Growing in Faith Q&A

Was Abram supposed to save Lot or was He commanded by God to “leave his family” and disobeyed? What do we know about Lot’s descendents?

Scripture does not indicate whether God told Abraham to leave or stay with Lot, so, ultimately it’s unknown what God’s command/intent was in the situation. Regardless, Abram sought to help Lot when he needed that, and that can be looked at as a good thing. In modern day situations, it’s good that we have a heart to help those who need it—even those who have made poor decisions—, but we should also seek God’s wisdom so that we don’t enable others.

How are we to reconcile Romans 4:19-25 with Genesis 15 & 16 and the conception of Ishmael? How did Abram persevere?

Ishmael is a picture of Abram trying to take the situation into his own hands. The Bible doesn’t teach that Abram was perfect—he didn’t always “persevere,” nor did he always “give God glory.” That’s why the Gospel is needed. Jesus is the fulfillment of God’s promise to Abram. It’s the same in our lives…If we try to do it ourselves, it doesn’t work. Faith in Jesus is required. Even our faith in Jesus is imperfect, and that’s where God’s grace comes in to play—He provides us faith to believe, just like He did with Abram. Our perseverance is inadequate without Christ, just like it was for Abram.