“And Abram believed the LORD; and the LORD reckoned it to him as righteousness” (Genesis 15:6 NRSV).
By: The Rev. Craig A. Phillips, Ph.D.
There are few verses from the Holy Scriptures that have had such an influence and effect in the theological and social history of Christianity as the one verse we find in Genesis 15:6[1]: “And Abram believed the LORD; and the LORD reckoned[2] it to him as righteousness”(Genesis 15:6 NRSV).
This verse was central to the theological understanding of St. Paul in the first century of Christian history. The verse is cited in both Paul’s letter to the Galatians and in his letter to the Romans and is the basis for Paul’s teaching that circumcision and the keeping of the Torah were not necessary for Christians.
The verse is also central to the theology of Martin Luther in the sixteenth century as he found in this passage and in its subsequent use in the writings of St. Paul the key to his idea that Christians are saved by faith and not by works, that is, we are saved by faith in God and not solely by our actions. While our actions and our faithfulness of God interact, we cannot earn our own salvation. Ultimately that is a free gift of God to us.
Let’s go back to Genesis to see what it has to say about the nature of Abraham’s faithfulness to God. From Abraham’s example, we might derive something about what our own faithfulness to God might look like today.
In the 12th chapter of Genesis, we read:
Now the LORD said to Abram, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you, and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and the one who curses you I will curse; and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.” So Abram went, as the LORD had told him; and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he departed from Haran (Gen. 12:1-4 NRSV).[3]
One of my favorite sentences in Genesis is the last one in the previous paragraph: “Abram was seventy-five years old when he departed from Haran.” Never let anyone tell you that you are too old to do something. And never tell God that you are too old to respond to where God is calling you. God did not really get things started with Abraham until he was 75 years old! When I read that I think to myself, so what’s your excuse?
Abram was so faithful to God that when God called him to leave his homeland for a land that he had never seen, he went. When God called him, he obeyed, despite of the obstacles ahead of him. The author of the New Testament book of Hebrews makes the nature of Abraham’s faithfulness clear:
By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to set out for a place that he was to receive as an inheritance; and he set out, not knowing where he was going. By faith he stayed for a time in the land he had been promised, as in a foreign land, living in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise. For he looked forward to the city that has foundations, whose architect and builder is God. (Heb. 11:8-10 NRSV).
Abraham’s faith may have been “accounted” or “reckoned” to him as righteousness, but he still had to get up and go to the place God called him to go. Abraham did not say, “I have faith in God, so I’m good. I’ll just stay here knowing everything with my soul will be well.” He got up and he went. God called, and he responded. “By faith Abraham obeyed, even when he was called to set out for a place” he had never seen.
Any doubts that Abraham had were overcome in his overwhelming trust in the promises of God for him. In the epistle to the Romans, St. Paul summarizes the story of Abraham’s faithfulness:
“No distrust made him waver concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God, being fully convinced that God was able to do what he had promised. Therefore his faith “was reckoned to him as righteousness.” Now the words, “it was reckoned to him,” were written not for his sake alone, but for ours also. It will be reckoned to us who believe in him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead, who was handed over to death for our trespasses and was raised for our justification.” (Rom. 4:20-25 NRSV)
There is a synergy between our faith and our actions. We are saved by our faith in God, but our faith compels us to act, to respond to God’s call to us. Doing nothing is not faithfulness. In response to God, Abraham had to stand up and go out into the world in response to God. Our faith is always demonstrated in the actions of our hearts and our lives.
So, ask yourself these questions: To what need is God calling me to respond right now? What would it mean for me to respond faithfully to God in my words and actions?
[1] Genesis 15:6 highlights Abraham’s faithfulness to God, demonstrating that faith and actions are interconnected. Abraham’s obedience to God’s call, despite obstacles, exemplifies the synergy between faith and action. Faithfulness requires responding to God’s call, as demonstrated by Abraham’s journey to an unknown land.
[2] “Reckoned” in this context is an older way of saying “counted” or “considered.” Essentially, God recognized Abram’s faith as equivalent to living in a way that aligns with God’s moral and ethical standards (righteousness). In theological terms, this passage (from Genesis 15:6) is often interpreted to mean that Abram’s faith in God’s promise was sufficient for God to view him as being in right standing with Him, even apart from Abram’s actions. It highlights the importance of faith in the relationship between humanity and God.
[3] In the story told in Genesis, Abram is soon renamed Abraham. This is a common biblical trope: Abram becomes Abraham, Jacob becomes Israel, Simon becomes Peter, and Saul becomes Paul. Both Abram and Abraham are derived from Ab, the Hebrew word for father. Abram in Hebrew tradition means “exalted father,” and the new name Abraham given to him in the Hebrew folkloric tradition means, the “father of multitudes.”
Craig Phillips is a retired Episcopal priest and Professor of Religion. He currently teaches as an adjunct Lecturer at St. Anselm College in Manchester, NH. His blog may be found at https://craigphillips.co.