Friday, December 22, 2006, Part 3

"By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises offered up his only begotten son, of whom it was said, "In Isaac your seed shall be called," concluding that God was able to raise him up, even from the dead, from which he also received him in a figurative sense" (Hebrews 11:17-19).

IDEA: Faith that matters believes in the God of resurrection.

PURPOSE: To help listeners recognize that for Abraham and for us, believing that God can raise people from the dead is crucial for faith.

Romans 10:9-10 declares that if we confess with our mouth Jesus as Lord and we believe in our hearts that God has raised him from the dead, we will be saved.

I. What are we confessing when we confess that "Jesus is Lord"?

He is God. He is not simply a "master."

He alone is God.

Is that something anyone can do?

We cannot really affirm that apart from the Holy Spirit, 1 Corinthians 8:1-3: "No one can say that Jesus is Lord except by the Holy Spirit."

II. What are we believing when we say that "God raised Jesus from the dead"?

We believe that Jesus who is Lord was raised from the dead by God's power.

Why is that significant?

People who live by faith put their trust in the God who can bring life from the dead. 

Abraham believed that and it showed up in his life, Hebrews 11:11-12.

Abraham had by faith believed that God would give him a son even though he was 100 years old and his wife was 90, Romans 4:20-22.

Abraham also believed that God would raise Isaac from the dead, even if he had to slay him, Hebrews 11:17-19.

III. What are the implications of our confessing that Jesus is God, died, and was actually raised from the dead? 

God will do for us in time and eternity all that He has promised in His love and in His grace.

It affirms that only a God who is able to raise people from the dead is worthy of our trust. Our living faith demands a God of resurrection to trust in.