Trust In The Promise Alone

Old Testament Scripture Reading Genesis 15:1 – 18 (NASB) Gen 15:1  After these things the word of the LORD came to Abram in a vision, saying, “Do not fear, Abram, I am a shield to you; Your reward shall be very great.” Gen 15:2  And Abram said, “O Lord GOD, what wilt Thou give me, since I am childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?” Gen 15:3  And Abram said, “Since Thou hast given no offspring to me, one born in my house is my heir.” Gen 15:4  Then behold, the word of the LORD came to him, saying, “This man will not be your heir; but one who shall come forth from your own body, he shall be your heir.” Gen 15:5  And He took him outside and said, “Now look toward the heavens, and count the stars, if you are able to count them.” And He said to him, “So shall your descendants be.” Gen 15:6  Then he believed in the LORD; and He reckoned it to him as righteousness. Gen 15:7  And He said to him, “I am the LORD who brought you out of Ur of the Chaldeans, to give you this land to possess it.” Gen 15:8  And he said, “O Lord GOD, how may I know that I shall possess it?” Gen 15:9  So He said to him, “Bring Me a three year old heifer, and a three year old female goat, and a three year old ram, and a turtledove, and a young pigeon.” Gen 15:10  Then he brought all these to Him and cut them in two, and laid each half opposite the other; but he did not cut the birds. Gen 15:11  And the birds of prey came down upon the carcasses, and Abram drove them away. Gen 15:12  Now when the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell upon Abram; and behold, terror and great darkness fell upon him. Gen 15:13  And God said to Abram, “Know for certain that your descendants will be strangers in a land that is not theirs, where they will be enslaved and oppressed four hundred years. Gen 15:14  “But I will also judge the nation whom they will serve; and afterward they will come out with many possessions. Gen 15:15  “And as for you, you shall go to your fathers in peace; you shall be buried at a good old age. Gen 15:16  “Then in the fourth generation they shall return here, for the iniquity of the Amorite is not yet complete.” Gen 15:17  And it came about when the sun had set, that it was very dark, and behold, there appeared a smoking oven and a flaming torch which passed between these pieces. Gen 15:18  On that day the LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying, “To your descendants I have given this land, From the river of Egypt as far as the great river, the river Euphrates: New Testament Scripture Reading Romans 4:18 – 25 (NASB) Rom 4:18  In hope against hope he believed, in order that he might become a father of many nations, according to that which had been spoken, “SO SHALL YOUR DESCENDANTS BE.” Rom 4:19  And without becoming weak in faith he contemplated his own body, now as good as dead since he was about a hundred years old, and the deadness of Sarah’s womb; Rom 4:20  yet, with respect to the promise of God, he did not waver in unbelief, but grew strong in faith, giving glory to God, Rom 4:21  and being fully assured that what He had promised, He was able also to perform. Rom 4:22  Therefore also IT WAS RECKONED TO HIM AS RIGHTEOUSNESS. Rom 4:23  Now not for his sake only was it written, that it was reckoned to him, Rom 4:24  but for our sake also, to whom it will be reckoned, as those who believe in Him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead, Rom 4:25  He who was delivered up because of our transgressions, and was raised because of our justification. Study Notes Transforming Power Statements: #1) Since the book of the Law was not written until four hundred and thirty years after the patriarch Abraham, he could never have been saved by the Law but only by his personal faith in the promises of God alone, which were later written in the Law. #2) One main reason God gave the Law was to have in place a written witness who could verify the certainty of the Gospel and the fact that salvation is given by faith in the promise alone, because Abraham who did not have a written witness is the model of saving faith. #3) Faith in the hope of the resurrection is seen in many scenarios in Abraham’s life such as the lives of his sons Ishmael by Hagar and Isaac by Sarah, as well as in the tentative sacrifice of Isaac, and even in the barren condition of Rebekah who eventually bore Jacob and Esau.

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Executing The Credentials of Salvation

Old Testament Scripture Reading Isaiah 51:1 – 8 (NASB) Isa 51:1 “Listen to me, you who pursue righteousness, Who seek the LORD: Look to the rock from which you were hewn, And to the quarry from which you were dug. Isa 51:2 “Look to Abraham your father, And to Sarah who gave birth to you in pain; When he was one I called him, Then I blessed him and multiplied him.” Isa 51:3 Indeed, the LORD will comfort Zion; He will comfort all her waste places. And her wilderness He will make like Eden, And her desert like the garden of the LORD; Joy and gladness will be found in her, Thanksgiving and sound of a melody. Isa 51:4 “Pay attention to Me, O My people; And give ear to Me, O My nation; For a law will go forth from Me, And I will set My justice for a light of the peoples. Isa 51:5 “My righteousness is near, My salvation has gone forth, And My arms will judge the peoples; The coastlands will wait for Me, And for My arm they will wait expectantly. Isa 51:6 “Lift up your eyes to the sky, Then look to the earth beneath; For the sky will vanish like smoke, And the earth will wear out like a garment, And its inhabitants will die in like manner, But My salvation shall be forever, And My righteousness shall not wane. Isa 51:7 “Listen to Me, you who know righteousness, A people in whose heart is My law; Do not fear the reproach of man, Neither be dismayed at their revilings. Isa 51:8 “For the moth will eat them like a garment, And the grub will eat them like wool. But My righteousness shall be forever, And My salvation to all generations.” New Testament Scripture Reading Romans 8:28 – 39 (KJV) Rom 8:28 And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose. Rom 8:29 For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren. Rom 8:30 Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified. Rom 8:31 What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us? Rom 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? Rom 8:33 Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God’s elect? It is God that justifieth. Rom 8:34 Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us. Rom 8:35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? Rom 8:36 As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter. Rom 8:37 Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. Rom 8:38 For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, Rom 8:39 Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Study Notes Transforming Power Statements: #1) The patriarch Abraham is Isaiah’s model of true unmerited salvation with equal power in the Older Testament, as is that of the Apostle Paul in the New Testament who relied on the foundation of all the OT Prophets i.e. Moses, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Daniel, etc. All of whom prophesy of the Messiah Jesus and the reign of His promised and delegated authority from The Father to execute justice and earn righteousness for the human family at the Cross. #2) Credentials are official documentation or seal of the authenticity and authority of one to represent and execute with official status on behalf of the commissioning entity, Who in our case is God; Who has predestined, called, sanctified, and glorified each believer in Jesus Christ and sent us forth with full authority to operate on His behalf! #3) When this amazing legacy is realized by the called, and as an act of the will you decide to take off the stained garments of the past and place up on you the garments of His salvation having your loins girded about with truth, the breast plate of righteousness, the feet shod with the Gospel of Peace, the shield of faith, the helmet of salvation, The sword of the Spirit, Fervent prayer, all these are invisible things of God that we possess as our “Credentials” but they are clearly seen by the watching world of the lost who are in desperate need of the same. (And guess what? God has an endless wardrobe!)

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