Faith=Righteousness

Posted by Karah

Pause

Sing praises to God today, worshiping Him for who He is and what He has done.

Reread Genesis 15:1-6 in your Bible, focusing on verse 6.

“Abram believed the Lord, and He credited it to him as righteousness.” —Genesis 15:6

The Hebrew word translated “believed” is a construction that means to place trust in someone with confidence. What does that help you to understand about Abraham’s faith in God and His promises? Explain.

When the word righteousness is used in the Bible, it means having right standing before God. How did Abraham find right standing before God, according to Genesis 15:6?

With Genesis 15:6 in mind, read Romans 4:1-19 in your Bible. Focus on verse 13.

“For the promise to Abraham or to his descendants that he would inherit the world was not through the law, but through the righteousness that comes by faith.” —Romans 4:13

The Jews were relying on their heritage as God’s chosen people and their adherence to the law to make them right before God. But Paul argued that those things weren’t even what made Abraham, the father of the Jews, righteous.

According to these verses, what made Abraham right before God? Explain.

What things do people in the world think will make them right before God? List a few ideas.

What do you depend on to declare you right before God? Why?

The Point

Our covenant God makes people righteous by their faith.

Respond

Righteousness is about faith, not about doing good deeds or being a good person. There is only one way to be justified before God and that is by faith.

Consider what you base your standing before God on. Jesus died and rose again for your salvation and believing that is the only way to truly know God. Does your faith rest in this truth?

As a Christian, do you sometimes find yourself trying to earn more of God’s favor or living like your faith is a checklist of rules and good deeds? Confess this attitude to God. Ask Him to remind you of all He has done to save you.

Behind the Story

Imputation is a fancy, theological word that means reckoning something to another person. This is exactly what happened with Abraham—God credited to Abraham something he did not have in himself—and is also what happens when we accept Jesus as our Savior.²

 

²Trent Butler, “Impute,” Holman Bible Dictionary, studylight.org, [cited 19 April 2014]. Available from Internet: http://www.studylight.org.

Posted in Boys, Devotions | Tagged Camp Ridgecrest Alumni and Friends, Camp Ridgecrest for Boys, Reprinted from ec magazine. © 2012 LifeWay Christian Resources of the Southern Baptist Convention. Used by permission., Weekly Devotions