The Genesis [Series] Lesson 33 We are still in Chapter 20 --When believers sin, they suffer. Charles Spurgeon said, God does not allow His children to sin successfully. When we deliberately disobey God, we suffer both from the consequences of our sins and from the chastening hand of God, unless we repent and submit (Heb. 12:5-11). God in His grace will forgive our sins, but God in His sovereignty must allow sin to produce a sad harvest (Gal. 6:7). It took only a few seconds for Abraham to tell a lie, but that lie was more than sounds and puffs of breath in the air. That lie became a seed that was planted and grew and brought forth bitter fruit. God hates lies (Prov. 6:17). He is a God of truth (Deut, 32:4), the Spirit is the Spirit of Truth (john 14:17), and the Word is the Word of Truth (James 1:18). A lying tongue is but for a moment, What did this one lie cost Abraham? To begin with, it cost him character. God is not just saving souls and taking people to heaven. Through the trials and testing of life, He is making saved people more like Jesus Christ and thereby glorifying Himself Abraham stopped asking What is right? and began asking What is safe? and this led to his downfall. Once the salt has lost its taste, how do you restore it? He also lost his testimony. How could Abraham talk to his pagan neighbors about the God of truth when he himself had told a lie? Lot lost his witness in Sodom, and Abraham lost his witness in Gerar. A bad mans example has little influence over good men. Bur the bad example of a good man, has an enormous power for evil. Imagine how humiliated Abraham was when Abimelech called him in, confronted him, and rebuked him. It is hard enough to submit to the rebuke of a Christian brother or sister, bur to accept rebuke from an unsaved person demands a great deal of honesty and humility. You have done things to me that should not be done (Gen. 20;9 ). Those words cur deep! Christians must be careful how they relate to those who are outside (Col. 4:5;).That one lie cost him his ministry. He lost his ministry, for instead of being a source of blessing (Gen. 12:1-3), he was the cause of judgment. No babies were born during Abrahams sojourn in Gerar (vv, 17-18). When a child of God gets out of the will of God, the discipline of God usually follows. Jonah caused a srorm that nearly wrecked the ship (Jonah 1); Achan brought defeat to the army (Josh. 7); and David brought sorrow to his family (2 Sam. 12:10). Abraham almost lost Sarah and Isaac. In that day, a king had the right to take into his harem any single woman who pleased him. Abimelech thought Sarah was a single woman, so he took her, and were it not for the intervention of God, the king would have had normal relations with her. What the king did threatened Gods great plan of salvation, so the Lord had to act to protect Sarah and Isaac. Whenever we do something that forces God to intervene miraculously, we are tempting God, and tempting God is sin (Deut. 6:16; Perhaps one of the saddest consequences of Abrahams sin was Isaacs repetition years later (Gen. 26:7-11). It is sad when our sins affect outsiders, but it is sadder still when our sins are duplicated in out own families. In fact, Isaacs lie was worse than his fathers because Sarah really was Abrahams half sister, while Rebekah was only Isaacs cousin. When believers sin, they are disciplined by God until they come to a place of repentance and confession. This discipline is not enjoyable, but it is profitable, and in the end, it produces happiness and holiness to the glory of God.
Posted on: Thu, 10 Jul 2014 04:11:24 +0000
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