Romans 4:12

Likewise, Abraham is the spiritual ancestor of all us Jews who are not merely circumcised but who, more importantly, believe in God’s promise as our ancestor Abraham did, even before he was circumcised.

Translation for Translators

In The King James Version

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.

In Context

11Many years later, God commanded that Abraham be circumcised. Abraham’s accepting that ritual simply showed that he knew that God had accepted him. He knew that God had erased the record of his sins because he trusted in God while he was still, in effect, a non-Jew because he had not been circumcised. So we can understand that Abraham became ◄a spiritual ancestor/like an ancestor► to all of us whose record of sins has been erased {whose sins God has erased the record of} because we believe in God’s promise, even though some of us are not circumcised.

13God promised Abraham and his descendants that they would receive the blessings that he promised to give to the people in the world. But when he promised that, it was not because Abraham obeyed the laws that God later gave to Moses. Instead, it was because Abraham believed that God would do what he promised that he would do. As a result, God erased the record of his sins.

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Cross References

Proverbs 2:20If you are wise, you should behave like good men behave. You should ◄stay on the paths that righteous people walk on/do what godly people do► [MET],

Matthew 3:9God promised to give Abraham many descendants. In order to fulfill that promise, God does not need you! I tell you that he can change these stones to make them descendants of Abraham. So do not start to say to yourselves, ‘Since we are descendants of our ancestor Abraham, God will not punish us even though we have sinned.’

John 8:39They replied to him, “Abraham is our ancestor.” Jesus said to them, “If you were Abraham’s descendants, your character would be like Abraham’s character, and you would do good things like Abraham did.

2 Corinthians 12:18Titus went and visited you because I urged him to do so. I also sent the other believer, whom you know, to go with Titus. You know that Titus did not [RHQ] trick you in order to get money from you. And you certainly know that he and I have always [RHQ] acted in exactly the same honest way towards you.

1 Peter 2:21One of the reasons why God chose you is that you would suffer. When Christ suffered for you, he became an example for you, in order that you would ◄imitate what/do like► he did.

Matthew Henry on Romans 4:10-23

The Case of Abraham. ( a. d. 58.) 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. 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… Read the whole commentary →

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