Because Abraham believed in God, he obeyed God when God directed him to leave his country and relatives and go to where he wanted him to go. He became righteous not because he obeyed God but because he believed in God. Abraham's obedience was a result of His faith in God. Our obedience to God is always a result of our faith in Him and not the other way around. Some people think that before they surrender their lives to God, they need to clean their lives first by giving up their sinful behaviors. However, God is telling us through His Word that we need to believe in Him first, and then good works will follow because He is the one who is going to change our hearts.
When we believe that God accepts us because of the good things we are doing, we rely on our own effort for God to accept us. Once we rely on our own effort, we will always not sure if we have done good enough, and we will never be sure if God accepts us. However, if our acceptance is based on our faith in Him, we will always assure that God accepts us. Our good works are the result of our faith in Him; we obey because we believe in Him. We enter into the relationship with God through our faith in our Lord Jesus and not through our good works.
As Christians, we should not doubt that God accepts us. Our genuine faith in our Lord Jesus assures us that we are righteous before God. We are righteous because of what He has done on the cross, not because of the good works we have done. We thank our Heavenly Father that He is constantly working and changing our hearts to do good. He is the one who is helping us every day to do the right things. He does it because of our faith in Him.
Ask yourself these questions: How do I become righteous before God? What does God start doing in my heart the moment I believe in Him? How do I know that God accepts me?
Write down all the worries that you are facing today and lift them up to God.
Prayer:
Father in Heaven, thank you for helping me to understand that I am righteous before you because of my faith in you. Please continue to change my heart and make me the person you want me to be. Please help me to obey you as proof that I believe in you. May you bless me now. In your name Jesus, I pray. Amen.