Abraham's Faith And Obedience - Genesis 22:1-10

Now it came about after these things that God

tested Abraham and said to him, Abraham, and

he said, Here I am. He said, Take now your son,

your only son, whom you love, Isaac, and go to

the land of Moriah and offer him there as a burnt

offering on one of the mountains of which I will

tell you. So Abraham rose early in the morning

and saddled his donkey and took two of his young

men with him, and Isaac his son, and he split

wood for the burnt offering and arose and went

to the place of which God had told him. On the

third day Abraham raised his eyes and saw the

place from a distance. Abraham said to his young

men, Stay here with the donkey, and I and the

lad will go over there, and he will worship,

and we will worship and return to you. Abraham

took the wood of the burnt offering and laid

it on Isaac, his son. And he took in his hand

the fire and the knife. So the two of them walked

on together. Isaac spoke to Abraham, his father,

and said, My father. And he said, Here I am,

my son. And he said, Behold the fire and the

wood. But where is the lamb for the burnt offering?

Abraham said, God will provide for himself the

lamb for the burnt offering, my son. So the two

of them walked on together. Then, They came to

the place of which God had told him, and Abraham

built the altar there and arranged the wood.

And he bound his son Isaac and laid him on the

altar on top of the wood. Abraham stretched out

his hands and took the knife to slay his son.

There are various forms of cultural Christianity

today that present erroneous ideas about Christianity,

about what it means to follow Jesus Christ. Some

of those various forms kind of go like this.

They say, I'm going to follow Jesus Christ. But

God doesn't require anything of me. He doesn't

demand anything of me. He doesn't ask anything

of me. I can continue to live and act and believe

and do as I please as long as I'm nice and I'm

loving. God accepts me because God loves me.

God doesn't demand. Anything of me. We all know

the celebrity Christian Christianity that presents

this in our world all over, brothers and sisters.

It's easy to follow Jesus. Go to church and sing

a few praise and worship songs every once in

a while. God loves me. He accepts me. That's

all I have to do because I'm accepted by God.

There's other forms of this which say that God

doesn't require anything of us or that he only

requires certain things of us or certain parts

of our lives. Some forms of Christianity and

erroneous thinking regarding Christianity kind

of go like this. They say, I'm going to give

God... My time on the Lord's Day. I'm going to

go to church. I might even sing a few hymns.

I'll even give some of my money in tithe. But

I'm not giving my marriage. I'm not giving my

relationships. I'm not giving my private life.

I'm not giving my inner thought life to God.

I'll go and I'll go to church. And give God that.

But this is mine. This isn't his. I'm not giving

him my emotions, my feelings. I'm not giving

him my desires and my longings. I'm keeping these

things for myself. They're my own. They are not

his. But then there's others who go about it

a different way. And they say, okay. I'll give

God my desires and my wants and my longings,

but I'm not giving Him any public form of commitment.

I'm not going to be a part of a church. I'm not

going to be a public Christian. I'm not going

to covenant myself to a body. I'm not going to

join God's people. I'm not going to be baptized.

I'm not going to give him that part publicly

or that commitment, that structure in my life,

but I'll give him my personal life. What's the

false thinking in all of these things? What's

the error that binds all these things together?

Brothers and sisters, it's a thought that something

is ours. It's a thought that I have the right

to keep certain parts of my life as my life and

that they are not God's, that they have not been

bought by the precious blood of Jesus Christ.

The erroneous thinking in all of these things

is that God only demands certain things or certain

parts or certain aspects of our lives. It's this

mistaking that God is a loving God, therefore

He doesn't require that much of His people. It

doesn't cost us anything to follow this God.

Brothers and sisters, hear the words of God when

He commands Abraham to take his son. And to sacrifice

him as a burnt offering. To slaughter his son

as an animal. And to be consumed in flames. Take

now your son. Your only son. Whom you love. God

knew that Abraham loved Isaac. And go to the

land of Moriah and offer him there as a burnt

offering. on one of the mountains of which I

will tell you. I wonder how Abraham would have

responded if somebody said, it doesn't cost much

to follow the Lord. It doesn't cost much to obey

God's commands in our lives. It doesn't require

sacrificial giving and submission to God. It

doesn't require self -denial. I wonder how Abraham

would have responded after this incident when

God has given him this very costly command. Think

about what this would have cost Abraham, brothers

and sisters. It would have cost him, it would

cost him, the life of his natural born son. Brothers

and sisters, Abraham was not, a narcissist and

he was not a wicked man. You know why I say that?

Because he was a man who loved God and he was

a man who was a father. And he loved Isaac with

natural affection as a parent loves their child.

And not only was this son his son, but this was

the son of promise on whom Seemingly depended

all his hopes and his dreams, his whole future,

his inheritance, and the very salvation of the

world. And here is God commanding him to offer

that son as a burnt offering. The son that brought

his wife so much celebratory laughter. Remember

Isaac and his birth? And Sarah laughs at this

transformation where she was laughing in unbelief

previously, and now when Isaac is born, she's

laughing out of joy and thanksgiving because

God has given her this blessed boy. That son,

that's the one that God is commanding Abraham

to go and offer as a sacrifice. That which was

very, very dear to him. This wasn't a little

plaything that he disregards and he doesn't care

about. Brothers and sisters, Isaac was dear to

him. He loved that boy with all his affections.

He held Isaac close to his heart. And this is

the very thing that God is commanding him to

sacrifice in Moriah. The thing that he loved.

The thing that was close to him. Have you ever

thought about the implications of this difficult

and this costly command that God gives to him?

What would his wife think? Knowing that Abraham

was going to offer her son as a burnt offering.

What would Sarah think? Brothers and sisters,

how would this affect Isaac's view, who was probably

20 to 25 at this time, how would this affect

Abraham's son's view of his own father? Have

you thought about that? How would the actions

of faith that Abraham is commanded to take part

in affect the view of his son upon him? Would

it change his view? There would certainly be

negative impacts to his obedience. How would

those people around him view him? This child

whom he had in his old age, he's gone off and

he sacrificed him. Brothers and sisters, this

command was not, An easy one. There were severe

implications. It was a very difficult command

that God gave to him. The reality is this. God's

commands, and in order to follow God and Christ,

it requires a great deal of sacrifice. It requires

a great deal of giving up and dying to self.

It's difficult and costly to obey the commands

of God, especially in the midst of trying times.

Especially in the midst of trials and difficulties

in our lives. It requires us to give up things

in our lives. Now consider with me two things

this morning. First, let's consider the... Abraham's

faith or the faith of Abraham. And then secondly,

I would like to consider Abraham's obedience

as we see it in the text. I'll offer us a few

applications once we complete these two. So first

consider Abraham's faith. Now we think, obviously,

Abraham was a man of faith and we see that so

clearly throughout his life. But where in the

text today do we see Abraham's faith particularly?

How do we observe it in the text? There's a couple

places in particular that we see it. Read with

me in verse 5. Abraham said to his young men,

and we don't know exactly why he brought these

young men, but think for first, they didn't do

anything. These two young men that accompanied

Abraham, they didn't do anything at all. They

didn't carry anything. They were just present.

Most likely, Abraham brought these two young

men as witnesses of this event and what was taking

place so that they could observe what was happening.

So we see Abraham in verse 5 coming to these

young men and he says, stay here with the donkey.

And I and the lad will go over there. And we

will worship and return to you. Now the NIV makes

explicit what is implicit in this verse. The

we doesn't just mean go over there. Abraham is

saying that we will go over there and worship

and we will return to you. He's saying, listen,

you two stay here. Me and Isaac, we're going

to go over here and do our thing. And then me

and Isaac, we're going to come back to you. Now,

wait a second. Brothers and sisters, wait a second.

Abraham fully intends to sacrifice his son. He

has every intention within his heart to be obedient.

to the living God who has commanded him to sacrifice

his son as a burnt offering, yet he's saying,

we're going to go over here and worship, and

then we're going to come back to you. How is

this possible? Where does this conflict and this

tension in his life come from, brothers and sisters?

It's a conflict between his understanding of

things and his faith. Do you understand that

he is believing? That in some way, shape, or

form, God is going to still be faithful to the

promise in that boy. That even though he's going

to slay his son and he's going to burn his son

and he's going to be consumed in ashes, God somehow

is going to bring that boy back with him. And

God is still going to fulfill every promise he's

ever made to him in and through. His son, Isaac.

We see faith present in Abraham in the midst

of this trial, brothers and sisters. His faith

stands. It hasn't crumbled and it hasn't fallen

to the wayside. His faith is standing strong.

And that somehow, God is going to bring that

boy back with him. Then we see in verses 7 through

8. Listen to these. Isaac spoke to Abraham, his

father, and said, and maybe the most difficult

words Abraham's ever heard in his life, quite

possibly, from the boy he's raised, the boy that

wasn't possible, he hears these words, my father.

And he said, Here I am, my son. And he said,

behold, the fire and the wood. But where is the

lamb for the burnt offering? Isaac, in curiosity,

wanting to know how the sacrifice is going to

be performed without the most essential part

of the sacrifice. A lamb to offer. And brothers

and sisters, listen to the words of our father

Abraham. Abraham said, God will provide for himself

the lamb for the burnt offering, my son. Do you

see faith present in Abraham's response? Even

though he fully intended to obey the command

of God, he fully... He was convinced in his heart

that God would deal with the situation in some

way, shape, or form. Now, he did not believe,

I do not think, that God was going to provide

a substitutionary land. And we'll see why in

a moment. But he believed that God and his sovereignty

That God in His grace and His demonstrated faithfulness

over the years, that God would care for him and

his son, and that God in His providence would

watch over them, and that God in His faithfulness

would take care of that situation somehow. Brothers

and sisters, not all the answers are given. Not

all the difficulties are resolved in life. But

faith. Can still be present. Faith can remain.

Even in uncertainty. This is evidence in the

life of Abraham. He did not fully understand

everything. And not every issue was resolved

in his life. In this situation. But brothers

and sisters. His faith stood. His faith remained.

No. The Lord is graciously. provided us with

some New Testament clarification on what's taking

place in Abraham's life here in this text. And

literally it's referring to this text. If we

turn to Hebrews chapter 11, we read in verses

Hebrews 11 · chapter mention

17 through 19, By faith Abraham, when he was

tested, offered up Isaac. And he who had received

the promise was offering up his only begotten

son. It was he to whom it was said, In Isaac

your descendants shall be called. Now, listen

to verse 19, brothers and sisters. This is where

we get the help. This is where we get the clarification

regarding Abraham's faith and his thinking in

this situation. He considered. He concluded.

He reasoned. He reckoned that God is able to

raise people even from the dead. Now, in the

midst of Abraham's difficulty in his trial and

this situation, where is his faith at? What is

his faith upon? What is he believing in this

moment, in this time, over this period of three

days as he's taking his son to sacrifice him?

He is believing in God who is able to raise dead

men back to life. You see, brothers and sisters,

Abraham was trusting in the nature. And character

and ability of God to fulfill his promises. And

his power to raise men. He was hoping in the

resurrection. And God's ability and God's power

to raise his son up from the ashes. And to restore

him. so as to fulfill every promise he's ever

made to Abraham in and through his son. Now it's

interesting to me in this text that the author

of Hebrews helps us see that this was not a spur

of the moment thing for Abraham. This was not

an unthought out, unreasoned act of faith in

his life. The text says, He considered. Now this

word means that he reasoned. He concluded. He

thought and prayed and considered what he was

doing and how God would reckon the situation.

His faith remained in God, but his faith was

a thinking faith about God. And what he would

do in this situation. And he landed on the result.

He landed on the reality. That God is sovereign.

That God has already given me a son. When I was

as good as dead. And from the deadness of Sarah's

womb. Can't he bring back my son from the dead?

Is God not able to do that? Is God not powerful

enough to bring back my boy? So as to accomplish

all of his promises. Brothers and sisters, his

faith stood. His faith remained in the midst

of this trying and difficult time. So we see

that Abraham is faithful and he trusts in God

even though the command is exceedingly difficult.

Even though it's exceedingly... He is faithful.

Now consider Abraham's obedience in this text.

If his faith was observable and seen in this

text, then his obedience jumps up off the page

at us. It's that clear. His faith is observable

and clear in the text, but his obedience really

shines forth in... This whole text that Moses

has given to us, if we were to describe his obedience

in this text, we would have to say first that

it was without dispute or argumentation. If there

was ever anything, if there was ever anything

that we were to argue with God, I would think

this might be one of the situations. But Abraham

does not dispute God in the least. He receives

it by faith and he obeys. Now, one of the interesting

things about this is that this call, this command

of God, is fairly similar to the first one that

God gave him in Genesis chapter 12. In Genesis

Genesis 12 · chapter mention Genesis 12 · chapter mention

chapter 12, we read these words in verse 1. Now

the Lord said to Abraham, go forth from your

country and from your relatives and from your

father's house to the land which I will show

you. There are similarities there between that

command and the command he receives here in Genesis

Genesis 22 · chapter mention

chapter 22. The difference is this. The command

in Genesis chapter 12. has a great incentive

Genesis 12 · chapter mention

attached to it. It has great motive given along

with the command, does it not, brothers and sisters?

And I will make you a great nation. Is that a

motive? Is that incentive to obey? And I will

bless you. Is that motive, is that incentive

to obey the Lord? Yes. And even in Genesis chapter

Genesis 12 · chapter mention

12, with the incentive and the motive attached

to the promise or the command, Abraham is still

only partially obedient. Do you realize that

Abraham was supposed to leave Lot in the land

of his father? He wasn't supposed to bring his

nephew. He was supposed to depart and leave and

separate and go away from all of his father's

household. Yet he disobeys partially and brings

Lot with him. So even with the incentive and

the motive attached to the command, Abraham partially

obeys and he partially disobeys. But in the command

in Genesis 22, which is exceedingly more difficult,

notice there's no incentive whatsoever. There's

no motive attached to it. Brothers and sisters,

There's no reasoning or explanation given to

Abraham. It's simply a command from God who he

has known. Yet, we find that he's fully obedient.

He obeys without dispute. He's immediately obeying

the Lord at this point in his life. It says,

so Abraham rose early in the morning. In verse

3, we see that he personally obeys God. Notice

that Abraham saddles his own donkey. That Abraham

splits his own wood for the burnt offering. That

Abraham takes the fire in his own hand. That

Abraham takes the knife in his own hand because

he fully intends to personally be obedient to

God. It's not dependent on anybody else. The

Lord has commanded him to this task. It was deliberate

obedience. It was a period of three days that

this journey took over. Meaning he had three

days to change his mind. Three days to back out.

Three days to chew on this task. That God has

commanded him to do. Brothers and sisters, going

to bed. Waking up. Going to bed. Waking up. Going

to bed. Waking up. Every morning, rising to think

about his son. Every night, going to bed, thinking

about his son. Yet he was determined to be obedient.

And he carries through. It was deliberate obedience.

He had decided in his heart and in his mind that

he was going to obey the God who had called him

from idols. He was going to obey the God who

had given him these gracious promises. He had

decided in his heart and in his mind that he

was going to obey this God who had been so gracious

and so good to him over all. These years. He

made up his mind. That he was going to do this.

Brothers and sisters. I wonder. How many of us.

Have taken time with the Lord. And determined

in our heart. And in our mind. That I am going

to obey. God who has saved me. No matter what.

Have you had time with the Lord where you say,

I will obey you God no matter how much this hurts.

No matter what this costs me Lord, I'm going

to obey you. I'm going to be faithful. I don't

care what I have to give up. I will be faithful

to your commands. Brothers and sisters, that's

what Abraham had to do in his heart. He had to

overcome the strong feelings and the strong emotions

that were telling him, don't do it. He had to

overcome the flesh that was saying, don't obey

this command. But brothers and sisters, he determined

in his mind that he would honor his God. No matter

the cost, no matter how much it hurt. It was

full and complete obedience. We read, In verse

10, Abraham stretched out his hand and took the

knife to slay his son. Brothers and sisters,

he had the fire and the knife in his hand. He

raised his hand to slay his son, brothers and

sisters. This was full and complete obedience.

It was not partial. or incomplete. He carried

through. The only reason that it doesn't go about

is because the Lord providentially and graciously

intervenes in the action. I think the best way

to describe this obedience is sacrificial obedience.

Not just literally, which it was. but brothers

and sisters, figuratively. Do you realize that

Abraham was giving up that which he loved so

dearly in order to obey God. He was sacrificing

not just a little appendage over here that's

connected, but he was attaching, he was sacrificing

his very heart to the living God. The very core

of his being, the thing that mattered most to

him, that which was closest, that which was nearest

and dearest to him, he was giving over to God.

He was submitting it to him. He was saying, here

it is. Sacrificial obedience. It was costly obedience.

It was painful obedience that Abraham was carrying

out. Now when we consider this obedience, it's

important for us to understand his place. As

we think about Abraham's obedience, we have to

understand it does have a relationship with something

else we've already seen in the text. His faith.

His obedience is not what is underneath his faith.

Listen to this, brothers and sisters. His faith

is what undergirds and enables his obedience.

How is it that Abraham is able to pick up the

knife and to pick up the fire to slay his son?

How is he able to obey in such a sacrificial

manner? Because he believes God is able to raise

dead men from the dead. His belief... His trust

in God actually undergirds and enables his obedience

in his life. True faith always produces genuine

obedience. But brothers and sisters, listen.

True obedience is always undergirded by true

faith. Always. There's an inner working, a play

that takes place. But faith comes first. Faith

is the foundation. It's the basis. It's what

works, good works, and obedience blossoms out

of. It's the well that that water comes forth

from. So it has to come first. There's a relationship.

So we see that there's also a relationship between

faith and all disobedience. So if you think about

disobedience in your life, or my life, what is

the root cause of that? What is the root cause

of all disobedience in the life of the believer?

Unbelief. It's not believing what God has said.

What was Adam and Eve's sin? Eating the forbidden

fruit. Why did they eat the forbidden fruit,

as the Catechism says? Because they did not believe

what God had said. Brothers and sisters, disobedience

is the result of unbelief and not believing what

God has said in His Holy Word. So if you're disobeying

in your life, if you're disobeying God's commandments

and God's laws, what God requires of His people,

what Christ has commanded us to do or not to

do, listen, look at the heart before you look

at the actions. Where's your faith? And what

are you believing? And what are you not believing?

That's going to tell you why you're disobeying

in your life. The root cause is the heart that

is full of unbelief. That's toying with unbelief.

That's toying with disbelief and doubt. The result

of that is disobedience in our lives. The issue

is not the behavior. We have to understand that.

The issue is not the actions, brothers and sisters.

The issue is not the words. The issue is not

the speech. Those are the manifestation of a

deeper issue in our lives. What's the deeper

issue? We don't believe what God has said in

His Word. We don't actually trust Him. That's

why we disobey in our lives. We have to get beyond

the outward and look to the inward heart and

see. the faith, or the disbelief. And that will

help us resolve a lot of issues in our life.

Now, we see Abraham, a man of faith. We see his

obedience. But what's the ultimate picture we

see in Abraham here? I mean, think about Joshua

24 .2, which talks about how God called Abraham's

father out. of a foreign land, and from worshiping

idols, meaning Abraham as well. And now we have

Abraham, not a pagan idol worshiper, but now

we have Abraham, a fully consecrated man of faith,

obeying God, worshiping God, and giving him everything

that he has. What has happened to Abraham? What

has made this change in his life? What has transformed

him, brothers and sisters? It's the gospel of

Jesus Christ. The effect in his life of God working

in his life is that he believes and that he obeys.

Abraham has given everything to God. He's willing

to give him anything that he asks because he

knows This God who is commanding me. We come

to this and we think sometimes I'm so grateful.

I'm so thankful that God doesn't require that

of me. I'm so thankful that God would never And

brothers and sisters, I've thought these things.

I'm so thankful that God would never ask me to

do that. I'm so thankful that that was Abraham

and not me. I'm so thankful that God doesn't

demand that of me. I'm so thankful that God doesn't

require that of me. We often think in terms of

this, sometimes too. I'm so thankful that God

is... a little different now. Brothers and sisters,

God still requires everything of His people.

Everything. He still requires your heart. He

still demands your life. He still demands your

thoughts. He still demands your desires. He still

demands your longings. He still demands your

children. He still demands your home. He still

demands your careers. He demands all of you.

Every single aspect. And He requires every inch

of your being. This is why we read in text like

Matthew. Chapter 10, where the Lord Jesus Christ

Matthew 10 · chapter mention

says, Do not think that I came to bring peace

on the earth. I did not come to bring peace,

but a sword. For I came to set a man against

his father, and a daughter against her mother,

and a daughter -in -law against her mother -in

-law. And a man's enemies will be the members

of his household. It's hard to follow Jesus Christ.

It's going to bring conflict into this world.

It's going to be conflict into your life and

your relationships, brothers and sisters. Therefore,

you need to count the cost of following this

Lord and this Savior. That's what this text is

telling us. He who loves father or mother more

than me is not worthy of me. And he who loves

son or daughter more than me is not worthy of

me. God requires everything of you. If you want

to be a disciple of Jesus Christ, then you have

to give Him everything that is in your being.

And he who does not take up his cross and follow

after me is not worthy of me. He who has found

his life will lose it, and he who has lost his

life for my sake will find it. We read in Luke

Luke 14:26

14, verse 26, Now large crowds were going along

with him, and he turned and said to them, If

anyone comes to me and does not hate his own

father and mother and wife and children and brothers

and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot

be my disciple. Meaning, your love and your commitment

and your loyalty and your fidelity to Jesus Christ

must overshadow every single other love and fidelity

that you have in your life. Your love for Him

has to be up here. And it must cast a shadow

on everything else down here. That's what Christ

is saying. That your love and your obedience

and your faith and your trust and your commitment

to Him must be exceedingly higher than that of

everyone else. Your love for Him must inform

your love for everything else in your life. He

still requires everything of His people, brothers

and sisters. That's why we read in Romans 12,

Romans 12:1

verse 1, Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the

mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living

and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which

is your spiritual service of worship. Does that

sound familiar? Brothers and sisters, does that

sound familiar? We have to be willing to have

the same kind of faith and the same kind of obedience

that Abraham had. He may not ask us to sacrifice

our child, but brothers and sisters, he commands

us to sacrifice ourselves daily. To give him

all of us. He wants all of you, brothers and

sisters. Do you not want to entrust your souls

over and over and over? To the God who made you

and the God who redeems you? Is He not sovereign?

Is He not good? Is He not faithful? Is He not

able? Is He not worthy of our faith and our trust

and our obedience? He is unchanged, brothers

and sisters. The commands of God have not changed

and that they're costly. It still requires sacrificial

faith and sacrificial obedience. Why? Because

the transforming power of the gospel has not

changed. Just like the gospel transformed Abraham,

brothers and sisters, the gospel transforms us

so that it gives us a heart that actually longs

after Christ. That actually longs after God.

A heart that actually loves Christ more than

everything else. Therefore, God requires everything

of that regenerate heart. Brothers and sisters,

the gospel makes us willing to give everything

to Christ. The gospel transforms our desires

and our longings and our hearts so that we want.

To obey Him. That's what it does in our hearts,

just like it did in Abraham's life. The nature

of faith has not changed. We have the same kind

of faith as Abraham, brothers and sisters. The

Bible is explicitly clear about that. Your faith,

if you know Jesus Christ, and you are justified

in the sight of God, is the exact same kind of

faith that Abraham had. Possessed. It lays hold.

Of the same gospel. Brothers and sisters. What

God has promised. In the gospel. Has not changed.

The promise that he gave to Abraham. That's the

same today. That it was then. It's just more

fully revealed. And clarified now. In the new

covenant. The same content. And the same realities.

And they are unchanged today. God has given his

people everything in Christ, brothers and sisters.

He has given you all of himself. Brothers and

sisters, he's given you pardon. He's given you

His grace, His mercy. He's given you all of His

eternal, everlasting love on the cross. He's

given you all of Himself in Christ. And we see

it on the cross of Calvary. He requires all of

us. He's given us eternity. He's given us redemption

and salvation. He's given us everything, brothers

and sisters. He's given us hope. He's given us

the resurrection. He's given us immortality and

life and light and power. He's given us the divine

spirit of God to dwell within us. And He requires

all of us. But brothers and sisters, that's our

hope. That we are not our own. Our hope in this

life is that we are not Our own people. There's

one part of this catechism I just want to read

in conclusion. What is our only comfort in life

and death? That both in soul and body, whether

I live or die, I am not my own. But belong wholly

unto my most faithful Lord and Savior, Jesus

Christ. By his most precious blood, fully satisfying

for all my sins. He has delivered me from the

power of the devil, and so preserves me that

without the will of my heavenly Father, not so

much as a hair may fall from my head. Yes, all

things must serve for my safety or good, and

by his Spirit he also assures me of everlasting

life, and makes me ready and prepared that from

now on I may live to him. Brothers and sisters,

our hope, your hope as a believer. is that you

are not your own. That you are God's, that you

are in His hands.