Chapter 2: God's Promises, God's Provision, & Our Faith
At the close of the previous chapter, we saw that God created mankind for relationship. We were not created because God lacked anything, nor because He required our service. Rather, He created us out of the abundance of His own nature, inviting us into a relationship built upon love, trust, worship, and willing dependence. However, more questions naturally arise. For instance, if God created mankind for relationship, how does that relationship function between an infinite Creator and those He created to be dependent upon Him?
Because God is infinite and mankind is dependent, that relationship can never function as though two equals are negotiating with one another. God is never in mankind's debt, nor does He depend upon anything mankind can provide. Everything mankind possesses - including life itself - has already been provided by Him. For that reason, Scripture consistently presents God as the One who takes the initiative within the relationship. He speaks first. He makes the promises. He establishes the covenant. He provides what mankind cannot provide. He accomplishes what mankind cannot accomplish.
Mankind is then called to respond. That response is not an attempt to repay God for what He has already done, nor is it an effort to earn what only He can provide. Rather, it is the response of those who recognize both their dependence upon Him and the steadfast love of the One who delights to provide for them. As they believe in Him and trust His promises, gratitude naturally follows, for they recognize that everything they have received has come from His hand.
Stated as simply as possible, the pattern is this: God makes the promises. God does the work. God provides. Mankind is called to believe in Him and trust His promises. If this is the pattern God has established for His relationship with mankind, however, another set of questions naturally arises.
- What about all of the commandments?
- What about the Law given through Moses?
- What about Christ's commands?
- What about obedience?
- What about good works?
If God calls mankind to believe in Him and trust His promises, why does Scripture contain so many instructions about how we ought to live and how does our obedience affect our relationship with Him?
These questions are not obstacles to the Christian faith. They are questions Scripture itself anticipates and answers. The purpose of this chapter is not to ignore the tension but to resolve it by allowing Scripture to explain itself.
Before we can understand God's promises, however, we must first understand the very thing God asks of mankind, to have faith.
What Is Faith?
The word "faith" is used constantly within Christianity, yet it is often misunderstood. Some perceive faith to be wishful thinking. Others treat it as blind optimism or positive thinking. Still others suppose faith means believing something without evidence. The Bible describes none of these. Scripture actually provides a working definition of faith. The book of Hebrews opens its great chapter on faith with these words:
"Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen." (Hebrews 11:1)
This is grounded conviction, not wishful thinking. Biblical hope is not the uncertain hope expressed when someone says, "I hope everything works out." Biblical hope is confidence placed in something God has promised.
Faith rests upon the character of the One making the promise. It looks beyond present circumstances because it trusts the God who has already proven Himself faithful.
For that reason, biblical faith is never presented as blind belief. Biblical faith always has an object. Its object is God Himself. Its confidence rests not in human ability, but in God's character, God's power, and God's faithfulness to accomplish what He has promised.
The remainder of Hebrews 11 illustrates this truth through the lives of ordinary men and women. Remarkably, the chapter says very little about their failures. It does not pretend they were morally perfect. Many of them were not. Instead, Hebrews highlights the one characteristic they shared. They trusted God.
Consider Enoch.
The writer tells us:
"By faith Enoch was taken up so that he should not see death, and he was not found, because God had taken him. Now before he was taken he was commended as having pleased God. And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him." (Hebrews 11:5–6)
Notice how relational this language is. The writer does not merely say that Enoch believed certain facts about God, nor does it tie his “pleasing God” to any works he performed. He speaks of drawing near to God. He speaks of believing that God exists. He speaks of trusting that God rewards those who sincerely seek Him.
Faith, according to this verse, goes beyond just accepting informational claims. It is confidence placed in the God who reveals Himself. Again, it is relational.
Next comes Noah.
"By faith Noah, being warned by God concerning events as yet unseen, in reverent fear constructed an ark for the saving of his household. By this he condemned the world and became an heir of the righteousness that comes by faith." (Hebrews 11:7)
Noah had never witnessed the flood God described. By some account, he had never seen rain (but that is another discussion). He had no previous human experience upon which to base his decision. He acted because he trusted the One who spoke. His obedience did not create his faith. His obedience revealed the reality of his trust.
The writer then turns to Abraham.
"By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place that he was to receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going. By faith he went to live in the land of promise, as in a foreign land, living in tents with Isaac and Jacob, heirs with him of the same promise. For he was looking forward to the city that has foundations, whose designer and builder is God."
(Hebrews 11:8–10)
Abraham did not possess every answer before he left. He did not know every detail of God's plan. He simply believed the God who had called him. That trust shaped the direction of his life.
It is important to notice what Hebrews emphasizes, and what it does not.
The chapter does not dwell upon Abraham's failures. It does not mention his deception concerning Sarah, claiming her to be his sister to avoid harm. It does not mention Hagar. It does not mention his moments of fear or uncertainty. Those events are recorded elsewhere in Scripture because they are part of Abraham's story, and they teach us important lessons about God's patience and faithfulness.
But Hebrews focuses our attention elsewhere. The defining characteristic of Abraham's life was not perfection. It was faith.
The same is true throughout the chapter. Again and again, Scripture points beyond the imperfections of these men and women to the God in whom they trusted.
Their confidence was not ultimately placed in themselves. It was placed in God.
But we are not done with Abraham. Not by a long shot. If we want to understand how God relates to mankind through promise rather than performance, scripture (especially through Paul) keeps pointing back to Abraham.
God's Covenant with Abraham
The life of Abraham occupies a unique place within Scripture. He is not merely one faithful believer among many. God, through many authors, repeatedly directs us to consider Abraham, because his life establishes a pattern that reaches throughout the rest of the Bible. Long before the Law was given through Moses, long before the sacrificial system was established, and long before Christ came into the world, God revealed how He would relate to mankind.
The pattern begins not with Abraham's accomplishments, but with God's initiative.
God called Abraham out of his homeland. God promised to make him into a great nation. God promised to bless him. God promised that through him all the families of the earth would be blessed. At every step, the promises originated with God.
Years passed, however, and the promised heir had still not come. It was through this heir that God's promises to Abraham and his descendants would begin to unfold. Abraham and Sarah grew older. Humanly speaking, the situation became increasingly impossible. It is in this setting that one of the most remarkable events in all of Scripture takes place.
Genesis 15 records God's covenant with Abraham. The Lord instructed Abraham to bring several animals, divide the larger animals in half, and lay the pieces opposite one another. Abraham obeyed, preparing everything exactly as God had commanded.
As evening approached, a deep sleep fell upon him, and a dreadful darkness came over him. Then God revealed both the future suffering and eventual deliverance of Abraham's descendants.
Finally, the covenant itself was established. Genesis records the event this way:
"When the sun had gone down and it was dark, behold, a smoking fire pot and a flaming torch passed between these pieces. On that day the Lord made a covenant with Abram, saying, 'To your offspring I give this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the river Euphrates...'" (Genesis 15:17–18)
To modern readers, this ceremony may seem unusual, but to those living in the ancient Near East, its symbolism would have been unmistakable. When two parties entered into a covenant of this kind, the one who walked between the divided animals was, in effect, declaring "May what has happened to these animals happen to me if I fail to keep the covenant I am making." The person walking between the pieces accepted both the obligation of the covenant and the penalty for breaking it.
The remarkable feature of Genesis 15 is not the ceremony itself. It is who walks between the pieces. Abraham does not. In fact, Abraham is asleep. God alone passes between the sacrifices. The symbolism is profound. God assumes the responsibility for fulfilling the covenant. God binds Himself to the promise. God accepts the obligation. Abraham contributes nothing to securing the covenant itself. His role is not to guarantee God's promise. His role is to believe the One who made it.
Earlier in the chapter, Scripture records one of the most foundational statements in the entire Bible:
"And he believed the Lord, and He counted it to him as righteousness."
(Genesis 15:6)
The order is critically important. Abraham is not declared righteous because he earned God's favor. He is not declared righteous because he kept a law that had not yet been given. He is not declared righteous because he performed religious rituals. He is not declared righteous because of circumcision, for circumcision would not be instituted until later. He is declared righteous because he believed God.
This is the pattern that Scripture will repeatedly return to.
- God makes the promise.
- God guarantees the promise.
- God commits Himself to fulfilling the promise.
- Mankind responds in faith.
It is difficult to overstate the importance of this pattern because it reveals something far greater than the story of Abraham alone. Throughout Scripture, God never asks mankind to become the provider of his own redemption. He does not ask fallen humanity to devise a solution to the problem it created. Instead, He consistently reveals Himself as the One who provides what mankind cannot provide for itself.
This pattern began in Eden when God clothed Adam and Eve after their sin.
It continued through His covenant with Abraham. It was illustrated through the sacrificial system. Ultimately, it would reach its fulfillment in Jesus Christ.
Each step points to the same reality. God provides. Mankind receives. That does not make faith insignificant. On the contrary, faith is the very response God desires because faith acknowledges reality. Faith recognizes that God IS the Provider and mankind IS the recipient.
Faith relinquishes the illusion of self-sufficiency. Faith abandons the belief that mankind can rescue itself. Faith says to God, "I believe You. I trust what You have promised. I will depend upon You rather than upon myself."
This is why Abraham occupies such a central place in both the Old and New Testaments. His story is not merely ancient history. It establishes the pattern by which God has always related to those who seek Him.
Romans 4: How Righteousness Is Received
Having established the covenant God made with Abraham, the Apostle Paul now explains why that covenant is so important. His purpose is not merely to recount Israel's history. He is answering one of the most important questions a human being can ask. How can a sinful person be declared righteous before a holy God?
Paul does not begin by looking to the Law given to the Israelites through Moses. He does not point to religious rituals, moral improvement, or human effort. Instead, he returns to Abraham because Abraham lived before the Law was given and before circumcision became the sign of God's covenant people. If Abraham was declared righteous by faith, then the principle must be larger than either the Law or circumcision.
Paul begins Romans 4 by asking what Abraham gained according to the flesh, referring to the works of his hand. He immediately answers that if Abraham had been justified by works, he would have had reason to boast - but not before God. Instead, Paul points back to Genesis 15:6, reminding his readers that Abraham believed God, and his faith was counted to him as righteousness (Romans 4:1–8).
Paul then introduces an illustration that cuts to the heart of the matter.
“Now to the one who works, his wages are not counted as a gift but as his due.”
(Romans 4:4)
When a person works for wages, the payment received is not a gift. It is an obligation. The employer owes the worker what has been earned.
If righteousness could be earned in the same way, God would become indebted to mankind.
Scripture rejects that idea completely. The Creator is never indebted to His creation. Everything mankind possesses has already been given by God. Life itself, every ability, every opportunity, every breath, and every blessing originate with Him. There is nothing that man can place into God's hands that did not first come from God Himself. For this reason, salvation cannot be treated as compensation for services rendered. It must remain an act of God's grace.
Paul therefore contrasts two entirely different approaches. One person trusts in personal achievement. The other entrusts himself to God, who justifies the ungodly. The first attempts to establish his own righteousness. The second receives the righteousness that God freely credits through faith.
The difference is not merely theological. It is foundational. One approach makes mankind the provider. The other recognizes that God alone provides what mankind cannot.
The irony runs even deeper. Humanity is not attempting to solve a problem that someone else created. Humanity created the problem. Sin entered the world through mankind's rebellion against God. If righteousness could be earned through works, the offender would not only create the offense but would also receive the credit for correcting it.
That would not be redemption. It would be self-justification.
Scripture never presents salvation in those terms. From beginning to end, God remains both the One who identifies the problem and the One who provides the solution. Mankind contributes neither the sacrifice nor the righteousness required to stand before a holy God. Those things belong to God alone.
Paul now draws out the theological significance of something we have already observed. He asks whether Abraham was declared righteous before circumcision or after. He wants to make sure no one misunderstands the significance of faith. The answer is unmistakable. It was before. Circumcision therefore did not add anything to Abraham's righteousness. Rather, it served as the outward sign of a righteousness he had already received through faith.
This is precisely why Abraham can rightly be called the father of all who believe. His relationship with God was not founded upon Jewish identity, religious ritual, or obedience to the Mosaic Law. It was founded upon faith in God's promise.
Paul then returns to the promise itself. Against every human expectation, Abraham believed that God would accomplish what He had said. His own body had grown old.
Sarah's womb remained barren. Everything visible argued against the promise. Yet Abraham's confidence rested, not upon circumstances, but upon the God who had spoken.
Paul summarizes Abraham's faith by explaining that he "did not waver through unbelief" but grew strong in faith as he gave glory to God, being fully convinced that God was able to do what He had promised (Romans 4:20–21).
That final statement captures the biblical meaning of faith. Faith is not confidence that everything will work out according to our desires. Faith is confidence that God is faithful to accomplish what He has promised.
Abraham's confidence rested in God's character, not in favorable circumstances. His faith was therefore counted to him as righteousness.
Paul continues, showing that the pattern by which Abraham was declared righteous is the very same pattern by which God declares every believer righteous. He writes:
"But the words 'it was counted to him' were not written for his sake alone, but for ours also. It will be counted to us who believe in him who raised from the dead Jesus our Lord, who was delivered up for our trespasses and raised for our justification."
(Romans 4:23–25)
Paul's point is unmistakable. Abraham's justification was never intended to stand as an isolated event in redemptive history. It establishes the pattern by which God declares righteous all who believe in Him. Abraham trusted God's promises as they had been revealed to him. We trust those same promises as they have now been fulfilled and revealed in Jesus Christ. The revelation has become clearer, but the pattern has never changed. God provides. Mankind responds in faith.
This truth prepares us for an important question that naturally follows.
If righteousness has always been received through faith rather than earned through works, why did God give the Law at all?
That question brings us to the next step in Paul's argument and helps us understand the true purpose of the Law within God's plan of redemption.
Why the Law Exists, If Not to Earn Righteousness
Approximately 430 years after God established His covenant with Abraham, He gave the Law through Moses to the nation of Israel. The Law established commandments and ordinances that governed every aspect of Israel's covenant life and worship. It also prescribed rituals and sacrifices through which the people approached God, worshiped Him, and sought atonement when they sinned.
Yet one truth had not changed. Long before the Law was given, Abraham had already been declared righteous by faith. If righteousness had already been received through faith before the Law existed, then the Law could not have been given as a new means of earning righteousness.
That raises an important question. If the Law was never intended to make mankind righteous before God, why did God give it?
Many people assume that God gave the Law so mankind could earn His acceptance through obedience. In this view, God's acceptance depends upon a person's ability to keep His commandments. Yet this understanding immediately creates a problem. If Abraham was declared righteous centuries before the Law was given, then righteousness cannot ultimately depend upon the Law. Scripture itself forces us to look for another explanation.
Again, in his letter to the Romans, Paul directly contrasts the promise received through faith with the righteousness people might attempt to obtain through the Law:
“For the promise to Abraham and his offspring that he would be heir of the world did not come through the law but through the righteousness of faith. For if it is the adherents of the law who are to be the heirs, faith is null and the promise is void.” (Romans 4:13–14)
Paul’s reasoning is decisive. God’s promise to Abraham did not depend upon Abraham’s obedience to the Law. It could not have, because the Law would not be given until centuries later. The promise rested upon God’s grace and was received through faith.
If inheritance depended upon keeping the Law, Paul explains, faith would become meaningless and the promise would be emptied of its significance. A promise rests upon the faithfulness of the one who makes it. Wages, by contrast, depend upon the performance of the one who earns them. God’s covenant with Abraham was a promise to be believed, not a wage to be earned.
Paul then makes an observation that often surprises readers:
“For the law brings wrath, but where there is no law there is no transgression.” (Romans 4:15)
At first glance, this statement may seem confusing. Does Paul mean there was no sin before the Law? The answer is clearly no. Scripture repeatedly demonstrates that sin existed long before Moses. Genesis records the corruption of mankind before the flood:
“The Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.” (Genesis 6:5)
God judged the world because of its wickedness. There could be no judgment without sin. Paul likewise writes that “sin indeed was in the world before the law was given” (Romans 5:13). Sin already existed. Death already reigned. Humanity was already separated from God.
The Law therefore did not create sin. Rather, it revealed God's righteous standard with unmistakable clarity, so that sin became transgression, defining transgression as the violation of a known command.
This does not mean that people before Moses were morally innocent. Scripture teaches that God had already revealed Himself through creation and that mankind possessed a conscience that testified to His moral standard. But once God explicitly revealed His commandments through the Law, mankind could no longer deny, suppress, or plead ignorance of His revealed standard.
Paul develops this point further in Romans 3. He explains that whatever the Law says, it speaks so “every mouth may be stopped, and the whole world may be held accountable to God.” The purpose of the Law is not to provide a means of self-justification but to remove every excuse. No one can stand before God and claim that he has fully met God's perfect standard.
He then makes one of the clearest statements in all of Scripture:
“For by works of the law no human being will be justified in his sight, since through the law comes knowledge of sin.” (Romans 3:20)
The Law reveals. The Law exposes. The Law convicts. But the Law does not justify. The Law drew the line clearly. It identified what God required. It exposed where mankind had fallen short.
Imagine visiting a physician because you suspect something is seriously wrong. After a thorough examination, the doctor orders several tests. The results come back, and the diagnosis confirms exactly what you feared. The diagnosis is accurate. It is necessary. Without it, you would not understand the seriousness of your condition. But the diagnosis itself does not heal you. No one thanks an X-ray for repairing a broken bone. No one praises a blood test for curing disease. The test reveals the problem. The physician must provide the remedy.
The Law functions in much the same way. It reveals the true condition of the human heart. It strips away self-deception. It exposes sin for what it truly is. But it possesses no power to remove the guilt it reveals. Paul speaks personally about this in Romans 7. He explains that he would not have understood the true nature of coveting unless the Law had said, "You shall not covet." The commandment exposed something that already existed within him. Rather than creating sin, the Law revealed sin's presence and demonstrated its power.
This explains why the Law is such a gift. It tells the truth. It refuses to flatter us. It does not allow us to redefine righteousness according to our own standards. Instead, it confronts us with God's standard.
Yet even this is not the deepest purpose of the Law. When Jesus began His public ministry, many assumed He had come to replace the Law with something entirely different. Instead, He declared,
“Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.” (Matthew 5:17)
Jesus did not lower God's standard. He revealed its true depth. To demonstrate this, Jesus took commandments His listeners already knew and showed that God's concern extended far beyond outward compliance. He began with murder:
“You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not murder; and whoever murders will be liable to judgment.’ But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment...” (Matthew 5:21–22)
Jesus then applied the same principle to adultery:
“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart.” (Matthew 5:27–28)
Jesus was not suggesting that murder and adultery were the only commandments that mattered. He was using them to expose something much deeper about the Law itself. A person might look only at his outward behavior and conclude that he had obeyed because he had never physically murdered someone or committed the physical act of adultery. Jesus directed attention beneath the outward act to the condition of the heart from which that act proceeds.
Anger and murder are not identical acts, nor are lust and adultery identical acts. But Jesus demonstrated that God's standard of righteousness cannot be reduced to outward behavior. The same corrupted heart from which murder can proceed is already revealed in unrighteous anger, and the same corrupted desire that can produce adultery is already present in lust.
The problem, therefore, was never merely what mankind did. The problem was what existed within mankind.
Sin did not begin with the hands. It began within the heart. Jesus makes this unmistakably clear in Mark 7:
“For from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, coveting, wickedness, deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride, foolishness. All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person.” (Mark 7:21–23)
This is the turning point. The Law cannot solve the problem because the problem lies deeper than behavior. If sin were merely a matter of external actions, additional rules might eventually correct it. But Scripture reveals that sinful actions are symptoms of a sinful heart.
Changing behavior without changing the heart cannot reconcile mankind to God.
The Law therefore performs an essential role. It reveals God's holiness. It exposes mankind's sinfulness. It removes every excuse. It demonstrates humanity's inability to save itself. And in doing so, it points beyond itself to the only One who can accomplish what the Law was never designed to do.
- The Law diagnoses. Christ heals.
- The Law reveals the need. Christ provides the remedy.
- The Law points to righteousness. Christ is our righteousness.
Far from competing with one another, the Law and the Gospel work together within God's plan of redemption. The Law prepares mankind to recognize its need.
The Gospel reveals that God has already provided the answer.
Having established that righteousness is received through faith and that the Law exposes rather than removes sin, one final question remains. If salvation is received by faith apart from works, why does James insist that faith without works is dead? At first glance, Paul and James appear to disagree. A closer reading reveals that they are answering two entirely different questions.
James and Paul: Resolving the Apparent Contradiction
Few passages have generated more confusion among Christians than the relationship between the writings of Paul and James.
As we have already seen, Paul repeatedly teaches that a person is declared righteous through faith apart from works. However, James, at first glance, almost seems to contradict Paul. James begins by asking a question that introduces the issue he intends to address:
"What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him?" (James 2:14)
Notice carefully what James asks. He does not ask whether faith saves. Nor does he ask how a sinner is declared righteous before God. Instead, he asks whether the kind of faith a person merely claims to possess is capable of saving. From the very beginning, James directs our attention to the difference between a profession of faith and the possession of genuine faith. He continues:
"But someone will say, 'You have faith and I have works.' Show me your faith apart from your works, and I will show you my faith by my works. You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe - and shudder!" (James 2:18–19)
James now develops his argument. Genuine faith cannot be seen directly, but it reveals itself through the life of the one who possesses it. Simply agreeing with true statements about God is not enough. Even the demons possess correct knowledge about God, yet they remain in open rebellion against Him. James is therefore distinguishing between intellectual agreement and the kind of trust that produces a transformed life.
To illustrate his point, James turns to the very same man Paul used as his primary example:
"Do you want to be shown, you foolish person, that faith apart from works is useless? Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered up his son Isaac on the altar? You see that faith was active along with his works, and faith was completed by his works; and the Scripture was fulfilled that says, 'Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness' - and he was called a friend of God." (James 2:20–23)
The timing is crucial. Paul points to Genesis 15, when Abraham first believed God and was counted righteous long before circumcision and centuries before the Law. James points to Genesis 22, many years later, when Abraham offered Isaac on the altar. James is not describing how Abraham became righteous before God. He is describing how the faith Abraham already possessed became visible through his obedience. As James himself explains, Abraham's faith "was active along with his works," and "faith was completed by his works.” James concludes:
"You see that a person is justified by works and not by faith alone." (James 2:24)
Read in isolation, this statement appears to stand in direct opposition to Paul's teaching. Read in its context, however, James's point becomes much clearer. Paul answers the question, "How is a sinner declared righteous before God?" James answers the question, "What does genuine saving faith look like?"
The two apostles therefore stand shoulder to shoulder. Paul answers the courtroom. James answers the living room. Paul explains how God declares a sinner righteous before Himself. James explains how that same faith becomes visible in the everyday life of the believer.
Bringing the Image and Faith Together
The harmony between Paul and James also helps us understand the larger picture that has been developing throughout these first two chapters.
In the previous chapter, we examined what it means to be made in the image of God and identified four ways that image is expressed in our lives: relationship, worship, reflection, and stewardship. Now that we understand how Paul's teaching on faith and James's teaching on works complement one another, we can see how those teachings directly correspond to each of these four realities.
Faith is the doorway through which our relationship with God begins. As Paul explains, we are declared righteous not by our works, but by trusting the promises and provision of God.
That relationship naturally gives rise to worship as we increasingly acknowledge God's rightful authority and willingly submit ourselves to Him. Faith is no longer merely the means by which the relationship begins; it becomes the posture by which the relationship is lived.
As that relationship matures, our lives begin to reflect God's character. We become increasingly conformed to the One in whom we have placed our trust. Here we begin to see the early hints of what James is describing. Although our character is still being shaped, genuine faith is already beginning to manifest itself in the way we think, speak, and live.
Finally, that transformed life becomes visible through faithful stewardship. Here we find the primary emphasis of James's teaching. Genuine faith does not remain hidden. It naturally expresses itself through the faithful use of the life, abilities, opportunities, and resources God has entrusted to us.
Yet all four of these expressions of God's image are inseparably bound to the relationship God Himself established with mankind. That relationship is defined by Him, not by us.
Throughout this chapter we have seen the same pattern repeated again and again: God makes the promises. God accomplishes the work. God provides what mankind cannot provide for himself. Mankind's responsibility is to trust the One who made those promises.
As we conclude this chapter, one truth stands above all the others. The Bible is not the story of mankind striving upward toward God. It is the story of God reaching downward toward mankind. From beginning to end, God takes the initiative. He makes the promises, establishes the covenant, provides the sacrifice, accomplishes the work, and faithfully keeps every promise He has made. Mankind is invited to respond, not by earning what God provides, but by trusting the One who provides it.
That pattern has never changed. It was true of Abraham. It remained true under the Law. It reached its fullest expression when Christ gave Himself upon the cross, and it remains true today.
Faith, therefore, is not merely the means by which God declares a person righteous. It is the beginning of the relationship God has always desired to have with mankind.
In Chapter 1, I briefly introduced the idea that the relationship God desires with mankind is an honest relationship—one in which mankind's love, trust, worship, and devotion are sincere and authentic rather than compelled. I intentionally reserved that discussion for this point in the book because the passages of Scripture addressing this subject deserve careful and thoughtful examination. The importance of this subject, together with the care required to interpret it faithfully, demanded a chapter of its own. We are now prepared to examine more carefully what is meant by an honest relationship and why it is so central to God's purpose in creating mankind.