Having left the servants, Abraham took the things necessary for the offering. Abraham had clearly (and wisely!) not told Isaac what was happening, but Isaac realised something was apparently missing, namely the animal to be sacrificed. Abraham told him God would provide and carried on with the preparations. Notice again the faith of Abraham.
Having arrived at the designated place Abraham started to make the final preparations. This included binding his son to the altar. There is no mention of Isaac's reaction to all this. Abraham was about to kill Isaac when the angel of the Lord called out to him to stop.
The Lord knew that Abraham truly feared Him, being willing to trust Him to the absolute limit. Abraham looked up and saw a ram that was to be the sacrifice.
The Lord spoke to Abraham again and confirmed His promises that he would have countless descendants and all nations would be blessed through him. Now Abraham is the archetypal example of the man of faith, and is central to Paul's understanding of faith and salvation. These words of God here seem to make it clear that the end result of a life of faith will be a changed life. In the Bible there is absolutely no room for any theology that teaches that by simply saying the right formula we will be saved. The goal and fruit of Biblical faith and salvation is always a changed person (James 2:23,24).
Having arrived at the designated place Abraham started to make the final preparations. This included binding his son to the altar. There is no mention of Isaac's reaction to all this. Abraham was about to kill Isaac when the angel of the Lord called out to him to stop.
The Lord knew that Abraham truly feared Him, being willing to trust Him to the absolute limit. Abraham looked up and saw a ram that was to be the sacrifice.
The Lord spoke to Abraham again and confirmed His promises that he would have countless descendants and all nations would be blessed through him. Now Abraham is the archetypal example of the man of faith, and is central to Paul's understanding of faith and salvation. These words of God here seem to make it clear that the end result of a life of faith will be a changed life. In the Bible there is absolutely no room for any theology that teaches that by simply saying the right formula we will be saved. The goal and fruit of Biblical faith and salvation is always a changed person (James 2:23,24).
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