Many times I find myself angered by someone who is self-righteous. I am not speaking about anyone on this site. While words tpyed into a computer and transmitted on to a screen may come across as self-righteous, we can not truly experience the personality or demeaner of the one typing the text. In considering this, I thought of Abraham. Abraham was one of the greatest men to live. Abraham is a great example of righteousness through faith. In order to fully understand this statement we really need to look back to Gensis 15:6 “And he believed in the LORD; and he counted it to him for righteousness.” God had promised Abraham that He would make him the father of a great nation. It had been ten years since God had promised Abraham this, and still Abraham had not yet had a son. Abraham was old, as was his wife, Sarah. Abraham started to get discouraged and God showed him the stars. God told Abraham as many stars as you can count, that is the number of his offspring. Abraham believed (had faith) that what God said was true. This is just one example of Abraham’s faith. Later after Isaac was born, and knowing God’s promise for his son, Abraham’s faith was tested. God told Abraham to take Isaac up the mountain, build an alter, and sacrifice Isaac. This was the greatest test of Abraham’s faith. Through his faith that God would be true to His word, Abraham was able to do what God asked of him. We see in Hebrews that not only did Abraham have faith that God would still keep His word of making him the father of many nations, but also that Abraham had faith when he made the comment to Isaac that “the Lord will provide..” when Isaac asked his father where the lamb was for the sacrifice. Abraham left his home in Haran and had no idea where he was headed. Again, Hebrews makes reference to this as an example of his faith, “By faith he stayed for a time in the land which he had been promised, as in a foreign land, living in tents" (11:9). Abraham showed great faith throughout much of his life. Abraham became all that God promised, and Abraham is the father of many nations. Abraham was held, and is still held, as one of the greatest examples of faith that a man can be. Hebrews mentions Abraham as one of the people in the “great cloud” of faith. The recipients of Paul’s letter to the Roman’s held Abraham in the highest regards when speaking of faith. In Roman’s, Paul speaks of Abraham’s faith and uses him as an example to the Romans. Paul shows us that it was Abraham’s faith that made him righteous, and not his works. As far as glorying is concerned, Abraham did not seek glory from God for his works. Glorying is the act of seeking attention or praise for something done. Abraham was not justified before God because he was circumcised, or because of any specific act or following of the law. Abraham was justified by his faith. It is by our own faith through which we can be justified, just as Abraham, to receive righteousness. It is through faith that we are justified by grace, not by the law and our following the law. If Abraham had no “bragging” rights, no one else could ever deserve any. Just something to think about, -Matt