Whats in my heart is for you to be Fathered in the faith.  God creates your life in the image of Christ Jesus through the Spirit of Faith.  He forms His life in you through the preaching of the faith.  

We are going to look at the life of Abraham.  Abraham is held in high esteem in the scriptures.  Much of what we believe about the faith, and God, and our lives with God is shaped by what we believe about Abraham.  Abraham is affectionately called the father of faith.  Or as the scriptures say the father of all them who believe.  In the account of Lazarus and the rich man, the rich man refers to him as Father Abraham.  

What is it that Abraham got right?  What is his life trying to declare to us all?

Joh 8:39  They answered and said unto him, Abraham is our father. Jesus saith unto them, If ye were Abraham's children, ye would do the works of Abraham.

Jesus is talking to the pharisees here.  They think they are the seed of Abraham because they are Jewish according to the flesh.  They see Abraham as having been justified through the strength of the flesh.  Jesus points to the Mount where Abraham was justified, and he says if you were the seed of Abraham you would do the work of Abraham.

When Jesus says to the pharisees if you were the seed of Abraham you would do the work of Abraham he isnt talking about offering Isaac.  He isnt telling them they need to offer their child to God to be the seed of Abraham.  Neither is he pointing them to perform carnal ordinances.  

If we keep reading in John 8 Jesus goes on to  define the work Abraham did on the Mount when he says Abraham saw his day and rejoiced.  That’s the work of Abraham, he believed on the one God would send.  This is Jesus that great prophet Moses said would come, looking into the oracles of God and interpreting what the scriptures say about Abraham and what happened  on the Mount.

When the scriptures talk about performing a work or a deed its talking about something that happens in the heart.  Each person will perform a work or a deed in their heart.  God has given to all people the measure of faith & we will either allow ourselves to be persuaded by the faith which is obedience or we will harden our hearts and refuse to be persuaded by the faith & that is what the scriptures call disobedience.  

Gen 22:8 speaking of Abraham on the Mount says  And Abraham said, My son, God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering.

Hebrews 11:19 says Abraham was persuaded by faith that God could even raise the promised seed from the dead.  

On the Mount Abraham believed God would provide himself a lamb to liberate him from the deadness of his flesh.  He was persuaded God would not allow Isaac to be overcome by death.  He believed the power for Isaac to overcome death was contained in God providing a lamb.  He believed God would preserve the promised seed from corruption and that would be his shield and his buckler and his exceeding great reward.  

Just as Paul says in the letter to the Romans, Abraham didn’t consider the deadness in his flesh or the deadness in Sarah’s womb.  He didn’t think of the strength he had in himself when he thought of isaacs life being preserved.  He thought of God and the strength of Gods lamb to preserve from death and bring forth a life that can even overcome the grave.

Gen 21:12 says ….. for in Isaac shall thy seed be called. 

Heb., in Isaac there will be called to thee a seed: that is, the seed that shall especially be accounted thine, and which, as such, shall inherit the promises, will be a seed that is sprung from Isaac.  

When Genesis says In Isaac shall thy seed be called it is talking about Jesus coming through Isaac and him being the promised seed.  Galatians 3 says the promise was made to Abraham and his seed, speaking of Jesus being the one who would inherit the promised blessing of the Spirit.  Romans 4 says the promise wasnt made to Abraham and his seed through the works of the law but through the righteousness of faith.  

On the Mount Abraham saw that God would not suffer the promised seed to see corruption but would raise him from the dead in incorruptible flesh never to be able to die again, and he would inherit the promise of the Spirit.  And he saw that as the fulfillment of God being His shield and his buckler and his exceeding great reward and making him exceedingly fruitful.  

Genesis 22 says God tempted Abraham on the mount   

If we read this according to the English meaning of the word it can sound as if its saying God tested Abraham to see if he would obey His orders.  But that’s not what the word tempted means there

Here’s 2 definitions of the word translated tempted in ancient Hebrew …..

To grab hold of one to perform. [Hebrew and Aramaic]

Respect: In the sense of lifting one up.

Genesis 22 is saying … God grabbed ahold of Abraham on the mount to perform what He promised by lifting Abraham up and showing him to be the Father of many nations.  

Another meaning of the word for tempted or tried is to prove something.  Which means you see something that already is and then you show it for what it really is.  John 6:6 is a great example of  …. And this he said to prove him: for he himself knew what he would do. 

The account in Genesis 22 is GOD proving what he said about Abraham being the Father of many nations is true.  God called Abraham the Father of many nations in Genesis 17.  And Abraham didn’t look like the father of many nations when God said that.  There was nothing but deadness in his flesh and in Sarah’s womb …. God proved what He said about Abraham was true on the mount by revealing the Faith that was in Abrahams heart.  

God wasnt testing Abraham to see what Abraham would do or if he would listen.  God already knew the Faith that was in Abrahams heart & he put it on display on the Mount, revealing Abraham to be the Father of many nations, by him being the Father all them that would later believe on Jesus, whether Jews or Gentiles.  

Jas 2:21  Was not Abraham our father justified by works, when he had offered Isaac his son upon the altar?
Jas 2:22  Seest thou how faith wrought with his works, and by works was faith made perfect? 
Jas 2:23  And the scripture was fulfilled which saith, Abraham believed God, and it was imputed unto him for righteousness: and he was called the Friend of God.  

James says Abraham was justified by works on the mount, and then he describes the work that justified Abraham by saying as it is written Abraham believed God, which means Abraham was persuaded by God.  

Notice it doesnt say Abrahams faith was made perfect.  What it says is faith was made perfect. The word faith there is a noun not a verb, and if you look at the word used for faith in verse 21 it’s not the same word used for believed in verse 23.  Its two different words.  The word translated believed in verse 23 is a verb and it means to be persuaded by something, and the word used for faith in verse 21 is a noun and it means the gospel truth itself.  

James says seest thou how the gospel truth itself together with Abraham allowing himself to be persuaded, and because Abraham was persuaded faith was made perfect?   Faith, that is the word of truth itself, was able to have its perfect work in Abraham, by making him the father of many nations, because He allowed himself to be persuaded.  

The word of the Lord came to Abraham telling him God would provide himself a lamb to take away the deadness of his flesh and make him exceedingly fruitful.  The word of the Lord came to Abraham telling Abraham God would liberate him from the deadness of his flesh, by raising the promised seed from the dead never to be able to die again.  Now that word had its perfect work in Abraham because Abraham allowed himself to be persuaded by that word.  That word was able to cause Abraham to become the Father of many nations because he allowed himself to be persuaded by that word.  That’s the work that justified Abraham.  Abraham was justified, not in the act of offering Isaac, he was justified because he allowed himself to be persuaded that God would not allow corruption to come upon the promised seed.  He committed isaacs life into the hands of God.  He was justified because he continued in the word that God would not allow the death in the world to overcome the promised seed.  As Jesus says in John 8 Abraham saw my day and rejoiced.  

Rom 4:2  For if Abraham were justified by works, he hath whereof to glory; but not before God.
Rom 4:3  For what saith the scripture? Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness.

If we look at rahab the harlot.  Was she not justified by works?  And what was the work that justified her?  Rahab heard the stories about the God of Israel, and how the strength of His right hand was greater than the strength in man’s hand.  She heard the power to be saved from destruction and inherit the blessing of life was contained in the grace of God and not the arm of the flesh.  Rahab wasnt a forgetful hearer, she was a doer of the word.  She didn’t look into the word about how she could be liberated from destruction and forget what she had heard.  She continued in the word of liberty.  Just as it says she placed a crimson chord outside her window testifying that her trust was in the blood of Gods lamb.  Do you see how the word she heard was made full of power to save her from destruction because she allowed herself to be persuaded by what she heard and she continued in that word?

To be justified means to be declared to be as you ought to be.   Justification is for the promise to be realized.  GOD promised Abraham he would be the Father of many nations and his seed would be as the stars in Heaven.   The only way Abraham could be the father of many nations is by continuing in the faith that would later come through Jesus to both the Jews and Gentiles.  Justification for Abraham was found in him appearing as the Father of all them who would believe on the lamb God would provide to take away the death of the world.  Now listen Abraham couldn’t be the father of both Jews and Gentiles by offering Isaac.

Just as it says in Romans 4:11 that He might be the Father of all them that believe.  And again in Romans 4:16 that the promise would be sure to all the seed which are of the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all.  And again in Romans 4:17 as it is written I will make you a father of many nations. 

Not to disparage Abraham but Abraham was a forgetful hearer initially.  He heard that God was his shield and his buckler and his exceedingly great reward.  But he didnt continue in that word, he tried to make himself fruitful through the strength of the flesh.  He believed God existed but he wasnt fully persuaded by the faith.  He didnt continue in the measure of faith God gave him as a gift.  He didnt continue in the perfect law of liberty.  When he thought of how he could be exceedingly fruitful he considered the life he had in himself instead of the life God has in Himself, and thats how he had Ishmael.  That is faith without works.  

Now what happened to Abraham in between the time he fornicated with his own strength and had Ishmael, is he stopped considering the deadness in his flesh and the deadness in Sarah’s womb and he glorified God instead.  He considered the strength of Gods life to preserve the promised seed.  Thats the work that justified Abe on the mount.  That is the work that caused Abe to be revealed as the Father of all those who would later believe on the promised seed.  

The obedience of Abraham is he was obedient to the faith.  As Paul says his apostleship was for obedience to the faith.  To be obedient to the faith is that God has declared the faith to all people in Jesus and rather than refusing to be persuaded and hardening your heart.  What happens is you allow your heart to be persuaded by the faith.  Abraham’s obedience is he allowed his heart to be persuaded that God was his friend.  He believed God would preserve the promised seed and bless him with life and immortality by raising Jesus from the dead never to be able to die again, and that persuaded him that God was friend.