Living the atonement is a life of righteous living by faith. The principle is illustrated in the life of Abraham who is presented to us as the preeminent example of faith. In Abraham we see the intimate connection between faith and sacrifice; we see a man who chose to sacrifice the things of this world because he looked forward to a greater hope to come. He was a righteous man who lived by faith. In his interaction with Lot we can learn a most important lesson.
In Genesis 13 Abraham and Lot had to separate from each other, an example of the separation of a man who walked by faith from a man who walked by sight. Although the divine record says Lot was a righteous man (2 Pet 2:8) in this instance we have an example of a man who made a terrible choice. He failed to live the atonement — to live by faith — a decision that cost the lives of most of his family and the ecclesia he led towards Sodom.
We’re told in verse 10 that “Lot lifted up his eyes and saw…” with his natural eyes and was led astray. Just like Eve in Gen 3:6 he let the lust of the eyes direct his actions and when he “saw all the valley of the Jordan, that it was well watered everywhere”(NASB1) he let the desire to have the things of the world take over. This is the antithesis of living by faith and later on in the same chapter we see the contrast with Abraham who was told “Now lift up your eyes and look” but unlike Lot we know that Abraham looked with the eye of faith. Hebrews 11:10 says “he was looking for the city which has foundations, whose architect and builder is God” (see also verse 13). The apostle Paul also brings out the contrast between these two men:
“For momentary, light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison, while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen; for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal” (2 Cor 4:17- 18).
Lot lifted up his eyes and saw the temporal; Abraham did the same but saw the eternal. Abraham walked by faith and sacrificed immediate advantage (the well watered valley where Sodom was located) for an eternal future. That is the definition of the righteous living by faith and we can see the direct relationship with the atonement: sacrificing the things of the flesh by clinging on to the things of the spirit. In fact we next read about Abraham receiving an exhortation that matches his faithful way of life.
In Genesis 14 Lot is captured by a confederacy of kings and Abraham takes it upon himself to rescue his nephew. It is then that the king of Sodom, whose enemy Abraham vanquished, offers Abraham something which Lot could not resist — present advantage:
“The king of Sodom said to Abram, ‘Give the people to me and take the goods for yourself.’ Abram said to the king of Sodom, ‘I have sworn to the LORD God Most High, possessor of heaven and earth, that I will not take a thread or a sandal thong or anything that is yours, for fear you would say, “I have made Abram rich” ’ ” (Gen 14:21-23).
Abraham would have nothing of this world’s store and in response to Abraham continuing to live by faith God says in the next chapter “Do not fear, Abram, I am a shield to you; Your reward shall be very great” (Gen 15:1). This is the chapter in which Abraham “believed in the LORD; and He reckoned it to him as righteousness” (verse 6). After God tells Abraham he will receive the land of promise as an inheritance, Abraham asks God a very important question, “O Lord GOD, how may I know that I will possess it?” (Gen 15:8)
What is entrance into the Kingdom of God predicated upon? The answer God gives is sacrifice: “Bring Me a three year old heifer…” (verse 9) and the great lesson that comes out of this is that the cross must come before the crown. This is what our Lord said: “Then Jesus said to his disciples, ‘If anyone wishes to come after me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it; but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul?’ ” (Matt 16:24-26).
Abraham was tempted to gain the whole world, in a sense, by giving into the desire of present advantage. But he refused the king of Sodom and looked with the eye of faith. In other words he sacrificed the temporal gains the king wanted to give him and instead trusted that God would provide what he needed. This is what it means to take up the cross and follow Christ. It is the example our Lord set for us. He was sorely tempted to give in to the desires of the nation of Israel and save them now and avoid the cross. Even his closest disciple, Peter, tempted him after Jesus announced for the first time that he must die (Matt 16:21-23). What Jesus said in response was as much as an exhortation to himself as it is for us. The atonement, which we participate in by taking up our cross and following Christ, is about living by faith, not looking at the well watered valleys of this world but sacrificing what this world can give us now because we want to be in the Kingdom of God more than anything the world offers now.
Of course that’s not the only example from the life of Abraham. His life was all about sacrificing the things of now and looking forward to future promises. He rejected his old life in Ur of the Chaldees for a land he knew nothing about, except Yahweh had told him to go there. Living by faith is believing God is right and acting on that belief. Abraham exemplified this basic principle of the atonement by not striving for the things of this life. He put no trust in the flesh. Nestled between two of the most well-known chapters on the atonement it’s the example of Abraham in Romans 4 which at the centre of Paul’s argument:
“What then shall we say was gained by Abraham, our forefather according to the flesh? For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about, but not before God. For what does the Scripture say? ‘Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness’ ” (Rom 4:1-3 ESV).
Faith is the bottom line, the central characteristic that drives the atonement in practice. Faith in God is the sacrifice and an utter rejection of wanting to provide for our natural fleshly desires. Abraham’s trust in God was mirrored by his distrust in the flesh:
“In hope he believed against hope, that he should become the father of many nations, as he had been told, ‘So shall your offspring be.’ He did not weaken in faith when he considered his own body, which was as good as dead (since he was about a hundred years old), or when he considered the barrenness of Sarah’s womb. No distrust made him waver concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God, fully convinced that God was able to do what he had promised. That is why his faith was ‘counted to him as righteousness’ ” (Rom 4:18-22 ESV).
Abraham could not trust in the flesh. His body was as good as dead and his wife was not only barren but she had gone through menopause (Gen 18:11). And yet he had faith that God would provide a seed — life out of death. This is the essence of living the atonement. We need to develop such a faith that the things of this world and the present advantage it gives are far outweighed by the invisible benefits of trusting in the living God. But all of this requires sacrificing what the world would give us, and that’s never easy. But think of Jesus on the cross as he manifested the same faith as Abraham. Like Abraham his body, nailed to the tree, was as good as dead. He died without a seed (Isa 53:8) and so we can say in a spiritual sense he was barren. Naturally speaking, as he hung there like a common criminal, he lost everything. He had none of this world’s goods and none of its prestige. He denied the lusts of the flesh and eyes and the pride of life. He said no to all offers from the world, to those who said “if you are the son of God, come down from the cross” (Matt 27:40). He said no to the king of Sodom and instead put his trust in the idea that God can create something alive out of that which is dead.
It is a challenge to walk in the footsteps (Rom 4:12) of our father Abraham. Sodom is all around us and, like Lot, we tend to trust what our eyes tell us. We think that if only we had more money, or a better job, or could move to a new area, our problems would be sorted out. And when Sodom offers us something we grasp hold of it. But that’s walking by sight. Walking by faith is saying “Let God be true though everyone were a liar,” (Rom 3:4) and actually trusting — in real life and not just through a theoretical understanding of Jesus Christ and him crucified — that if we say no to the world and yes to God, and live by faith, we shall be part of God’s Kingdom.
Living like this is a huge challenge and sometimes it asks of us tasks that seem impossible. Again think of the faith of Abraham. Decades previously God had called him to leave his home and go to a land that he promised he would give to his seed. That was despite him having a wife who could not bear children and him being seventy-five years old. Over the next twenty-five years God led him and Sarah to a point where they simply could have no trust in the flesh and it was then that God himself provided the seed through the miraculous birth of Isaac. Finally it seemed the promise would be fulfilled but then God tells him to take his son, his only son, and to sacrifice him. Aside from the fact that God was asking Abraham to kill the very reason for his calling, the promises, God’s very purpose, it is hard to imagine the intense emotional turmoil of being asked to sacrifice your beloved child. Sacrificing prestige, wealth, the trappings of this world, these things seem easy in comparison. How many of us would follow in Abraham’s footsteps? And yet here was God, through his servant, demonstrating the importance of the righteous living by faith, a true faith that understands that God can make someone who is dead alive once more. That is what Abraham understood (Heb 11:19) and that is how our Lord was able to endure the cross. This is the atonement in action.
The Origin of the Organic World – Part One