What the Bible says about Abraham Believed God
(From Forerunner Commentary)

Genesis 5:22-24 What does it mean to walk with God? When we think about walking, we think about placing one foot in front of the other, moving from one place to another. In the Scripture, forms of "walk" appear over 400 times in the King James Version, and the majority of the time, they refer to a particular course of life, the way we live and behave. In the Septuagint, the phrase "walked with God" in Genesis 5:22, 24 is rendered as "pleased God." In Hebrews 11:5, the author writes that God delivered Enoch from certain death because he pleased God—because he lived his life in lock-step with God. To walk with God requires five attributes that we all need to strengthen in ourselves: 1. Righteousness. This is not self-righteousness, which Isaiah 64:6 calls "filthy rags," but at first, the imputed righteousness of God. Genesis 15:6 informs us that Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him for righteousness. Paul repeats this fact in Romans 4:3, explaining that in the same way, righteousness is also imputed to Christians upon justification. Psalm 119:172 says that all God's commandments are righteousness. So, if we live by and conform to every word of God (Deuteronomy 8:3; Matthew 4:4), we will then grow in righteousness. 2. Faith. Hebrews 11:6 reads, "But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him." It takes great faith to walk with God. Hebrews 10:38 tells us that "the just shall live by faith." We have to believe Him and His Word and trust Him with all our heart and being. It takes great faith just not to lean toward our own understanding (Proverbs 3:5)! We must be convicted that God loves us and will perform what He has promised. These first two requirements for walking with God represent the first and great commandment, to love God with all our heart, soul, and mind (Matthew 22:37-38). We exhibit our love for God by obeying Him and believing what He says. The next two requirements for walking with God correspond to the second great commandment, to love our neighbors as ourselves (Matthew 22:39). 3. Integrity. Enoch must have been a man of integrity, governed by high moral principles, and so must we be if we seek to walk with God. A person of integrity is honest and just in all his social dealings. He loves mercy and shows compassion toward others. Solomon advises us, "The righteous man walks in his integrity; his children are blessed after him" (Proverbs 20:7), and "The integrity of the upright will guide them" (Proverbs 11:3). He is a man that people can trust to do what is right because he is following the way of God. 4. Humility. A truly humble person will not be afflicted with that common disease known as inflated ego. When we walk with God, because we realize His greatness in comparison to ourselves, the ego diminishes to its proper limits. Only then do we truly understand the words of the apostle Paul in Galatians 6:3: "If anyone thinks himself to be something, when he is nothing, he deceives himself." Micah 6:8 teaches: "He has shown you, O man, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you but to do justice and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God?" Everyone who walks with God is required to live in humility. A humble person is gentle and lowly in heart as Jesus was (Matthew 11:29). A humble person can be bold and even aggressive in doing the will of God, but he is never contentious or hostile. Finally, there is no room for arrogance, pride, or jealousy within the one who walks humbly with God, for as Proverbs 15:33 states, "Before honor is humility." 5. Commitment. Lastly, our total dedication is called for in walking with God. We cannot be running off to do our own thing whenever we feel like it. Psalm 37:5 urges us, "Commit your way to the LORD, trust also in Him, and He shall bring [His promises] to pass." Our commitment must be like the whole burnt offering that was completely consumed on the altar, except that our commitment is a living sacrifice (Romans 12:1), that is, dedicating our lives to following God in everything. Our fellowship with God reaches its highest form when, in all the business of life, we are walking with Him, doing His will, and enjoying His presence. Clyde Finklea Walking With God Related Topics: Abraham Believed God | Abraham's Faith | Arrogance | Before Honor is Humility | Commitment | Enoch's Walk with God | Faith , Living by | Great Commandment | Great Commandment, First | Great Commandment,Second | Growing in Righteousness | Honesty | Humility | Integrity | Just Shall live by Faith | Living Sacrifice | Obeying God | Pride | Righteousness | Sanctify Yourselves by Being Living Sacrifice | Walk Humbly | Walking with God

Romans 4:21 Abraham was fully persuaded. He allowed the evidence God gave him to convince him to trust God. He added up the evidence and acted accordingly. This does not mean that Abraham never had doubts. The Bible makes it clear that he had doubts. The book of Genesis shows that he turned aside from the path now and again. In the case of producing a son, he tried to fulfill God's promise through Hagar, and God had to show him that his faith had broken down. Ishmael was not the promised seed. He had doubts creep into his mind at times, so he did not do things exactly right all the time. One thing we can learn from him—a significant reason God chose him as the father of the faithful—is that his overall trust in God never wavered. Like us, he erroneously processed the information, the evidence, he had from time to time, making him choose to go the wrong way. His emotions probably got in the way, as they do for us. But God patiently worked with him and turned him back to the right way. When Abraham went down to Egypt, everything turned out wrong. He should have never gone there. Nothing in God's Word, nor God Himself, instructed him to go there. Abraham chose to go on his own, and he almost lost his wife over it. God pulled him out of the fire and led him back to the right path. In the patriarch's experience, God is showing us to steer clear of Egypt, not descend into it as Abraham did. Even though we may have doubts occasionally, we can still trust God to return us to the right path because He will patiently work with us. When a doubt arises, sometimes it clarifies things because doubt implies that we are asking questions about whether our course of action is right. We should not think that we should never doubt because doubts will surface just because of the experiences we have had in the world. If we are patient and continue to trust God, resolving the doubt through godly thinking and experience will clarify matters. But a warning: Sometimes reaching the clarifying understanding will be painful because God may take us through an experience to help us realize we need to straighten out certain parts of our lives. We do not have God speaking to us directly as these men did on occasion, but we still have God's Word and calling. We can conclude that faith—godly faith—comes from the combination of God's Spirit working in our minds plus studying God's Word ("the excellency of the knowledge of Christ") plus related experience from the world. It is further strengthened by putting it to work as we move forward. John W. Ritenbaugh Faith (Part Three) Related Topics: Abraham Added up Evidence | Abraham Believed God | Doubts | Faith | Faith, Abraham's | Spiritual Doubts | Trusting God

 

		The Berean: Daily Verse and Comment Sign up for the Berean: Daily Verse and Comment, and have Biblical truth delivered to your inbox. This daily newsletter provides a starting point for personal study, and gives valuable insight into the verses that make up the Word of God. See what over 155,000 subscribers are already receiving each day. Email Address:     A Faithful VersionKing James VersionNew International VersionNew King James Version Leave this field empty
We respect your privacy. Your email address will not be sold, distributed, rented, or in any way given out to a third party. We have nothing to sell. You may easily unsubscribe at any time.