Today’s reading is Genesis 15,17,22; Romans 4:1-5, 9-25
The Lord spoke to Abram and told him he would be the “father of many nations” even though he had no children and was quite old. “And Abram believed the Lord, and the Lord declared him righteous because of his FAITH” (Genesis 15:16). God then made a covenant with Abram and told him that he would make him into a mighty nation. This covenant was not merely one sided, there was a part Abram (now changed to Abraham) had to obey. In Genesis 17:10 God said, This is the covenant that you and your descendants must keep: Each male among you must be circumcised. It was a tall order but definitely a mark that set them apart and Abraham faithfully obeyed. Then in Genesis 22 Abraham’s faith is tested again when God asks him to sacrifice his son Isaac. Again, Abraham obeyed and got as far as lifting the knife to complete the sacrifice when an angel of the Lord stopped him in Genesis 22:12, “Lay down the knife”, the angel said. “Do not hurt the boy in any way, for now I know that you truly fear God. You have not withheld even your beloved son from me.” And the Lord provided an alternative sacrifice in response to his faith and he promised to bless him and multiply his descendants just as he said he would do in the beginning. .
Fast forward to the New Testament and Paul is sharing the story of Abraham with the Christians in Rome in Romans 4. His theme is FAITH. God used Abraham because he first “believed”. Romans 4:13 It is clear then that God’s promise to give the whole earth to Abraham and his descendants was not based on obedience to God’s law, but on the new relationship with God that comes by FAITH. And through our faith, God blesses us beyond what we could even imagine. Did Abraham grasp the depth of God’s promise to him? Did he have any idea that he would be the beginning of the line to Jesus, the savior of the world? God did not use Abraham because he was perfect. It was his FAITH that made him righteous, not his good works. Because of his faith he was able to act in obedience when God told him to circumcise the males and then go on to sacrifice his son. God will also ask us to do things in response to our faith but those things do not save us, it is our faith that saves us. Rest today in the fact that Gods promise of salvation is a free gift that only requires our belief, not our perfect performance.
Romans 4:23-25 Now this wonderful truth- that God declared him to be righteous-wasn’t just for Abraham’s benefit. It was for us, too, assuring us that God will also declare us to be righteous if we believe in God, who brought Jesus our Lord back from the dead. He was handed over to die because of our sins, and he was raised from the dead to make us right with God.
Shelly