A Gracious Covenant

God graciously speaks to Abram in a vision, in which he reaffirms his promise to bless and protect his servant. While Abram struggles to understand the means God will use to bring about such promises, he continues to confidently trust in the Lord's word—and by that trust he receives a right standing before God. Abram thus becomes the chief example of justification through faith. Abram's faith is firmly established on the gracious character of God, who makes a covenant with him in order to confirm his faithfulness. Though the cultural particulars of the covenant ceremony may be foreign to us, the grace of it all belongs to everyone who shares the faith of Abram—it's exactly what we receive in Christ, as we embrace and live by faith in the gracious, covenant-keeping God of Abraham.