Following in Abraham’s Footsteps
Abraham's life of faith provides us with a template of the Christian life.
Paul’s point is that neither circumcision nor uncircumcision matters as far as our standing with God is concerned, because Abraham was justified by faith alone before he was circumcised. What matters is walking in the footsteps of faith, footsteps laid out before us by our father in faith, Abraham. This makes our studies of the faith of Abraham something more than academic. If we are saved, he is our father in faith, and we are to walk in his steps. In his Romans commentary John Murray says, “To ‘walk in the footsteps’ is to march in file. Abraham is conceived of as the leader of the band and we walk, not abreast, but in file, following in the footsteps left by Abraham.”
By Faith Leaving a Home
By Faith Seeking a Home
By Faith Arriving Home
In 1899 two prominent men died, and the manner of their deaths well illustrates this difference. The first was Colonel Robert G. Ingersoll, for whom the Ingersoll lectures on immortality at Harvard University are named, and who gave his brilliant mind to the refutation of Christianity. Ingersoll died suddenly that year, leaving his unprepared family utterly devastated. So grief-stricken was his wife that she would not allow his body to be taken from their home until the health of the family required its removal. His remains then were cremated, and his funeral service was such a scene of dismay and despair that even the newspapers of the day commented upon it. Death came to this man and there was no hope, but only an irredeemable tragedy.
The other man who died that year was Dwight L. Moody, the great Christian evangelist. He had been declining for some time, and his family had gathered around his bed. On his last morning, his son heard him exclaim, “Earth is receding; heaven is opening; God is calling.” “You are dreaming, Father,” said his son. But Moody replied, “No, Will, this is no dream. I have been within the gates. I have seen the children’s faces.” Moody seemed to revive but then started to slip away again. “Is this death?” he was heard to say. “This is not bad; there is no valley. This is bliss. This is glorious.” His daughter now had come and she began to pray for him to recover. “No, no, Emma,” he said. “Don’t pray for that. God is calling. This is my coronation day. I have been looking forward to it.”
Moody died not long after that, his family confident of his entry into heaven. His funeral was a scene of triumph and great joy. Those in attendance sang hymns and exalted God. “Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?” they exclaimed. Walking in Abraham’s steps, the Christian had found the home he had been seeking throughout his earthly sojourn. He had not been ashamed of God, and now God was not ashamed of him. He had lived for God in this world, leaving behind its pleasures and its glory, and God had prepared a city for him—“an inheritance,” Peter says, “that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven” for him (1 Peter 1:4). “Now,” he could say along with Paul, “there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on that Day, and not only to me but also to all who have loved his appearing” (2 Tim. 4:8).