Be An Example To The World - Not A Hypocrite - Genesis 20-23

Genesis 20:8-13 (ESV)

So Abimelech rose early in the morning and called all his servants and told them all these things. And the men were very much afraid. Then 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.” And Abimelech said to Abraham, “What did you see, that you did this thing?” 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.’ Besides, she is indeed my sister, the daughter of my father though not the daughter of my mother, and she became my wife. And 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.”’”

We live in a society that has certain norms and certain expectations.   When, on the top of those norms, you profess to be a believer in Christ, there is an added weight of responsibility.   The is exemplified in the above passage.   Abraham deceived Abimelech.   Abimelech’s response is classic for those today who see hypocrisy.   He asked Abraham, “What have you done to us?”   Then he makes an amazing statement:  “You have done to me things that ought not to be done.”   As we travel in this world and profess Christ we ought to act the way Christ acted.  Abraham, in a moment of fear and mistrust in the sovereignty of God, did something that he certainly regretted.   But fear does that.  It makes you act in a way that you should not act.  Think of Peter.  Jesus even told Peter he would deny Jesus.  Yet, when the time came he did something he ought not to do.   King David did the same thing.   As did Jonah.   As did Ananias and Sapphira in Acts 5.    When we profess to believe in God we are to rise above the common and misguided norms of society.  We have a new standard.  Abimelech called Abraham out on his hypocrisy.  Abraham didn’t trust God enough to live out loud for God in front of a world of misguided sinners.   That is what happens when fear replaces faith.