Genesis 22:15-19. 15And the angel of the Lord called to Abraham a second time from heaven 16and said, “By myself I have sworn, declares the Lord, because you have done this and have not withheld your son, your only son, 17I will surely bless you, and I will surely multiply your offspring as the stars of heaven and as the sand that is on the seashore. And your offspring shall possess the gate of his enemies, 18and in your offspring shall all the nations of the earth be blessed, because you have obeyed my voice.” 19So Abraham returned to his young men, and they arose and went together to Beersheba. And Abraham lived at Beersheba.
Jesus taught us that unless a kernel of wheat goes into the ground and dies it cannot bear fruit. This is the pattern for all of life, especially the spiritual life – death must proceed resurrection. Sacrifice must proceed fruitfulness.
Us old timers remember hearing about the need to consecrate our lives to God. “Take my life and let it be, consecrated Lord to thee,” we would sing. Far too often this theology was full of problems, not the least of which was that it caused Christians to place their faith in their own ability to live the so-called consecrated life.
But today’s passage does remind us that the covenant of God that we have been called into, though unconditional, is a relationship. It is a partnership. And our part is faith. And not just passive faith, but active faith made visible through sacrifice.
When the Angel of the Lord (Jesus) calls to Abraham a second time on Mount Moriah, he doubles down on the covenant promise. The unconditional promise has already been made. You recall that only God walked through the bloody animal pieces in Genesis 15. Once again, here in Genesis 22, it is the Lord alone who swears – By myself I have sworn, declares the Lord. Then God doubles down on his promise, sealing it by his oath. The KJV best reveals this double blessing:
Genesis 22:17 (KJV). That in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed.
It’s like God is saying, “I was always going to bless you, but now I’m really going to bless you. I was going to multiply your seed, but now I’m going to multiply your seed even more.”
Make no mistake this is the blessing of faith, not merit. We must never forget that Abraham’s faith is what credited him as righteous (Gen. 15:6). But what we must also never forget is that true faith will always produce obedience. Sacrifice. Consecration.
Sadly, over the years the idea of consecrating our lives to Christ has been used as a bludgeon on well-intended Christians. Usually it sounds something like this: “Jesus gave his life for you, the least you can do is give your life for him.” The Christian is pressured to surrender to Jesus out of love and gratitude. Obviously this sounds great. But did Abraham surrender to God out of love and gratitude? Or was it out of faith? True sanctification and true consecration can only come by faith alone. And faith produces love and gratitude, not the other way around.
Faith in what? Faith in the covenant promises of God. For us in Christ it is faith in the indwelling life of Christ. His life in me is my motivation, not my amount of love for him or my thankfulness for what he’s done. These will waver to and fro, tossing us like the waves of the sea. But faith in the sacrifice of Christ, the provided Lamb of God, can bring with it all the power we need to live the consecrated (set apart) life unto God. The Apostle Paul calls it considering.
Romans 6:11. So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.
We are alive unto God. This is our position in Christ and the basis for all consecration and dedication to God.
Yes, real worship is costly. It was for Abraham and it is for us too. It costs dedication, commitment, and, yes, consecration. It costs a life where what it dearest to us in this life is laid on the altar of sacrifice. Not because we owe Jesus for his sacrifice, or because we love him so much, or are so grateful. We lay our all on the altar because we trust him. Simply trust him. Trust him with the faith that pleases God.
To live is Christ requires first our co-crucifixion with Christ. Christ has died FOR us and we have died IN him. “I have been crucified with Christ,” the Apostle Paul says. When we appropriate this death with Christ by faith, then and only then, can we then consecrate our lives to Christ as “living sacrifices.”
You: Have you been trying to consecrate your life to Christ by the love motivation or the gratitude motivation, or, worse yet, the motivation of indebtedness? How’s that working for you?
Christ in you: How are consecration by faith in our death with Christ and consecration by trying hard to please God different?
You in Christ: Why is consecration from faith an important step in our sanctification? Think about how it was an important step for Abraham?
Prayer: Father, I can’t consecrate myself to you without you having first brought me into your covenant promises. Let my consecration be from a faith that produces love, not a love that produces faith. Amen.
To Live is Christ 