WWUTT 1213 Righteousness Counted Before Works Not After? (Romans 4:9-12)

Righteousness Counted by Faith Before Circumcision

Just as righteousness was counted to Abraham by faith, so we also receive the righteousness of God the same way, by faith in Jesus Christ. And then we become spiritual children of Abraham when we understand the text.

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Here once again is Pastor Gabe.

Thank you, Becky. We continue with our study of the book of Romans 4, and I'm gonna begin reading where we left off yesterday. So starting in verse 9, and we'll go through verse 12. The apostle Paul wrote to the church in Rome.

Is this blessing then only for the circumcised or also for the uncircumcised? For we say that faith was counted to Abraham as righteousness. 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. 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.

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. Now, if that sounds a little bit confusing to you, that's okay.

That's why we're doing this study. So let's come back up to verse 9. Is this blessing? What blessing? Well, this is coming right off of the reference that Paul had just made from Psalm 32. Reading the first two verses of that Psalm, we have it here in Romans 4, 7, and 8.

Blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven and whose sins are covered. Blessed is the man against whom the Lord will not count his sin. So God doesn't count the sins of those who trust in him.

By faith, we are justified. This was the case with Abraham. It is the case with David. It is the case with anyone who is blessed by God. Blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven. God is the one who has done the work of atoning for our sins, of passing over former sins, demonstrating his love for us by giving his son to die for us, that whoever believes by faith, this gift of righteousness is imputed to us.

This was the case in the Old Testament, and it is the case even here on this side of the cross. It is by faith we receive the righteousness of God. That is the blessing of God. So then in verse 9, is this blessing then only for the circumcised or also for the uncircumcised?

Because up until now, our examples have been Abraham and David. Well, they're Hebrews. They're of the Hebrew people. They're of the ones who had received the covenant of circumcision. They had received the covenants that God had given specifically to his people, whom he had redeemed for himself, whom he had set apart for himself.

So is this only then for those who are of Abraham and of his line? Is it only of the circumcised, those who have kept the law since God had given it to Abraham? Is this gift of blessing only for the circumcised?

Or is it also for the uncircumcised, who would be the Gentiles? Anyone else who had not had the law and had not kept the law, even up to this point had not been keeping the law. So we have many Gentiles who are coming to faith, but they're not getting circumcised.

So is this righteousness from God only for those who are circumcised? Or is it also for those who are uncircumcised? Now, if you've been with us in the study all the way up to this point, and you know the answer to this question, this gift of righteousness is not only for the circumcised, but it is also for the uncircumcised.

That, of course, is where we're going with this argument that Paul is unfolding, but not taking anything for granted. You understand what we're referring to when we're talking about circumcision, right?

It's true that we have two different kinds of circumcision talked about in the Bible. There is a circumcision of the flesh, and there is a circumcision of the heart, which would also be a spiritual circumcision.

But the circumcision of the flesh is a type or a shadow of a circumcision that we truly need, and that is the circumcision of the heart. That is to be cut off from the world and to be united with Christ.

But the circumcision of the flesh is exactly what you know circumcision to be, right? It is the surgical removal of the foreskin from a man's penis. That's circumcision. I have to make sure that that is understood, so I'm not just taking for granted you know what we're talking about here.

Paul is referring specifically to the surgical circumcision here, the fleshly circumcision. There are times when we have made reference to a spiritual circumcision, for example, back in Romans 2, where it says in verses 28 and 29, for no one is a Jew who is merely one outwardly, nor is circumcision outward and physical, but a Jew is one inwardly, and circumcision is a matter of the heart, by the spirit, not by the letter.

So there's a reference to spiritual circumcision. What we're talking about here in Romans 4 is very specifically that physical circumcision, the exact sign and seal of the covenant that God had given to Abraham, the surgical removal of the foreskin.

So verse 9 again is this blessing, and we're talking about the blessing of justification by faith, or righteousness imputed by faith, is this blessing then only for the circumcised, those who are Jews who had kept the sign and seal of circumcision as it was given to Abraham?

Or is this gift, is this blessing of righteousness by faith also for the uncircumcised, or those who are Gentiles and had not received this law, nor had they kept this law? And even Gentiles now who had become Christians were not keeping the law of circumcision.

So are they saved? Are they receiving the righteousness of God, that which comes not by works, but by believing in the one who justifies the ungodly? For we say that faith was counted to Abraham as righteousness, that's the rest of verse 9.

Faith was counted to Abraham as righteousness. How then was it counted to him? Was it before or after he had been circumcised? Did he receive the righteousness of God before he was circumcised? So therefore it would not be by works, but by faith.

Or did he receive the gift of righteousness after he was circumcised? Therefore the righteousness would not be by faith, but by works. And we know the answer to this question, and Paul even answers it.

He doesn't leave this one up to be a question that he's presupposing his audience knows the answer to. He just lays it out. It was not after he was circumcised, but before he was circumcised, he received this gift of righteousness by faith and not by works.

Let's just look at it as we have it in Genesis. So on Monday, when we read in Romans 4, verse 3, for what does the scripture say? Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness. That was a direct quote from Genesis 15, verse 6.

And he believed the Lord, and God counted it to him as righteousness. Abraham believed, God granted him righteousness by faith, not by works. Where does the gift of circumcision come in? So this statement that Paul references in Romans 4 comes from Genesis 15, 6.

And he believed the Lord, and it was counted to him as righteousness. Where does the sign of the covenant of circumcision come in? The sign and seal of the covenant, which is circumcision, where is that given?

Chapter 17, okay? Where is it that we read that Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness? Genesis 15. Where is it that God gives him the sign and seal of the covenant with circumcision?

Chapter 17, two chapters later. So there is your page-by-page argument there that you can just kind of lay it out for yourself and see it with your own eyes, whether we are justified by faith or whether we are justified by works.

Abraham was given the righteousness of God two chapters before God gave him the work that would be the sign and seal of this righteousness that Abraham had been given. It was the sign of it, but it was not the cause of it.

God gave Abraham circumcision to show that he belonged to God, to do something outwardly to show that he belonged to God. But it was not what caused God to call Abraham friend. God did not call Abraham a friend because he was circumcised.

Abraham circumcised and God says, well, now we can be friends, right? We've got our secret handshake. That was probably a terrible comparison, but anyway, we've done our thing here and now we can be friends, right?

That's not how that worked. God called Abraham friend by his own grace and his own mercy, not because of anything Abraham did, but because God showed grace to Abraham. And it is the same for you and me.

God calls us friends because he is gracious to us and he has made the way for us to become friends of God. It is by faith in his son, Jesus, who died on the cross for our sins and rose again from the grave.

The blood that was shed on the cross for our sins is the sign and seal of our union with God. And the Holy Spirit becomes that sign and seal as well. But as you're talking about a covenant being ratified with blood, the blood that is shed that ratifies the covenant is the blood of Christ that was shed on the cross for our sins.

The apostle Paul talks about blood for a covenant in Galatians. And we find this in the book of Hebrews as well. Hebrews 9 .18, where it says, not even the first covenant was inaugurated without blood.

And then later on verse 20, this is the blood of the covenant that God has commanded for you. And in verse 22, without the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness of sins. So we've received this by the blood of Christ.

The sign and seal of the covenant for Abraham was circumcision. And of course, whenever we talk about this, it's icky, kind of squirmy. Maybe you didn't like my definition when I had to say the definition of circumcision out loud.

But why all this stuff with blood and what it's associated with, and it's just all kind of icky. Well, it's really because sin is icky and that's putting it lightly. God hates sin. Sin is gross. What it does to us is gross.

And so what is required for the forgiveness of sins is pretty unnerving. For we must understand, as it says in Romans 6 .23, the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ, our Lord.

Unless we want to understand what our sin does to us, what it means, what the wages of it are, then we cannot appreciate the beauty of this gift and what it is that God has given for us. I know it's uncomfortable to talk about sin.

It's uncomfortable to even talk about the cross, but we must, for you have to know what you've done so that you know what was needed for what you've done. What was needed was Christ to shed his blood on the cross for our sins.

That way you can, by faith, believe in Jesus and what he has done. You can grieve over your sin, desire never to do it, and you cling and long for instead for the holiness and the righteousness of God.

That is by faith. And God has given that righteousness to us by faith. All of that is beautiful. All of that is the gospel, but you can't behold it and you can't appreciate it if you do not know your sin.

And what your sin had done, what the consequences of your sin were, what God had to do to forgive you of your sin, you can't understand any of this without understanding what we had done against God. And so all of that is very gross.

It's a disgusting conversation. I get it. It makes us uncomfortable. But think of the offense that you've done against God. Maybe you don't want to talk about circumcision. Maybe you don't even want to talk about the cross of Christ, but think about how God doesn't even want to talk about your sin.

As it says in Habakkuk 1 .13, God's eyes are so holy, he can't even look at sin. You've done far more offense to God than this conversation that we're having here about circumcision. If it offends you, you've done far worse in your sin against the holy high King of heaven.

And so we do have to have an understanding of our sin, our offense against God, to really recognize his mercy toward us, his grace, his love that is demonstrated in the cross of Christ. We receive the righteousness of God by faith.

Abraham received the righteousness of God by faith. And the sign and seal of that covenant that God made with Abraham came after Abraham's faith. So it is the same with you and I, we believe in Christ and it is credited to us as righteousness.

But then we're going to do something that symbolizes or demonstrates that faith that we have. Now, the first thing that we're going to do that symbolizes that faith is we're going to get baptized. Now, having said that, of course, you know that there is the covenant argument that exists that baptism is the new circumcision, but that's not the case.

Baptism is baptism and circumcision is circumcision. I've never taken the position that baptism is circumcision redefined because we still have to be circumcised. So it's not like circumcision is just stopped.

You still have to have a circumcision of the heart, the spiritual circumcision that cuts you off from the world and unites you with Christ. So it's not that baptism is the new circumcision. You still have to be circumcised.

It's just not a circumcision of your flesh, but it is a circumcision of the heart. Baptism in the meantime is a cleansing. It is being washed and it is a resurrection. We are buried with Christ in our sins.

That is what's symbolized by our going under the water when we're baptized and we are risen again to new life. Baptism and circumcision existed at the same time in the Old Testament. So it's not that baptism becomes the new circumcision.

Whenever a Gentile became a Jew, they had to be baptized. When John the Baptist showed up, he was doing a baptism for Jews. Now this thing that had only been for Gentiles, even the Jews have to do because they had to wash themselves.

They had to cleanse themselves in preparation for the Messiah who was coming. And now when we're baptized, we're baptized with Christ. It's not the baptism of John. It's the baptism of Jesus, but we're also circumcised.

So again, go back to the Old Testament. The baptism was for Gentiles. The circumcision was for Jews. If a Gentile became a Jew, then he also became circumcised. Then you go to the New Testament. Baptism then became for Jews also.

Gentiles still had to be circumcised, but it was a circumcision of the heart. So you see how both of these things have existed in both Testaments. Baptism is not the new circumcision. Circumcision is circumcision.

Baptism is baptism. Okay, so there you go. The blood of the covenant for us is the blood that was shed by Christ on the cross. The seal is the Holy Spirit. And we're gonna demonstrate that we have the Holy Spirit of God in us when we do the works that the Holy Spirit brings about in us.

What we refer to as the fruit of the Spirit. When you go to Galatians chapter five, I hope I'm not rabbit trailing too much here. How much time do I got? I'm at 18 minutes. But you know, it's here in Galatians five where we have the fruit of the Spirit.

Galatians 5 .22, but the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Against such things there is no law. And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and its desires.

If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking one another and envying one another. Keeping in step with the Spirit. All of these things that we read here that are the fruit of the Spirit, they're things you do.

So we're going to demonstrate that we have been transformed in Christ, that we do have His Spirit by the things we do. But those things we do are not what makes us righteous. They are a demonstration of the righteousness that we have by faith, okay?

So it's not what we do that gives us righteousness. It is believing in Christ who gives us righteousness. And then we are justified, just as Abraham was. Justified by faith and not by works. So I'm going to pick up Romans 4 .11.

I can't remember where I deviated off from there, but he received the sign of circumcision as a seal of the righteousness that he had by faith while he was still uncircumcised. The righteousness that he had by faith while he was uncircumcised.

So it's not by works that we receive this righteousness. The works are the demonstration of the righteousness. By faith we receive the righteousness of God. 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.

That's in reference to us. We who believe, we receive the righteousness of God. Not by circumcision, but by faith. Verse 12, and to make him. Now here's where we shift from Abraham being a forefather in the flesh to a forefather in the spirit.

Verse 12, 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. Now, does it make sense?

Might've been confusing at the very beginning, but hopefully it makes sense to you now. Galatians chapter three, verse seven. And I referenced this to you on Monday. Know then that it is those of faith who are the sons of Abraham.

And the scripture foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preach the gospel beforehand to Abraham saying, in you shall all the nations be blessed. So then those who are of faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith.

And then very last verse in Galatians three, verse 29. And if you are Christ's, then you are Abraham's offspring, heirs according to promise. Amen. All right, I made it. I made it to the 21 minute mark.

Let's conclude with prayer. Heavenly father, we thank you for your goodness and your grace and may we walk in it today. We demonstrate the righteousness of God that is in our hearts, exercising that fruit of the spirit.

We are loving. We are joyful. We are peaceful. We're kind to one another. We show the goodness of God in our lives. We're patient with each other. We're faithful to our God. We exercise self-control.

Help us to walk in the spirit today for it is by faith in your son, Jesus, we receive the righteousness of God. May we show that righteousness and give glory to our father who is in heaven. It's in Jesus name we pray.

Amen.

You've been listening to When We Understand the Text with Pastor Gabe Hughes. Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, Gabe will be going through a New Testament study. Then on Thursday, we look at an Old Testament book.

On Friday, we take questions from the listeners and viewers. Tomorrow, we'll pick up on an Old Testament study When We Understand the Text.