On what basis can God justify the ungodly?
(Genesis 15-19; Rom. 4:1-22; Gal. 4:21-31) Blog May 08-14, 2022
Prepared by Richard A. Marin: Present Truth PO Box 700, Fallbrook CA 92088-0700 USA
REVIEW: God’s perfect creation was marred by sin. Adam, our federal representative, chose guilt and corruption for the entire human race. But God provided his own Son as our substitute and sacrifice for sin. Thus, Adam and Eve could be clothed. When their son, Cain, rejected God’s Substitute, he found no forgiveness. A couple thousand years later, God destroyed the earth by a flood because of its violent wickedness. Before doing that, he warned earth’s inhabitants for 120 years and provided an ark for their salvation. After the flood Nimrod and his companions built a God-defying tower that God interrupted by confusing their language. Eventually God called Abraham to be his representative on earth.
The Heir
1. After defeating the four Babylonian kings, what worry might have haunted Abraham’s mind? Abraham might well have been concerned that a counterattack might come from Babylon (Gen. 15:1).
2. When God reassured Abraham that he was his shield and great reward, what question did Abraham have? Abraham wanted to know how God would fulfill his promise of making Abraham a great nation when he was childless (Gen. 15:2-3).
3. Who did God tell Abraham would be his heir rather than Eliezer his steward? God told Abraham that Eliezer would not be his heir, but rather one of his own children would be the heir of promise (Gen. 15:4).
4. How did Abraham react to God telling him that his descendants would be like the stars? Abraham believed in God & his word & God counted him as righteous (Gen. 15:6).
5. Does God count people as righteous who are not fully righteous? Yes, God calls people righteous who are still sinners. God calls “those things which be not as though they were” (Rom. 4:5, 17; Gal. 2:16).
6. If God told Israel’s judges not to justify the wicked, on what basis can God justify the ungodly? God counts a person righteous on the basis of the perfect righteousness of that person’s Substitute, Jesus, whom he entered by faith alone (Deut. 25:1; Rom. 4:5; 5:1; Col. 2:10).
The Covenant
7. When Abraham asked God for some assurance that he would inherit Canaan, what did God do? God made a covenant with Abraham as proof that he would fulfill his promise of an inheritance for Abraham (Gen. 15:9-21).
8. How was God’s covenant with Abraham made? Abraham cut animals in half and lay them in two rows. After walking between the pieces & scaring away the vultures. Then Abraham fell into a deep sleep surrounded by a great darkness & God told him the future before passing between the pieces, thus confirming the covenant (Gen. 15:9-21; Gal. 3:17).
9. Why did God ask Abraham to kill and divide animals for the covenant? The slaughtered animals were a token of the serious fate that the covenant partners would accept should they not keep their promise (Heb. 9:16-20).
10. What does the “great darkness” represent that came upon Abraham after dividing the animals? The “great darkness” represents the presence of God’s Holy Spirit as at Mount Sinai (Ex. 19:18; 20:21; Deut. 5:22; 1 Kings 8:12; Psa. 18:11).
11. When God made his everlasting covenant with Abram who walked between the divided animals? God the Father (“a smoking furnace”) & God the Son (“a burning lamp”) walked between the pieces, covenanting between the two to fulfill the promises made to Abraham (Ex. 19:18; 2 Sam. 22:29; Psa. 119:105; Isa. 31:9).
12. What insights does the Apostle Paul give in regard to the Abrahamic covenant? Paul says that Jesus was Abraham’s “seed” to whom the promises were made & in whom the covenant was confirmed & that the promise was to inherit the whole world (Rom. 4:13; Gal. 3:16-17).
13. What sign did God give Abraham for the covenant he made with him? God gave Abraham the sign of circumcision & God considered the sign so serious as to equate not taking it, equal to breaking the covenant which would result in expulsion from God’s people (Gen. 17:9-14).
14. What does circumcision represent? Circumcision represents the cutting of our sinful flesh, the cutting of our sinful hearts (Deut. 10:16; 30:6; Jer. 4:4; Rom. 2:28-29).
The Detour
15. When Abraham was 85 years old and Sarah 75, what suggestion did Sarah make? Sarah, realizing that she was past child-bearing age, told Abraham to marry her Egyptian handmaid, Hagar, in order to fulfill God’s promise (Gen. 16:1-3).
16. When Hagar realized she was pregnant how did her attitude toward Sarah change? Hagar stopped being a submissive servant to Sarah & with Abraham’s permission Sarah began dealing harshly with her (Gen. 16:4-6).
17. When Hagar fled into the wilderness, who confronted her there? The angel of the Lord confronted Hagar & told her to return & submit to Sarah, for God was going to give her a son who would become a great people (Gen. 16:7-12).
18. What does the name mean that the angel told Hagar to name her son? Ishmael means “God will hear” & he will hear us even in our affliction (Gen. 16:11).
19. Did God withdraw his promise from Abraham and Sarah when they doubted his ability to make it happen? No, God was faithful even when his covenant partners were not (Gen. 17:1-4).
20. How does the Apostle Paul make use of the story of Ishmael? In Galatians Paul uses Ishmael & Isaac, the two sons of Abraham, as types of two covenants God made with his people (Gal. 4:21-31).
21. What is Paul’s point in his allegory of two sons? Paul likens Hagar to the Sinai covenant where God’s people promised to perfectly fulfill all that God commanded & failed; & he likens Sarah to the Abrahamic covenant in which Jesus promised to perfectly fulfill all that God required of humanity & was obedient. Paul says that true believers in Jesus are children of promise for all the promises made to Abraham are ours in Jesus his “Seed” (Gen. 15:7-8; Ex. 19:5, 8; Gal. 3:16; 4:21-31).