Paul above is using God’s Word in the story of Abraham to put the final dagger in the jewish belief that any of their works merited in part or whole their acceptance before God. Specifically, an argument that the Jewish readers might have made to Paul at this point was that God commanded God to be circumcised, and thus it was Abraham’s circumcision under the law of God that made him righteous. So the important question to answer is when was Abraham justified, declared righteous, before God. Was it before he was circumcised or after. To put it in a modern day context for the majority of us who do not come from a Jewish background, some Christians mistakenly believe that their baptism contributes to their actual salvation. So are you saved before baptism or after? Lets look at the text Paul is referencing about Abraham from Genesis 15.
Genesis 15:1-6 – “After these things the word of the LORD came to Abram in a vision: “Fear not, Abram, I am your shield; your reward shall be very great.” But Abram said, “O Lord GOD, what will you give me, for I continue childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?” And Abram said, “Behold, you have given me no offspring, and a member of my household will be my heir.” And behold, the word of the LORD came to him: “This man shall not be your heir;your very own son shall be your heir.” And he brought him outside and said, “Look toward heaven, and number the stars, if you are able to number them.” Then he said to him, “So shall your offspring be.” And he believed the LORD, and he counted it to him as righteousness.”
If you read on, you’ll find out that this promise of God was made some twenty years before God commanded Abraham and his household to be circumcised in chapter 17 (The sign and seal of Abraham’s faith). So it was that Abraham’s righteousness was credited to him before any works had been performed. It was because Abraham believed God, that his obedience followed, not the other way around.
So what does this all mean to us? It is so tempting to believe that your right standing before God rests on the things you do. Do you have victory over this sin or that, etc. This is perpetuated by many self-righteous persons within the church. This is the burden of the law that no one can bear. You aren’t perfect, that’s why you need a savior. One has good reason to question whether he is truly saved if he continues in sin unrepentantly (1 John 3:9), but the opposite is not true. Just because we might look good on the outside doesn’t mean we truly know and love God. The world is full of good, moral, churchgoing people who act that way for a myriad of reasons other than saving belief in Jesus Christ our Lord. My hope is that you will press into your heart that you are righteous because you believe God, not because of anything external that you do, but because you believe God; to know Him, love Him, and trust Him.
You cannot believe God without knowing anything about Him.
You cannot believe God if you reject His character and glory.
You cannot believe God if you do not trust him.
My exhortation is to not evaluate the condition of your faith based solely on those things external, and move the battle for faith inward to ask yourself if you truly believe. Do not despair if you cannot see much knowledge, love, and trust of God in your heart; God has promised that we can move mountains even with the faith of a tiny mustard seed. Know that Christ came to set you free and has told you that his yoke is easy and burden light. Pray earnestly therefore, that God would incline your heart towards Him increasingly. Seek Him in His Word, daily, not to check off a box, but to grow your knowledge and love for your Savior. If you believe God; know Him, love Him, and trust Him, then the external outworkings of that belief will come, but just as with Abraham, your belief is what is credited to you as righteousness, nothing else.
Grace and Peace,
Adam
Following the Way 