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The Righteousness of Obedience

Posted on 01 Nov 2020, Pastor: Tolu Makinde

Title: The Righteousness of Obedience

Text: Gen. 12:1-4, Jam. 2:23

[Gen 12:1] Now the LORD had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father’s house, unto a land that I will shew thee:

[Gen 12:2] And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing:

[Gen 12:3] And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.

[Gen 12:4] So Abram departed, as the LORD had spoken unto him; and Lot went with him: and Abram was seventy and five years old when he departed out of Haran.

[Jas 2:23] And the scripture was fulfilled which saith, Abraham believed God, and it was imputed unto him for righteousness: and he was called the Friend of God.

Introduction

Last Sunday, we talked about the sin of disobedience. The three key points were:
- Disobedience is a sin
- If I disobey God, my disobedience will rob me of my destiny
- If I disobey God, my disobedience will rob me of heaven
Today, we will talk about the righteousness of obedience
The Lord called Abram out of his father’s house, to go to a land that God will show him.
Without asking questions, Abram departed. He packed up his household and followed the instructions of the Lord without any form of reservation.
He even took Lot with him. This means Abraham was so sure of where God is taking him, he took his nephew with him.
- If we are sure of heaven, we will be telling everyone about it.
As a result, the Scripture says “Abraham believed God, and it was imputed unto him for righteousness”
By believing God, Abraham obeyed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness

Main Topic

The three key points for this teaching are:
- Obedience is righteousness
- If I obey God, my obedience will help my destiny
- If I obey God, my obedience will help me to make heaven

Case Study: Abraham – Gen. 22:1-8

[Gen 22:1] And it came to pass after these things, that God did tempt Abraham, and said unto him, Abraham: and he said, Behold, here I am.

[Gen 22:2] And he said, Take now thy son, thine only son Isaac, whom thou lovest, and get thee into the land of Moriah; and offer him there for a burnt offering upon one of the mountains which I will tell thee of.

[Gen 22:3] And Abraham rose up early in the morning, and saddled his ass, and took two of his young men with him, and Isaac his son, and clave the wood for the burnt offering, and rose up, and went unto the place of which God had told him.

[Gen 22:4] Then on the third day Abraham lifted up his eyes, and saw the place afar off.

[Gen 22:5] And Abraham said unto his young men, Abide ye here with the ass; and I and the lad will go yonder and worship, and come again to you.

[Gen 22:6] And Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering, and laid it upon Isaac his son; and he took the fire in his hand, and a knife; and they went both of them together.

[Gen 22:7] And Isaac spake unto Abraham his father, and said, My father: and he said, Here am I, my son. And he said, Behold the fire and the wood: but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?

[Gen 22:8] And Abraham said, My son, God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering: so they went both of them together.

God commanded Abraham to take his son, his only son, whom he loves, and get to the land of Moriah to offer the son as a burnt offering.
Abraham did not argue and he did not intercede for his son, like he did for Sodom and Gomorrah.
The next morning, he got up and went on the journey
The Bible did not tell us whether he told mama Sarah or not, but I’m sure he didn’t.
No mother, especially after waiting for 90 years, will allow a man to sacrifice her son. She would have called him a crazy man. Remember Job’s wife?
The journey took three days. He had ample opportunities to change his mind, but he did not.
Abraham so much believed God that he was ready to sacrifice his son.
- Some of us cannot sacrifice our time, our comfort, our possessions for God, let alone a child.
- It is because we do not really believe God
[Gen 22:8] And Abraham said, My son, God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering: so they went both of them together.
- Isaac asked the father, we have everything for a burnt offering, but where is the lamb?
- Abraham replied, “God will provide for himself a lamb for a burnt offering”
- The statement meant that God will provide for himself a lamb that will replace Isaac
- The statement also meant that God will provide for himself a Lamb that will replace us in the person of Jesus Christ
- Isaac was not a burnt offering because God provided a lamb
- We are not a burnt offering because God provided the Lamb
Isaac was a young man, at least in his teens. Let’s assume 16. Which means Abraham was at least 116 years old, when he was to sacrifice Isaac.
- Isaac was stronger and faster, and could have escaped from Abraham if he wanted to.
- However, Isaac obeyed his father to the point of allowing the father to bind him and use him as a burnt offering.
- Just like Jesus obeyed God the Father to the point of being sacrificed for our sins on the cross of Calvary.
- Isaac must have learned total obedience and submission from his father, in how Abraham related with God
- Our children are watching us, watching how we serve God, so they can do the same. Be the godly example that God made you to be.

Gen. 22:9-19

[Gen 22:9] And they came to the place which God had told him of; and Abraham built an altar there, and laid the wood in order, and bound Isaac his son, and laid him on the altar upon the wood.

[Gen 22:10] And Abraham stretched forth his hand, and took the knife to slay his son.

[Gen 22:11] And the angel of the LORD called unto him out of heaven, and said, Abraham, Abraham: and he said, Here am I.

[Gen 22:12] And he said, Lay not thine hand upon the lad, neither do thou any thing unto him: for now I know that thou fearest God, seeing thou hast not withheld thy son, thine only son from me.

[Gen 22:13] And Abraham lifted up his eyes, and looked, and behold behind him a ram caught in a thicket by his horns: and Abraham went and took the ram, and offered him up for a burnt offering in the stead of his son.

[Gen 22:14] And Abraham called the name of that place Jehovahjireh: as it is said to this day, In the mount of the LORD it shall be seen.

[Gen 22:15] And the angel of the LORD called unto Abraham out of heaven the second time,

[Gen 22:16] And said, By myself have I sworn, saith the LORD, for because thou hast done this thing, and hast not withheld thy son, thine only son:

[Gen 22:17] That in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is upon the sea shore; and thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies;

[Gen 22:18] And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because thou hast obeyed my voice.

[Gen 22:19] So Abraham returned unto his young men, and they rose up and went together to Beersheba; and Abraham dwelt at Beersheba.

When Abraham was building the altar, God had already provided the lamb
When Abraham was binding Isaac, God had already bound the lamb
When Abraham was about to slay his son, God had to open his eyes. Behind him was lamb caught in a thicket, ready for the burnt offering
Make up your mind to obey God. Everything you need to obey God, God himself will make it available.
- Make up your mind to serve God. Everything you need to serve God, God Himself will provide them for you.
As long as it is in your heart to obey God and you take steps to obey God, God will provide all that we need to obey Him, all that we need to serve Him, and all that we need to worship Him.
God was so pleased with Abraham that he swore by Himself to bless Abraham and made him to fulfill his destiny in life.
[Gen 22:18] And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because thou hast obeyed my voice.
It was through the lineage of Abraham that all nations of the earth is blessed by the coming of Jesus Christ.

Summary

Abraham believed God
- His belief led to his obedience
- His obedience was accounted for righteousness
- His righteousness helped him to fulfill his destiny
We do not obey what we do not believe
- Disobedience is as a result of not believing God
How do we believe so we can obey?
- Faith got you saved by believing in Jesus Christ.
- That faith must grow
  - [Rom 12:3] For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith.
  - [2Co 10:15] Not boasting of things without our measure, that is, of other men’s labours; but having hope, when your faith is increased, that we shall be enlarged by you according to our rule abundantly,
- Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God – Rom. 10:17 (What are you hearing?)
- Faith comes by praying, by fasting – we are starting a fast on Tuesday. Those that believe God will partake in the fast. Those that don’t believe, won’t.
- Faith comes by praying in tongues – Jude 20
Just like Abraham, our obedience by what we believe, will be accounted to us for righteousness, and our righteousness will help us to fulfill our destinies.
A few words about the righteous (those that obey God)
- [Psa 1:6] For the LORD knoweth the way of the righteous: but the way of the ungodly shall perish.
- [Psa 5:12] For thou, LORD, wilt bless the righteous; with favour wilt thou compass him as with a shield.
- [Psa 34:15] The eyes of the LORD are upon the righteous, and his ears are open unto their cry.
- [Psa 34:17] The righteous cry, and the LORD heareth, and delivereth them out of all their troubles.
- [Psa 34:19] Many are the afflictions of the righteous: but the LORD delivereth him out of them all.
- [Psa 37:25] I have been young, and now am old; yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread.
- [Psa 92:12] The righteous shall flourish like the palm tree: he shall grow like a cedar in Lebanon.
- [Isa 3:10] Say ye to the righteous, that it shall be well with him: for they shall eat the fruit of their doings.

Conclusion

The three key points for this teaching are:
- Obedience is righteousness
- If I obey God, my obedience will help my destiny
- If I obey God, my obedience will help me make heaven

Sermon

The Righteousness of Obedience