Abram believed the LORD, and he credited it to him as righteousness. Genesis 15:4-6
In the early pages of the Bible, the
key to the secret of Old Testament salvation is found in Abraham. God promised Abraham and his wife Sarah a
son, but by the age of 80 years old, the elderly couple felt they had run out
of time. So Sarah gave Abraham her handmaiden, Hagar, so she could act as a
surrogate mother. Ishmael was born.
God showed Abraham that Ishmael was not
the one He promised, so to encourage Abraham, God took him outside one night
and showed him all the stars, saying, “All those stars will be as numerous as
your family tree one day.” It was at that moment that Abraham believed that God
would do as he said and Abram’s belief credited his account with righteousness.
Salvation comes when we are saved from
our unrighteousness. By having the unrighteousness erased from our spiritual
account and righteousness credited in its place. Right then we are in the “black,” to use an
accounting term, instead of the “red” being in debt to God.
Abram knew God—knew “of” him and met
him personally—but here in Genesis 15 he believed in him, especially such an
unbelievable promise (having a child in his 80s and a legacy of millions to
follow). Abram had faith in God and His
word. Abram’s trust gave him the credit of righteousness, which means he was in
right standing with God.
He had a saving-trusting-believing
faith.
God did not hold Abram’s sin against
him any longer because Abram trusted him so much. So in the Old Testament,
people were saved by believing in God, trusting him to work out all the details
needed for their righteousness.
Today our belief in Christ credits us
with righteousness. It’s the same thing as those in the Old Testament, only a
different focus on the Godhead.
The difference is New Testament believers
trust that Jesus completed everything needed for the forgiveness of sins and
Old Testament believers trusted God to complete everything needed for the
forgiveness of sins in the future, which he later did through Jesus Christ.