Genesis 17:22-27

You know, I have, as some of you know, the the privilege of uh being one of the judges for the San Antonio Independent Christian Film Festival that's coming up here in a little over a week, and as a result, have had to watch loads and loads and loads of films over the last several weeks and days until my eyes would cross just watching films and then watching some of them over and all of these sorts of things. And it is a great privilege that I I enjoyed immenseally. Uh. Those of you who know me well know that I am a major, uh a film buff, and I I love certain films in particular, and certain eras and genres of film more than others. And one of the things I enjoy is I enjoy earlier films, like your earlier kind of black and white films. And it just struck me a while back. I was watching one and I don't even remember which movie it was, but in this movie, there was one character who was making reference to another character who was actually quite glum, and it was really unusual for this person to be that glum because they were usually so gay. And I heard that and I was just sort of taken aback and I just thought, isn't that interesting? Yeah, in a movie fifty years ago, sixty years ago, you hear the word gay and it means one thing. If you were to hear that word in a movie today, it would mean something completely and utterly different. Amen. And there are words like that, are there not? There are words in our language that sort of change and morph in meaning over time. Now that's not always evil, and it's not always problematic, but sometimes it is quite problematic. One example of that is the word faith faith. And the reason it's problematic is because when you have words that are biblical terms or biblical concepts that change to our cultural hearing and understanding, and then we go back and read those into the scriptures, we can have problems. Another example of that is the word love. When you hear love in our culture, you know, love has a certain meaning. Love is a warm, fuzzy feeling. Warm love means you can do know wrong. Love means I have nothing but good for you no matter what. Well, if you go to the Bible and reread the scriptures, God is love. Now, all of a sudden to our culture, the idea of God's wrath, the idea of hell, the idea of eternal punishment somehow seems inconsistent and incongruent with the idea that God is love. Why because God has changed, No, just because our understanding of the word has changed. That's true with the word love. That's also true with the word faith. Nowadays, if you say a person is a person of faith, you just mean they hope real hard and believe real hard. But is that what the scriptures mean? And it's important for us to grasp this if we're going to understand the significance of the end of Genesis chapter seventeen, and if we're going to understand more broadly, the significance of the life of Abraham. The life of Abraham is about justification by faith. That's the life of Abraham. Abraham is the father of the faithful. Well, if we don't understand what the word faith means, or if we redefine what the word faith means, then we don't understand from a theological perspective, the significance of Abraham. Well, what's wrong with that? Well, from a theological perspective, if you don't understand that, you don't understand justification. Because Abraham, screams to us, is the most clear picture. In all of the scriptures of justification by faith Romans Chapter three, Romans Chapter four, Galatians Chapter three, on and on and on and on, we see the writers of the New Testament going back to Abraham in order to demonstrate for us and to illustrate for us what this faith looks like, this faith that brings about our justification, what it looks like. They go back to Abraham every time. So if we don't understand faith, if we redefine faith, we have an issue. Let me explain a little further. Here's a definition of faith from the Incarter World English Dictionary. Listen to this definition. Number one there are five of them here, and they're very brief. Belief in, devotion to, or trust in somebody or something, especially without logical proof. Number two a system of religious belief or the group of people who adhere to it. Number three belief in and devotion to God. Number four a strongly held set of beliefs or principles. Number five allegiance or loyalty to somebody or something. So, in other words, faith just means hoping real hard faith just means close your eyes and you take a leap. And so all of a sudden. We sound a lot like an Assori and Curecreguard with this blind leap of faith. And how do people talk about the scriptures as a result of that, Well, there are certain things that you just have to accept by faith. In other words, there's no evidence for what we believe. You just close your eyes and hope real hard. And that is the essence of true Christianity, not facts, not evidence, not trusting in anything in particular, but just being a person who trusts real hard. So what it means to have faith? But is that what the Bible means when it uses the word Does it just mean someone who closes their eyes and hopes real hard, or who hopes against hope. I have faith, I'm trusting, I'm believing. Does it matter what you're believing in? Not according to this definition, not according to the modern American understanding or the modern Western world's understanding, and unfortunately not according to the vast majority of evangelicals in our culture. But we believe that faith is just some sort of nebulous force, and that if you have enough faith, you can control your reality, you can control your circumstances. And if you didn't get what you were after it's just because your faith was not significant enough or strong enough. It's a force, a nebulous force. Let's look at some other definitions, though. Shall we listen to this definition or these definitions from Webster's eighteen twenty eight Dictionary English Language. Listen to the difference between modern English dictionary and this first Dictionary of the American English Language as it relates to this word of faith. Number one belief the assent of the mind to the truth of what is declared by another, resting on his authority and veracity without other evidence, not without any evidence. But it's believing what someone says based upon their character and veracity without other evidence. It's not blind at all, the judgment that what another states or testifies is the truth. Number two the assent of the mind to the truth of a proposition advanced by another, belief or probable evidence of any kind. Number three in theology, the assent of the mind or understanding to the truth of what God has revealed. Don't miss that. It's not blind, it's not nebulous. Faith is trusting in what God has revealed. They say, simple belief of the scriptures, of the being and perfections of God and of the existence, character, and doctrines of Christ founded on the testimony of the sacred writers, is called historical or speculative faith. Now their final definition that I say, this was just This was a dictionary. This is not a theological dictionary. This is Webster's Dictionary eighteen twenty eight four. Evangelical justifying or saving faith is the assent of the mind to the truth of divine revelation on the authority of God's testimony, accompanied with a cordial assent of the will or approbation of the heart and entire confidence or trust in God's character and declarations and in the character and doctrine of Christ, with an unreserved surrender of the will to his guidance and dependence on His merit for salvation. Amen, Hallelujah, Praise the Lord. But where did they get something like that? How about this the Heidelberg Catechism. We're almost through with the Heidelberg Catechism. But if you'll remember question number twenty one, what is true faith? True faith is not only a certain knowledge whereby I hold for truth all that God has revealed to us in his word, but also and assured confidence which the Holy Ghost works by the gospel in my heart that not only to others but to me also, remission of sin, everlasting righteousness, and salvation are freely given by God merely of grace, only for the sake of Christ's merits. Why is this so important? Well? Why was this little excurs is so important? Here's why. If we don't establish this up front, then what we do is we look at the life of Abraham through our contemporary lens, having been shaped and formed by a faulty understanding of what faith is. And now we go to Abraham and we look at Abraham and he's just set forth for us because he believed real hard and he hoped against hope. That's not what is set forth for us. Faith is not blind. God has never called us to a faith that is blind. That's why he provided and preserved and protected for us his revelation of himself in the Bible, so that we could see him and his deeds throughout history and trust him as he's revealed himself. So what is this true faith? Look with me, if you will, Genesis chapter seventeen, Look at these last few verses beginning of verse twenty two, and let's see this picture as we go through here with the circumcision. And we've heard about circumcision already, the significance of circumcisions, this sign of the Covenant. But we've gone from theory to practice in this last paragraph Amen, verse twenty two. When he had finished talking with him, God went up from Abraham. Then Abraham took Ishmael, his son, and all those born in his house or bought with his money, every male among the men of Abraham's house, and he circumcised the flesh of their foreskin that very day, as God had said to him. Abraham was ninety nine years old when he was circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin, and Ismael, his son, was thirteen years old when he was circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin. That very day, Abraham and his son Ishmael were circumcised, and all the men of his house, those born in the house, and those bought with money from a foreigner, were circumcised with him. First of all, I want you to see that true faith is linked inexorably to God's word. True faith is linked inexorably to God's word. True faith is not just blind hope or blind belief. That's not true faith, you know, true, true faith. There are a lot of people with true faith who are sitting around saying, Oh, I just believe it's just gonna it's just for just gonna snow for Christmas this year here in Houston, We're gonna get snow. It's gonna and it's gonna stick, it's gonna be on the ground. And I'm just believing, I'm just hoping. It's not true faith that's based in absolutely nothing. That's just blind hope. And unfortunately, that's the way a lot of people think about faith in God. It's just blind hope. True biblical faith is inexorably linked to God's word. We have faith in what God has revealed about himself. Otherwise I have no reason for my faith none whatsoever. I don't have faith that God's going to do something that is completely contrary to what God has revealed in his word. Why should I, I mean, based upon what, Why should I believe that this is what we do? For example, here's an example of that, this sort of blind faith. When we believe that, in spite of the evidence of somebody's life, they die, we go to their funeral and we put them in heaven. There was nothing in them, around them or about them that said they had been born again, nothing that said they knew God or walked with God. And we stand up and say, oh, they're in a better place. Lord help us. Based on what well, based on a really sincere hope. Is it possible. It's possible. I mean anything's possible. God can encounter that person on the last moment of their life when they come to faith in Jesus Christ. Yeah, it's possible. It's possible. That's not what we're talking about. You've been to those funerals. I've been to those funerals where you're just kind of squirming in your seat and you're sitting there going, wow, I guess they knew. No, they didn't. Well, you know what, I wonder if they're at the right funeral. That's blind hope, that's blind trust. I'm claiming my whatever, claiming my victory, I'm claiming my wealth, I'm claiming my whatever. I'm just claiming it based on what because I wanted and he said he'd give us the desires of our hearts. Really, is that what that text means? What if the desire of your heart is forgot to no longer be sovereign. Is that faith going to be rewarded? What if you believe it real hard? I really believe it real hard. I really want God to not be sovereign, and I have faith that God will not be sovereign. Is your faith going to remove God's sovereignty? No? Why? Because true faith is linked inexorably to God's word. You can't override God's word with your faith. Oh, I just have faith that God will allow people to be saved by some means other than Jesus Christ. Well, small problem. Jesus said, I am the Way, the Truth, the Life. No one comes to the Father except through me. Is your faith going to change that? Well? He said, If I just have faith the size of a mustard seed, I can move mountains. Yeah. But moving mountains that's easy. Changing the Word of God that's a whole different deale. You'd sooner see Mount Saint Helen's move to another location then for a jot or tittle in the Word of God to be changed. In fact, hang around long enough, you will see Mount Saint Helen's moved to another location. Amen, the grass will wither in the fire will fade, but the word of our Lord stands forever. True faith is linked inexorably to the Word of God. It's not just this blind hope that's independent, that exists out there on its own, and if you just have enough of it, and if you just hold on to it hard enough, that is not biblical faith. That is not true faith. Abraham wasn't being blind here, and look with me, if you will look at verse twenty three. Then Abraham took Ishmael his son, and all those who were born in his house are bought with his money, every male among the men of Abraham's house, and he circumcised the flesh of their foreskin that very day, as God had said to him. Why is he a great man of faith? Because he believed what God said? That's why. Not just because he believed just because he had hope that was out there independent of the word of God. No, because he believed what God said. By the way, here's let me just put a pin in this here for a moment. Here's where a lot of people go awry when it comes to their salvation. You have a lot of people who are upset about their salvation because they don't feel saved, and so all of a sudden, you don't feel like you're saved. You don't feel close to God. You don't feel warm and fuzzy, you don't feel this or that. You don't see this or that or the other. You know, when people come to you or that, what do you do? I'll tell you what I do. People come to me with whether or not they feel saved. I go to the word. Well is this true? Yeah, that's true? Okay, so that's true. You're you're a sinner. Yes, you deserve death, hell and the grave and nothing else. Yep, okay, but you know Christ is our only answer and our only hope for our sin problem. You believe that, Yeah, I believe that Christ died for sin, once for all, the just, for the unjust, noidy. He might bring us back to God. Yeah, I believe that. You do. You believe that? Yeah? And you believe that God has made you alive to Jesus Christ, and as a result of that you came to him in repentance and faith. Yeah. So it's wrong. They just don't feel safe. Oh wait a minute, hold on, So you're feelings trump God's word? Oh no, I would never say that. You just did. We just went through the word. The word says here's what salvation is. You said it has to be this plus me feeling saved all the time. You can't say amen. You ought to say ouch. Which one isn't? Faith? Is I believe what God has said? God says, come to him through repentance and faith. I come to him through repentance and faith. The enemy says, yeah, but you know what you all messed up. I know what you did, I know what you thought, and I know how you feel on the inside. You know, there's that moment in Pilgrim's Progress where Christian is there before this great demon and he's there and a Polon is just breathing out this venom and he just accuses him. You you think he's gonna save you. You didn't even making a few feet on the path, and you're getting off the path. You're in this little of the spine. You're giving up hope. You got off the path trying to climb that mountain over there, and you he's gonna save you. I love this moment in Pilgram's Progress where Christian looks at a Polion and says, what you say is true and more. In other words, you could go on. Not only am I guilty of that, but I'm guilty of a whole bunch of other stuff that you haven't said. And oh, by the way, yes, I believe that He's gonna forgive me. Why because I take him at his word. True faith is linked in extra to the word of God. It's not blindly hoping against hope that what you really want will come to pass. It is opening your eyes, seeing and hearing what God has said and believing it based upon the fact that God has said it. It is inexorably linked to that. Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of Christ. You cannot separate the two. And that's where we get in trouble when we separate our faith from the word of God. Abraham did exactly what God told him to do. Secondly, true faith bears the fruit of obedience. True faith bears the fruit of obedience. Look at what he says here he does it. We read that, and I love this statement. That very day, that very day, now over a decade ago, Abraham had nearly four hundred trained men that he took into battle to go and save a lot. You remember that. Now, now this is over a decade later, there's hundreds, if not thousands of men. Every last one of them got circumcised that day, that same day, all of them. So first of all, think about this massive undertaking. Now they could have, you know, spread this out and you know, sort of shared the responsibility here. But regardless of how you do that, that day, all of them were circumcised. Here's another thing I want you to bear in mind. I want you to bear in mind that they're responsible for their own defense. You remember Shechem This is just a couple of generations later the story Dinah, she's assaulted. Well, now you got to marry our sister. Whether you're gonna marry her, you gotta be circumcised, you and all the men in the camp. And so they were. Then what happened. The brothers came in and slaughtered all of them, and they could not do a thing. All of the men are circumcised on this day. That means for several days, Abraham and his family and his household have no defense but God, and he obeyed. Nonetheless, listen to what Calvin says about this. Moses now commands the obedience of Abraham because he circumcised the whole of his family, as he had been commanded for. He must, of necessity have been entirely devoted to God, since he did not hesitate to inflict upon himself a woman un attended with acute pain. Talk about an understatement, and not without danger to life. To this may be added the circumstance of the time, namely that he does not defer the work to another day, but immediately obeys the divine mandate. He obeyed completely. He obeyed completely. Faith without works surely is dead. And we read that in James, and a lot of people have difficulty with that in James. But here's why we have difficulty with that in James. First of all, remember we start with a faulty definition of faith. If you believe that faith is independent of the Word of God and independent of your relationship with God, it's just hoping real hard. Makes no sense whatsoever that James would make a statement about faith and works being inexorably lenked. But listen to this for a moment. I want us to hear what James has said. Hey, it's a lengthy passage, but I think it's worth reading this morning. James, Chapter two, verses fourteen through twenty six. James Chapter two, verses fourteen through twenty six, and let's listen to what he says. We're so used to that statement. You know, faith without works is dead. And then we immediately go to this idea of, you know, salvation by works and not salvation by faith. But listen to what's being said here. What good is it? My brothers? If someone says he has faith but does not have works, can that faith save him? If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, and one of you says to them, go in peace, be warmed and filled without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that? So also, faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead. But someone will say, you have faith and I have works. Show me your faith apart from your works, and I will show you my faith by my works. You believe that God is one you do well? Even the demons believe and shudder, I believe in God. Satan does too. Congratulations? What does that mean? What does that mean? I believe my life is disobedience, but my mouth says I believe in God, and therefore I belong to God. No, Satan believes in God and he's the enemy of God. Where is your obedience that demonstrates your faith. Look at this, Do you want to be shown, you foolish person, that faith apart from works is useless. Was not Abraham our father, justified by works when he offered up his son Isaac on the altar? See that faith was active along with his works. And faith was completed by his works, and the scripture was fulfilled. That says Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness, and he was called a friend of God. You see that the person is justified by works and not by faith alone. And in the same way, was not also Rahab the prostitute, justified by works when she received the messenger and sent them out by another way. For as the body apart from the spirit is dead, so also faith apart from works is dead. Let me try to explain that in our immediate context. What if Abraham did not obey God? What would that have meant? God said, be circumcised you and all your household. And Abraham goes, and he does not circumcise himself, his son, and his household. There's three possibilities. Number one, he truly believed what God had said, but he just chose to disobey. He truly believed all the promises that God had made. He truly believed that everything that God held out in the Covenant, But believing that fully, he just made a choice. God, I believe you, but I am choosing to disobey you. Is that true faith? Absolutely not? Second possibility. He truly believed what God had said, but he feared his own discomfort more than he feared disobedience to God. God, I believe you, I believe everything that you say. I believe all of those things that you say are out there for me. However, my own comfort is a lot more important to me than my obedience to you. Is that true faith? Third possibility? He did not truly believe what God said. Those are the only possibilities of disobey. Obedience is present, But if I believe, my belief is evidenced by my works. Who believes it's really cold outside, the one who takes his coat, who believes it's gonna rain, the one who takes an umbrella. Do you believe? How do we know that Abraham believed what God had said? We know because he obeyed what God had said. That's how we know. That's how we know it's important to understand that when we talk about faith from a biblical perspective, we are not talking about this nebulous, unconnected mental assent that is completely divorced from real life and completely divorced from our obedience. Jesus makes this clear, does he not, Matthew chapter seven. Not everyone who says to me, Lord Lord, will enter the kingdom of heaven. Many will say to me on that day, Lord Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name, perform many miracles and cast out many demons? And I'll say, depart from me, you worker of iniquity. I don't know you. I don't know you. There you have these works that are completely separated from faith. There's a ditch on both sides of the road. So do we come and do these works that are completely void of our faith and trust in God, trusting in our works themselves? No, that is not biblical faith, that's not biblical Christianity. Or do we have this mental assent over here that never ever manifests itself in obedience to the word of God. Know, both of those are equally ridiculous. US famous passage of Scripture Ephesians chapter two, verses eight and nine. One of the things that's dreadful is that we leave off verse ten. If we don't leave off verse ten, James doesn't sound like this nut out there writing something that nobody else in the New Testament is writing. Listen to Ephesians chapter two, Verses eight, nine and ten. For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this not of your own doing. It is the gift of God, not as a result of works, so that no one may boast. Aha, there it is, James is wrong. Not as a result of works. Works has nothing to do with it. Yet you're not saved by your works Verse ten. Four. We are His workmanship created in Christ Jesus four good works which God prepared beforehand that we should think real hard about them. No, He prepared beforehand that we should walk in them. True faith leads to true obedience, not works that we are trusting in more than we trust in God, and not a so called trust that never brings about obedience. Thirdly, true faith is trusting and believing God, not testing him. True faith is trusting and believing God, not testing him. I used to be a boxing fan. I really did. I used to be a boxing fan, and I don't say it used to be in the sense that, oh, well, you know, now I'm saved, and so I just really would never like anything like boxing. No, it's just not as good as it used to be. But I did. I used to be a boxing fan back in the day. You know. I remember as a boy, Muhammad al Lead, Joe Frazier, Ken Norton, all those Hilarry Holmes, I mean, just all of it, the back when it was something, you know, and then all the great middleweights were fighting each other, and you had Roberto Duran and Sugar Ray Leonard and all. Then all of a sudden things began to decline. And the last real big heyday was kind of the Mike Tyson era when there was a real champion around and there was something going on. And I'll never forget those Tyson holy Field fights. Man, something else, weren't they. What's interesting is holy Field's still out there trying to pushing forty years old, claiming that God is going to give him the championship again, getting his head beaten in every time he goes into the ring, but believing that God is going to give him the championship again. That's testing God. That's not trusting God. God, I'm gonna go do this, and I'm just gonna I'm just gonna trust you to give me this because it's what I want. That's not true faith. That's testing God, not trusting God. True faith is linked inexorably to the Word of God. What has God said? True faith bears itself out in obedience, and true faith is about trusting God, not testing God. And the problem with our current with our contemporary understanding of faith in our culture is that it's all about testing God, not trusting God. I want X, therefore I'm believing God for X. And then we take it a step further. We're not just testing God, We're really testing God because we use phrases like God told me that He's going to give me X, and I'm just believing God that I'm going to really got told you that. So now our Bibles need to be in a three ring binder instead of bound by leather because there's new revelation that God's given you. What is that? That's testing God, that's not trusting God. That's not true faith. True faith is linked inexorably to the Word. And when I say linkedinexurably to the Word, I don't mean ripping texts, kicking and screaming out of context and holding on to them. It's not what I'm talking about. You and I were going to touch and agree on this. Why because he said you went ever two of you touch and agree that it will be done for you. What. Yeah, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven. Whatever you loose on earth will be loose than Heaven. Says it right there. Yes, in the context of church discipline and Matthew eighteen. Not you getting what you want. That's testing God, not trusting God. When you go rip a Bible verse, kicking and screaming out of its context, so that you can twist God's arm behind his back until he says uncle and gives you what it is that you want. We ought to be afraid of that, and instead we flaunt it like it's true piety. Nothing could be further from the truth. What has God said in his word for sure? What has he said in his word? What is he about himself that you believe that you trust, that you count on and never forget that when we pray, Jesus taught us to pray that Kingdom come Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Not only did he teach us that in the model prayer, he taught us that in the garden of guessemone, if there's any other way, let this bitter cup pass from me. Nevertheless, not my will, but your will be done. So he taught us didactively, this is how you pray. And then he taught us by example, in the darkest moment of his life, that's what he prayed, not testing God, but trusting God. This is not what I want, but I trust you. Jesus didn't say, I'm just claiming by faith that there's going to be another way and I'm going to escape the cross and still be able to save my people. That's not biblical faith. Please don't believe that lie. Please don't. Finally, true faith is our only hope of salvation. True faith is our only hope of salvation. Listen to this question number sixty in the Heidelberg Catechism, How are you righteous before God? Listen to this only by a true faith in Jesus Christ, so that though my conscience accuse me that I have grossly transgressed all the commandments of God and kept none of them, and am still inclined to evil, notwithstanding God without any merit of mind, but only of mere grace, grants and imputes to me the perfect satus, faction, righteousness and holiness of Christ. Even so as if I had never had nor committed any sin, yea, as if I had fully accomplished all that obedience which Christ has accomplished for me, inasmuch as I embrace such benefit with a believing heart. If you don't understand what faith really is, you don't understand what salvation is. An example of that. We've talked about this before. Those individuals who absolutely pervert the word of God as it relates to who Jesus is on the one hand, but on the other hand claimed to be saved. They redefined the savior and claim to be saved Jesus. Do you believe in Jesus, Yes, I believe in Jesus, But I don't believe that Jesus was God in the flesh. I don't believe that Jesus died for sin or resurrected on the third day. I don't believe that Jesus is seated the right head of the Father, or that he will return to judge the living and the dead. Nevertheless, I believe I'm saved and I'm going to heaven when I die. How do you get there from here? And by the way, what I just said was almost a direct quote from one of the members of the Jesus Seminar. True faith is linked inexorably to the Word of God. If the Jesus in whom you are believing is not the Jesus of the scriptures, you do not possess true faith. You do not possess true salvation. So if we buy the lie and redefine this concept of faith, and then juxtapose that onto the biblical text and intertwine it with our understanding of salvation, folks, are you seeing how dangerous this is? Listen to what the Word says Romans one, sixteen and seventeen. For I'm not ashamed of the Gospel. For it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the jew first, and also to the Greek. For the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith. As it is written, the righteous shall live by faith. And in Romans three twenty one to twenty five, we heard it already. Listen to it again. We can't hear it enough. But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the law and the prophets bear witness to it. The righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe, For there is no distinction, for all have sin and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by His grace as a gift through the redemption that is in Christ, Jesus, whom God put forth as a propitiation in his blood, to be received by faith. Without faith, it is impossible to please God. You see in Abraham, we don't learn what it means to be a man or a woman who just believes real hard. We learn to be a man or a woman who takes God at his word, and who, as a result of taking God as his word, obeys, and who trust God, not tempts God, knowing that true faith is our only only way to salvation, repentance and faith. That's it. That's it, And if that's the case, you better be real careful how we define faith. Let's pray, Father, thank you for your word, Thank you for your truth. We are so incredibly grateful. Help us to think clearly, Help us to think biblically, help us to trust you and not empty concepts. Help us to take you at your word and trust you, not tempt you. Help us to believe you and obey you. Not to say we have belief when there is no obedience, and not to say that we are obeying when in fact we're trying to earn our salvation, but to walk with you in faith and to obey you as an outworking of your presence and power in our lives, not as a means of earning it. And thank you for the fruit of obedience that we see, though limited, it may be thank you that those of us who know You can look back in our lives, and though we are holy and completely dissatisfied with who we are, at this very moment, we can say, thank you Lord, that we're not where we used to be, and it is by your grace. So by faith we will continue to trust you. We will continue to walk with you as you sanctify us by your grace, as you conform us to the very image of Christ, our Savior, as you make us more like him. They by day, not according to our merit, but in spite of our lack thereof Father, we lift up those whom we know, some who are very near and dear to us, whose lives have been ensnared by false teaching in the area of faith. They're naming things and claiming things that have nothing to do with your word, nothing to do with your character. They're tempting you and testing you and not trusting you. God, would you help us not to sit in judgment on those individuals, but to pity them, to pray for them, and if perhaps by your grace, to speak truth to them, And for the one on the hamster wheel under the sound of my voice who's been trying harder and running harder, going around and around and around. God, would you grant them grace to day to stop. Remind us all that the righteous live by faith.