Faith Comes First

One of the most basic questions people ask about faith, or getting in to heaven, whether they say it out loud or not, is this: Can people actually be right with God simply by faith? Who really gets in? Is God’s grace mainly for people who are already religious? Is it for those who grew up with the right background, the right traditions, the right spiritual vocabulary?

That question feels very modern, but it’s not new at all. Paul is addressing it head-on in Romans 4. After showing us that Abraham and David were made right with God by faith and not by works, Paul now turns to one of the most sensitive and dividing issues of his day: circumcision.

I know it’s not a big deal for us, but in the first century, circumcision wasn’t just a religious practice. It was a boundary marker. It drew a line between “us” and “them.” The Jew and non-Jew. It answered the question, Who belongs to God and who doesn’t? So Paul asks the question everyone is thinking but few are brave enough to ask: Is God’s blessing limited to insiders, or is it bigger than that?

Paul opens with a question that forces everyone to slow down and think.

Romans 4:9 NKJV

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.

I. God’s Blessing Is Bigger Than Religious Categories

Paul is referring back to the “blessedness” David described earlier in verses 7-8, the joy of forgiven sin, the relief of guilt removed, the freedom of knowing God no longer counts our sin against us. And now Paul asks, “Who gets that?” Is that blessing reserved for those who carry the religious sign? Or does it extend beyond that boundary?

We’ll notice in a moment what Paul does next. He doesn’t argue emotionally. He doesn’t appeal to experience. I think we could learn a lesson from that. We don’t defend our belief system on the basis of what makes sense to us, or what we’ve been taught. He goes straight back to Scripture. Once again, he reminds them that Abraham was declared righteous by faith. That fact is settled. The only question left is when it happened.

Paul presses the timeline, because timing changes everything.

Romans 4:10 NKJV

10 How then was it accounted? While he was circumcised, or uncircumcised? Not while circumcised, but while uncircumcised.

II. Abraham Was Made Right with God Before the Religious Sign

This is where Paul quietly dismantles a long-held assumption. Abraham was declared righteous in Genesis 15. Circumcision doesn’t appear until Genesis 17, at least fourteen years later. That means Abraham was already right with God before he ever received the sign, or religious ritual.

From a Jewish perspective, this is shocking. It means Abraham was accepted by God while he was technically uncircumcised. In other words, before Abraham had any outward religious marker, God responded to his faith.

I can see it in my mind’s eye. When Paul brings out this point, his Jewish readers must have had the funny look. Wait. Whoa. What? That can’t be. Paul, are you sure you did your math right. That can’t be.

But here’s the principle Paul is giving them, and us today: God’s acceptance always comes before religious expression, never the other way around. Faith comes first. The sign comes later.

That’s important, because we are still tempted to reverse that order. We still want to believe that certain behaviors, rituals, or backgrounds make us more acceptable to God. Paul says Abraham’s story proves otherwise.

Let’s move on to verse 11.

Romans 4:11 NKJV

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,

Now Paul explains why circumcision existed at all.

III. Religious Signs Confirm Faith—They Don’t Create It

Paul uses two important words here: sign and seal. A sign points to something that already exists. A seal confirms and authenticates what is already true.

Circumcision didn’t give Abraham faith. It didn’t produce righteousness. It confirmed what was already there. Abraham believed God first. Then the sign followed.

This matters because we often confuse symbols with substance. We start believing that the outward markers of faith somehow generate the inward reality. But Paul is clear: religious practices don’t create faith; they express it.

Baptism doesn’t save you.

Church attendance doesn’t save you.

Spiritual habits don’t save you.

Those things are good, meaningful, and important, but they are signs, not sources. Faith is the source.

Now Paul widens the lens beyond Abraham himself.

Romans 4:11–12 NKJV

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.

IV. Abraham Becomes the Father of All Who Believe

Paul says Abraham is the spiritual father of two groups. First, he is the father of believing Gentiles, those who never carried the sign but share the faith. Second, he is the father of believing Jews, not simply because they are circumcised, but because they walk in the footsteps of Abraham’s faith.

That phrase matters. Faith is not inherited. It’s not automatic. It’s not passed down through family lines or religious culture. Faith is something you personally step into.

Being connected to Abraham isn’t about sharing his sign. It’s about sharing his trust in God.

So, what’s our conclusion? — Faith Still Comes First

Romans 4:9–12 teaches us something that still challenges many people today. God’s grace refuses to be confined by the boundaries we like to draw. Faith comes before tradition, labels, or rituals.

God does not ask, “What background do you come from?”

He asks, “Do you trust Me?”

And when someone believes, before the rituals or the behavior, God declares them righteous.

That was true for Abraham.

It was true for Paul’s audience.

And it is still true for us today.

Faith comes first.

Grace follows.