The Gospel is not a matter of opinion or just someone's personal perspective. The Gospel is a revelation from God. We cannot afford to be wrong or ignorant about the Gospel. Accepting a false Gospel will wreck churches and cost people their souls. Now that the light of the Gospel is shining there is no excuse for those who reject it and turn to lesser things. We know that there are teachers today who have infiltrated the ranks of the Church with another Gospel. There are still those who are attempting to justify themselves through a principle of law, earning their justification through their works. There is the Health and Wealth Gospel which teaches that the primary blessing of God is not justification and eternal life but a wonderful, rich life here in this world.
Paul wrote to the Galatians because they had heard and accepted another Gospel. They were trying to be justified by a principle of Law. There was a group of teachers called The Circumcision which said that the Gentile converts had to be circumcised and keep the Law in order to be saved. In other words, the Gentile converts had to become Jews first in order to then become Christians. Faith in Christ was not enough. Paul refers to this group of teachers as false brethren and their message as another Gospel. The leaders of the Church had met at Jerusalem about this very issue and the determination was that the Gentiles were saved only through faith in Christ, the same as the Jews.
So Paul, when he writes to the churches in the region of Galatia, has to expound again the doctrine of justification by faith. The Galatians had been turned from the Gospel of justification by faith to the principle of Law that could not justify.
Paul writes with a sense of alarm and urgency. This was not a trivial matter, but was at the very core of the Christian faith and of salvation. We see in Galatians how serious it is to turn away from the Gospel.
When Paul expounds the doctrine of justification by faith, which was the central issue in Galatia, he bases his argument on Abraham. This is also his case in Romans. On this foundation Paul builds an impregnable theological superstructure. Any legitimate message that is preached today must also be built on this solid foundation. The core of the Gospel was preached to Abraham. All redemptive history in Scripture is the gradual unveiling and fulfilling of this original message to Abraham. We will consider this subject of the Gospel preached to Abraham as: 1. the revelation of the Gospel, 2. the exposition of the Gospel, and 3. the application of the Gospel.
1. The Revelation of the Gospel to Abraham
God revealed His purpose to Abram.
The promise of God stated in Genesis 12 should be viewed as a kind of preview for the rest of redemptive history. A similar statement is found in Genesis 3.15, which is the same purpose from a different perspective. Very early in the history of the human race and at the very dawn of redemptive history we have some very explicit statements from God about what He is going to do. God intends to defeat the Devil and bless the entire World.
Everything that follows these statements is a progressive unveiling of God's work to accomplish His stated objectives. God never forgets or deviates from His original purpose. There is no alternate plan because God is not simply reacting to what humanity does or doesn't do. There seems to be this idea out there that God is kind of like a heavenly janitor, just waiting to clean up the messes we make with our free will. But this is not the picture the Bible paints at all.
The Bible shows us a God who has an eternal purpose, something that was already in the Divine will from the very foundations of the Earth. Nothing catches God unprepared or causes Him to shift His plans.
God wants men to know His plans. The whole point of the Biblical record is to reveal God's plan and show how God Himself has carefully prepared the stage for the drama of redemption. God has not hidden himself or His plans from humanity. Now there were times in history when precious few people seemed to know God and what He was doing. The point is that God was working. He had not deserted His creation, in spite of their sin and rebellion against Him.
Salvation is such an enormous enterprise that God took what to us seems like long periods of time to develop His purpose. While the spotlight is on Abram it seems like the purpose of God is just crawling along. God is only speaking to one man and his wife. For a time He let the nations go their own way. And yet after years of careful preparation the result would be that the whole world would know God. This reveals to us the sovereignty and wisdom of God.
The effects of sin have been profound and far-reaching. The world has been so alienated from God that God could not have just revealed everything He was doing to the whole world all at once.
God is using Abraham to teach us something, so that when the seed that was planted begins to bloom we will recognize God's handiwork. God wants to be known as the God of Abraham. He wants us to remember what He said to Abraham.
This revelation of God's purpose comes right after the record of the tower of Babel. The focus shifts from the scattering of the nations to the call of Abram. The book of Genesis often follows how God chooses to work with certain men and their descendants while rejecting other men and their offspring as well. After Babel the focus shifts to Shem's line and his descendant Abram. The thing to learn here is God's sovereign choice in election. God chooses who He wants to work with and it is not up to men.
The initiative and the purpose is God's, from start to finish. This point is illustrated graphically for all to see in the Tower of Babel.
An excellent summary of what happened at Babel is captured in the aphorism that "man proposes but God disposes." Babel was not the purpose of God it was the rebellious project of a united humanity. The City of Man will never be successful but the City of God will be established, beginning with the call of Abram.
Abram himself was called out of the pagan city of Ur. It is believed that the city of Ur was located in the same area where the Tower of Babel had been built and abandoned. Scholars say that in Ur there was a center for pagan worship, perhaps a smaller version of the Great Tower that was never finished.
Abram and his family were pagans like everyone else in Ur, perhaps giving worship to the heavenly bodies and other aspects of nature. Almost all pagan societies were polytheistic and they worshiped aspects of nature that they either feared or depended upon for life and sustenance. Abram was called to leave Ur. There had to be a calling out of the Old life and into a newness of life – one that did not depend on the Creation and the cycles of heavenly bodies and seasons but a life of faith and dependence on the Creator of those things. Abram's call represents a radical new kind of vision for life in the world.
Abram and his call to leave Ur is the beginning of God's plan to in some way reverse the curse of Babel. Abram represents a kind of person who is the very opposite of what happened at Babel. Babel ignored God. They had their own agenda and were seeking their own glory. Abram's faith and obedience will give glory to God. In the same way the Gospel calls us out of the World, the continuing spirit of Babel, to repent of idolatry, and to believe in the living God.
The promise of God was blessing for the World, all the nations previously scattered at Babel, which would come through Abram's "seed".
The Apostle Paul is giving a lesson on Biblical interpretation.
The blessing was not going to come to the world by the many descendants of Abram, even though he was promised a multitude of descendants. Rather, the blessing for the world promised to Abram would come through a single, particular descendant.
In other words, Christ is the fulfillment of the promise God gave to Abram just as Christ is ultimately the fulfillment of all of God's promises. Paul is interpreting Scripture with Christ and the Gospel at the center of it all. Any reading of the Bible that puts something other than Christ and the Gospel at the center is inherently flawed. This is why so many people today misunderstand and misuse Scripture.
Jesus is the Divine means of blessing. You cannot be blessed without Him.
Abram could not be blessed without a son and heir. Abram later decided, along with his wife, to take matters into their own hands and with Hagar's help Ishmael was born. But Ishmael was not the child of promise--he was born the natural way—and there would be no blessing through him.
A son would be born to a barren woman, something only God could do. Isaac, the child of promise, was not born because of the strength and will of man, but was in some sense born of God. But Isaac himself was a type of another child who would be born, conceived by the Holy Spirit in the womb of a virgin. The blessing can only be given through the Child of Promise. So Ishmael was rejected and sent away. And so it is with all human efforts to secure the blessing of God. Hagar and Ishmael represent all those who are in bondage to legalistic religion, which is really man's striving after Divine blessing. The blessing is an act of sheer grace. The children of promise, those born of God, obtain the blessing. The natural children are rejected.
The preaching of the Gospel to Abram was really the revelation of the Divine purpose to bless the world through Christ.
2. The Exposition of the Gospel preached to Abraham
The blessing included justification by faith.
Besides the Promise of God itself the most important thing said in Scripture about Abraham was that he believed God and it was credited to him as righteousness (Gen. 15.6). This is one of the key statements in all of Scripture. This shows us that we must come to God by faith. The only way to be right with God is to believe His Word and trust His promises. Through Abraham God is showing us that He will justify those who believe. God established this principle of justification by faith.
Without trust there can be no fellowship with God. All sin is basically the result of not trusting God. We sin because we don't really believe that God has our best interests in mind, that perhaps He is keeping something good from us, and that He is not telling us the whole truth. Abraham shows us that if we want the blessing of God we must trust God.
Now what was true for Abraham is true of believers in Christ. God will also credit righteousness to those who believe the Gospel of Christ. We have received a Promise from God in the Gospel of Christ. If we believe it then God will declare us righteous. It should be made clear that this faith that justifies is faith in the Gospel of Christ, not simply believing that there is a God. Many people today say they believe in God, yet this can mean almost anything. Of course the person coming to God must believe that He is. But the faith of Abraham is not simply to believe in God, that He exists, but believing what God has said and revealed.
Abraham is the Biblical standard of faith in God. God has chosen to teach us about faith by incarnating this principle in the life of a person. Abraham shows us what it means to believe God and live by faith. Abraham believed even when it seemed illogical, at least according to human reasoning, to believe. God gives us hard things to believe, things that are not possible apart from His power to call them into existence.
Abraham's faith is the kind of faith that saves, including believing Gentiles. He is the Father of all true believers, Jew and Gentile, who become his children by having his kind of faith.
The promise of God is unilateral: God will do everything and there is nothing for Abram to do but believe. This was not the result of an agreement between God and Abram. Abram did not negotiate terms with God, as Abram did later when interceding for Sodom. Abram simply had to accept God's offer. But didn't Abram have to obey? Yes. And he did obey. Abram obeyed God because He believed God. His faith was tested and confirmed when he willingly offered Isaac. Faith is always followed by obedience. Believers will give up anything the Lord asks them to lay down.
This is the nature of the New Covenant. The New Covenant is not an agreement between God and Man.
The New Covenant is like God's promise to Abram. God did not give Abram a law. Jesus did not come to bring us another Law. He came to secure the blessing. We were not involved at all in the securing of that blessing. Christ did it all and we get the benefits. But what is there for us to do?
Our response is that of faith. We trust God to do what we ourselves could never do. And this means that the Believer can enter into Sabbath.
The New Covenant is the fulfillment of the promise made to Abram. Abram himself did not receive the blessing, but saw its fulfillment by faith. God brought about that fulfillment in His own time. We are living in a wonderful time! This also brings a great responsibility because we dare not miss out on what God is doing!
The Old Covenant was not like the Promise. It was based on the condition of the obedience of the people. God promised blessing or cursing to Israel. But the Promise contains no curse, unless you curse Abraham.
The Old Covenant was a covenant of works and had to be kept perfectly. And the blessings were entirely carnal, not spiritual. Those who preach the Health and Wealth Gospel are under the wrong covenant! That Covenant is obsolete.
The Promise to Abraham was God's original purpose, to which the Law was added because of sin.
The purpose of God does not change. God never wavered from His promise made to Abram. The Promise came first which means it is distinct from the Law, which came much later.
The Law was not the original purpose, but was added to the Promise until the time of fulfillment was to come. Then the Law would pass away, having served its purpose.
The Law had to be added to the Promise because of the universal problem of sin, which was not directly addressed in the Promise to Abram. God did not reveal to Abraham how He would handle the problem of sin. The Promise was blessing for the world, but the Law was for the formation and instruction of a single People. To this chosen nation, the descendants of Abraham, God gave His Law to them to teach them what it means to be in covenant with a holy God.
The Law was never given to justify but to educate us about sin. Everyone who comes to the true God must come into contact with God's revelation to Abraham's descendants. Israel was not chosen because they were better than other nations. They were chosen because they came from Abram and the Promise was made to him. By the time Jesus came it seems that the Jews had forgotten the rock from which they were hewn. They tended to think that they were righteous in God's sight simply because they had the Law in their possession and in their knowledge. They forgot about Abram and his faith.
If the Law could have made them righteous then the example of Abraham and his faith is pointless. So why was the Law given?
It could not have been given as a source of righteousness because Abram was justified by faith before the Law, and even before he was circumcised. There had to be another reason for the Law. God had to show that righteousness cannot be established by works. The Law had to be kept perfectly for righteousness to be established that way. But no one keeps it! So everyone was guilty and needing another source of righteousness which God would provide.
The principle of faith seen in Abraham and the principle of law are two different and irreconcilable principles.
A principle is like a law in that it is the way something works, like the laws of nature. Justification by faith works in one way and the Law works in another. These two principles are so different we must choose one way or the other on the path to justification. We cannot apply both ways, such as starting with faith and finishing with Law. Each principle excludes and nullifies the other.
These principles are representative of two different mindsets and approaches to God. Religion is our approach to God. The principle of law places confidence in what the person does. The approach of Law will bring a certain fear and distance, or alienation, from God. This is because with Law there will always be the reminder of failure and falling short. So Law will never bring the worshiper confidence or rest. There is always more to be done. On the other hand, it is possible for those under Law to become self-righteous and proud, thinking that their work is sufficient to commend them to God. This person may regard himself as superior to others who have not done as much as they have, like the Pharisee in Jesus' parable who thanked God he was not like other men. People under Law are constantly keeping a record, measuring themselves, making lists of things to do or accomplishments completed. And they expect to be rewarded or compensated for all their hard work, just as an employee expects to earn a wage from their employer.
People under Law tend to regard God as a harsh and critical taskmaster who will punish every mistake and oversight. Those under law are always in bondage to fear.
Faith has the exact opposite effect on the worshiper.
The principle of faith places confidence in what God has done. The believer trusts in God, not himself. So there is peace and rest. The believer is not keeping score and is not thinking of himself at all, but only about the Lord and His promises. Believers do not view God as a taskmaster, but as Father. And they boast in Him.
Those who approach by Law rather than by faith cannot be justified or blessed as children of Abraham. Law does not bring a blessing but only a curse.
The promise to Abraham included the blessing of justification by faith. This was God's original purpose to which the Law was added because of sin. Law and faith are two different approaches to God, leading to different destinations.
3. The Application of the Gospel preached to Abraham
The blessing of Abraham also includes the gift of the Holy Spirit.
The blessing of God promised to Abraham was something greater than all of the physical blessings promised to Israel under the Law. Any physical blessing, even those that come from the Lord, will pass away. God is interested in blessing us with what is eternal. It is an insult to God for us to be wrapped up in material blessings when there is something greater available. Woe to those who preach a message supposedly from God that emphasizes material wealth!
The blessing God wants to give is the blessing of Life. This is not physical or biological life here in a fallen world. This world will pass away.
God wants to bless us with a Life that will go on even when this World is gone. God wants to bless us with His own, Divine Life. This is a Life that raises us up from spiritual death.
This is the gift of God Himself in the Person of the Holy Spirit, who dwells in us. God's purpose is to make us into His children. God does not need more servants. He has angelic hosts. God is making us into Sons, which means we share God's spiritual DNA. Children share the characteristics of the Father, sharing in the Divine Nature. Abraham's children are blessed by becoming children of God. This is why even Gentiles can be Abraham's children. It does not depend on physical descent but on a spiritual rebirth. The blessing of Abraham goes ever further than justification. It also includes becoming a New Creation.
Believers are more than justified sinners. This blessing changes our nature, turning us away from our iniquities to righteousness. The blessing of God enables the believer, by the power of the indwelling Spirit, to put to death the old life of sin and live a new life of sanctification, completely devoted to God. One theologian said that "the Gospel is the work of God FOR US in Christ. The fruit of the Gospel, sanctification, is the work of God IN US by His Spirit" (Graeme Goldsworthy).
Any view of salvation that stops with justification and does not continue on into sanctification is not the blessing promised to Abraham and is not the true Gospel of Christ. I fear that there is a truncated Gospel being preached today that offers people no power for overcoming sin. The true Gospel promises not only forgiveness but a new life, which begins now, and culminates in glory.
Included in this promise is the New Creation, or the World to Come, which belongs to Abraham and his children.
Remember that another aspect of the Promise of God to Abram and his offspring was the Land of Canaan. The Land becomes a significant part of the story of the People of God. It was to be an eternal inheritance. But we know that this promise involved more than just the actual land of Canaan, today called Palestine.
Even Abraham sensed that there was more to this promise than the land of Canaan because he was looking for an Eternal City with foundations. And we also know that the Promise was made to more people than just the physical descendants of Abram.
You have to begin to read the Prophets to get this perspective right. God's promise was to restore the people to the Land after a period of exile. But you notice that when the Prophets speak of the people being restored to the Land the vision includes a cosmic regeneration (See Isa. 65.17-25). We know that the present heavens and earth, in their state of corruption, will pass away. But God is not done with creation. It will also be redeemed and liberated from its bondage to death. And this liberation of Creation is directly linked to the full redemption and glorification of the Sons of God, who are also known as the children of Abraham.
God's ultimate purpose, which began with His promise to Abram, is to create a People for Himself with whom He can dwell forever. He is preparing all of Abraham's children for that Time to come. Like Abraham we have not yet received the Land.
Remember Abraham had the Promise, but he never owned a foot of ground, except what he bought to bury his dead wife. Like him we are also living by faith as strangers and pilgrims here, not yet taking possession of the Land. Believing the Promise of God makes us aliens in the World.
The ultimate blessing of God is a whole New World, a New Creation. The blessing God is preparing for His people is a world without evil, sin, pain, sickness, or death.
God is preparing us for glory, the completion of redemption, which is a new body to match a new spirit and to live in a new world. The whole point of redemption is to get us ready to inhabit the New Creation. That's the ultimate blessing of Abraham declared in the Gospel, which also gets us ready for that glorious Time!
Conclusion
We begin to realize that this Promise made to Abraham, which was actually the Gospel in embryo, was much larger than it first appeared to be. As time went along God began to unfold His purpose with progressive revelations, but never moving away from that original Promise to Abraham. It is doubtful that you can be a
Christian without knowing something about what God said to Abraham, which has been fulfilled, and will also be consummated, in Jesus Christ. The Promise included the blessing of justification by faith, apart from the works of the Law, which could never justify. And this blessing includes the New Life of the indwelling Spirit and the hope of glory.
All of these blessings were promised to Abraham and are realized in the Gospel of Christ. The main thing in life is to get this blessing from God that is promised in the Gospel. Nothing else really matters. It is worth any sacrifice and any amount of suffering we might have to endure. There is truly a greater weight of glory for Abraham's children!
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