[AI translation] We have also had the opportunity to see the constant, even occasional, timeliness of God's Word. You may recall that when, about a year and a half ago, we interpreted the Gospel of John in a series, each Sunday the next part, and this always gave the message for the occasional sermon the message appropriate to the occasion. At Christmas, for example, we found the Gospel of Christmas in the next part, at New Year, Good Friday and Easter. And so on this Sunday, when delegates from all parts of the country are meeting to discuss the consolidation and defence of peace in the context of the Third Hungarian Peace Congress, and when every Reformed pulpit wants to convey the message of the God of peace in its sermons: we did not need to look for a special Word for this occasion, because the next part of our Abraham series contains the current message for today. The passage read is about the meeting and covenant of Abraham and Abimelech, and in it we are given some points worth considering concerning the relationship between the believer, the child of God, and the worldly power. Let us try to take them in turn.Abimelech says to Abraham, "God is with you in all that you do." (Genesis 21:22) This is said by the heathen prince of the country in whose territory Abraham settled and lived as a foreigner, a stranger. A greater accolade, a better testimonial, could hardly be given to a man of faith. For here it is a question of Abraham's showing to the world, by his actions, by his outward life, something of his inward communion with God. His inner spiritual relationship with God was so transparent in his outward behaviour, in his whole life, that it inspired respect in a man of a different worldview, of a different orientation. This Philistine prince, Abimelech, had the opportunity to observe Abraham's life closely and to see God's blessing grace in all that he lived among them. And this observation made a good impression on him. Everything he saw here spoke of the man's walk with God. Indeed, everything in the life of a true child of God must speak of this. It is not only the altar he builds to the Lord in his heart or within the walls of his church, but the prayers he says in his inner room; not only his spiritual exercises in cultivating his communion with God that speak of his walking with God, his believing in God, his being a child of God, but his family life, his moral seriousness, his tent, his flocks, his whole turning about in the world. Yes, in all this manifestation of Abraham's life, there was a sense that he was surrounded by some inexplicable holiness, protected, hidden, blessed by some mysterious power. And this is natural - for if a man is really in a living relationship with the God of eternity, he cannot do anything without the atmosphere, the power, the light of eternity being in some way visible, felt in his outward conduct and actions. This is what Abimelech felt, and why he said of him with such praise: 'God is with you in all that you do' (Gen 21:22).
So this means that the believer should honour his Lord, should live his fellowship with God in such a way that it should not be to the shame of the world, before outsiders, but to the glory of God's name. Such a bitter reproach is also found in the Scriptures, "The name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you." (Rom 2:24) We all have many sins to repent of in this regard. It is not his enemies but his friends who have done the most harm to the cause of Christ on this earth. No one can bring shame on this holy name but he who bears it. Let us know the sad examples from history, and from the many miserable failures of our own Christian lives! This is why the Apostle Paul exhorts us to live a life of moderation and purity, for example, in Christian family life, with this warning: 'that the word of God be not blasphemed' (Titus 2:5). (1Pt 2,12) They all say the same thing in different words, which Jesus expressed thus, "Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven." (Mt 5,16) Jesus came not only to bring human lives into heaven, but also to bring heaven into human lives, and to use the powers, beauty, warmth, peace of eternal life in you - who believe in Him - in all aspects of your life on earth. The believer is like an inverted tree: his roots are above in the invisible world, in eternity, his foliage, his crown, his fruit are here on earth, in the service of earthly life. It bears good fruit for the good of this world by powers from above. And we know of a parable of Jesus in which it is precisely these fruits that the Lord is seeking: the fruits of love, of service, of selfless living, of honest work, in which a man's inner spiritual communion with God is outwardly manifested, is realised in a life of honour and honour before the world! In the example of Abraham, then, the Lord exhorts us, as regards the conduct of the believer in the world, to take heed to the holiness, purity and honour of the name which God has given us to bear: the name of Christ!
The story continues with Abimelech, king of the Philistines, calling Abraham to a covenant. "Now therefore swear by God here by me, that neither against me, nor against my son, nor against my grandson, wilt thou do deceit: but with the love which I have had toward thee, thou wilt have toward me, and toward the kingdom wherein thou hast been a stranger." (Gen 21:23) And Abraham did not hesitate. He sees at once that the cause is a good one, and that it is in both their interests to work together peacefully in the land on which they dwell. His conscience does not object, as a man of faith, to entering into an alliance with a ruler who does not worship his God. He accepts and seals the offer with an oath: 'And Abraham said, I will swear' (Gen 21:24). For Abraham's vocation was not to make war with the nations among whom he dwelt, but to be a blessing to them. His mission as a man of God was to be a blessing, to be an interpreter of God's will, to serve! His oath, therefore, was to ensure peaceful coexistence with the tribe of Abimelech for generations, and this was in keeping with the prophetic vocation to which he was sent.
We, the people of the New Testament, who have been given even more light by the Revelation, can draw this line even further. Not only do we undertake what Abimelech asked of Abraham: "...that against me...you do not do deceit, but with the love that I have shown you, you will show me. But let us accept by faith as the word of God what the apostle Peter says following the verse just quoted, "Obey therefore all the ordinances of men for the Lord's sake: whether kings, as kings in the midst of the kingdom; or governors, as those whom he sends to punish the wicked and to praise the righteous. For it is the will of God that you should do good, and put to silence the ignorance of wicked men." (1Pt 2,13-15) So, too, between the believer and the secular superiors, even if not based on faith, there is possible not only a relationship that ensures peaceful coexistence, but also one that calls for cooperation in all things that promote and serve the best interests of the kingdom, the good of mankind, and its prosperity in life on earth.
And we all know very well that the greatest such cause in which the world today calls the Church to co-operate is the cause of peace, the settlement at the negotiating table of the terrible tension between nations, the peaceful resolution of the unsolved world situation without another destructive war. It is we who know God - who know that "the chastisement of our peace" (Is 53:5) is upon His holy Son, to whom our Lord has bequeathed His peace, which surpasses all understanding - who can only rejoice heartily that peace is the watchword and the supreme aspiration of the world around us. It is a cause which is the most pressing question of all our destinies, and which every man of good will should, if only by reason alone, strive to achieve. According to a foreign ecclesiastical journal, in the Second World War, 22 million people lost their lives on the battlefield, 15-20 million civilians were bombed, 30 million were wounded, maimed or disabled. Air raids destroyed 21 million homes, left 1 million children without parents and 1 million parents without children. Is it not worthwhile, is it not necessary, to summon all our strength to spare this world such terrible victims, if there is only one way and one possibility?!
We, as people of faith, have three special tasks to perform in this area. The first is to believe that a peaceful solution is possible! We believe that the tensions in the world can be resolved not only with weapons and wars, but also peacefully! We believe that the leaders of states can come together and resolve international issues that threaten to erupt by peaceful means of mutual goodwill. We, who dare to bear witness to life, to eternal life, even beside the open grave, beside the corpse to be buried: let us dare, then, at a time when many consider war inevitable, to believe that a peaceful solution is possible. Let us dare to believe! For we believe in God, the Lord Almighty, the Father of mercy, the God of peace! Such bold faith has power, for great is the God in whom we believe!
The second special thing we have to do is to pray! "The fervent supplication of the righteous is very profitable" (James 5:16), says the Scripture. Our fervent supplication goes to the place where the fate of the world is settled: the heavenly throne. So let us ask, many of us, with perseverance, that the Lord may have mercy on His miserable children! Let me tell you that in my solitary prayers, in our family devotions in our home, my children and I pray for this every day! We have promises to answer prayer, so let us hold up the vessel of prayer before God as many as possible, so that He may put in it the gift that so many millions of people are longing for: peace!
The third is to set our lives, reconciled to God, as a breakwater against all peacemaking, strife, hatred and unlovingness, so that its power may break upon us. For war is the projection of the sin of us all. Now, to the extent that the person of Christ who gives peace is powerful and real in me, the possibility of peace grows around me. This is what the Apostle Paul says: "If it is possible, if it is in your power, live peaceably with all men. Do not take revenge for yourselves..." (Rom 12:17-18) And so: "Let your gentleness be known to all men. (Phil 4,5).
Abraham "planted tamarisk trees in Beersheba to commemorate the covenant, and called on the name of the everlasting Lord God." (Gen 21:33) So now he had a deeper knowledge of God again. Now he knew that God is the everlasting Lord God. God of the whole world. Though He had declared Himself to Abraham only as His God, as the One who had made a covenant with Him, yet now He gives Him the honour of being Lord of all, the everlasting God, in whose service life cannot be divided into two halves, the physical and the spiritual, a religious and a political sphere, an external and an internal life, but in relation to whom also things that are not spiritual take on spiritual significance, and questions of faith also require a decision of faith, from whose point of view things must be seen in a unity of life, in all its aspects. Thus, for the believer, his life, his turning, his resolution in the world becomes a worship of God; all his work becomes an act of faith, just as much as his devotion in the church! Yes: we walk by faith, as the Word says, but in the ways of this world!
Would that we truly walked by faith, through the gracious power of Him in whom we believe!
Amen
Date: 23 November 1952.
Lesson
Jak 3,13-18