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WORLD VIDEO BIBLE SCHOOL
Abraham’s Righteousness as it relates to his Faith and Obedience
Name: Dr. Vusumuzi S. Mncube
Submission: July 2024
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1. INTRODUCTION
This paper reviews faith in action by Abraham, the powerful patriarch and a stalwart with
regards to believing and obeying God. The analysis of Abraham’s faith, obedience and
righteousness is provided from a point of view of the example he sets in the scriptures
in Genesis 15:6; Genesis 22:9-12; Hebrews 11:8-9, 17; and James 2:21-24. After this
analysis, the conclusion proposes Abraham as a model of faith for the generations of
today, and how God showed His faithfulness in Abraham’s case study, and how current
generations can be motivated to fully comply to this trustworthy God.
2. RIGHTEOUSNESS, FAITH AND OBEDIENCE
2.1 Righteousness
Righteousness can be defined as the state of being right with God by unconditionally
following His instructions and will. Ucheibe (2020) indicates that all God’s ways are
righteous, and He loves righteousness and its doers. Furthermore, God is righteous in
thought, words, judgements, and actions (Rev 15:3, cited in Ucheibe, 2020). According
to Maclaren’s Expositions on Genesis 15:6, righteousness is conformity to the will of
God which is the effect of faith. In terms applying righteousness to Abraham’s context,
Maclaren contends in his commentary on Genesis 15:6, that Abraham yielded himself to
God and trusted Him and God accepted that act as the equivalent of righteousness.
Therefore, there can be no righteousness without the action that pleases God.
2.2 Faith and Obedience
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De Walick and Hestiningrum (2021), indicate that the existence of faith in an individual’s
life is evident when he believes in things unseen, such as believing that God created the
universe. Therefore, by faith we understand as defined in Heb 11:1 (NKJV), “Now faith
is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen”. There are two
types of faith as noted in James 2:17-18, that is “dead faith” (faith without actions), and
“active faith” (faith with actions). It appears though that the impactful type of faith is the
one which can be shown by actions. In Galatians 3:7, Abraham is declared as the
“father of faith” specifically because he exemplifies it through various actions. This
active faith can be seen through obedience to God. According to Studycorgi Religion
(ND), Abraham’s obedience to heed the course defined by God, is not passive but
translates to action meaning that his obedience does not remain a mere declaration of
faith but changes the world around him.
3. ABRAHAM’S RIGHTEOUSNESS
Genesis 15:6 explains how Abraham, based on his actions, was granted his
righteousness by God. As discussed earlier in this document, the state of righteousness
is informed by certain actions which please God and cannot just be declared on a
person in isolation from proven faith and obedience. Studycorgi Religion (ND) argues
that among the examples of steadiness and firmness in faith, few sections in the bible
are as impactful in this respect as the story of Abraham. Hence, in James 2:23,
Abraham is profoundly declared as the “friend of God”.
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4. ABRAHAM’S FAITH AND OBEDIENCE AS SOURCE OF HIS
RIGHTEOUSNESS
As discussed, above, several actions resulted in Abraham being declared righteous by
God, as have been seen in Genesis 15:6, as well as in James 2: 21-24. In Galatians,
Paul indicates that Abraham is reckoned as righteous by faith in response to the
promise of God (Snyman, 2013). Abrahamic act of faith therefore starts when God calls
him and command him to leave his family and go to the land which he did not know
which he would later receive as his inheritance, as noted in Hebrew 11:8-9. It is also
interesting to note that he does not even live to enter the promised land, but he still
believes in God’s promise. Studycorgi Religion (ND) contend that Abraham obeyed
God’s calling not because he could not fathom another option but mainly because he
believed. In this case, his faith brought about his obedience to God. We also see
another example of Abraham’s obedience when tested by God in Hebrew 11:17 to offer
his son Isaac as a sacrifice. Studycorgi Religion (ND) reflects on Hebrew 11:8-9, 17, by
pointing out that the drive of Abraham’s obedience was not his intellectual inability to
disregard instructions but his willingness and unlimited faith in the Lord which surpassed
a possible narrow-mindedness. Furthermore, the hardships he endured and the
challenges he faced were colossal by any standard, yet his stalwart faith in God never
wavered even in the face of the most dreadful prospects (Studycorgi Religion, (ND)).
The story of Abraham’s obedience to God’s test regarding his son Isaac is also covered
in Genesis 22:9-12. The Biblesays commentary on this scripture, hails not only faith by
Abraham to God, but also faith by Isaac to Abraham, highlighting that during this
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incident, Isaac would have been 25 years old, and Abraham 125 years old but a strong
young man allowed his elderly father to bind him.
Another important aspect which has been determined in the scripture about Abraham’s
obedience to God was the speed with which he would action any instruction by God
without delay. One of the examples in this regard is when God asks Abraham to
circumcise his household, and it gets done there and there. Basically, the story of
Abraham shows us the power of faith manifested in obedience, and all resulting in
righteousness.
5. CONCLUSION
The above paper has assessed how Abraham’s faith and obedience were key drivers
for his righteousness, and how such righteousness had an impact on his life journey. It
has also been established that Abraham’s biography provides a significant example
from which generations of today can learn as well as how faithful God can be if we trust
and obey Him through our active faith in Him. Like we see in the Abrahamic experience,
it is in our interest to fully comply with God’s requirements and will.
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6. REFERENCES
De Walick, A. E., & Hestiningrum, P. (2021). The Rationality of Faith: The Study of Abraham's
Faith in Hebrews 11: 17-19. MAHABBAH: Journal Religion and Education, 2(1), 35-52.
doi:10.47135/mahabbah.v2i1.19
Maclaren, A. (n.d.). https://biblehub.com/commentaries/genesis/15-6.htm. Retrieved 07 11,
2024, from https://biblehub.com/commentaries/genesis/15-6.htm:
https://biblehub.com/commentaries/genesis/15-6.htm
Snyman, S. D. (2013). Abraham in Galatians and in Genesis. Acta Theologica, 33(2), 148-163.
Retrieved from http://dx.doi.org/10.4314/actat.v33i2.9
Studycorgi. (2024, 07 11). Studycorgi. Retrieved from Studycorgi:
https://studycorgi.com/obedience-in-faith-in-the-story-of-abraham/
The Bible Says - Genesis 22:9-12. (2024, 07 11). Retrieved from The Bible Says:
https://thebiblesays.com/en/commentary/gen+22:9
Ucheibe, M. C. (2020). Abraham's Righteousness as it relates to his Faith and Obedience.
World Video Bible School. Academia.edu. Retrieved 07 11, 2024, from
https://www.academia.edu/42807879/Abrahams_Righteousness_as_it_relates_to_his_Faith_an
d_Obedience
