By all accounts, Abraham was a great man. He was faithful and obedient to God, generous with his nephew and even visiting strangers, and he was a great general who achieved victory over King Kedorlaomer and rescued Lot and others. If anyone in Israel's history could be justified by his own works, it would be Abraham. And if so, he would have a right to boast. But we are not justified by our own works. "Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness." Abraham knew that righteousness comes when we believe the LORD, who sent Jesus Christ. So, Abraham learned that it is those who trust in the LORD that are made righteous, and not by good works.

Next, we see that King David learned the same thing. David was also a great man in Israel's history. David discovered the blessing of the forgiveness of sins, not by doing good works, but through recognizing our sin before God and confessing it. He, too, found that we are made righteous by faith, not by works.


Application: Father, thank you for your righteousness. Thank you that we don't need to earn our own righteousness, but that you give it to us freely, through Jesus Christ our Lord.
One Word: God justifies the one who has faith in Jesus