The LORD promised all the families of the world would be blessed through One of Abram’s descendants. (Gen 12.3) Even though he was old (75 at the time) and it was difficult to believe this, Abram trusted God’s promise. He was “justified”—declared “righteous” by God—by faith. (Rom 4.1-8, 13-17) Centuries later, when John the Baptist was still baptizing, Jesus told a Pharisee named Nicodemas something that was hard to believe: you must be reborn through God’s washing. (John 3.1-17) Faith trusts this Word of God in the water, the Word that calls us to daily wash away our sins through repentance and live an eternal life through the crucified and risen Jesus Christ.