Romans 3 & Galatians 2 are two main passages where the Apostle Paul discusses “justification by faith.” Martin Luther famously made this doctrine central to his theology. But as this blog has often noted, true, Biblical faith should not be limited to passive belief or trust. Rather, the Greek word pistis (translated as faith) also refers to fidelity, commitment, loyalty or allegiance. The gospel announces Jesus as the Messiah, God’s anointed king. The gospel calls all people to respond by submitting to King Jesus in loyal obedience. Justification (being declared or made righteous) comes through allegiance to Jesus.
Immediately after these passages, Paul launches into an extended discussion about Abraham. In both, Paul quotes Genesis 15:6 “Abram believed the LORD, and he credited it to him as righteousness.” (Romans 4:3 & Galatians 3:6) Many evangelicals take this verse as clear confirmation that our righteous standing before God comes only through passive trust in God’s promises, exclusive of any effort or action on our part. But this interpretation is flawed.
How can we rightly understand Genesis 15:6, and Paul’s use of this verse? We shall begin by reflecting on the full story of Abraham. Once we have the broader context, we’ll be in a stronger position to focus more specifically on Genesis 15.
The story of Abram (later Abraham) begins in earnest in Genesis 12 with a divine command: “The LORD had said to Abram, “Go from your country, your people and your father’s household to the land I will show you.” (v1) This command is followed by God’s magnificent promise to bless Abram and, through him, to bring blessing upon all people. (v2-3) The text then states: “So Abram went, as the LORD had told him.” (v4)
The blessing, then, is bracketed by God’s command & Abram’s obedience. This literary structure conveys clear meaning. God’s promise of blessing is closely bound up with Abram’s faithful obedience.
Taking his wife Sarai & his nephew Lot, Abram soon arrived in the land of Canaan, where God again appeared to him, this time pledging, “To your offspring I will give this land.” (v7) In response, Abram “built an alter to the LORD.” (v7) The alter clearly signifies that Abram had renounced pagan idolatry and devoted himself to the exclusive worship of the one true God. Once more, we see divine promise paired with Abram’s faithful response.
Abram travelled further south to a spot near Bethel, where he again “built an alter to the LORD and called on the name of the LORD.” (v8)
“Calling on the name of the LORD” is a short phrase which conveys a great deal of meaning. The prophet Joel later declared, “And everyone who calls on the name of the LORD will be saved.” (Joel 2:32) This verse was famously reused in the New Testament by Peter at Pentecost & by Paul in Romans 10. Notably, Joel 2 is about God’s judgment on unfaithful Israel. Divine punishment comes in the form of an army of locusts which devours their crops. (v1-11) But even in the midst of severe judgement, God calls Israel to repentance & renewed covenant faithfulness. (v12-17) If they repent, God is gracious & will again pour out blessing upon them. (v18-27)
This original context allows us to assign the proper meaning to Joel 2:32. “Calling on the name of the LORD” denotes turning away from wickedness and returning to righteousness – that is, the proper worship & obedience stipulated by the covenant. We should therefore see this same meaning in the story of Abram. “Calling on the name of the LORD” indicates Abram’s steadfast commitment to worshipping God and obeying his will.
Despite the overarching theme of Abram’s faithfulness, the scriptures make no attempt to ignore his stumbles. Genesis 12:10-20 records Abram’s decision to leave the land of Canaan & sojourn in Egypt. The voice of God is notably absent in this passage, suggesting that, by leaving the promised land, Abram failed to fully trust in God’s provision. Moreover, Abram infamously lies (or tells a half-truth) about his wife Sarai, claiming that she is his sister.
Abram eventually returns to Canaan, where he again “called on the name of the LORD.” (13:4) By this time, both Abram & his nephew Lot had become very wealthy in flocks & herds, so much so that the land could not support them both. Recall that God had originally commanded Abram to “go from…your people and your father’s household…” (12:1) Abram had indeed obeyed by setting out for Canaan, but it seems that his obedience was not complete, for he took along his nephew Lot. Genesis 13 highlights how Abram’s flawed obedience led to trouble: his own nephew became a threat to God’s promises.
Abram proposed that they part company and graciously allowed Lot first choice of territory. Lot saw that “the plain of the Jordan” was an attractive, well-watered & verdant land. So he travelled east and “pitched his tents near Sodom,” despite the spectacular wickedness of its inhabitants. (13:13) (Lot’s choice contains subtle parallels with humanity’s rebellion in the Garden. Just as the woman “saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food & pleasing to the eye,” so Lot saw the good land yet overlooked the iniquity of its inhabitants.)
Thus, through God’s providence, the threat of Lot (and his descendants, the Moabites & Ammonites) was removed. After his nephew’s departure, God re-affirmed his promise that Abram’s descendants would be given the land of Canaan. (13:14-15) Moreover, God pledged that Abram’s descendants will become vast in number, “like the dust of the earth, so that if anyone could count the dust, then your offspring could be counted.” (13:16) We should not be surprised to find this chapter ending with Abram building an alter to the LORD. (13:18) The text has yet again closely connected God’s promises with Abram’s faithfulness.
Genesis 14 continues to develop the theme of Abram’s great virtue & devotion to God. When Lot was captured in warfare, Abram gathered his forces and rescued his nephew. After returning victorious, Abram was met by a mysterious figure named Melchizedek, “priest of God Most High.” Melchizedek confirmed God’s blessing upon Abram, and Abram responded by generously giving Melchizedek “a tenth of everything” (the plunder he has just acquired). Given Melchizedek’s status as God’s representative, Abram’s gift is essentially to God himself. (Abram’s actions prefigure the later stipulations of the Torah, whereby Israel was commanded to give their tithes to the LORD.)
Despite the great risks he had manifestly taken to rescue Lot, Abram nonetheless made a solemn oath to the LORD that he would not avail himself of this opportunity to enrich himself. This moment shows the development of Abram’s character. Recall that when Abram went to Egypt, he lied about his wife. As the result of Abram’s deception, Pharaoh took Sarai into his palace and Abram ended up acquiring great possessions. (12:16) Now in chapter 14, we see a chastened Abram. Whereas his mendacity had previously brought him ill-gotten gain, now Abram trusts in God. He foregoes obtaining the wealth of the plunder because it had been tainted by its association with Sodom’s wickedness.
Chapter 16 recounts the tragic tale of Abram’s worst decision. Although God had made great promises to him, Abram’s wife Sarai “had borne him no children.” Sarai suggests that Abram sleep with her Egyptian slave Hagar so that perhaps they can build a family through her. Such an arrangement would not have been uncommon in the ancient world. Yet this scheme clearly contradicted the plan of the God who designed marriage as a “one flesh” union between man and wife. Abram sadly conceded to Sarai’s proposal. (The scene is another re-enactment of humanity’s rebellion. Just as the woman “took” the fruit and “gave” some to her husband, so Sarai “took” Hagar and “gave” her to Abram.)
Abram & Sarai’s misdeeds created a whole litany of problems. After conceiving a child, Hagar began to despise her barren mistress. (This is one of many instances in the Bible where we see God’s gracious gift of childbearing misused as ammunition between female rivals. This theme obviously looms large over the account of Jacob’s wives Leah & Rachel.) Sarai responded by abusing Hagar, who fled into the desert, only to be brought back by the angel of the LORD. The mistreatment of Hagar functions as the nadir of Abram’s story.
Even so, Genesis 17 opens with God once more appearing to Abram: “I am God Almighty; walk before me faithfully and be blameless. Then I will make my covenant between me and you and will greatly increase your numbers.” God implicitly chastises Abram for his treatment of Hagar and commands Abram to get back on track so that the covenant blessings may come to pass. Once more, God’s promises and Abram’s faithfulness are inextricably intertwined.
