Faith is What Counts

 DEVOTION

THE LETTER TO THE ROMANS

FAITH IS WHAT COUNTS

Rom 4:9-12

9 Is this blessedness only for the circumcised, or also for the uncircumcised? We have been saying that Abraham's faith was credited to him as righteousness. 10 Under what circumstances was it credited? Was it after he was circumcised, or before? It was not after, but before! 11 And he received the sign of circumcision, a seal of the righteousness that he had by faith while he was still uncircumcised. So then, he is the father of all who believe but have not been circumcised, in order that righteousness might be credited to them. 12 And he is also the father of the circumcised who not only are circumcised but who also walk in the footsteps of the faith that our father Abraham had before he was circumcised.

NIV

It is certain that the Jews, who received the covenant of circumcision, are not the only descendants of Abraham. Although it has been customary from a medical point of view, that most boys were circumcised in this post-modern age within our country. This is not a mandate, so it is possible many male infants did not receive a circumcision. Either way, because we are not of Jewish lineage, although they are some of us who live in this country are, we are mostly considered Gentiles. However, because we have faith in Jesus Christ whether we have been circumcised or not, we are still sons of Abraham and therefore our faith is credited to us as righteousness. This seems to be a little different than referring to Jesus as our righteousness, although in essence that is still true. However, Abraham did not have Jesus to have faith in as he believed God, and his faith was credited to him as righteousness. This could lead us to think that as long as we believe God, then our faith in God, our believing in God is all that is needed to be credited as righteousness. Still, what is it that we believe God about? First, that he is God, the creator of all that is created, however, it is God the Father, who sent Jesus at the appointed time to redeem all of mankind and so believing God means we need to accept Jesus as our redeemer, our savior, and our Lord. Therefore, in that sense, it is our believing God that he credits to us as righteousness. We walk in the footsteps of the faith that our father Abraham had before he was circumcised. However, this also requires that we walk in faith, rather than in work. Yes, our faith will produce works, that is a natural outpouring of our believing God. However, it does not matter the amount or the quality of our works that count toward righteousness, but only the fact that we believe God is what counts.