Make It Count: Lessons from Abraham's Faith

Abraham's story teaches us a powerful lesson about faith and righteousness. In Romans 4:3, we read: "For what does the scripture say? Abraham believed God and it was counted to him as righteousness." This simple yet profound statement reveals how we can make our relationship with God truly count.

What Does It Mean to Make Your Faith Count?

Making your faith count isn't about religious performance or checking spiritual boxes. It's about having a genuine relationship with God that transforms your life. Abraham, considered the father of faith, demonstrates this perfectly.

Abraham was called by God out of paganism. He left everything familiar behind and followed God's direction to an unknown land. Throughout his journey, God made promises to Abraham - promises about blessing him, giving him an heir, and making him the father of many nations.

What's remarkable is that Abraham simply believed God, even when circumstances seemed impossible. He was 75 years old and his wife Sarah was 65 when God first promised them a child. Years passed - about 15 years - before God revisited this promise. By then, having a child seemed even more impossible, yet Abraham continued to believe.

Why Is Abraham's Example Important for Christians Today?

Paul uses Abraham's example to illustrate a critical principle: justification comes through faith, not works. The Jewish Christians in Rome struggled with this concept because they had grown up in Judaism, which emphasized following the law and doing good works to earn God's favor.

But Paul teaches that our goodness is never enough to satisfy God's righteous demands. We cannot be self-righteous or make up our own rules. We need God's help with our "gospel problem."

Truth: The Earmark of Faith

The first key principle we learn from Abraham is that truth is the earmark of faith. Whatever God says or promises is true, and if you don't believe it, you haven't truly tried trusting Him.

Genuine faith begins with placing our trust in God through all of life's twists and turns. Abraham didn't see everything clearly, but he simply believed God's word and waited for it to come to pass.

Our faith, like Abraham's, forms the groundwork for our relationship with God. How close you are to God depends entirely on you. As one teacher wisely answered when asked how much of God one can have: "How much of God do you want?"

If you want a great return in your relationship with God, you must make a great investment. Those who invest little receive little in return. Those who invest much receive much.

Transformation: The Effect of Faith

The second principle is that transformation is the effect of faith. None of us have faith just for the sake of having faith - we expect something because of our faith.

In Abraham's case, God gave him something to expect. He promised to bless Abraham, to make him a blessing to others, and to give him an heir. Abraham believed these promises, and God "counted it to him as righteousness."

This word "counted" comes from a financial term meaning "to be credited" or "to become attributed as an asset in someone's financial account." Before we confess Christ, we are in deficit - we're not meeting the bottom line of what God is owed. But when we believe, God credits righteousness to our account.

Abraham had a good "credit score" with God. What's your faith credit score? Do you have enough faith to be "well-qualified" in God's eyes?

How Does Faith Lead to Righteousness?

The word "righteousness" comes from a Greek word meaning "a status of legal rectitude that satisfies the moral requirements of God's character." God is holy, and He calls us to be holy as well.

Many of us consider ourselves righteous by earthly or worldly standards, but what matters is our standing before God. Have you been justified of your sins by your faith?

The good news is that we all come "prepackaged" with enough faith to get us into heaven. The Bible says that to every person has been given a measure of faith. Some measures are small, some are large, but all of us have been given enough to get us into heaven.

So the only one standing in your way of getting into heaven is you.

Trust: The Enablement of Faith

The third principle is that trust is the enablement of faith. Romans 4:4-5 says: "Money paid to workers isn't a gift. It's something they earn by working. But you cannot make God accept you because of something you do. God accepts sinners only because they have faith in Him."

We can't curry God's favor based on our good deeds. God only accepts sinners because they have faith in Him. This shifts the focus from human effort to divine grace.

Just as Abraham was justified by faith, all who believe in Christ are credited with righteousness through faith. This reaffirms that Christ is central to God's plan of salvation for humanity.

Why Must We Trust the Process of Faith?

Many of us have heard the phrase "trust the process" from coaches, teachers, or managers. Whether we like it or not, there's something about going through a process that makes us appreciate the outcome more.

The same is true with God. It starts with the faith you have, and for the rest of your life, you just have to trust the process. What's the end of the process? As Job said, "When I am tried, I shall come forth as pure gold."

The process includes:

• Living: He loved me

• Dying: He saved me

• Buried: He carried my sins far away

• Rising: He justified me, freed me forever

• Coming again: Oh, what a glorious day!

The question is: Will you be ready when He comes?

Life Application

Making your faith count requires action. Here are some practical steps to apply what we've learned from Abraham's example:

1. Believe God's promises: Take time this week to identify specific promises in Scripture that apply to your situation. Write them down and meditate on them daily.

2. Trust the process: What difficult circumstance are you facing right now? Instead of fighting against it, ask God to show you how He's using it to transform you.

3. Check your faith credit score: Examine how you respond when problems arise. Do you immediately panic, or do you trust God to work things out?

4. Make your relationship with God count: Invest time in prayer, Bible study, and worship. Remember, you can have as much of God as you want.

   
   

Ask yourself:

• Am I trusting in my own works or in God's grace?

• What would it look like to truly believe God in my current situation?

• If my faith were counted as righteousness, would there be enough evidence to make a difference?

• Am I making my relationship with God count, or am I just going through religious motions?

Remember, Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness. Will you make your faith count today?