“He took him outside and said, “Look up at the sky and count the stars—if indeed you can count them.” Then he said to him, “So shall your offspring be.” Abram believed the Lord, and he credited it to him as righteousness. He also said to him, “I am the Lord, who brought you out of Ur of the Chaldeans to give you this land to take possession of it.” But Abram said, “Sovereign Lord, how can I know that I will gain possession of it?” Then the Lord said to him, “Know for certain that for four hundred years your descendants will be strangers in a country not their own and that they will be enslaved and mistreated there.” Genesis 15:5-8, 13 NIV https://bible.com/bible/111/gen.15.6.NIV
When God promised Abraham offspring, Abraham believed God. This act of faith is pivotal in Paul’s teachings about salvation by faith. Perhaps Abraham could believe it because he knew he could produce children. The problem was his wife and not himself. Faith is easier when we consider ourselves capable of accomplishing God’s promise. When God promised a territory of land, Abraham sought a sign that God’s word would come true. Conquering people and securing a nation was beyond what Abraham saw himself capable of doing. God’s response was not rebuke or anger but grace and mercy signified by promise. God Himself came to Abraham and solidified His promise by making a covenant. God would do what God promised, and Abraham could relax, knowing it wasn’t dependent on him and his capacity. The Christian life is doing everything we can to demonstrate our salvation, working it out with fear and trembling, and making every effort to walk the narrow path. The Christian life also rests entirely upon Jesus, Who promises to raise us from the dead to live with Him, forever guaranteeing His promise to us by first being raised from the dead Himself. Our dependence upon God for our future has nothing to do with our efforts. Our effort now demonstrates our commitment to a future with God by living in obedience to everything He has commanded. Abraham is the father of our faith. Like Abraham, righteousness is credited to us when we believe in God and His promises. We both work out our salvation by faith, and we await the promise of our salvation by faith.
