The Faith of Abraham

“For the good that I will to do, I do not do; but the evil I will not to do, that I practice.” Romans 7:19 NKJV

When we think of the Father of the Faith, our minds automatically drift back to Abraham. Paul liked to use Abraham as proof of justification by faith and not by works. Those who know that they are saved by faith, he asserted, are children of Abraham. Now Abraham was a great man who did the unthinkable because God asked him to do so. Abraham took his son, his only son Isaac, and took him to a mountain to offer him as a sacrifice to God. He believed, according to Hebrews, that God would give Isaac back to him from the dead. Now that is faith.

But Abraham was also a man like any other man. He was saved by faith, walked by faith and did great works by faith. But he was also a man of the flesh. He had fears and often acted in direct disobedience to what God wanted. The lesson from Genesis isn’t that falling in sin is an alright thing to do, but that it is a human thing to do as Paul wrote about at length in Romans. The other half of the lesson is that God is gracious and doesn’t chop us off at the knees when we sin. He who is plenteous in mercy accepts our confession and cleanses us from sin. God was with Abraham in both times of sin and times of his greatest feats of faith. Just so will God be with the sons of Abraham as well.

Dear Father, I don’t want to sin and dishonor You, but I do. Thank You for forgiveness and Your constant presence with me. Amen.

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