Abraham’s Faith

I’ve argued in several recent venues that Gen 15 is not the story of Abraham’s conversion. He was a worshiper of God before that time, and Hebrews 11 is explicit that Abraham was a believer from the time he left Ur (or when he left his father’s house). Unless we want to assume that Paul deliberately and perversely misread the story of Abraham, we have to say that Paul knew that and that his use of Abraham in Rom 4 and elsewhere as a paradigm of justification does not assume that Gen 15 is Abraham’s conversion.

A comment from Don Garlington has clarified the implications of this claim for Paul’s argument in Romans. Garlington points out that Abraham was judged righteous when he had already demonstrated his righteousness, in worshiping Yahweh and obeying him. If this is the case, Paul’s point cannot be that Abraham was justified prior to do anything pleasing to God; he was pleasing to God prior to Gen 15, since he had faith and faith pleases God. Paul’s point must then be to show that Abraham is an example of a man who is counted righteous without being a keeper of Torah, since Torah had not been given and since Abraham had not even been circumcised. Paul does not use Abraham only as an example of faith, but points to his redemptive historical and typological role as the one in whose very body Jew and Gentile are reconciled.

In terms of ordo salutis , Abraham’s justification is both continuous and discontinuous with ours. First the discontinuity: He was justified in the midst of a long life of faithfulness; Isaac received the sign of righteousness when he was 8 days old, before he had done anything good or bad. Isaac entered into his righteousness. So also, Jesus’ justification takes place in His resurrection, and we enter into that resurrection. Second the continuity: Abraham was justified by faith, Isaac was justified by faith, and so we too are justified by faith, by being joined in the Righteous One, the One justified in His resurrection.