Galatians 3:7 – Know ye therefore that they which are of faith, the same are the children of Abraham.

Hello readers, thanks for reading today. Hopefully this blog makes sense to you today, it is slightly tougher sometimes to grasp some of these concepts so clearly laid out in God’s word… and which are the backbone of true salvation according to God’s word. I would recommend reading Galatians… and also Romans, as this blog is mainly based from there. Today we are talking about the children of Abraham. Who are they? Who is a child of Abraham? The verse quoted above is pretty clear! Those who have faith are the children of Abraham. If you believe God as Abraham did… you are a child of Abraham. Guess we could end the blog there… right! We live in a world that is fixated on righteousness. People care a lot about being righteous. They want to feel like they’re right, they’re justified, they’re worthy. However, they reject Christ’s righteousness which comes by believing in Christ. They don’t see a need for Christ’s righteousness, they are confident in their own righteousness, they justify themselves with their deeds. Romans 10:3 – For they being ignorant of God’s righteousness, and going about to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God.

So we are seeing a world today which is going about to establish their own righteousness. What are things like social justice, black lives matter all about? People are trying to be righteous, wanting to feel like they’re standing for something, proving to themselves and declaring to others their moral worth by doing this, this and that. A similar thing was actually happening at the Galatian church that Paul was writing to… they were going about trying to be righteous by keeping the law. They chucked faith in God out, that same faith that Abraham had. It had turned into religion, it was do this and do that. They were trying to be good by meeting a set of religious targets… they’d gone right away from trusting in Jesus to make them good. It was dead religion completely devoid of spiritual life. We gotta make sure we aren’t manufacturing “Christians”, as we can easily do.

The promises God made were never ever going to be granted on our performance, but on believing in the one who did all the performing whom we just believe in… Christ Jesus. Our performance is never good enough. We are fleshly beings, so the best we can never muster is dirt at best. So God gave the law, but it was to show us how we can’t do it. It was to lead us to one who would keep it, and make a new deal with mankind not based on our flesh, but on him putting his Spirit in us, received by believing on him. Our best efforts, any of us, be it at keeping God’s law, or proving our worthiness according to meeting our own made up standards… none of it can make anyone righteous. So you can feel good about yourself all you want, but that’s Ishmael… he was rejected. You’ll only ever be justified, be good enough, be vindicated, be worthy… based on Christ’s worthiness and goodness and righteousness… and that’s received by believing in him. Yeah, that’s an insult to your flesh aye. You ain’t good enough fella. Neither am I. Noone is.

So Abraham believed God and because of that, he received Christ’s righteousness. Fancy that. He had two sons, and in these two sons we see a picture. It was to his seed that God made his promise to Abraham. But Abraham had two sons. But the promise wasn’t to seeds, but to one seed. It could only be one son. So how are we going to receive the promise God made to Abraham? Bearing in mind the promise is the gospel, it’s salvation, it’s the promise of the Holy Spirit… with which comes forgiveness and eternal life. That’s something Abraham, you and I all need. In Abraham’s two sons, his children, we see a picture.

Are you going to receive the promise by your flesh life and efforts… or is it by spiritual rebirth? Ishmael represents being born of the flesh. Isaac represents being born of the spirit. Born of the spirit… that reminds us of when Jesus said ye must be born again. That’s something we all need. We all need to be made alive, and that’s only possible in one man, Jesus Christ… be it Abraham, you or I. Jesus has forgiveness, Jesus can save, Jesus can resurrect. Being born again isn’t optional, it’s compulsory. Why do you think Jesus said Abraham rejoiced to see his day? Abraham was looking for a promise. They were afar off for people back then like him who believed God.

If you aren’t born of the Spirit of God, you are not an heir of God’s promises. You won’t be born again. Being born again is the promise of God. After all Isaac was the child who came by promise. They couldn’t have him before God delivered him. Because when they had him they were past child bearing age. He was a miracle child. Being born again is a miracle. And when you’re born again, that’s the person who is the heir. You must be born again. Being born again comes through believing the gospel. In case you were thinking the flesh might just get his foot in the door. He doesn’t. Ishmael was growing up, he was looking every bit like the heir. But he wasn’t. Believing God and being born again, that’s the start of forgiveness and eternal life.

Abraham’s two sons show the necessity of rebirth. Ishmael is a picture of the Old Covenant. God made a covenant with man based on keeping the law. But spiritual rebirth wasn’t possible under the Old Covenant. The giving of the law didn’t change anyone inside, it didn’t give someone a new Spirit inside. In fact the giving of the law just generated more and more sin. Because with every law given came more and more violations of it. It revived sin, it heaped sin up in our lives. So when we live in dead religious little lives, it’s just sin, sin and more sin. Remember those frogs everywhere in Egypt… sin popping up croaking in every facet of your life.

Spiritual rebirth only comes by believing in Christ. The Holy Spirit comes by God’s promise to man. You can’t make it happen. But God delivers on his promise. The Bible calls the Holy Spirit the holy Spirit of promise. What a promise. We, who were all dead in sins and unrighteousness, forgiven, made righteous in Christ. What a gift as well! Because that is all received not on our deeds, but believing in Jesus Christ who came to earth because he loved us, to give us his life. I am the way, the truth, the life he said. We have no hope, any of us past, present and future, without the hope of being made alive in Christ. That was Abraham’s hope as much as ours. Being born again comes from believing in Jesus Christ, not you being a better person, not by your works and efforts.

Righteousness comes by faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, not by our own efforts. The children of Abraham are those who believe God as Abraham did. Their righteousness doesn’t come from anything they do or have earned, but from who Christ is and what Christ has done. Furthermore, when you believed, you were made spiritually alive, born again… that’s the person… your flesh cannot inherit the promises God made. Abraham’s couldn’t and that’s what Ishmael, who was rejected, pictures. It’s not on the basis of our flesh that we step into God’s promises, it’s on the basis of having been made spiritually alive. The Bible says that the gospel was preached unto Abraham… because in this whole story the gospel is so clearly set forth. Salvation. What is salvation all about? It’s because we are sinners, and Jesus saves us from our sins. Salvation comes when you believe on the Lord Jesus Christ to save you from your sins. He then makes a new creature in you, and that person is who steps into the blessed promises that God made to Abraham all those years back… and the plan of salvation that was in place before the world began.

If no flesh can glory in God’s presence, why would you go that route in life? Your human nature, that nature you were born with, that person… that person can’t make it, that person won’t make it. Jesus came to a nation with Abraham as their father from biological descent, yet when they said Abraham is our father, Jesus said they were of their father the devil! Boy what an insult! It is not enough to have Abraham as your biological father, the promises God made to Abraham were to those who walk in the steps of faith that Abraham had. These guys that were going about planning to murder Jesus, who hated truth, who’s lives were truth hating and full of sin… they weren’t spiritually alive, they didn’t truly believe God. They had a belief in God, but all they had was Ishmael religion, no Isaac birthed in their hearts.

Abraham had a son called Isaac. Has Isaac been born in your life? An Isaac is birthed when you believe the gospel. That new person is who is going to grow and live forever. Isaac is a picture of being born again, the Bible says he was born of the spirit. Abraham and Sarah were past child bearing, he was a miracle child. Being born again is a miracle. It’s a birth from above as well! A heavenly birth. Nicodemus was wondering how the second birth could possibly work. You can’t climb back into your mum’s womb and be born again! No of course not, its a spiritual birth. Isaac was the child of Sarah (Abraham’s wife)… she was a free woman, she’s a picture of heavenly Jerusalem… that’s who were are born of, that’s were our citizenship and identity and eternity is. Ishmael was born of Hagar… she was a slave woman. Are you in slavery or are you set free? You see, in the flesh it’s a life of slavery. Your human nature is sold under sin, it can’t ever please God, it can’t ever be righteous in the sight of God, it can’t ever be an heir or receive those promises that God gave to Abraham. It’s on the basis of a new birth folks. Without being born again, you are not free. Spiritual rebirth is a promise from God, a promise realized when we as Abraham did, believe God.

Paul was writing a letter to the Galatian church who had been duped by people coming in telling them they have to be circumcise, you gotta keep the law guys! That’s how you’re righteous guys! That’s how you prove your worth! That’s how you are justified. Nothing about being born again, made alive. Nothing of faith. All works, all religion, all dead do’s and don’ts. Not coming from spiritual reality, but coming from spiritually dead Ishmaels. Christianity isn’t do’s and don’ts, it’s believing in the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved. It’s spiritual rebirth… of which Isaac is a picture. What a long awaited child he was, and how privileged we are to live in the day we are where we can believe on Jesus Christ ourselves and we receive that promise that was so far off of God’s Holy Spirit. Being born again is everything, noone can see or enter the kingdom of God without that reality. It is the promise of the Father, that long awaited promise that Abraham held to his whole life, and a son that was born well past child bearing years. Salvation is a miracle. A new person is a miracle in a world where we do so much reforming, self help, self development… yet noone can change that sinful heart or change their sinful nature. Salvation is realizing you are a sinner, and wanting to be forgiven and saved from your sins and have a new life through Christ free from sin, free to obey God, free to love others. Get on board, you can be a child of Abraham, it’s believing in the Lord Jesus Christ. Or is your own righteousness too precious?

How are you making yourself righteous? Is it by faith or is it by performance? How are you trying to live? On the basis of having been born again of the Spirit of God… or in the energy of your flesh? That’s pretty tough. Hauling that sinful human nature along trying to do Christianity. That’s bondage aye, that’s Ishmael, the son of the bondwoman. And all in vain, he was cast out. Paul is saying that by keeping the law… noone was ever made righteous! It’s through faith in Christ that we are made righteous, that’s what made Abraham righteous, he believed God. So Paul is pleading with this church. You can circumcise yourself all you want, the Bible says by the deeds of the law shall no flesh be justified. You can try and justify yourself all you want. You can do all the dead religion, is it because there is no new birth? Is there no Isaac? Is Ishmael your only child, and he’s growing up and waxing strong… even though he cannot and will not inherit the promise? It’s amazing how we can get so messed up in our head. To be a child of Abraham, it’s not about biological ancestry, it’s about who are those who believe the God. Not an intellectual assent to God, but a heart belief, a repentance and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ for personal salvation from sins and eternal life. That promise of the holy Spirit is for you, and God will give you the Holy Spirit, and that new person in you, that new creature… that is the person who is the heir, who is righteous, who is blessed, who has eternal life. And it’s all because of Christ, so believe in him today.

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