Genesis 22, as we read the first 19 verses, a familiar episode in the history of Revelation where Abraham is called upon to offer his son Isaac as a burnt offering. Genesis chapter 22, we read that in connection with Lord's Day 7, page 14 in the back of the Psalter hymnal. Page 14, if you would turn there, we will confess the first three of four questions and answers there. It's the Lord's Day leading into the Apostles' Creed, that's question and answer 23, but we've already given expression to that tonight. So we will consider together questions and answers, 20, 21, and 22, page 14, Lord's Day 7. Question 20 asks, are all men saved through Christ just as all were lost through Adam? No, only those are saved who by true faith are grafted into Christ and accept all his blessings. What is true faith? True faith is not only a knowledge and conviction that everything God reveals in His Word is true, it is also a deep-rooted assurance created in me by the Holy Spirit through the Gospel that out of sheer grace earned for us by Christ, not only others, but I too, have had my sins forgiven, have been made forever right with God, and have been granted salvation. What then must a Christian believe? Everything God promises us in the Gospel. That Gospel is summarized for us in the articles of our Christian faith, a creed beyond doubt, and confessed throughout the world. Genesis 22, beginning at verse 1, as we hear now the Word of our God. Sometime later, God tested Abraham. He said to him, Abraham, here I am, he replied. Then God said, take your son, your only son, Isaac, whom you love, and go to the region of Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains I will tell you about. Early the next morning, Abraham got up and saddled his donkey. He took with him two of his servants and his son Isaac. When he had cut enough wood for the burnt offering, he set out for the place God had told him about. On the third day, Abraham looked up and saw the place in the distance. He said to his servants, Stay here with the donkey while I and the boy go over there. We will worship and then we will come back to you. Abraham took the wood for the burnt offering and placed it on his son Isaac. And he himself carried the fire and the knife. As the two of them went on together, Isaac spoke up and said to his father Abraham, Father, yes, my son, Abraham replied. The fire and the wood are here, Isaac said. But where is the lamb for the burnt offering? Abraham answered, God himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering, my son. And the two of them went on together. When they reached the place God had told him about, Abraham built an altar there and arranged the wood on it. He bound his son Isaac and laid him on the altar on top of the wood. Then he reached out his hand and took the knife to slay his son. But the angel of the Lord called out to him from heaven, Abraham, Abraham, here I am, he replied. Do not lay a hand on the boy, he said. Do not do anything to him. Now I know that you fear God because you have not withheld from me your son, your only son. Abraham looked up and there in a thicket he saw a ram caught by its horns. He went over and took the ram and sacrificed it as a burnt offering instead of his son. So Abraham called that place, the Lord will provide. And to this day it is said, on the mountain of the Lord it will be provided. The angel of the Lord called to Abraham from heaven a second time and said, I swear by myself, declares the Lord, that because you have done this and have not withheld your son, your only 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 and their enemies, and through your offspring all nations on earth will be blessed, because you have obeyed me. Then Abraham returned to his servants, and they set off together for Beersheba, and Abraham stayed in Beersheba. Beloved in Christ the Lord, as a young boy, when I would hear this story, I would wonder how a father could do what Abraham did. At the same time, I would wonder what was going through Isaac's mind, especially as he lay on that altar with that knife straight above him. And now as a father myself, I wonder if I could do what Abraham did. I'm not talking about tying up one of my children and placing them on some sort of altar and holding a knife over their bodies. But would my faith be strong enough for what? To obey God. Even if it did not make sense. Even if it went against my reason. You see, that's what Abraham was called upon to face. Would he obey the Word of God? well, they depended on his faith. As the Catechism says, true faith is not only a knowledge and conviction that everything God reveals in His Word is true, but it is also a deep-rooted assurance created in me by the Holy Spirit through the Gospel that out of sheer grace earned for us by Christ, not only others, but I too, have had my sins forgiven, have been made forever right with God, and have been granted salvation. Faith includes a knowledge of what the Word of God says. And along with that, it includes believing what the Word of God says. Believing that it's true. But then the very personal aspect is trust. Trusting that it's true for me too. Is that the relationship that Abraham had with God? We consider here Abraham's faith. His faith tested by God. His faith blessed by God. First of all, tested by God. Sometime later, God tested Abraham. Now the first question we might ask is, why did he need to be tested? Why did his faith need to be tested? Hadn't he already demonstrated his faith many times on many occasions? For example, back in chapter 12, verse 1, when the Lord first called him, he called Abraham to leave his country and his people and his father's household and go to the land I will show you. Start marching, Abraham. I'll tell you when you get there. Hadn't he demonstrated his faith? And even after he had sinned by taking matters into his own hands and trying to help God fulfill his promise of the promised seed with Hagar, and he was called upon to send them away, hadn't he demonstrated his faith? It seems to us like he had. It seems like it would have been enough, yet God required a further demonstration. And we don't know why, except we do know that the purpose of the test was not to harm or disappoint or discourage His faith. And we are not to see in this episode God as some sort of a tyrant who tortures those under His command by commanding them to do some awful deed and then just at the point of no return say, oh, just kidding. You don't really have to. Our God is not like some sort of a gang leader who calls upon would-be gang members to prove their worthiness by fulfilling some terrible action. That's not at all what our God is doing here by commanding Abraham to sacrifice his son. Satan, we know, tempts us to compromise our faith. He tempts us for the purpose of drawing us into sin, but God tests His people. Not for their harm, but for their good. God tests His people in order to prove the genuineness, the reality of their faith, and in order to strengthen their faith. And He often tests His people through trials. As Peter says in 1 Peter 1, verse 7, he acknowledges that his readers have suffered grief in all kinds of trials and says, These have come so that your faith of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire, may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory, and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. Abraham, we know, is considered to be the father of all true believers. He had his faith tested through the means of obedience to this command to prove if it was genuine and to leave an example for all believers of true unconditional faith in God. Yet, it was tested with an extreme example. Notice again the command given in verse 2, And God said, take your son, your only son, Isaac, whom you love, and go to the region of Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains I will tell you about. Notice the timing after these things. It's hard to know exactly what it was that Moses was referring to. Very possibly he's referring to everything that we have between chapter 12 and 22. All of the things that we read about with regard to Abraham. All of the hardships and difficulties he faced, including being given the promise of that promised seed and waiting for a long time for that promised seed, for Isaac to be born. Including having to go to Egypt because of famine. Including the episode with Abimelech and saying, well, Sarah, she's my sister. Including Hagar and Ishmael again and having to send them away. It's very possible by this time, after these things, that he is now thinking, well, I'm an old man. He was already, we know. Isaac has been born. Things are falling into place. Everything is going smoothly. I can die in peace with no more storms of life. And then, of course, the worst storm of all comes with this command. And we cannot help but to think that for Abraham, especially, there must have been an apparent contradiction. Things didn't add up. Sacrifice? My son? As a burnt offering? Abraham knew what that meant. A burnt offering involved cutting up the offering and burning the entire sacrifice on the altar. It meant putting him to death. That's exactly how Abraham would have understood this command. But it just didn't fit. Although in Canaan, child sacrifices were offered, Nothing was to be done in Israel, we know. And although God had not yet given His Ten Commandments, Abraham would have known, as Genesis 9, verse 6 says, after the flood, that there was to be no murder. Whoever sheds the blood of man by man, his blood shall be shed. For in the image of God has God made man. But truly a contradiction. This was the child of promise. This is the one that God had told him about, the one for whom he had waited so long. In chapter 21, verse 12, we read, But God said to him, Do not be so distressed about the boy, that's Ishmael, and your maidservant. Listen to whatever Sarah tells you, because it is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned. Isaac was the promised seed. And it was through Isaac that God had promised to fulfill His covenant promises and make Abraham into a great nation. How could this be? It didn't make sense with all that God had promised. And if we didn't know better, we might ask, well, would Abraham try to take matters into his own hands again as he did on other occasions? Oh, Sarah, she's my sister. Sarah says, well, you better take Hagar. If God is going to fulfill this promise, maybe it's going to be through Hagar. Would he try to take matters into his own hands again and try to help God out? John Calvin says that God would shake the faith which Abraham placed in God's Word, in God's promises, by a counter-assault of the Word itself. That God sounded like He was contradicting Himself. But you see, beloved, the true purpose here is about trust. It's about sacrifice. See, a burnt offering also meant giving oneself entirely, holding nothing back. In Matthew 10, verse 37, Jesus says, Anyone who loves his father or mother more than me is not worthy of me. Anyone who loves his son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. And the real point here is not would Isaac be put to death. We are given a hint already when we read, sometime later, God tested Abraham. But that was not really the point. The real point was not would Isaac be put to death, but would Abraham be obedient? Would Abraham sacrifice himself by sacrificing Isaac? Would he sacrifice himself? Would he sacrifice his will, his wisdom, his own reason with regard to his son Isaac? Isaac was indeed a gift from God. He was the promised seed. He was the dearest and most treasured possession, we might say, to Abraham. And therefore, would Abraham demonstrate deep-rooted assurance and trust in the Word of God by putting God first? Would Abraham believe that God would still raise up the promised seed? And of course, we know the answer as we notice the obedience carried out. That obedience was carried out, beloved, in detail. The wood, the fire, the knife, the place, in detail. Without any hesitation, the very next morning, Abraham didn't talk back. He didn't question God. He didn't plead with Him for just a little bit more time. His obedience was carried out in detail, but also it was carried out, no doubt, in agony. From the very instructions, take your son, your only son, Isaac, whom you love like a knife piercing his own soul. Those very words were a reminder to Abraham of God's promise of the seed. Of the delay, that long delay in fulfilling that promise, then also it's a reminder of the miraculous fulfillment, Your only son, whom you love. Take him. What agony. From that reminder to all the other details, to the heartache of making the preparation, knowing exactly what the wood and the fire and the knife would be used for, and the thought of breaking Sarah's heart, how would he face her? The troubledness of heart with bearing this burden for three days as they traveled to the place. And then hearing Isaac's innocent yet naive question as well, looking up and seeing the place, sometimes we have a hard time returning to a place that holds bad memories for us. Abraham had to look forward and see the place where this was to take place. And then, of course, building the altar and binding Isaac, and then that knife raised only an instant from Isaac's death. Beloved, what agony for Abraham. This was the son he loves upon whom all of Abraham's hopes were riding. Now the fact that Abraham went the distance as it were does not mean that we are to think of him as being hard-hearted. His obedience to God and his love for his son, no doubt, tore him in opposite directions. And his trial was not like parents from whom God has taken a child, As difficult as that may be, as much of a trial as that is, it's a sacrifice after God has taken that child. But Abraham's trial was different. It was unique in the sense that Abraham himself was called upon to give, to hand over completely to God, his son Isaac. Yet he also carried out his obedience in faith. The Puritan Thomas Watson says, God is to be trusted when His providences seem to run contrary to His promises. And we quoted from Job 13, verse 15 this morning. Though He slay me, yet will I trust Him. And it's clear, I believe, that Abraham trusted the Word of God to his servants. He said, we will worship and then we will come back to you. And he said to Isaac, God Himself will provide the Lamb for the burnt offering, my son. He demonstrated his confidence, his trust in the Word of God. But you see, Abraham knew two things. He knew that God had planned the future around Isaac on the one hand, but he also knew that God wanted Abraham to sacrifice Isaac. He couldn't balance the two. But yet he believed. It's amazing that even with his expressions of confidence to the servants and to Isaac, that he still did everything necessary down to the last second with that knife raised ready to plunge into Isaac. Why? Well, even though he was confident, Abraham did not know how God would provide. But he brought his every reason, he brought his every thought into captivity to the obedience of God. And the writer of Hebrews, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, gives us insight to what Abraham believed. By faith, Abraham, when God tested him, offered Isaac as a sacrifice. He who had received the promises was about to sacrifice his one and only son, even though God had said to him, it is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned. Abraham reasoned that God could raise the dead, and figuratively speaking, he did receive Isaac back from the dead. In a sense, twice. First from a dead womb, then also here. Abraham's faith was tested by God. But in the second place, it was also blessed by God. Verses 11 and 12, But the angel of the Lord called out to him from heaven, Abraham, Abraham, here I am, he replied. Do not lay a hand on the boy, he said. Do not do anything to him. Now I know that you fear God, because you have not withheld your son from me, your son, your only son. The angel of the Lord. No doubt the pre-incarnate Christ. And we are not to think here that he learned something, that our God learned something. he did not know before. He knew exactly what Abraham would do. We might say that he proved Abraham's faith as well for Abraham's sake. The real sacrifice was accomplished and that real sacrifice, beloved, was the sacrifice of Abraham's heart. And this shows that God did not desire the sacrifice of Isaac by killing and cutting and burning him up on the altar, but He desired Abraham's complete surrender, his complete willingness to offer him up to God, to give him up completely, even by death if necessary. And there was no other way for Abraham to accomplish this complete surrender than by actually preparing for really offering Isaac. And I believe that when we think about the raised ninth, that we are to understand that Abraham was tested to the very point of no return. Kind of like a child on a diving board for the first time. Mom or dad is in the water and says, go ahead and jump, it's okay. And although that child might stand there for a matter of minutes, sooner or later, the child holds nothing back. Gives up all fear. He or she is committed to jumping, even in a sense of leaning over the water to the point of no return. And that's the point, I believe, that Abraham was at. He was not holding that knife, waiting, stalling. He was not holding that knife, looking for an excuse to stop. He was not looking around for a substitute. He was not waiting for God to stop him. He was committed to the command of God. He would have thrust that knife into the son he loved. But the angel of the Lord stops him. And that signifies that the sacrifice indeed had been made. The sacrifice was acceptable. That was a demonstration of Abraham's genuine faith, his complete trust in God. And therefore, the substitute sacrifice was provided. A ram caught by its horns. And Abraham takes it and sacrifices it as a burnt offering instead of his son. And in verse 14, we notice that Abraham acknowledges God's provision. So Abraham called the place the Lord will provide. And to this day it is said, on the mountain of the Lord it will be provided. Jehovah Jireh to see. The Lord will see to it. The Lord sees the needs of His people and He will see to the needs of His people. He will provide. And Isaac's return to Abraham was proof for Abraham that all of God's promises would indeed be fulfilled. That significance is pointed to in the covenant renewal of God's promises. Beginning in verse 15, the angel of the Lord called to Abraham from heaven a second time and said, I swear by myself, declares the Lord, that because you have done this and have not withheld your son, your only 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. We see the fulfillment of this in Israel, in the conquest of Canaan, taking over the nations, taking over the cities. We see significance even before this in Egypt. The ram that was substituted in Isaac's place points to the blood on the doorpost that was substituted for the firstborn of Israel. And Mount Moriah, the very place of the sacrifice of Isaac, is the place where later on the angel of the Lord appeared to David on the threshing floor and still later where the Jerusalem temple stood where God received the worship of His people where He saw their needs where He provided the atonement through the animal sacrifices where He blessed them. And of course the ultimate fulfillment we cannot miss is pointing to Jesus Christ the greater promised seed the one who is the ultimate fulfillment of the sacrifice of Isaac and all the animal sacrifices. Our Lord Jesus Christ was offered as a sacrifice outside of Jerusalem on the hill called Calvary. Beloved, Abraham's willing sacrifice of the Son he loved pointed to God sending the Son he loves because he loves us. Jesus Christ is the fulfillment of God's promise of blessing to Abraham. And Paul in Romans chapter 8 makes a connection between Abraham's sacrifice of Isaac and God giving up his son. If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own son, but gave him up for us all, how will he not also along with him graciously give us all things? That ram for Isaac points to the substitutionary atonement of Jesus Christ for us. We, too, are a part of the fulfillment of God's promise to Abraham, seed as numerous blessing throughout all the nations. We benefit from the promise to Abraham that all of the families of the earth will be blessed through the greater Son, Jesus Christ. We deserve to die. In our sin, beloved, we were only ever a moment from eternal death, but He took our place that we might live. Abraham's faith was tested, it was tried, it was proven genuine. It is an example for the faith that God has given to us by His grace that we are called to exercise. And Abraham's faith was credited to him, Paul says, for righteousness. Beloved, there is no salvation without true faith. It's not that our faith saves us. It's not that the strength of our faith saves us. Praise God for that. It's not that Abraham's faith saved him. Faith is only an instrument. But our salvation depends on the object of our faith. Abraham depended on God alone. Question 20 again asks, Are all men saved through Christ just as all were lost through Adam? No, only those are saved who by true faith are grafted into Christ and accept all His blessings. We know that Jesus Christ alone saves, but that gift of faith that God has given to us connects the believer to Him, grafts us into Him, that we might with that instrument receive all of His benefits. In Hebrews 11, verse 1, we are given this definition of faith. Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. But we hope for eternal life and the glory of heaven in God's presence. Why? because we are certain of the forgiveness of sins. We are certain of having been made righteous, completely righteous, forever righteous with God. We are certain of having been given salvation. You see, beloved, we can't see these things, but by faith we know it's true, we believe it's true, we trust God that it's true for me too. But because of the nature of faith. As we live in a sinful world, our faith is tested constantly. Again, Satan tempts us. He tempts us that you and I might compromise our faith. But our God tests our faith. He tests us through means. Including the influence of society. A society that says there is no God. Just look around. It's clear that man came from monkeys. He tests us through the influence of a society like the psalmist in Psalm 73 was tested as he looked at the grass and saw that it was greener, as it were, on the other side of the fence. He looked at the wicked and saw that they were healthy and wealthy, that they cursed God and did not die. They lived. He thought that he was living righteously for nothing. And there are times, beloved, there will be times when what we see with our eyes And what seems reasonable to our minds contradicts what the Word of God says when it comes to activities and employment and opportunities in this life. And then we are to stop asking, what's so wrong with it? What harm will it do? But to start asking, what does God's Word say? Beloved, our faith is tested through situations in life, through troubles and difficulties, through sickness and death, Through friends that may disappoint us. Through depression. Through times when we simply cannot see any hope. And it's in times like that that the Word of God simply does not make any sense to us. We can't seem to see His promises and how they can be true. But it's also in times like that that our God says, Do you trust Me? Do you trust Me with your life? Do you trust me that I have done it all for you through my substitute for you, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world? And do you trust me that I will provide for you? And beloved, in times like that, we are to look to the example of Abraham as well, which is for our benefit. The example that God is indeed the great provider. And it is to be the comfort for all in the family of God, and the family of faith that God has provided that sacrifice for us when our separation from eternal death was only by an instant. Our God tests our faith. He tests our faith for our sake. He tests our faith to prove to us the genuineness of it and remind us of His grace. And He also blesses our faith, giving us the assurance through faith of a right standing before Him because of the perfect sacrifice of the Son that He loves. And true faith responds. True faith responds and sacrifices everything. Even that which is most precious in this life sacrifices even that to the obedience of God. Why? Because by the grace of God, faith recognizes the truth of God's Word. It believes it. And it trusts in Jesus Christ alone that all that he has done, including his perfect obedience, he has done for me too. And beloved, his love, so amazing, so divine, demands my soul, my life, my all. There's nothing more precious than what Jesus Christ, nothing more important and nothing more precious than what Jesus Christ has done for his people. Do you believe it? If you don't, then you are being called sincerely and seriously to look away from yourself, to forsake yourself, and look only to the Lord Jesus Christ, the only perfect substitute and sacrifice for you and for me. And to trust in Him alone that there is forgiveness in Him. There is salvation. If you do believe it, beloved, then praise God for His precious gift of faith that has been given to you. Amen. Let's pray. Dear Heavenly Father, as we consider Your servant Abraham, the father of all true believers, the one to whom You made such wonderful promises and fulfilled those promises, we consider him to be indeed such a man of faith. and we must confess, O Lord, that as we compare ourselves with Him, that we are so very weak. There are so many things in this life that we cling to, that we hold on to, that we put our trust in, that we think we simply can't do without. Father, though we don't want to be tested, we know that at times that is the best thing for us. We trust You to do what is best for us, to draw us closer to Yourself, to strengthen our faith, to increase our assurance of that great salvation through Jesus Christ. Father, we thank You for that precious gift of faith that You have given to Your people to us. And may it be that we would exercise that faith to the glory of God and for the edification of Your church. Lord God, hear our prayer and thank You again for Your most precious gift. In Jesus' name alone we pray these things. Amen.