Abraham Repented and Believed the Gospel and received Righteousness by God's Will.

John 8:56 Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day: and he saw it, and was glad.

Hebrews 11:13 These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth.

1 Corinthians 10:1-4 Moreover, brethren, I would not that ye should be ignorant, how that all our fathers were under the cloud, and all passed through the sea; and were all baptized unto Moses in the cloud and in the sea; and did all eat the same spiritual meat; and did all drink the same spiritual drink: for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them: and that Rock was Christ.


First: The Law and Word are preached/given; for conviction of sin and the Gospel of Jesus.

The word of the LORD came to the people of the Bible in many different ways. It might come by a personal appearance of God, by an audible voice, by visions or dreams, by the ministry of angels, by the working of the Spirit of God upon the mind, by the making alive of a passage of Scripture to the heart, or by the ministry of a prophet or preacher. Here, the word of the LORD came to Abram in a vision.

Second: Conviction of sin. We know in context of Romans 4 that Abraham had been told about his sin for conviction of his Depravity before God because it says, "the ungodly" is who God saves;

Romans 4:5 But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness.

Genesis 15:1; After these events, the word of the LORD came to Abram in a vision:
“Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield,
your very great reward.”


Third: The Gospel; With conviction from the Word of God and the Law we have the Gospel, in the Promise of Job's Redeemer and the Promised Messiah, through the seed of Abraham.

4 Then the word of the LORD came to Abram, saying,
“This one will not be your heir,
but one who comes from your own body will be your heir.”

5 And the LORD took him outside and said, “Now look to the heavens and count the stars, if you are able.” Then He told him, “So shall your offspring be.”

This is the Gospel preached, as was that he had heard before.

God’s promise to him was that his descendants were leading to the Messiah.

John 8:56 Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day:
and he saw it, and was glad.


Forth: by Grace, Abraham was given the New Birth by Grace to Repent and believe the Gospel and Justification, as we saw before, where God justifies the ungodly.

Romans 4:4 Now to him that worketh is the reward not reckoned of grace, but of debt.

So, when someone shows evidence of their salvation because they have not worked at a debt, but received faith from the Author of faith, we know it was by grace.


Fifth: Belief, Spiritual Trust. Having been Born Again by the Holy Spiritsnd given the gift of faith, Abraham had the Spiritual enablement to believe;

Gill: "And he believed in the Lord,.... The Targums of Onkelos and Jonathan are, "in the Word of the Lord;'' in the essential Word of the Lord, in Christ the Lord his righteousness;

"he believed in the promise of God, that he should have a seed, and a very numerous one; he believed that the Messiah would spring from his seed;

"he believed in him as his Saviour and Redeemer;

"he believed in him for righteousness, and he believed in his righteousness as justifying him before God:

"Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness."

And he believed in the LORD: When Abraham was given trust in God and believes, specifically in the Gospel, God’s promise to him (descendants leading to the Messiah).


Sixth: Repentance and Faith, together. When the New Birth is given by grace to believe the Gospel, Repentance to have turned from the conviction of sin and Faith to have believed in the Gospel of the promised Messiah are also manifest.

Hebrews 11:13 These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth.


Seventh: Righteousness. After the Pardon of sin and being justified, Abraham had also been imputed and given the Righteousness of the One in Whom He had been given faith to believe in.

Abraham's righteousness that had been Christ's was now his.

i. There are essentially two types of righteousness: righteousness we accomplish by our own efforts, and righteousness accounted to us by the work of God when He saves our soul.

ii. Since none of us can be good enough to accomplish perfect righteousness, we must have God’s righteousness accounted to us by doing just what Abram did: he believed in the LORD. Abraham was saved and given belief in The Living Word of God.

iii. God’s accounting is not pretending. God does not account to us a pretended righteousness, or superficial fleshly non-Spiritual "faith", or "belief" by the consent of the mental faculties only, but a real Supernatural Spiritually wrought faith and belief and a Perfect Im Righteousness from and in Jesus Christ (Romans 4:1-3).

Gill: "and he counted it to him for righteousness; not the act of his faith, but the object of it; (Jesus Christ) and not the promise he believed, but what was promised, and his faith received, even Christ and his righteousness this was imputed to him without works, and while he was an uncircumcised person, for the proof of which the apostle produces this passage, Romans 4:3;

"wherefore this is not to be understood of any action of his being esteemed and accounted a righteous one, and he pronounced and acknowledged a righteous person on account of it;

"for Abram was not justified before God by his own works, but by the righteousness of faith, as all that believe are, that is, by the righteousness of Christ revealed to faith, and received by it:

"what is imputed is without a man, and the imputation of it depends upon the will of another; such the righteousness of Christ without works imputed by God the Father.

"This is the first time we read of believing, and as early do we hear of imputed righteousness."

I Corinthians 10:1-4 Moreover, brethren, I would not that ye should be ignorant, how that all our fathers were under the cloud, and all passed through the sea; and were all baptized unto Moses in the cloud and in the sea; and did all eat the same spiritual meat; and did all drink the same spiritual drink: for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them: and that Rock was Christ.