“Abram believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.” This simple sentence in Genesis 15:6 is perhaps the most profound declaration in history. It comes at a critical point in Abram’s faith journey and in ours. It points us to the heart of the Gospel and to the core question we often ask God: Can I trust you?
Abram Questioned God
The night after Abram’s greatest victory, he went home with more questions than answers. He had just won a war over the most powerful army known at that time. He had rescued his nephew Lot and freed hundreds of people. After the mysterious priest-king Melchizedek blessed him, he refused an unholy alliance with the king of Sodom.
Abram should have felt satisfied and thankful. But he was full of anxiety. God had promised he would become a great nation in his own land. Now, even though he had settled as a nomad in the Promised Land, he still had no children. Years had passed, yet he and Sarai remained childless, and at their age God’s promise seemed impossible.
Abram Believed God
To answer Abram, God took him outside and told him to look up at the stars. God then promised Abram that his descendants would be as numerous as the uncountable dots in the sky. Genesis 15:6 tells us that Abram responded to God’s promise in faith, “Abram believed God, and God credited it to him as righteousness.”
Even though nothing about Abram’s circumstances suggested he could produce descendants, he still believed God would be faithful to His word. For Abram and for us, actively believing God by taking Him at His word is a much deeper step of faith than passively believing that God exists.
The Bible defines faith as putting our full weight down on something. You can believe a chair will hold you, but until you sit on it and trust it with your full weight, you are not fully trusting. Abram did not know how God would fulfill His promise, but he still accepted it as a foregone conclusion.
God Credited it as Righteousness
Genesis 15:6 says God credited Abram’s faith as righteousness. What is righteousness? The Hebrew word for righteousness means conforming to the highest moral standard. Righteousness is one of God’s core attributes. It describes God’s morally perfect nature. Psalm 145:17 says, God is perfect in all His ways…”
Abram did not suddenly become morally flawless. Nor did his behavior suddenly conform to God’s perfect standards. Later in Genesis, we find him sinning spectacularly. Nothing about Abram changed. But God, as the Supreme Judge, declared Abram righteous in His eyes despite Abram’s complete inability to act righteously.
“Credited” is an accounting term. God told Abram, in essence, “I am permanently transferring my righteousness into your account; not because of anything you did or will do to earn it, but because of your faith in Me.” Romans 4:1-11 explains that Abram’s faith was active confidence in God’s character and Word, despite the circumstances.
How to Walk in Abram’s Path
God’s declaration to Abram echoes through the centuries. We cannot dictate to God how we will reach Him. We can only know Him by having faith in the pathway He designed to reach us. Here’s what that path looks like:
God loves us and wants a relationship with us. John 3:16 declares that “God so loved the world that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.”
Sin separates us from God. However, we are all separated from God because “…all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.” (Romans 3:23) God’s character will not allow any unrighteousness in His midst.
Jesus Christ is God’s way to reach us. Since we cannot reach God on our own, God reaches out to us through His Son. Romans 6:26 is clear that, “the wages of sin is death. But the gift of God is eternal life in Jesus Christ…”
Place your trust in Jesus. John 1:12 echoes Abram’s faith by saying, “Yet to all who…believed in his name, He gave the right to become the children of God.” Like Abram, your faith can be credited to you as righteousness.
Joy For Your Journey,
Andy