Galatians 3:6

Even as Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned unto him for righteousness.

By the introduction of this great truth, Paul refuted the notion that the Law of Moses had had anything to do with the salvation of Abraham. Since Abraham was justified, or reckoned righteous in God's sight, without regard to the Law of Moses, Abraham being the ancestor of every Jew on earth, why should any of his remote descendants, much less the Gentile Galatians, think to gain anything at all from it? The argument is profound and beautiful.

Abraham believed God ... Abraham's faith, not his faith only but his obedient faith, was the basis of God's reckoning him to be righteous. Of course, Abraham did not obey perfectly; but the whole compass of his life was lived out in a frame of obedience to God's commands. The ridiculous postulations of the "faith only" advocates to the effect that, since Abraham was justified without obeying the Law of Moses (which never even existed until centuries after Abraham) and without circumcision (which also came long after God's justification of him), therefore he was justified by "faith only" and without any obedience whatever, is just as illogical as it is ridiculous. The New Testament plainly reveals the time of God's justifying Abraham in such places as the following:

Was not Abraham our father justified by works, when he had offered Isaac his son upon the altar? (James 2:21 KJV).

Was not Abraham our father justified by works, in that he offered up Isaac his son upon the altar? (James 2:21 English Revised Version (1885)).

Despite the obvious attempt to soften this in the English Revised Version (1885) (to accommodate a theory?), the meaning shines through anyway; for it was not Abraham's "mere faith" which resulted in justification, but justification was "by works." It did not occur as soon as Abraham believed, but "in that he offered" Isaac. Both the Emphatic Diaglott and the Nestle Greek retain the "when."

And if these references should be thought of as insufficient, go back to Genesis. It is revealed that God "did test" Abraham's faith (Genesis 22:1). There were many tests; but the great one was the command to offer up Isaac; and Abraham did so. He actually offered him and would have slain his son had not God interposed. And upon that occasion, God said:

Now I know that thou fearest God, seeing that thou hast not withheld thy son, thine only son from me (Genesis 22:12).

By such a declaration, God implied that until then, the issue of Abraham's faith had not been settled. When Abraham met the test, God said, "Now I know."

Now the absurdity of supposing that today God saves people without any test whatever of their faith, and merely upon their supposition that they have had some kind of subjective experience of "faith," is clearly evident. Exactly the same kind of divinely imposed test of every man's faith in Christ was announced by none other than the Christ himself who declared, "He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved" (Mark 16:15,16); furthermore, in that passage, Jesus gave that as his own personal definition of the gospel. Let people scream about it if they will, the truth shines in the word of God; and may God protect all of us from the stupidity of the Galatians in turning away from it.

"Works" as advocated in the New Testament as entering into Abraham's justification should not be understood in the sense of any perfect obedience by Abraham to everything God commanded, for he palmed off his wife as his sister, and was doubtless guilty of other sins; but, in the all-important matter of meeting the final test of doing what God commanded instead of obeying his own human will, Abraham passed the test. Among Christians, it may be supposed, perfect obedience is not considered to be possible; but in basic tests such as complying with the divinely imposed preconditions of redemption, such tests must be passed by those who hope to enter eternal life. Also, Christians will not merit, earn, or deserve salvation any more than did Abraham.