Basics of Salvation
What is Abraham’s role in God’s promise of salvation?
God initially promised that there would be a seed (descendant) of the woman to defeat the serpent (Gen 3:15). As the story unfolds, we find that God chose Abram (Abraham) through which to carry out the promises. God calls Abram in Genesis 12 and tells him that from him would come a great nation that would inherit the special land, and through whose seed all the families of the earth would be blessed (Gen 12:1-7).
Carrying out this plan required that there be a special nation of people through which the promises could be fulfilled. This nation was later identified as Israel (Jacob and his sons), and after some time that people would come to Palestine (this was in the ancient world). But ultimately all of that was meant to finally bring about the promised descendant who would defeat the devil. This one is Jesus Christ.
Further, we find that this promise of the “seed” was essentially a promise of forgiveness. As the apostle Peter put it, “You are the sons of the prophets and of the covenant that God made with your fathers, saying to Abraham, ‘And in your offspring shall all the families of the earth be blessed.’ God, having raised up his servant, sent him to you first, to bless you by turning every one of you from your wickedness.” (Acts 3:25-26)
