Scripture: Genesis 20-21
Many people don’t seem to care about lying. We lie about our age, our weight, our hair color, our income. We don’t seem to get upset anymore when someone exaggerates, falsifies, fabricates, or misrepresents the truth. We have become so accustomed to our politicians breaking promises that it’s not even referred to it as lying, it’s an error of judgment or mistake.
What an incredible blessing it is to read
“God is not man, that He should lie, or a son of man, that He should change His mind. Has He said, and will He not do it? Or has He spoken, and will He not fulfill it?” Numbers 23:19 ESV
Every word that God speaks He will do exactly as He said. Every promise that He has ever made, He will follow through exactly as He said. We can believe and trust God 100 percent of the time.
Although, we are prone to fail because of our flesh; as believers, we should strive to follow the example of Jesus Christ rather than the ways of man. We should be truth tellers and keep our promises. A real man is a man of his word, and when he says something you can count on it being done. Our generation needs a revival of that kind of character both publicly and privately, in our homes and personal lives.
In the previous chapters of Genesis last Sunday, Abraham was visited again by God, promised a son, and taken into God’s friendship. God warned Abraham about the coming judgment of Sodom and Gomorrah and He even showed Lot, his nephew, mercy, saving him from death. Abraham faithfully worshipped and served God. But unfortunately, in chapters 20-21, we will see Abraham falling several steps backwards and returning to a sin from his past. Do you ever feel that way? Like your Christian walk takes a few steps forwards and then you fall back again? This is not what God wants for you, but it is a common problem many believers face. Is there a way out of this cycle? Let’s see what God’s Word has for us this morning.
Take Aways
We have two key take-aways from these episodes from the life of Abraham.
- What happens when Believers still fall into sin? Abraham struggled with the same sin of lying because he didn’t rely on God.
They do not lose God’s favor. They don’t lose their position as righteous and forgive before God. But there are still consequences. Repentance requires seeing our sin as God does. Confessing it to God instead of minimizing it. And making a 180 turn away from it, by changing the way we think and feel about the sin. We can’t simply try to will ourselves to stop the outward actions. We need to be renewed from the inside out. Romans 12:2
- How do we bring peace in conflict? Abraham was a peacemaker.
If we can overlook the offense that’s the first reaction. Love covers sin. 1 Peter 4:8
If not, we need to confront the problem head on. We must approach the person in humility recognizing and admitting any fault on our side. Talk it out directly with that person. Matthew 18:15 Accept responsibility and be willing to make things right.
If he won’t listen, then bring another wise, respected person who will listen to both sides and help you find a resolution. Matthew 18:16
