June 27

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And he (Abraham) believed in the Lord, and He accounted it to him for righteousness. Genesis 15:6

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🔊 Abraham believed God.  He had no works, not even circumcision, when his justification was pronounced.  He was still ignorant of how it would all work out.  He was also not yet in full faith, in that soon after this, he took Sarah’s maid, Hagar, and had Ishmael through her.  In other words, God in no way demanded perfection from Abraham; neither did his mistakes diminish his salvation.  The underlying fact that maintained his salvation was that he believed God.  All his mistakes were not in direct rebellion against God; they were through smallness of faith, and in the belief that God would need Abraham’s help to fulfil all that He had said.  Abraham’s faith was small at first, but because it was genuine, it grew through all the trials.  In the end it was made perfect, and he obtained all that God had promised him.  However, Abraham was justified from the moment that he believed God.  Note also that “he believed in the Lord” means he believed in the character and integrity of God.  He did not yet see how it would all work out, but he believed that it would all work out because of who God is.  Faith in God is faith in the fact that God is faultless, sinless, true and trustworthy in what He has said and in what He does.  So faith is not just a means to obtain something, it is much more.  It is the greatest gift we can receive from God.  By faith we enter into relationship with God that lasts and develops as faith grows.  We walk in the steps of our father Abraham.