Now when Abram was ninety-nine years old, Yahweh (the Lord) appeared to Abram and said to him, “I am God Almighty (el Shaddai); Walk before (with) Me, and be blameless. “I will establish My covenant between Me and you, and I will multiply you exceedingly.” Genesis 17:1, 2
The covenant had been made with Abram for at least fourteen years, and yet Abram remained without any visible sign of its accomplishment. Yahweh now appeared to Him again, when he was ninety-nine years old, twenty-four years after his Journey to Canaan, and thirteen after the birth of Ishmael, to fulfill the covenant. This time Yahweh inserted an additional condition to the covenant...Walk before (with) me and be perfect.
Of course, as the prophet Amos asked..."Do two walk together unless they have agreed to do so?"
So...Abram agreed. He "walked with God" and he was perfect. How did Abram get there?
Just a year earlier Yahweh had responded to a comment from Abram asking if his possessions would be inherited by a servant, since he was childless. Yahweh responded, “This man will not be your heir; but one who will come forth from your own body, he shall be your heir.”
"Then Abram believed in Yahweh; and He credited it to him as righteousness" (Gen 15:6). Righteousness is acting in accord with divine law; the condition of being morally right or justified; free from the guilt of sin.
Notice this important point: We aren't told "Abram believed God", or "believed what God said". We are told "Abram believed "IN" God", or believed in the credible nature of Yahweh to the degree that whatever Yahweh proclaimed was a fait accompli...something that could or would not change.
Abram wasn't declared righteous because he followed Yahweh to Canaan. He only ended up in Canaan because that's where God was going while Abram was walking with Him. Abram wasn't declared righteous because of anything He did. In fact, we can point to a few Abramic actions that would never pass for righteous. He let his wife convince him to sleep with Hagar. He told a "half truth" to Abimelech saying Sarah was his sister. Abram was declared righteous because he believed in the God who revealed Himself to Moses at the burning bush.
All else is academic...
Which is why the Apostle Paul could boldly say to the Corinthian jailer "Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved." Our Nicene Creed reminds us...We believe in one God, the Father Almighty, the maker of heaven and earth, of things visible and invisible. And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the begotten of God the Father, the Only-begotten, that is of the essence of the Father. God of God, Light of Light, true God of true God, begotten and not made; of the very same nature of the Father...
It is impossible to believe in God and NOT believe in Jesus Christ. They are the same. And when we do...we are credited as acting in accord with divine law; as being morally right or justified; free from the guilt of sin. "Walk with Me, and I will declare you blameless. I will give you eternal life". But..."Do two walk together unless they have agreed to do so?"
Is it possible to believe in somebody we don't know? Is it possible to agree to walk with somebody about whom we know nothing? No. God has solved this dilemma by revealing Himself to us through His Word, Holy Scripture. This is how we get to know Him and believe in Him. This is how we find ourselves willing to step out in faith and agree to walk with Him.
So...the condition of being morally right or justified; free from the guilt of sin is, at once, simple and complex. It is as simple as believing in God (the innocent faith of a child) and as complex as agreeing to walk with Him...whatever that means and wherever that leads. 2 Timothy 3:16 says "All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness". Actually, the Apostle Paul says "it is the power of God unto salvation for those who believe" (Romans 1:16)
Here we have it: We apply His declaration of reality to our lives, however imperfectly, and we are declared righteous. And before we realize it...we have walked with God all the way to the Promise Land.
Live boldly out there today...
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