²³ Now not for his sake only was it written that it was credited to him, ²⁴ but for our sake also, to whom it will be credited, as those who believe in Him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead, ²⁵ He who was delivered over because of our transgressions, and was raised because of our justification.

Abraham believed God’s promise of a multitude of descendants, like the number of stars in the sky or the grains of sand on the shore—nice enough story in itself for the history of the Jewish people. And it proved true over time. However, the story of Abraham’s faith being credited to him as righteousness illustrates the larger truth that God is the kind of God who justifies all people through faith, not just Abraham. He was not a unique individual in this regard, but a primal example, a progenitor, if you will. He was the first to enter into God’s solution to the Edenic problem of the fall of mankind. Just like when God provided animal skins (implying the death of those animals) to replace Adam and Eve’s feeble attempts to cover themselves with fig leaves, so God has provided the death of a human being, the Lord Jesus Christ, to replace our efforts of self-justification.

This was symbolized in the incident of Abraham being commanded by God to take Isaac his son to the mountain to offer him as a sacrifice to God. In the end, when Abraham proved he was willing to obey God, the Lord provided a ram to be sacrificed instead. This obedience of Abraham was not before God had declared him righteous (Genesis 15:6), for it followed in Genesis 22. His obedience demonstrated what Hebrews tells us: “[Abraham] considered that God is able to raise people even from the dead, from which he also received him back as a type” (Heb 11:19). Abraham’s faith was such that had he gone through with the sacrifice of his son Isaac, then God could (and indeed would) have raised Isaac to life again.

Paul, the inspired writer, brings the point home: righteousness for us today is just like it was for Abraham. We have a clearer picture of what it is that we are to believe, but the object of our faith is still God Himself. We are not called to ultimately to believe things, but to “believe in Him” who promised (vs. 24). God has not provided for us fig leaves, a ram in the bushes or religious observances. He has provided a Savior who “was delivered over because of our transgressions and was raised because of our justification” (vs. 25). And the means for the justification is the death and resurrection of “Jesus our Lord.” Because of sin there was no other way. This is the starting point in understanding that “[the just shall live by faith.” It is all about God’s gift to us.

Lord, I do believe that Jesus died and rose again. I can’t thank You enough.