Getting Righteousness – Abraham’s Example

Previously we saw that Abraham obtained Righteousness simply by believing

This important Bible verse says:

Abram believed the LORD, and he credited it to him as Righteousness.

^{Genesis 15:6}

This verse means Abraham trusted God, and God gave him Righteousness (a right standing with God).

Belief is not about the existence of God

Some people think that believing in God means just believing that God is real. But the Bible explains that even demons believe God exists, and that is not the same as true belief:

You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder.

^{James 2:19}

This verse shows that just believing God exists is not enough.

Abraham and his wife Sarah

Abraham already believed in God’s existence, but God wanted him to believe His promise. God had promised Abraham a son, even though Abraham was in his 80s and his wife Sarah was in her 70s. That was hard to believe!

Abraham had to trust that God would keep His promise. That’s what the Bible means by “believe” — not just thinking something is true, but trusting in God’s words.

When Abraham trusted God, God gave him Righteousness. Abraham received both: the promised son, and Righteousness from God.

Righteousness – not from merit or effort

Abraham didn’t earn Righteousness by doing good things. The Bible says God credited it to him — meaning, God gave it to him as a gift.

When you earn something, you work for it — like a salary. But when something is credited, you don’t work for it. You just receive it.

We often think we must be “good enough” or do more good than bad to be accepted by God. But Abraham shows us this is not true. He trusted God’s promise, and that is why God gave him Righteousness.

Abraham’s Belief: He bet his life on it

Trusting God’s promise was not easy for Abraham. God first told him about the promised ‘Great Nation’  when Abraham was 75 years old. Almost 10 years passed, and still there was no child.

Abraham must have wondered, “If God can give us a son, why hasn’t He done it yet?”

Even though he had questions, Abraham kept trusting God. He did not understand everything, but he still chose to believe.

This belief changed his life. He lived in tents, waited many years, and left behind his comfortable home in Mesopotamia (modern Iraq). He could have returned home, where life was easier.

But Abraham’s faith was stronger than his desire for comfort or safety. He put his trust in God’s promise. He could have believed in God but not believed in the promise. If he had done that, he may still have lived a religious life, but he would not have received Righteousness.

Our Example

The Bible says Abraham is an example for all of us. The way he trusted God’s promise and received Righteousness is a pattern for how we should trust God too.

The Bible gives us promises from God as well. We must decide if we will trust those promises.

Here is one promise God makes to everyone:

But to all who believed him and accepted him, he gave the right to become children of God.

They are reborn—not with a physical birth … but a birth that comes from God.

^{John 1:12–13}

Just like Abraham, we also face a promise from God. It might be hard to understand or believe, but we must choose to trust God or not.

Who pays for Righteousness?

Abraham shows us that Righteousness is a gift from God. And a gift is something you don’t pay for — the giver pays for it.

So if God gives us Righteousness, He must be the one to pay for it.

How will He do that?

We’ll look at that in the next article.