Commentary - Romans 4:9-12

Bird's-eye view

In this tightly argued section of Romans, the Apostle Paul is driving a stake through the heart of any notion that justification before God is tied to ethnic identity or ceremonial observance. Having established in the previous verses that Abraham, the great patriarch of the Jews, was justified by faith, Paul now anticipates and dismantles the obvious counter-argument: "Ah, but Abraham was circumcised." Paul's response is a masterclass in biblical logic, resting on the unassailable foundation of chronological sequence. He demonstrates that God declared Abraham righteous long before he received the sign of circumcision. This fact is not a trivial piece of historical data; it is a theological bombshell. It proves that circumcision was never the cause of righteousness, but rather a sign and seal of a righteousness that was already possessed by faith. By establishing this, Paul shows that Abraham is the father of two families: a spiritual family of all who believe, whether Jew or Gentile, and a physical family of the circumcised. But true spiritual fatherhood extends only to those, circumcised or not, who walk in the footsteps of the faith Abraham had when he was still uncircumcised. The ground is thus leveled at the foot of the cross; the door is thrown open to the Gentiles on the basis of faith alone, and the Jews are reminded that mere physical descent and ritual observance mean nothing apart from that same faith.

This passage is therefore crucial for understanding the relationship between the Old and New Covenants, the nature of saving faith, and the function of the sacraments. Paul is not discarding the Old Testament; he is reading it carefully and showing the Judaizers that their own Scriptures testify against their works-based righteousness. He establishes a permanent principle: God's grace always precedes our response, and the external signs of the covenant are always intended to point to an internal reality of faith.

Outline

Context In Romans

Romans 4 is the exegetical heart of Paul's argument for justification by faith alone. After demonstrating the universal sinfulness of both Gentiles (Chapter 1) and Jews (Chapter 2), and concluding that the whole world is guilty before God (Chapter 3), Paul introduces the glorious solution: a righteousness from God that is received through faith in Jesus Christ (Rom 3:21-26). To prove this is not a New Testament novelty, he reaches back to the foundational figure of the Jewish faith, Abraham. Chapter 4 serves as Exhibit A. Paul quotes Genesis 15:6 to show that Abraham "believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness." The verses immediately preceding our passage (4:1-8) argue that this crediting of righteousness was an act of grace, not a wage earned by works. Our section, verses 9-12, continues this line of argument by tackling the specific issue of circumcision, the preeminent "work" and badge of Jewish covenant identity. This sets the stage for the rest of the chapter, where Paul will discuss the relationship between faith and the promise, culminating in the great theological argument of Chapter 5 concerning our solidarity with Adam and Christ.

Key Issues

First the Faith, Then the Sign

The entire argument of this section hinges on a simple, historical sequence of events. Paul is not engaging in abstract theological speculation; he is doing straightforward biblical exposition. He is asking his readers to simply look at the order of events as recorded in their own Scriptures. First, Genesis 15: God makes a promise to Abraham, and Abraham believes it, and God declares him righteous. Then, much later, in Genesis 17, God gives Abraham the rite of circumcision. The verdict of "righteous" was handed down in the courtroom of heaven long before Abraham ever submitted to the knife.

This order is everything. If circumcision had come first, one could argue that it was a condition for justification. But since faith came first, circumcision can only be a consequence of justification. It is a sign that points back to something that has already happened. It is a seal, an official verification, of a righteousness already granted. This is the fundamental nature of all biblical sacraments. Baptism does not cause regeneration; it is a sign and seal of the regeneration that is received by faith. The Lord's Supper does not earn us forgiveness; it is a sign and seal of the forgiveness we have in Christ. The external rite is always subordinate to the internal reality of faith. Paul's argument here establishes the grammar of the gospel: grace, then faith, then the signs of that grace.

Verse by Verse Commentary

9 Therefore, is this blessing on the circumcised, or on the uncircumcised also? For we say, “FAITH WAS COUNTED TO ABRAHAM AS RIGHTEOUSNESS.”

Paul begins with a sharp, logical question. He has just quoted David speaking of the "blessing" of the man to whom God counts righteousness apart from works (vv. 7-8). Now he asks, who is this blessing for? Is it an exclusive club for the circumcised, the Jews? Or is it also for the uncircumcised, the Gentiles? The question is rhetorical, designed to force his Jewish readers to confront the implications of their own Scriptures. He immediately reminds them of the foundational premise, the verdict of Genesis 15:6, which he has already established. The basis of Abraham's standing with God was faith. Now, the only remaining question is how this fact relates to his circumcision.

10 How then was it counted? While he was circumcised, or uncircumcised? Not while circumcised, but while uncircumcised;

Here is the linchpin of the whole argument. Paul pins his case to the timeline. When did this divine transaction occur? When was righteousness "counted" to Abraham? He presents two options: before or after circumcision. The answer from the biblical record is undeniable and devastating to the Judaizers' position. It happened while Abraham was still uncircumcised. The historical gap between Genesis 15 (justification by faith) and Genesis 17 (the command to be circumcised) is at least fourteen years. For more than a decade, the father of the faithful was a justified, righteous man in God's sight, all while being physically indistinguishable from any other Gentile. This simple fact of biblical history demolishes the idea that circumcision is a prerequisite for righteousness.

11 and he received the sign of circumcision, a seal of the righteousness of the faith which he had while uncircumcised, so that he might be the father of all who believe without being circumcised, that righteousness might be counted to them,

If circumcision was not the cause of his righteousness, what was it? Paul gives a two-fold definition. First, it was a sign. A sign points to something else; it is not the thing itself. A wedding ring is a sign of a marriage; it is not the marriage. Circumcision was a physical mark that pointed to the spiritual reality of Abraham's faith and God's declaration of righteousness. Second, it was a seal. A seal in the ancient world was a mark of ownership and authenticity. It was an official stamp that confirmed the validity of a document or transaction. Circumcision was God's official stamp upon Abraham, publicly authenticating the righteousness he had already received by faith. And why did God do it this way? Paul gives the glorious purpose: so that Abraham could be the father of all who believe, even if they are not circumcised. He is the prototype believer. His experience sets the pattern for everyone who comes after. If the uncircumcised Gentile believes God as Abraham did, then the same righteousness will be counted to him, and he becomes a true son of Abraham.

12 and the father of circumcision to those who not only are of the circumcision, but who also follow in the steps of the faith of our father Abraham which he had while uncircumcised.

But what about the Jews? Is Abraham not their father? Paul affirms that he is, but with a crucial qualification. He is the father of the circumcised, but only to those who are not only of the circumcision. The physical sign is not enough. To be a true child of Abraham, a Jew must also walk in the very same footsteps of faith that Abraham walked in before he was ever circumcised. The faith is the essential thing, not the flesh. A circumcised man without Abraham's faith is not a true son, while an uncircumcised man with Abraham's faith is. Paul thus redefines the people of God. It is not a nation defined by blood and ritual, but a family defined by faith in the promise of God. He is both the father of believing Gentiles and the father of believing Jews, and what unites them all into one family is their shared faith.

Application

The logic of Paul in this passage has profound implications for us today. First, it is a powerful guard against any form of sacramentalism that attributes saving power to the ritual itself. Whether it is baptism, communion, church membership, or confirmation, we must always remember that these are signs and seals, not the source of salvation. They are given to confirm and strengthen a faith that is already present. To trust in the water of baptism instead of the blood of Christ is to make the same error as the Judaizers. Our confidence must never be in the sign, but in the reality to which the sign points: the finished work of Jesus Christ received by faith alone.

Second, this passage levels the ground of all human pride. It tells us that there are no spiritual blue-bloods. No one gets into God's family because of their heritage, their ethnicity, their religious upbringing, or their diligent performance of religious duties. The only entrance requirement is faith. This is a great comfort to those who feel they have no religious pedigree, and a sharp warning to those who are tempted to trust in theirs. The question God asks is not "Were you baptized?" or "Are you a church member?" but rather, "Do you believe on Him who justifies the ungodly?"

Finally, this passage shows us that true fatherhood in the faith is spiritual, not physical. Abraham is our father not because we are his genetic descendants, but because we share his faith. This creates a new and glorious family, the church, where Jew and Gentile, slave and free, male and female are all one in Christ Jesus. We are all children of Abraham because we are children of God through faith. Our task, then, is to walk in the footsteps of that faith which our father Abraham had, trusting the promises of God even when they seem impossible, and living as those who have been declared righteous for the sake of another.