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The Example of Abraham

¹So what can we say about Abrahama, the father of our people? What did he learn about faith? ²If Abraham was made right by the things he did, he had a reason to boast about himself. But God knew different. ³That's why the Scripturesb say, "Abraham believed God, and because of this he was accepted as one who is right with God."c
⁴When people work, their pay is not given to them as a gift. They earn the pay they get. ⁵But people cannot do any work that will make them right with God. So they must trust in him. Then he accepts their faith, and that makes them right with him. He is the one who makes even evil people right. ⁶Davidd said the same thing when he was talking about the blessing people have when God accepts them as good without looking at what they have done:

⁷"It is a great blessing when people are forgiven for the wrongs they have done, when their sins are erased!
⁸It is a great blessing when the Lord accepts people as if they are without sin!"e

⁹Is this blessing only for those who are circumcisedf? Or is it also for those who are not circumcised? We have already said that it was because of Abraham's faith that he was accepted as one who is right with God. ¹⁰So how did this happen? Did God accept Abraham before or after he was circumcised? God accepted him before his circumcision. ¹¹Abraham was circumcised later to show that God accepted him. His circumcision was proof that he was right with God through faith before he was circumcised. So Abraham is the father of all those who believe but are not circumcised. They believe and are accepted as people who are right with God. ¹²And Abraham is also the father of those who have been circumcised. But it is not their circumcision that makes him their father. He is their father only if they live following the faith that our father Abraham had before he was circumcised.

God’s Promise Received Through Faith ¹³Abrahama and his descendants received the promise that they would get the whole world. But Abrahama did not receive that promise because he followed the law. He received that promise because he was right with God through his faith. ¹⁴If people could get God's promise by following the lawg, then faith is worthless. And God's promise to Abraham is worthless, ¹⁵because the law can only bring God's anger on those who disobey it. But if there is no law, then there is nothing to disobey.
¹⁶So people get what God promised by having faith. This happens so that the promise can be a free gift. And if the promise is a free gift, then all of Abraham's people will get that promise. The promise is not just for those who live under the Law of Mosesh. It is for all who live with faith as Abraham did. He is the father of us all. ¹⁷As the Scripturesb say, "I have made you a father of many nations."i This is true before God, the one Abraham believed - the God who gives life to the dead and speaks of things that don't yet exist as if they are real.
¹⁸There was no hope that Abraham would have children, but Abraham believed God and continued to hope. And that is why he became the father of many nations. As God told him, "You will have many descendants."j ¹⁹Abraham was almost a hundred years old, so he was past the age for having children. Also, Sarah could not have children. Abraham was well aware of this, but his faith in God never became weak. ²⁰He never doubted that God would do what he promised. He never stopped believing. In fact, he grew stronger in his faith and just praised God. ²¹Abraham felt sure that God was able to do what he promised. ²²So that's why "he was accepted as one who is right with God."k ²³These words ("he was accepted") were written not only for Abraham. ²⁴They were also written for us. God will also accept us because we believe. We believe in the one who raised Jesus our Lord from death. ²⁵Jesus was handed over to die for our sins, and he was raised from death to make us right with God.

^aAbraham The most respected ancestor of the Jewish people. Through him God promised to make a great nation and bless all the people of the earth. Read Gen. 12:1-3.
^bScripture Part of the Scriptures or “Holy Writings” - the Old Testament.
^c4:3 Quote from Gen. 15:6.
^dDavid Israel’s greatest king, who ruled about 1000 years before Christ. Besides being a great military and political leader, he was a deeply spiritual man and a gifted musician, who wrote many of the Psalms. He made plans and arrangements for the building of the first Temple in Jerusalem (“the city of David”), which was actually completed by his son Solomon. The Scriptures said that a descendant of David would be God’s chosen messiah (king), who would establish an eternal kingdom. For that reason, Jesus is sometimes called “the Son of David.”
^ePsalm 32:1-2
^fcircumcise, circumcision Cutting off the foreskin of the male sex organ. This was done to every Jewish baby boy as a mark of the agreement God made with Abraham. Read Gen. 17:9-14. Sometimes “circumcision” is used with “heart” in the figurative sense of true devotion to God. (See Jer. 9:26; Rom. 2:28.) In the New Testament “circumcision” is also used in a spiritual sense to refer to the changed life of believers who have come to share in the new agreement God gave his people through Jesus. (See Php. 3:3; Col. 2:11.)
^glaw This usually refers to God’s law as it is represented in the Mosaic Law, the rules he gave to the Israelites through Moses (See Ex. 34:29-32). Sometimes it may mean the principle of law rather than a specific law or set of laws.
^hMoses One of the most important leaders of the Israelites during the time of the Old Testament. God used him to give the people his law, which is often called “the Law of Moses.”
ⁱ4:17 Quote from Gen. 17:5.
^j4:18 Quote from Gen. 15:5.
^k4:22 Quote from Gen. 15:6.