Devotion #1: He Believed

“What then shall we say that Abraham our father has found according to the flesh? For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about, but not before God. For what does the Scripture say? ‘Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.’” (Romans 4:1-3, NKJV) 

Abraham was saved because he was sure.  

The word “believed” used there in verse 3 is the Greek word “pisteúō.” That Greek word means to “be convinced or persuaded, to be sure about something.” This is what belief is. It is not a wish. It is not like hoping or wishing that the weather will be nice this weekend. Real belief is being convinced or sure that something is true and settling into that certainty.  

The father of the Hebrew nation was saved because he was sure.  

You probably know the story. Abram and Sarai had been barren their entire married life. Yet, at the age of 90 years old, the Lord God came to him and told him that they would have a son. God’s promise to him was not just that they would have a son but that an entire nation of people would come from that son. The promise was a heritage. The promise was a line of people. The promise was the Jewish people. To reinforce this promise, God told Abram to look up and try to count the stars. Then, the Lord promised that his descendants would be as innumerable as those sparkling lights in the sky. Incredible! Impossible! However, what happened next changed everything. Genesis 15:6 (NKJV) says, “And he [Abram] believed in the Lord.”  

Abram’s certainty was not primarily that he would have a child in his old age or even that a nation would come from him. He was sure of that, but that is not what saved him. Being sure that he would have a child at over 90 years old was the result of being sure about God. This is what saved Abraham. He was sure about God. He had become convinced that God was true, good, and able. He believed that God is [all that He says He is] and that “He is a rewarder [salvation!] of those who diligently seek Him” (Hebrews 11:6, NKJV).  

So, we read again, “For what does the Scripture say? ‘Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness’” (Romans 4:3, NKJV). Right there, in that moment, Abraham was given the most important and needed gift that could ever be given. He was given (as a gift from God) right-ness, which means that Abraham became sinless in the eyes of God. This makes us ask, “Was he sinless?” No! However, this is the purpose of the book of Romans. Romans shows how God gives righteousness (total forgiveness of sins and salvation) to everyone who believes. Abraham is an example of one man who is convinced of who God is and is saved forever because of it. Everyone who believes and is convinced about God will be saved in the same way!