The name Abram means “father of many”. Yet, at 60 years old, when God called him out of Ur of Chaldea, Abram was childless. But God called him out of his country and gave him the promise that he would become the father of many nations, that from his seed would come one from whom all the nations of the earth would be blessed. For the next 40 years, Abraham did not see any of God’s promises come to fruition. Yet, at 100 years old, as he considered the deadness of his body and the deadness of his wife Sarah’s womb, Romans 4:20 tells us that without becoming weak in his faith, “with respect to the promise of God, he did not waver in unbelief, but grew strong in his faith, giving glory to God, being fully assured that what He had promised, He was able also to perform.” It goes on to say that because of his faith, God reckoned unto him righteousness. In other words, Abraham was saved by his faith in God’s promises.
In fact, Paul gives Abraham as an illustration of saving faith. The type of faith by which you and I also can be made righteous before God – to be justified (just as if I never sinned). The next few verses give us a breakdown of what constituted Abraham’s faith. First point, vs. 18, “In hope against hope he believed.” Or to put it another way, against all hope, Abraham in hope believed. You know, faith that is realized, or seen isn’t faith at all. But faith is believing in the impossible, the invisible, the impractical, the unreasonable.
Next, Vs. 19 says, “without becoming weak in faith”. In spite of 40 years of having absolutely nothing to indicate that this incredible promise of land and a nation and a seed that would multiply like the stars in the heavens could come to pass, Abraham’s faith did not diminish. Verse 20, “With respect to the promise of God, he did not waver in unbelief but grew strong in faith.” So actually, the passage of time did not diminish his faith, but actually increased it. How could that happen? Well, God repeated his promise to Abraham many times. And God kept reaffirming it to him. How do we keep our faith from wavering with the passage of time and in spite of all the seemingly impossible obstacles that life seems to throw at us? By reading God’s word and letting the Holy Spirit reaffirm to us over and over again the promises of God.
Third thing about his faith was that he was not discouraged by his own natural weakness. Verse 19. “He didn't become weak in faith even though he contemplated his own body, now as good as dead.” Abraham considered the deadness of his body, and obviously he is thinking of his reproductive power. At 100 years old he considers the reality that part of him is dead, but it never ever diminishes his faith because he understands that this is a divine promise, not something that he has to accomplish. Abraham still counted on a God who could create something out of nothing and bring to life that which was dead.
And finally, verse 21, he was fully assured that what God had promised, He was able also to perform. If you look back in the book of Genesis, you could see how many times God repeats the promise, again and again and again. So Abraham is convinced because God continues to reiterate His promise to him. This is the kind of faith that is the model of saving faith. We find assurance through God’s repeated promises found in Scripture. And His promise to us is that we too can receive righteousness by believing in his promises by faith.
****SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT****
The Beach Fellowship will hold a special Easter service on the beach at 8am, April 8. Service will be at our usual location, at the end of Ocean View Parkway in Bethany. In the event of inclement weather, we will meet at the Christian Conference Center. After Easter, we will continue meeting at our winter quarters until further notice.
