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From Genesis 12:1-8 and Romans 4:1-5;13-27
Genesis 12:1-8 shows Abraham's faithful response to God's call to leave his country, his people, and travel to Canaan.
It's hard to believe that Abraham actually did such a huge thing as to walk away from everything he knew at age seventy-five, to go not only to Canaan, but then, farther to Egypt and beyond.
We might think, "If that is faith, I do not know if I have that kind of faith. I don't know if I could drop everything and leave everyone and go to an unknown place even if God personally told me to."
If that is what you took away from Genesis 12, you're not alone.
Looking then from Romans 4:1-5, 13-27, Paul uses Abraham as a good example of someone who was saved by faith, not by acts.
Paul is not saying that God's laws are unimportant, but that it is impossible to be saved simply by obeying them. Jesus offers us salvation as a gift because he loves us, not because we have earned it by being good.
We are saved by having faith in Jesus Christ, period. No additions.
So, if we are saved by faith, how do we define faith? Is it a feeling? Is it knowledge of facts? Is being a church member, the same thing as having faith? Or is faith a force in a person's heart that drives them to follow Jesus in their daily life?
Hebrews 11 teaches that faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.
Is that the sense we got as we read Genesis 12 about Abraham?
Too often when people talk about faith, they bring up either the feelings of faith, or the wonderful things that faith does.
If a certain hymn or song makes us feel funny inside -- that must be faith pulsating in us. If a person has an incredible knowledge of the Bible, they must have great faith.
Or, if a person who is going through a difficulty in life but they still come to church, they still have a smile on their face, they still have a smile on their face, they must have great faith.
Paul is noticeably clear: If Abraham was justified by works, he had something to boast about before men, but not before God. God was not concerned about that physical effort part of Abraham. He was interested in Abraham's faith, complete trust, complete obedience in spirit, not physical.
The same with Noah, and Moses, and David. They had incredible faith in God, but it wasn't in their physical abilities that they could act. It was the spiritual activity with God and His strength that they could do the impossible.
The physical work comes from our desire to obey our faith in Jesus Christ.
The righteousness of Jesus was announced on the day Jesus was raised from the dead. And in His Word, God has promised to credit Jesus' righteousness to anyone who believes in Him, and is baptized.
Unless we own up, unless we realize and repent for our sins that put Jesus on the cross, we have to admit we have done absolutely nothing for Jesus.
The only way to receive God's promise of everlasting life with Him, and the righteousness of Jesus is to accept that confirmation as a spiritual gift. We cannot get it by working for it. It is a gift of God's grace.
Bonnie Donnelly is a commissioned ruling elder, chaplain; Muskingum Valley Presbytery