While advocating the common Protestant view that Abraham was justified once-for-all at Genesis 15:6, Beeke and Smalley (correctly) note that the author of Hebrews believes Abraham (and his wife, Sarah) had "saving faith" at Gen 12(!):
Faith makes people into children of Abraham and Sarah,
who lived as “strangers and pilgrims on the earth” so that they might gain the
city of God (Heb. 11:13-16). (Joel R. Beeke and Paul M. Smalley, Reformed Systematic
Theology, 4 vols. [Wheaton, Ill.: Crossway, 2021], 3:506)
In the Old Testament, faith and assurance are often bound
together. At the call of God, Abraham set out “by faith” from Ur of the
Chaldees in search of an unknown country (Heb. 11:8). From this point in his
pilgrimage, his faith grew in both depth of conviction and breadth of vision
until he became “strong in faith, giving glory to God; and being fully
persuaded that, what [God] had promised, he was able to perform” (Rom. 4:20-21).
The idea of faith as resting or relying on the Lord is found throughout the
entire Old Testament. (Ibid., 769)
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