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Jonathan Griffiths: You go through a time of tension within a particular relationship in your life. You recognize your own wrongdoing. You move forward. Then six months later, a year later, ten years, you slip into your old patterns of behavior and you are back where you were, and it's this sinking sense of déjà vu.

Steve Hiller: Welcome to Encounter the Truth with Jonathan Griffiths. I'm Steve Hiller, and Jonathan, every Christian, I think, could probably relate to that, at least on some level. That feeling like we have victory over some sin pattern in our life and then something happens, we go back to that again. Maybe we even have someone listening today who feels like that's right where they are at. What would you say to that person?

Jonathan Griffiths: Well, I think it's very dispiriting when that happens. We can be discouraged and on one level, it's not surprising that we should be discouraged by that because we know we're not living as we ought when we fall back into sin, when we slip back into patterns that we've repented of before.

If there's a weight on our heart surrounding that, we take that as the Spirit's work prompting us to repent once more and to seek his help to change. But I think it is very helpful for us to place these patterns of discipleship and so on within a biblical framework.

The Lord in his kindness does allow us to see the weakness and sin of his servants in the Old Testament and the New Testament and to see that his servants are fallible, sinful, and often failing. That's certainly the case with Abraham here in Genesis 20. As we walk through some repeated failures in his life, I think it brings encouragement to us to see that the Lord doesn't give up easily on his servants and how we need to hear that, how we need to remember it.

Steve Hiller: Well, as you just heard, we are in the book of Genesis, chapter 20. So grab a Bible and join us there as we begin "An Unflattering Comparison." Here is Jonathan.

Jonathan Griffiths: I'm sure I've said this before, but I often find actually time and time again that the surprises of Scripture hold some of the richest lessons for us. I've come actually to love the surprises of the Bible because it is in the truths and the events that I wouldn't imagine, wouldn't anticipate, it is in those very things that God reshapes my fallen thinking and teaches me new things of himself.

As I've reflected on Genesis chapter 20 in recent days, it has struck me that this is a chapter full of surprising truths about ourselves and surprising truths about God. Truths that we very much need to take to heart and truths that we need to learn to no longer actually be surprised at.

Three truths here in the passage that naturally surprise us but that we should learn to find unsurprising as we go forward in the Christian life. Don't be surprised, first of all, when patterns of sin repeat themselves.

I wonder if you've ever had an unwelcome experience of déjà vu. Going through a disappointing or messy or challenging situation and suddenly realizing I have been here before. This has happened before. I have done this before. I thought there had been some lessons learned last time, but here we go again.

We've been working on a couple of redecorating projects in our house over the recent weeks, and I know from experience how important it is when embarking on such a project to put down proper covering on all the surfaces that you don't want paint to get on, particularly on the carpet nearby. But to cover every square inch of a room really carefully is a bit of time and a bit of effort and I always just want to get on with the painting.

But the results of insufficient preparation, the results of rushing the preparation, they are inevitable. In the latest project, I found myself yet again on my hands and knees trying desperately to scrub the paint out of the carpet before it dries and sets in place. And as I'm down there scrubbing, there is this unfortunate sense of déjà vu. I've been here before.

Or on a more serious note, you go through a time of difficulty, a time of tension within a particular relationship in your life. You recognize your own wrongdoing within it, you work things through, you make amends, you move forward. Then six months later, a year later, ten years later, you slip into your old patterns of behavior, tensions rise, and you are back precisely where you were and it's this sinking sense of déjà vu.

Well, Genesis chapter 20, it is a major case of déjà vu in the life of Abraham. When we left the story of Abraham last time, you may remember he had just observed the judgment that fell on the wicked cities of Sodom and Gomorrah. He had been very much set in contrast to the wicked city and in contrast even to his nephew Lot, who escaped only by the skin of his teeth, and still ended up in a position of terrible shame at the end of the previous chapter.

Now Abraham and Sarah, semi-nomads as they were, they were on the move again to new pastures. They were journeying southwest toward the territory of the Negeb, sojourning in Gerar. And as they move into somewhat unfamiliar territory, territory evidently controlled by an unknown king, Abraham starts to think defensively. He starts thinking about shielding himself in particular from trouble.

He knows that his wife has attracted attention in other places. We can only assume that her beauty has not faded despite her very advanced age at this point. And it might stand to reason actually that she has an unusually youthful appearance; she's yet to bear her first child in the next chapter.

Now the defensive patterns of thought are not new for Abraham. He has shown a kind of cowardice before that puts his own wellbeing ahead of the sanctity of his marriage and ahead of the honor and safety of his wife. And so the ruse of verse two, shocking as it is, and it is shocking, it doesn't come out of nowhere.

And Abraham said of Sarah his wife, "She is my sister." And Abimelech king of Gerar sent and took Sarah. This is a half-lie, as you may remember. Abraham and Sarah are half-siblings, as Abraham says, but the bigger point is that they are husband and wife. That's the crucial information, and there's no doubt this presentation, it is calculated to deceive.

Mercifully the Lord intervenes before Sarah joined the king's harem. In verse three, the Lord averts disaster, but God came to Abimelech in a dream by night and said to him, "Behold, you are a dead man because of the woman whom you have taken, for she is a man's wife."

Now if the narrative is ringing some bells in our memory, it is doing so for very good reason. Back in chapter 12, at the start of the Abraham story, about a quarter of a century before the events recounted in this chapter, Abraham did the very same thing in Egypt. Sarah caught the eye of Pharaoh, who took her as his wife, thinking she was the unmarried sister of Abram. And before all was said and done, Sarah was dishonored and Abram's witness to the Lord was in tatters.

Now chapter 20, it represents a remarkable recapitulation of such disastrous behavior. It is a most depressing case of déjà vu. In fact, the resonances with the story in chapter 20 are so very, very striking that a number of critical scholars have tended to feel that this is just a literary cut and paste job. The original story has just been repeated here with the names changed. The similarities there are just so great, these scholars say.

Now I don't buy their case for a moment. I think the repetition of these events carries deep lessons for us. And on a most basic level, it carries a lesson for us about the human heart and the reality of sin. You see, when Abraham failed and fell so badly back in chapter 12, it was at the start of his journey. The Lord had just called him and made his great promises to him. It was a terrible failure, a terrible fall.

But now Abraham as he now is, he is matured. It's a quarter of a century later. He has seen the Lord at work. He has learned something of God's faithfulness. He's seen quite a lot of his own heart, presumably over the years. He's had some great spiritual victories. He's matured, no doubt. He's been a model of faith on so many occasions.

And yet, and yet, when presented with the very same situation, the very same temptation to cowardice and dishonesty as he was at the start of his journey a quarter of a century ago, when it happens again, he reacts in precisely the same way. Verses one and two, they just read so plainly and so starkly, don't they?

Abraham and Sarah travel to this new place, verse one, and the first thing they decide to do before they unpack their toothbrush or set up their campfire or find the nearest grocery store, the first thing we hear of is this, verse two: "And Abraham said of Sarah his wife, 'She is my sister.'"

If we'd read that there'd been some kind of danger or threat or pressure, we might have just a little bit more sympathy. But it seems like this is a pretty unprompted move, a pretty unforced error. And it comes as such a surprise. Surely Abraham has grown. Surely he's moved on. Surely he's matured. Surely he is now beyond this kind of stupidity. But he's not, and isn't that remarkable to observe.

It's remarkable and I think you and I are actually meant to take note of it. We are meant to take note of this in our faith hero, Abraham. Because actually what is true of him is true of us in very large measure.

Now of course our situation is different and we need to say this. We live under the new covenant and not under the old covenant. If we belong to Christ, we are filled with the Holy Spirit in a way that believers in the old covenant were not. We live after the day of Pentecost and not before the day of Pentecost.

The pattern I think we see in the Old Testament is that the Spirit of God came upon key servants of God at key times and for key purposes. But there was not a permanent indwelling for all believers of the kind that we know today. Abraham was not without the Spirit's intervention in his life, of course, but he was not living this side of Pentecost either. So there is privilege attached to our situation, privilege that Old Testament believers did not have in the same way.

However, all that having been said, the reality of the sinful nature is not done away with by the indwelling of the Spirit of God. We have a new power, but this side of heaven we still have to contend with our old nature within, even as Abraham had to contend with it. And his experience as a man of faith is meant to teach us and in this case, I think it's meant to warn us. Don't be surprised when patterns of sin repeat themselves.

Steve Hiller: You're listening to Encounter the Truth with Jonathan Griffiths and a message called "An Unflattering Comparison." It's part of a larger series called "The Blessing," and today we're taking a look at Genesis chapter 20. If you've missed any of the previous broadcasts in our series, I do hope you'll come to our website.

You can find out more about Jonathan, this program, and you can listen to programs that you may have missed by coming to encounterthetruth.org, where you can stream the program or download an MP3 for free. Again, our website address, encounterthetruth.org. Back to the message. Here is Jonathan.

Jonathan Griffiths: I don't know if you've ever gone for a walk out in the countryside or a walk in the woods and found a trail that's been used for trucks or tractors. An unpaved track that's been traveled again and again and again over the years. Farmers will be familiar with the concept in the image, of course. If you've ever tried to drive down an earthen track of that kind, you will know that your wheels naturally settle into the groove of the track.

You could almost let go of the steering wheel and the grooves would direct you. That's just what happens over time. Now I mention that, I raise that image because I think it's true to say that sin does carve some grooves, some ruts in our heart. There are grooves of sin formed through repeated temptation and repeated failure that do get worn into us.

And I want to suggest that we are just a little bit naive if we think that those grooves just disappear over time in the Christian life. We're actually setting ourselves up for failure if we imagine that somehow things that tempted us or caused us to stumble five years ago or ten years ago or twenty years ago or fifty years ago won't cause us to stumble anymore.

Abraham was faced with precisely the same circumstance at the start of chapter 20 as he was faced with in chapter 12, a quarter of a century earlier. And the moment he faced the circumstance, without pausing for breath, he fell into precisely the same sin. It's as though the last quarter century of learning and growing and walking with the Lord just hadn't happened.

And I want to say today that if you think that you are not at all like Abraham in this, you are in a place of spiritual vulnerability. Temptation does not disappear this side of heaven. The ruts in our heart caused by sin are not normally erased by the Spirit of God this side of heaven.

He helps us by his power not to slide into them any longer. He gives us grace. He is more than able to keep us from falling. And we grow in strength and maturity and godliness and self-control. But I think it's right to say that in most cases the ruts are still there, the vulnerabilities continue to exist, and we need to be fully aware of that as we move forward in the Christian life.

I want to say that, I want to underline it because we can have those moments where we're doing well and we're growing by the Spirit and people around us, they see progress and they're encouraged as well. And we can think to ourselves in those seasons, we can think, "Those old sins, maybe those habitual sins, perhaps the besetting sins are no longer a danger for me. I've been healed of that. I've been set free." And then we let our guard down.

Well, be careful, you who think you stand, lest you fall. When you feel a sense of victory, and praise God for the victories of the Christian life, but when you feel a sense of victory and then complacency sets in, that is a very dangerous season.

I don't know where the grooves are carved in your heart, where the ruts are. I certainly don't know what is your particular besetting sin. Maybe it's to do with your temper or your tongue or some kind of sexual temptation. Maybe it's some form of greed or a temptation to dishonesty. You'll know your heart, and I expect with some consideration you could articulate where those grooves are formed, where the track leads.

Well, let me just encourage you from the warning of Abraham: be on your guard. The grooves don't readily disappear. By the help of the Spirit, let's be mindful and wise and prayerful and careful. Don't be surprised when patterns of sin repeat themselves.

Next, don't be surprised when God is at work in the lives of unbelievers. What the Lord does here in the heart and the life of Abimelech is quite remarkable, and it's not in the least what Abraham was expecting. When Abimelech takes Sarah into his house, we see in verse three that God comes to him in a dream and tells him he's in big trouble. And in Abimelech's response, we see something quite surprising within the heart of this king who knows nothing really of the Lord.

Verse four: "Now Abimelech had not approached her, so he said, 'Lord, will you kill an innocent people? Did he not himself say to me, "She is my sister," and she herself said, "He is my brother"? In the integrity of my heart and the innocence of my hands I have done this.'"

Then God said to him in the dream, "Yes, I know that you have done this in the integrity of your heart, and it was I who kept you from sinning against me; therefore I did not let you touch her." Now to my mind, this is really quite something. Here is a pagan king. He is by no means a follower of the Lord, a member of the covenant family, none of that, but he acts decently.

Whatever the dynamics of taking Sarah, whether that was a kidnapping, which would of course not represent any integrity at all, or some sort of a treaty marriage. Nonetheless, as the story progresses, the Lord declares that he's acted in the integrity of his heart. So there is some decency going on here. In in many ways, he acts in a manner far better than Abraham acts.

If there is one figure in the story who comes out pretty well here by the end, it seems to be Abimelech. And remarkably, the Lord speaks to him in this very personal way. The Lord reveals that he has been at work in his life, restraining him from doing evil.

Now that is, if you like, an example of what theologians sometimes call common grace. Special grace or saving grace is God's work of grace by his Spirit that is shown in the lives of those whom he saves in Christ. That's special grace, saving grace. But God also works by common grace to restrain the evil in the world and to enable people, unbelievers, people in society generally, to do things that are kind and decent and beneficial in varying measure and degree.

And here we see quite an amazing example of that. God has restrained evil in this man. He has been at work in his life by his sovereignty and he has done so in a very remarkable way.

Now Abraham, for his part, he had very little concept of this and very little confidence in it. He tells us as much in verse 11. Abimelech quite reasonably asks Abraham why on earth he has behaved in this way. And Abraham's answer to him betrays so much.

Verse 10: "And Abimelech said to Abraham, 'What did you see that you did this thing?' And 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.'"

I'm going into a snakepit here, thinks Abraham. I'm going into a territory where the Gentiles rule, where there is no knowledge of God. Well, that may have been true enough, but in going into unbelieving territory, he was wrong to imagine that he was going into territory where God was not able to be at work in lives and God was not able to restrain evil.

You see, the truth of God's sovereignty is that he is able to work in any life, in any culture, in any part of the world, because whether people acknowledge him or not, he is the sovereign creator and he holds human hearts in his hand.

And frankly, there will be times when unbelievers around us will put us to shame by their good behavior. We've all seen that. There's a traffic jam, okay? You're late and steam is starting to come out of your ears. You're pushing through because you got to get where you're going. But people in cars around you, they're being so gracious and so patient and they're waving others on ahead of themselves.

There's a contentious issue in the community and some Christian friends post angry or discourteous notes on Facebook, while unbelievers in the neighborhood are careful and kind in what they say. We've got some wonderful neighbors in our neighborhood, and I remember talking to one of our neighbors and I was complaining about something that was quite difficult to deal with, something that needed fixing in the house.

And she said to me, "But we've got so much to be thankful for, don't we?" And I thought, "The roles should have been reversed. That should have been me saying that. I'm chastened by your example in this." And we have those moments where we're put to shame. Where the good behavior of outsiders actually points us to God's kindness.

It shows us his common grace at work in their lives, restraining evil, making society livable, which of course it would not be without the intervention of the Spirit of God. The reputational damage here for Abraham is unavoidable. Abimelech notices and reprimands Abraham.

Verse nine: "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? Why have you behaved so badly, Abraham?'" Abimelech, he frankly looks like the righteous one here by comparison. It's common grace, and Abraham for one didn't expect it. He didn't anticipate it.

Now, why does it matter to us to understand and to believe that God can be at work in this way? Why do we need a theology of common grace, an anticipation of common grace?

Steve Hiller: Well, unfortunately, we do have to pause the message right here, but we'll come back and we'll take a look at that question about common grace, the anticipation of that next time here on Encounter the Truth. Our message is called "An Unflattering Comparison," and it's part of a series we're calling "The Blessing." Today we've been in Genesis chapter 20 and like I mentioned a moment ago, we will come back and answer the question and continue this message next time.

If you know you can't be listening, you don't have to miss Jonathan's teaching. You can come to our website and you can listen online. Just come to encounterthetruth.org and there you can stream the program or download an MP3. Again, our website address, encounterthetruth.org.

Currently, we've been taking a look at the life of Abraham, taking a look at his story and seeing what we can learn from his life. And Jonathan, as you prepared to preach this series on Abraham, was there anything that surprised you or stood out to you?

Jonathan Griffiths: Well, I think lots stands out in my mind and in my heart as I study the life of Abraham. It's so rich and so fresh, this story of someone walking with God through the ups and downs of life, the challenges of life, and actually the sin struggles of his own life. There's a lot of failure in Abraham's life, which the Lord covers with his grace.

And for me, I think one of the most encouraging things to see is that the Lord used Abraham mightily despite his weaknesses and his failures and his sin. The Lord is so gracious to Abraham and as I read that story and I see the grace of God at work, I think there's hope for someone like me and I've found the story just so encouraging on that level.

Steve Hiller: Well, one of the things that I so appreciate is you've taken what you've studied and what you've taught us on the radio and you've actually compiled a book. It is the newest book that you've written, "Strangers and Exiles," it's all about pursuing faithfulness as pilgrims in a faithless world. And we'd love to send you a copy of this book as our way of saying thank you for your financial support this month.

You can find out more or give online when you come to encounterthetruth.org or when you call us at 1-833-99-TRUTH. That's 1-833-998-7884. Or again, the website is encounterthetruth.org. You can also write us at Encounter the Truth, 2176 Prince of Wales Drive, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, K2E 0A1. Or in the US at Encounter the Truth, 215 North Arlington Heights Road, number 102, Arlington Heights, Illinois, 60004. For Jonathan Griffiths, I'm Steve Hiller. Thanks for listening and I hope you'll join us next time.