Some of you may be aware that many years ago I used to be an antique dealer and appraiser who specialized in Native American antiques. I looked for things like clothing or weaponry that was from the late 19th century and baskets and textiles. One of the things I learned about from that period was a very rare artifact called a Ghost Dance shirt. It was made in the 1890’s, and rather than being made from the usual buckskin, it was made from muslin and usually painted with symbols of stars and birds.

The significance of this shirt is that it came from a period when the Indians had been restricted to reservations, and their tribes had been decimated by disease like typhoid fever. One of the leaders of the Paiute tribe named Wovoka had become sick and he started having visions in which he was translated to heaven and shown visions by God of his people returning to the old ways and living together again in love and peace. Wovoka claimed that God also said that Jesus would be reincarnated on earth in 1892, that the people must work, not steal or lie, and that they must not engage in the old practices of war or the traditional self-mutilation practices connected with mourning the dead. God said that if his people abided by these rules, they would be united with their friends and family in the other world, and in God’s presence, there would be no sickness, disease, or old age.

Wavoka began to teach many different tribes the doctrines that he had seen in the vision and it quickly spread among most of the Plains Indian tribes. A belief that emerged from this religion was that if they wore a sacred shirt which they made from muslin and painted with certain celestial symbols, it would make them impervious to rifle bullets. The soldiers would not be able to kill them, but they would be protected by the power of God.

Unfortunately, this belief culminated in a disastrous loss of life now known as the Massacre at Wounded Knee. I don’t have time to go into all the details of the battle this morning, but suffice it to say that the soldiers at the forts became frightened by this renewed religious zeal on the part of the Indians, and that fear soon led to a battle between the soldiers and the Indians, in which 25 soldiers died, and 153 Lakota Indians were killed, many of them women and children. It became obvious that their faith in the power of the Ghost Dance shirt was ill founded. The sacred shirt did not have the protective power over death that the Native Americans had believed it would have.

I bring up that story today in order to emphasize the importance of having a sure foundation for faith. Especially in light of the situation throughout the world right now with the corona virus, it is more important than ever to be certain of our faith, and that our faith rests not on visions, nor feelings, nor on a word of knowledge, nor on the strength, or size or zeal of our faith, but on the promises of God.

As the internet has gone wild with people making assumptions, naming and claiming healing, claiming a word from God, all with the goal of removing the fear of getting sick from the virus. As I have heard people say things, or read people’s posts on the internet over the last couple of weeks I have often been reminded of this story, and the futility of the power of faith if it is not founded upon the word of God. That is why here at the Beach Fellowship we emphasize the importance of the sufficiency and authority of scripture. We believe it is the inspired word of God.

If you think about that phrase “word of God” for a moment, we might ask, what does that really mean? Well, let me ask you, if you were to say to someone, “I give you my word,” what do you mean by that? I would think your answer would be that I am making a promise. A guarantee. We’ve all heard the phrase, my word is my bond. Paul has instructed us in Romans that the righteous shall live by faith, which means they believe the word of God. Genesis 15:6 says Abraham believed God. Not beloved in God, but Abraham believed God’s promise. And the scripture says His word will not fail; that the word of God endures forever. Paul says in 2 Timothy 2:13 that God cannot deny Himself. Paul says in Romans 11:29 that the the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable. So faith is believing the word of God.

You will remember that in our last couple of messages we showed that faith has it’s foundation in the scriptures. Paul quotes from Genesis 15 and Psalm 32 as scriptural evidence for faith. So scripture is the word of God in which we have faith. Any so called faith outside of the word of God is unfounded. The sure foundation for our faith is the word of God, the promise of God.

Now that is really the main point that Paul introduces here in this passage before us today. He introduces a new word that up to now he has not used in this epistle. And that word is promise. Up to this point, Paul has spoken repeatedly of the necessity of faith, that faith is the only means by which a man is righteous before God. But now he introduces this idea of a promise, that we might know specifically what we are to have faith in. Faith here is not meant as an entity that stands alone; faith is not believing in something really fervently, but faith rests upon specific promises from God. So notice that in this passage Paul uses the word promise several times, in vs 13, 14, 16, 20, and 21. What he is saying is that Abraham was justified because he believed in the promise of God.

Now let’s look at vs 13 and see how this is presented. Vs13 “For the promise to Abraham or to his descendants that he would be heir of the world was not through the Law, but through the righteousness of faith. For if those who are of the Law are heirs, faith is made void and the promise is nullified; for the Law brings about wrath, but where there is no law, there also is no violation.”

Notice the word promise in vs13. The promise, Paul says is that Abraham and his descendants would be heir of the world. It was a promise not based works or merit of Abraham, but on the power of God. So through faith in God’s promise he would obtain or inherit the world. Now what is meant by an “heir of the world?” Well, in a simple sense, it means that ultimately, as the New Testament explains, you will be a joint heir with Christ and you will inherit everything that is Christ’s. That’s the New Testament view of it. We who come to God by faith, we who believe the promise of salvation, will inherit everything.

But let’s look specifically at God’s promise to Abraham. God’s promise to Abraham was one that was progressive in revelation. God expanded upon His promise to him in each subsequent time that He spoke to Abraham. And if you look at the scripture, you will see that there were three components to this promise. First there was the promise of the land of Canaan. This promise was spelled out in Genesis chapter 12, 13, 15, and 17. And I would suggest that the land of Canaan was but a deposit on the full promise to be heir of the world as spoken of in our passage in vs 13.

Secondly, God promised that Abraham’s seed would be as numerous as the dust of the earth. That promise is found in Gen. 13, 15, and 18. The third component of God’s promise is that from Abraham’s seed all the families of the earth will be blessed, which is found in Gen 18 and 26. Paul expanded on that promise in Galatians 3:16 saying, that the scripture says it is not through Abraham’s “seeds,” plural, that the world might be blessed, but “to your seed,” singular. And that seed, explained Paul, is Christ. So way back in Genesis, in God’s promise to Abraham He was speaking of the coming of Jesus Christ, through whom all the world might be blessed.

So keeping that in mind, as we look at this passage that Abraham or his seed would be heir of the world, we understand that all who by faith are children of Abraham actually are heirs of the world. We inherit the world. 1 Cor. 3:21 says, “All things are yours.” Abraham, as well as those who are his seed, who have received righteousness by faith, are heirs of the world. We will rule the world with Christ and in fact, are rulers now. As Peter said, we are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, the people of God, heirs of the world. Jesus promised the church at Thyatira in Rev. 2:26-27 ‘He who overcomes, and he who keeps My deeds until the end, TO HIM I WILL GIVE AUTHORITY OVER THE NATIONS; AND HE SHALL RULE THEM WITH A ROD OF IRON, AS THE VESSELS OF THE POTTER ARE BROKEN TO PIECES, as I also have received [authority] from My Father.”

Then Paul reminds us again in vs 14, we are heirs not on the basis of works or merit, but on the basis of faith. If you are hoping to gain the inheritance by keeping the law, then the promise is made worthless. The law was only intended to show us we were sinners, under the wrath of God. But the promise to be an heir of the world comes by faith.

And Paul states that the promise is by faith in vs 16, saying, “For this reason [it is] by faith, in order that [it may be] in accordance with grace, so that the promise will be guaranteed to all the descendants, not only to those who are of the Law, but also to those who are of the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all, (as it is written, “A FATHER OF MANY NATIONS HAVE I MADE YOU”) in the presence of Him whom he believed, [even] God, who gives life to the dead and calls into being that which does not exist.”

The point Paul is making is that the reason that salvation comes by faith is that it might be a matter of grace. Grace is a gift, God’s unmerited favor. It’s not of works, otherwise we could never obtain this promise because we could never produce perfect obedience to the law. But instead, God has provided it as a gift that it might be fully assured to all who believe.

Notice also that Paul says that this promise is guaranteed to all of Abraham’s descedents, not just to those who were under the law, that is the Jews, but also to those who are of the faith of Abraham. And that means that the promise is guaranteed to us who live today. Galatians 3:29 says there is no Jew or Greek, male of female, slave or free, but “if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s descendants, heirs according to promise.”

So then all who are of the faith of Abraham are the descendants of Abraham. Thus Paul quotes Genesis 17:5 which says “a Father of many nations have I made you.” Back in vs 11 he is called the “father of all who believe.” Paul wants to reinforce the fact that God is not a distinguisher of persons according to race or nationality or pedigree, but His grace is given to only one group; that is believers, those of the same faith as Abraham.

Paul further describes the object of Abraham’s faith as “God who gives life to the dead.” You will remember that God supernaturally gave Abraham the power to have children, and He supernaturally gave Sarah the ability to conceive. Abraham was 100 years old. HIs body was as good as dead. And yet God gave him the ability to produce a son. Then there was another instance when Abraham considered that God was able to give life to the dead and that is described in Heb. 11:17-19. “By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises was offering up his only begotten [son;] [it was he] to whom it was said, “IN ISAAC YOUR DESCENDANTS SHALL BE CALLED.” He considered that God is able to raise [people] even from the dead, from which he also received him back as a type.” Abraham was willing to sacrifice his son, because he believed that God would keep His promise to bring forth a multitude from Isaac, and therefore God would have to raise Isaac from the dead. And as Hebrews said, the type which Isaac symbolized of course was Christ, who though He died, was raised again from the dead.

And folks, this is our hope, the promise for us, that though in this body we die, we will be raised again to live forever with God in a new body. Our hope is that even in death God is able to give life to the dead, and we will triumph over this world, we will be raised again in a new body, in a new world, in which we will rule and reign with Christ. That is the fulfillment of the promise that we will be heirs of the world.

But even though in the flesh we may die, we will not die in our spirit. Jesus said, “whosoever believes in Me shall never die, believe thou this?” To be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord. Jesus said concerning life after death in Matt. 22:32 “’I AM THE GOD OF ABRAHAM, AND THE GOD OF ISAAC, AND THE GOD OF JACOB’? He is not the God of the dead but of the living.” Though we die in the flesh, we live in the spirit with the Lord in Paradise, and then at the resurrection, we will receive a new glorified body, in which there will be no sickness or death, and which will reign with the Lord in a new heaven and a new earth. That is the inheritance that Abraham was promised and which we are promised.

Paul adds another distinction about this faith in God. And that is stated as “who calls into being that which does not exist.” Paul looks back all the way to creation and reminds us that God did not need to have something to work with. He did not need evolution to help Him create the world. He called it into existence by the word of His mouth. God spoke and the world was made by His word. He made something from nothing. And that fact of God’s power assures us that what God declares He is able to perform. He doesn’t need our help. God is able to save, and only God is able to save.

What a tremendous hope we have as believers. We that believe the word of God can believe in a magnificent promise, a promise that gives us hope in a world that would otherwise be hopeless. Abraham had that hope. And that hope inspired his faith. Look at vs 18. “In hope against hope he believed, so that he might become a father of many nations according to that which had been spoken, “SO SHALL YOUR DESCENDANTS BE.” Without becoming weak in faith he contemplated his own body, now as good as dead since he was about a hundred years old, and the deadness of Sarah’s womb; yet, with respect to the promise of God, he did not waver in unbelief but grew strong in faith, giving glory to God, and being fully assured that what God had promised, He was able also to perform. Therefore IT WAS ALSO CREDITED TO HIM AS RIGHTEOUSNESS.”

Hope simply means the expectation of something desirable. That hope for Abraham was the promise God made that he would have a son. God told him in Gen. 17:5 “No longer shall your name be called Abram,(exalted father) But your name shall be Abraham (father of a multitude); For I have made you the father of a multitude of nations.” How Abraham must have felt when someone asked him his name. After all, he had no son.

And then, to make it worse, God’s promise of a son didn’t come immediately. God waited until Abraham’s body was as good as dead, 100 years old. I can assure you, now that I’ve reached the ripe age of 61, that I can sense my body is quickly becoming “as good as dead.” I can’t imagine what 40 more years would feel like. God wanted to be sure that His grace would not the product of Abraham’s effort. But notice, against all hope, Abraham in hope, believed. That is the faith that God desires. Believing in HIs word, believing in HIs promise, against all reason, against all science, against all the world might say. Abraham did not waver in unbelief.

Now that is tremendous faith, but I hope that you do not despair thinking that it is unattainable faith. It may be a struggle to have this kind of faith. But the scripture says faith is also a gift of God. God will strengthen your faith as you trust in Him. God’s word reassures our faith. And the Spirit of Christ working in us will help us in our times of doubt if we will turn to Him for assurance.

This promise of God is meant not just for Abraham, but for all in every age who would believe God. Paul says in closing, in vs 23 that “Not for his sake only was it written that it was credited to him, but for our sake also, to whom it will be credited, as those who believe in Him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead, [He] who was delivered over because of our transgressions, and was raised because of our justification.”

Paul says that this was not just written for Abraham’s sake, but also for our sake. And he is speaking not only of his age but for our age, in the 21st century. We are able to receive the credit of righteousness to our account just as Abraham was. And we are able to receive it in the same way that Abraham received it – by faith in the promise of God. As Peter said, we have the promise of God made more sure because though Abraham received salvation by a type, we have received salvation because we have seen the fulfillment of the type in Jesus Christ. Abraham saw the lamb that God provided in order to be the substitute for Isaac, but we see Jesus, who became the sin substitute for us, so that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him.

We have faith in Jesus, who was raised from the dead, who was delivered up to death for our sins, and was raised from the dead for our justification that we might be declared righteous before God. Not on the basis of our works or merit, but on the basis of faith in what He did.

Abraham had faith in only a promise. We have faith in the fulfillment of that promise in Jesus Christ. He is the Seed which is the heir of the world, He is the Seed through which all the nations of the world shall be blessed, and He is the Seed by which will come a multitude which are the children of God.

I hope that you have received this gift of faith that Abraham received. I pray that you know the joy of knowing that you are justified in the sight of God, that you are an heir of the world, and a co heir with Christ. You can have this life of blessedness if you simply trust in His word, if you believe in Christ as your Savior and Lord.

In this time of uncertainty and fear, in this time of anxiety about sickness and death, it is reassuring to remember that God’s promises are sure and cannot fail. He is able to give life to that which is dead. He is able to call into being that which is not. He that lives and believes in Christ will never die. Do you believe this?

Paul says in Rom 10:8-11 But what does [the scripture] say? “THE WORD IS NEAR YOU, IN YOUR MOUTH AND IN YOUR HEART”–that is, the word of faith which we are preaching, that if you confess with your mouth Jesus [as] Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation. For the Scripture says, “WHOEVER BELIEVES IN HIM WILL NOT BE DISAPPOINTED.”