Faith or Obedience?
As we continue the E100 challenge (read yesterday's post to find out what we're talking about and join in!), today I read Genesis 12. Now, this might not seem like a very earth shattering passage, but as everything in the Bible is God writing a love letter to us, it carries some import. As something out of the ordinary in life, it carries even more for us.
Abraham is often called the father of faith because of this story, but I think there's a lot more importance than his faith. I mean, faith is great, but we need to see something about that faith. In Genesis 12, here's what happens:
1The Lord had said to Abram, “Leave your native country, your relatives, and your father’s family, and go to the land that I will show you. 2 I will make you into a great nation. I will bless you and make you famous, and you will be a blessing to others. 3 I will bless those who bless you and curse those who treat you with contempt. All the families on earth will be blessed through you.” 4 So Abram departed as the Lord had instructed, and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he left Haran. 5 He took his wife, Sarai, his nephew Lot, and all his wealth—his livestock and all the people he had taken into his household at Haran—and headed for the land of Canaan. When they arrived in Canaan, 6 Abram traveled through the land as far as Shechem. There he set up camp beside the oak of Moreh. At that time, the area was inhabited by Canaanites.7 Then the Lord appeared to Abram and said, “I will give this land to your descendants.” And Abram built an altar there and dedicated it to the Lord, who had appeared to him. 8 After that, Abram traveled south and set up camp in the hill country, with Bethel to the west and Ai to the east. There he built another altar and dedicated it to the Lord, and he worshiped the Lord. 9 Then Abram continued traveling south by stages toward the Negev.
It seems almost crazy to us to see this. God speaks. Abram listens. Abram obeys. No icing, no deliberating, no arguing. God says it and Abram does it. We see this later in the New Testament as Jesus calls His disciples, but they had someone to follow! God merely tells Abram He wants to bless him, but it means leaving where he is and going. No map. No further instructions. Just "GO!" And Abram does. That definitely earns you brownie points in the superhero of the faith category. It's an act of faith: stepping out into the unknown just because God said. Personally, I tend to argue a bit with God, saying things like: "But I like it here!" "Do I have to go?" and "It's not fair!" Abram doesn't do that, it goes straight from God's message to Abram's obedience. Now, I think that is the most important thing I can say, so I'll say it again: it goes straight from God's message to Abram's obedience. Not to his belief, to his OBEDIENCE.
Abram had to DO something. He could have decided to do some interpretive linguistic gymnastics and made it out to mean that he was supposed to stay put but be blessed beyond measure if he believed. Or Abram could have dismissed it as that goat burrito he ate last night. But, instead he KNOWS God's voice, believes what God has said, and acts upon it in the prescribed manner. How often do we fail part one of that cycle? If we know His voice, do we dismiss His words? I would venture to say quite often! If we believe it, do we act on it? This is beyond seldom! Most of us will believe something, but never act on it. One off my most used lines is "belief means jack squat." Because we know from what Jesus Himself said, that even the demons believe and at least they're smart enough to tremble from fear! We believe and assume or think that is enough, but the truth comes out clearly in this chapter: belief is never enough without obedience. In fact, I would go so far as to say that obedience can foster faith but faith cannot create obedience, and to use the line from James: "Faith without obedience is DEAD." (I know some of you might have just cringed because I switched the word from "works" to "obedience", but honestly, it's the same dang thing!)
So as we continue our day, are you being obedient or merely believing? There's a big difference...
Abraham is often called the father of faith because of this story, but I think there's a lot more importance than his faith. I mean, faith is great, but we need to see something about that faith. In Genesis 12, here's what happens:
1The Lord had said to Abram, “Leave your native country, your relatives, and your father’s family, and go to the land that I will show you. 2 I will make you into a great nation. I will bless you and make you famous, and you will be a blessing to others. 3 I will bless those who bless you and curse those who treat you with contempt. All the families on earth will be blessed through you.” 4 So Abram departed as the Lord had instructed, and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he left Haran. 5 He took his wife, Sarai, his nephew Lot, and all his wealth—his livestock and all the people he had taken into his household at Haran—and headed for the land of Canaan. When they arrived in Canaan, 6 Abram traveled through the land as far as Shechem. There he set up camp beside the oak of Moreh. At that time, the area was inhabited by Canaanites.7 Then the Lord appeared to Abram and said, “I will give this land to your descendants.” And Abram built an altar there and dedicated it to the Lord, who had appeared to him. 8 After that, Abram traveled south and set up camp in the hill country, with Bethel to the west and Ai to the east. There he built another altar and dedicated it to the Lord, and he worshiped the Lord. 9 Then Abram continued traveling south by stages toward the Negev.
It seems almost crazy to us to see this. God speaks. Abram listens. Abram obeys. No icing, no deliberating, no arguing. God says it and Abram does it. We see this later in the New Testament as Jesus calls His disciples, but they had someone to follow! God merely tells Abram He wants to bless him, but it means leaving where he is and going. No map. No further instructions. Just "GO!" And Abram does. That definitely earns you brownie points in the superhero of the faith category. It's an act of faith: stepping out into the unknown just because God said. Personally, I tend to argue a bit with God, saying things like: "But I like it here!" "Do I have to go?" and "It's not fair!" Abram doesn't do that, it goes straight from God's message to Abram's obedience. Now, I think that is the most important thing I can say, so I'll say it again: it goes straight from God's message to Abram's obedience. Not to his belief, to his OBEDIENCE.
Abram had to DO something. He could have decided to do some interpretive linguistic gymnastics and made it out to mean that he was supposed to stay put but be blessed beyond measure if he believed. Or Abram could have dismissed it as that goat burrito he ate last night. But, instead he KNOWS God's voice, believes what God has said, and acts upon it in the prescribed manner. How often do we fail part one of that cycle? If we know His voice, do we dismiss His words? I would venture to say quite often! If we believe it, do we act on it? This is beyond seldom! Most of us will believe something, but never act on it. One off my most used lines is "belief means jack squat." Because we know from what Jesus Himself said, that even the demons believe and at least they're smart enough to tremble from fear! We believe and assume or think that is enough, but the truth comes out clearly in this chapter: belief is never enough without obedience. In fact, I would go so far as to say that obedience can foster faith but faith cannot create obedience, and to use the line from James: "Faith without obedience is DEAD." (I know some of you might have just cringed because I switched the word from "works" to "obedience", but honestly, it's the same dang thing!)
So as we continue our day, are you being obedient or merely believing? There's a big difference...
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