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That is why his faith was “counted to him as righteousness.” – Rom 4:22

I was thinking about the term righteousness. It means being right, that too, in this context, being right before the eyes of God. When I was young, I thought I could be right before the eyes of God. When I am much older, I realize that I want to show off my righteousness by hiding the bad parts. Yet, I expect perfect righteousness from others and advice them that way.

Today we use words and phrases like, “good Christian”, “sincere believer”, “born again Christian”, “reverend Mrs & Mr. X” etc., – to define a person who belongs to our faith. The implication is that the persons with these titles are righteous. Yet, we know they are not. Then, what is the real difference between someone who believes in Christ and someone who is not? For we say, “Whoever believes in Him will not perish, but will have everlasting life.” The answer is simply they have faith.

The answer is simple, but to test if I have genuine faith is very hard. I can get away with anything and say I have faith. Well, if I have faith, then why am I perishing? Remember, the word perish implies more spiritual than physical. That means my spirit will never perish, never waver, never separate from the life of Christ. Do I see such experience either in my life or in another believer’s life? I know my life, and the answer is a big “No.” How about another believer’s life? I thought I knew a few of them, but…ahem… “No.” I read about Abraham, and it says his faith was counted as righteousness by God.

What is unique about Abraham? I see in his life that there were some excellent moments as well as some bad ones. We were always taught about the good ones: – Sacrificing his own son in the alter; Not taking anything from the spoils, after he won that war; the way he set an example for Intercessionary prayer – when he argued with God to not destroy the just along with the unjust (before God destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah). What about the bad ones. He did not protect his wife and asked her to call him her brother – that too twice. He happily slept with Hagar when Sarah advised him to do so. He then had multiple wives. So Abraham is also not perfect. But he did something that is counted as righteousness by God.

When the critical time approached, he did not waver in his faith in God. It says,

…as it is written, “I have made you the father of many nations”—in the presence of the God in whom he believed, Who gives life to the dead and calls into existence the things that do not exist. In hope, he believed against hope that he should become the father of many nations, as he had been told, “So shall your offspring be.” He did not weaken in faith when he considered his own body, which was as good as dead (since he was about a hundred years old), or when he considered the barrenness of Sarah’s womb. No unbelief made him waver concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God, fully convinced that God was able to do what He had promised. That is why his faith was “counted to him as righteousness.” Rom 4:17-22

We don’t need any explanation for the about quote. God has promised us abundant, everlasting life and peace through Christ Jesus. So in critical times, when the situation looks dead, and when there is no hope, and when we don’t see God’s promise being fulfilled, we should be fully convinced, God was able to do what He had promised! This, my dear friend, is what is supposed to be faith – faith that can be counted as righteousness before God. Remember… “For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and his ears are open to their prayer.” When you have faith that can be counted as righteousness by God, your prayers will be answered. God’s promises are everlasting. Cheer up and get to His presence and do mighty things for Him!