ABRAHAM'S "WORKS"

Gen. 22:18 ~ "And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because thou hast OBEYED my voice."

Gen. 26:5 ~ "Because that Abraham OBEYED my voice, and kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws."

ABRAHAM OBEYED GOD'S COMMANDS!

EXAMPLE:
THE COMMAND
Gen 12:1 ~ "Now the LORD had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father's house, unto a land that I will shew thee..."

THE OBEDIENCE:
Heb. 11:8 ~ "By faith Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place which he should after receive for an inheritance, OBEYED; and he went out, not knowing whither he went."

EXAMPLE:
THE COMMAND
Gen 22:2 ~ "And he said, 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."

THE OBEDIENCE:
James 2:21 ~ "Was not Abraham our father justified by OBEDIENCE, when he had offered Isaac his son upon the altar?"

ABRAHAM'S OBEDIENCE PERFECTED HIS FAITH:

James 2:24 ~ "Ye see then how that by WORKS (OBEDIENCE) a man is justified, and not by faith only".

To the Jews which believed on him, yet trusted in their physical heritage, Jesus said, "If ye were Abraham's children, ye would do the WORKS of Abraham... [John 8:39].

What WORKS of Abraham were meant?

What classifies as a work of "merit"?

IT IS ANYTHING THAT WE DO THAT IS NOT FOUND TO BE A COMMAND OF GOD IN THE BIBLE.

IT IS ANYTHING THAT IS "PRESUMED" TO BE A GOOD WORK (PRESUMPTION IS ALWAYS SINFUL - Psalm 19:13; 2 Peter 2:10).

When there is a command from God to act, any "work" will NEVER be justified on the basis of silence (i.e., "the bible doesn't say we can't")
A command from God in the bible provides us with the authority to act (walk) "by faith" in any/every area of our life.

Eph. 2:8-10 contrasts works of merit with God's works per His grace. [Grace teaches - Titus 2:11-12]. God purposed for man to be obedient to HIM, not Satan. Thus the giving of commands.

Commands prove, by means of simple obedience, who fears God.
Commands prove, by means of simple obedience, who loves God.

The Lord taught, "If you love Me, keep My commandments" (John 14:15)

"For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them." [Eph. 2:8-10]

Abraham was saved by faith, which worked through love. God commanded him, and he obeyed. So likewise, will you and I be saved. We are all under the same commands today ~ the gospel.
The gospel contains a uniform "form of doctrine" to be preached; for it has commands from Christ that are to be obeyed [Rom. 6:17-18].

These commands are:
Faith, repentance, confession of faith, and baptism in water. All of these were preached to sinners in the book of Acts.
AFTER their obedience, sinners were saved from their past sins.

Maintaining "good works" is being obedient to commands. (Titus 3:8, 14)
Obedience is adding to one's faith as directed in 2 Peter 1:5-11.

Don't be mis-led by anyone who suggests in any way that the Bible teaches that you are saved by faith ALONE! As with Abraham, faith without obedience is DEAD.

6/5/2019

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