We’ve recently examined the life of Abraham, the Patriarch of Israel. The promises God made to Abraham are foundational for Christianity. The Almighty pledged to bless Abraham and through his descendants restore blessing to people of every nation. In other words, the covenant with Abraham (& Israel) would be the mechanism by which God would reverse the curse brought upon creation because of human rebellion and sin.
Since the blessings of God would flow to and through the family of Abraham, it was vitally important to determine exactly who are the children of Abraham. For the Jews at the time of Jesus, the answer to this question was quite straightforward: they were the physical descendants of Abraham, and therefore were obviously the children of Abraham.
But this definition would be dramatically challenged by John the Baptist. John’s fiery message is recorded in Luke 3: “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? Produce fruit in keeping with repentance. And do not say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ For I tell you that out of these stones God can raise up children for Abraham. The ax is already at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.”
It seems that John was not overly concerned with crafting a winsome message; he did not spare the feelings of those who heard him. He first accused them of being a bunch of snakes and then sternly warned them that unless serious changes were made, God’s wrath would fall upon them.
Notably, John explicitly declared that the people of Israel should not console themselves with the fact that they were the physical descendants of Abraham. What God required was a radical change in conduct. The people of Israel urgently needed to repent of their wickedness and produce the fruit of righteousness. For John the Baptist, the true children of Abraham were the ones who lived in obedience to God.
Jesus would affirm this same principle. In the eight chapter of his gospel, the Apostle John records a fascinating confrontation between Jesus and those Jews who were bitterly opposing him. The entire passage hinges on the question, “Who are the true children of Abraham?”
The Jews boasted, “We are Abraham’s descendants!” (v33) They believed that their ethnic heritage irrevocably included them in the family of Abraham, & thereby secured the favor and blessing of God.
Jesus acknowledged that the Jews were indeed the physical descendants of Abraham. However, the Lord made it abundantly clear that the behavior of his opponents had excluded them from the true family of Abraham.
The Lord darkly noted that these Jews had rejected the truth of his message and were actively seeking to take his life. (v37,40) Their malice and lies were the qualities of people who belong to the Devil: “You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father’s desire. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding onto the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies.” (v44)
Jesus argues that the genuine children of Abraham are those who walk in the footsteps of Abraham. “If you were Abraham’s children, then you would do the things Abraham did.” (v39) Although Jesus doesn’t elaborate, it’s not too difficult to see which of Abraham’s deeds he had in mind.
When the LORD first appeared to Abraham, he commanded, “Leave your country, your people and your father’s household and go to the land I will show you.” (Genesis 12:1) In complete obedience, Abraham promptly set out for the land of Canaan. Upon arrival, he built an alter to the LORD at Shechem. (12:7) Moving a bit further south, Abraham next camped near Bethel, where he also “built an alter to the LORD and called on the name of the LORD.” (12:8)
Following the call of God, it is clear that Abraham forsook the idols that his family had worshiped when they dwelt in Ur of the Chaldeans. He devoted himself exclusively to the worship of the one true God.
When God tested him, Abraham was fully prepared to sacrifice his beloved son Isaac. In response, God re-affirmed his promises: “I swear by myself…because you…have not withheld your son…I will surely bless you and make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as the sand on the seashore. Your descendants will take possession of the cities of their enemies, and through your offspring all nations on earth will be blessed, because you have obeyed me.” (Genesis 22:16-18)
Abraham was not without flaws, which the scriptures make no attempt to conceal.
Nonetheless, it’s quite clear that Abraham had tremendous virtues; he committed himself to the worship and service of God.
Nowhere is this dynamic clearer than in than Genesis 18, where the LORD made this stunning declaration: “Abraham will surely become a great and powerful nation, and all nations on earth will be blessed through him. For I have chosen him, so that he will direct his children and his household after him to keep the way of the LORD by doing what is right and just, so that the LORD will bring about for Abraham what he has promised him.” (Genesis 18: 18-19)
God’s covenant required Abraham and his family to embrace righteousness and justice. As we’ve noted in prior blogs, Abraham represents the beginning of God’s plan to rescue the entire creation from sin and death. Faced with human rebellion and wickedness, God called Abraham and his family to become the new humanity, offering God genuine worship and obedience.
John the Baptist declared that the true children of Abraham must bear the proper fruit. Jesus concurred, saying that the genuine children of Abraham must imitate Abraham’s conduct.
These are remarkable statements. Among many evangelical churches, Abraham is almost exclusively remembered for his “faith.” Such faith is usually portrayed as Abraham’s passive belief or trust in God & strictly excludes any kind of human conduct or behavior.
This viewpoint relies heavily upon Genesis 15, where God pledged to give Abraham offspring as numerous as the stars in the sky. The scriptures say, “Abram believed the LORD, and [God] credited it to him as righteousness.” This verse is famously quoted by the apostle Paul in Romans 4 and Galatians 3.
But what exactly did the Apostle Paul mean when he quoted this verse?
We must remember that Paul was a Pharisee who had likely memorized the entire Pentateuch. The story of Abraham was dear to his heart. We can also be certain that – even though the gospels may not have been written down yet – Paul was thoroughly familiar the words of Jesus and John the Baptist.
These facts make it highly unlikely that when Paul wrote about “faith,” he intended to exclude any element of human conduct or behavior. It makes much more sense to recognize that for Paul, the term “faith” (Greek pistis) must be understood in the broader, much more active sense of allegiance or loyalty. To be sure, this definition doesn’t leave behind the notions of belief or trust. It simply acknowledges that the Bible never separates Christian belief from Christian behavior.
What Paul does contrast is “faith” versus “works of Torah.” (I’ve addressed this thorny subject in a series of prior blogs entitled, “faith and works.” For those interested in further reading, please check out those writings.)
For now, suffice it to say that, for John the Baptist and Jesus and Paul, the true children of Abraham are those who give their complete loyalty to Jesus the Messiah – a loyalty which produces the fruit of righteousness.
