THE BIBLE IS A BOOK OF IMPERFECT PEOPLE AND A PERFECT GOD      

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I have a lovely friend that once started reading the Bible and when she got to the story of Abram, she quit.  She thought that the Bible was a book of perfect people acting perfectly.  So, there may be many more of you that may think the same thing.  This isn’t true. 

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1.  The only perfect person ever to live was Jesus Christ.  Jesus was all God and all man.  He never sinned. 

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2.  Everyone else mentioned in the Bible messed up.  Some of them messed up big time!  Everyone else that has ever lived has messed up–big   time.  

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3.  Sin is sin.  All sin is the same in that they separate us from God.  Now the consequences to sins are different.  Sins affect other people besides the one committing the sin. 

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4.  God hates sin, always.  

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5.  God forgives sin, always.  God will restore the one who sins, always.  God forgives and restores only when the person asks.  Also, God forgives us, when we forgive others. 

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6.  Believe in the Biblical sense means trust in, rely on, and cling to.  It is important for you to know that just acknowledging that there is a God is not Biblical belief.  

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7.  Believing God must be demonstrated by a lifestyle of trusting in, relying on, and clinging to Jesus Christ.  

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SOMETIMES WE GET IT RIGHT,  ​

SOMETIMES WE DON’T    

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So for Abram and Sarai.  

Here is where Abram was a good example: 

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At the beginning of the 12th chapter of Genesis we see that the Lord spoke to Abram and Abram did what God asked.    In 12:7 the Lord appeared to Abram.  Abram built and altar and dedicated it to the Lord.  After he built the second altar he worshiped the Lord. 

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ABRAM AND SARAI MAKE A BIG MISTAKE  

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Here is where Abram blows it: 

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He asked his wife to lie.  Abram feared for his life so he asked his wife to lie.  This was wrong.  He was selfish, he was only thinking about his life being spared.  God hated his sin.  Abram was not trusting God in this instance.  There were consequences to his sin, but God did not discard him.  God gave him another chance.  God forgave him.  

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Here is where Sarai may have blown it: 

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I think it interesting that in this version it says that Pharoah’s household suffered because of Sarai in verse 17.  So is it possible that Sarai blindly submitted to Abram.  Would Sarai have been a better helpmate had she respectfully talked with Abram and said that was the wrong thing to do?  You see being a helpmate is not enabling your spouse to sin.  We don’t know because the text doesn’t tell us exactly how the situation came down.  But it is something that women should pray and seek God about. 

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ABRAM BLEW IT BUT DIDN’T WALK AWAY FROM GOD  ​

HE WORSHIPED GOD 

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Then in chapter 13:1 we see that Abram built another altar and again worshiped the Lord. 

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Abram believed God.  He listened, he obeyed, he worshiped.  

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Abram is a typical human who makes mistakes.  Abram did not walk away from God after he blew it, but instead chose to continue to worship God.  And God did not walk away from Abram. 

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GOD IS A GOD OF GRACE AND MERCY.  HE DOESN’T GIVE US WHAT WE DESERVE BUT WANTS TO BE MERCIFUL TO US AND HELP US IN OUR TIME OF NEED.