Romans 4:9-12

How then was it counted to him? Was it before or after he had been circumcised? It was not after, but before he was circumcised. He received the sign of circumcision as a seal of the righteousness that he had by faith while he was still uncircumcised. The purpose was to make him the father of all who believe without being circumcised, so that righteousness would be counted to them as well, and to make him the father of the circumcised who are not merely circumcised but who also walk in the footsteps of the faith that our father Abraham had before he was circumcised.

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Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:14

Hello, this is Dr. Bill Branks, author of Love the Word. Allow me to read our text for today, Romans 4, verses 10-12. How then was it counted to him? Was it before or after he had been circumcised? It was not after, but before he was circumcised. He received the sign of circumcision as a seal of the righteousness that he had by faith, while he was still uncircumcised. The purpose was to make him the father of all who believe without being circumcised, so that righteousness would be counted to them as well. And to make him the father of the circumcised who are not merely circumcised, but who also walk in the footsteps of the faith that our father Abraham had before he was circumcised. People who choose to join certain groups must make a deep, sometimes lifelong commitment or oath to that organization. Lawyers, doctors, military, police, sheriffs, and many others sacrifice much to serve in these roles. All of them need to swear and commit to standards of conduct for their chosen profession. It is an honor and a privilege for them, and they are eager to make public what they have committed. The oath itself does not make them what they have worked hard to achieve, nor does their public declaration. It is a voluntary declaration of their belief and alignment with their cause. Believers' baptism is similar. Baptism does not save us, but it is a public declaration of our new life in Christ. We have enthusiastically identified with Christ and now want the church to know it. Baptism is an act of obedience, but it is meaningless if you've not already been made righteous by trusting in Christ. Abraham took a similar step in declaring his allegiance. Paul continues to dismantle the Judaizer's idea that circumcision is necessary for salvation and righteousness. He reminds them that Abraham trusted in God and was then deemed righteous in his eyes. Although Abraham was faithful and obedient, he was not without sin, and at the time of his salvation, he was uncircumcised. Abraham afterward continued his obedience through circumcision. Verse 11 says, He received the sign of circumcision as a seal of the righteousness that he had by faith, while he was still uncircumcised. For Abraham to be accepted as the spiritual father of all Gentiles, he needed to be saved by faith. Verse 11 reads, The purpose was to make him the father of all who believe without being circumcised, so that righteousness would be counted to them as well. For Abraham to be accepted as the spiritual father of Jews, obedience through circumcision was necessary. Verse 12 reads, To make him the father of the circumcised who are not merely circumcised, but who also walk in the footsteps of the faith that our father Abraham had before he was circumcised. Paul clarifies that Abraham is a spiritual father to the Jews who were not only circumcised, but also had faith. In the early church there was much confusion, false teaching, half-truths, and erroneous, passionate declarations of what the correct path to forgiveness and eternal life. Through the entire Bible, the Old Testament and the New Testament both proclaim one simple truth. We are saved through faith alone, grace alone, and Christ alone. When I first began my doctoral dissertation, I jumped right in without any real preparation, typed out ten full pages, and sent them to the editor I hired. I was proud of my work, but by the time she was finished with it, none of it was acceptable. This was discouraging and humbling. I was desperate to find some value in all my labor, but it just wasn't good enough. As humans, we assume we are good enough for God. Most of us are pretty good by human standards. We can easily find something worthwhile, but we all fall far short of the purity and perfection God requires. The clear message of the gospel is we mustn't try to work to please God. Salvation is free and accessible to Jews and every people group on earth. With my dissertation, I was able to start over and do it right. I went back, restarted the paper, and eventually earned my doctorate. It was a true do-over. If anyone depends on their hard work to do good to earn Christ's righteousness and eternal life, they will be devastated to find that their good works are meaningless without true faith. Don't be found lacking on the day of judgment. Your prep time is now and the plan to salvation is free and clear. Believe and rejoice that Christ died for you. Yes, you.