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okay you can turn in your Bibles to Genesis chapter 17 Genesis chapter 17 Genesis 17 I'll begin reading in verse 1 when Abram was 99 years old the Lord appeared to Abram and said to him I am Almighty God walk before me and be blameless and I will make my covenant between me and you and will multiply you exceedingly then Abram fell on his face and God talked with him saying as for me behold my covenant is with you and you shall be a father of many nations no longer shall your name be called Abram but you shall be called but your name shall be Abraham for I have made you a father of many nations I will make you exceedingly fruitful and I will make nations of you and Kings shall come from you and I will establish my covenant between me and you and your descendants after you in their generations for an everlasting covenant to be God to you and your descendants after you also I give to you in your descendants after you the land in which you are a stranger all the land of Canaan as an everlasting possession and I will be their God and God said to Abraham as for you you shall keep my covenant you and your descendants after you throughout their generations this is my covenant which you shall keep between me and you and your descendants after you every male child among you shall be circumcised and you shall be circumcised in the flesh of your foreskins and it shall be a sign of the Covenant between me and you excuse me he who is eight days old among you shall be circumcised every male child in your generations he who is born in your house were bought with money from any foreigner who's not your descendant he who is born in your house and he who has bought with your money must be circumcised and my covenant shall be in your flesh for an everlasting covenant and the uncircumcised male child who is not circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin that person shall be cut off from his people he has broken my then God said to Abraham as for Sarah your wife you shall not call her name Sarai but Sarah shall be her name and I will bless her and also give you a son by her then I will bless her and she shall be a mother of Nations kings of people's shall be from her then Abraham fell on his face and laughed and said in his heart shall a child be born to a man who is 100 years old and shall Sarah who is 90 years old bear a child and Abraham said to God oh that Ishmael might live before you then God said no Sarah your wife shall bear you a son and you shall call his name Isaac I will establish my covenant with him for an everlasting covenant and with his descendants after him and as for Ishmael I have heard you behold I have blessed him and will make him fruitful and will multiply him exceedingly he shall be get twelve princes and I will make him a great nation but my covenant I will establish with Isaac whom Sarah shall bear to you at this set time next year then he finished talking with him and God went up from Abraham so Abraham took Ishmael his son all who were born in his house and all who were bought with his money every male among the men of Abraham's house and circumcised the flesh of their foreskins that very same day as God had said to him Abraham was 99 years old when he was circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin and Ishmael his son was 13 years old when he was circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin that very same day Abraham was circumcised and his son Ishmael and all the men of his house born in the house are bought with money from a foreigner were circumcised with him amen well Genesis 6:17 is a very sort of famous passage when it comes to reformed theology there is some debate concerning the particulars involved with reference to the Abrahamic covenant the extent thereof and as it pertains to infant baptism I'm probably not going to deal with a lot of that I just want to kind of give an overarching view of the chapter but we're only going to take up half the tchau this evening and this basically breaks down into four sections first of all the promises of daughter reiterated in verses 1 to 8 the sign of the Covenant is given in verses 9 to 14 the declaration concerning Isaac in verses 15 to 22 and then finally the obedience of Abraham in verses 23 to 27 so we'll look at the promises of God in verses 1 to 8 and then the sign of the Covenant in verses 9 to 14 again there's a lot going on here we simply don't have the time I don't have the time to get into all of the particulars involved in the Abrahamic covenant and how it pertains to infant baptism nevertheless I'll probably make some comments along the way but in the first place notice in the promises of God we have the appearance of the Lord in verses 1 to 3 note the setting abraham's age is given to us in verse 1 when Abram was 99 years old this is 13 years after chapter 16 and verse 16 Abram was 86 years old when Hagar bore Ishmael to Abram now he's 99 years old so this is 13 years later and again one of the things we ought to observe is that the the time involved in the promises given by God to their fruition with reference to the man Abram every step of the way was essentially a test of his faith and we see that even in this particular section we look at 13 years from this vantage point especially during a time when men lived to very old age and that sort of thing we think well that's not that big of a deal well you know when you're in the midst of 13 years it is a big deal and Abram had been given a promise by God that from his own loins from his own wife they would have a son of promise of Gordon Wenham makes the observation here he says 13 years in which Sarai's inability to bear children has been further demonstrated 13 years in which Abraham's hopes of an heir have focused on Ishmael he says that in 1718 he says oh that Ishmael might live before you remember God said no in Genesis chapter 15 and we see this reate a a reiterated here in chapter 17 he goes on to say this passing reference to abraham's age thus sets the frame for the revelation that follows all aspects of the promises are enhanced in what follows but none more so than the promise of descendants through Sara and as we've seen God made promises to Abraham concerning Leo sent a seed and land in chapters 12 13 15 and here again in chapter 17 and in Quentin's right each of them has been enhanced it's not strictly parallel in each of these instances we see an enhancement a further extension or more amplification and then he goes on to say this the mention of abraham's age obliquely reminds the reader how amazing the divine promise is in other words when we consider the time involved and we consider the particular activity involved when it comes to pass it is a demonstration of God's sovereignty and his power and his glory and His grace and we see in this context that a broader Yahweh again appears to Abram notice in verse 1 Abram was ninety years old the Lord appeared to Abram and said to him in Genesis chapter 12 he spoke to him he gave him a vision in Genesis chapter 15 he speaks as well to Hagar in Genesis chapter 16 and here God appears to Abraham it's going to be another appearance in Genesis chapter 18 which is very unique and very intriguing to be sure but here specifically Yahweh appears to him and then God identifies himself as el shaddai he says I am Almighty God this is likely or it is the Hebrew el shaddai and while there's some question concerning the etymology of the particular word should die most agree that Almighty God is an accurate or an appropriate sort of translation for El Shaddai and in Exodus chapter 6 God tells Moses I am the lord I appeared to Abraham to Isaac and to Jacob as God Almighty but by my name Lord I was not known to that so he says I appeared to them as El Shaddai but by my name Yahweh I was not known to them I don't think that means absolutely but rather comparatively he was more revealing himself as El Shaddai to these patriarchs and then of course at the burning bush in Exodus 3:14 he gives that revelation that he is in fact Yahweh and then notice that God tells Abram a specific in verse 1 he says walk before me and be blameless if we go back to Genesis chapter 12 for just a moment prior to God's giving the initial promise to Abram in Genesis chapter 12 he first places that demand upon him in Genesis 12:1 it says now the Lord had said to Abram get out of your country from your family and from your father's house to a land that I will show you I will make you a great nation I will bless you and make your name great and you shall be a blessing I will bless those who bless you and I will curse him who curses you and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed in other words God gives these promises to Abram but there's also conditions attached he must depart from ur of the chaldeans he must apart from his father's household and here in Genesis 17:1 he is to walk before God and he is to be blameless he's supposed to be a man who pursues holiness and he pursues righteousness this is the same sort of description that we find of Noah it's the same sort of activity we find that was true of Enoch Enoch walked with God and then he was not and now notice God reveals to him that he's making this covenant verse 2 and I will make it my covenant between me and you and will multiply you exceedingly now remember excuse me in Genesis 15 there's that covenant ratification ceremony it's that instance where God tells Abram to bring the animals the animals are separated and eat you know what the one side on 1 or half the animal on one side half the animal on the other side and the significance is of the two parties with reference to the covenant march between the animals with the understanding that if either one breaks the covenant then may what happened to these animals happen to these particular coven and so here we have another giving of the Covenant in Genesis chapter 17 on the one hand it seems like Genesis 15 was more peculiarly for Abraham it was to his swage his doubts or his concerns are rather to reinforce the promise of God as well the land promise is more fully developed there in Genesis 15 one commentator sail hammer says the the difference is lie that in Genesis 15 the emphasis is upon the land and in Genesis 17 the emphasis is upon the speed you see land and seed and both so I don't think that's where it's at I think it is for Abram in particular with reference to Genesis 15 but as well here he's making this covenant not only with Abram but also to Abraham's descendants he's including them in the land promised and in the promise concerning seed and so that's probably what's happening in terms of Genesis 15 and 17 so the previous instances of God's promise to Abraham Genesis 12 13 and 15 and here we have the formal ratification of this covenant between Abraham and all of his descendants Matthew Poole comments on verse 2 he says concerning God I am come to renew establish and enlarge that covenant which I formerly made with it so again there's enlargement here he noticed sir we'll notice that as we move from Genesis 12 where it's probably the most generic to Genesis 13 where the seat is considered as sand on the seashore Genesis 15 where it's the stars in the sky here now we learned that it's not only seed but Kings will come from Abraham as well so there's this enlargement or enhancement that's going on in Genesis 17 and it has all the marks of a formal ratification or inauguration of a covenant between Abraham or between God and Abraham and is see now it is most appropriate to refer to this covenant as the Covenant of circumcision do we call it the covenant of grace I'll deal with that as we move on in the in the study tonight but Stephen in Acts chapter 7 specifically inverse a refers to what's happening here in Genesis 17 as a covenant of circumcision I'll argue tonight that God did reveal to Abraham the covenant of grace but it is too much to identify the covenant of circumcision as the covenant of grace I think that is a fundamental misstep that ultimately does result in or yield infant baptism but I don't think it's legitimate to take that particular step and again as we move through the material we'll work in that area as well the best thing I can commit to you to read in terms of a particular Baptist treatment on the Abrahamic covenant is that by Nehemiah Cox if you read Nehemiah talks on Genesis are on the Genesis narratives concerning the Abrahamic covenant is very thorough it is very excellent and it's very polemical because he's arguing against infant inclusion in the covenant of grace based on the Abrahamic covenant for those of you who are thoroughly confused by what I just said hang on we're going to keep with the tax and deal with that for the most part tonight now notice Abraham's response in verse 3 this is legit and this is the response of men when they are confronted with the majesty of God verse 3 then Abram fell on his face and God talked with him saying this is a consistent response when persons come into contact with the true and living God this is the consistent response when persons recognize themselves before that true and living God the fear of God a humbling of ourselves before God a falling on our face before God we don't chat with him as if we are equals we don't chat with him as if he's an inferior but rather we bow before him and we honor him and we revere him and we acknowledge the reality that there is a great distance between the living and true God and between us so that's the appearance of Yahweh to Abraham now notice the promises of Yahweh in verses 4 to a in the first place notice the name change with reference to Abraham the name change reflects the reality that God States in verse 4 verse four God says as for me behold my covenant is with you and you shall be a father of many nations you shall be a father of many nations go back to Genesis chapter 12 Genesis chapter 12 we read verse 2 I will make you a great nation I will bless you and make your name great and you shall be a blessing dropping down to verse 3 he says and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed well here specifically says that you shall be the father of many nations and the name change reflects that Abram means exalted father and Abraham means a father of a multitude and that's what's specified in verse 5 no longer shall your name be called Abram but your name shall be Abraham for I have made you a father of many nations again Wenham makes this observation he says if for us personal names are little more than labels in the Old Testament they express a person's character and destiny at least as the parents perceived them usually children are named at Birth by their parents and they name at times with a hope that the person will take on the characteristics of the name that they've been given right you won't get that well here that's not what's happening he goes on to say here however and laid it with Sarah and Jacob we have God Himself dictating a name change in midlife this makes the name Abraham more than a pious parental hope that the child may or may not fulfill but a divinely guaranteed statement about Abraham's identity and future destiny his very name guarantees that it will be the father of many nations so that's the significance here and again the formal inauguration of the Abe of the Covenant of circumcision with Abraham and with his descendants so there's a difference here between Genesis 17 and Genesis 15 same subject matter same promises in view but with Genesis 15 it's more specifically to his wage and he doubts or any issues that Abram might face and here in Genesis chapter 17 it with Abraham and the nation that will follow from his line now notice the seed promise in verses 6 & 7 verse 6 he says I will make you exceedingly fruitful and I will make nations of you and Kings shall come from you and I will establish my covenant between me and you and your descendants after you in their generations for an everlasting covenant to beat God to you and your descendants after you and then the land promise is in verse 8 also I give to you and your descendants after you the land in which you are a stranger all the land of Canaan as an everlasting possession and I will be their God so let's focus on these promises seed and land for just a moment in the first place notice the God wrought fruitfulness of Abraham the got rock fruitfulness of Abraham you shouldn't miss the significance of the way that God stipulates this in verse 6 I will make you exceedingly fruitful it's the same language given by God to Adam in Genesis 1:28 be fruitful and multiply it's the same language applied to Noah with reference to his emergence from the ark from the ark after the flood he was to be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and there might be this subtle emphasis here that what those men failed to do God will rot out in the person of Abraham and his and his posterity again Wenham says here a similar remark is made to Abraham who like Adam and Noah stands at the beginning of an epoch in human history God's original purpose for mankind sorted by the fall and faltering again in the post Noah period is eventually to be achieved by Abraham's descendants so that language would be fruitful used with Adam used with Noah God now takes it up as his responsibility to make from Abraham a fruitful nation notice secondly the fact that Kings would come from Abraham he says I will make you exceedingly fruitful and I will make nations of you and Kings shall come from you now probably a general reference with reference to david and his line but that king messiah that would ultimately cop there's Christology going on in this Abrahamic covenant there's Christology here in the covenant of circumcision at the end of Genesis in Genesis chapter 49 there's a promise concerning Shiloh and with reference to the tribe of Judah that is a kingship promise concerning the Lord Jesus Christ Balaam that prophet numbers 24 speaks concerning kingship in Israel this is probably the early seeds of the the Messianic King ship of the Lord Jesus Christ being alluded to notice thirdly the establishment of the covenant with Abraham and his descendants he himself alone has received the promise of seed and land in Genesis 12 13 and 15 now it's expanded now it's enhanced now it's enlarged I will establish my covenant verse 7 between me and you and your descendants after you in their generations notice fourthly the promise that God would be God to Abraham and his descendants this is sort of the apex of covenantal blessing this is sort of the pinnacle that the chief sort of benefit with reference to covenant notice in verse 7 I will establish my covenant between me and you and your descendants after you in their generations for an everlasting covenant to be God to you and your descendants after you the end of verse 8 with reference to the land promise I will be their God this is something specified in Leviticus chapter 26 it comes up in the Psalter a blessed is that nation whose whose God is the Lord we have it as well in the New Covenant you see it in the New Jerusalem in Revelation chapter 21 that chief benefit that God will be our God and we will be his people that is specified here with reference to this covenant with Abraham John Gill says with reference to God being the god of his people to his natural seed as the god of nature and Providence communicating the good things of life under them protecting preserving and continuing them in the land he gave that and in the possession of all the good things in it so long as they were obedient to him as their King and their God and to his spiritual seed as the God of all grace supplying them with grace here and bestowing upon them glory Hereafter now guilt touches on something I'm gonna amplify in just a moment the Abrahamic covenant is operating at two levels there's a physical and there's a spiritual there's the physical descendants of of Abraham himself there's the body politic there's the Commonwealth of Israel but as well Abram is the father to all those who believe on the Lord Jesus Christ you need to understand that about this covenant with Abram the covenant of grace is revealed first of all in the garden Genesis chapter 3 verse 15 it's moved along by farther steps the Abrahamic covenant is one of those far other steps but the full realization of that covenant of grace doesn't come until the New Testament not just Baptists recognize this again John Owen recognized this as well and with reference to the the language in the book of Hebrews speaking to the Covenant the New Covenant as the Testament that's where Owen argued that we don't have the covenant of grace fully realized until the new covenant it's through the death of the testator that the Covenant embrace has come to fruition so while the covenant of grace is operative at least Pro optically that means looking forward to at the time of Abraham to identify the covenant of circumcision with the covenant of grace is a misstep that the Bible does not allow for we can't just say what's happening here in Genesis 17 is the covenant of grace and so because Abram sprinkled or circumcised as babies therefore we sprinkle our babies that is not logical this is a works based covenant covenant of grace is not do this or you'll be cut off don't do this or you'll be cut off there's a work sprint of all fundamental to the covenant of circumcision if you are not circumcised you're not part of the body politic if you're not circumcised than the language of verse 14 is perhaps a pond or a play you will be cut off from the body from the Commonwealth of Israel some question what verse 14 the cutting off is is it execution is it simply you know exclusion from the Commonwealth it's probably exclusion from the Commonwealth you don't take that covenant sign you don't identify with the covenant people so the Abrahamic covenant what's going on in Genesis 17 is operating in two different ways there's a physical and there's a spiritual now notice fifthly the physical and the spiritual in the promise to Abraham with reference to seed we see that operative on a physical level Abraham was the father of many nations in terms of the physical he sired more children with cateura in Genesis chapter 25 and from Abraham and cateura nations arose he also gets the credit for Esau and the another nation as well his descendants from Ishmael in Genesis chapter 25 so physically this is correct physically Abraham was the father of a great many nations but as well spiritually there is a spiritual seed according to the book of Galatians that's why we know that the covenant of grace was in fact revealed to Abraham in Genesis 17 it's because Paul tells us so in in Galatians chapter 3 so there's a revelation of the covenant of grace but to identify the covenant of circumcision as the covenant of grace is not a logical step it's not exegetically driven John Gill again with reference to the spiritual seed of Abraham he said Abraham has not only been the father of many nations in a literal sense as before observed but in a mystical sense of the whole world that is of all that in it are all in it that believe whether Jews or Gentiles so precisely in fact turn to the book of Galatians Galatians chapter 3 some of this may be going over your heads if it is I'm sorry I got to preach it and teach it the way it's here I just this has been balled up in me and if I don't get it out I might explode so let me get it out we'll try to end enough early enough cut this off if anybody has any questions you can ask but notice in Galatians chapter 3 verse 6 just as abraham believed God and it was accounted to him for righteousness therefore know that only those who are of faith are sons of Abraham and the scripture foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith preached the gospel to Abraham beforehand say in you all the nations shall be blessed so then those who are of faith are blessed with believing Abraham to see there's this spiritual element and Abraham occupies a very favored place notice in Galatians 3:26 for you're all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus for as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ there's neither Jew nor Greek there is neither slave nor free there is neither male nor female for you're all one in Christ Jesus and if you are Christ then you are Abraham's seed and heirs according to the promise again this is very biblical Christianity covenant theology that we're all aware of but this emphasis on the spiritual should it be used to mitigate against the emphasis on the physical either there were physical promises attached to physical Abraham that were realized in physical Israel and that may have functioned Tippa logically for covenant of grace realities and new covenant blessing and all that sort of thing but again to identify the covenant of circumcision as the covenant of grace is to go further than the Apostle Paul goes in this particular instance notice in Galatians 3:15 brethren I speak in the manner of men though it is only a man's covenant yet it if it is confirmed no one anoles or adds to it now to Abraham and his seed where the promises made he does not say and to seed as of many but as of one and to your seed who is Christ see this is where we get the physical terms of the collective seed with reference to Israel the many descendants that would come after Abraham Abraham Isaac and Jacob but then there was this one seed the Lord Christ that's the one in whom the covenant of grace that's the one in whom all the promises of God are ya hey men and ya while Abraham functioned tip illogically it ultimately pointed forward to our Lord Jesus Christ now going back to Genesis chapter 17 you've got six Lee the revelation of the covenant of grace to Abraham which we just looked at again our confession of faith speaks about the revelation of the covenant of grace in the gospel beginning in Genesis chapter 3 it's moved along by farther steps until the final realization or full discovery of it is in the new covenant and so this Abrahamic covenant is a farther step that moves along the promise of God and now seventhly the biblical rationale for abraham's double role in the covenants I've mentioned functions physically and spiritually right everybody with me the double role with reference to Abraham there's a physical thing going on with reference to Genesis 17 and there's a spiritual thing going on with reference to Genesis 17 the spiritual is more tip illogical pointing forward to the Lord Jesus Christ I should have kept you in Galatians you can go back there Galatians chapter 4 Galatians chapter 4 very important passage again one that probably deserves a lot more treatments and I'm gonna give it right now but in Galatians chapter 4 notice in verse 21 tell me you who desire to be under the law do you not hear the law for it is written that Abraham had two sons there's two different levels working with reference to Abraham there's the level in terms of the physical and the level with reference in terms of the spiritual he had two sons the one by a bond woman the other by a freewoman Eggar and Sarah but he who was of the bondwoman was born according to the flesh and he of the freewoman through promise which things are symbolic for these are the two covenants the one from Mount Sinai which gives birth to bondage which is Hagar Haggar is Mount Sinai in Arabia and corresponds to Jerusalem which now is and is in bondage with her children but the Jerusalem above is free which is the mother of us all for it is written rejoice o barren you who do not bear break forth and shout you who are not in labor for the desolate has many more children than she who has a husband now we brethren as Isaac was or our children a promise see Hagar and Ishmael are the old covenant hey Isaac is the new covenant not that it was enacted in action at the time of Isaac but he was the child of promise pointing forward to that new covenant reality that would be achieved through the seed singular Galatians 3:16 who is Jesus Christ so back to 428 now we brethren as Isaac was our children of promise but as he who was born according to the flesh then persecuted him who was born according to the spirit even so it is now super Paul's doing in terms of Galatia or the the churches in Galatia you had what was called Judaizers Judaizers came to the churches and said it's good that you believe the gospel of the Lord Jesus but you also must be circumcised you have to be circumcised in order to be commended to God so it's a faith plus works it's not strictly works like people think Roman Catholicism teaches work salvation they do not neither did the Galatian heretics and that's what makes it more difficult because it's a bit of faith that a bit of works a bit of mingle Mangal and that is ultimately what what what what God accepts no it's either by grace through faith or it's by works that's the emphasis throughout all Scripture and that's Paul's point in Galatians if you say that you need circumcision along with your faith then you have invalidated the whole principle of grace if you think for a moment that righteousness comes through the law Galatians 2:20 1 then Christ died in vain if you think that in your own strength you're able to commend yourself to God you've completely misunderstood the scripture and so he is likening them the genuine the true the faithful as the Isaac's with reference to the churches of Galatia the men that are coming into Judy eyes or the Ishmaelites their Ishmael their preaching this bondage their preaching this going backward in redemptive history and Paul says no that's not what you're supposed to do he goes on to say verse 30 nevertheless what does the scripture say cast out the bondwoman and her son son for the son of the bondwoman shall not be heir with the son of the freewoman so then brethren we are not children of the bondwoman but of the free we're not old covet the Covenant citizens living but based on our attachment to the ceremonial law we're New Covenant citizens in Jesus Christ who kept that law for us isn't that the glory of New Covenant religion is that it's the Covenant of works kept for us by our mediator by our Lord by our Savior by our head continue in Galatians chapter 5 stand fast therefore in the Liberty by which Christ has made us free again we we think a Christian Liberty today and it's just an amazing abuse of what the Bible's are actually talking about there is Liberty in life where God doesn't command you you're free to do certain things that's not what's in view here this Liberty that East calling us to stand fast it is the New Covenant Liberty that the sons of God possessed by grace through faith in Jesus Christ that Liberty that demands or tells you you don't have to be circumcised in order to go to heaven that Liberty that that it says you don't have to go out and not eat unclean foods in order to go to heaven you may choose to do those particular things and that's fine but the moment you attach religious significance to them you have mitigated against the gospel of Jesus Christ our Lord so he says stand fast therefore in the Liberty by which Christ has made us free and do not be entangled again with the yoke of bondage the yoke of bondage is that ceremonial system and if you say well you know they they didn't look at it that way the faithful didn't look in the Old Covenant one of the primary emphases with reference to that covenant was to republish to those people the works principle that that Adam had faced in in Genesis chapter two to drive them Iike Savior in the Lord Jesus Christ so back to the tax notice in verse 2 indeed I Paul say to you that if you become circumcised Christ will profit you nothing again that does not mean that if you choose for your little son to go get circumcised because maybe your dad did that or you know I know in America at least at one point everybody did circumcision I don't know what Canada does I don't know how Canada does it but if it's just because of a cultural thing it's just because it's a familial thing you're free to do that Paul is not arguing with you on that level Paul had Timothy circumcised when Paul to Timothy into Jewish regions Paul's idea here is not circumcision for aesthetics or circumcision for health or circumcision for culture or circumcision because your dad did it it's circumcision as a means by which God now accepts you when you cross that line you have chosen the works principle as the means for your acceptance with God and if that's what you choose then you need to follow the implication notice verse 2 I or indeed I Paul say to you that if you become circumcised Christ will profit you nothing and I testify again to every man who becomes circumcised that he is a debtor to keep the whole law see that's not culture it's not my dad did it it's not the way we do it in America or that's the way we do it in Canada it's this attempt to gain acceptance with God if you choose the path of circumcision that obligates you to the entirety of the law you see Paul's point you either have all of Christ for all of you what you're going to choose hopefully by God's grace we're gonna choose all of Christ because that's the only means by which we go to heaven and that's the point of the apostle and and let's just continue because he's not teaching against our minion he's not justifying Arminianism here either notice in verse 4 you have become estranged from Christ you who attempt to be justified by law see that's the point trying to be justified by law you have fallen from grace that's not an Arminian proof text that person's can fall from grace Paul is saying that if you have at one time affirm the grace principle of justification by faith alone and then a Judaizers comes along and says I want you to get circumcised and you say yes to that you have fallen from grace not as an Arminian losing your salvation but you've taken the grace principle and you've uh Turley rejected it thus you've fallen from that and now you're choosing the law principle as the means by which you will say seek salvation with God so for the Apostle Paul he highlights Abraham at Abraham had two sons there are two things going on with reference to the Abrahamic covenant or the covenant of circumcision Nehemiah Cox says Abraham is to be considered in a double capacity excuse me he is the father of all true believers and the Father and root of the Israelite nation nobody will dispute that and nobody should dispute that who's the father of the Israelite nation it's Abraham you cannot mitigate against that you cannot miss that but you also must recognize that some things that were unique to the Israelitish nation are not consistent with the covenant of grace namely that you get in by works and stay in by works that's not a covenant of grace brethren any law principle is diametrically opposed to the confidence of grace you see it's a covenant of grace now it was for Christ a covenant of works it was for Christ a covenant of redemption it was for Christ something that he obeyed but for us it's it's Grace he goes on to say he is the father of all true believers and the Father and the root of the Israelitish Israelite nation God entered into covenant with him for both of these seeds and since they are formally distinguished from one another their covenant interest must necessarily be different and fall under a distinct consideration what he's saying is you cannot treat the Israelitish on a one-for-one basis with the covenant of grace you're gonna find problems in Romans chapter 9 doesn't Paul tell us not all Israel is Israel well there he's talking in terms of covenant of grace and the the participants in the blessings of God in salvation through faith in Jesus Christ it's not physical descendants that are all uniquely entitled to that not all Israel is Israel he goes on to say the blessings appropriate to either must be conveyed in a way agreeable to their particular and respective covenant interest and that he makes this decisive statement I think it's very appropriate and these things may not be confounded without a manifest hazard to the most important articles in the Christian religion in other words if we say what is true of the Covenant of circumcision is therefore true of the covenant of grace we're gonna have some problems with reference to some fundamental articles of the Christian religion if we teach sinners that the way of participation in the covenant of grace is first by their obedience and then to stay and by their obedience we have completely destroyed the notion of the covenant of grace see there is this law gospel distinctive that the Bible sets forth gospel isn't law and the law isn't gospel now the two sweetly comply the two work together they're not at odds with one another they're not in dyma diametrical opposition but the law do this is not the gospel and if you treat the law as the gospel and you treat the gospel as the law you do what Spurgeon says you mingle mangle it up and you get neither when you treat the law as gospel and the gospel is law you end up with neither you keep them in their distinct places so that you can move and operate as a good consistent covenant theologian and that I think is what but what Nehemiah Cox is saying here and so again if you're confused at this point I sorry maybe Isaac can sort you out after we turn off the controller here but in terms of the promise the the land promise verse a the previous promise inverter 12 the specific boundaries are given in Genesis 15 now the word everlasting there causes some people to stumble old on is the Hebrew it doesn't always mean eternal doesn't always mean eternal there's society in many instances where the particular hebrew word is used and it doesn't mean eternal Sam Renan says this covenant was called everlasting in the same way that the Levitical priesthood or the gates of the temple where everlasting the Covenant would last until God's promises in it were fulfilled that's all everlasting demands at this particular juncture most of the commentators say everlasting until the time of Messiah until the time of the Lord Jesus Christ so the seed promise is given it's enhanced its it's it's its enlarged and then as well the land promise is given by God no note the sign of the Covenant will move quickly excuse me through this in verses 9 9 to 14 the condition in sign in verses 9 to 13 notice the condition God said to Abraham as for you you shall keep my covenant you and your descendants after you throughout their generations is that a beautiful thing the covenant of grace is Christ keeping covenant with God for us again that doesn't mitigate any responsibilities from us justification wise Christ secured our justification terms of sanctification we have the Holy Spirit we're called to live in a holy way we're called to pursue those things that God has set before us but that's not what keeps us in the Covenant if that's what keeps us in the Covenant we are all doomed what keeps us in the Covenant is Jesus Christ it's his active and his passive obedience it is what Christ wrought out on the cross this is the beauty and the glory of the gospel this is the beauty and the glory of justification by faith alone it doesn't depend upon us now again when persons hear that they say well then that means people will live any old way that is Satan's logic gospel logic however appreciates the reality that we're justified freely by his grace that we now live in a life of sanctification and while it's not which keeps me in God's favor it's something I want to do as a consequence of his justifying faith in my life Paul counters the objection and in Romans 6 what shall we say that shall we continue in sin that grace may abound may it never be those who died those have been buried those have been raised again they don't want to live in that manner they've been justified freely by grace but the beauty brethren of the covenant of grace is that for us it is a covenant of grace we're going to heaven based on the life the death and the resurrection of another and it's not just okay don't we have a little bit to do I hope the Judaizers presented just a little bit just a little bit of circumcision just just get circumcised that's all you have to do to sort of complete this so that you can now command be commanded to God see Paul's argument in Galatians again if righteousness comes through the law even a little bit of law then Christ died in vain it is to suggest that man has it in him to do what God says in order to be accepted with God but if we read our Bibles for a half a second and we read our hearts in light of that Bible we will know that we don't have it in us to commend ourselves to God and the beauty of the covenant of grace is that we are kept by the power of God through the doing and the dying and the rising of our Lord Jesus Christ so verse 9 God said to Abraham as for you you shall keep my covenant you and your descendants after you throughout their generations now note the sign the necessity to circumcise all males verse 10 and then the purpose of Serkis circumcision verse 11 now there's you can imagine a lot written on this particular subject author nations practice circumcision this was not unique to the Israelites now some of them taught practice it at puberty it was more of a entering into manhood particular right think Israel was unique in the sense that it was babies it was infants that underwent this particular situation the circumcision of males I don't know how to work this or say this any other way worked for the inclusion of females Lords females are left out in this particular situation in terms of the sign of the covenant it doesn't mean they're left out of the covenant fact Matthew pool explains it this way it is evident that women as well as men were comprehended in this covenant from Genesis 34 Exodus 12 Joel 2 yet circumcision is given only to the male's partly because it could not at least not conveniently be administered to females partly because man is the principal cause of propagation of children and consequently of the propagation of that original corruption which Cleaves to them partly to signify that all persons begotten by man should be polluted by sin though not all conceived by a woman as Christ was and partly because man is the head of the woman and of the family upon whom all their concerns had evolved and from whom the distinction of families in people calm that's why he argues and I think he's right why it's a male sign or sign given to the males now in terms of the purpose notice in verse 11 yes the question why why why would they do this why did the pagan nations around Israel engage in circumcision or almost the reasons why here specifically we're given the reason and you shall be circumcised in the flesh of your foreskins and it shall be a sign of the covenant between me and you that's the purpose why did they get circumcised it was a sign of the covenant between God and them Philo the Jew he was a philosopher gave four reasons why the nations around Israel circumcised some said it was for health and to prevent infection some said for purification some said for teaching the similarity between procreation and thought forth for improving fertility now don't know about all that and why they came to those particular conclusions or convictions but here verse 11 tells us why when that particular man saw or reflected upon this act of circumcision it was a remembrance of the sign the covenant between him and God as Poole says it was the pledge of God's promise and man's duty was a a unique situation for him to remember the Covenant with his God that God had pledged promised and blessed and that his responsibility was to respond now note the time and subjects of circumcision in verses 12 and 13 eight days old now in terms of slaves you could you know compel the infant's to be circumcised it'd be difficult to compel an adult slave to be circumcised and John Gill makes the observation I think he's right no man was to be forced to embrace the true religion or obliged against his will to submit to its ordinances now Abraham meant taught his servants Abraham had taught his slaves but it may not be the case that in every situation subsequent to Abraham that every slave that was an adult would want to submit to this particular Rite of circumcision and I think that Gil's right they couldn't be compelled they couldn't be obliged you didn't lay them down and force them in some sadistic way Jewish commentary suggested that if a man did not submit to the Rite of circumcision an adult slave after a year you were compelled to let him go you were to you were not to possess a slave that would not take the sign of the Covenant at that particular time and then note the sanction and again this underscores the reality that this is a conditional covenant that it's a law-based covenant and therefore it cannot be identified parallel with the covenant of grace verse 14 and thus uncircumcised male child who is not circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin that person shall be cut off from his people he has broken my covenant now probably it's the parent that's in view probably it's the parent remember that instance in Exodus chapter 4 God wanted to kill Moses so Zipporah takes Moses sons and circumcise 'iz them the implication being is that God was angry with Moses because those boys weren't circumcised but he wanted to kill Moses not the boys and then in Joshua chapter 5 that generation that was entering into the promised land had been uncircumcised well God doesn't say kill all of them destroy all of them rather he says circumcised that so the issue was the parent or the issue was the responsible party now certainly if it's an older person and they say or they reject circumcision outright well then that person will be cut off but you see that this is a condition this is absolute requirement with reference to participation in this covenant of circumcision with Abraham and Israel well in terms of this chapter there's a program for the nation this does describe what's going to happen with reference to Israel Abraham is going to be the father of many nations both in the physical and as well in the spiritual also there will be Kings that come from Abraham and Sarah that will ultimately lead to the one king the Messiah the Lord Jesus Christ as well the promises of God to Abraham the covenant of grace is most certainly revealed Abraham according to Paul in Galatians 3 but the Covenant of circumcision in Genesis 17 is not the covenant of grace thirdly we see and ought to appreciate the provisional nature of the Covenant of circumcision if you did not participate you were not part of the body you were not part of the Commonwealth you were not included in Israel and then just on a real practical level the persevering faith of Abraham the persevering faith of Abraham 13 years is a long time Sarah's still not having babies Abraham still not having babies he still loves to he still loves Ishmael remember Abraham loves Ishmael he doesn't hate him he doesn't despise him 17:18 he says oh that that Ishmael might live before you and then God says no you're gonna have a son he names him specifically and says it's gonna happen within the year you're gonna have this son but the persevering faith of Abraham is obvious and it is evident he wasn't a perfect man he wasn't a sinless man but he was a persevering man a faith full man because he nurtured or was nurtured rather on the promises of God well let's close in a word of Prayer Father in Heaven we thank you for your word we thank you for this covenant of circumcision in Genesis 17 we thank you for the the typology involved we thank you for Abraham's role in redemptive history and how he points ultimately to our Lord Jesus Christ and whom all the promises of God are yes amen I pray that we would often reflect upon the covenant of grace and that we would rejoice that it is in fact a covenant of grace and that all that Christ has done he's done for his elect may he go with us now and may you bless and strengthen our hearts and we pray through Jesus Christ our Lord amen honey