promised by God – Genesis 21:1-2
B. PAUL APPLIES THE ALLEGORICAL ELEMENTS
1. The two women are two covenants – Galatians 4:24-27
a. Hagar represents Mount Sinai in Arabia, bearing children for slavery
1) She corresponds to present Jerusalem
2) She is in slavery with her children
b. Sarah represents Jerusalem above, those who are free
1) She corresponds to heaven (the New Jerusalem)
2) She is ‘our mother’ (those in Christ)
3) She who was barren is no longer desolate
2. Those in Christ are like Isaac – Galatians 4:28-31
a. They too are children of promise
b. They too have been persecuted
1) Ishmael (born of the flesh) persecuted Isaac (born according to promise)
2) Judaizing teachers (born of the flesh) persecuted Christians (born according to the Spirit)
c. The Scriptures tell what will be the end
1) The son of the slave woman (i.e., Judaizing teachers)
2) Will not inherit with the son of the free woman
d. Those in Christ
1) Are children of the free woman (heaven above)
2) Are not of the slave (present Jerusalem, with the Law of Moses)
Conclusion
1. Thus Paul illustrates why the Galatians should not heed the Judaizing teachers
a. It would be a return to slavery (to the Law of Moses)
b. It would be turning their back on the Spirit who conceived them – Titus 3:5-7
c. It would be turning away from the promises of heaven – Hebrews 12: 22-25
2. Our threat today might not be from Judaizing teachers
a. But there are those who would have us turn away from Christ
1) Voices in the world
2) False religions
3) False Brethren
b. The end result would be the same
1) A return to slavery – cf. John 8:31-34
2) Falling short of receiving the promises – Hebrews 4: 11
3. Only by remaining in Christ can we be the free children of promise, with Jerusalem above as our true mother…! – Revelation 2:10c
Hebrews 11:11 “By faith Sarah herself received power to conceive, even when she was past the age, since she considered him faithful who had promised.”
Hebrews 11:12 “Therefore from one man, and him as good as dead, were born descendants as many as the stars of heaven and as many as the innumerable grains of sand by the seashore. Therefore, while the promise of entering his rest still stands, let us fear lest any of you should seem to have failed to reach it.”
Hebrews 4:11 “Let us therefore strive to enter that rest, so that no one may fall by the same sort of disobedience.”
Revelation 2:10 “Be faithful unto death, and I will give you the crown of life.”
Content by Donald W. Treadway
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Hebrews 11:08-22 Faith that Embraces the Promises
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Text: Hebrews 11:8-22
Introduction
1. In the first seven verses of the eleventh chapter, we saw:
a. Faith explained
1) As confidence of things hoped for
2) As conviction of things not seen
b. Faith exemplified
1) In Abel (faith worshipping)
2) In Enoch (faith walking)
3) In Noah (faith working)
c. Faith emphasized
1) Without which it is impossible to please God
2) We must believe He exists, and rewards those who diligently seek Him
2. Another aspect of our faith pertains to the promises in which we hope:
a. We are warned not to fall short of what’s been promised – Hebrews 4:1
b. Faith (along with patience) is necessary to inherit the promises – Hebrews 6:11-12
3. The faith which pleases God, then, is one that embraces God’s promises – Hebrews 11:13
a. In Hebrews 11:8-22, we learn of the faith of those who embraced the promises
b. Because of their faith, God is not ashamed to be called their God
4. Do we have the sort of faith that makes God unashamed to be called our God?
Body
I. THE FAITH OF THE PATRIARCHS (Hebrews 11:8-12, Hebrews 11:17-22)
A. THE FAITH OF ABRAHAM
1. By faith he obeyed – Hebrews 11:8
a. When God called him to leave his country, he obeyed the voice of the Lord
1) Even though at first he did not know where he was going
2) This is an example of conviction in things not seen!
b. Here we see that faith and obedience are not contradictory terms
1) Indeed, Jesus is the author of eternal salvation to all who obey Him – Hebrews 5:9
2) Is our faith an obedient faith like Abraham’s? – Luke 6:46
2. By faith he sojourned – Hebrews 11:9-10 KJV
a. His faith required him to live as in a foreign country
1) Even though it was the land of promise, he and his descendants could not have it for four hundred years – Genesis 13:14-17; 15:13-21
2) He therefore patiently waited for the city whose builder and maker is God
a) This suggests that the promises he embraced were more than just those pertaining to the land of Canaan
b) Later, we will see he had a heavenly hope as well!
b. Our faith requires us to live as in a foreign country
1) For we too are sojourners and pilgrims – 1 Peter 2:11
2) Is our faith a sojourning faith like Abraham’s? – Hebrews 13:14
3. By faith he offered up Isaac – Hebrews 11:17-19
a. His faith required him to be willing to offer that which was closest to him
1) His son, Isaac – Genesis 22:1-19
a) Through whom the promises he embraced were to be fulfilled
b) He was sure that God would raise Isaac from the dead, if need be, in order to keep His promises
2) Thus he illustrated that confidence in things hoped for!
b. Our faith often requires forsaking things closest to us
1) Our loved ones, even our own life! – Luke 14:26-33
2) Is our faith an offering faith like Abraham’s? – Romans 12:1-2
B. THE FAITH OF SARAH
1. By faith she received strength – Hebrews 11:11-12
a. Though beyond the normal age of child-bearing – Genesis 18:1-3; Genesis 21:1-7
b. Though she laughed when she first heard of God’s promise, she later judged Him faithful who had promised
c. Through her faith, the promises of a great nation were fulfilled!
2. Our faith requires looking to God for strength, and trusting He will provide
a. We must look to God to find grace to help in time of need – Hebrews 4:16
b. Is our faith a receiving faith like Sarah’s? – Philippians 4:13
C. THE FAITH OF ISAAC
1. He blessed Jacob and Esau regarding things to come – Hebrews 11:20; Genesis 27:1-40
2. This illustrates how Isaac by faith embraced the promises
D. THE FAITH OF JACOB
1. Jacob blessed the sons of Joseph when he was dying – Hebrews 11:21; Genesis 48:14-20
2. His blessing involved the promises of God, showing how he embraced them also
E. THE FAITH OF JOSEPH
1. When he was dying, Joseph:
a. Made mention of the departure of Israel out of Egypt
b. Gave instructions concerning his bones – Hebrews 11:22; Genesis 50:24-26
2. In so doing, he demonstrated that he had embraced the promises!
F. Such was the faith of the patriarchs. I purposely skipped Hebrews 11:13-16, for what is said there not only applies to Abraham and Sarah, but to Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph also.
II. HOW THEIR FAITH PLEASED GOD (Hebrews 11:13-16)
A. THEY EMBRACED THE PROMISES – Hebrews 11:13-16a
1. They did not receive the promises during their lifetime
a. Yet with faith they could see them afar off
b. They freely confessed to be strangers and pilgrims on the earth
1) This implies that they sought a homeland, they could have returned to the old one
2) But what they desired was a better one, indeed a heavenly country
2. They died in faith (i.e., holding fast to the promises)
B. THEREFORE GOD IS NOT ASHAMED OF THEM – Hebrews 11:16b
1. He is not ashamed to be called their God
a. He is well pleased with them
b. It was their faith embracing the promises that pleased Him
2. He has prepared a city for them
a. What they waited for, He has prepared – Hebrews 11:10
b. That which He has prepared for them is what we look for, too – Hebrews 13:14
1) The new heavens and new earth – 2 Peter 3:13
2) In which will be the New Jerusalem, that great city descending out of heaven – Revelation 21:1-3, Re 21:10ff
3) Indeed, even now in a sense we have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem – Hebrews 12:22-24
Conclusion
1. What kind of faith pleases God?
a. Worshiping faith like that of Abel
b. Walking faith like that of Enoch
c. Working faith like that of Noah
d. But also a waiting faith seen in the patriarchs (Abraham, Sarah, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph)!
2. The faith that pleases God is one that embraces the promises made by God
a. Patiently waiting for their ultimate fulfillment, even if it doesn’t happen in one’s lifetime
b. But with conviction and confidence of things hoped for and things of unseen
1) We will obey His calling
2) We will sojourn here on earth
3) We will offer up whatever He asks of us
4) We will receive strength to do whatever He bids us
5) And we will make mention of His promises from generation to generation!
3. This is the kind of faith
a. In those who believe to the saving of the soul – Hebrews 10:39
b. In those of whom God is not ashamed to be called their God – Hebrews 11:16
c. May the Lord grant us grace and mercy to develop this kind of saving faith!
Content by Donald W. Treadway
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Hebrews 08:07-13 The Promises of God’s New Covenant – audio
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Text: Hebrews 8:7-13
Introduction
1. Up to this point, the focus of the letter to the Hebrews has been on Christ
a. His superiority to prophets, angels, Moses
b. The superiority of His priesthood to the Levitical priesthood
2. With the transition in Hebrews 8:1-6, the focus shifts to the new covenant
a. A new covenant in which Jesus has already been described as:
1) The surety (guarantor) – Hebrews 7:22
2) The Mediator (one who intervenes) – Hebrews 8:6
b. In both passages, this covenant was described as a better covenant
3. Better than what? Better in what way? In Hebrews 8, we learn the answer
a. Better than the first covenant – Hebrews 8:7
b. Better because of the promises contained in it – Hebrews 8:6
Body
I. GOD’S PROMISE OF A NEW COVENANT (Hebrews 8:7-9, Hebrews 8:13)
A. THE FIRST COVENANT HAD FAULTS… (Hebrews 8:7)
1. Otherwise, there would have been no need for a second covenant
2. We have already seen concerning the first covenant that:
a. The Levitical priesthood could not bring perfection – Hebrews 7:11
b. The Law made nothing perfect, and was therefore annulled due to its weakness and unprofitableness – Hebrews 7:18-19
3. This inadequacy has special reference to the sacrifices of the first covenant
a. They could not make those who approach perfect – Hebrews 10:1-3
b. The blood of animals offered by the priests could not take away sins – Hebrews 10:4,11
B. THE PEOPLE DID NOT KEEP THE FIRST COVENANT… (Hebrews 8:8-9)
1. God found fault because they did not continue in His covenant – Jeremiah 11:7-10
2. For this reason He disregarded them, allowing them to be taken away by their enemies – Jeremiah 11:11-14
3. Even so, He did not leave them without some hope, for through the prophet Jeremiah He made a promise
C. GOD’S PLAN WAS A NEW COVENANT… (Hebrews 8:8-9)
1. Promised in Jeremiah 31:31-34
2. In which God would make a new covenant with Israel and Judah
3. A covenant different than the one made at Matthew Sinai (how, we shall see in a moment)
D. THE NEW COVENANT HAS MADE THE FIRST OBSOLETE… (Hebrews 8:13)
1. By even calling the promised covenant new, God made the first covenant obsolete
a. The old covenant actually continued on for about 500 years after Jeremiah
b. But with the promise of the new, attention would be taken away from the old covenant and directed toward the new one that was coming!
2. Its obsolescence was especially seen in the days of the Hebrew writer
a. It was becoming obsolete and growing old
1) The death of Jesus rendered the sacrifices of the first covenant unnecessary
2) Before long, the temple itself would be destroyed, and along with it, the last vestiges of the Levitical priesthood
b. Truly, it was ready to vanish away
II. GOD’S PROMISES INVOLVING THE NEW COVENANT (Hebrews 8:10-12)
A. IT WILL BE INWARD AND SPIRITUAL… (Hebrews 8:10)
1. I will put My laws in their mind and write them on their hearts
2. The first covenant had its laws written on tablets of stone; the new covenant is one that requires God’s laws be written in our hearts
3. It is not enough to have God’s Word in our hands, on our coffee tables, etc.
a. We must plant God’s Word into our hearts – James 1:21
b. For only then can we truly be born again by the incorruptible seed, the word of God – 1 Peter 1:22-23
4. Are you living up to intent of the New Covenant, or are you little different than those under the first covenant, who had the Word, but not on their hearts?
B. IT WILL PROVIDE A CLOSER RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD… (Hebrews 8:10)
1. I will be their God, and they shall be My people
2. The actual terms of this promise is really nothing new – Exodus 6:7; Leviticus 26:12
3. But in each successive age, its promise is filled with fresh meaning; for example
a. In this age, we enjoy a closer relationship with God -2 Corinthians 6:16-18; 1 Peter 2:9-10
b. But even more so, in the age to come, which is in eternity – Revelation 21:1-7
4. Are you utilizing the blessings whereby you can have a closer relationship with God?
C. IT WILL BE WITH PEOPLE WHO KNOW THE LORD… (Hebrews 8:11)
1. None of them shall teach…saying, ‘Know the Lord’, for all shall know Me
2. The New Covenant will be with people who have already come to know the Lord
a. Unlike the first covenant, in which people entered it at birth; as they grew up, they needed to be taught about the Lord
b. In the new covenant, one must come to know the Lord before they can enter the covenant
3. So it is that one must believe in Jesus before they can enter into a covenant relationship with their Lord through baptism – Acts 8:36-38
4. Does not this feature of the New Covenant preclude the practice of infant baptism?
D. IT WILL PROVIDE TRUE FORGIVENESS FOR SIN… (Hebrews 8:12)
1. “For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more”
2. Here is the ultimate basis of the blessing previously described; by virtue of the forgiveness of sins can we truly be God’s people, and He our God!
3. Thus the New Covenant provides what the first covenant could not: true forgiveness of sins! – Hebrews 10:1-4, Hebrews 10:11
Conclusion
1. Such are The Promises Of God’s New Covenant:
a. As foretold through the prophet Jeremiah
b. Now fulfilled through the coming of Jesus and His death on the cross
c. By virtue of better promises, Christ is truly the Mediator of a better covenant!
2. But there is more to be said about why the New Covenant is a better covenant
a. It also has a better sanctuary
b. It also has a better sacrifice
c. But consideration of these things will be saved for later
3. At this point it is appropriate to ask:
a. Have you truly entered into a covenant relationship with the Lord?
b. Entrance into this New Covenant is simple: They involve faith in Christ and a confession of that faith (Romans 10:9-10), along with repentance of sins and baptism into Christ – Acts 2:36-39
4. The promised blessings of the New Covenant await any and all who are willing to so respond to the gospel of Christ!
Content by Donald W. Treadway
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Hebrews 08:01-06 Our Glorious High Priest – audio
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Text: Hebrews 8:1-6
Introduction
1. With the beginning of chapter eight, we come to the close of the first major section Hebrews
a. In which the key thought is the superiority of Christ
b. In which Jesus is shown to be superior to:
1) To the prophets – Hebrews 1:1-3
2) To angels – Hebrews 1:4-2:18
3) To Moses – Hebrews 3:1-5
4) To Aaron and his Levitical priesthood – Hebrews 5:1-10; 7:1-28
2. The next major section really begins in earnest with Hebrews 8:7
3. In Hebrews 8:1-6, we find a transition
a. In which the main point of the first section is summarized
b. In which the main points of the next section are introduced
c. Indeed, these six verses truly summarize what the author seeks to establish in the first ten chapters of this epistle!
4. It can all be summarized in these words: “We have such a High Priest…”
a. In Jesus, we have a High Priest
b. Not just any High Priest, but “such” a High Priest; a glorious High Priest!
Body
I. SEATED AT THE RIGHT HAND OF GOD (Hebrews 8:1)
A. MANY PASSAGES REFER TO JESUS AT GOD’S RIGHT HAND
1. David prophesied that the Messiah would sit at God’s right hand – Psalm 110:1
2. Jesus said that He would sit at the right hand of God – Mark 14:62
3. When He ascended to heaven, He sat down at God’s right hand – Mark 16:19
4. At God’s right hand, He poured forth the Holy Spirit – Acts 2:33
5. Peter preached Jesus as being exalted to be at God’s right hand as our Prince and Savior – Acts 5:30-31
6. Paul taught that Jesus is at God’s right hand, interceding for us – Romans 8:34
II. A MINISTER OF THE TRUE TABERNACLE (Hebrews 8:2-5)
A. ERECTED BY GOD, NOT MAN
1. We are now introduced to a contrast between two “tabernacles”
a. There had been the earthly sanctuary or tabernacle
1) As ordained under the first covenant (i.e., the Law) – Hebrews 9:1ff
2) It was built by man
b. But now we read of one “which the Lord erected”; a heavenly tabernacle
2. The heavenly tabernacle is none other than heaven itself! – Hebrews 9:11-12; 23-24
B. IN WHICH HE OFFERS SERVICE
1. As a High Priest, it is necessary for Him to have something to offer – Hebrews 8:3
a. Every high priest is appointed for this purpose – Hebrews 5:1
b. What Jesus has to offer is not mention here, but will be later – Hebrews 9:12
2. This service He renders in heaven, not on the earth – Hebrews 8:4
a. If He were on earth, He couldn’t be a priest!
b. For the Law required priests from the tribe of Levi, and Jesus was from Judah
3. As for priests on the earth
a. They serve only the copy and shadow of the heavenly things – Hebrews 8:5
b. For Moses had been told by God to build the earthly tabernacle according to pattern shown to him on the mountain – Exodus 25:40
III. THE MEDIATOR OF A BETTER COVENANT (Hebrews 8:6)
A. HE HAS OBTAINED A MORE EXCELLENT MINISTRY
1. In contrast with the ministry of the Levitical priests
2. Their ministry was simply a shadow and copy of His ministry – Colossians 2:16-17
B. AS MEDIATOR OF A BETTER COVENANT
1. The word “mediator”
a. The Greek is “mesites” {mes-ee’-tace}
b. It means “one who intervenes between two, either in order to make or restore peace and friendship, or form a compact, or for ratifying a covenant”
2. By His death on the cross, Jesus has become the Mediator of the new covenant – Hebrews 9:15; Hebrews 12:24
3. This new covenant is here referred to as “a better covenant”
a. Better than what? Better than the “first covenant” – Hebrews 8:7
b. Which was established through Moses
C. ESTABLISHED ON BETTER PROMISES
1. What makes the new covenant better than the old are its promises
2. Some of those promises are explained later – Hebrews 8:10-12
3. But Peter describes the promises we receive as “exceedingly great and precious promises” – 2 Peter 1:3-4
Conclusion
1. With this transition passage, then, we are introduced to things that we will be discussing as we proceed through this letter.
a. The better covenant we have in Christ, based upon its better promises
b. The better ministry of Christ as our High Priest in heaven, seated at God’s right hand
2. When such things are properly understood, we can see how Jesus is truly our glorious High Priest!
a. One who stands ready to minister in our behalf
b. He is able to save to the uttermost those who come to God through Him – Hebrews 7:25
c. He is able to aid those who are tempted – Hebrews 2:18
a. Have you accepted Jesus as your High Priest by obeying His gospel? – Hebrews 5:9
b. For those who have not obeyed His gospel, we find this awesome warning – 1 Thessalonians 1:7-9
c. Please render obedience to the gospel today if you have not yet done so! – Acts 2:36-39
Content by Donald W. Treadway
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