Romans 4:20-25
Abraham didn’t waver through unbelief which means he never doubted, even for a second, that God would do what He said he was going to do. And how much was he persuaded? Abraham was fully persuaded. You can’t be more persuaded than “fully”.
And the Bible tells us that - that belief, that faith was credited to him as righteousness.
Have you have ever wavered in believing God’s promise? Have you ever had any doubt about your faith? Have you ever questioned if God really would do all the things and stuff you’ve been told He can do?
I’m not proud to say it but I have too.
So how was Abraham able to become so sure, so positive, have this absolute faith that Paul talks about in Romans? That must have been some meeting that took place for him to have had this unshakable confidence in God’s promise.
Let’s take a look at that meeting…. Genesis 15, we are going to start at verse 1.
After this, the word of the LORD came to Abram in a vision:
"Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your very great reward. "
But Abram said, "O Sovereign LORD, what can you give me since I remain childless and the one who will inherit my estate is Eliezer of Damascus?" And Abram said, "You have given me no children; so a servant in my household will be my heir."
Then the word of the LORD came to him: "This man will not be your heir, but a son coming from your own body will be your heir." He took him outside and said, "Look up at the heavens and count the stars—if indeed you can count them." Then he said to him, "So shall your offspring be."
Genesis 15:1-7
Abram believed the LORD, and he credited it to him as righteousness.
Look at that. Abraham believed and God immediately credited it to him as righteousness. God made His promise to Abraham that he would be the father of a great nation years ago but Abraham didn’t waver and believed God immediately and God credited it to him as righteousness.
And today we have an amazing parallel to Abraham. Abraham didn’t do a bunch of good works then get counted as righteous. He believed God would do what He said he would do. He trusted God and it was counted as righteousness. When? Immediately there was NO lag time.
The KJV uses the word counted instead of credited and I like that because it infers that God is keeping track of things. The original Hebrew word used was “chashab” which translates to being charged or imputed. You can’t have “chashab” removed or taken away, it’s yours. SO in other words when God writes your name in His book, you’re counted and God’s pencil doesn’t have an eraser.
And while that might sound too easy, he believed and immediately he was credited as righteous, it isn’t any different than the measuring stick God uses for all of us. We don’t work to become righteous; Jesus did that for us…
Consequently, just as the result of one trespass was condemnation for all men, so also the result of one act of righteousness was justification that brings life for all men. For just as through the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the one man the many will be made righteous.
Romans 5:18-19
We make it too difficult. We don’t have to work to become righteous, God gives it to us. You can’t do enough good works or try hard enough to get into heaven, that will never work. Just like Abraham we must simply believe God…
That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.
Romans 10:9
So if we believe that through Christ we have been justified and the cross was His act of obedience, and we believe in our hearts that God raised Him from the dead… We have been given the righteousness of Christ Himself.
It’s that simple and we make it too difficult. Believe and be counted as righteous. And you don’t have to do anything else for God to mark you as counted, as chashab, in His book.
So, Abraham believed and God continued…
He also said to him, "I am the LORD, who brought you out of Ur of the Chaldeans to give you this land to take possession of it." But Abram said, "O Sovereign LORD, how can I know that I will gain possession of it?"
Genesis 15:7-8
God tells him that He is the one that gave him everything he had and He was adding to that a child, their heir he asked about. And the response of Abraham is one that you have probably made yourself…
“How can I believe you God”? He told God to prove it to him. And isn’t that really the question everyone wants to ask?
God, how can I be sure...
You’re going to take care of me?
You’re going to protect me?
You’re going to take care of my kids?
You’re going to help me pay my bills or get a job?
How can I be fully persuaded you are telling me the truth God?
Unfortunately most people who make a profession of faith, are born again then stop right there and never ask God that question. That’s too bad because just like Abraham, we have the right to boldly ask God to confirm His covenant with us. The apostle Paul tells us that through Christ:
Let then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.
Hebrews 4:16
We have the right to approach God and have Him confirm His promise to us so that we can have the faith to be able to live a life that knowing that:
God said it
I believe it
I'm going to heaven
I’m going to read my Bible everyday and God WILL speak to me
That’s it. Nothing really bold or difficult about that once you realize that God has to do everything He says He’s going to do. Once you have confidence that God will do everything He says He’ll do. To build your faith you need confidence.
So how Abraham was able to be confident in God’s promise?
So the LORD said to him, "Bring me a heifer, a goat and a ram, each three years old, along with a dove and a young pigeon."
Abram brought all these to him, cut them in two and arranged the halves opposite each other; the birds, however, he did not cut in half. 11 Then birds of prey came down on the carcasses, but Abram drove them away.
As the sun was setting, Abram fell into a deep sleep, and a thick and dreadful darkness came over him. Then the LORD said to him, "Know for certain that your descendants will be strangers in a country not their own, and they will be enslaved and mistreated four hundred years. But I will punish the nation they serve as slaves, and afterward they will come out with great possessions. You, however, will go to your fathers in peace and be buried at a good old age. In the fourth generation your descendants will come back here, for the sin of the Amorites has not yet reached its full measure."
When the sun had set and darkness had fallen, a smoking firepot with a blazing torch appeared and passed between the pieces. On that day the LORD made a covenant with Abram and said, "To your descendants I give this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the Euphrates- the land of the Kenites, Kenizzites, Kadmonites, Hittites, Perizzites, Rephaites, Amorites, Canaanites, Girgashites and Jebusites."
Genesis 15: 9-20
God told Abraham to make a sacrifice, a very specific sacrifice with specific instructions. But more importantly Abraham just did what he was told to do, no questions asked. And each of us must decide for ourselves what sacrifice we are will to make for our relationship with Christ. I have come to believe that the relationship you have with your Maker is directly related to what you are willing to give up in its pursuit. Every un-godly activity in your life is another layer between you and God and the more of these you remove, the closer to Him you get. We have to replace the things of the world for the things of God. It really is that simple. We have to do what the Bible tells us to do, without question and give God a shot at making good on his promise.
Remember that at the time you were separate from Christ, excluded from citizenship in Israel and foreigners to the covenants of the promise, without hope and without God in the world.
Ephesians 2:12
Those who are separate from Christ are operating in their own power. And when we, as born again Christians begin to operate in our power instead of God’s, we are separating ourselves from Him and the power He has made available to us all. We have to get out of the way and let God work in our life. Look back at verse 12, Abraham was under God’s power when he went into this deep sleep and when Abraham had gotten out of the way and let God do His thing, that’s when He came down and sealed the covenant with him. And when you stop working and trying, when you make the choice to get out of God’s way, he’ll seal His covenant with you too.
Grace and Peace from Him!
Jeff
