Paul begins to reference the promise made to Abraham. Abraham was told that he was going to be the father of many nations. This was not made to him by the law. Abraham and God made their covenant before the law was in existence. Abraham was dubbed the father of many nations through righteousness by faith. The law does not teach us to be righteous, but it shows us that we are sinners in need of God. God promises to us that He will give us righteousness if we believe in His Son's redemptive work.
Now the exciting part to me begins in verse 17. Here, Paul describes the promise made to Abraham. Abraham believed God would uphold His end of the promise. Paul describes God as One who makes alive the things that are dead and calls into being the things that are not. How exciting is that?! Think about Abraham's situation. The man was old! His body was in the process of dying, but God said that he would have a son and be the father of a great a mighty nation. "Your descendants, Abraham, will outnumber the stars." I can imagine what I would say. "Hold your horses, God! I am decrepit. There is no way that my dying body will be able to produce that kind of life! I'm past that stage." But God is the one who makes dead things alive! Abrahan was "not weak in faith" but "considered NOT his own body now dead" (vs 19). He knew that God could take dead things and make them alive. Also, he trusted in a God who can call into being things which are not. We think these tasks are so impossible. Well, look at God's resume! There was nothing, so He created the heavens and the earth. He called it out of NOTHING! That is just plum crazy to think, but Abraham knew God was capable of doing the same in his life. HE trusted that God could call a great nation from his family line even though it didn't exist YET. He gave God the glory because he believed God could and would do as He promised.
How does this relate to you and to me? Maybe God hasn't promised to make our descendants great as the sand on the sea shore. Maybe he isn't planning on starting a new group of people with our family. However, God is still in the business of making promises to people. My home church has a very small and dedicated group of believers that meet every week. God has promised us a building in which we can meet. We all know that the building is coming, but we can't see it. Verse 18 says that Abraham hoped against hope. Hope means, "Having a confident EXPECTATION." We use the word today to mean that something is uncertain, but we HOPE that it will turn out all right. This is not what Abraham did nor what we must do. Abraham had an expectation that God was going to perform. I expect that God will erect a building for Testimony Baptist Church to meet. I will be "fully persuaded that what He has promised, He is able to perform."
Because of this faith, Abraham was granted righteousness. What things has God promised to you? How is your faith holding up?
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