Righteousness from works vs faith
- Therefore, what will we say that Abraham has discovered? (Who is our father according to the flesh.)
- For if Abraham was made righteous by works, he has a reason to boast (but not to God).
- For what does the scripture say: “And Abraham believed God and that was credited to him as righteousness.”
- Now, to the man working, his wage isn’t credited as grace but as what’s owed.
- But to the man not working, but believing on the One making the ungodly righteous, his faith is credited as righteousness,
- Just as David also speaks of how blessed is the man for whom God credits righteousness apart from works:
- “Blessed are the men whose lawless deeds were forgiven, and whose sins were covered;
- “blessed is the man to whom the Lord definitely won’t take into account his sin.”
- Then, is this blessing only on the circumcision, or also on the uncircumcision? (For we say faith was credited to Abraham as righteousness.)
- Then how was it credited? While being in circumcision or in uncircumcision? Not while in circumcision, but while in uncircumcision.
- And he received the sign of circumcision as a seal of the righteousness of the faith he had while in uncircumcision, for him to be the father of all the men believing while in uncircumcision, for it to be credited to them as righteousness also.
- And the father of circumcision isn’t only father to the men of circumcision, but also to the men walking in the footsteps of the faith of our father Abraham while in uncircumcision.
Through faith, not law
- For the promise for him to be an heir of the world wasn’t given to Abraham or his seed through the law, but through the righteousness of faith.
- For if the men of the law are heirs, faith has been made void and the promise has been nullified.
- For the law brings about wrath; but where there’s no law, there’s no deliberate sin either.
- Therefore, it’s from faith so that it’s by grace, for all the seed to be certain of the promise; not only to the seed of the law, but also to the seed of Abraham’s faith, who is the father of us all.
- Just as it is *written: “I have established you as a father of many nations.” He believed before God, the One giving life to the dead and calling the things not existing like things that do exist.
- With hope against hope, Abraham believed the promise for him to become the father of many nations, according to what has been spoken: “So will your seed be.”
- And not having been weak in faith, he considered his own body as [already] *dying (being about one hundred years old) and the deadness of Sarah’s womb.
- But he didn’t doubt the promise of God in unbelief, but was strengthened by faith; having given glory to God
- and having been fully convinced that what God has promised, He is also able to do.
- And therefore: “It was credited to him as righteousness.”
- Yet it wasn’t written that “it was credited to him” because of him alone,
- but also because of us (to whom it’s about to be credited); to the men believing on the One who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead,
- who was handed over because of our missteps, and was raised for the sake of us being made righteous.