Abraham’s faith was extraordinary. I’ve often read the account of his trip up the mountain to sacrifice Isaac thinking ‘I couldn’t do that.’ But he did, not knowing that God would meet him on the way to provide him with a ram he could use for the offering in place of his son. The son he and Sarah had struggled to conceive for most of their married life together. The promise that Abraham had stood on was that God would make Abraham the father on nations, a promise he believed despite having no offspring of his own until it seemed like it was too late. Paul reminds us that it was that faith that earned him his righteousness in God’s eyes.

Paul reminds us that our circumstances are no different to Abrahams. We are asked to put our faith in Jesus who bought our righteousness for us on the cross where Abraham was asked to believe that God would make him the father of nations. Faith in God, faith in Jesus and/or faith in the Holy Spirit lead us to a place of righteousness where anything is possible. Abraham’s faith in God put him into a right relationship with God and he did it before the first act of circumcision (a sign of obedience). Therefore it was his faith that made him righteous not his obedience.

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Question:

How strong is your faith? How easy do you find it to hear God’s promises for you and to stand on them knowing that He will never let you down?

What is He promising you now? What do you need to do to see those promises fulfilled?

Prayer:

Teach me faith O Lord that I might walk all my days clothed in the righteousness Jesus won for me on the cross.