Pastor Chuck Smith assures us, using the example of Abraham, that we are declared righteous simply on the basis of our belief in Jesus Christ. Learn more in our series based on Chuck’s book, Why Grace Changes Everything.

A Key Question

The key question is: When did God proclaim Abraham righteous? When he was circumcised or before he was circumcised? The false teachers at Galatia were saying, “You can't be righteous unless you are circumcised.” They insisted that a ritual was essential for salvation.

So when did God impute Abraham's faith for righteousness? Was it before or after he had received the rite of circumcision? It was before, not after! Abraham was accounted righteous before he knew a thing about this ritual. The declaration of his imputed righteousness is found in Genesis 15, while the rite of circumcision is not introduced until two chapters later. Righteousness was imputed to Abraham the moment he believed and trusted in God.

The same is true for you and me. At the moment we believe and trust in Jesus Christ, God imputes to our account righteousness—not on the basis of what we have done or what we are going to do, but simply on the basis of our belief in Jesus Christ.

As Christ is the Lord of heaven, the Son of God, and my own personal Savior, I will trust in Him. When I do, God says to me, “Righteous!” One day Jesus was asked, “What shall we do, that we might work the works of God?” Jesus replied, “This is the work of God, that ye believe on Him whom He hath sent” (John 6:29, KJV).

If you want to do the work of God, believe on Jesus Christ. That is the work of God. That is what God requires of you.  

Follow the series “A Portrait of Grace” at Part 1, Part 2, Part 3

In our next installment, Pastor Chuck carefully answers the question, What is Real Faith?

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