And the scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness,” and he was called God’s friend. You see that a person is considered righteous by what they do and not by faith alone.
The scripture James refers to is found in Genesis 15: 6. God has just told Abraham that he will have a son who is his own flesh and blood. God tells Abraham to count the stars in the night sky if that is possible and he will have an idea how many offspring he will have. The text says that “Abraham believed God.” Does this mean he simply said, “Oh yeah, God. Sure. I believe you,” or did he accept it as a foundational truth that what God said would happen?
We don’t see the evidence of Abraham’s belief in what God told him until God asks Abraham to sacrifice his son. At that point, we know what it means when scripture says he “believed.”
Two things resulted from this belief.
Continue reading “James 2: 23-24 – God’s Friend”