Romans Episode 12

Romans 4:8-9

(8) Blessed is the man to whom the Lord will not impute sin.

(9) Cometh this blessedness then upon the circumcision only, or upon the uncircumcision also? for we say that faith was reckoned to Abraham for righteousness.

Romans 4:9 AMP

(9) Is this blessing only for the circumcised, or also for the uncircumcised? For we say, "FAITH WAS CREDITED TO ABRAHAM AS RIGHTEOUSNESS."

Genesis 15:1:

After these things the word of the LORD came unto Abram in a vision, saying, Fear not, Abram: I am thy shield, and thy exceeding great reward.

Genesis 15:2:

And Abram said, Lord GOD, what wilt thou give me, seeing I go childless, and the steward of my house is this Eliezer of Damascus?

Genesis 15:3:

And Abram said, Behold, to me thou hast given no seed: and, lo, one born in my house is mine heir.

Genesis 15:4:

And, behold, the word of the LORD came unto him, saying, This shall not be thine heir; but he that shall come forth out of thine own bowels shall be thine heir.

Genesis 15:5:

And he brought him forth abroad, and said, Look now toward heaven, and tell the stars, if thou be able to number them: and he said unto him, So shall thy seed be.

Genesis 15:6:

And he believed in the LORD; and he counted it to him for righteousness.

But we don’t get circumcision until;

Genesis 17:9:

And God said unto Abraham, Thou shalt keep my covenant therefore, thou, and thy seed after thee in their generations.

Genesis 17:10:

This is my covenant, which ye shall keep, between me and you and thy seed after thee; Every man child among you shall be circumcised.

2 Chapters later!

Romans 4:10-11 

(10) How was it then reckoned? when he was in circumcision, or in uncircumcision? Not in circumcision, but in uncircumcision.

(11) And he received the sign of circumcision, a seal of the righteousness of the faith which he had yet being uncircumcised: that he might be the father of all them that believe, though they be not circumcised; that righteousness might be imputed unto them also:

Brother Bernard in the Message of Romans on page 107 says of verse 11; “His circumcision was a sign and a seal of the righteousness he had before circumcision. It did not convey (or bring to him) righteousness but attested to his righteousness. In this way, Abraham is the father of all who believe, even of those believers who are not circumcised. God’s plan it to extend salvation to all mankind on the principle of faith. Gentiles, therefore, can be justified by faith and receive imputed righteousness. Salvation comes to uncircumcised believers.”

Romans 4:12

(12) And the father of circumcision to them who are not of the circumcision only, but who also walk in the steps of that faith of our father Abraham, which he had being yet uncircumcised.

Matthew 3:7:

But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees come to his baptism, he said unto them, O generation of vipers, who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come?

Matthew 3:8:

Bring forth therefore fruits meet for repentance:

Matthew 3:9:

And think not to say within yourselves, We have Abraham to our father: for I say unto you, that God is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham.

Galatians 3:27-29

(27) For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ.

(28) There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus.

(29) And if ye be Christ's, then are ye Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise.

Ok, now let’s watch this, if ye be Christ’s then are ye Abraham’s seed; Psalms 22:30:

A seed shall serve him; it shall be accounted to the Lord for a generation.

Psalms 22:31:

They shall come, and shall declare his righteousness unto a people that shall be born, that he hath done this. 

We are the generation of Jesus Christ, we are that seed that will serve Him.

Romans 4:13-16

(13) For the promise, that he should be the heir of the world, was not to Abraham, or to his seed, through the law, but through the righteousness of faith.

(14) For if they which are of the law be heirs, faith is made void, and the promise made of none effect:

(15) Because the law worketh wrath: for where no law is, there is no transgression.

(16) Therefore it is of faith, that it might be by grace; to the end the promise might be sure to all the seed; not to that only which is of the law, but to that also which is of the faith of Abraham; who is the father of us all,

Romans 4:16 Amplified Bible

(16) Therefore, [inheriting] the promise is the outcome of faith and depends [entirely] on faith, in order that it might be given as an act of grace (unmerited favor), to make it stable and valid and guaranteed to all his descendants--not only to the devotees and adherents of the Law, but also to those who share the faith of Abraham, who is [thus] the father of us all.

Romans 4:17 KJV

(17) (As it is written, I have made thee a father of many nations,) before him whom he believed, even God, who quickeneth the dead, and calleth those things which be not as though they were.

Genesis 17:4:

As for me, behold, my covenant is with thee, and thou shalt be a father of many nations.

I want to stop and think about this one for a moment. Without God’s covenant with Abraham, there would be no United States. Not many people that live in reality can doubt that. Our Constitution has many parallels in Exodus and in Deuteronomy and this is mostly know. I’m not stating that all of our founding fathers were godly men, many were not christian, but deists, but they forged our system of government together and it is largely based on the bible.

If we stop and think about it though, western society as a whole would not exist if not for God’s covenant with Abraham. I believe we are at the end of that time period. I believe we will see western society fall apart soon, but when a large portion of the population honors God He blesses abundantly. 

Romans 4:18-21 KJV

(18) Who against hope believed in hope, that he might become the father of many nations, according to that which was spoken, So shall thy seed be.

(19) And being not weak in faith, he considered not his own body now dead, when he was about an hundred years old, neither yet the deadness of Sara's womb:

(20) He staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief; but was strong in faith, giving glory to God;

(21) And being fully persuaded that, what he had promised, he was able also to perform.

Strong in faith, believing God, but to what degree, what does this mean when put into action? God parted the Red Sea for Moses, rained down bread from heaven and gave them water out of a Rock. We know that Abraham left his family and all that he had known because he believed God, but God put him through a test.

Genesis 22:1-3

And it came to pass after these things, that God did tempt Abraham, and said unto him, Abraham: and he said, Behold, here I am.

And he said, Take now thy son, thine only son Isaac, whom thou lovest, and get thee into the land of Moriah; and offer him there for a burnt offering upon one of the mountains which I will tell thee of.

And Abraham rose up early in the morning, and saddled his ass, and took two of his young men with him, and Isaac his son, and clave the wood for the burnt offering, and rose up, and went unto the place of which God had told him.

This gets painted into many lights, some flattering to Abraham and some not so much, but the writer of Hebrews gives us an idea of what was going on in Abraham's mind at the time;

Hebrews 11:17:

By faith Abraham, when he was tried, offered up Isaac: and he that had received the promises offered up his only begotten son, 

Of whom it was said, That in Isaac shall thy seed be called:

Accounting that God was able to raise him up, even from the dead; from whence also he received him in a figure.

In Isaac shall thy seed be called and Abraham believed it. It probably made no sense to Abraham why God would have him do such a thing if He wasn’t going to raise Isaac back up from the dead. Abraham obeyed!

Romans 4:23-25

(23) Now it was not written for his sake alone, that it was imputed to him;

(24) But for us also, to whom it shall be imputed, if we believe on him that raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead;

(25) Who was delivered for our offences, and was raised again for our justification.

Abraham believed in the Lord, and it was counted to him as righteousness!

New website; www.apostolicbiblestudy.com

Colossians 2:9:

For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily.