Romans 4:1–12

The Example of Abraham

4So what can we say that Abraham, ⁿ the father of our people, learned about faith? ²If Abraham was made right by the things he did, he had a reason to brag. But this is not God’s view, ³because the Scripture says, “Abraham believed God, and God accepted Abraham’s faith, and that faith made him right with God.” ⁿ

⁴When people work, their pay is not given as a gift, but as something earned. ⁵But people cannot do any work that will make them right with God. So they must trust in him, who makes even evil people right in his sight. Then God accepts their faith, and that makes them right with him. ⁶David said the same thing. He said that people are truly blessed when God, without paying attention to their deeds, makes people right with himself.

⁷“Blessed are they

whose sins are forgiven,

whose wrongs are pardoned.

⁸Blessed is the person

whom the Lord does not consider guilty.”

⁹Is this blessing only for those who are circumcised or also for those who are not circumcised? We have already said that God accepted Abraham’s faith and that faith made him right with God. ¹⁰So how did this happen? Did God accept Abraham before or after he was circumcised? It was before his circumcision. ¹¹Abraham was circumcised to show that he was right with God through faith before he was circumcised. So Abraham is the father of all those who believe but are not circumcised; he is the father of all believers who are accepted as being right with God. ¹²And Abraham is also the father of those who have been circumcised and who live following the faith that our father Abraham had before he was circumcised.