Romans 4:9-15

⁹ This blessing, then, is it upon the circumcised or also upon the uncircumcised? For we say, ‘Faith was reckoned to Abraham unto righteousness.’ ¹⁰ How, then, was it reckoned? While circumcised or uncircumcised? Not while circumcised but while uncircumcised. ¹¹ And he received the sign of circumcision [as] a seal of the righteousness of [his] faith [while] uncircumcised, so that he may be the father of all those believing through uncircumcision, so that righteousness may be reckoned to them, ¹² and father of circumcision to those not only of the circumcision but also following in the footsteps of the faith of our father Abraham while uncircumcised.

¹³ For the promise to Abraham or to his seed was not through the Law, [that is, the promise] for him to be heir of the world, but through the righteousness of faith. ¹⁴ For if the inheritors are from the Law, faith is rendered void and the promise nullified. ¹⁵ For the Law produces wrath; but where there is no Law, there is also no transgression.

We managed to cover a lot of ground yesterday in our study of Romans–at least for us! I’ll try to hit the highlights of the discussion below. Please feel free to ask questions or offer thoughts in the comments.

“Blessed is the man whose sin the Lord will not reckon,” Paul quoted at the end of verse 8. Is this blessing intended only for the circumcised or was it also for the uncircumcised? He is drawing attention to the issue of circumcision, which, as we saw before, was one of the main things the Jews relied upon for their justification. The sign of circumcision, given to Abraham in Genesis 17, marked the Jews off as God’s chosen people, and hence recipients of His special grace. Even the Jewish Christians seemed to be lording this over their Gentile brethren–and we know this was a cause of contention in the early days of the church, with Jewish Christians insisting Gentile believers become circumcised in order to be truly saved and truly of God’s people.

In this section (9-12), Paul’s points out that the promise given to Abraham by God–the same promise that provoked Abraham’s faith in God, which God credited to him as righteousness (Genesis 15:6)–was given to Abraham while he was yet uncircumcised. If Abraham believed in God, and God credited Abraham with righteousness on account of his faith before Abraham had received the sign of circumcision, how could circumcision have anything to do with Abraham’s righteousness? The Jewish Christians might have believed Abraham to be their father since he was the first recipient of the sign, but Paul says that because Abraham received righteousness while uncircumcised, that makes him the father of all–both circumcised and uncircumcised–as long as they share in Abraham’s faith. And he is the father not only of those who have been circumcised, but who also follow in the uncircumcised Abraham’s footsteps with regard to faith. Circumcision did not make Abraham righteous, but it was a sign and a seal of the faith he had while he was yet uncircumcised.

It would be tempting to try to pull this section into the circumcision-baptism debate between infant baptists and believer baptists. Certainly, arguments could be made from this text both defending infant baptism and rejecting infant baptism. However, I think a couple of cautionary points are in order. First, the circumcision-baptism connection is not discussed in this passage. Second, before getting into the debate, foundation work needs to be done on the meaning of circumcision and baptism, which again is beyond the scope of this passage. Finally, and most importantly, I think, Paul’s point here has absolutely nothing to do with baptism! He is simply making the argument that circumcision is irrelevant when it comes to one’s righteous standing before God. Paul is not addressing modern day Presbyterians and Baptists; he is addressing Jewish Christians who believed circumcision gave them credit with God and insisted Gentile believers should likewise be circumcised. If you want to use this passage as part of an argument for or against infant baptism, that’s fine. But that would then be part of a topical study on baptism, not an exegetical study of Romans.

Moving on, the other thing the Jews relied upon for their righteous standing before God, as noted earlier, was the Law. In the next section (13-15), Paul addresses this. The promise made to Abraham and his seed (see Genesis 12, 15, and 17) was not through the Law, that is, it was not a promise that would be attained by keeping the Law, but by faith. If those who inherit the promise do so on the basis of keeping the Law, then faith is voided, or emptied of meaning, and the promise is nullified, or abolished. In other words, if we can gain the promise of God by means of obedience to the Law, then the promise is no longer a promise, it’s something we have earned and therefore have a right to receive (recalling the discussion in 4:4-5), and faith is no longer necessary. We know we’ll get it because it’s our due. Another way to look at this verse is to say, if our receiving of the inheritance is based upon our keeping of the Law, then we’re sunk! We’ve already established that no-one can keep the Law, so our faith is pointless and the promise is of no value.

Verse 15 is a little tricky since it seems to be saying that only those who have the Law are guilty of breaking it; those that don’t have the Law (i.e., Gentiles) are not guilty of sin. To understand what Paul is saying here, we must remember the audience he is primarily addressing with this passage: Jewish Christians, those who believe that their possession of the Law gives them credit before God. Paul warns them that this is not the case–on the contrary, the Law actually pours wrath upon them. Why? Because they are not only guilty of sin (like everyone else), but since they have the Law, they know what the Law requires, and they know the Law came from God, and still they disobey it. While the Gentiles are guilty of sin by omission, the Jews are guilty of sin by commission. The key word in this verse is “transgression” (Greek: parabasis). This is literally a stepping over the line, or violating what you know you have been commanded to do (or not do). We are all guilty of sin, since the Ten Commandments, God’s Moral Law, are universal (we saw this in an earlier study) and no-one has kept them perfectly. So Jew or Gentile, all stand condemned before God. But the Jews received from God the revelation of these Commandments on stone, not just in their consciences. Further, they knew these Commandments were given by God. With that special knowledge, they should have been all the more anxious to obey them. Yet Moses had barely started descending the mountain when the Israelites had violated the first two! And they continued, like the rest of us, to transgress the laws God had given to them. For this reason, rather than God’s good pleasure, they are the recipients of God’s righteous wrath. So the Jewish Christians have nothing to boast in with regard to the Law.

It is interesting the way Paul summarizes God’s promise to Abraham in verse 13: that he would inherit “the world.” The land promises in Genesis were extensive, but not to the point of covering the whole earth. Perhaps Paul saw the spiritual intent in what God was promising Abraham, and that the promise of land and nations was only a foreshadowing of the many that would join his seed in Christ from every tongue, tribe, and nation.

Thought from the passage: Verse 15 should give every Christian a moment of humble pause. How blessed we are to have God’s Word, to know His commands, and all He has done for us. How often do we willfully sin, willfully choose to honor ourselves more than Him, and willfully desire things we shouldn’t? In Christ, our sins are indeed forgiven. Our righteousness is not based on our faithfulness but Christ’s. However, as Christians, it should grieve us when we transgress God’s commands. Our highest aim should be to please Him. Take a moment to pray that the Lord would give us all the strength we need to live for Him, to obey His commands, and follow His ways; and the grace we need to pick ourselves up and go on when we fail.