Abraham-sin and saint of God

SIN AND THE SAINT OF GOD

Date August 24, 2014

Scripture Reference Genesis 20:1-18

from the series Abraham

Scripture Reading

Let us rise to our feet and together and read

Genesis 20:1-18

 

20 And Abraham journeyed from thence toward the south country, and dwelled between Kadesh and Shur, and sojourned in Gerar.

² And Abraham said of Sarah his wife, She is my sister: and Abimelech king of Gerar sent, and took Sarah.
³ But God came to Abimelech in a dream by night, and said to him, Behold, thou art but a dead man, for the woman which thou hast taken; for she is a man's wife.
⁴ But Abimelech had not come near her: and he said, Lord, wilt thou slay also a righteous nation?
⁵ Said he not unto me, She is my sister? and she, even she herself said, He is my brother: in the integrity of my heart and innocency of my hands have I done this.
⁶ And God said unto him in a dream, Yea, I know that thou didst this in the integrity of thy heart; for I also withheld thee from sinning against me: therefore suffered I thee not to touch her.
⁷ Now therefore restore the man his wife; for he is a prophet, and he shall pray for thee, and thou shalt live: and if thou restore her not, know thou that thou shalt surely die, thou, and all that are thine.
⁸ Therefore Abimelech rose early in the morning, and called all his servants, and told all these things in their ears: and the men were sore afraid.
⁹ Then Abimelech called Abraham, and said unto him, What hast thou done unto us? and what have I offended thee, that thou hast brought on me and on my kingdom a great sin? thou hast done deeds unto me that ought not to be done.
¹⁰ And Abimelech said unto Abraham, What sawest thou, that thou hast done this thing?
¹¹ And Abraham said, Because I thought, Surely the fear of God is not in this place; and they will slay me for my wife's sake.
¹² And yet indeed she is my sister; she is the daughter of my father, but not the daughter of my mother; and she became my wife.
¹³ And it came to pass, when God caused me to wander from my father's house, that I said unto her, This is thy kindness which thou shalt shew unto me; at every place whither we shall come, say of me, He is my brother.
¹⁴ And Abimelech took sheep, and oxen, and menservants, and womenservants, and gave them unto Abraham, and restored him Sarah his wife.
¹⁵ And Abimelech said, Behold, my land is before thee: dwell where it pleaseth thee.
¹⁶ And unto Sarah he said, Behold, I have given thy brother a thousand pieces of silver: behold, he is to thee a covering of the eyes, unto all that are with thee, and with all other: thus she was reproved.
¹⁷ So Abraham prayed unto God: and God healed Abimelech, and his wife, and his maidservants; and they bare children.
¹⁸ For the Lord had fast closed up all the wombs of the house of Abimelech, because of Sarah Abraham's wife.

 

This is the word of the Lord. 

Thanks be to God. 

May the sweet Holy Spirit add blessings to our text this morning.... Amen! 

You may be seated in God's Presence. 

Introduction

Ill. The context. These verses portray a horrible failure in the life of one of God's choice servants. If you remember Abraham's journey down in to Egypt in Genesis 12:10-20, you will notice some similarities between this event and that one.

It is never pleasant to see failure in the life of one of God's children. But, I am thankful that God did not sweep Abraham's sin under the rub. I am grateful that He saw fit to record the event in the pages of Scripture. I am grateful because, like Abraham, I struggle with sin. Sometimes, I struggle with the same sins over and over, as I am sure you do too. What we need in the midst of our struggle is some encouragement! What we need is the blessed assurance that we have hope in the midst of our failures!

Sermon

This passage offers that hope to our hearts this evening! It may seem like a passage of darkness, gloom and failure, but in reality, it is a passage filled with hope and help for you and me. I want to point out a few principles that are contained here that speak to your need and mine. I want to preach for a while on Sin And The Saint Of God.

I. SIN DOESN'T HAVE AN EXPIRATION DATE

A. Remember that Abraham is 100 years old when this event occurs.

When he did this same thing in Genesis 12, he was just beginning his walk with the Lord. Here, he should be at the height of his maturity as a believer. Notice also that this is a sin he has carried with him for many decades, v. 13.

B. For us the point is clear: there will never be a time when we will be beyond falling! 

Therefore, we need to avoid some of the mistakes that Abraham made.

1. Never stop trusting God to take care of you 

Why was Abraham there in the first place? Well in Gen. 12, he went because of a famine, not believing that God would take care of him. This time, we are not told why he went, but my opinion is that he was getting away from Sodom and Gomorrah. He probably thought that all the area would be burned up.

(Note: When we come to the place where we no longer trust the Lord to meet our needs and to get us through the trials of life, we are headed for disaster!)

2. Never put yourself in the place of temptation 

Abraham had a fear that some man would kill him so that he could have Sarah. When he felt this fear, he was inclined to lie to save his hide, not believing that God would be able to take care of him.

(Note: Only a fool subjects himself to temptation's lure and believes that he will walk away unharmed! If you know that you have a problem in a given area, you are foolish to place yourself in a position to be tempted! When temptation comes, you and I need to be like Joseph: Run! - Gen. 39)

C. Friends, we must never let down our guard!  

May we never come to think that we have arrived at a place where we cannot sin, or where we are free from the temptation to commit a particular sin. As sure as you let down your guard, you are headed for trouble, 1 Cor. 10:12! As long as you live in this flesh, you will never be safe!

I. SIN DOESN'T HAVE AN EXPIRATION DATE

II. SIN CANNOT OVERCOME GRACE

A. Even though Abraham is clearly out of God's will at this time in his life, he is still enjoying the Lord's blessings!

That may mess up our theology, but it is still true! You see, even when Abraham is in a place of his own choosing and is not doing what God asked him to do, he is still being blessed by the Lord. Notice the blessings that came his way:

1. He Forgave Him Of His Sins - Implied in verse 17

2. He Protected Him From Harm - v. 2-9, 18

3. He Blessed Him Financially - v. 14-16

4. He Used Him For His Glory - v. 17

(Note: This same principle is witnessed in the life of Elijah - 1 Kings 19.)

B. What does this teach us?

Simply the truth that who we are in Jesus cannot be invalidated by our sin! We all know that God chastens His children - Rev. 3:19; Heb. 12:6-12. However, how many of us could testify to the truth that there have been times when we were miles away from the Lord and He still blessed our lives! What is this? Nothing less than our grace! This just serves to remind us that God deals with us on the basis of who we are rather than on the basis of what we do!

(Note: This does not give us a license to sin! After all, the redeemed sinner is going to want to serve the Lord and will not rest until things are right between them and the Lord. It is also true that after a while God will deal directly and completely with the sin that resides within His children's hearts.)

C. Thank God, even our sin is unable to separate us from the love we have in Jesus Christ - Rom. 8:38-39!

I. SIN DOESN'T HAVE AN EXPIRATION DATE

II. SIN CANNOT OVERCOME GRACE

 III. SIN CANNOT DERAIL GOD'S PLAN

A. When Abraham left the promised land to enter Gerar, he placed the plan of God in jeopardy.

You see, God had promised to send the promised seed within a year, Gen. 18:10-14. Abraham showed very poor judgment! If Abimelech had been allowed to sleep with Sarah, it could have short-circuited God's plan. Of course, the Scriptures tell us that God prevented anything like that from taking place!
Another problem is the fact that Abraham is the sole representative of God Almighty, v. 7. He has been commissioned to be a blessing to all the families of the earth. Instead of being a blessing and a witness for God, Abraham's life could have been a hindrance to prevent Abimelech from coming to God. However, in spite of Abraham's sin, God spoke to Abimelech and dealt with him anyway, v. 6-7.

B. Regardless of what we do, God's plan will be accomplished!

For too long, preachers have tried to keep the people of God in line by using fear tactics against them. the saints have been told to live right or God can't bless, He can't work and He can't save souls. Many have been told that they have sent others to Hell by the lifestyles they live. Well, I just want to set the record straight this evening! You cannot hinder God from doing His work! You might miss out on the blessing of being a part of what He is doing, but God will accomplish His will in the church and in the world whether we cooperate or not!

And, another thing, you cannot "send anyone to Hell". Men go to hell when they refuse to receive Christ as their Savior and nothing you or I do can cause them to do that or prevent them from doing that! That may not be what you have heard all your life, but it is still the truth! Our job is to warn them and to live right before them, but the decision they make in the end in their's and their's alone, Eze. 3:18!

C. Did you know that Abraham's sin should have shamed Abraham?

But there is no indication that he ever acknowledged it or repented of it! Much like many in our world today! But, think about this: Abraham's sin was used as testimony to the greatness of God. Abimelech would have never known that God was a God of mercy, grace, forgiveness and restoration if that old saint had never fallen into sin! But, because he did, God was able to demonstrate His power through forgiving and restoring Abraham by grace.

(Note: This is not an excuse for sinning! It is just a reminder that our sin will not stop God from saving folks. People need to know that our God is a God Who saves and keeps through grace not works!)

I. SIN DOESN'T HAVE AN EXPIRATION DATE

II. SIN CANNOT OVERCOME GRACE

III. SIN CANNOT DERAIL GOD'S PLAN

IV. SIN WEARS THE EMPERORS CLOTHES

(Ill. The story of "The Emperor's New Suit". Sin is just like that. It attempts to camouflage itself, but it never realizes that its camouflage is flimsy and transparent. In fact, everyone can see through it, except the sinner.)

A. When Abraham is confronted by his sin, he does not repent, but instead he offers up excuses.

Here they are. They aren't much, but they are the same ones people still use today.

1. He Claimed That He Had Acted Out Of Fear - v. 11 - It wasn't fear that caused this terrible event, it was a lack of faith!
2. He Twisted The Facts - v. 12 - Sarah was his sister, but she was more than that, she was his wife!
3. He Hid Behind His Past Failures - v. 13 - He tells the king that this is the way we have always done it.
Abraham's response to being confronted is to attempt to hide behind some very flimsy excuses. Like the Emperor, Abraham did not even realize that he was fully exposed.

B. When we sin and are found out, we always try to make excuses for our behavior.

We will either blame someone else, or we will blame the devil. We may try to pretend that we didn't do anything wrong. We may plead ignorance. We may act like we see no wrong in our actions. There are a thousand ways we can handle sin, but only one way will bring cleansing, restoration and the blessing of God. Sin must be confessed! It must be dragged kicking and screaming into the open and it must be exposed for what it is: black, dirty and wicked! This is God's way - Pro. 28:13; 1 John 1:9.

C. What excuses are you hiding your behavior behind this morning?

Whether you know it or not, everyone already sees it for what it is! You will never get past it until you can see it for yourself and deal with it God's way!

Invitation and Final Challenge

We all battle sin! Some more than others, but we all fight it nonetheless. The question is, who is winning the battle, you or your sins? If you want to be free you can be! If you want to be a light to the world you can be. If you want your life to be blessed and to be a blessing, you can have it! All it takes is you doing what Abraham refused to do: get before the Lord and face your sins for what they are! If you do, the Lord will forgive you and bless you, He will restore you and use you for His glory. Does that sound good to you? If you need that kind of help, it is available in Jesus. You come to Him and watch Him work on your sin problem!