Titus 3:7 also testifies to the same truth:

`That being justified by His grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of aionian life'.

The perfecting of Abraham's faith, however, is seen in Genesis 22. There he not only stood before God, having

left his native land, his kindred, his father's house, but he had also foregone his rights in the matter of Lot, and now

he goes to the full limits and voluntarily gives his best, his beloved son in whom all the promises of God were

vested. The Hebrews were exhorted to:

`Be not slothful, but followers of them who through faith and patience INHERIT the promises. For when God made

promise to Abraham, because He could swear by no greater, He sware by Himself' (Heb. 6:12,13).

Abraham `patiently endured' and `obtained the promise'. So, continues the epistle to these tried Hebrews:

`Ye have need of patience, that, after ye have done the will of God, ye might receive the promise' (Heb. 10:36).

James 2:22 declares that in the offering of Isaac Abraham's faith was `perfected', brought to its true end, the

keyword of Hebrews. Translated into terms of doctrine, the several steps in Abraham's faith are seen to be so many

approximations of the cross of Christ:

(1) The step that followed the death of Terah stands for the crucifixion of the old man (Rom. 6:6).

(2) The separation from Lot, and the vision that followed with the dwelling at Hebron, the place of fellowship,

stands for the crucifixion of the flesh (Gal. 5:24).

(3) The repudiation of all reward from the king of Sodom `lest he should say, I have made Abraham rich', stands

for the crucifixion of the world (Gal. 6:14).

(4) The offering up of Isaac, the beloved son, is the fellowship of His sufferings, the conformity to His death,

which is on the one hand intimately connected with the perfecting, the prize, and the heavenly citizenship,

and on the other is strongly contrasted with those who mind earthly things, and constitute themselves

`enemies of the cross of Christ' (Phil. 3:10-21; Heb. 6:6).

So far we have traced the meaning of the statement `By faith Abraham ... obeyed'. Looking to the opening

paragraph of this section we see that there is another pair of statements to consider. The obedience of faith is found

in the words, `Go out', `he went out'. As we read Hebrews 11:8 it might appear that the fact that Abraham knew all

about the inheritance, enabled him to step out in faith. `By faith Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place

which he should after receive for an inheritance, obeyed'. This, however, is not the meaning. When he obeyed he

did not have the inheritance so definitely revealed, for the verse continues, `and he went out, not knowing whither he

went'. This brings Abraham into line with the other examples of faith. `Faith is the substance ... of things not seen'.

Noah was warned of the things not seen as yet. Abraham knew that he was to go into a land of the Lord's providing,

and he knew that it was to be his inheritance, but the revelation of that inheritance grew with his obedience.

Is there no parallel experience suggested in Ephesians 1:18? `That ye may know what is ... the riches of the glory

of His inheritance in the saints'. Is there no parallel in 1 Corinthians 2:9,10? We shall learn presently that Abraham

received a higher call and a fuller revelation that eclipsed the original inheritance of the land, but this we must deal

with in its true place. For the time being we must stop. The thread is taken up in the record of the next pair, Isaac

and Jacob.

Let us not set aside this word `obey'. True, we are of faith; true, we are not under law, but under grace; true we

are sons, not servants. Does this mean that obedience, the obedience of faith, is not for us? `Though He were a Son,

yet learned He obedience ... all them that obey Him' (Heb. 5:8,9). The words obedience and obey mean `to hear

with submission'. It is translated simply `hearken' in Acts 12:13. It is incipient in Hebrews 3 and 4 in the words,

`Today if ye will hear His voice'. Faith comes out of hearing (Rom. 10:17), and the obedience of faith is simply

that hearing and practical response continued throughout the walk of life.

Abraham's faith is too great, his example too full, to be circumscribed within the space of one verse, or one

phrase. His example blends with that of Isaac and Jacob, and reappears in verses 11 and 12 in connection with