Therefore, holy brothers, you who share in a heavenly calling, consider Jesus, the apostle and high priest of our confession, who was faithful to him who appointed him, just as Moses also was faithful in all God’s house. For Jesus has been counted worthy of more glory than Moses—as much more glory as the builder of a house has more honor than the house itself. (For every house is built by someone, but the builder of all things is God.) Now Moses was faithful in all God’s house as a servant, to testify to the things that were to be spoken later, but Christ is faithful over God’s house as a son. And we are his house if indeed we hold fast our confidence and our boasting in our hope. Therefore, as the Holy Spirit says,…

Do you think Protestant sermons would typically describe anyone as faithful just like Jesus was?  Notice the only contrast here is between the status of Moses and Jesus.  Nothing is said of the fact that Moses was a sinner and Jesus was sinless–though the author of Hebrews is a aware of that fact, 4.15).  It is as if it doesn’t matter.  Moses was still faithful like Jesus was.

And, of course, he was faithful by faith–by his trust in God:

By faith Moses, when he was born, was hidden for three months by his parents, because they saw that the child was beautiful, and they were not afraid of the king’s edict. By faith Moses, when he was grown up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter, choosing rather to be mistreated with the people of God than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin. He considered the reproach of Christ greater wealth than the treasures of Egypt, for he was looking to the reward. By faith he left Egypt, not being afraid of the anger of the king, for he endured as seeing him who is invisible. By faith he kept the Passover and sprinkled the blood, so that the Destroyer of the firstborn might not touch them.

I bring this up because of the strategy of Evangelical commentators on Romans to deal with Romans 4.5 by claiming that Paul disagreed with his Jewish opponents about Abraham’s moral character–while they thought Abraham had been faithful to God, Paul considered him to have been “ungodly.”

Could the author of Hebrews have agreed with this?  He said Moses was faithful by faith.  He describes Abraham’s behavior as no less faith-filled than Moses’:

By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place that he was to receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going. By faith he went to live in the land of promise, as in a foreign land, living in tents with Isaac and Jacob, heirs with him of the same promise. For he was looking forward to the city that has foundations, whose designer and builder is God. By faith Sarah herself received power to conceive, even when she was past the age, since she considered him faithful who had promised. Therefore from one man, and him as good as dead, were born descendants as many as the stars of heaven and as many as the innumerable grains of sand by the seashore.

These all died in faith, not having received the things promised, but having seen them and greeted them from afar, and having acknowledged that they were strangers and exiles on the earth. For people who speak thus make it clear that they are seeking a homeland. If they had been thinking of that land from which they had gone out, they would have had opportunity to return. But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared for them a city.

By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises was in the act of offering up his only son, of whom it was said, “Through Isaac shall your offspring be named.” He considered that God was able even to raise him from the dead, from which, figuratively speaking, he did receive him back.

Notice also how Abraham’s example is used as a model of faithfulness that we should imitate (see Hebrews 6).

So if Hebrews has no trouble calling Moses “faithful” and would have no problem saying the same of Abraham, would Paul disagree?

For Further Reading:

John Murray on Romans 4.5 and Abraham’s godliness

Gentile Abraham, David, and Phinehas

Do the works of Abraham the ungodly?