The Word Made Fresh
1So, what can be said about Abraham, our flesh and blood ancestor? 2If Abraham was justified by his deeds, he would have something to brag about, but not to God. 3After all, the scriptures say, “Abraham believed God, and that was accredited to him as righteousness.”
4To the one who is employed, wages are not considered a gift, but rather something earned. 5But the one who has done nothing might still trust him who defends the sinner, and such faith is considered righteous. 6That is why David talks about the good fortune of those to whom God attributes righteousness apart from good deeds when he says,
7“Those whose sins are forgiven are blessed;
their mistakes are excused;
8and blessed are those of whose sins
the Lord will not keep records.”
9Is this state of blessedness available only to those who are circumcised, or is it available also to the uncircumcised? We say that Abraham’s faith was reckoned to him as righteousness. 10But how is that? Was it before he was circumcised, or after? It couldn’t have been after; it had to be before he was circumcised. 11He was circumcised as evidence that he was righteous beforehand; that he had faith while he was uncircumcised. The reason for this is that he is the ancestor of all those who believe without being circumcised, and therefore have faith attributed to them. 12So, Abraham is the ancestor not only of those who are circumcised, but also of those who follow the faith Abraham had before he was circumcised.
13The promise that he would inherit the world came to Abraham and his descendants not through the law, but rather through the righteousness of faith. 14If the heritage belongs only to those who adhere to the law, then faith is meaningless, and the promise is empty. 15Violating the law brings punishment, but without the law there can be no violation.
16Therefore, all depends on faith so that the promise of God rests on God’s grace, and is guaranteed to all of Abraham’s descendants – not only to those who follow the law, but also to those who share Abraham’s faith. After all, Abraham is the spiritual father of us all, 17for it is written of him, “I have made you the father of many nations,” and this in the presence of the God in whom he believed, the God who grants life to the dead and calls into being the things that don’t exist. 18Abraham hoped against hope that he would become “the father of many nations,” because it was said of him, “your descendants will be without number.” 19His faith was not weakened by his own body which was as good as dead because he was already a hundred years old. Nor was it weakened because Sarah hadn’t been able to bear children. 20Nothing made him distrust God’s promise, but his faith grew strong because he gave glory to God, 21completely convinced that God would do what God had promised. 22That is why his faith was “reckoned to him as righteousness.” 23Now, the promise that it was reckoned to him wasn’t given only to him, 24but to us also. It will be reckoned to all of us who believe in the One who raised our Lord Jesus from the dead, 25for he was handed over to death for our sins, and was raised for our own justification.
Commentary
1-8: Quoting Psalm 106:31, Paul moves on to Abraham, the one with whom the covenant of circumcision was made (see Genesis 17:10), as an example of someone who was justified by faith, not by works. Citing a couple of verses from one of David’s psalms (Psalm 32:1-2), he makes a strong case that God does indeed justify people because of their faith, not because they are blameless in keeping the law.
9-12: He argues further that God made the covenant of circumcision with Abraham because he was reckoned as righteous by God. He then asserts that Abraham is thus the spiritual father of all believers, circumcised and uncircumcised.
13-15: Follow closely, now: the promise of God to Abraham’s descendants (all of us who believe) is therefore not based on adherence to the law; it is based on righteousness by faith — what we call justification.
16-24: Paul continues to build on his “proof” that Abraham was justified by faith, not by adherence to the law (works), asserting that Abraham believed that he would be the “father of many nations” despite all the evidence to the contrary, thus proving his faith.
Takeaway
God does not exclude anyone from grace. We exclude ourselves when we live as if God doesn’t exist, or as if Christ didn’t overcome death, or as if the Holy Spirit is a figment of some people’s imaginations.