He is a truly blessed man who
has a friend. Truly blessed is that man who
has many friends. But that man who is a friend,
oh, what a blessing that man is to his friends. Many friends. Many friends, the knowing of
which has proved to be a blessing to me. I want and I pray for
grace to be a friend. A friend by whom you are blessed. a friend who is a blessing to
you, to your life. In James chapter 2 verse 23,
I find a remarkable statement. James 2 and verse 23. The scripture was fulfilled which
saith, Abraham believed God and it was imputed unto him for righteousness. And he, this man Abraham, was
called the friend of God. It is a marvelous thing That
God should be the friend of any man. But I'm astounded to find
any man called the friend of God. That's astounding to me. To find a man called the friend
of God. Abraham was called the friend
of God because he really was. God calls Abraham his friend
because Abraham was the friend of God. Now that's my subject
this evening, the friend of God. Abraham was the head of a chosen
race of people. God calls his friend. people God calls his friends. Now if you want to jot down these
two references and look at them later, in our text James tells
us not only that Abraham was God's friend, but he was called
by this title. He was called the friend of God.
That fact is given to us twice in the Old Testament Scriptures.
In 2 Chronicles chapter 20, Jehoshaphat is praying. He's praying for
God to deliver Israel from the hands of the pagan army risen
up against them. And in verse 7, he uses this
as an argument. An argument in prayer with God
as to why God should intervene for his people Israel. Listen
to this. Art not thou our God, who didst drive out the inhabitants
of this land before thy people Israel? And gavest it to the
seed of Abraham thy friend." It says, God, you said Abraham
was your friend. Now defend Abraham's children
and Abraham's land for the honor of your name, because Abraham's
your friend. In Isaiah 41, verses 8, 9, and
10, or 9, 10, 8, 9, and 10, you can look at this for yourself
later, the Lord God Himself, uses this as a reason why he
should defend and protect his people. A reason why his people
should expect him to defend and protect them, to care for them
and provide for them, to comfort and sustain them and uphold them.
He says, Thou Israel art my servant, Jacob whom I have chosen, the
seed of Abraham my friend. Therefore, he says, fear thou
not, for I am with thee. Be not dismayed, for I am thy
God. I will strengthen thee, yea,
I will help thee, yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand
of my righteousness. This is a noble, noble title.
The friend of God. It is not equaled by any, anywhere
in scripture except perhaps that by which we are called the sons
of God. But there's a sense in which
this title encompasses things that even the title giving us
the sons of God does not encompass. You might think it is indeed
a great thing for a man like Abraham to be called the friend
of God, but that's too great for me to expect. I do want you
to look at this passage. Turn back to John chapter 15.
John chapter 15. God, our Savior, the Lord Jesus,
calls sinners like you and me his friends. God, our Savior, the Lord Jesus,
our Redeemer, calls sinners like you and me his friends. John 15 verse 13. Greater love
hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. You are my friends, he says.
You are my friends. If you do whatsoever I command
you. What's he talking about? You're
my friends if you do this, that, and the other thing. Oh, no,
no. This is what he commands you. Believe me. Believe me. This is his commandment, that
you believe him. Believe me. You're my friends
if you trust me. You're my friends if you trust
me. Read on. Henceforth I call you
not servants. That'd be a high honor. For the
servant knoweth not what his Lord doeth. But I call you friends. Now watch this. For all things
that I've heard of my father, everything my father committed
to my hands, everything my father reveals about himself, everything
my father trusted to me, I have shown that to you. All things I have heard of my
father, I have made known to you. No secrets between friends. No secrets between friends. It
is the high honor and great privilege of every saved sinner. The high honor and great privilege
of every sinner who believes on the Son of God to be called
the friend of God. Now let me show you four things
from our text in this statement, Abraham was called the friend
of God. First, this title is a title
that ought to cause us wonder and astonishment relentlessly. It is a great dignity for a man
to be called the servant of God. We are blessed tonight to have
Brother Fred Evans, pastor of Redeemer Baptist Church in Louisville
here. What an honor to have in our
presence a servant of God. That's a high honor. We are highly
honored who are called of God to be his messengers, prophets,
ambassadors of God, realizing the dignity God's placed upon
us as his servants. We cry with the Apostle continually,
who is sufficient for these things? But Abraham was called the friend
of God. The friend of God. If ever a sinner is made to be
as Abraham was, the friend of God, he should never cease to
be an utter wonder. We ought never get over the astonishment
of this. Let me show you three things
in this regard. Three things that just amaze
me. First, understand this. Like
all other men, Abraham was God's natural enemy. Abraham was an
idolater. He lived in other counties. He
worshipped Whatever came to mind to worship. He was just a base
idolater. Like all other men in the world
without God, he worshipped sticks and stones. He worshipped imaginary
thoughts, imaginary ideas about God. He was an idolater. But
God called him by his grace. Abraham had broken God's law. He had no desire for God. no inclination toward God, he
wasn't seeking God, he lived with enmity against God by his
heart, by nature, just like you and me. And second, not only
is this man that God calls his friend, one who is his natural,
implacable enemy, but second, the Lord God reveals himself
as the friend of sinners, in Jesus Christ our Lord. It's true,
God hates sin. God hates the workers of iniquity. He will by no means clear the
guilty. He's angry with the wicked every
day. He will judge the wicked and
the soul that sinneth it shall die. And yet, through the mediation
of God's Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, in the person of his
son. This holy God is the friend of
sinners and he makes sinners his friend. Years ago, I heard Brother Scott
Richardson make two profound statements I wrote down immediately.
I would suggest you remember them. I try to never forget them. First, he said, God will not
be spoken to Nor will he speak favorably to any man except through
a mediator." God won't speak to you and God won't let you
speak to Him except through Christ the mediator. And then Scott
said, God must do something for Himself before He can do anything
for you. And this is what God has done
for Himself. He has reconciled us to himself
by Jesus Christ the Lord. That which God did for himself
in eternity is this. He provided himself a lamb in
the person of his dear son and sacrificed him as the lamb slain
from the foundation of the world and thereby reconciled his elect
to himself even before we went astray in our father Adam. Now
mark it down. God was reconciled to us from
everlasting. There never was a time when God
looked unfavorably upon his elect. But we lived all the days of
our lives in utter rebellion to God until he conquered us
by his grace. God provided us with Christ our
substitute as the land slain from the foundation of the world,
knowing how shamefully we would sin. even before he created the
world he knew. And he has saved us and called
us with the holy calling, not according to our works, but according
to his own purpose and grace, given us in Christ Jesus before
the world began. So that before the world was,
God looked on us as his friends, accepted in Christ, accepted
in the hands of our mediator, accepted in his heart, accepted
in his book, accepted as one with Christ, and delighted in
us as his friends. When the Lord Jesus came into
the world, he revealed himself as the friend of publicans and
sinners. Kindness. Kindness is the very
essence of true friendship. money, advice, gifts, assistance. All those things lose half their
value if they're not done in a manner that expresses kindness
and love and care. The Lord Jesus revealed himself
as the friend of sinners in such a way that none of his
friends can ever question his love for them. Isn't that amazing? Isn't that
amazing? Once in a while, that's not a habit and I don't recommend
that you go out and do this all the time. I realize folks take
advantage of things. Once in a while, I am strongly
inclined to give assistance to someone on the streets begging.
Occasionally, I'm just strongly inclined to do so. But when I
do it, to my shame, I'm almost always sure they're going to
take it and get drunk. I'm just almost always sure that's
what they're going to do. But I'm just strongly inclined
to do it and leave it at that. But the gift, the help, loses
much of its value to the one who receives it. Because he can't
help but to read in my eyes, I don't trust you. He can't help but to read in
my eyes, I don't really trust you. I don't really believe what
you're telling me. I don't really believe you're
going to do what you say you're going to do. And I just go on
and leave it at that. The Lord Jesus shows himself a friend in such
a way we can never question it. Greater love hath no man than
this. that a man laid down his life
for his friends while he walked on this earth. He tenderly takes
a harlot at Jacob's well. And even when she argues with
him, and she puts up a religious front, and she starts talking
to him about her religion, her ways, as compared to his religion
and his ways, he continues in patience and tenderness until
at last he has her heart. He lovingly took a woman, called
in the very act of adultery, and rather than choosing to humiliate
her and degrade her before all her accusers, he spoke peace
to her and said, woman, neither do I condemn thee. Go and sin
no more. He graciously interceded for a dying thief. And the Father
heard him and received that thief. Our Lord Jesus showed His love
for sinners by His sacrifice for Himself. And He showed His
love for sinners in such a way that it radiates in the way He
receives us. He comes to sinners who need
him, though they have no knowledge of their need of him, and seeks
them when they refuse to seek him. He refuses none who come
to him for mercy. There are no bounds to his pity. There's no end to his compassion. He says, all that the Father
giveth me shall come to me. And him that cometh unto me I
will in no wise. What does that mean? I will not,
for any reason, under any circumstances, at any time, him that cometh
unto me, I will in no wise cast out. How often we've experienced and
proved what a friend He is. Our Savior is patient with our
sins. His ear is open to our cries.
He is our escape in time of temptation. He feels our sorrows. He's touched with our infirmities. And he reveals his secrets to
us. He causes us to know what the world can never know. He
causes us to know God, God's will, God's way, God's gospel,
God's grace. He comes to us in every dark
night, across every raging stormy sea, when we're fearful, fearful,
oh, so fearful of the night, so fearful of the storm, so fearful
of the trouble. He comes to us when we're so
fearful that we just can't believe Him. And He says, be not afraid in His eyes. and he calms the storm, stills
the sea, and gives light in darkness. I tell you that there is no love
on this earth to be compared with the love of Christ, the
friend of sinners. Before Abraham was called the
friend of God, God was the friend of Abraham. And before any sinner
ever comes to be the friend of God, God comes to that sinner
as his friend. But here's the third thing that
causes me wonder about this. The holy Lord God condescends
to make sinners his friends. He so graciously works as to
make sinners his friends. Really? and truly his friends. What is man, the psalmist said, that
thou art mindful of him? Are the son of man that thou
visitest him? Of this we can be sure. Only
grace makes a man God's friend. Man can be taken into friendship
with God only as a gracious act on God's part. Friendship is
companionship. And there's eternal companionship
between the persons of the Godhead, so God didn't need us for his
friends. Friendship brings joy, but God's full of joy in himself.
There was no need in him. Friendship is something that
God graciously condescends to perform for us. Friendship must
be two-sided. God was Abraham's friend. That's
wonderful. But James tells us that Abraham
was called the friend of God. What can that mean? Let me tell
you what it means. God chose Abraham and Abraham
chose God. God came to Abraham and Abraham
came to God. God Abraham opened his heart
and gave his heart to Abraham and Abraham opened his heart
and gave his heart to God. God spoke to Abraham and Abraham
spoke to God. God sought Abraham's good and
Abraham sought God's glory. God walked with Abraham and Abraham walked But pastor,
we recognize that man's got nothing to do with his salvation. Yes,
we do, don't we? But when God saves a sinner, everything changes. God makes the sinner, whom he
makes his friend, to be in agreement with him. Listen to what God
says in Amos chapter 3. Can two walk together except
they be agreed? God can't walk with you, and
you can't walk with God, except the two of you agree. God can't
walk with me, and I can't walk with God, except the two of us
be agreed. Well, how on this earth is it
possible for Abraham to be the friend of God? The Lord God gave
Abraham that which made Abraham altogether agreeable to himself. He gave him that holiness without
which no man shall see the Lord. He gave him perfect righteousness.
He gave him complete redemption, complete atonement, complete
satisfaction for all his sins, took away all his sins, and he
gave him a new holy nature. So God would come down and speak
to Abraham and say, I can't have from Abraham what I'm going to
do. God would come down and visit with Abraham. God would come
down and commune with Abraham. And Abraham would walk with God
and commune with God. How can that be? He had been
made by the new birth partaker of the divine nature. Christ
dwelling in us makes us the friends of God. And let me show you some
points in which divine friendship between Abraham and God and God
and Abraham revealed itself. We read that Abraham got up early
in the morning to the place where the Lord stood, where he met
and where he stood before the Lord. The Lord God visited Abraham,
and Abraham came to God. Because friends, friends mix
their lives together. Friends mix their lives together. Friends share the secrets of
their hearts with one another. And so it is with God and Abraham
and God and his people. God revealed his secrets to Abraham. He told Abraham his secret purposes,
his secret intents, so that Abraham knew what God was doing. The
Lord said, shall I hide from Abraham that thing which I do
when he was about to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah? He showed
Abraham how he would ultimately destroy the Canaanites in the
land and drive them out. And like David, Brother Burl
read a little bit ago in Acts chapter 2, David saw beforehand
that God would raise up Christ from the dead. God showed Abraham
way back in the book of Genesis, way back in the beginning that
he was going to drive the Canaanites out of the land. And that's not
just talking about driving all the Canaanites out of the land
of Israel. He's going to drive the Canaanites
out of this land. He's going to completely redeem
and deliver his people. He showed Abraham the sure judgment
he would exercise upon Sodom and Gomorrah. He revealed to
Abraham his purpose of redemption for the Israel of God, calling
his elect from among the Gentiles throughout the world. On Abraham's
part, he had no secrets from God, but laid his heart open
to God in prayer. Read the 18th chapter of Genesis
and read how a man pleads with God for another man. God sent
his angels down to Abraham. Those three angels came. One
of them certainly was the Lord Jesus. Abraham worshipped him.
And he said, I'm going to destroy Sodom. And Abraham began to think
about Lot. And he said, Lord, will you destroy
the righteous with the wicked? And he kept getting the answer
back from God. God said, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. And he
just kept pressing it, kept pressing it. And he said, Lord, there's
just one righteous man there. Will you destroy that place with
the wicked? And the Lord God said, no, I won't. And he brought
Lot out of Sodom as Abraham pleaded with him. Friends listened to
one another. And when Abraham prayed, God
heard him. The Lord God told him to cast
out Ishmael with his mother Hagar. And Abraham didn't hesitate to
obey. But you remember how he prayed? Oh, that Ishmael might live before
thee. And Ishmael was preserved. Abraham prayed that Abimelech
might be healed, that heathen king who had been gracious to
him. And Abimelech was healed. Between these friends, there
was mutual love and delight. What a title of wonder. Abraham
was called the friend of God. But second, understand this. This is a very proper title for
Abraham. It's just what he ought to be
called. Just exactly what he ought to have been called. You
see, Abraham had implicit faith in God. James speaks of that. He says Abraham believed God
and it was imputed to him for righteousness and he was called
the friend of God. James says this man's faith identifies
him as the friend of God. He believed the revelation God
made of himself in his word to him. He that cometh to God must
believe that he is and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently
seek him. Abraham had a firm God-given faith in Christ, his
substitute, our substitute, believing that the blood of Christ is the
only means of atonement for his soul. He knew the substitute
would come, God and man in one person. He believed that man
would come through his loins, through Isaac, the promised seed,
and that he would suffer the wrath of God in the place of
sinners. He believed that God would raise
him from the dead. He staggered not at the promise
of God, offering Isaac, being fully persuaded that God would
raise up Isaac from the dead. But as you read that, you just can't help but to think,
Abraham saw something more here. Abraham was fully persuaded God
was going to raise up his son from the dead. And he staggered
not at the promise of God. Abraham placed utmost confidence
in God. Oh, well might he be called the
friend of God. But pastors, you forget that
Abraham sometimes employed fleshly means by which he tried to help
God perform his promise. He did. Me too. Me too. God forgive me. But in the midst
of his horrible, horrible falls, in the midst of his horrible,
horrible weakness, Abraham still believed God. He still had firm,
confident faith in God. Under his many trials, this man
Abraham was submissive, obedient to God's will. With Abraham, Jehovah's will was law. His obedience was prompt, without
hesitation, submissive, unquestioning, demonstrating determination and
perseverance to the end. God said to Abraham, came to
pass after these things. I always marveled how Genesis
22 opens. After these things, God did tempt
Abraham. My soul looked like all he'd
been doing was tempting Abraham. All that was to prepare him for
this. And he said, now you take your son, your only son Isaac. Remember, I had you throw Ishmael
away. You take your son, your only son, Isaac, whom you dearly
love, and I want you to offer him on a mountain to me that
I'll tell you about. And you've got to wait three days while
you think about it. And Abraham started packing lunch for three
days, and they took off to the Mount of Sacrifice. And he didn't
ask anybody about it. He didn't consult with flesh
and blood. He did what God had him to do. It seems obvious to
me that the foremost thing in Abraham's life was the will of
God and the glory of God. Doesn't it, you? That's what
it is to be the friend of God. Abraham was called the friend
of God because he believed him whom he called Jehovah-Jireh,
the Lord will provide. Here's the third thing I want
you to see in this text. This is a title you ought to seek. It's the only title on earth
worth having. Friend of God. Friend of God. We like fame and we like to have
ourselves known and we like to be popular. Wouldn't it be wonderful to have
one of those names everybody in the world knows about? No. I wouldn't want that for you,
and I wouldn't want that for your children, and I wouldn't
want that for me. Most of you know Will, a pretty
good golfer, our grandson. He's been playing golf on the
high school team since he was 11 years old. Pretty good golfer.
And he practices every day. Last week he had to quit for
a few weeks. He was born with, what is it
called, that spine curve. Speaking, honey, I can't hear
you. Scoliosis. Bone scoliosis. And he had to
quit for a few weeks. That's nothing serious. That's
just fact. But I have thought ever since
Faith called and told us he had to quit for a while, maybe that
will be just enough to keep him from playing good enough to get
known. From playing good enough to play
professionally. Because I'd hate that for him.
Told him so the last time he and I were together. I pray God
won't let that happen to you. And I said, General, why? You
can't possibly worship God and play golf every Sunday. It can't
be done. So that'd be all right. That'd be all right. Better to
be known by God as his friend than known by all the world for
the best of anything. If you are found of God and made his
friend, God rewards his friends with all the treasure of his
house. Life eternal and everlasting
glory. If you're found at the end, God's
enemy you will suffer the terror of
God's wrath forever. Now, let me give you one final
thought. This is a title, Friend of God,
we ought to use in a very practical way. Are we the friends of God? Then
what great things lie before us? We shall yet have greater
revelations from our friend. He will be faithful to us. He will give us his glory. I have a dear friend, another
one, who's just gone to glory by the Lowell Rogers in the church
in Sylacauga. The Lord took him home Saturday.
We've been expecting him for a little while. As a matter of
fact, the last time I spoke to Larry, I said, So you tell Lowell
to hang on for just a few weeks. I'll be there in September and
say goodbye to him in person. And Larry told me, said, Lowell
said, that'd be fine, but he didn't think he was going to
be here that long. And God took him home. I met Lowell in 1972
in Birmingham. He'd been a friend for a long,
long time. And what a friend he has demonstrated
himself to be. lived as God's friend and died
as God's friend and took possession of glory as God's friend. Are we his friends? Friends of
God? If so, all the glory of God is
ours and awaits us soon. Let us then be found faithful
friends to our faithful God, our friend. Amen.