Genesis 15:6. And he believed the Lord, and he counted it to him as righteousness.
This verse will be quoted three times in the New Testament. Twice by Paul and once by James. For Paul, what happened in this simple verse is the foundation of our glorious salvation in Christ. Here’s how he quoted this scripture in his letter to the Romans:
Romans 4:1-5. 1What then shall we say was gained by Abraham, our forefather according to the flesh? 2For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about, but not before God. 3For what does the Scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness.” 4Now to the one who works, his wages are not counted as a gift but as his due. 5And to the one who does not work but believes in him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted as righteousness.
The importance of this doctrine of sola fide (faith alone) cannot be overstated. Its truth is what separates gospel Christianity from all other faiths and even divides major Christian denominations. What justifies us? What makes us right with God? What about works? What part do they play?
Genesis 15:6 (and its commentary in Romans 4) answers all of these questions. It is quite possibly the most comforting, hope filled verse in the Old Testament. It explains our relationship with God. It defines our salvation. It clarifies our justification. It removes all doubts as to how we obtain God’s good life.
But let’s back up a minute shall we?
In Genesis 12, following the Tower of Babel debacle, God called Abraham to leave his home and everything he once knew behind, and go to a “land that God would show him.” And in that calling God made promises to Abraham, including the promise that he would be a great nation and that all nations would be blessed through him.
It was all of God’s grace, and Abraham obeyed by faith.
But by the time we get to Genesis 15 we have seen Abraham experience all kinds of ups and downs in his relationship with God. If we were keeping score of Abraham’s “knowledge of good and evil” it might look like this:
+1: Abraham goes to the Promised Land.
-1: Abraham lies in Egypt.
+1: Abraham shares land with Lot.
And if we keep scoring Abraham after Genesis 15 it would look the same (spoilers ahead):
-1: Abraham sleeps with his slave Hagar.
+1: Abraham circumcises his son Isaac.
-1: Abraham lies about Sarah (again).
+2: Abraham offers Isaac to God on Mount Moriah.
But here’s the glorious truth of Genesis 15:6 – GOD DOESN’T KEEP SCORE.
When Abraham believed God, his score instantly went from 0 to 100. In that moment, his faith was counted as righteousness (Rom. 4:3). He who was imperfect was credited with a perfect score. He who was prone to lie was classified as truthful. He who feared and doubted was considered courageous and faithful by God. He who has already and will in the future blow it over and over again is totally forgiven by God’s free grace. Why? Because of simple faith. Faith that in that moment, staring up at the night sky, stood alone. Yes, faith will produce good works in Abraham’s life, but right now on this starry night, faith is all Abraham has to offer to God. And that is all he needs.
The implications of this are tremendous. God is offering us a whole new way to relate to him. A whole new way to live. A life of freedom beyond score keeping. A life of being rather than becoming. A life of spending rather than earning. A life that comes through the promised son.
Looking backwards from the cross, we can see that God’s answer, the promised son, was actually the promise of our Savior, Jesus. God might have said to Abraham “MY very own son will be your heir.” Jesus is the ultimate promised son of Abraham. Jesus is the blessing for the nations. Jesus is our shield and our great reward (Gen. 15:1). Jesus is our imputed righteousness.
Jesus is the end of all score keeping.
Sadly, many of us have not stopped scoring God, even though he has stopped scoring us. When you say, “God, what will you give me?” what response do you expect to hear? When you fear the future, when you doubt what God is up to, when you don’t see immediate results from God, how do you score God? If things are going great God gets an A? But if things turn difficult, if temptation grows, if God’s delays thwart your own plans, if God’s response is slower than you’d like God gets a D+? Maybe C-?
What if today we accepted God’s ancient answer to Abraham? What if the answer to “what will you give me?” is simply the promised Son, Jesus? His life, death, resurrection. His righteousness as our righteousness. What if that was answer enough? What if the life of Christ credits you with a perfect score, and it credits God with a perfect score? What if we could live in the freedom of a life free from score keeping and simply walk with God by faith in his never ending grace and love?
You: How have you been keeping score with yourself? With God?
You in Christ: Do you believe that in Christ you have the unearned, undeserved, imputed righteousness of God? How would your life be different if you believed this fully?
Christ in you: How can you live FROM your righteousness today instead of living FOR righteousness?
Prayer: Father, your grace allows my faith to be counted as righteousness.I bring nothing to the table except trust in you. Keep me from scoring you when things don’t go the way I want, and keep me from thinking that you are scoring me too. Amen.
To Live is Christ 