God's Call And The Response Of Faith

The Hebrews letter's author guides us next to Abraham, one of the most famous of all Biblical personages. Abraham's name occurs 233 times in 220 verses in the ESV. Abram, his original name, occurs 55 times in 47 verses. Abram means exalted father. He was the founder and father of the nation of Israel, the son of Terah, born in Mesopotamia. When called by God, he left and spent the remainder of his life in the land of Canaan with his flocks (cf. Genesis 12-25). Hebrews refers to this journey. There is much to learn from the life of Abraham (father of a multitude). We have room only for a very few thoughts.

By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place that he was to receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going. By faith he went to live in the land of promise, as in a foreign land, living in tents with Isaac and Jacob, heirs with him of the same promise. For he was looking forward to the city that has foundations, whose designer and builder is God. - Hebrews 11:8-10 ESV

What is the Call of God? And how do I know that I am hearing God call me?

The Greek word is the same as ours, but with slightly different letters—kaleō. So we read that both Mary and Joseph called their son Jesus as they had been so instructed by the angelic revelation (Matt. 1:21-25.) Later Matthew tells us that Jesus was called a Nazarene in fulfillment of prophecy (Matt. 2:23). The same use of the verb is found in Jesus' Sermon on the Mount when he says that the peacemakers shall be called sons of God and those who relax even one of the least of the commandments and so teaches will be called least in the kingdom of heaven. From these and other examples we conclude that the verb refers first to giving someone a name and then with that name a description of their destiny and blessing or curse. 

So it was with Abraham. Paul writes of how he received a new name and a new destiny. In some detail in his letter to the Romans Paul says that Abraham, the prime example of a man of faith, received circumcision as a seal—not as a result—of the righteousness he had by faith while he was still uncircumcised. Paul's huge point is that faith is the critical factor, not circumcision as an act of obedience. Thus Abraham was pronounced and declared righteous as a gift of God's grace (Gen. 15:6) before and without circumcision. So he is 

. . . the father of the circumcised who are not merely circumcised but who also walk in the footsteps of the faith that our father Abraham had before he was circumcised. - Rom 4:12 ESV

God does the calling, the naming and declaring. He called or declared Abraham righteous in His sight. God counted Abraham's faith as righteousness. Abraham believed the vision the LORD gave that the He would fulfill His promises to make Abraham's descendants as numerous as the stars above (Gen. 15:5). Abraham believed that the land of Canaan on which he sojourned would be the land in which those descendants would dwell. He believed all this even though he, Abraham, had no children and was already an old man. As such his name was still Ab-ram (exalted father). He was not yet named Ab-raham (father of a multitude).  But his name was indeed changed and with that name change came the promise.

Then Abram fell on his face. And God said to him, "Behold, my covenant is with you, and you shall be the father of a multitude of nations. No longer shall your name be called Ab-ram, but your name shall be Ab-raham, for I have made you the father of a multitude of nations. I will make you exceedingly fruitful, and I will make you into nations, and kings shall come from you. And I will establish my covenant between me and you and your offspring after you throughout their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and to your offspring after you. And I will give to you and to your offspring after you the land of your sojournings, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession, and I will be their God." - Gen 17:3-8 ESV

And the lesson for us? 

The LORD called you to faith if you believe in Jesus as the Christ and your Savior. This is the call He spoke in your baptism when He called you by name and declared you to be His child. In that call He declared you to be pure, clean and without sin. He declared you to have suffered the consequences of your sinning with His Son upon the cross of Calvary. He declared you forsaken and rejected along with Christ. He declared you dead. And then He declared you to be alive, risen with Christ. He declared that your life is already hidden with Christ in heaven. He declared that you will not die, but live and be given a new and eternal body. All this is yours when He called you His own in Baptism.

 

Consider what the Apostle writes to the Romans and to others about being baptized into Christ.

Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life. For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his. - Rom 6:3-5 ESV

This does not exhaust the meaning of God's Call. But let it be sufficient for today. Consider your Call and rejoice. In my next posting I'll consider the LORD's Call as God directing and guiding our lives.