In 1 Maccabees 2:50-60, some "heroes of faith" and their good works are extolled:
Now, my children, show zeal for the law, and give your lives for the covenant of our ancestors. "Remember the deeds of the ancestors, which they did in their generations; and you will receive great honor and an everlasting name. Was not Abraham found faithful when tested, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness? Joseph in the time of his distress kept the commandment, and became lord of Egypt. Phinehas our ancestor, because he was deeply zealous, received the covenant of everlasting priesthood. Joshua, because he fulfilled the command, became a judge in Israel. Caleb, because he testified in the assembly, received an inheritance in the land. David, because he was merciful, inherited the throne of the kingdom forever. Elijah, because of great zeal for the law, was taken up into heaven. Hananiah, Azariah, and Mishael believed and were saved from the flame. Daniel, because of his innocence, was delivered from the mouth of the lions. (NRSV, emphasis added)
What stands out the most for me in this passage is (1) how, speaking of Abraham, we read his good deed and faithfulness in Gen 22 (not 15:6!) was “reckoned to him as righteousness” (ἐλογίσθη αὐτῷ εἰς δικαιοσύνην) and (2) the extolling of Phinehas (cf. Num 25; Psa 106:30-31).
Some may object that 1 Maccabees is not a volume that belongs to the Bible. While that is true, such ignores the fact that such volumes are of historical importance, being intertestamental literature and giving us insights into how the Jews of the time understood the Abraham narrative in Genesis, etc (cf. D&C 91). Furthermore, even if one rejects the decision of the fourth session of the Council of Trent (8th April 1546) that decreed that 1 Maccabees and the other “free-standing” volumes of the Apocrypha (Deutero-Canon) are truly canonical, one can demonstrate, using only the proto-canonical volumes, that the authors of such understood Abraham’s and Phineas’ good works that are praised in 1 Maccabees 2 as being meritorious and played a role in their justification, not sanctification merely. For more, see, for e.g.:
