Faith of Our Father

Paul has used the examples of two stalwarts from the Old Testament Scriptures—Abraham and David—to show that justification by faith alone is God’s one method of salvation for all people of all times and all places. No doubt Paul had used this argument many times in his apologetics efforts among Jews, and no doubt he had heard many objections to it. Today’s passage is designed to counter one such objection: Since Abraham and his descendants, including David, have been distinguished as the people of God by circumcision, how can Paul say that the blessedness of justification is available to everyone, circumcised and uncircumcised alike?

Paul’s answer is so devastatingly simple and logical it is impossible to refute. The apostle simply notes that righteousness was imputed to Abraham before he was circumcised. Therefore, his circumcision clearly played no role whatsoever in his justification. Rather, the circumcision came after his justification as a God-given sign and seal of the righteousness that had been credited to him. Dr. James M. Boice notes that a sign is “a visible object that points to something different from and greater than itself.” Circumcision pointed to God’s covenant with Abraham, a covenant that was based on the work of Christ. A seal is a symbol that validates something else, as a notary’s seal attests to the validity of a document. Boice writes that “after Abraham had believed God and God had imputed righteousness to him, God gave the seal of circumcision to validate what had happened.” Today, our sacraments of baptism and the Lord’s Supper function as signs and seals. Like circumcision for Abraham, they are important for us, powerful reminders and assurances of grace from our past. But they play no role in our justification.

Paul closes this passage with an amazing assertion: Abraham is the physical father of the circumcised (the Jews) and the spiritual father of all believers, whether circumcised or not. As Boice so eloquently puts it, Abraham is “the father of the justified.” The justified are those whose hearts, not just their bodies, are circumcised (Rom. 2:29). These are the true Jews, who place their faith in the work of Christ and trust not in their heritage or the circumcision of the flesh. Like Abraham, the righteousness of Christ is credited to their account.