Shincheonji Perspective
Shincheonji may claim the following:
Abraham was instructed by the angel of the Lord to sacrifice his son Isaac. SCJ states that because he did not tell his wife Sarah (got up early in the morning to avoid her in verse 1), lied to his servants about what they were doing on the mountain (Gen. 22:5), and told Isaac that God would provide the lamb (Gen. 22:8), that God did not care about the lies he told and still blessed him.
An Argument of Silence
When a Shincheonji person refers to this story as a proof of the use of deception, it shows that they are missing the point of why Abraham was justified. There are times and moments in the Bible when God’s people are imperfect when carrying out God’s will, like how Abraham married Hagar the slave to produce offspring in Genesis 16, and yet God still stayed by Abraham’s side, and did not abandon him for his mistake. Does this mean that we can also practice polygamy? Of course not! At best, in this instance, Shincheonji has an argument of silence.
Likewise, with the above story, the purpose and intent of the story of Abraham was to see his faith in God’s promise of how through Isaac, will make Abraham the father of many nations as seen in Genesis 17:4-5.
The purpose of the story is to show an expression of faith, as with Abraham’s words “We will worship and then we will come back to you” (Genesis 22:5) can be seen as a demonstration of his faith in God’s promises. Abraham believed that even if he sacrificed Isaac, God would raise him from the dead to fulfill His covenant (Hebrews 11:17-19).
When looking at Hebrews 11 and the hall of faith, Paul commends Abraham for his faith in God being able to resurrect Isaac, not because of Abraham lying.
17 By faith Abraham, when God tested him, offered Isaac as a sacrifice. He who had embraced the promises was about to sacrifice his one and only son, 18 even though God had said to him, “It is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned.” 19 Abraham reasoned that God could even raise the dead, and so in a manner of speaking he did receive Isaac back from death.
Without adding and subtracting to God’s word, Abraham was explicitly commending Abraham for his faith in God’s promise, not for lying.
Also, the purpose of this story is to illustrate a future event, of how God would sacrifice his Son in the atonement of our sins.