Get the free app for more features and content.
Download on the App Store Get it on Google Play

The Example of Abraham

1What then are we to say was gained by Abraham, our ancestor according to the flesh? 2For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about, but not before God. 3For what does the scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness.” 4Now to one who works, wages are not reckoned as a gift but as something due. 5But to one who without works trusts him who justifies the ungodly, such faith is reckoned as righteousness. 6So also David speaks of the blessedness of those to whom God reckons righteousness apart from works:

7“Blessed are those whose iniquities are forgiven,

and whose sins are covered;

8blessed is the one against whom the Lord will not reckon sin.”

9Is this blessedness, then, pronounced only on the circumcised, or also on the uncircumcised? We say, “Faith was reckoned to Abraham as righteousness.” 10How then was it reckoned to him? Was it before or after he had been circumcised? It was not after, but before he was circumcised. 11He 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 ancestor of all who believe without being circumcised and who thus have righteousness reckoned to them, 12and likewise the ancestor of the circumcised who are not only circumcised but who also follow the example of the faith that our ancestor Abraham had before he was circumcised.

God’s Promise Realized through Faith

13For the promise that he would inherit the world did not come to Abraham or to his descendants through the law but through the righteousness of faith. 14If it is the adherents of the law who are to be the heirs, faith is null and the promise is void. 15For the law brings wrath; but where there is no law, neither is there violation.

16For this reason it depends on faith, in order that the promise may rest on grace and be guaranteed to all his descendants, not only to the adherents of the law but also to those who share the faith of Abraham (for he is the father of all of us, 17as it is written, “I have made you the father of many nations”)—in the presence of the God in whom he believed, who gives life to the dead and calls into existence the things that do not exist. 18Hoping against hope, he believed that he would become “the father of many nations,” according to what was said, “So numerous shall your descendants be.” 19He did not weaken in faith when he considered his own body, which was already as good as dead (for he was about a hundred years old), or when he considered the barrenness of Sarah’s womb. 20No distrust made him waver concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God, 21being fully convinced that God was able to do what he had promised. 22Therefore his faith “was reckoned to him as righteousness.” 23Now the words, “it was reckoned to him,” were written not for his sake alone, 24but for ours also. It will be reckoned to us who believe in him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead, 25who was handed over to death for our trespasses and was raised for our justification.

New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright © 1989 National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Click here to learn more.

Featured Resources

Book of Romans Summary: A Complete Animated Overview (Part 1)

Book of Romans Summary: A Complete Animated Ove...

Watch our overview video on Romans 1-4, which breaks down the literary design...

BibleProject

Does God change His mind? Is Open Theism true?

Does God change His mind? Is Open Theism true?

Watch more episodes of Honest Answers here: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?...

Southern Seminary

Systematic Theology Video Lectures, Chapter 36: Justification - Wayne A. Grudem

Systematic Theology Video Lectures, Chapter 36:...

Buy the video lectures: Amazon http://amzn.to/1QSXi6c Barnes & Noble http:/...

Zondervan

Introduction to Romans

Introduction to Romans

Dr. Tommy Givens introduces Romans, explaining how it calls us to live faithf...

Fuller Studio

Paul's Background (Full Lecture) | N.T. Wright

Paul's Background (Full Lecture) | N.T. Wright

Free lecture from "Paul: A Biography". https://ntwrightonline.wpengine.com/p...

N.T. Wright Online

New Testament Summary: A Complete Animated Overview

New Testament Summary: A Complete Animated Over...

Watch our overview video on the New Testament. This video breaks down the lit...

BibleProject

Beyond Romans: On Power

Beyond Romans: On Power

Dr. Tommy Givens talks about how the book of Romans addresses the power dynam...

Fuller Studio

New Testament Letters: Historical Context

New Testament Letters: Historical Context

In the New Testament, there are 21 letters or epistles written by early Chris...

BibleProject

New Testament Letters: Literary Context

New Testament Letters: Literary Context

In the New Testament, there are 21 letters written by early Christian leaders...

BibleProject

Explore Romans 4