So also, “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.”
Parallel translations
- WEB Even as Abraham “believed God, and it was counted to him for righteousness.”
- KJV Even as Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.
- NKJV just as Abraham “believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.”
- NASB Just as Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.
- NLT In the same way, “Abraham believed God, and God counted him as righteous because of his faith.”
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Paul cites Abraham, who believed God and was counted righteous. Justification by faith is no novelty but rooted in Scripture.
Overview
Turning to Genesis, Paul shows that Abraham himself was justified by faith, long before the law was given. This grounds the gospel in the Old Testament and answers those who appealed to Moses. Abraham becomes the pattern of all who are made right with God by believing rather than by works.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 9
- Gen 15:6Abram believed the LORD, and it was credited to him as righteousness.
- Rom 4:21–22being fully persuaded that God was able to do what He had promised.
- Jas 2:23And the Scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness,” and he was called a friend of God.
- Rom 4:3–6For what does the Scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.”
- Rom 4:24but also for us, to whom righteousness will be credited—for us who believe in Him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead.
- Rom 4:9–11Is this blessing only on the circumcised, or also on the uncircumcised? We have been saying that Abraham’s faith was credited to him as righteousness.
- Gal 3:9So those who have faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith.
- Rom 9:32–33Why not? Because their pursuit was not by faith, but as if it were by works. They stumbled over the stumbling stone,
- 2 Cor 5:19–21that God was reconciling the world to Himself in Christ, not counting men’s trespasses against them. And He has committed to us the message of reconciliation.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Commentaries & study tools
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Christ at the center
Christ became a curse for us to redeem us from the law's curse, that we might receive the Spirit and be sons — justified by faith in him, not by works.
How Galatians 3:6 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Greek word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.