Genesis 20:3-13. 3But God came to Abimelech in a dream by night and said to him, “Behold, you are a dead man because of the woman whom you have taken, for she is a man’s wife.” 4Now Abimelech had not approached her. So he said, “Lord, will you kill an innocent people? 5Did he not himself say to me, ‘She is my sister’? And she herself said, ‘He is my brother.’ In the integrity of my heart and the innocence of my hands I have done this.” 6Then God said to him in the dream, “Yes, I know that you have done this in the integrity of your heart, and it was I who kept you from sinning against me.
8So Abimelech rose early in the morning and called all his servants and told them all these things. And the men were very much afraid. 9Then Abimelech called Abraham and said to him, “What have you done to us? And how have I sinned against you, that you have brought on me and my kingdom a great sin? You have done to me things that ought not to be done.” 10And Abimelech said to Abraham, “What did you see, that you did this thing?” 11Abraham said, “I did it because I thought, ‘There is no fear of God at all in this place, and they will kill me because of my wife.’ 12Besides, she is indeed my sister, the daughter of my father though not the daughter of my mother, and she became my wife. 13And when God caused me to wander from my father’s house, I said to her, ‘This is the kindness you must do me: at every place to which we come, say of me, “He is my brother.”’”
I remember as a kid growing up in church thinking that Christians, especially adult Christians didn’t really sin any more. So when I saw an adult sinning I just assumed that they could never be a Christian. So for example, if I saw someone smoking a cigarette (something I was taught was a sin) I just assumed that the person smoking must not be a Christian. Or if someone said a bad word, well they too must not be a Christian.
My problem was that I thought that what made someone a Christian was how they behaved. Now it is true that being a Christian should change how we behave, but our behavior is not what makes us a Christian. In fact, what the stories in the Bible keep showing us is that “Christians” like Abraham and Lot can do some pretty bad things.
And here is what makes Abraham’s behavior in Genesis 20 so bad. He assumes that he is a better person than King Abimelech and all the people of the city of Gerar. Remember, this is what he said to Abimelech when he asked Abraham why he lied – Abraham said, “I did it because I thought, ‘There is no fear of God at all in this place, and they will kill me because of my wife.’
Abraham assumed that he was the only good person who obeyed God and he assumed that the people of Gerar would kill him for his wife, Sarah. The irony (do you know what irony is?) is that because Abraham thought he was the best person there, he became the worst person there – lying, putting his wife in danger, and causing Abimelech to sin against God.
One of the most important things that we need to learn as we grow up is that just because we are a Christian does not mean that we are always right. Yes, being a Christian means you should be trying to do what is right, but it does not mean that people who are not Christians (like King Abimelech) can’t also do what is right. People who don’t believe in God at all can do just as many good things as Christians. And Christians can do just as many bad things as everyone else.
Why is this? Because we don’t define a Christian by how good they are, we define a Christian by God’s grace. Christians are those who have faith in God’s grace. Grace is what makes a person a Christian, not their good behavior.
The Bible says that, with Jesus, we are made right with God by our faith, not by our good deeds. Our faith is in Jesus’ righteousness, his good deeds, not our own. We must always remember this amazing truth. Being with Jesus doesn’t mean I am always right, or always better than everyone. It means I have received the love and grace of God, even though I don’t deserve it (sort of like Abraham).
You: Do you ever think that you are better than other people?
You with Jesus: What is the difference in being saved by grace and being saved by our good deeds?
Prayer: Father, I know I am saved by Jesus’ goodness not my own, so help me to not assume I am better than anyone else. Instead help me to be humble and kind to everyone. Amen.
TLICfamily 