In the story of Abraham we can identify the following important themes which are developed in the Bible and which are relevant for modern Christian faith:

The idea of election, or being chosen by God to serve him, appears. In Abraham we do not find a perfect man but a man of his times, a polygamist, who had grown up in the traditions of his people. Abraham was acceptable to God as someone who could serve him because of his faith. Abraham's trusting response to the God who had chosen him, enabled God to use this man who, in other ways, was no different from the other people of his time. God took the initiative in beginning the work of salvation, to bring mankind back into fellowship with him, and this initiative is shown in the promises given by God to Abraham. In these promises the character of God is revealed. God's generosity and love are offered not only to Abraham but to his descendants.

In the covenant made with Abraham, God shows that he wants a personal relationship with mankind. Covenant religion is personal religion. For the Jew, circumcision was the outward sign of being one of the covenant people.

To be a Christian in the modern world is to acknowledge the reality of a personal relationship with God who has chosen us to serve him, not because we merit this but because he loves us. In faith, the Christian believes the promise of God given by Jesus Christ that he receives eternal life as God's loving gift. Christians are the people of the new covenant, sealed in the blood of Jesus Christ.

Abraham's call to enter into a new relationship with the God who had chosen him demanded a break with his past life, and this is paralleled in Christian experience. But Abraham continued to live with the people around him and to serve God in the place where he was, trusting God in a way that enabled God to use him in spite of his human weaknesses and limitations.