Proper 14 Year C 8/10/2025
Genesis 15:1-6; Psalm 33:12-22; Hebrews 11:1-3, 8-16; Luke 12:32-40
Rev. Mark A. Lafler
Our reading today from the Old Testament book of Genesis is one of the most influential passages in the entire Bible.
Abram (later to be called Abraham) moved his family from the city of Ur in modern-day southern Iraq to the land of modern-day Israel…
He went as God led him…
His actions followed his belief in what God said…
It was back in Genesis 12 where the story of Abaham begins:
The Lord had said to Abram,
“Go from your country, your people and your father’s household to the land I will show you.
“I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you;
I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing.
I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse;
and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.”
So Abram went, as the Lord had told him…
(Genesis 12:1-4)
Nevertheless, two chapters later, Abram had some doubts.
God knew Abram’s thoughts…
So, The word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision,
“Do not be afraid, Abram, I am your shield;
your reward shall be very great.”
But how did God intend to bless him?
Even with God’s reassuring words…
Abram feared the rival people around him…
He had no offspring of his own…
His senior servant Eliezer of Damascus would be his heir…
How did God intend to keep his promises?
And God answered these questions and the doubts.
…the word of the Lord came to Abram and said,
“Eliezer of Damascus shall not be your heir;
no one but your very own issue shall be your heir.”
Which is quite remarkable.
The promise of the birth of their son Isaac would not be fulfilled until chapter 21 of Genesis when Abraham will be 100 years old and his wife Sarah will be 90 years old.
Simply put – nothing is impossible for God.
Until the birth of Isaac, Abram still has many trials of life…
And also, more doubts about how God was to fulfil his promises.
Nevertheless, God took this moment to share with Abram the great vision of God’s promise.
The scriptures tell us that God:
…brought him outside and said,
“Look toward heaven and count the stars, if you are able to count them.” Then he said to him, “So shall your descendants be.”
Have you ever tried to count the stars?
On a clear crisp night, it is impossible…
Especially if you are away from the city lights.
God used this illustration to build faith in Abram.
To strengthen his belief in God’s character and person.
To give him a hope for the future.
I like what late scholar Derek Kidner points out:
Trust is in the person of God,
hope is in the promise of God. [1]
Abram on that day believed.
God granted him faith.
And then comes this verse:
And Abram believed the Lord;
and the Lord reckoned it to him as righteousness.
It was belief in God as Lord that made Abram righteous.
This was before he was circumcised according to the covenant.
This was before the law of Moses.
Abram was made righteous through faith.
Not by works…
Not by good deeds or achievement.
But by faith…
Abram believed the Lord;
and the Lord reckoned it to him as righteousness.
And the Hebrew sense of the word believed is that Abram believed and continued believing the Lord.
It is not just a petition…
Or a momentary thought…
But a strong assertion of faith that is carried out.
Abram rested on God’s promise.
As the writer of Hebrews, in our reading today, said it:
By faith [Abram] received power of procreation,
even though he was too old– and Sarah herself was barren—
because he considered him faithful who had promised.
Therefore from one person,
and this one as good as dead, descendants were born,
“as many as the stars of heaven and as the innumerable grains of sand by the seashore.”
Genesis 15:6 is quoted in the New Testament on three occasions.
Twice by St. Paul in Romans (4:3) and Galatians (3:6).
This is where Paul writes that salvation comes only through faith using this Genesis text as the basis.
And it’s Paul’s writing about Abraham’s faith that sparked the Reformation in the 16th century when Martin Luther, John Calvin, and Thomas Cranmer protested against the Roman Catholic Church.
Genesis 15:6 is also quoted by James (2:23), the brother of our Lord.
St. James argued that authentic faith is a faith that works.
He didn’t confuse faith and works.
James would agree we are justified by faith alone, but not by faith that is alone.[2]
In other words, works follow the grace of God through faith…
Works always follow authentic faith.
This is really laid out in Ephesians 2.8-10:
For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—
and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—
not by works, so that no one can boast.
For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.
So, our question for today is:
Have you rested your faith on God the Son, Jesus Christ, alone for your salvation?
Or are we trusting our works, our achievement, our good deeds?
We are saved by faith, not works.
And if the answer to the question is that “I am trusting in Christ alone,” then the second question is, has your faith produced works?
Is your faith real enough that it has changed your life?
We are saved by faith…
A faith that is not alone but a faith that works.[3]
Abram was made righteous because of faith.
We are made righteous because of faith.
Jesus said:
God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son,
that whoever
(Works hard enough? No!)
(Does enough good deeds? No!)
whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
(John 3:16)
It is a life-changing belief.
A saving faith.
A belief that my sins are forgiven by the power of the cross of Jesus.
A belief that declares that Jesus Christ rose from the grave and because of this, my hope is that I too will rise from the grave when Jesus returns.
God’s promises are faithful and true.
This passage from Genesis reminds me of one of our Preschool Chapels from last year.
Every Wednesday the young 3-and 4-year-olds gather right in these pews to sing, pray, and listen to a Bible lesson.
After the lesson we do what we call three questions.
The students can raise their hands and if they are chosen, they can ask a question as it relates to the Bible story, or about something they see in the church, or about something else related to their life.
Sometimes I get great Bible questions.
Sometimes I get questions like, “How does God make houses?”
Often the kids point to something in the church and ask about it.
“Why are there TV’s ?”
“Why is Jesus on the cross?”
Well on this particular day, a child randomly asked me,
“Why are there so many spots on the ceiling?”
I said, “Spots on the ceiling?”
And as I looked up, I saw something I never noticed before…
All those spots… You see them?
All the places you can see the knots in the wood.
Look at them…
There are a lot of them.
It would take a long time to count them all, right.
Well, on that day in Preschool chapel…
My heart was impressed with the words of God…
Look up at those spots, my promises are true!
Now when I look up and see all those spots of the wood…
I know God is faithful.
He will complete the work that he has begun.
He is worthy to save.
Even in our doubts… he is faithful.
Even when life goes sideways… he is faithful.
God is faithful and true.
And when we sincerely believe upon the Word of God…
The person and work of Jesus Christ…
We will be saved.
We are counted as righteous.
Praise be to God.
Let us rest in the faithful promises of God…
While we work to share the good news of Jesus in this world.
Amen.
[1] Derek Kidner, Genesis, TOTC (Leicester: IVP, 1967), 123. This is paraphrased for context.
[2] From R. Kent Hughes, Genesis, Preaching the Word (Wheaton: Crossway, 2004), 227.
[3] From R. Kent Hughes, Genesis, Preaching the Word (Wheaton: Crossway, 2004), 228.
