“It was not through law that Abraham and his offspring received the promise that he would be heir of the world, but through the righteousness that comes by faith” (Romans 4:13)

Paul stresses that nothing Abraham did is what earned him this promise from God that the world would be blessed through him (Gen. 12:2-3).

It’s also important to remember that the “law” Paul refers to was given to Moses 430 years after Abraham. Therefore, this promise had to come by another way.

Paul goes on to say in the next verses that it’s a good thing the promise came by faith, otherwise if those who lived by the law are heirs, then the promise is worthless! (Rom. 4:14) Because the law only unleashed God’s wrath on mankind (Rom. 4:15), not His blessing.

“And he is also the father of the circumcised who not only are circumcised but who also walk in the footsteps of the faith that our father Abraham had before he was circumcised.” (Romans 4:12)

Growing up in the Church, I’ve heard a lot of testimonies over the years. It’s easy to celebrate the depth of God’s grace when we witness the transformation of a person steeped in addiction, sin, or recovering from abuse and trauma, or just living his or her own way far from God. However, sometimes we don’t fully celebrate the faithfulness of the many people who have followed God all of their lives—and that’s a disconnect.

Paul just made a marvelous statement that Abraham is the father of everyone who is uncircumcised (or living outside of the promise God made to Abraham and the Jewish nation) but who still have the faith of Abraham. He explained that they, too, are credited with righteousness (Rom. 4:11).

"And he received the sign of circumcision, a seal of the righteousness that he had by faith while he was still uncircumcised. So then, he is the father of all who believe but have not been circumcised, in order that righteousness might be credited to them" (Romans 4:11)

When I was in my early twenties, I occasionally traveled to other states to help train cooks and servers when new Perkins restaurants were opening. I’d be gone for a couple weeks at a time. After one trip, my boyfriend surprised me with a beautiful diamond engagement ring. We had been talking marriage, and I knew it was coming, but this was one of the best homecomings I’d had ever had. A little over a year later, we were married and the rest…well, as they say, is history.

My ring and the millions of rings floating around the world are a symbol of the amazing covenant of marriage. It is not uncommon during a wedding ceremony for an explanation of the ring to be given. Wearing a ring doesn’t make you married; instead, marriage is willingly entering into a covenant relationship with another person. The ring is simply the token of the exchange that takes place.

The Bible tells us that Jesus is the very image of the invisible God. If we want to know what God is like, we look at Jesus. The Creator of the world became a human baby so that we would not be afraid to to approach him, to know him, to learn from him and to worship him. When Jesus came, He came fully God and fully man, but this is such a hard, hard idea for us to grasp. This is tension we see lived out in Jesus’ life, and it is a tension we have to hold on to as we relate to Jesus. As fully human, he knows our weaknesses, he understands our temptations, so he is approachable. As fully God, he is sovereign over his own birth, his own life, and his own death, as well as over the manner in which he had to cover our sin and shame with his own life.

*Juli taught this sermon at Orchard Hill Church on December 10, 2017.

"Is this blessedness only for the circumcised, or also for the uncircumcised? We have been saying that Abraham's faith was credited to him as righteousness. Under what circumstances was it credited? Was it after he was circumcised, or before? It was not after, but before!" (Romans 4:9-10)

In the 10th grade, I sat with two friends at lunch every day and we argued about baptism. We all had different viewpoints and because of it, different agendas. It seems so silly now. Absolutely nothing was accomplished during those mealtimes, except our ability to talk over each other.

Thinking back, I wonder why this debate was so important to us. I imagine it stemmed from a similar debate Paul was heading off in these verses—when exactly is righteousness obtained?

The Jews, to whom circumcision was a big deal, were staking their claim in it. It was so ingrained in their culture and in their spiritual practices that it became synonymous with being righteous (or acceptable) before God.

However, Paul had already dropped a mind-blowing statement in chapter 2 saying that this by no means makes a person a true Jew, as circumcision is merely an outward and physical sign and true circumcision is of the heart done by the Spirit of God (Rom. 2:28-29).

Knowing this, here’s the next question Paul raises: When was Abraham justified? Was it before he was circumcised or after?

"David says the same thing when he speaks of the blessedness of the man to whom God credits righteousness apart from works: "Blessed are they whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered. Blessed is the man whose sin the Lord will never count against him" (Romans 4:6-8)

Can you imagine King David shaking your hand? He’d see you from across the room only to make a beeline straight to you in order to congratulate you. Sounds weird, right? This is King David we’re talking about, a symbol of the glory of Israel.

And yet, in the Psalms, King David saw a glimpse of what was coming through the Messiah, the time we now live in and called us blessed. The Amplified Bible puts it this way:

“Thus David congratulates the man and pronounces a blessing on him to whom God credits righteousness apart from the works he does:

Blessed and happy and to be envied are those whose iniquities are forgiven and whose sins are covered up and completely buried.

Blessed and happy and to be envied is the person of whose sin the Lord will take no account nor reckon it against him.” (Rom. 4:6-8 AMP)

King David saw this through the eyes of faith and said these people should be congratulated because they are extremely blessed.

What did he see?