Key Quotes From Abraham's Life vs those used today

[EarlyActs]

There are two key quotes about Abraham's life which Paul keeps coming back to:
1, He believed and it was credited to him as righteousness. This one confirms for us the Jn 8 line that Abraham did see what Christ was going to do, perhaps through the Isaac experience, and also that justification from sins was understood. Credited righteousness is how people are justified. On a secondary topic, Abraham saw this message in the star configuration and then also the sheer tally was a metaphor for below.

2, In your Seed, all the nations of the world will be blessed. In this line we see that the mission to the nations is the end target of the relationship with his descendants.

I do not know of any reason or location where the NT would reference 'those who bless you... those who curse you...' It could actually be about those who have faith, rather than the finite goal of being in the land of Cana, which was fulfilled in Joshua (mentioned twice fulfilled there).

 

[Soyeong]

There are two key quotes about Abraham's life which Paul keeps coming back to:
1, He believed and it was credited to him as righteousness. This one confirms for us the Jn 8 line that Abraham did see what Christ was going to do, perhaps through the Isaac experience, and also that justification from sins was understood. Credited righteousness is how people are justified. On a secondary topic, Abraham saw this message in the star configuration and then also the sheer tally was a metaphor for below.

While it is true that Abraham believed God, so it was credited to him as righteousness (Genesis 15:6), it is also true that he believed God, so he obeyed God's command to offer Isaac (Hebrews 11:17), so the same faith by which he was declared righteous was also expressed as obedience to God, but he did not earn his righteousness as the result of his obedience. In James 2:21-24, it quotes Genesis 15:6 to support saying Abraham was justified by his works when he offered Isaac, his faith was active along with his works, and his faith completed his works, so he was justified by his works insofar as they were expressing his faith, but not insofar as they were earning it as a wage.

Character traits in general are not earned as a wage, but are only attained through faith that we ought to be a doer of those traits. For example, some is courageous because they have faith that they ought to be a doer of courageous works apart from being required to first have done a certain amount of courageous works and it would be contradictory for someone to be courageous apart from being a doer of courageous works. The same is true for righteousness and other character traits. In 1 John 3:7, everyone who is a doer of righteous works is righteous even as they are righteous.

2, In your Seed, all the nations of the world will be blessed. In this line we see that the mission to the nations is the end target of the relationship with his descendants.

I do not know of any reason or location where the NT would reference 'those who bless you... those who curse you...' It could actually be about those who have faith, rather than the finite goal of being in the land of Cana, which was fulfilled in Joshua (mentioned twice fulfilled there).

In Matthew 4:15-23, Jesus began his ministry with the Gospel message to repent for the Kingdom of God is at hand, which was a light to the Gentiles, and God's law was how his audience knew what sin is (Romans 3:20), so repenting from our disobedience to it is a central part of the Gospel of the Kingdom, which is in accordance with Jesus being sent in fulfillment of the promise to bless us by turning us from our wickedness (Acts 3:25-26), which is the Gospel that was made known in advance to Abraham in accordance with the promise (Galatians 3:8), and which he spread to Gentiles in Haran in accordance with the promise (Genesis 12:1-5).

In Genesis 18:19, God knew Abraham that he would teach his children and those of his household to walk in God's way by doing righteousness and justice that the Lord may bring to him all that He has promised. In Genesis 26:4-5, God will multiply Abraham's children as the stars in the heaven, to his children He will give all of these lands, and through his children all of the nations of the earth will be blessed because he heard God's voice and guarded His charge, His commandments, His statues, and His laws. In Deuteronomy 30:16, if the children of Abraham will love God with all of their heart by walking in His way in obedience to His commandments, statutes, and laws, then they will live and multiply and God will bless them in the land that they go to possess. So the promise was made to Abraham and brought about because he walked in God's way in obedience to His law, he taught his children and those of his household to do that in accordance with spreading the Gospel of the Kingdom, and because they did that.

In Psalms 119:1-3, God's law is how the children of Abraham knew how to be blessed by walking in God's way, and in John 8:39, Jesus said that if they were children of Abraham, then they would be doing the same works as him, the way that the children of Abraham are multiplied and are a blessing to the nations in accordance with inheriting the promise through faith is by turning the nations from their wickedness and teaching them to do the same works as Abraham by walking in God's way in obedience to His law in accordance with spreading the Gospel of the Kingdom.

 

[EarlyActs]

While it is true that Abraham believed God, so it was credited to him as righteousness (Genesis 15:6), it is also true that he believed God, so he obeyed God's command to offer Isaac (Hebrews 11:17), so the same faith by which he was declared righteous was also expressed as obedience to God, but he did not earn his righteousness as the result of his obedience. In James 2:21-24, it quotes Genesis 15:6 to support saying Abraham was justified by his works when he offered Isaac, his faith was active along with his works, and his faith completed his works, so he was justified by his works insofar as they were expressing his faith, but not insofar as they were earning it as a wage.

Character traits in general are not earned as a wage, but are only attained through faith that we ought to be a doer of those traits. For example, some is courageous because they have faith that they ought to be a doer of courageous works apart from being required to first have done a certain amount of courageous works and it would be contradictory for someone to be courageous apart from being a doer of courageous works. The same is true for righteousness and other character traits. In 1 John 3:7, everyone who is a doer of righteous works is righteous even as they are righteous.


In Matthew 4:15-23, Jesus began his ministry with the Gospel message to repent for the Kingdom of God is at hand, which was a light to the Gentiles, and God's law was how his audience knew what sin is (Romans 3:20), so repenting from our disobedience to it is a central part of the Gospel of the Kingdom, which is in accordance with Jesus being sent in fulfillment of the promise to bless us by turning us from our wickedness (Acts 3:25-26), which is the Gospel that was made known in advance to Abraham in accordance with the promise (Galatians 3:8), and which he spread to Gentiles in Haran in accordance with the promise (Genesis 12:1-5).

In Genesis 18:19, God knew Abraham that he would teach his children and those of his household to walk in God's way by doing righteousness and justice that the Lord may bring to him all that He has promised. In Genesis 26:4-5, God will multiply Abraham's children as the stars in the heaven, to his children He will give all of these lands, and through his children all of the nations of the earth will be blessed because he heard God's voice and guarded His charge, His commandments, His statues, and His laws. In Deuteronomy 30:16, if the children of Abraham will love God with all of their heart by walking in His way in obedience to His commandments, statutes, and laws, then they will live and multiply and God will bless them in the land that they go to possess. So the promise was made to Abraham and brought about because he walked in God's way in obedience to His law, he taught his children and those of his household to do that in accordance with spreading the Gospel of the Kingdom, and because they did that.

In Psalms 119:1-3, God's law is how the children of Abraham knew how to be blessed by walking in God's way, and in John 8:39, Jesus said that if they were children of Abraham, then they would be doing the same works as him, the way that the children of Abraham are multiplied and are a blessing to the nations in accordance with inheriting the promise through faith is by turning the nations from their wickedness and teaching them to do the same works as Abraham by walking in God's way in obedience to His law in accordance with spreading the Gospel of the Kingdom.

re your 1st paragraph,
there should always be demonstrating works, yes. But what Abraham saw (he saw Christ's day and rejoiced) was that Christ would come and provide justification. Gal 3.

 

[EarlyActs]

While it is true that Abraham believed God, so it was credited to him as righteousness (Genesis 15:6), it is also true that he believed God, so he obeyed God's command to offer Isaac (Hebrews 11:17), so the same faith by which he was declared righteous was also expressed as obedience to God, but he did not earn his righteousness as the result of his obedience. In James 2:21-24, it quotes Genesis 15:6 to support saying Abraham was justified by his works when he offered Isaac, his faith was active along with his works, and his faith completed his works, so he was justified by his works insofar as they were expressing his faith, but not insofar as they were earning it as a wage.

Character traits in general are not earned as a wage, but are only attained through faith that we ought to be a doer of those traits. For example, some is courageous because they have faith that they ought to be a doer of courageous works apart from being required to first have done a certain amount of courageous works and it would be contradictory for someone to be courageous apart from being a doer of courageous works. The same is true for righteousness and other character traits. In 1 John 3:7, everyone who is a doer of righteous works is righteous even as they are righteous.


In Matthew 4:15-23, Jesus began his ministry with the Gospel message to repent for the Kingdom of God is at hand, which was a light to the Gentiles, and God's law was how his audience knew what sin is (Romans 3:20), so repenting from our disobedience to it is a central part of the Gospel of the Kingdom, which is in accordance with Jesus being sent in fulfillment of the promise to bless us by turning us from our wickedness (Acts 3:25-26), which is the Gospel that was made known in advance to Abraham in accordance with the promise (Galatians 3:8), and which he spread to Gentiles in Haran in accordance with the promise (Genesis 12:1-5).

In Genesis 18:19, God knew Abraham that he would teach his children and those of his household to walk in God's way by doing righteousness and justice that the Lord may bring to him all that He has promised. In Genesis 26:4-5, God will multiply Abraham's children as the stars in the heaven, to his children He will give all of these lands, and through his children all of the nations of the earth will be blessed because he heard God's voice and guarded His charge, His commandments, His statues, and His laws. In Deuteronomy 30:16, if the children of Abraham will love God with all of their heart by walking in His way in obedience to His commandments, statutes, and laws, then they will live and multiply and God will bless them in the land that they go to possess. So the promise was made to Abraham and brought about because he walked in God's way in obedience to His law, he taught his children and those of his household to do that in accordance with spreading the Gospel of the Kingdom, and because they did that.

In Psalms 119:1-3, God's law is how the children of Abraham knew how to be blessed by walking in God's way, and in John 8:39, Jesus said that if they were children of Abraham, then they would be doing the same works as him, the way that the children of Abraham are multiplied and are a blessing to the nations in accordance with inheriting the promise through faith is by turning the nations from their wickedness and teaching them to do the same works as Abraham by walking in God's way in obedience to His law in accordance with spreading the Gospel of the Kingdom.

re your last 3 paragraphs,
you don't seem to be familiar with imputed righteousness. It is not something that comes into our lives by doing it. It is credit against the debt of sin. But you are right that wherever faith is, there are demonstrations of courage and goodness. "A soul without a body is dead."

Justification is God's work for us in Christ about the debt of sin.
Transformation is God's work in us through the Spirit about actually doing sin.

"Be for me a double cure--save me from sin's guilt and power." --the classic song 'Rock of Ages.'

The guilt is about the past, the power of it is ongoing.