Genesis 13-17

January 4

Genesis 13-17

"Abram believed the Lord, and he credited it to him as righteousness." (Genesis 15:6, NIV)

Abram was a man of faith. God called him to leave his country, his people and his father’s household back in chapter 12. Abram did not know where he was going; he just followed where God led. Abram was in regular communication with God. He called on the name of the Lord, and God responded to him.

 God told Abram; “Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your very great reward.”" (Genesis 15:1, NIV) God was telling Abram that He had Abram’s back. You know if God has your back, you don’t have to worry about what comes your way. You are covered.

God is our protector as well. Do we live like God has us covered; like He is our shield? Do we trust in God or do we trust in ourselves? Abram trusted God. God told him he would give him a land and Abram followed. God told him he would give him a son, even in his old age and Abram believed God.

By Abram’s faith, God considered Abram righteous. Righteousness, by definition means not guilty. We think of righteousness being based on our actions. But here, by faith, Abram is credited as righteous. Faith is the right response to God. We see as the story continues that Abram’s faith leads to righteous action, but his righteous standing before God is a result of faith.

"For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do." (Ephesians 2:8-10, NIV)

 None of us are righteous before God on our own, but by God’s grace, through faith, we are righteous, not guilty before God. Like Abram, our faith leads to righteous actions.