Romans 4:9-12 (ESV)
Deuteronomy 32:47 “It is no empty word for you, but your very life.”
Matthew 4:4 “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God”
Romans 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.
9 Is this blessing then only for the circumcised, or also for the uncircumcised? For 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.
John 5:45-47 “Do not think that I will accuse you to the Father. There is one who accuses you: Moses, on whom you have set your hope. For if you believed Moses, you would believe me; for he wrote of me. But if you do not believe his writings, how will you believe my words?”
Summary Points
- Faith, separate from his own works, obedience, and actions is what justified Abraham
- Abraham is the father of believers, within and without the law
- We have nothing to boast about