Is this blessedness only for the circumcised, or also
for the uncircumcised? We have been saying that Abraham’s faith was credited to
him as righteousness. Under what circumstances was it credited? Was it after he
was circumcised, or before? It was not after, but before! And he received the sign of circumcision, a
seal of the righteousness that he had by faith while he was still uncircumcised.
So then, he is the father of all who believe but have not been circumcised, in
order that righteousness might be credited to them. And he is also the father
of the circumcised who not only are circumcised but who also walk in the footsteps
of the faith that our father Abraham had before he was circumcised. It was not
through law that Abraham and his offspring received the promise that he would
be heir of the world, but through the righteousness that comes by faith.
(Romans 4:9-13)
Is the blessedness of forgiveness
available only to those who keep the law? It could be argued that David
followed the legal requirements for the forgiveness of sins. He presented the
proper sacrifices. If that’s the case, what hope do Gentiles (AKA the
uncircumcised) have? To answer that, Paul returns to Abraham. Abraham was
credited with righteousness before he was circumcised, and about five hundred
years before the Law was given to Moses. And yet, Abraham was blessed, and all
the nations were blessed through him.
It is as we walk in Abraham’s
footsteps that we are blessed. That doesn’t always mean that we have to go live
as a stranger in a strange land, though I am preparing for my third winter of
doing just that. What it means is that we believe what God tells us, and obey
the instructions He gives. In that, He can and does bless.
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