Sermon: “Steps of Faith”

TEXT:  Romans 4:9-12

REVIEW

1.  Good Works: In the last two sermons on justification by faith I have ended with forceful applications urging you to do good works.  Two weeks ago I sent everyone away with the charge to be engaged in some particular work of love that might be costly or inconvenient to you.  Last week I challenged you to consider the longest-standing problem of forgiveness that you have, to see how it is hurting you, and to move ahead in the right pathway.  Even though we are not saved by works, it is clear that works do fit into the life of faith in some way.  We will want to consider this some more today.

2.  The Work of Circumcision: How do ritual religious works fit into the life of faith?  Some months ago I spoke of the folly of boasting in the ritual of circumcision.  At that time we considered Romans 2:25: “For circumcision is indeed profitable if you keep the law; but if you are a breaker of the law, your circumcision has become uncircumcision.”  We saw that the meaning behind this important Old Testament sacrament was in part that the lawbreaker deserved to be cut off from the people of God.  When the covenant community circumcised infant boys (who would of course one day sin against God) the only sensible way they could perform this ritual would be in the faith that God would send Messiah for them.  The Sinless One would himself be cut off from God and His people, so that we who are sinners might be found to be safe, secure, and righteous in God’s household.  This understanding of the work of circumcision is reinforced in today’s passage.

TODAY’S PASSAGE:

⁹ Does this blessedness then come

upon the circumcised only, or upon the uncircumcised also?

For we say that faith was accounted to Abraham for righteousness. 

¹⁰ How then was it accounted? While he was circumcised, or uncircumcised?

Not while circumcised, but while uncircumcised. 

¹¹ And he received the sign of circumcision,

a seal of the righteousness of the faith which he had while still uncircumcised,

that he might be

the father of all those who believe, though they are uncircumcised,

that righteousness might be imputed to them also, 

¹² and the father of circumcision to those who not only are of the circumcision,

but who also walk in the steps of the faith which our father Abraham had

while still uncircumcised.

1.  This blessedness

Paul opens up these verses by referring again to Psalm 32: “What blessedness for him whose guilt has all forgiven been!  When his transgressions pardoned are, and covered is his sin.”  The blessedness of the forgiveness of sins is one of the most precious things that anyone can ever know.  Of course, it is useless to the man who believes that he has no sin.  If every conflict is largely someone else’s fault, and if every problem of ours is well explained by someone else provoking me, then the blessedness of forgiveness seems small, for my sin is small.  But if I have come to see myself as an ungodly person – as a person who has no works worth speaking of before God, then I will be very grateful to hear that God justifies the ungodly.

            The righteousness that comes to those who have faith in Messiah, comes to those who have the blessedness of forgiveness given to them.  If your sins have truly been forgiven through the shed blood of Jesus Christ, then you have also been truly granted his righteousness, and you are justified by God.  This forgiveness of sin and granting of righteousness is what Paul calls here “this blessedness.”  Before we continue, I want you to consider for a moment how precious this blessedness is. 

If you have had the occasion over the last week to extend forgiveness to someone, or to receive forgiveness from someone, you may have found that process to be very uncomfortable.  It’s often like that when two sinful people try to work out some problem that they have with each other.  But when it works – when we truly do forgive one another, a great burden is lifted from our hearts.  This experience of working out forgiveness with a person has difficulties, but it has great rewards.  How much more blessed is the experience of knowing forgiveness from God, and also to have the declaration that the perfect righteousness of Christ has been credited to your account!  This is great blessedness.

2.  Upon the circumcised only?

Does this great blessedness of sins forgiven and credited righteousness come only to the circumcised?  After all, they are the ones who have the sign of being a part of the people of God.  Abraham was given the sign of circumcision.  God credited Abraham with righteousness that came from outside Abraham.  Could it be that this experience of being credited with righteousness is so tied to the sign of circumcision, that you must have the sign of circumcision in order to have any hope of being credited with righteousness?

            First, notice in verse 9 that it was the faith of Abraham that was accounted to him for righteousness.  Faith is in contrast to the merit of our own actions that could be owed to us as a debt.  God is not in our debt.  Our faith is based on the merit of someone else – the object of our faith, the Lord Jesus Christ.  Abraham had this righteousness given to him as a credit that came from God.

            But when did Abraham get this accounted righteousness.  It was at least 13 years before he was circumcised.  In Genesis 15 God announces his gift to Abraham of this credited righteousness.  It is not until Genesis 17 that the sacrament of circumcision is given to Abraham.  Therefore, it is impossible to conclude that circumcision is absolutely necessary to know “this blessedness” of forgiveness and righteousness.  Abraham had the gift before he was circumcised.

            Why then was the sign of circumcision given?  Paul says that it was a seal of the righteousness of faith that he had even before he was circumcised.  We have seen that circumcision only made sense as a ritual by faith in a substitute.  Without a perfect substitute the only testimony that could come from circumcision was this: “I am a law-breaker.  I shall be cut off from the people of God as surely as this piece of flesh has been cut from my body.  I shall be eternally condemned as one who is outside of God’s community of salvation.”  With our perfect substitute who died for our sins, the testimony of the sacrament is very different: “Jesus, my Savior, was cut off from the blessed presence of God on my behalf.  His righteousness has been credited to me.  My sins are forgiven. What blessedness for him whose guilt has all forgiven been!  When his transgressions pardoned are, and covered is his sin.”

3.  The father of…

This is a testimony of faith.  If you have not testified to this in your own life, you need to.  You need to walk in the steps of faith as a child of God.  Abraham was the father not only of the circumcised man of faith.  He was also the father of the uncircumcised man of faith.  He himself was accounted righteous by faith before he had the sign of circumcision.  His descendants would be circumcised before they were even capable of saying a word of faith or unbelief.  The sign had the same meaning for them – righteousness from faith, not from the merit of works.  As they would grow up year by year, they would have done well to consider the message that was contained in the seal that they had received at the age of eight days old.  “I can only be declared righteous – I can only know the blessedness of the forgiveness of sins by the work of a perfectly holy substitute who will be the Lamb of God for His people.”

            But not everyone who had the sacrament of circumcision had Abraham’s faith.  That faith can only come by the Spirit of God.  King Saul had the circumcision in the flesh, but he did not have a circumcised heart.  King David was a sinner, but he, like father Abraham, was counted as a child of God.  He had the circumcision of the flesh, but he combined it with the spiritual gift of a circumcised heart.  It is a sad truth that many within the Old Testament community had the outward sacrament of circumcision, but in their hearts they were as uncircumcised as the giant Philistine Goliath was.

APPLICATION:

            The New Testament church does not practice circumcision as a religious ritual.  We now mark the faithful and their children with a water ritual called baptism.  There are two serious errors that can be made concerning this sacrament.  One is to pin your hopes on it, as if it were a work of merit.  The other error would be to ignore it and despise it.  God is the one who has instituted this sign and seal of righteousness by faith.  It is consistent with the steps of faith that God has ordered for his children. 

Abraham exercised faith before receiving the sign.  His descendants were given the sign before they were capable of expressing faith.  We continue to recognize the children of even one believing parent to be a part of the community of God’s people (1 Cor 7:14).  Believe in the faith of Abraham, who rejoiced to see the day of Jesus Christ, and walk in the steps of faith, as a follower of Jesus Christ.  Receive the sacrament of baptism, and do not deny the sign to your children.  But may each of us make good use of that sign and seal every day, by growing in our faith, and by expressing that gift in fruitful works of love, of righteousness, and of forgiveness.