²⁸ For ^(A)no one is a Jew ^(B)who is merely one outwardly, nor is circumcision outward and physical.

¹⁵ For ^(A)neither circumcision counts for anything, nor uncircumcision, but ^(B)a new creation.

⁹ And do not presume to say to yourselves, ^(A)‘We have Abraham as our father,’ for I tell you, God is able from ^(B)these stones to raise up children for Abraham.

⁹ “‘I know your tribulation and ^(A)your poverty (^(B)but you are rich) and the slander^[a] of ^(C)those who say that they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan.

⁶ But it is not as though the word of God has failed. For not all who are descended from Israel belong to Israel, ⁷ and not all are children of Abraham ^(A)because they are his offspring, but ^(B)“Through Isaac shall your offspring be named.” ⁸ This means that it is not the children of the flesh who are the children of God, but ^(C)the children of the promise are counted as offspring.

¹⁰ How then was it counted to him? Was it before or after he had been circumcised? It was not after, but before he was circumcised. ^11 (A)He received the sign of circumcision as a seal of the righteousness that he had by faith while he was still uncircumcised. The purpose was ^(B)to make him the father of all who believe without being circumcised, so that righteousness would be counted to them as well, ¹² and to make him the father of the circumcised who are not merely circumcised but who also walk in the footsteps of the faith that our father Abraham had before he was circumcised.

Israel Refined for God's Glory

²¹ Baptism, which corresponds to this, ^(A)now saves you, not as a removal of dirt from the body but ^(B)as an appeal to God for a good conscience, ^(C)through the resurrection of Jesus Christ,

¹⁷ But if you call yourself a Jew and ^(A)rely on the law and boast in God