It’s one thing to talk about grace in the abstract, but quite another to describe what it looks like. If "a picture is worth a thousand words," what kind of picture does grace make?

Perhaps the best picture of grace in the entire Bible is provided by an Old Testament character cited by several writers in the New Testament. Abraham is universally accepted as the father of those who believe. He gives us a clear picture of what grace is and does.

In both Romans and Galatians, the apostle Paul goes back to Abraham as the prime example of a man whom God accepted on the basis of his faith. In Romans 4:3, Paul wrote, "What saith the scriptures? Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness." The apostle uses the same example in Galatians 3:6,7, where he wrote, "Even as Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness, know ye therefore that they which are of faith, the same are the children of Abraham."

Rehearsing the Story

Genesis 15 tells us that Abraham and his wife, Sarah, were unable to have children. Yet God gave them a promise that through their seed, all nations of the earth would be blessed. Despite the improbability of it all, Abraham trusted God. Genesis 15:6 says, 'And he believed in the LORD; and he counted it to him for righteousness."

As year after year rolled on and no baby came, however, Abraham and Sarah began to doubt whether God was going to follow through on His promise. So one day Sarah took matters into her own hands and suggested that Abraham impregnate her handmaid, Hagar. They would then raise the child as if it were their own. (How interesting that the idea of surrogate parenthood isn't as modern a development as we'd like to think!) Hagar conceived and gave birth to a son, who they named Ishmael. Yet when this child was 13 years old, God repeated His promise to Abraham. Abraham still had a hard time believing that God would give him a son with Sarah. He told God that the idea was nice, but really, Ishmael was already there - why not just bless him?

How encouraging that Abraham, a man the Bible calls the "father of all those who believe" (Romans 4:11), struggled to believe that the promise could be fulfilled through Sarah's seed! When the Lord repeated His promise to provide a son through Sarah, it was so incredible that Sarah laughed. Years later when the promise was fulfilled and Sarah gave birth, they named their son Isaac, which means "laughter."

As Isaac grew, his older brother Ishmael came to resent the attention lavished on this child of promise. At the party given to celebrate the weaning of Isaac, Ishmael stood at a distance, mocking his brother. When Sarah observed his spiteful attitude, she demanded that Abraham send away both him and his mother Hagar. She insisted that Ishmael would not share in the inheritance destined for Isaac.

Naturally, Abraham was crushed by this turn of events, but God assured him that He would take care of Ishmael. Abraham was to listen to Sarah and cast out the bondwoman and her son. It was clear that they could not inherit the promised blessing of God.

Painting the Picture

When Paul wanted to bolster his case for righteousness by grace through faith, he pointed his readers back to Abraham. He said the story of Abraham contained an allegory that could make his point clear. Traditionally, rabbis of Paul's time held that there were primarily two interpretations for every passage of Scripture. The first, called the peshat, referred to the plain and obvious meaning of the text. They also held that there was a hidden meaning to each passage (the remez). Some rabbis held to two additional types of interpretation: the derash, which involved allegorical meanings and anything not literal; and the sod ("secret"), which yielded an allegorical meaning. The drawback to these complex and often contradictory schools of thought is that they leave the average person confused and doubtful about the message of Scripture.

I believe the best focus is the plain and obvious meaning of the text. God is entirely capable of saying exactly what He means to say. So many have strayed from the clear teaching of the Bible by pursuing spiritualized, fanciful interpretations of Scripture. Let's face it: With enough spiritualizing, we can take something as innocuous as Old Mother Hubbard and develop a tremendous sermon out of that tale. Think of the deep spiritual implications of this old woman who went to the cupboard to get her poor dog a bone. Why, we can picture her, trapped in the desolation, discouragement, and emptiness of life because the cupboard was bare. What a tragic day when all our resources are gone!

With a little imagination we can create doctrinal mountains out of the smallest molehill. The best rule of thumb, then, is to avoid allegorical interpretations unless Scripture itself gives us the basis for the allegory. In this case, by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, Paul draws an allegorical implication from the life of Abraham which can be trusted:

For it is written, that Abraham had two sons, the one by a bondmaid, the other by a free-woman. But he who was of the bondwoman was born after the flesh; but he of the free-woman was by promise. Which things are an allegory: for these are the two covenants; the one from the mount Sinai, which gendereth to bondage, which is Agar. For this Agar is mount Sinai in Arabia, and answereth to Jerusalem which now is, and is in bondage with her children. But Jerusalem which is above is free, which is the mother of us all. For it is written, Rejoice, thou barren that bearest not, break forth and cry, thou that travailest not: for the desolate hath many more children than she which hath an husband. Now we, brethren, as Isaac was, are the children of promise But as then he that was born after the flesh persecuted him that was born after the Spirit, even so it is now. Nevertheless what saith the scripture? Cast out the bondwoman and her son: for the son of the bondwoman shall not be heir with the son of the freewoman. So then, brethren, we are not children of the bondwoman, but of the free (Galatians 4:22-31).

The Significance of the Story

Paul tells us that these events are not only significant in a purely historical sense, but that they also illustrate the plight of those who try to inherit the blessings of God through works. Hagar and her son are a picture of those who try to be righteous before God by fulfilling the law. When Abraham and Sarah despaired of seeing the promise fulfilled, they turned to their own efforts, which brought only heartache and frustration. Since Ishmael was a product of the flesh, he serves as a type of those who are seeking to be blessed by human works. Isaac, on the other hand, is the child of promise, representing those who will inherit God's blessing through faith.

Interestingly, just as Ishmael mocked Isaac, those who live under the law today continue to deride those who choose to live by faith. Paul suggests that the pressure tactics of the Judaizers; were prefigured in the conflict between these brothers. In like manner, those in his day who insisted on adherence to the law for righteousness were to be cast out. In A.D. 70 this allegory was fulfilled as Jerusalem was destroyed by the Roman legions under Titus. Those who persecuted men and women of faith were literally sent into exile.

The freedom, the promise, and the blessings of God belong to all who seek right standing with God through Jesus Christ.

Paul contrasts the sad end of the legalists with the wonderful future of the children of faith. Quoting Isaiah, he writes, "Rejoice, thou barren that bearest not; break forth and cry, thou that travailest not: for the desolate hath many more children than she which hath an husband" (verse 27). He means that these believers, gathered into the kingdom as a result of faith, were going to vastly outnumber all those who tried to reach God by their own works.

Just here the allegory comes into focus: "So then, brethren, we are not children of the bond-woman, but of the free" (verse 31). All those who belong to Christ will inherit the blessings of God and are the fulfillment of His promise to Abraham that in his seed all the nations of the earth would be blessed.

We have been blessed through the seed of Abraham, Jesus Christ. The freedom, the promise, and the blessings of God belong to all those who seek right standing with God through faith in Jesus Christ. As children of the promise and recipients of the unconditional love of God, we can now enjoy a wonderful consistency in our walk with Christ.

As the hymn so eloquently puts it, "Jesus paid it all. All to Him I owe; Sin had left a crimson stain, He washed it white as snow." When we appear before the throne of God, we will stand in awe of all Christ has done for us. As we see the power of the promises of God, none of us will say, "Through my own faithful and determined efforts, I have attained this glory." Instead we will bow our heads, overflowing with joy, and say, "Thank You, Jesus; You did it all! I knew You could save me. I knew that by my good works I could never save myself. Thank You, Lord."

A Key Question

Such was Abraham's faith. But the key question is, When did God proclaim this man righteous when he was circumcised or before he was circumcised? The false teachers at Galatia were saying, "You can't be righteous unless you are circumcised." They insisted that a ritual was essential for salvation.

So when did God impute Abraham's faith for righteousness? Was it before or after he had received the rite of circumcision? It was before, not after! Abraham was accounted righteous before he knew a thing about this ritual. The declaration of his imputed righteousness is found in Genesis 15, while the rite of circumcision is not introduced until two chapters later. Righteousness was imputed to Abraham the moment he believed and trusted in God.

The same is true for you and me. At the moment we believe and trust in Jesus Christ, God imputes to our account righteousness - not on the basis of what we have done or what we are going to do, but simply on the basis of our belief in Jesus Christ.

As Christ is the Lord of heaven, the Son of God, and my own personal Savior, I will trust in Him. When I do, God says of me, "Righteous!" One day Jesus was asked, "What shall we do, that we might work the works of God?" Jesus replied, "This is the work of God, that ye believe on him who he hath sent" (John 6:28,29). If you want to do the work of God, believe on Jesus Christ. That is the work of God. That is what God requires of you.

But What is Real Faith?

It is interesting that James - who writes an epistle to kick some Christians in the pants to get them off of their duffs and get them moving - also uses Abraham as a picture of faith. His particular concern is to show that faith without works is dead (James 2:26). James says that Abraham's faith led him to do certain things, and therefore God recognized his faith: "Seest thou how faith wrought with his works, and by works was faith made perfect? And the scripture was fulfilled which saith, Abraham believed God, and it was imputed unto him for righteousness: and he was called the Friend of God" (James 2:22,23).

Our actions must be in harmony with what we believe. Belief isn't merely what we say; belief is demonstrated by what we do.

In other words, true faith is more than a verbalization. True faith leads to appropriate actions. If I truly believe a certain thing, then my actions will be in keeping with what I believe. I may vehemently protest a belief in something, but if my actions are inconsistent with my professed belief, then my belief must be called into question.

For example, I may say that I believe there is going to be a great stock market crash on Monday and that money is no longer going to be any good. The banks are all going to be closed, the savings and loans are going to shut their doors, and you will not be able to get your money out. Yet if I don't go down to the bank immediately and withdraw all of my deposits, you could rightfully say that I really didn't believe what I had said.

Our actions must be in harmony with what we believe or our belief can be called into question. Because Abraham truly believed that through Isaac his seed would be called, he was able to take his son up to the mountain, place him on the altar, and raise the knife. He was ready to bring the knife down because he believed that God had promised that through Isaac his seed would be called (Isaac did not at that point have any children) and he was willing to obey God in offering Isaac as a sacrifice. He knew that God would, if necessary, raise Isaac from the dead to fulfill his promise (see Hebrews 11:19). That is how much he believed the promises of God.

How much do we believe the promises of God? Many years ago I heard of a fellow who ran out of fuel in the middle of a blizzard and needed to ask a neighbor for some oil. The river that separated his house from his neighbor's was frozen over, so he got down on his hands and knees and reached out as far as he could on the ice, rapping with his knuckles to determine the ice's thickness. In this way he inched his way across the river, reaching out and tapping. Soon his knuckles were bloody. Just about the time he reached the far bank of the river, he heard a rumbling behind him... and saw a team of horses thundering across the river.

Some of us say, "I believe the promise of God," yet we are knocking to see if His promise will hold us up. We inch out so carefully. "I know God said He was going to supply all of my needs," we say, "but I'm not sure He will. That bill is due - and I am knocking to see if He is going to hold me. I sure hope His promise holds up!" In contrast, others venture right out on the promises of God. ' They have learned that God always keeps His promises, no matter how bad the circumstances appear. At one time, they may have been ice-tappers, too - but time after time they discovered that God is faithful. Eventually their belief was strengthened, and they began to act on their belief All of us act out our true beliefs; they are demonstrated in our life.

Abraham's belief was demonstrated by his actions. Had he sat there and argued with God, he would not have truly believed. Imagine if he had said, "God, I can't offer Isaac. What do you mean, Lord? He is my son. You have promised that through him the nations of the world will be blessed. Lord, I can't do that." A lot of people think that merely saying something makes it a belief. But belief isn't merely what you say; belief takes action. It is demonstrated by what you do.

That is why James, citing the same passage from the Old Testament as did Paul, seeks to prove that faith without works is dead. To say you believe something and yet fail to live out that belief proves that you don't have real faith. True faith demonstrates itself in actions which are in harmony with the faith that is declared. Abraham believed God, and his belief worked itself out in actions that were in harmony with his belief. Therefore, God considered his faith as righteousness.

Abraham was not righteous because of what he did. He was righteous because of what he believed. What he did was in harmony with what he believed. God took the belief and imputed righteousness to Abraham for his belief.

Get the Picture?

None of this means, of course, that our actions are always going to be perfect. As children of God who believe in Jesus Christ, we are engaged in spiritual warfare. Though our spirits are renewed in Christ Jesus, we are still living in these old corrupt houses, our bodies. My corrupted house makes strong demands upon me. I find at times that I am battling my flesh so that I do not do the things I really want to do. Sometimes my activities and actions are opposed to my faith in Jesus Christ.

But I can't live in that condition. I may stumble and fall, as does everyone, but I don't lie there. The Spirit won't let me lie there. He prompts me and helps me to stand up again. When I stumble or fall, God doesn't get out the eraser and blot out my name from the book of life. When you are trying to teach your son or daughter to walk, their stumbling doesn't prompt you to shout, "Get out of here, you brat. You are not my child, falling like that! I disown you." No, you pick up your child and say, "You're all right. Try it again. Come to daddy, now. Come on! Come on!" You encourage your child to try again and again.

You are God's child. He is trying to help you to develop a walk with Him. It is comforting to know that when we stumble and fall, He doesn't kick us out. He doesn't disown us. He doesn't say, "You are not My child anymore because you have stumbled!" Instead, He picks us up and dusts us off. He says, 'All right now, try again."

Anyone who is born of God cannot live in sin. We cannot be practicing a life of sin. If we are, we are proving that we do not believe what we say we do. Abraham believed God and his actions followed his belief.

Of course, that doesn't mean that once Abraham committed his life to God in faith he never wavered in belief again. Far from it! Sandwiched around the Bible's declaration of Abraham's faith in Genesis 15:6 are two incidents that describe great lapses in his faith. Chapters 12 and 20 of Genesis describe how Abraham concocted lies designed to save his own skin rather than relying on God to keep him safe. Abraham could be an ice-tapper, too - but that wasn’t the dominant characteristic of his life. He suffered occasional lapses, as we all do, but he didn't live in those lapses. He lived out his faith to such an extent that the Bible calls him a man of faith. Abraham's faith led him to act out his faith.

And yet, it was not his actions by which God determined his righteousness; his righteousness was determined by his believing. It is the same with us. Our faith must necessarily lead to a life of obedience and right actions, but it is not those right actions or our obedience that earn us right standing before God. The righteousness of Jesus Christ is imparted to us by faith.

By virtue of the fact that I believe in God and am trusting in Jesus Christ, I become a son of Abraham. I become a descendant, and thus the promises and covenant blessings that God gave to Abraham are mine as well.

This gospel of grace was preached long ago in Abraham. His life is a glorious picture of what grace is and does. It is far more beautiful than any painting hanging in the Louvre or in the Prado or in the Metropolitan Museum of Art. It is a stunning portrait of God's love for a sinner who places his complete trust in Him - and the best thing of all about the picture is that we're right there in the background, with the word "blessed" emblazoned on our foreheads.