Abraham's Righteousness

James 2:20-24

Has this week been challenging at all for you? It has for me. Thankfully, James takes a break from the next level truth that he has been dropping on us and gives us two examples of faith from the Old Testament to illustrate the points he has already been making. In our reading today, we first look at Abraham, the lead patriarch of the Jewish people. Remember in the opening verse of the book of James we saw that "bad things happen to good disciples". It is to these Jewish disciples that he now appeals to their Scriptures, which we call the Old Testament to show that faith in God hasn't changed. In the example, James focuses in on Abraham's moment of faith on Mount Moriah when God asked him to sacrifice his son Isaac. James tells us that Abraham was considered righteous because of "what he did". This is true, but we need to be careful to ask, "considered righteous by whom?". If we go back to the full story of Abraham, we see that the first time Abraham is considered righteous by God it is 30 years before this mountaintop moment. Abraham is viewed as righteous by God back in Genesis 15:6 when all he did was believe God. This is a great example of faith alone! 30 years after Abraham placed his faith in God, then he is asked to ascend Mount Moriah with his son. So, who is really observing Abraham and "considering him righteous" because of the mountaintop moment? People, others Jews, not God. The Jews as a people considered Abraham righteous because of the way he exemplified his faith in God. When James says that "a person is considered righteous by what they do" he is referring to the way people view other people as righteous, not the way God sees them. 

Prayer:
My God and King, I am not sure how others view me. I want them to see You when they look at me. Please help me to reshape my life and behavior to reflect You in my lifestyle. Amen. 

Reflection: 

Do your family and friends consider you to be a righteous person? 
What actions or behaviors does your life have that are righteous? 
What actions or behaviors does your life have that are not righteous? 

What will you change this week?