Know then that it is those of faith who are the sons of Abraham. And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, “In you shall all the nations be blessed.” So then, those who are of faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith (Galatians 3:7-9).
The Gospel Preached to Abraham
The message of the gospel of Jesus Christ is found in figures and types throughout the Old Testament. Though stories and texts may not explicitly spell out the gospel, it can be seen in the shadows. It is important to understand that the Old Testament is necessary for understanding and interpreting the New Testament. And on the other hand the New Testament is needed to better clarify the promises and prophecies of the Old Testament.
Any student of Scripture will tell you that Abraham is an important figure to redemptive history. He is considered to be the Father of Faith, and the father of us all (Rom 4:16). His life and story foreshadow the message of the gospel. When the Apostle Paul wanted to defend the message of the gospel he consistently used Abraham as his example because Abraham’s life hints at the gospel. Whether Abraham knew it or not, he was a living picture of the gospel. This stranger’s odyssey through the deserts of the Ancient Near East left footprints in the dust leading us to the gospel.
Galatians 3:8 says that the gospel was preached to Abraham. The gospel message was that Jews and Gentile alike would be justified by faith. So the gospel in its plainest form was preached to Abraham. Abraham’s life and faith embodied the gospel message. It was Jesus that said that Abraham seen Jesus’ day and rejoiced (Jn. 8:56). Abraham caught a glimpse of the gospel before it was even initiated. I want us to walk in the footsteps of the faith and see the Gospel according to Abraham (Rom. 4:12).
Election by Grace
The message of the gospel begins with the acknowledgement that we are sinners (Rom. 3:23). If the Gospel is going to be applied to your life then this fundamental truth cannot be overlooked. To remove sin from the gospel message is like removing sickness from hospitals they wouldn’t be needed. Hospitals and doctors are needed to help cure the sick and diseased. The gospel of Jesus Christ is needed to cure humanity’s sin-sick soul.
Abraham is introduced in Genesis chapter twelve. He and his family were from the Ur of Chaldees. However, Abraham and his family served other gods (Josh. 24:2-3). Though Abraham was from the lineage of Shem, Noah’s son, he was a sinner. Noah and his family were saved from the wrath of God, but they had a stowaway on the ark known as sin. Sin’s consequences were being eradicated in the flood, but the seed of sin was hiding in the hearts of Noah and his family. Sin was inescapable for man. In order for the promised plan of redemption given to Adam and Eve to continue then God would have to work through a people (Gen. 3:15). The seed of the woman would come through the lineage of Shem and and ultimately Abraham.
But Abraham was a sinner too. Abraham was not worthy to be called the friend of God. Abraham wasn’t worthy to be called and used of God. But that’s exactly what took place. In Genesis chapter twelve we listen in to God’s call of Abraham. He is to leave his family, and his country. He is to follow God’s leading in order to become a father of nations and kings (Gen. 12:1-3).
Brothers and sisters, none of us were worthy of God’s call. Each of us were lost in sin, but Jesus brought us in. Nothing within our flesh can be considered good (Rom. 7:18). It is not by our works, or by our righteousness that we are saved from our sin. No, on the contrary, it is God’s mercy that has kept us from being consumed (Lam. 3:22). It is the grace of God which reached to where we were, in spite of our sinfulness, that picked us up. Just as God found Abraham in the Ur of Chaldees, God found you. You didn’t find the Man Upstairs, like He was hiding from you. No, like Adam and Eve we were hiding from God.
Abraham’s credentials and heritage didn’t lead to his eventual calling. No, Abraham’s father was an idolater just as he was. This is the introduction to the gospel of Jesus Christ. Nothing in your family tree can save you, and nothing in your family tree can keep God’s grace from choosing you. It is for male and female, Jew and Gentile (Gal. 3:28). It is for the poor and it is for the rich. While we were yet sinners, Christ Jesus died for us. While were God’s enemy, due to our sin, His grace touched us. You are not too bad for the blood. Never has there been a sinner refused. Those who will recognize their sin, and come to the One who save them, will be saved from their sin.
Righteousness Through Faith
How then can a sinner be made righteous? How can that which is dirty be made clean? Can a righteous God make sinners righteous? Can they who are guilty be justified? Paul writes that there is none righteous, no not one (Rom. 3:10). What hope does sinful humanity have?
What does Scripture say? Abraham believed God and it was counted to him as righteousness (Rom. 4:3). It was not Abraham’s works that justified him. As we have taken into account, it was not his family tree that brought him salvation. No, it was his belief and obedience to God’s plan. The one who believes God will be counted as righteous. Abraham was justified by faith. The story of Abraham tells us that a right standing before God is not possessed based upon our good works, rather it is based upon our faith in God who in turn justifies. Justification is “just as if I had never done it.” Justification is making innocent those who are guilty.
Brothers and sisters, we have no claim to stand in the presence of a holy God. Our sin separates us from Him (Isa. 59:2). But through Jesus Christ, we can be made righteous. Jesus takes our sin, and gives us His righteousness. Jesus Christ became what he wasn’t, so we could be made what we weren’t. Jesus was made sin, in order that we could be come the righteousness of God in Christ (2 Cor. 5:21).
Every other religion commands that someone do all of the work. They are to offer the correct sacrifices. They are to pray the correct prayer. They are to take a particular pilgrimage. But Jesus Christ took our place. We can only offer Him our filthy rags (Isa. 64:6). However, redemption and justification has come through Jesus Christ, whom God put forward as a propitiation by His blood, to be received by faith (Rom. 3:24-25).
Salvation Through Substitution
As we gaze at the story of Abraham through the lens of the New Testament, we can see sacrifice being prepared for our justification. Abraham believed and trusted God. A man of faith journeying towards God’s promises. Abraham was stopped in his tracks when God tested him with the command to offer his only begotten son, Isaac, as a sacrifice on Mount Moriah (Gen. 22:1-2). A father having to offer his promised son as a sacrifice. Can you imagine the emotions Abraham felt? But Abraham believed and trusted, and led his only son up the mountain. Isaac willingly carried the wood up the mountain that would be part his own altar. Isaac softly asked, “My father, behold the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?” Abraham prophetically answered, “God will provide himself the lamb for the sacrifice” (Gen. 22:7-8). Next, Isaac willingly laid on the altar in obedience to Abraham. Just as Abraham was about to slay his only son, a voice from heaven said, “Abraham! Do not lay your hand on the boy or do anything to him, for now I know that you fear God” (Gen. 22:12). And just then Abraham seen a ram caught in a thicket, and he offered it in Isaac’s stead. Abraham had enough faith to believe that God was able to raise Isaac from the dead, and figuratively speaking, he did receive him back (Heb. 11:17-19).
Ladies and gentlemen, a substitute had been provided. God provided the lamb for the sacrifice (Jn. 1:35-36). Something took the place of Isaac. Abraham’s only son was willing to lay down his life for his father, and as such foreshadowed the coming Messiah. But it was the ram caught in the thicket that took his place. And it is Jesus Christ who willingly laid down his life for sinners. God displayed his righteousness by providing a blood sacrifice. What we could not pay was provided for us. The blood of Jesus Christ provided our salvation, our justification and righteousness. But this is applied through faith in Jesus Christ (Rom. 5:1-2). Jesus Christ died for sinners, but through His resurrection we are made alive in Him. Our sins had brought the condemnation of death, but Jesus has brought us life.
Circumcision of the Heart
Once Abraham believed God and it was counted to him as righteousness, God gave him the sign of circumcision. This outward mark identified Abraham and his descendants as belonging to the Lord. Part of God’s covenant with Abraham was this painful cutting way of the flesh. But anyone who refused this circumcision would be “cut off” (Gen. 17:14).
This marking, however, was only a sign pointing towards a greater sign of identification. Abraham’s God desired to have a sign far superior than the one given to Abraham. This circumcision was going to be of the heart. The superior circumcision was alluded to in the Law and Prophets:
“And the Lord your God will circumcise your heart and the heart of your offspring, so that you will love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, that you may live” (Deuteronomy 30:6)
“I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean from all your uncleannesses, and from all your idols I will cleanse you. And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules” (Ezekiel 36:25-27)
Since the inauguration of salvation through Jesus Christ this new circumcision is available. No longer is this a painful cutting away in the flesh, but it is a cutting away in the heart. The spiritual man is united to Christ in this act of faith. But how can you have this circumcision applied today? When we are united to Christ through faith, we indeed are putting off the old man. No longer are we subservient to sin. Death to sin and alive to Christ is our new position (Rom. 6:5-11). The cutting away of sin in our hearts is the desired result. But faith alone is not the answer. It is repenting of your sins. Jesus Christ deliberately paid the price to free us from sin, but we must respond in faith to the One who saves, then repent of our sins. The forsaking of sin is figurative in the cutting away of flesh in circumcision. Just as Christ died for our sins at Calvary, we too must die to sin. On the other hand, just as Jesus was buried after His death, we too must be buried.
“In him also you were circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ, having been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through faith in the powerful working of God, who raised him from the dead. And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses” (Colossians 2:11-13)
Baptism is now the circumcision that replaces the outward cutting way. As we are buried with Christ in baptism we put off the body of sins in the flesh. We are then united to Christ Jesus through faith in repentance and baptism. The act of baptism is not an outward profession of an inner faith. No, it is the washing away of your sins, and new identification as followers of Jesus Christ (Acts 2:38; 4:12). Just as Abraham was identified as a follower of God in the Old Testament, we now follow Jesus Christ.
Circumcision was part of the covenant between God and Abraham. Thus, baptism is part of our covenant with Jesus. If Abraham did not perform this act of circumcision, and if his heirs did not perform this act, then they would be outside of the covenant. If the act of regeneration, being born again of the water and Spirit, then you are none of his (John 3:3-8; Rom. 8:9).
Looking for a Heavenly City
As we draw to a conclusion, we need to see the climax to the Gospel According to Abraham. What hope did Abraham have? What was it that he looked forward to? Surely it wasn’t just traversing through the dry deserts of the Ancient Near East. Bound up with the promises that Abraham would be a father of many nations, but he would inherit a land. Once Abraham left Ur of the Chaldees he never wanted to go back, and didn’t want his offspring to go back (Gen. 24:8).
The writer of Hebrews says that Abraham was looking for a better place (Heb. 11:8-16). The desert land was not the place that Abraham ultimately hoped for. Though it would be a land that flowed with milk and honey, Canaan would not be place where Abraham would live eternally.
Brother and sisters, this world is not our home. This is not all we are living and hoping for. We may have nice things here, and enjoy the pleasures of this world. But they will eventually rust and perish. Together, with Abraham, we look for a better country, whose builder and maker is God. The heavenly city, our eternal home is populated with those who have walked in faith before us (Heb. 12:1).
Tears will be dried. Sickness will be eradicated. Death will be shut out. Mourning will cease. Pain will be abolished. The City of the Lamb of God is a better city that we look to (Rev. 21:1-27).
Abraham looked with eyes of eternity and seen a better Savior, a better sacrifice, a better salvation, a great sign of identification, and an eternal land with God’s presence. Abraham walked and lived the gospel of Jesus Christ in faith. Today, if you will believe and obey like Abraham, you can live out the gospel according to Abraham.