Hear the word of God as you find it in the 12th chapter of Genesis reading at verse 1 Now the Lord had said to Abram get out of your country From your family and from your father's house to a land that I will show you And I will make you a great nation. I will bless you and make your name great and You shall be a blessing I will bless those who bless you and I will curse him who curses you and in you all the families of the earth will be blessed So Abram departed as the Lord had spoken to him and Lot went with him And Abram was 75 years old when he departed from Haran Then Abram took Sarah his wife and lot his brother's son and all their possessions that they had gathered and the people whom they had to the mountain east of Bethel And he pitched his tent with East there he built an altar to the Lord And called on the name of the Lord So Abram journeyed going on still toward the South The word of the Lord Thanks be to God. Let's pray together Father, we do give you thanks for this word and we Thank you for the sermon. We have just preached to each other In singing this glorious hymn My sin oh the bliss of this glorious thought My sin not in part, but the whole is nailed to the cross and I bear it no more Praise the Lord praise the Lord oh my soul Father, I pray that the truth of the gospel Would be for us what it was for Abram the fuel That fires the flames of obedience and devotion in our lives May we be as willing as Abram was however imperfectly To hear your word and do your word responding to it as You seek to order our lives by it come by your spirit And take this your word and seal it to our hearts and struck us and change us We ask in Jesus name Amen You may be seated Lots of you have had the opportunity to be in other cultures To visit other cultures some of you have had the occasion even to stay for an extended period of time In a foreign culture a different culture and there's something exceedingly helpful About that Something exceedingly beneficial about being exposed to other cultures their beliefs and their customs Over the course of the last three years or so I have learned That the Japanese many Japanese anyway see Christianity as an American religion They associate it with our culture In fact someone told me one time I don't and this is someone who had lived in Japan That in a conversation he had with a Japanese person this Japanese person told him that he thought that Jesus was an American that's how close the association is in the minds of the Japanese or can be in the minds of the Japanese Between America and Christianity and it is a difficult and long-term and often painful task When you seek to help someone from that particular culture understand that Christianity is not an American religion But it is the truth of God and It's true for all people in all places at all times It's a long and sometimes painful task to help Japanese people understand that Now try to imagine if you can and it's hard for you because you're Most of you Americans and you've grown up here and in your minds There is probably some fairly close association between Christianity and America I mean we've got God emblazoned on our money and our public buildings That we like to live in a culture as a new believer Try to imagine what it would be like to live in a culture as a Japanese person who has become a Christian a follower of Christ Try to imagine what it would be like to live in a culture that does not have a monotheistic view of God that doesn't even have that sort of language in its vocabulary monotheism means one God and that word isn't even in the vocabulary of this particular culture Try to imagine what it would be like living as a new believer with a Trinitarian view of God that this one God exists in three persons And that doesn't exist in the vocabulary of your culture Polytheism certainly does the idea that there are many gods that certainly exists But the idea of one God who exists in this mysterious Try personal manner That doesn't exist that's not a part of your vocabulary try and imagine what it's like to live in a world Where there is no word for sin There's no word for sin in the vocabulary of the Japanese Which means that there is no conception at all of the idea of a need for an atonement And the idea of shame exists, but that has more to do with families and The shame that is brought to a family as opposed to the prime That is brought to a family But the idea of sin that is personal culpability in the presence of a holy God who is just and righteous and who most certainly Will not allow the guilty to go unpunished that idea just doesn't exist Imagine what it would be like to live in a culture like that and you are a new believer Embracing these ideas Well if you can if you can make that stretch if you can sort of make that leap You have something of a feel for what it was like for Abram To have left ear of the caldians to go to the land of the Canaanites and live in that particular world Here is a new believer and around him Around him everything is different. He is alone in the world He is a single believer in a culture that is completely different It's completely different Now I've been saying to you over the course of the last two or three weeks that Abram is a model. He is an example For you as a Christian Of the life of faith he is a model of the true believer his life is a biography of faith He has held up in that way in the New Testament in particular passages all throughout the New Testament So when you come to the life of Abram you understand you're studying your own life You're studying your own life if you want to know what it means to be a believer a follower of Christ in the midst of the world Then study Abram's life look at Abram's life because he is the model He is the example of what it means to be a believer in the midst of unbelief He is the example of what life is like for one Surrounded by a culture that is contrary To these things that he has come to believe and to love. He is a stranger in a strange land Now I know that this is a reminder And I know this is something that we visit and we revisit and we revisit it frequently Paul told the Philippians He made no apologies for reminding them of things that he that they had heard from him and taking Paul as my cube I make no apologies for reminding you of things that you hear repeatedly There are two things that stand out in the life of Abram in this particular passage two things that stand out two points at which he is different and Not merely different but out of step With the world in which he finds himself two features of his life both of which are thoroughly thoroughly counter the culture Counter the culture and Unworldly is a stranger in a strange land and there are two things that emerge the life of Abram as being Distinctly counter the culture and unworldly the first is the place of the word of God in his life and The second is the place of worship in his life the word and the worship are both Distinctly and decidedly counter the culture and unworldly Now look at look at this passage Look first of all at the place of the word of God in the life of Abram and again. I know that this is a reminder to you But be reminded that the life of Abram as a true believer the example of faith the life of Abram is a life regulated by the word of God Regulated by the word of God Verse 1 of chapter 12 the Lord Said to Abram get out of your country from your family from your father's house go to a land that I will show you and then verse four Abram departed as the Lord had said
That's the pattern that you see emerging in the life of Abram God speaks Abram response God speaks Abram response God promises Abram believes When we were looking at the life of Noah I remember Tom making this observation this past summer About the fact that when you read the 6th 7th 8th and 9th chapters of Genesis That pattern is present in Noah's life No one never speaks in those four chapters. You notice that Noah doesn't speak until he sins It's after his sin that he starts to speak. There's something instructive in that But all through those four chapters or the bulk of those four chapters It is God who speaks it is Noah who responds God tells Noah to do something Noah obeys God commands Noah response It's just about that simple and you see the same pattern emerging in the life of Abram Abram is spoken to by God and Abram response to the command and the call of God. He does it here in Genesis 12 1 through 4 He does it again in Genesis 13 14 through 18 God makes a promise To Abram the Lord said to Abram after a lot of separated from him lift up your eyes now and look From the place where you are northward southward eastward and westward for all the land which you see I give to you and your descendants forever And I will make your descendants as the dust of the earth so that if a man could number the dust of the earth Then your descendants also could be numbered a rise Walk in the land throughout its length and its width where I give it to you and Abram moved his tent Abram moved his tent God spoke and Abram moved You actually see it in Genesis the 18th chapter this marvelous exchange between God and Abram over Sodom and Gamora For God because of the great sin of Sodom and Gamora threatens judgment upon the city and Abram then intercedes in the half of the whole of the city No, in the half of the righteous who are there God speaks and Abram who has learned a great deal about God Up to this time up to the time of Genesis 18 and it's a passage. We're going to have a wonderful time looking at the wilderness of Abram the things that Abram has learned about the nature and being and character of God He appeals to the God of heaven and earth who always does what is right Now Abram has learned a great deal about God but based upon what he has learned You see he responds and he responds in the half of the righteous God speaks God initiates and Abram intercedes for the righteous in Sodom and Gamora you see it in chapter 15 God promises to Abram That he will make his descendants more numerous than the stars in the heavens more numerous than the sand on the sea shore And Abram responds by believing God God speaks Abram responds You see it most poignantly Toward the end of Abram's life Genesis 22 verse one and then two and three But God commands this father to take his son his only son and Go to a particular place and offer his son there as a sacrifice Somebody pointed this out to me just last night. I hadn't thought about this probably hadn't seen it before that verse three says Abram rose up early To take his son to that place to sacrifice his son By the time you get to the end of Abram's life when God speaks Abram not only responds, but he gets up early in order to respond I put my oldest child on an airplane this last Wednesday to send her to Europe for 11 weeks I Did everything I could to postpone the moment of her departure and when it was time for her to go We stood in the airport terminal and we held it up her with a bum knee And tears in her eyes headed off the Slovakia of all places
Abram when it came time to sacrifice his son rose up early his obedience was energetic His obedience was instant his obedience was urgent God speaks and the believer orders his or her life According to the word of God Now, let's not leave this at the theoretical level folks Let's not push this thing off into the realm of what it might mean Let's not push this off into the realm again of the theoretical But let's ask some specific questions about what it means for us to have our lives be regulated by the word of God What does it mean for us? To have our lives be regulated by the word of God Let me read some some questions and answers from the larger catacombs now. This is not an infallible document This is a human document And there are weaknesses in it. There are deficiencies in it But I want to tell you that this document this larger catacism the shorter catacism the Westminster Confession of Faith Captures the essence of what it means for us to take seriously the word of God and to have our lives be regulated by the word of God This is question number 154 from the larger catacism. What are the outward means? I've mentioned this question and answer to you before because it's so important for us to see the word of God not simply as black words on a white page not simply as an owner's manual some kind of an owner's manual By which we operate our lives, but listen to way to the way in which this question understands the word of God What are the outward means the outward means whereby? Christ the risen ascended living King of glory the risen Christ We don't come to this place to worship a dead savior, but a living Christ What are the outward means which Christ by which Christ communicates to us the benefits of his life? Salvation you see Christ is the Savior. He is the ascended risen King of glory He is the great high priest at the Father's right hand and he possesses these benefits these benefits are his he has earned them There is a treasury in Christ and the question is what are the means by which Christ Imparts those benefits to you as a believer. How can you benefit from all the Christ possesses? How can it be yours? And this is the answer the outward and ordinary means whereby Christ communicates to his church the benefits of his Mediation are all of his ordinances especially the word sacraments and prayer the word sacraments and prayer See these are the means by which Christ imparts himself to you You don't read the scriptures simply to store your heads with information You don't read the scriptures Simply to understand what it means to be reformed Here's my question Are we who would identify ourselves as being Theologically reformed being reformed are we being reformed? That's what Christ does Christ reformed Abram and he reformed Abram by his word it was a means by which God ordered his life It was a means by which God brought something of beauty out of something of chaos and darkness just as he did in the creation It's the means by which Christ reforms our lives Listen to another question How is the word of God to be read? The holy scriptures are to be read with and high and reverent a steam of them with a firm Persuasion that they are the very word of God and that he only can enable us to understand them We come to the scriptures with desire to know you see with desire to know Believe and obey the will of God reveal in them We come with diligence and attention to the matter and scope of them we come with meditation with Application with self-denial and with prayer. How do folks normally come to the scriptures? What's the basic impulse of the soul? The impulse which God by Christ has to slay and crucify in order to subdue unruly rebels That they might be inclined to obey to hear we tend to come to the word of God sitting as judges over the word of God Well, I like that. Well, I don't like that. Well, I agree with that. Well, I don't agree with that Don't we do that we do it all the time But you see what the Catechism is saying where to come to these things reverently is steaming them highly understanding that they are the very word of God Here's another one Concerning preaching question number 160 what is required of those that hear the word preached And you get understand these folks and this is a discussion all in its own You know we can have this discussion if you'd like But these folks understood that the proclamation of the word of God was not the proclamation of the opinions of men They had an understanding that preaching was an imperfect Tainted weak and frail sinner doing his dead level best to understand a teaching of scripture and feed the flock of God with the truth of God So they had this understanding that there was a very real sense in which it wasn't the preacher who was standing before The congregation, but it was Christ. So what is required of those that hear the word preached? Answer It is required of those that hear the word preached that they attend upon it with diligence preparation and prayer Examining what they hear by the scriptures Receiving the truth with faith love, meekness, and readiness of mind as the word of God meditating Burying with it. Isn't that an interesting phrase conferring With the word of God hiding it in their hearts and bringing forth the fruit of it in their lives Find a copy of the larger catechism go read those questions and answers and see the flow that there is in those Questions and answers from an understanding of the word of God as a means of grace which Christ Employees for the benefit of his people and to which we come with all diligence and reverence Expecting that God will do this in our lives and when the word of God is preached not coming to the word of God preached asking Who is preaching this morning and then deciding based upon who is preaching whether or not to attend Which is not a problem here, but it is a problem some places But coming to the word of God preached as the very word of Christ and testing what is heard against your understanding of the scriptures being a Berean Seeking like the Bereans to see whether or not these things are true What does it mean to have our lives be regulated by the word of God? It means those kinds of things Even more specifically when I come to the word of God do I practice it do I practice it now I know the answer to that I know the answer is no At least not perfectly I said you last week and we're going to see this in the weeks to come that Abram doesn't obey it perfectly But you do see this emerging pattern in Abram's life for the word of God which regulates his life Forms him and shapes him and changes him so that the pattern emerges and becomes increasingly clear that when God speaks Abram obeys do I practice it do I practice it Think of some of the things Some of the things that we are summoned to practice as Christians and I don't pretend for a moment that these things are easy I don't pretend for a moment that they're going to be easy in your relationships whether in your marriage or with your children With friends with your neighbors with work associates. I don't pretend that it's going to be easy But think of some of the things that you are summoned to as believers in the midst of this world I think for example of Ephesians 4 verse 32. It's a passage That I've referred to in the past. It's one of those passages again that I think we need to be reminded of often
first 31 and 32 of Ephesians 4 let all bitterness wrath anger clamor and evil speaking be put away from you Be kind to one another tenderhearted And here's the killer Forgiving one another As God in Christ has forgiven you
Folks, let me just say that at a couple of significant points in that text there is no asterisk There is no footnote in verse 31. There is no footnote. There is no asterisk at the word all The cast and net about everything let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor and evil speaking be put away from you Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another even as God in Christ has forgiven you And that's the other point at which there's no footnote, no asterisk Forgiving one another as God in Christ has forgiven you There's no asterisk you see there's no reference to something at the bottom of the page where you read this applies to everybody except the one who has experienced this This particular ingest at the hands of some particular person We're summoned by Christ to deal with one another differently differently look up at verse 29 Of Ephesians chapter 4 and I'm asking you are we struggling are we laboring before Christ to see to it that our lives are regulated According to the word of God verse 29 let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth The word in the text can be translated rotten One of the commentators says that it leads to the understanding of worthlessness and it leads to the understanding of something that infects Everything else, you know the old proverb How many rotten apples does it take to spoil the whole barrel?
One and the Apostle is saying again in all inclusive terms let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth But only what is good necessary for edification That it may impart grace to hear us
When we hear the word of God, when we hear the command of God Are we summoned to the kind of rising up early obedience that characterize the life of Abraham?
Folks I want to press this with us You understand what's at stake here?
What's at stake in these things not only this but any number of other things Matthew 7 verses 1 through 5 where Jesus talks to us about taking the beams out of our own eyes Before we work on taking the specs out of other people's eyes
Luke 1433 that passage that I mentioned last week that the scholars are all Confused about you know they don't know exactly what Jesus meant when he said this but they're all entirely agreed that he didn't mean exactly what he said Luke 1433 no one of you can be my disciple unless he gives up all that he has
My question to us is are we taking these things seriously? And what is at stake here? You see what is at stake ultimately is the well-being and the peace of the church and the honor of the name of Christ?
The honor of the name of Christ. I'm stunned. Almost every time I read this passage I'm stunned by what Jesus says in the 5th chapter of Matthew as he sets before his disciples Their distinctiveness just as Abram was to be distinctive in the midst of the Canaanites Jesus challenges his disciples with their distinctiveness Verse 13 of chapter 5 you are the salt of the earth if the salt loses its flavor how shall it be season? It's the seasoning if it loses its saltiness It can't be restored it can't be seasoned the only thing you do with salt that's lost its savor is toss it out It's useless you are the salt of the earth Don't lose your saltiness don't lose that thing that makes you distinctive you see That sets you apart from everything else Abram was salt in the midst of the Canaanite culture He was different he was entirely unworldly and counter the culture
Matthew 514 you are the light of the world Jesus said will say later in his ministry I am the light of the world before he says I am the light of the world He says you are the light of the world a city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket put on a lamp stand and it gives light to everyone who is in the house Let your light so shine before men What's the effect that they may see your good works and glorify your father who is in heaven? You see there was to be something so distinctive about Abram There is to be something so distinctive about the Church of Jesus Christ about you about me the manner in which we respond to the word of God The manner in which we struggle to practice the word of God there is to be something so distinctive about us That we are a light in the midst of darkness and people see the light people outside the light see the light
And they acknowledge our good works and they bring glory to God because of what they see The last thing in the world this is what is so striking about this folks please press this home Please as the Catechism says please confer with this in your own minds The last thing in the world that an unbelieving person wants to do is bring glory to God And Jesus says there will be something so distinctive about the Church of Jesus Christ that unbelievers will be constrained to bring glory to a God They have no interest no desire no inclination to serve how seriously do we take the word of God and ordering our lives according to the word of God
Again I sometimes worry about us as reformed people I think it's great to be reformed As parenthetically I'd much rather we use the word biblical before we use the word reformed but we are reformed And the question is are we so busy being reformed that we're failing to be reformed Now this is a good church folks and I love this church and I care about this church And there isn't any place on the planet I would rather be there is a place other than the planet I would prefer to be But there is no place on the planet I would rather be but I want to ask us for the sake of the honor of Christ and for the sake of the church of Jesus Christ to take seriously the commandments of the living God
And I want to ask us where we have failed to take seriously that word to repent And I don't care where it is I don't care where it is if it's in a relationship to a husband or a child If it's in a relationship to somebody completely outside your family completely outside this church Someone in the civil sphere some place in general society a neighbor and acquaintance through a softball league or a football league I don't care where it is I want to ask us first of all if we have failed to take seriously the word of God repent of our failure And seek forgiveness from the person we have failed And then secondly I want to ask us with all urgency to seek the face of Christ that we might practice the things that Christ calls us to in every area of our lives Abraham in the first place was engaged in something entirely counter the culture He was engaged in the business of ordering his life not after the patterns of men according to the wishes of men but according to the word of God And he is a model for us and he is the one we seek to emulate seeking to order our lives for our good for the glory of God according to the word of God Let's pray together Father we bless your name and we praise you for what you've done in the midst of this congregation We thank you for the work that you are doing in our lives but we beg of you that you would give us more grace We don't have enough Jesus we don't have enough grace we don't have enough of your benefits We need more of your grace more of your benefits because our lives need to be changed more than they have been Father please help us help us that we not walk away from this your word being here is only of your word Please dear Jesus give us the grace that we need to be doers of your word because we understand that your name is on the line here your glory is at stake And the good of your church is at stake as well so give us grace having heard now to do what you call us to that your name might be praised in this particular place We do pray in your name Amen