Romans 4:1-12

4:1 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? 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.(Romans 4:1-12)

Everybody has a standard. There are certain lines that you won’t cross, certain people that you won’t hang around. And I’m not just referring to the more “prickish” standards of our little tribes. For most of us hanging around a violent, wife-beating brute is not really optional, except maybe to protect others from him. Such standards are not at all considered intolerant and narrow. They are wise and informed standards. Paul in this text informs us of exactly how God draws the line. How He forms his standards. I gave the little intro to try and head off the possible objection that a God who has standards of who He will “hang out” with sounds, well, “prickish.” But standards are hardly wrong in themselves. In fact, they can be very wise and good. So how does God form his standards?

No boasting allowed. Paul comes up with a rather surprising answer. He makes his move toward the answer discussing a quality that we naturally despise, i.e. boasting. The sound of boasting is about as enjoyable as getting a cavity filled. So bragging before God is clearly off limits. But Paul says that if God sets his standard because of some good I do, then I have grounds to boast. I can brag about my goodness before the God who made me. Now Paul is using the “father” of the Jews, Abraham, as his example, because it was first through Abraham that God marked Israel for special blessing. Salvation, God said, would come to the world through Abe and his kin. And, of course, “marked” literally means marked, for the sign of this blessing was circumcision. Whatever you want to say about foreskin removal, you have to admit it demonstrates serious commitment to God. Nevertheless, Paul points out that Abraham is not considered to pass God’s standard (i.e.”righteous”) after undergoing the operation but before. His righteousness was not determined by the goodness of his act, albeit a radically devout act, and if it was then Abe could boast about his limp.

Getting the Funds. So how does God form his standards? Faith, says Paul, makes the standard. God counts a person righteous (i.e.meeting his standard) through faith. In defense of his point, Paul appeals to an Old Testament verse that says Abe’s faith was “counted to him as righteousness.” So you have a bank account in which you are totally and hopelessly in the red. How do you get the funds to get the account back in the black? And Paul’s answer is faith.

Faith is not the Funds. Let me say that again, faith is not the funds. It is only the way to the funds. If faith were the funds, then Paul would just be replacing one act of devotion (circumcision) with another (faith). So where do the funds come from? The answer is back in Romans 3:22 where Paul says that the righteousness of God (i.e. the necessary funds) are available to us through Jesus. Jesus accumulated the wealth through his life, death, and resurrection, and we can have his wealth deposited in our account by trusting in him. Therefore, the way to meet God’s standards like Abraham is not through radically devout acts of worship, but through the righteousness of Jesus that is credited to us through faith.