Obedient Faith
It is an amazing fact of history that three of the biggest religions in the world call one man ‘father’. That man is Abraham who lived 4000 years ago – about 2000BC.
The name Abraham means, “father of a multitude.” Abraham certainly became the father of a multitude: he is regarded as the father of all those who adhere to Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. The followers of these three religions have been locked in the most violent of conflicts in the Middle East with the potential of worse to come.
Abraham was known as the prime example of faith. He was the son of Terah, a descendant of Noah’s son, Shem (Gen. 11:27). He was a Semite and his childhood was spent in Ur of the Chaldees, a city in the south of modern day Iraq. This is relevant, as modern Iraq remains an ongoing theatre of war.
At the same time, in Israel and Lebanon, Arab and Jew are fighting over the land Abraham claimed for his descendants. Elsewhere Muslims are in conflict with Jews and Christians, and Christians in a dozen countries are suffering persecution from Muslims. Yet these three faiths regard Abraham as one of their founders.
In this series of articles we will learn many new facts about Abraham that will help us to understand some present world conflicts in context.
Many people have studied the Bible for years and know the Jewish interpretation and the Christian interpretation about Father Abraham. But in these articles we will also study Abraham, or Ibrahim as he is known by Muslims, and their interpretation will present many new facts that differ from Jewish and Christian understanding.
Iraq, Syria, The West Bank, Palestinians, Jews, Arabs, Christians – no one man straddles all of these as does Abraham. He was known at the beginning as Abram, but his name changed subsequently to Abraham (Gen. 17:5). Terah, his father, moved to Haran (in modern Syria) with the family (Gen. 11:31) and after some years died there. All religions testify God called Abram to migrate to Canaan, assuring him that he would father a vast nation in that land of modern Israel.
Abram wanted offspring and when his wife Sarai produced no children, he took her servant girl Hagar as a concubine. She conceived and produced a son Ishmael. All Arabs see Ishmael, the first born, as their ancestor and hence the one through whom they receive Abraham’s inheritance. But Ishmael, according to the Jewish scriptures (The Old Testament) was not destined to become Abram’s promised heir.
Then Sarai’s name was changed to Sarah meaning “princess”. In advanced old age, she conceived and had her long-promised son, Isaac, which means “laughter”. This was Abraham’s reaction when told he would have a son through Sarah.
Ishmael’s presence with his mother Hagar caused trouble in the family, and he and his mother were expelled into the wilderness. Ishmael’s descendants became known as the Arab tribes and he is highly revered among Muslims.
Abraham’s faith and obedience were tested by God in Moriah when he was commanded to sacrifice the remaining son, Isaac. At the last moment, after Abraham was prepared to do even this, God provided an alternative sacrifice, saving the boy’s life. As a reward for Abraham’s faithfulness, God renewed the covenant promises of great blessing and the growth of a mighty nation to father and son. Isaac’s sons gave rise to the Jewish nation which highly reveres him. As we will see in a later article, Muslims dispute this interpretation of events.
According to the Jewish scriptures, Abraham recognized God as the Almighty Lord of all and the Author of a covenant by which the Hebrews (Jews) would become a mighty nation. Abraham instituted the practices of circumcision and tithing as signs of being a Jew. God Himself was known subsequently as the God of Abraham (Exo. 3:6). Through him God revealed His plan for human salvation (Exo. 2:24). The promises to Abraham became assurance for future generations (Exo. 32:13; 33:1). Abraham became known as “God’s friend forever” (2 Chron. 20:7).
Christians honour Abraham as the father of the Jewish people and whose example of obedient faith can lead us to salvation. John the Baptist claimed that physical descent from Abraham did not guarantee salvation (Matt. 3:9) as the Jews believed. Indeed, foreigners would join him in God’s kingdom (Matt. 8:11). Jesus taught that true children of Abraham do the works of Abraham, that is, have obedient faith (John 8:39). Paul said Abraham was the great example of faith (Romans 4; Gal. 3). In Hebrews Abraham provided the model for tithing (Heb. 7) and of obedient faith (Heb. 11). James used Abraham to show that justification by faith is proved in the good works we do (James 2: 21-24).
Abraham, until recently, has not received the credit he deserves as a religious innovator of the basic belief of there being only one God, monotheism, a foundational plank of the Jewish, Christian and Islamic faiths; the instigator of circumcision, tithing, the Covenantal promise of establishing a great nation and inhabiting a promised land. Abraham is on par as a pioneer with Moses and Paul.
Abraham changed the world. Jews, who consider him their own, are largely unaware of Abraham’s presence in Christianity in contexts ranging from the Roman Catholic Mass to a Protestant children’s song (“Father Abraham had many sons / And I am one of them and so are you … “). Neither Jews nor Christians know much about Abraham’s role in Islam. Muslims acknowledge the Old Testament but with significant changes as we will see in later articles. These changes are included in the Koran, in passages that cover the same events as the Old Testament.
With conflict around the world between Jews and Arabs, Christians and Muslims, it is time we made a considered study of Abraham. Perhaps we will find in him some common ground, which might aid reconciliation between the major faiths and races.
1. OBEDIENT FAITH IS ESSENTIAL TO GOD.
The real fruit of the true teacher lies in the transformed characters of people who do the will of God. That is the test of good and bad fruit: people who do the will of God, who grow in grace and seek to be perfect as the Father in heaven is perfect.
In the Bible, disobedience to what God requires is presented as lack of faith. If you have faith you will obey. Faith and obedience belong together. Disobeying God is a sign that you do not believe at all! God demands obedience, to know God is to obey all He requires.
God said in the Old Testament to His followers: “It is the LORD your God you must follow, and Him you must revere. Keep His commands and obey Him” (Deut. 13:4). God expects of His people obedience.
God did not give Ten Suggestions to consider which we might follow, but Ten Commandments which we would obey. The Old Testament made it clear that God’s blessings were dependent upon the believers’ obedience “Follow my decrees and be careful to obey my laws, and you will live safely in the land” (Lev. 25:18). God said:
“I am setting before you today a blessing and a curse: the blessing if you obey the commands of the LORD your God that I am giving you today; the curse if you disobey the commands of the LORD your God and turn from the way that I command you” (Deut. 11:26-28).
The Jewish nation was to be judged on its obedience to the commands and requirements of God. Abraham gave the great example of being faithful and obedient to God. This the Jews hold to be true.
2. OBEDIENT FAITH WAS A MARK OF JESUS.
His obedience to His parents as a child is mentioned by Dr Luke following His childhood visit to the Temple and His discussions with the theologians. “Then he went down to Nazareth with them and was obedient to them” (Luke 2:51).
Reflecting on His life Jesus said: “I have obeyed my Father’s commands and remain in His love” (John 15:10). But His obedience to the Father’s will before the Cross was the point that remained in the minds of the Gospel writers. They knew that the life of Jesus was following not His own will, but His Father’s will. “Being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death—even death on a cross!” (Phil. 2:8). The writer of the letter to the Hebrews (5:8) sums it up “Although He was a son, He learned obedience from what He suffered.”
His obedience to God was seen at the beginning of His ministry in His baptism. He walked to the place where John was calling people to repentance and baptism in the River. Crowds had been coming to John to hear what this strange man of the desert had to say. He was taken back by the request of Jesus. Jesus convinced John that His baptism was necessary. So John baptized Jesus (Matt. 3:13-17). Did you note the reply of Jesus? “Let it be so now; it is proper for us to do this to fulfil all righteousness.”
His baptism was the outward sign of His obedient heart and of His dedication to God’s will. When Jesus said, “It is proper for us to fulfill all righteousness”. He deliberately used the plural “It is proper for us”. The demand for our obedience has never been revoked. Christians hold this to be true.
3. OBEDIENT FAITH IS EXPECTED OF US.
Even among those who have chosen Him there are two responses which are far from satisfactory. Some followers sin with empty words, saying the right thing but not doing anything for God’s kingdom. Others sin by listening to His word without obeying it. That is how Jesus concludes the Sermon on the Mount, by asking us to back our words with our deeds. Jesus confronts us with the radical choice between obedience and disobedience, and calls us to an unconditional commitment of mind, will and life.
He warns us of two unacceptable alternatives, first a merely verbal profession (Matt. 7:21-27) and secondly a merely intellectual knowledge. Neither can be a substitute for obedience; indeed each may be a camouflage for disobedience.
Jesus emphasizes that our eternal destiny depends on obedient faith. Jesus says:
“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!” (Matt. 7:21-24).
Jesus is not impressed by our pious and orthodox words. Mere speaking and praising is not enough. He asks for evidence of our sincerity in our good works of obedience. It is not the one who says he knows Jesus or who believes certain facts about Him. It is the one who does the Father’s will. If a person lives a life of disobedience, it will not matter what he says. Practical obedience to God’s will is our faith response.
Obedient faith, as modeled by Abraham, is as concerned with doing the will of God as with affirming the facts of true doctrine. Islam, Judaism and Christianity all get that from Abraham.
Faith and obedience belong together. This was the hallmark of Abraham and is what is meant by our hymn, “Trust and obey, for there is no other way to be happy in Jesus but to trust and obey.” We read of the early Church, “The word of God spread. The number of disciples in Jerusalem increased rapidly, and a large number of priests became obedient to the faith. (Acts 6:7). Paul said this also, “We received grace and apostleship to call people from among the Gentiles to obedience that comes from faith. (Romans 1:5). Obedient faith! That was it! We have faith, so we are obedient to God.
Jesus made this clear: Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock” (Matt. 7:24). It was not possible to be a person of faith and to be disobedient to His commands – commands that effect our personal lives, our moral behaviour, our intellectual belief, our social attitudes, our racial prejudices, our political allegiances – the whole of life must be brought under faithful obedience to Him. That was the great lesson we have learnt from Abraham.
That was the obedient faith that Abraham demonstrated by absolute trust in God and his obedient behaviour. You can offer no less.
