Few texts from the Old Testament are cited as much in the New as this story of God’s promise to Abram. Paul refers to it in at least two letters, and it comes up in this week's passage from Hebrews. In the face of God's promise to protect and bless him, Abram replies that none of that means much to him, since he and Sarai will die childless. He could predict that with confidence – they had been unable to conceive in their long marriage, and Sarai was now past childbearing. But God knew more than Abram could conceive:
But the word of the Lord came to him, “This man shall not be your heir; no one but your very own issue shall be your heir.” He brought him outside and said, “Look towards heaven and count the stars, if you are able to count them." Then he said to him, "So shall your descendants be.” And he believed the Lord; and the Lord reckoned it to him as righteousness.
It is this “reckoning to him as righteousness” that Paul refers to when building his case that we are saved solely through faith in Christ, not through our own righteous deeds. He makes the point that all Abram did was believe God’s promise that he would have descendants, despite all evidence to the contrary. It wasn’t good works, or “being a good person” that made him righteous in God’s eyes; it was only believing. Sola fide, as Martin Luther proclaimed.
It can be hard for us achievement-oriented producers to fathom just how little activity God desires from us. It seems that what God wants most is that we believe him, that we put our trust in God's promises, even when we cannot see how they could possibly pan out. First, of course, we must discern what promises God has made to us. Sometimes a person will receive a personal word of promise about something in their life; such words should align with scripture and be confirmed with others. We all can rely on the promises we receive in Scripture – the promise of God’s enduring presence (“I will never leave you or forsake you…”), God’s abiding peace (“The peace of Christ will guard your hearts and thoughts in Christ Jesus.”), God’s transforming power (“How much more with God give the Holy Spirit to those who ask!”), and of course, eternal life. There are more, but those are the hit parade.
Has there been a time when you were able to rely on God’s promise of restoration or peace in turbulent times? Are you able to simply believe in the face of what looks like impossibility? Believe that God desires blessing for us, even when we don’t know what the blessing will look like? I find the more I do it, the easier it comes.
That’s really the goal of the Christian life, not “working our way to heaven,” but trusting in the absolute truth that Jesus has already paved that way for us. We have been “worded,” deemed righteous through the pure holiness of Christ, whatever we bring to the table. All that is left for us is to say thank you and believe that this gift is real and enduring. Whatever “work” we do with God flows from there.
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