JesusWalk Bible Study Forum: Q2. Accounting Faith as Righteousness - JesusWalk Bible Study Forum

Q2. (15:6) What is so amazing about this verse? On what basis does God declare Abraham a righteous person? What significance does this have to our New Testament understanding of justification by faith?

Pastor Ralph, on Sep 10 2004, 12:40 AM, said:

That Abraham has put his faith in God and because of that faith it counted towards him as being righteous (exercising faith).

In Romans 4:11 while in uncircumcision pronounces Abraham father of all those having faith.

God knows what our needs are,He is also looking for faith in Him and to be a righteous living person

God credited Abraham with righteousness based on Abraham’s faith alone—not works, or Abraham’s obedience to God or law. Abraham’s faith overcame his struggles with unbelief (Gen 15:2) with God’s promise to make him into a great nation.

When God told Abraham that he would have an heir, Abraham believed despite of his and Sarah’s advanced age. “He did not weaken in faith when he considered his own body, which was as good as dead—since he was about a hundred years old—or when he considered the barrenness of Sarah's womb.” (Rom 4:19)

This passage reflects the doctrine of justification by faith proclaimed by Paul throughout the Epistles. “But the words "it was counted to him" were not written for his sake alone, but for ours also. It will be counted to us who believe in him who raised from the dead Jesus our Lord, who was delivered up for our trespasses and raised for our justification.” (Rom 4:23-25)

Q2. (15:6) What is so amazing about this verse? On what basis does God declare Abraham a righteous person? What significance does this have to our New Testament understanding of justification by faith?

The amazing part of this verse is that it became the foundation stone for many of Paul's epistles and his teaching on faith and righteousness. Its a superb statement of God's amazing, unbounded love and faithfulness toward mankind.

On just one point. Faith. In the days of uncertainity, lack of knowledge, Abraham just had faith in the Sovereign God to trust Him at His face value. God was new to Abraham and He had not yet been tested and tried. But Abraham laid all that aside and just put his faith on the God Almighty. This action of Abraham made God to justify him and make him a righteous person.

This idea forms the basic foundation for our New Testament belief and understanding of justification by faith. It means that man need not do anything for getting salvation, except to trust in Jesus. The Salvation work is done by Jesus and is given free to us, mankind in general. We cannnot achieve it with our personal efforts nor can we gain it by any other means. Jusitification is done purely by the action of our faith. God justifies us and makes us righteous in His sight if we accept Jesus and his work of salvation accomplished on the cross. That is the gospel which we have to proclaim that the ends of the earth may reverberate with the message of salvation.

Q2. (15:6) What is so amazing about this verse? On what basis does God declare Abraham a righteous person? What significance does this have to our New Testament understanding of justification by faith?

Abraham's belief that God will do as He promises is the basis for God declaring him righteous--not that Abraham was "righteous" fully--any more than we are--but that God accepted his belief of God's promise as making him righteous.
God did this with Abraham, and He can and does it in us today! We believe in "justification by faith", as Paul named it. We, in ourselves, are far from righteous, just as Abraham was not without sin. But, through Jesus Who died for our salvation, we are justified before God when we believe Jesus is the Son of God, that He died, was buried and rose again, and that Jesus' death paid for our sins. Thus, He justified me (made me "just-as-if-I'd" never sinned!) and made me right with God. Praise the Lord!

What is so amazing about this verse? (Genesis15:6) On what basis does God declare Abraham a righteous person? What significance does this have to our New Testament understanding of justification by righteousness.

This is what Christianity is all about. It is here in the beginning and it is all the way through. The just shall be saved by faith.
J Vernon McGee says that right here Abram says amen to God. "I believe you. Amen".
When Iwent down to visit my family I found a book by Henry Blackaby "Created to be God's Friend" Lessons from the Life of Abraham.
He says "God was more interested in Abrams faith than He was in the consequences of his lack of faith!" This ws a few chapters back but I think we see Abrahams faith being shaped.
I don't know about anyone else but I am glad God is interested in shaping my faith.

Another note on another subject. a good book to read is "A Bruised Reed" by Helen Stephenson Spaulding. I am half way through and plan to finish it today or tomorow if possible. Thank you Helen for stepping out in faith and writing this book about this before now unknown story to me.

God Bless!
Jen

Pastor Ralph, on Sep 9 2004, 10:40 PM, said:

What is so amazing about this verse?
God gives Abraham consistent reminders of His presence and promise. .
During the day he can look at the innumerable grains of fine dust and recall God's promise: "I will make your offspring like the dust of the earth" (13:16).
During the nights he can look up at the innumerable stars and recall God's promise, "So shall your offspring be" (15:5).

God gives us all everyday consistent reminders if only we can look to see the light that shines through the dark clouds, if only we will be quiet enough to hear His whispers and to sense His presence, to taste and to smell the aroma of His life. “Thanks be to God who always leads us in triumph in Christ, and through us diffuses the fragrance of His knowledge in every place.” 2 Cor. 12-17

On what basis does God declare Abraham a righteous person?
God counts or reckons Abraham's steadfastness in faith as "righteousness

What significance does this have to our New Testament understanding of justification by faith?
God imputes righteous apart from works . . . we are justified by His grace through the redemption of Jesus Christ. . . by Christ’s dying for us we have been healed. Jesus paid the price for us
He bears our sins instead of us. Romans 3, he did it to demonstrate his justice at the present time, so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus. (Romans 3:24-26)

Quote

[color="blue"]2a.) I am presently in a study of Romans. And I am drawn to one of the memory verses that addresses this. "[/color][color="purple"]For in the Gospel a righteousness from God has been revealed. A righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: 'The righteous shall live by faith'[/color][color="blue"]." Romans 1:17 God's promise to Abram is God's promise to us.[/color]
2b.) (15:6) On what basis does God declare Abraham a righteous person?
[color="blue"]2b.) His unquestioning faith in the sovereign God. The Lord God Almighty.[/color]
2c.) (15:6) What significance does this have to our New Testament understanding of justification by faith?
[color="blue"]2c.) The Apostle Paul writes: "[/color][color="purple"]Now when a man works, his wages are not credited to him as a gift, but as an obligation. However, to the man who does not work but trusts God who justifies the wicked, his faith is credited as righteousness[/color][color="blue"]." Romans 4:4-5[/color]

This verse is amazing in that , as secular man believes that it is of his own
efforts and works that He will obtain eternal life, that God has revealed his
approval of man through the simple ACT OF FAITH, even the faith of a little
child.

God declared Abraham a righteousness person, in that he was first obedient
to the call of God to leave his home , not knowing where he was going. Also
Rom 4:22 states that Abraham did not waver at the promises of God through
unbelief, but was strenghtened in his faith.

The significance for new testament saints is that we are heirs of Abraham
and through FAITH , we all share in the blessings promised to Abraham.This
faith , through which we are justified, always has respect to the person and work of Christ.

The amazing thing about this verse is that it was solely on Abraham's faith in GOD that righteousness was given to him.

The significance of this verse is that it is solely on our belief in the death, burial, and bodily resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ that His righteousness is applied to our account. We have a wonderful GOD!

What this verse and supporting scripture says is that God has always intended for our salvation to be through faith - faith in a coming Messiah and faith in Jesus after His death and resurrection.

Incorrect teaching has surfaced thru the years to say that the Law given to Moses and the atonement system in the Old Testament was what saved them. It has never been the law that provided salvation - - it has ALWAYS been faith.

Our works will never help, it is our heart that is set on faith - belief, life change and seriving faith

It is a beautiful and righteous plan

It is amazing that it is nothing we can earn but we are declared righteous because of our faith in God throught Jesus Christ.

God declared Abraham righteous because he believed what God had promise. He might not have fully understood how all this was to happen but he believed.

It is because of the righteousness of Jesus Christ that we are declared righteous.

God's promise and His present to Abraham.

Pastor Ralph, on Sep 9 2004, 10:40 PM, said:

[color="blue"]What everyone else said !!! Amen!!![/color]

What is so amazing about this verse is that faith is made to be equal to righteousness in the eyes of God. God declares Abraham a righteous person on the basis of his steadfastness of faith. The significance this has to our New Testament understanding of justification by faith is that by our faith in Jesus Christ, we are made righteous.

The amazing thing about Gen 15:6 is that Abraham believed God's promise that he and Sarah would have a child eventho at the time they were both too old to reproduce.
God declared Abraham a righteous person based on his faith alone. All Abraham had to do was accept God's promise of an heir by faith.
God accounts faith to us as righteousness,just like He did for Abraham.
In no way do we deserve this based on our personal behavior. It is the righteousness of Christ that is credited to our account.

I AM GOING TO ANSWER QUESTION 1 HERE FIRST, SOMEHOW I DELETED IT OUT.
Q 1. IT MEANS THAT GOD GOES BEFORE ME IN ALL I DO. NO MATTER WHAT SATAN CAN THROW MY WAY, GOD IS MY SHIELD. JUST THE MERE MENTION OF HIS NAME & SATAN TREMBLES. SINCE I ACCEPTED CHRIST AS LORD OF MY LIFE, NOTHING CAN PENETRATE MY HEART UNLESS I ALLOW IT.
SO LONG AS I FOLLOW GOD'S WORD , ALL THE PROMISES OF ABRAHAM ARE MINE ALSO. I DO NOT HAVE TO FEAR ANYTHING, MY REWARD WILL BE GREAT ( IN SIZE) SO LONG AS I AM OBEDIENT TO HIS WORD. IT IS FAR BEYOND MY IMAGINATION WHAT IS IN STORE FOR US WHEN WE FOLLOW AND SERVE AS WE ARE COMMANDED. WE WILL BE REWARDED!!!
GOD WILL FULFILL HIS PROMISES THROUGHOUT GENERATIONS AS HE IS A SOVEREIGN GOD, AND NEVER LIES.


Q 2. BECAUSE ABRAHAM BELIEVED THAT GOD WOULD GIVE HIM OFFSPRING, IT WAS COUNTED AS RIGHTEOUSNESS TO HIM. ON THE BASIS OF HIS FAITH GOD DECLARED HIM RIGHTEOUS.
BECAUSE JESUS CHRIST WAS A SUBSTITIONARY SACRIFICE FOR OUR SINS IT IS UNDERSTOOD THAT WE ARE JUSTIFIED BY FAITH.

What is so amazing about this verse?

What is so amazing is that Abraham did what God asks us to do, which is to simply believe. When we beleive that Jesus died for our sins and we accept Him as our savior, God counts that as righteousness, not through our reighteousness, but as the righteousness of Jesus Christ His Son.

On what basis does God declare Abraham a righteous person?

Because of his faith.

What significance does this have to our New Testament understanding of justification by faith?

Because the righteous live by faith.

Verse 6 describes Abram’s response to divine revelation: “Then he believed in the Lord; and He reckoned it to him as righteousness” (Genesis 15:6).

Verse 6 is the first time the word ‘believe’ is used. It is also the first time that Abram is said to have been reckoned as righteous. It would be easy to conclude that Moses meant that this is the first time Abram had faith in God, and that he is here ‘saved’ (to use the New Testament word).
Abram’s faith did not begin here. Not only did he previously believe, he continued to believe.

But why did Moses wait until this point to tell us that Abram believed, and that he was justified by faith? Luther’s answer, I believe is most satisfactory. Abram’s faith is not mentioned until now in order to emphasize the fact that a saving faith is one that focuses upon the person and work of Jesus Christ. Here Abram’s faith is focused upon the promise of a son, through whom blessing will come to the whole world. While we may not fully determine how complete Abram’s understanding of all this was, we must not overlook the words of the Savior: “Your father Abraham rejoiced to see My day; and he saw it, and was glad” ( John 8:56).

While Abram had believed in God, here his faith is more clearly defined and focused. Here his faith is in the promise of God to provide the blessing of a son, and blessings through Him. It is at this point that God chose to announce that Abram’s faith was a saving faith.

God’s way of saving men is not new. It has not changed from Old Testament times to New. Always, God has saved men by grace, through faith. There is no other way. While Abram was saved by faith in the One Who would come, we are saved by faith in this One Who has come. That is the only difference.