The most important verse In the Old Testament

Satan’s kingdom is built upon lies. There are two lies the devil tells about the Bible. The devil says, “Scripture is complicated. You cannot understand it. Unless you are a missionary or a seminary professor you cannot understand the Bible.” Wrong! If you can read the newspaper and understand it, you can read and understand the Bible.

Another lie is that the Bible is boring. The Bible is not boring! It is the most exciting Book in the world. In fact, it is living and powerful. The Bible has energy!

Many people do not understand the Bible. Many are intimidated by the Old Testament. What is the most important verse in the Old Testament? The most important verse in the Old Testament is Genesis 15:6. “Then he (Abraham) believed in the Lord and He (God) reckoned it to him as righteousness.”

This verse is so important it is quoted four times in the Bible. It is found in Galatians 3:6 and James 2:23 and again in Romans 4:3.

Genesis 15:6 is the first time that the word believe is found in the Bible. It is the first time that faith is linked to righteousness or being right with God. It is the first time where justification by faith is found in the Bible.

There are two key words in this verse. The first is the word believe. What did Abraham believe? Abraham believed a very basic form of the gospel. God made a covenant with Abraham. God told Abraham, “All the nations will be blessed in you” (Genesis 12:3).

Paul explains this further in Galatians 3:16. “Now the promises were spoken to Abraham and to his seed. He does not say, ‘And to seeds,’ as referring to many, but rather to one, ‘And to your seed,’ that is, Christ.” Abraham understood that his descendant would be the Messiah! Abraham responded to the truth he was given.

The second is the word credited. The apostle Paul preached an entire sermon on this verse in Romans chapter 4! Romans 4:3 says, “Abraham believed God and it was credited to him as righteousness.” Credited is a financial word. It is a bookkeeping term. It means “to put something in someone’s account.” In Romans 4 the word credited occurs 11 times!

Genesis 15:6 does not say, “Abraham worked very hard and lived an impressive life. God was impressed with his good works and therefore he went to heaven.” No. Salvation is by faith in the work of Christ upon the cross.

Jesus lived a perfect life. Theologians refer to this as the active obedience of Christ. For 33 or 34 years He never sinned. Jesus died a perfect death. The Father’s wrath for our sin was placed on Jesus. Theologians refer to this as the passive obedience of Christ.

When a person believes on Jesus His perfect righteousness is credited or put in someone else’s account. What happened in the life of Abraham can happen in your life! “Abraham believed God and it was reckoned to him as righteousness” (James 2:23).

Belief involves the mind. You must understand certain facts about Jesus and His perfect work. It also involves the emotion. We must mourn over our sin. Belief also involves action. Saving faith will change your life.

If you believe or trust in Jesus (His death, burial and resurrection for your sin) God will declare you to be righteous in His sight. This is known as justification.

The Bible is not complicated. The Old Testament is written to show that there is one path of salvation. It is through our Lord Jesus. We must believe God and God will declare us to be righteous!

Ethan Hansen is the pastor at Faith Bible Fellowship in Big Lake.