Abraham’s Faith and Obedience, Pt. 1 

For the last four weeks, I have examined Abraham and Sarah’s lives and faith in our series “God’s Faithfulness.”  

In Genesis, we read that God promised Abraham’s descendants that all the families of the earth would be blessed. However, twenty-four years have passed since the Lord first spoke to Abraham and Sarah about having a son, and their faith has weakened. God, however, appears to them in Genesis 18 and tells them that Sarah will conceive and have a son by the set time next year.  

“Is anything too hard for the Lord? At the appointed time I will return to you, according to the time of life, and Sarah shall have a son.” Gen. 18:14 NKJV 

As promised, Sarah gave birth to the son of promise,  

“And the Lord visited Sarah as He had said, and the Lord did for Sarah as He had spoken.” Gen. 21:1 NKJV 

What promise have you been waiting for?  

Remember, He is God Almighty, El-Shaddai, “the all-powerful God who is enough! He can do for us what we cannot do for ourselves!” 

Abraham and Sarah’s son of promise, and the promise of many descendants, was to rest upon El-Shaddai—Almighty God. Their future prosperity and posterity were not found in their ability but in God’s ability. So, it is for us. 

The Elders Obtained a Good Report Concerning Faith (Heb. 11:1-7) 

In this passage, the author reviews some of the heroes of faith to support steadfast faith. God is a loving Father who gave us a means of love and faith—Jesus. 

Before examining faith in Hebrews 11, let’s discuss the imperative to love. God is love, and He loved us so much that He gave us His son, Jesus, to take away our sins and reconcile us to Him.  

Faith works through love! It began with God’s love demonstrated toward us while we were still in sin (Rom. 5:5). His love transforms us and imparts His faith.  

God’s love turns humanity’s heart toward Him, not the fear of judgment. While many promote a faith that is fear-based, God’s faith is foremost love-based. God extends to each of us His mercy, grace, and love, and He asks us to extend that love to others. It’s an unconditional love that goes deeper than a person’s behavior, lifestyle choices, and political perspectives on issues. 

Hebrews 11 Faith 

First, Hebrews 11 defines and describes faith: faith is a firm conviction concerning things unseen and a confident expectation of future fulfillment. 

Faith, for Hebrews, is always closely linked to hope. Faith is looking at God and trusting him for everything, while hope is looking at the future and trusting God for it.1  

How do you see the future? If you see it through the lens of an angry God instead of a loving Father, you will live in worry and fear. But if you are confident in God’s love for you, leaning on Jesus as your Savior and friend, you will be confident and hopeful despite the trials and storms of life. 

In Heb.11:1, the Greek word hypóstasis is translated as substance (assurance). It means “a standing under,” and it was used in the technical sense of “title deed.” The root idea is standing under the claim to the property to support its validity.  

For example, you are gifted a home by a deceased relative. The attorney representing your relative’s estate gives you the keys and a title deed to a home you’ve never seen. However, the will stipulates that the home is yours. Now, you have the title deed, but you haven’t seen the home yet, but you are confident that it is yours!  

Faith is the title deed of things hoped for! 

The elders were Old Testament saints, many of whom are mentioned in this chapter. They obtained a good report not because of achievements, perfection, or passive acceptance of divine promises but because of an active faith expressed in obedience, persistence, and sacrifice. 

Enoch, Noah, Abraham, and others testified that they pleased God. How? By simply believing in God, obeying God, and keeping an eternal perspective. Next week, I will build on these principles more.  

By Faith, Abraham Went Out (Heb. 11:8-12) 

Abraham is mentioned 74 times in the New Testament, second only to Moses. He is the only person in the Bible who is called a friend of God (James 2:23), perhaps the highest honor anyone can receive. Although he was not perfect in his walk with God, Scripture records him as God’s friend and his “friend forever” (2 Chron. 20:7).  

Abraham is the father of faith and the faithful. His life exemplifies faith. Even when Abraham was weak in faith, God saw him as a person of faith. 

Through their journey, Abraham and Sarah learned to trust and obey God. They weren’t perfect, but they trusted God through the process. From this “friend of God,” we learn faith is not ideal character or integrity. Instead, it is simply taking God at His word and trusting Him. By doing so, Abraham became the model of faith for all believers. 

8 By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to the place which he would receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going. 9 By faith he dwelt in the land of promise as in a foreign country, dwelling in tents with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise; 10 for he waited for the city which has foundations, whose builder and maker is God. 11 By faith Sarah herself also received strength to conceive seed, and she bore a child when she was past the age, because she judged Him faithful who had promised. 12 Therefore from one man, and him as good as dead, were born as many as the stars of the sky in multitude—innumerable as the sand which is by the seashore. Hebrews 11:8-12 NKJV 

Abraham and Sarah had to align their lives with God’s prophetic promise to see it fulfilled.  

Abraham discovered God as a Father who deeply loves us. God communicates the vision to us through love—not demand. It’s an invitation to journey with Him. He builds us up through His revealed promises and inspires us to partner with Him to impact our world.  

The Father is looking for friends! Jesus said to those who would follow Him,  

“I no longer call you servants but friends.” (John 15:15 NKJV)  

God loves us unconditionally; performance is not required to earn God’s love and favor. Yet, from a place of intimacy with Father God, He invites us to believe His prophetic promises and risk. Prophecy reveals the perfect heart of Father God—His love and goodness. 

Abraham had to take some “basic steps” to fulfill God’s purpose for his life. He had to believe God’s promise, obey God’s promise, and give himself to God’s eternal purposes. The same is true for you and me if we want to see the prophetic promises fulfilled in our lives. 

I’ll pick back up next week on this vital subject of faith, looking at Abraham and Sarah. 

Footnote

1 Tom Wright, Hebrews for Everyone (London: Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, 2004), 128.