1. The Faith of Abraham and Sarah
Character Studies from Genesis

2. Abraham and Sarah
Faith
Failure
Follow-up

3. By faith… Abraham
When God called Abraham, he obeyed, leaving Ur for Canaan, dwelling in tents with Isaac and Jacob, looking for the city with enduring foundations, whose architect and builder is God (Heb. 11:8-10; cf. Rev. 21:10-14).

4. By faith… Sarah
Sarah was granted ability to conceive a child, even beyond the time of fertility, because she considered God faithful; therefore, aged Abraham became the father of innumerable descendants (Heb. 11:11-12; cf. Gen. 17:15-19; 18:9- 15; 21:1-3).

5. By faith… All These
All these lived by faith, and died in faith; despite not receiving the promises, they anticipated their eventual realization, because they desired a better country, that is, a heavenly one (Heb. 11:13-16).

6. By faith… Abraham
When God tested Abraham’s faith, by commanding him to offer up Isaac, Abraham readily obeyed (Heb. 11:17-19; cf. Gen. 22:1-19; James 2:21-24).
Paul uses Abraham as an example of one whose faith was in God, not in self (Rom. 4:1-8).

7. Failure
When a famine forced Abram to sojourn in Egypt, he asked Sarai, his wife, to say that she was his sister (Gen. 12:10-20).
This unchivalrous and shameful half- lie was later repeated (Gen. 20:1- 18), even after Abraham had been victorious in the war of the kings, in which he demonstrated military prowess (Gen. 14:1-16).

8. Failure
A forfeiture of spiritual leadership occurred again when Abram yielded to Sarai’s suggestion that she obtain children through Hagar, the Egyptian handmaid (Gen. 16:1- 16).

9. Follow-up
While Abraham’s strong faith was handed down to his descendants (Gen. 18:19), so also were his shortcomings: Abraham’s failure of faith was echoed in the life of his son, Isaac (Gen. 26:6-11).

10. Conclusion
Despite these momentary failures, Abraham is a hero of faith, an encouragement and example to all generations: “So then those who are of faith are blessed with Abraham, the believer” (Gal. 3:6- 9).