Abraham and Grace: Chosen, not Earned
Should Abraham be seen as a model of religious striving, or a recipient of God’s sovereign grace?
Abraham is one of the most important figures for Jews, Christians and Muslims. He is seen as the Father of the Faithful who trusted in God and developed a deep covenantal relationship with Him.
But how did Abraham come to that role? Was he already a righteous spiritual seeker whom God rewarded? Or was he an ordinary idolater sovereignly called by a gracious God? The answer carries profound implications for how we understand grace and salvation itself.
The Biblical Account: God Calls, Abraham Responds
In Genesis 12, the story begins abruptly: “Now the Lord said to Abram, ‘Go from your country…’” There is no backstory of Abram seeking out the true God or showing extraordinary piety. In fact, Joshua 24:2 says that Abram and his family “served other gods” in Ur.
God steps into the life of a pagan man, speaks a promise, and calls him to go. There are no preconditions. Just divine initiative and covenantal promise: “I will bless you… and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.”
In this manner, Abraham becomes a model of salvation by grace. God chooses Abram before Abram ever chooses God. When Abram was yet a sinner (Romans 5:8), God called him and justified him based on his response of faith, not on anything Abram had done to merit this grace.
Rewriting Abraham: From God’s Grace to Human Merit
Throughout history, people have often found it uncomfortable that Abraham’s story begins abruptly. They have tried to give Abraham a backstory that they felt befitting for a man of faith.
Jewish Midrashic sources recount stories of Abraham smashing idols in his father’s shop. The Qur’an describes Abraham as one who questioned the moon and stars in his quest for the true God. These stories reshape the Genesis account into something more palatable to merit-based religion: a hero who sought God and was rewarded.
The LDS Book of Abraham follows in this pattern. In it, Abraham is not a man called out of idolatry; he’s a righteous soul seeking more knowledge and priesthood authority. In Abraham 1:2, he says:
“I sought for the blessings of the fathers, and the right whereunto I should be ordained… having been myself a follower of righteousness.”
And long before his calling in Genesis 12, the Book of Abraham shows Abram being rescued by God because of his faith and his refusal to bow down to idols. Long before his call to leave Ur, Abram already has a vision of God, and even knows God as Jehovah (Abraham 1:15-16)
And when God calls Abram in a passage that parallels Genesis 12, Abram’s response is to focus on how diligently he has sought God: Now, after the Lord had withdrawn from speaking to me, and withdrawn his face from me, I said in my heart: Thy servant has sought thee earnestly; now I have found thee” (Abraham 2:12)
In this version, God’s call is not the surprising grace that pulls a sinner from idolatry but a response to Abraham’s pre-existing faith and spiritual hunger. It’s a narrative where God rewards obedience and aspiration—where the covenant comes as the result of faithfulness rather than causing it.
What’s at Stake? Grace vs. Earned Reward
This impulse to ‘upgrade’ Abraham’s righteousness reveals a human aversion to a grace that doesn’t need to justify itself.
When Abraham is portrayed as righteous before God calls him, the spotlight shifts from God’s sovereign grace to human moral readiness. This change turns the covenant from an act of divine election and mercy into a kind of spiritual achievement for seekers. It reinforces the idea that God helps those who help themselves and are already seeking him—a message far from the scandal of grace.
By contrast, the biblical account emphasizes that Abraham was not extraordinary—God’s call is. God didn’t call Abraham because he was worthy; he called him by grace and shaped him into a faithful man through his promise.
In other words, the Biblical story of Abraham presents the Gospel. As Paul put it, “Now the Scripture saw in advance that God would justify the Gentiles by faith and proclaimed the gospel ahead of time to Abraham, saying, ‘All the nations will be blessed through you.’” (Galatians 3:8).
Our great ancestor in the faith was not looking for God; God came for him. And so it is with us. Like Abraham, we are called out of darkness not because we were seeking the light, but because the Light of the world came to us. He graciously promised us eternal life and blessings beyond comprehension, not because we deserved it by our prior works, but because of his love. And “if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, heirs according to the promise.” (Galatians 3:29)
It’s no accident that Abraham wasn’t searching for God when he was called. That’s our story too.