Justification by Faith Alone: An Old Testament Truth
Read: Romans 4:1-12
What then shall we say was gained by Abraham, our forefather according to the flesh? 2 For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about, but not before God. 3 For what does the Scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness.” 4 Now to the one who works, his wages are not counted as a gift but as his due. 5 And to the one who does not work but believes in him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted as righteousness, 6 just as David also speaks of the blessing of the one to whom God counts righteousness apart from works:
7 “Blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven,
and whose sins are covered;
8 blessed is the man against whom the Lord will not count his sin.”9 Is this blessing then only for the circumcised, or also for the uncircumcised? For we say that faith was counted to Abraham as righteousness. 10 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. 11 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, 12 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.
COREM DEO
“And the first place winner in the category of ‘Theological Statement with the Most Frequent Usage of Some Form of the Word Circumcised’ goes to…PAUL!”
I’ll sometimes have conversations with my daughter where she inserts the word like in places where it’s not necessarily needed, and, slowly but surely, I become distracted from what she’s actually saying and begin counting the number of times she says like. Tell me I’m not like the only one!
However, Paul’s repetition carries a significant impact on his Jewish audience of that day. Paul has spent the first three chapters of the book of Romans constructing the Biblical and theological framework that we are justified by faith alone. Jake did an excellent job unpacking it for us this past Sunday. This doctrine is one of the most important in the Christian faith and distinctively separates the Catholic and Protestant faiths. It was just as important for Paul’s Jewish contemporaries to understand. The Jews believed their status as God’s covenant people was foundational connected to their bloodline heritage to Abraham AND through the sign of that covenant: circumcision. To be one of God’s chosen people required circumcision.
Imagine attempting to re-enter the United States from a trip to the Middle East. You arrive at the customs counter and when they ask for your passport, the conversation goes something like this .
Customs Agent: Passport please.
You: Oh I don’t have a passport. I simply believe in the United States.
Customs Agent: You what?
You: I believe in the Red, White, and Blue! I’m a Yankee Doodle Dandy through and through. I don’t need any passport because my faith in the United States has made me a citizen!
Customs Agent: You’ve lost your mind “Yankee Doodle Dandy!” Hey Butch! Please escort Mr. Dandy to our holding room.
You see, we all want a sign showing to whom we’ve sworn our allegiance. The Jews saw circumcision as more than just the sign of the Abrahamic Covenant; they saw it as the doorway into the family of God. Paul has been telling them that the doorway to God is blocked to everyone because of sin. Everyone is guilty, and no one has entrance…except by faith alone. Faith alone in what? Paul will get to that in verses 24 and 25 next week. For now, let’s give thanks to God that justification by faith is not a new covenant idea, but rather it is the way God has saved us from our sin from the beginning. Faith alone.
