Abraham's Faith (Faith Accounted for Righteousness)

Every person who truly believes that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, is interested in having what we might term "saving faith."  The Bible is clear we need such faith in order to have salvation for Paul tells us "by grace you have been saved through faith." (Eph. 2:8 NKJV)  If you omit the faith you omit the grace.  We are “justified by faith." (Rom. 5:1 NKJV)

The only question then to be resolved is the nature of the faith that saves.  We know its object (Christ) but need to know the characteristics of saving faith.  In Rom. 4 Paul says Abraham "is the father of us all" with the reference to all who believe. (Rom. 4:16)  He says in Galatians, "only those who are of faith are sons of Abraham." (Gal. 3:7 NKJV)  And, then finally, "So then those who are of faith are blessed with believing Abraham." (Gal. 3:9 NKJV)  If we can learn the nature of Abraham's faith and then copy it in our own lives we too will be blessed.

In Romans 4:3 Paul talks about Abraham's faith quoting a scripture found in Gen. 15:6, "Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness." (NKJV)  The context in Gen. 15 is God's promise to Abraham that "one who will come from your own body shall be your heir" (Gen. 15:4 NKJV) and that his descendants would be as the stars of heaven, impossible to count them for their number (Gen. 15:5).  Abraham believed that and it was "accounted to him for righteousness." (Gen. 15:6 NKJV)

It is easy here to be led astray by carelessness as a student of the Bible and come to the false conclusion that up to that point in time Abraham was a lost sinner and this is the first time God accounted to him his faith for righteousness.  This was not a conversion experience for Abraham. 

The truth is Abraham believed God, walked with God, and was in obedience to God long before this event, a thing which we now set out to affirm from scripture.  Bear with me for a few paragraphs for this is important.  Stephen in Acts 7 said, "The God of glory appeared to our father Abraham when he was in Mesopotamia before he dwelt in Haran, and said to him, 'Get out of your country and from your relatives, and come to a land that I will show you.'" (Acts 7:2-3 NKJV)

Note that God had chosen Abraham for he could have just as well have appeared to any one of thousands of other men but he chose Abraham telling him, "I will make you a great nation; I will bless you and make your name great; and you shall be a blessing…in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed." (Gen. 12:2-3 NKJV)

Note that God actually "appeared" to Abraham at that early stage of his historical record (Acts 7:2).  He was 75 years old when he departed Haran for Canaan (Gen. 12:4).  When he arrived in Canaan the Lord appeared to him again, promised to give the land to Abraham's descendants, and Abraham built an altar to the Lord there (Gen. 12:7).  From there he moved on to Bethel where it is said, "he built an altar to the Lord and called on the name of the Lord." (Gen. 12:8 NKJV)

Thereafter Abraham went to Egypt for a time and then returned to Canaan to the place of his first altar to the Lord and it is said at that time that again "Abram called on the name of the Lord." (Gen 13:4 NKJV)  After Lot had separated from Abraham the Lord God spoke again to Abraham and said, "All the land which you see I give to you and your descendants forever." (Gen. 13:15 NKJV)

We next read of Abraham building another altar after having moved to Hebron (Gen. 13:18) and then read of Lot's captivity and rescue by Abraham and later of his meeting with Melchizedek king of Salem ("priest of God Most High" – Gen. 14:18).

Finally, we come to chapter 15 where "the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision, saying, 'Do not be afraid, Abram.  I am your shield, your exceedingly great reward." (Gen. 15:1 NKJV)  Note that this is stated in Gen. 15:1 and is before Gen. 15:6.  This will be the vision where God tells Abraham that he shall have a son from his own body who will be his heir, that his descendants will be as the stars in multitude being impossible to count (Gen. 15:4-5), and where it is said, "And he believed in the Lord, and he accounted it to him for righteousness." (Gen. 15:6 NKJV)

What has been the point in following through all of this chronologically?  It is to point out that Abraham had long been a man of faith and had been so for years before it was ever said in Gen. 15:6 that Abraham's faith was accounted to him for righteousness. Abraham had been walking with God by faith and God had been communing with him, talking with him, and making promises to him for years.  I want to emphasize that and then ask a question.  Do you believe, based on your reading of Gen. 12, 13, and 14 and the first verse of Gen. 15 that Abraham was a lost sinner condemned in God's eyes before Gen. 15:6?

As the writer of the book of Hebrews said it was "by faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to the place which he would afterward receive as an inheritance.  And he went out, not knowing where he was going.  By faith he sojourned in the land of promise as in a foreign country." (Heb. 11:8-9 NKJV)  By the time Isaac was born Abraham was 100 years old (Gen. 21:5).  He had left Haran at the age of 75.

When God said to him, "I am your shield, your exceedingly great reward" (Gen. 15:1 NKJV) that was before it was said of Abraham that God counted his faith for righteousness.

The point Paul was making was not that this was a conversion experience for Abraham in Gen. 15:6 but rather that Abraham was saved, as all are, by faith that God counts for righteousness.  That is true for a man or woman at any and all points of time in life if that person is a saved individual.  It was just as true of Abel, Enoch, and Noah (men before Abraham's time) as it was for Abraham.  All three of these men are listed along with Abraham in what we often call the Bible's hall of fame for faith chapter--Hebrews 11.

Does this mean that the promise of a son and Abraham's faith in that promise was of no particular importance?  Not at all!  Quite the contrary!

Abraham's faith was so strong that he believed God was able to do what appeared to man to be impossible.  The original promise to Abraham of a son (in Gen. 15) was made quite a number of years before Isaac, the son of promise, was born.  In the time between the promise and the birth of Isaac, Ishmael had been born and was at least 13 years old by the time of Isaac's birth.  Read Gen. 17.

God appeared to Abraham when he was 100 years old and again promised him a son (Gen. 17:15-21) and then appeared to him again only this time Sarah was within hearing distance and overheard the promise of a son also (Gen. 18).  She was 90. (Gen. 17:17)

By man's way of measuring the possible, it was an impossibility due to advanced age for Abraham and Sarah to have a son but Abraham believed God as did Sarah.  "By faith Sarah herself also received strength to conceive seed, and she bore a child when she was past the age, because she judged Him faithful who had promised.  Therefore from one man, and him as good as dead, were born as many as the stars of the sky in multitude--innumerable as the sand which is by the seashore." (Heb. 11:11-12 NKJV)  Rom. 4:19 tells us Abraham "did not consider his own body, already dead (since he was about a hundred years old), and the deadness of Sarah's womb." (Heb. 11:11-12 NKJV) 

A second instance of this man's faith in the impossible, believing only because God had spoken, is found in Heb. 11:17-19.

"By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises offered up his only begotten son, of whom it was said, 'in Isaac your seed shall be called,' concluding that God was able to raise him up, even from the dead, from which he also received him in a figurative sense." (NKJV)

God had spoken, God cannot lie (Titus 1:2), and thus Abraham's faith in God was so strong he was even willing to obey this command to offer up his son Isaac as a burnt offering (Gen. 22:2) while still maintaining faith in God's promise.  The promise was that in Isaac your seed shall be called meaning God would have to resurrect Isaac from the dead if he was going to be sacrificed as a burnt offering.  Abraham's faith in God keeping his promise was so strong he was going to sacrifice Isaac in full faith God would resurrect him from the dead.   

So what have we learned about this great man of faith that would be applicable to us today?  One lesson is that which we have just talked about--we ought to believe whatever God has said no matter what, no matter how incomprehensible or unreasonable to us the command or declaration he makes may be.

Faith requires obedience when a command is given.  A failure of faith always leads to a failure to obey which is the reason the children of Israel never entered the Promised Land.  "And to whom did He swear that they would not enter His rest, but to those who did not obey?  So we see that they could not enter in because of unbelief." (Heb. 3:18-19 NKJV)  Had Abraham not obeyed would we be talking about his faith?  To ask is to answer.

What really matters for a man of faith is not what we think about what God has said but what he has said.  We can get to reasoning with the word of God to the point where we can convince ourselves that God did not really mean what he said in a commandment or in a statement.  Abraham just believed and obeyed no matter what.

A second lesson we learn is that faith comes by hearing God's word.  What Abraham believed was what he heard, what he was told by God.  He did not come to conclusions by way of human reasoning.   Men have faith today in all kinds of things not found in God's word and have convinced themselves it is of God.  What Abraham believed was what he heard.  What we are to believe today is what we read in the word of God--the New Testament.  That is how God talks to us today.  That is how we hear him today.

Personal opinion is passed off for faith in the time in which we live.  The "it seems to me" or "I can see no wrong in it" has replaced the book, chapter, and verse word of God in our lives and worship.  Again, this is not the faith of Abraham.  "So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God." (Rom. 10:17 NKJV)  If there is no book, chapter, and verse for a practice it is opinion, not faith.

A last lesson I take from a study of Abraham's faith is that it was a perpetual faith.  It was not here today and gone tomorrow but was a continual walk with God throughout his life.  Sinless he was not for he was a man but he did believe God.

Many believe in God to save them but they don't believe God, don't believe parts of his word, don't believe some of the things he has said they should or should not do.  Is that faith like Abraham's?  When a person is like that can it honestly be said they believe in God if they don’t believe him, don’t believe his words? 

Faith in the case of Abraham was never a matter of does God exist.  He made himself known to the extent it was a matter of knowledge, not faith, as it related to his existence.  It was impossible to not believe that God was.   Faith came down to trust and obedience.  In the final analysis, is that not always the case?  Is that not the true measure of faith?

James says, "And the Scripture was fulfilled which says, 'Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.'   And he was called the friend of God." (James 2:23 NKJV)  James referred back to the same passage Paul did in Rom. 4:3--the passage being Gen. 15:6.  Paul used the passage in reference to a time prior to Isaac's birth while James used it in reference to a time some think to have been around 30 years later--at the time Abraham was prepared to offer Isaac as a sacrifice.  Whatever the exact time there is no doubt there were many years in between the two points of reference.

Well, when was Abraham's faith accounted to him for righteousness?  Who was right--Paul or James?  Since they both wrote by inspiration it is obvious both were right.  At any point in time in a man's life when he is believes and obeys what God has required of him he is a saved-by-faith individual.  He is a person whose faith is accounted for righteousness.  However, when more is required more must be believed and obeyed.  Time moves and is not static.

Abraham was a saved man before he was required to sacrifice Isaac but what if he had failed to believe God and obey God when the command to offer Isaac was given?  A man can lose his salvation.  Our faith must always be strong enough to lead us to obedience to what we know God has commanded if it is to be accounted to us for righteousness.  Faith that will not obey is not saving faith.

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Circumcision and Baptism

Many believers in Christ teach that baptism is just a sign of salvation that has already been received and thus whether or not one is baptized is of no great consequence as pertains to the soul’s salvation.  Many see baptism in the same light they see circumcision in the Old Testament, as just a sign.  Is baptism just a sign of salvation by faith that is already in one’s possession? 

In the Old Testament long before the Law of Moses it was said of Abraham, “He believed in the Lord, and he accounted it to him for righteousness.” (Gen. 15:6 NKJV)  Certainly, no Bible believer would doubt Abraham’s salvation at that point in time.

Many years later the Lord appeared to Abraham and commanded him and all the males in his household to be circumcised (Gen. 17:10-14).  The Lord declared it to be “a sign of the covenant between me and you.” (Gen. 17:11 NKJV)

Even though circumcision was just a sign it was not unimportant.  The male child that was not circumcised “shall be cut off from his people; he has broken my covenant.” (Gen. 17:14 NKJV)  How seriously did Abraham take this command that was but a sign?  Abraham obeyed it immediately, “that very same day.” (Gen. 17:23-27, see Gen. 17:23 specifically)

In Romans 4 Paul talks about this event and again reiterates that circumcision was a sign (Rom. 4:11) and makes the declaration that Abraham was saved, prior to circumcision, by his faith (Rom. 4:3-12, specifically v. 9-10, NKJV).

In thinking about this specific command of God to Abraham, his household, and his descendants one must keep in mind the relationship of faith to obedience.  Without faith, believing God, Abraham would never have obeyed.  Faith had already obtained a righteous standing before God but it was a living active faith that willingly obeyed God that kept Abraham’s standing firm before God.  No one ever seems to ask the question, “what if Abraham had not obeyed?”

Faith is primary in the lives of God’s people whether in the Old Testament or the New Testament.  Faith always has primacy for without it nothing else follows.  Men do not obey nor follow after one, unless coerced to do so, without belief in the one they follow.  Atheists do not seek to follow God and looking at it from their point of view we readily understand why.  Why would they?  Abraham obeyed because Abraham believed.

Well, how about baptism?  Is baptism just the New Testament’s version of circumcision?  There is no doubt about there being some similarities but just because two things are similar does not mean they are equivalent serving the same purpose.  Horses and mules share similarities but it is error to not distinguish between them for there are some real differences.  Mules do not race at Churchill Downs for a reason.

Circumcision and baptism share the necessity of faith for either act to have spiritual meaning.  Circumcision itself had no spiritual significance for man until God gave the command at which time man (Abraham) had the option to either trust and obey or disobey.  Would Abraham honor God by obedience or would he rebel?   In that sense, baptism shares a similarity with circumcision.  As a man of faith Abraham obeyed.  Because of faith, his descendants had their sons circumcised on the eighth day after birth. 

One Hollywood actor can baptize another on film but it amounts to nothing before God.  One can be baptized to please mom or dad, husband or wife, or even the church community but it amounts to nothing other than getting wet until such a time as the person does the act out of faith in God in obedience to God’s command.

Those who talk about people believing in water salvation are generally in error in doing so.  I never knew a person who believed just going down into the water and coming up out of it saved the person who lacked faith in the command giver, faith in the God who commanded it.  Without faith nothing can save a man.  “Without faith it is impossible to please him, for he who comes to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of those who diligently seek him.” (Heb. 11:6 NKJV)

Faith leads to things that accompanying faith make faith alive and active versus the dead faith that James says cannot save (James 2:14, 17, 20, 26).  Faith leads to repentance and where is the man who would deny that repentance is required for salvation?  There is no motive for repentance toward God outside of faith.  “Truly, these times of ignorance God overlooked, but now commands all men everywhere to repent, because he has appointed a day on which he will judge the world in righteousness…” (Acts 17:30-31 NKJV).  “Unless you repent you will all likewise perish!” (Luke 13:3, 5 NKJV)  

Peter, in the first gospel sermon ever preached, in Acts 2 tied repentance with baptism, “Then Peter said to them, ‘Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.’” (Acts 2:38 NKJV)  He repeated himself years later in regards to baptism when he wrote 1 Peter saying, “There is also an antitype which now saves us, namely baptism (not the removal of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God), through the resurrection of Jesus Christ.” (1 Peter 3:21 NKJV) 

Peter certainly did not mean to say water will save you without faith and repentance, water salvation, but was merely making the point he desired to make regarding baptism.  Baptism is a part of God’s plan for mankind in the age of Christianity as much as circumcision was a part of God’s plan for his people in Old Testament days.   The failure to be circumcised in Abraham’s day and afterwards would cut a man off from God’s covenant.  In the Christian era baptism is the initiatory rite by which man comes into covenant relationship with Christ for man is “baptized into Christ Jesus.” (Rom. 6:3 NKJV, see also Gal. 3:27, 1 Cor. 12:13)  

While the Bible speaks of circumcision as a sign it nowhere speaks of baptism as being a sign.  I searched the concordances for the word sign in seven major Bible translations in a context where baptism was also mentioned.  Not one translation yielded a result.  Man may call baptism a sign but that is man, the Bible does not do so.  

The one passage in the New Testament that relates circumcision to baptism is found in Col. 2:11-13:  “In him you were also circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of the sins of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ, buried with him in baptism, in which you also were raised with him through faith in the working of God, who raised him from the dead.  And you, being dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, he has made alive together with him, having forgiven you all trespasses.” (NKJV) 

Paul wrote this Colossian passage and provides the best commentary on it in something else he wrote back in Rom. 6:2-4:  “How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it?  Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death?  Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.” (NKJV) 

Paul makes it clear that there is a “circumcision made without hands.”  It is Christ’s circumcision.  This is a circumcision that is performed on a person spiritually dead in sins, one whose sins have not yet been forgiven.  That spiritually dead person is buried in baptism into death to sin but arises from his burial with Christ a new creation (Gal. 3:27, 2 Cor. 5:17), “raised with Him through faith” (Col. 2:12) to “walk in newness of life.” (Rom. 6:4)  The circumcision of Christ is the cutting off of the person’s sins which is done in baptism when preceded by faith and repentance.  Only Christ (God) can forgive sins thus it is the circumcision of Christ. 

Peter says in the passage quoted earlier, the passage talking about baptism, that he now has, “the answer of a good conscience toward God.” (1 Peter 3:21 NKJV)  He is a new creation, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.” (2 Cor. 5:17 NKJV)  He was “baptized into Christ Jesus.” (Rom. 6:3 NKJV) 

It is only through faith that one arises from baptism with an answer of a good conscience.  Only through faith can such a person believe that old things have passed away and all is new in his life.  Only through faith can he believe he has been forgiven of all trespasses. 

When a person submits through faith to be baptized into Christ he is submitting himself to accept in that act of faith Christ’s circumcision.  It is not a sign; it is the reality itself. 

As a final note one should not confuse the “circumcision…of the heart” in Rom. 2:28-29 with the “circumcision of Christ” in Col. 2:11-13.  In Romans, Paul is making the point that physical circumcision alone without obedient faith accompanying it was of no avail to the Jew.  God cares about a man’s heart toward God.  “He is a Jew who is one inwardly.” (Rom. 2:29 NKJV)  In Romans it is man who circumcises his own heart, it is man’s circumcision, that which he is responsible for.  In Colossians it is Christ’s circumcision, what Christ does for man when man complies with God’s will by faith.  Man can circumcise his heart as he possesses free will; man cannot forgive his sins.  That is God’s dominion, Christ’s circumcision.

This is a teaching that was found in scripture long before Paul’s time or writings.  Moses spoke of the need for the Jews to circumcise their hearts in Deut. 10:16 and the Lord spoke of the same need in Jer. 4:4.  This did not mean physical circumcision was unnecessary but that more was needed than just the physical act.

There is much more that could be said on this subject and perhaps I will tackle that at a later date. 

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