IBS Application for Genesis 15:6

“And he believed the Lord, and he counted it to him as righteousness.”

It’s a bit of a jump for me to go from originally studying Scripture in the New Testament to all the way back in Genesis, but truth be told, I found this verse referenced by Paul in Romans. It spoke to me so much that I had to do an IBS on it.

Firstly, this is a bit of text written about Abraham’s life. Specifically, this is speaking about how the Lord spoke to Abraham concerning the promise that God would bless Abraham with numerous descendants, with as many as the stars in the night sky. To put it just as simply as God puts it in Genesis, Abraham believed this promise, and God counted his faith concerning this promise as righteousness to Abraham.

The expected application and lesson one would typically get out of this verse, and one that I still need to hear, is that this shows us that it is by faith, and not by works, that we are brought into the assurance of salvation. As I’ve written before, I have struggled in the past with trying to earn righteousness, when the only way I can have it is if I receive it as a gift from God. Obviously, this is a good personal reminder for me concerning that truth.

However, this is not what spoke to me specifically in reading this verse; there is a reason why I decided to cite the verse out of Genesis instead of Romans, which would be the more obvious place to look concerning “faith versus works” doctrine. I picked this place to study because from this, I could hear God telling me that He counts any time I believe any of His promises to me as righteousness.

I have been struggling with wondering whether I should be taking as much joy in the things that God has promised me as I have been. The reason for my confused state had to do with my study of other parts of Scripture that had specifically to do with the promise we have of salvation in the Lord, and of course I take joy in that; in fact, that truth is what keeps me afloat most days. But I have also been praising the Lord for those things which He has promised to do for me, the ministries He wants me to be a part of, and those things which He wants to give me a lot, and I wondered if I should be doing that instead of only delighting in the promise of salvation.

However, reading this set my heart at ease. Not only was Abraham in a good place spiritually for believing this specific promise of reward; it is what the Spirit brings to our minds through Scripture when we examine his life. It is one of the great acts of faith that Hebrews points to in his life as being one of great faith. All that righteousness and honor bestowed upon him because he believed that God would do what He said He would and grant Abraham numerous descendants.

In the same way, I now find that God grants me righteousness for believing what He has said about what He will do in my life, and that is mind-blowing for me. I don’t understand sometimes why He would ever count it righteousness to me for simply believing these truths. I had assumed that it was only for believing in the salvation He gives me, but as Hebrews 11:6 tells us, “And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who seek Him.” God wants to bless us, and He counts it to us as righteousness when we believe that He will bless us. How amazing is that?

My application for this week will be to ask for a renewed sense of faith each morning for the next 7 days, so that I can believe the things that God has promised to me, for I often doubt the things He has promised me. I want to have a faith like Abraham’s, whose faith was remembered by the Lord and counted to him as righteousness. I too want to seek the Lord in this way, to receive the blessings He has for me, and I believe that this is how He would have me start getting there.

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