Friday, August 23, 2013
Genesis 15:6 Abram believed the Lord, and He credited it to him as righteousness.
GOD'S MATH
Abram was considered righteous by God. On what basis?
Was it on the basis of his act of believing, as though that was some great good work that made up for Abram's sins? But how could that be? Faith is not self-made by the sinner but a creation of God in the human heart. It was God's promise that overcame Abram's doubts and fears. So, God considered Abram righteous, but not because of anything Abram had done or promised to do. It was nothing in Abram that made him righteous but something outside of Abram to Which his faith held fast -- namely, the Promised One, the Savior from sin, Who would come from among Abram's own descendants.
There are those that don't like the translation "credited" here, but whether you use the word "credited" or "counted" or "reckoned", you're talking about "God's math." That is based upon the great substitution that God made when He sent His Son to be take our place under the Law. Jesus Christ took the punishment due our sin and through faith gives sinners His righteousness. So the LORD subtracts sin-guilt from each sinner's record and through faith adds Christ's righteousness to our account. That's God's math in action.
Some have said that, beginning with Abraham, God created a different standard of acceptance for human beings. Before this, to be acceptable before God people needed to keep God's Law. Now, they say, the new standard is trust in God, faith. But faith's confidence is not just in God in general, it is in God's promise of the One who will keep God's standard, His holy Law, in our stead. So there is no change in God's standard, but a wondrous change in where we stand.
Abram looked forward, we look back. His faith was in the promised Coming One. Our faith is in the promised One who came and kept the law in our place -- Who took the punishment we deserved because of our sins, Whose righteousness is credited to our account. Faith is the means by which God makes this great substitution a reality for us individually. It is God's means of adding Christ's righteousness to the sinner's account -- on those very lines left blank because our sins were added to Christ's record.
