Abraham and the Burning Flame

The sermon begins by introducing summer and the selection of independent sermons about extraordinary encounters between biblical figures and God recorded in the Old and New Testaments. Abraham is presented as an exceedingly important figure recognized by all three major religions (Christianity, Judaism, and Islam) as the father of God's people and faith. The encounter in Genesis 15:1-21 carries profound significance in God's plan of salvation for humanity through Abraham and his descendants.

Abraham's life is recorded in 14 chapters of Genesis, comprising more than one-fifth of the entire book. Four major turning points mark his life: first, God's call for Abraham to leave his homeland, kinspeople, and father's house to go to a place God would show him. The second landmark is God's promise of descendants as numerous as the stars in heaven and the sand on the seashore, yet Abraham had to wait nearly 25 years before receiving a son through himself and Sarah. The third turning point is the promise of land, although Abraham himself never owned land except what he purchased to bury his wife; his descendants would receive the promised land 400 years later. The fourth and greatest trial came when God commanded Abraham to sacrifice Isaac, the child of promise, on an altar.

The central theme of the sermon is that Abraham was declared righteous by faith alone, as written in Genesis 15:6: "Abram believed the LORD, and He credited it to him as righteousness." This declaration occurs before Abraham performs any action or work. Scripture teaches that without faith, it is impossible to please God, for whoever comes to God must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who earnestly seek Him. Abraham's faith in God's promise becomes the anchor of his soul, firm and steadfast, protecting him from the tumults and adversities of life.

The heart of the sermon concerns the covenant established between God and Abraham. When Abraham asks God how he can know he will possess the land, God commands him to bring certain animals for a covenant ceremony. In Abraham's time, covenants were not made by signatures but by cutting animals in two, with the covenant maker walking between the divided pieces, symbolizing that if one broke the covenant, they too would be cut in two like the animals. However, something extraordinary happens: not Abraham, but God Himself—in the form of a smoking furnace and a burning flame—passes between the divided animals, covenanting that if He does not keep His promise regarding descendants and land, then God Himself will die and be cut off.

This act carries profound meaning: God commits an entirely one-sided, unconditional covenant to Abraham. Although it seems unimaginable that an all-powerful Creator would suffer death, God covenanted that if Abraham's descendants fail to keep the covenant, He Himself would be cut off for their sake. This promise was fulfilled thousands of years later when the Second Person of the Godhead, Jesus Christ the Savior, suffered death on the cross. When Christ died, darkness covered the land—as the terrifying darkness covered when God passed through the smoking furnace and burning flame at that ancient time. The prophet Isaiah foresaw this, saying "He was cut off from the land of the living for the transgression of my people." Because Christ fulfilled the covenant with Abraham through His substitutionary death for humanity, all who are in Him can receive every spiritual blessing in heaven.

The sermon concludes by reminding that Abraham was declared righteous by faith alone, not by works or merit. Similarly, we are saved, chosen by God, placed in Christ, adopted as children, and made co-heirs with Christ by faith alone, not because of anything worthy or praiseworthy in ourselves. The central message is that faith in God's promise is the anchor of the soul, and only God through Christ can fulfill that promise eternally.