PASTORS NOTES
Biblical Reference:
When the sun had gone down and it was dark, behold, a smoking fire pot and a flaming torch passed between these pieces. On that day the Lord made a covenant with Abram, saying, “To your offspring I give this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the river Euphrates, the land of the Kenites, the Kenizzites, the Kadmonites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Rephaim, the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Girgashites and the Jebusites.”
Cross References:
(in order of mention from sermon)
Last Time We Learned…
- That God is able to accomplish whatever He has decreed.
- That God has an orderly and decreed course for His people to follow.
- That God does not want His Word or Name slandered.
Things to Learn About My Own Walk with God this Week…
- That Justification by Faith Alone is clearly taught from Genesis onward.
- That God has God’s nature is the secure foundation of His promises.
- That God God’s sovereign rule often allows things that are certainly not preferred by Him.
Important Words:
‘And He Counted’ – חָשַׁב (ḥā·šǎḇ) – “…credit, account, reckon, impute…”2 The righteousness Abram had was reckoned to him, not native to him. It was imputed from a foreign source. Hence, the Biblical basis given by Paul for the salvation of all believers is one of foreign righteousness, applied to us because of belief (or faith as Abram was acting on it showing trust.)
Important Quote:
The whole counsel of God concerning all things necessary for His own Glory, man’s salvation, faith, and life, is either expressly set down in Scripture, or by good and necessary consequence may be deduced from Scripture: unto which nothing at any time is to be added …” 1
1 James Swanson, Dictionary of Biblical Languages with Semantic Domains : Hebrew (Old Testament) (Oak Harbor: Logos Research Systems, Inc., 1997).
2Westminster Confession of Faith, Chapter I, Article VI (Emphasis Mine)