W hat does it mean to be counted righteous? The word “counted” in Greek carries the idea of “imputed to” or “reckoned to”. This tells us that Abraham’s belief in God did not make him inherently righteous. Rather, the righteousness of another – the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ – would be imputed to him. This is a wonderful thing indeed! All of Abraham’s sinfulness and doubt in God would be washed and dealt satisfactorily with. Instead of the sinful rags, he was clothed in, God would look upon Abraham and see, as it were, the royal robe of righteousness and pure garments of salvation of Christ – the perfect, sinless Man! When we believe in and accept Christ as our Lord and Saviour, we too are imputed with the righteousness of Christ. When God examines us, He will not but choose to ignore our sins and put onto our account the righteousness of Christ, which fully satisfies God’s holiness, justice and love. This is something we must be eternally grateful for, because we could never have done it on our own. Man’s inherent sin nature means that from conception, we were steeped in sin [Psalm 51:5]. It was impossible for us to live the perfectly sinless life that the Lord Jesus Christ did on our behalf. Therefore, let us strive to show our love for Him by leading holy lives. When we fully appreciate what God has done for us, our desire to forsake sin grows not because we want to “earn” salvation, but because we want to show our love and gratitude to the God who saved us.
LESSON
For what saith the scripture? Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness.
THOUGHT
I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me. – Galatians 2:20
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