Only Believers Are Children of Abraham

 

Who is Abraham the father of and to what descendants are his promises for?

Obviously, Abraham was a physical man with physical descendants. Most people know that he was first the father of Ishmael through Hagar, his concubine, and then the father of Isaach through Sarah. Some others will be aware that he had another wife and many more children,

“1 Abraham took another wife, whose name was Keturah. 2 She bore him Zimran, Jokshan, Medan, Midian, Ishbak, and Shuah. 3 Jokshan fathered Sheba and Dedan. The sons of Dedan were Asshurim, Letushim, and Leummim. 4 The sons of Midian were Ephah, Epher, Hanoch, Abida, and Eldaah. All these were the children of Keturah. 5 Abraham gave all he had to Isaac. 6 But to the sons of his concubines Abraham gave gifts, and while he was still living he sent them away from his son Isaac, eastward to the east country.”

Abraham, as he was told and as his name means, was literally the father of many. Not just the ancestor of many. There is no doubt though that he favoured the child of promise, Isaac. Why did he favour Isaac? Because he was the child through which God's promise was to come, “15 And God said to Abraham, “As for Sarai your wife, you shall not call her name Sarai, but Sarah shall be her name. 16 I will bless her, and moreover, I will give you a son by her. I will bless her, and she shall become nations; kings of peoples shall come from her” (Gen. 15:15-16). It was through the child of promise that the promises of God would be extended to Abraham’s offspring. All Abraham had to do was belief God. Therefore, though Abraham had many physical descendants, it is only the children of promise, or the children of faith, who are his real descendants. This is not my argument, this is the argument of the whole of the Scriptures and especially the New Testament.

Paul makes this especially clear in Romans 4, where he says about being credited with righteousness, as Abraham was,

“9 Is this blessing then only for the circumcised, or also for the uncircumcised? For we say that faith was counted to Abraham as righteousness. 10 How then was it counted to him? Was it before or after he had been circumcised? It was not after, but before he was circumcised. 11 He received the sign of circumcision as a seal of the righteousness that he had by faith while he was still uncircumcised. The purpose was to make him the father of all who believe without being circumcised, so that righteousness would be counted to them as well, 12 and to make him 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. 4:9-12).

Who is he the father of? “of all who believe…” Those who are uncircumcised, but also note that he also says this, “and to make him 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…” In other words, Paul was arguing that while Abraham may be the physical father of many peoples, particularly the circumcised, he is in reality the father of all who believe, whether circumcised or not. But he is especially emphasizing that being among the circumcised, or physically being a Jew, does not make one a child of Abraham. One must be “not merely circumcised but also walk in the footsteps of the faith that our father Abraham had before he was circumcised." In other words he is the father of all who believe in Jesus.

Paul was not the first to argue this. John the Baptist said much the same thing. In Matthew 3 he says,

“7 But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to his baptism, he said to them, “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? 8 Bear fruit in keeping with repentance. 9 And do not presume to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father,’ for I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children for Abraham” (Matt. 3:7-9).

According to John the Baptist, the greatest man ever born of woman in the Old Covenant era, only faith and repentance counted to make one a child of Abraham. And he even asserts that God can raise up children of Abraham from the stones right in front of him, which likely has the double meaning of pointing out that many unbelieving Gentiles would soon become children of the man of faith. After all that is why Abraham is called the man of faith, he is the father of all who came after him who have faith in God.

Paul makes this point equally strong in Galatians as he did in Romans,

“7 Know then that it is those of faith who are the sons of Abraham. 8 And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, “In you shall all the nations be blessed.” 9 So then, those who are of faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith” (Gen. 3:7-9).

Who are the sons of the man of faith, according to Paul and John the Baptist? “...It is those of faith who are the sons of Abraham.” I don’t know how any Christian can even question this when Paul lays it out in black and white so clearly.

And even more significantly, so too did Jesus,

“39 They answered him, “Abraham is our father.” Jesus said to them, “If you were Abraham's children, you would be doing the works Abraham did, 40 but now you seek to kill me, a man who has told you the truth that I heard from God. This is not what Abraham did. 41 You are doing the works your father did.” They said to him, “We were not born of sexual immorality. We have one Father—even God.” 42 Jesus said to them, “If God were your Father, you would love me, for I came from God and I am here. I came not of my own accord, but he sent me. 43 Why do you not understand what I say? It is because you cannot bear to hear my word. 44 You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father's desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies” (John 8:39-44).

When the Jewish leaders challenged Jesus he straight up told them that just like any other unbelievers they were not of God, and therefore not children of Abraham. Because for Jesus, and this should settle the question, it is only those who love him who are the children of God, or children of Abraham, “If you were Abraham's children, you would be doing the works Abraham did,… “If God were your Father, you would love me, for I came from God and I am here.”

It is about right now that someone might bring up Romans 9-11 and say, “What about that passage Matt?” As if Paul contradicts himself, Jesus and John the Baptist there. Well, what about it? This is what it says,

“6 But it is not as though the word of God has failed. For not all who are descended from Israel belong to Israel, 7 and not all are children of Abraham because they are his offspring, but “Through Isaac shall your offspring be named.” 8 This means that it is not the children of the flesh who are the children of God, but the children of the promise are counted as offspring” (Rom. 9:6-8).

Some read this and then conclude, “Ah ha! See, Israel came from Isaac therefore the Jews are the children of Abraham.” But they miss the entire point of Paul’s argument. As he notes, “It is not the children of the flesh who are the children of God…” Well, then who is? It is “the children of promise.” And who are they? They are the children of faith, as every other passage explains.

Paul’s argument here in Romans 9-11 (and really in all his works) is that we cannot rely on the flesh, but that we must rely on faith,

“10 For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved. 11 For the Scripture says, “Everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame.” 12 For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, bestowing his riches on all who call on him. 13 For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved” (Rom. 10:10-13).

If Paul were arguing here that the fleshly descendants of Isaac were the children of promise, this would contradict his whole argument in Romans 1-8, especially in chapter 4, and it would also undermine his argument in chapters 9-11 that we must rely not on the flesh, but on faith. Paul drives this home in chapter 11,

“19 Then you will say, “Branches were broken off so that I might be grafted in.” 20 That is true. They were broken off because of their unbelief, but you stand fast through faith. So do not become proud, but fear. 21 For if God did not spare the natural branches, neither will he spare you. 22 Note then the kindness and the severity of God: severity toward those who have fallen, but God's kindness to you, provided you continue in his kindness. Otherwise you too will be cut off. 23 And even they, if they do not continue in their unbelief, will be grafted in, for God has the power to graft them in again” (Rom. 11:19-23).

Flesh counts for nothing. The natural state of the branches counts for nothing. Only faith counts when it comes to the people of God. One can only stand in faith. One is only of God through faith. One is only a child of Abraham by faith. Again and Again the Bible emphasizes this. John the Baptist, Jesus and Paul agree; it is only the people of faith who are sons of Abraham.

This is because it is circumcision of the heart that matters, not circumcision of the flesh. Even Jeremiah made this point, all the way back in the days of circumcision,

“25 Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will punish all those who are circumcised merely in the flesh— 26 Egypt, Judah, Edom, the sons of Ammon, Moab, and all who dwell in the desert who cut the corners of their hair, for all these nations are uncircumcised, and all the house of Israel are uncircumcised in heart” (Jer. 9:25).

This is the message that got Jeremiah, Paul, John the Baptist and Jesus all persecuted: that being a physical descendant of Abraham did not count. Only those who had faith are accounted as part of God’s people. The Pharisees took issue with this position and sought to persecute the church to do away with all who taught this. But it is even a greater travesty that today people who call themselves Christians stand with the Pharisees and say that circumcision of the flesh and descent by the flesh accounts for something before God. This is the very antithesis of both the New Testament and the Old. Confidence in the flesh is the opposite of anything the people of God should ever believe.

Paul spent his whole life seeking to assert this message,

“3 For we are the circumcision, who worship by the Spirit of God and glory in Christ Jesus and put no confidence in the flesh— 4 though I myself have reason for confidence in the flesh also. If anyone else thinks he has reason for confidence in the flesh, I have more: 5 circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; as to the law, a Pharisee; 6 as to zeal, a persecutor of the church; as to righteousness under the law, blameless. 7 But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ.”

If the flesh counted for anything we could have confidence in it. But it does not. Only faith does. Only those who have faith in Christ are the sons of Abraham. This is core, foundational, Christianity.