Romans 4:10
How then was it accounted? While he was circumcised, or uncircumcised? Not while circumcised, but while uncircumcised.
Truth to Learn
Obedience to God is the result of faith, not the cause of it.
Behind the Words
“While he was circumcised, or uncircumcised?” could more literally be translated as “Being in circumcision or uncircumcision?”
Meaning Explained
Remember Paul’s question? “Is the blessedness of God, who does not impute sin, something that only those who keep the law can experience, or is it something that those who don’t keep the Law but simply believe in God’s promise can obtain?”
He now asks another rhetorical question with a potentially startling answer. “When was the righteousness imputed to Abraham? Was it imputed to him while he was circumcised or was it before he was circumcised?”
Do you see why this is such an important question? If Abraham was declared righteous after he obeyed God by circumcising himself and his household, then it can be argued that he was declared righteous as a result of being obedient, that is, by works of righteousness. But… if Abraham was declared righteous before he was obedient, then his circumcision had nothing to do with his being declared righteous. That’s why Paul asks, “Was this crediting of righteousness to Abraham done while he was circumcised or uncircumcised?” Let’s look and see. In Genesis fifteen God declared Abraham (then called Abram) righteous. He was about 84 years old at the time:
And he believed in the LORD, and He accounted it to him for righteousness. (Genesis 15: 6)
Then in Genesis chapter seventeen Abraham was circumcised:
Abraham was ninety-nine years old when he was circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin. (Genesis 17:24)
The answer is that Abraham was declared righteous about thirteen years before he was circumcised. He was declared righteous as a result of faith, not as a result of obedience! He didn’t earn it; it was freely given to him.
Likewise, we are saved by faith and by faith alone. It has nothing to do with any act or deed on our part. We don’t have to obey any laws or rules or set of standards to be saved. In fact, we don’t do anything ourselves. We simply believe God’s promise! That’s what Paul meant in Ephesians 2:8, 9 when he said,
For by grace you are saved through faith, and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.
Obedience comes after salvation as a result of our freedom; it is not the cause of our salvation or our freedom!
Application
If you believe that you’re a Christian because you belong to a church and have gone through their “process,” then you may not be saved. However, if you believe that you are a sinner and that Jesus Christ, the Son of God, died on the cross to pay for your sins, then you definitely are saved.
In God’s service, for His glory,
Copyright © 2010 Will Krause. All rights reserved.
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