Grace Bible Church
Pastor-Teacher
Robert R. McLaughlin
Wednesday July 6, 2016
Dispensation = Promise Opening Event = God calls Abraham and gives him promises — GEN 12:1-7; 13:41-17; 15:5; Repeats these promises to Isaac and Jacob — GEN 26:1-5; 28:10-15. Man’s Responsibility = Believe and obey – GEN 15:6; ROM 4:3.
While Abraham was enjoying blessings because of his obedience to follow the Lord, his old friends, followers of the moon-God or Allah were being tortured, enslaved, and being disposed of everything they owned.
When Abraham left Ur, it was entering into the peak of its prosperity and he appeared to be leaving a sure thing, a good thing, but it wasn’t.
You don’t make a major change like this without doctrine.
You are going to be faced with some major decisions, and at times they will be radical decisions that will call for a literal up-rooting from one place to another or from one situation to another from time to time.
All sorts of things are involved in the principle here and the point is “how” do you know that you’re doing the right thing?
ACT 11:5, there is guidance through prayer.
In verse 6, there is guidance through objective thinking of Bible doctrine, not subjective but objective.
In verses 7-10, there is guidance through perception and recall of doctrine.
Verse 11, there is also guidance through providential circumstances, e.g. the people we meet.
Verse 12, there is guidance through the filling of the Holy Spirit and the humility to obey.
Verses 13-14, there is guidance through fellowship and comparison of spiritual facts.
Verses 15-16, there is guidance through recall of doctrine.
Guidance through disaster.
This is the system used so commonly in Jewish writing and it is a part of Jewish style and it is called retrospective exposition.
GEN 12:1 “Now JHWH [Jesus Christ] had spoken to Abram, `Go with reference to yourself from your land, and from your relatives, and from the place of your birth, to a land which I will cause you to see;
This is known as the Abrahamic covenant and what is known as an unconditional covenant.
The Abrahamic covenant or agreement is an unconditional covenant between God as party of the first part in favor of Abraham and his descendants as the party of the second part.
The temporal and the eternal aspects of this covenant guarantees Israel a permanent national existence and a perpetual title to the land of promise and material and spiritual blessings through Christ.
Satan desires to destroy Abraham’s seed, the Jews and the nation of Israel.
This covenant also guaranteed Gentile nations a share in these blessings, GEN 12:3.
It all began when Abraham became a Jew at age 99; circumcision was the sign as given in all these passages, GEN 12:1‑3, 13:15‑16, 15:18, 22:15‑18, 26:3‑4; EXO 6:2‑8.
Surah 2:140. Or do ye say that Abraham, Ishmael, Isaac, Jacob and the Tribes were Jews or Christians? Do you think ye know better than Allah. Ah! who is more unjust than those who conceal the testimony they have from Allah.
The Bible, the word of God says that Abraham became a Jew at age 99, GEN 17:1-8.
Hadith = commentary on the Qur’an and it is Mohammed’s teaching, and in the Hadith he says Allah hath commanded me to fight against the Christians, the Jews, and the pagans until they submit to Islam or be killed.
2PE 1:21 was not made by an act of human will, but men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God.
A book whereby God the Holy Spirit so supernaturally directed the human writers of Scripture, that without waving their human intelligence, individuality, literary style, personal feelings or any other human factor,
His own complete and coherent message to man was recorded in perfect accuracy in the original languages of Scripture, the very words bearing the authority of divine authorship.
Surah2:124 And remember that Abraham was tried by his Lord with certain commands, which he fulfilled: He said: “I will make thee an Imam to the Nations.” He pleaded: “And also (Imams) from my offspring!” He answered: “But My Promise is not within the reach of evil-doers.”
An Imam is the male leader of the mosques or as we would say a prophet of their religion.
ECC 1:9 So, there is nothing new under the sun.
The Abrahamic Covenant also defines the Jewish race as the citizens of the first and last client nation in history.
Abraham is the beneficiary without merit.
The source of this blessing to Abraham and his descendants is not any merit in Abraham, but Abraham’s adjustment to the justice of God and the fact that God is pleased.
Abraham had believed in TLJC as his personal Lord and Savior In Ur of the Chaldeans but he also believed that what God had promised (that he and Sarah would have a son), God was also able to perform.
There’s you first manifestation of faith on the part of Abraham.
There’s your second manifestation of faith on the part of Abraham.
Dispensation = Promise Opening Event = God calls Abraham and gives him promises — GEN 12:1-7; 13:41-17; 15:5; 17:1-8; God
Repeats these promises to Isaac and Jacob — GEN 26:1-5; 28:10-15. Man’s Responsibility = Believe and obey – ROM 15:6; ROM 4:3.
The demonstration of Abraham’s faith was submission to the ritual of circumcision.
GEN 15:6, Then he believed in the Lord [Jehovah] ; and He [the Lord] reckoned or credited it to him as righteousness.
LUK 20:37 “Even Moses showed, in the passage about the burning bush, where he calls the Lord the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.
Surah 2:126 Abraham believed in Allah and that those who don’t will be driven to the torment of Fire,- an evil destination from Allah (indeed)!”
In GEN 12:1-3, in setting up the contract, a specific people were involved, the original presentation of Abraham’s paragraph included both race and nation = warns us against anti‑Semitism.