Note: Devotion based on last Sunday's sermon on Genesis 15.
Genesis 15:6 And he believed in the
LORD; and he counted it to him for righteousness.
Romans
4:3 For what saith the
scripture? Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness.
Genesis
15:6 might be one of the
most important verses in the Old
Testament. It is
the first explicit articulation of what the apostle Paul will later teach as justification
by faith. Compare:
Romans 4: What
shall we say then that Abraham our father, as pertaining to the flesh, hath
found?
2 For if Abraham were justified by works, he hath whereof to glory;
but not before God.
3 For what saith the scripture? Abraham believed God, and it was counted
unto him for righteousness.
4 Now to him that worketh is the reward not reckoned of grace, but
of debt.
5 But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth
the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness.
Were there Old Testament saints (believers)? The answer is an
emphatic “Yes.” Indeed, Abraham was one. How were such persons saved? Were they
saved because they were Hebrews? Because of their righteous works? No. Old
Testament saints were saved in the same way that men and women in the New
Testament were saved, and in the way God continues to save sinners today. By
faith alone in Christ alone.
We might say that Abram looked forward to Christ, his
cross, and resurrection. While we who live in the time after the incarnational
ministry of our Lord look back upon what God has done for us in Christ.
Sola fide (salvation by faith alone) is present in the Old
Testament, as is evident in the experience of Abraham.
Grace and peace, Pastor Jeff Riddle
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