ROMANS 4
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. – Romans 4:9-12
ROMANS 4 WALK IN THE STEPS OF FAITH
A poem by ILMA inspired by these verses
When God chose Abraham, he was also equipped with faith
This is what made him walk in the steps of God’s call
He didn’t doubt what God asked him to do, he acted on it
To believe in God means to follow the lead of God’s Spirit.
The apostle Paul emphasizes in this letter that faith preceded circumcision in Abraham’s life. The belief and obedience that Abraham exhibited made him righteous. It was his faith that made him the father of all nations. He acted on his faith by following the call of God to leave the place of his birth and go wherever he was told to go. In this act of obedience and following the instruction of God, he sampled to all humanity the exercise of true faith. Faith is not just believing and not acting on that belief. God grants those who believe in him the ability to take those steps of faith that he will instruct them to take.
After Abraham took the step of faith, he was declared the father of faith and the father of all nations. As a result of this faith, he was acknowledged as righteous. So, God made a covenant with Abraham and instructed him to be circumcised which seals that agreement. This will set God’s elect to be set apart from the rest of the world. It clearly manifested God’s faithful promise to Abraham: he was to become the father of all nations and he will have countless offspring.
REFLECTION
- How is following the steps of faith an essential process in a believer’s life?
