What About Abraham?

4 What then shall we say that Abraham, our forefather according-to^[a] the flesh, has found? ² For if Abraham was declared-righteous by works, he has a boast— but not before God.

His Righteousness Came By Faith

³ For what does the Scripture say?— “And Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him for righteousness” [Gen 15:6]. ⁴ Now to the one working, the wages are not credited to him based-on grace, but based on debt. ⁵ But to the one not working but putting-faith upon the One declaring the ungodly righteous— his faith is credited for righteousness. ⁶ Just as David also says [in Ps 32:1-2] as to the blessedness of the person to whom God credits righteousness apart from works: ⁷ “Blessed are the ones whose lawless-deeds were forgiven and whose sins were covered. ⁸ Blessed is the man whose sin the Lord will never count”.

This Occurred Prior To Circumcision

⁹ So is this blessedness upon the circumcised, or upon the uncircumcised also? For we say “Faith was credited to Abraham for righteousness”. ¹⁰ How then was it credited— to one being 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 ^[b] faith while in uncircumcision, so that he might be^[c] the father of all the ones believing through uncircumcision— so that righteousness might be credited also to them— ¹² and the father of the circumcised to the ones not of circumcision only, but indeed the ones walking-in-line in the footsteps of the faith of our father Abraham while he was in uncircumcision.

The Promise Was Not Through The Law But Faith, Making It Firm To All

¹³ For the promise to Abraham or to his seed^[d] that he should be the inheritor of the world was not through the Law^[e], but through the righteousness of faith! ¹⁴ For if the ones of the Law are inheritors, faith has been made-empty^[f] and the promise has been nullified^[g]. ¹⁵ For the Law brings-about wrath. But where there is no Law, neither is there transgression^[h]. ¹⁶ For this reason it is by faith, in order that it may be based on grace, so that the promise might be firm^[i] to all the seed— not to the seed of the Law only^[j], but also to the seed of the faith of Abraham,

Abraham Is The Father of All Who Believe

... who is the father of us all— ¹⁷ just as it has been written [in Gen 17:5] that “I have made you a father of many nations”— before God^[k] Whom he believed, the One giving-life-to the dead and calling the things not being as^[l] being,

He Believed God’s Promise, Contrary To All His Human Circumstances

¹⁸ ... who believed contrary-to^[m] hope, upon hope, so that he might become^[n] the father of many nations in accordance with the thing having been spoken [in Gen 15:5]: “So shall your seed be”. ¹⁹ And not having weakened in faith, he considered^[o] his own body already having become impotent^[p], being about a hundred years old, and the deadness of the womb of Sarah. ²⁰ But he did not waver in unbelief with reference to the promise of God, but became-strong in faith— having given glory to God, ²¹ and having been fully-convinced that what He had promised He was able also to do.

His Faith Was Credited To Him As Righteousness, And So Is Ours

²² Therefore indeed it was credited to him for righteousness. ²³ And it was not written for his sake only that it was credited to him, ²⁴ but also for our sake to whom it is going-to be credited— the ones putting-faith upon the One having raised Jesus our Lord from the dead, ²⁵ Who was handed-over for^[q] our trespasses and was raised for^[r] our justification.