When someone first reads Romans 4, one detail can easily become confusing: circumcision.
Paul talks about Abraham's circumcision several times. Does that mean Christians are supposed to be circumcised?
No. To understand why Paul discusses circumcision, we first need to understand what he is actually trying to prove.
Romans 4 Is a Theological Case Study
A case study is an example examined closely to establish a larger principle.
Paul has just explained in Romans 3 that God's righteousness is available through faith in Jesus Christ, apart from works. Someone could ask, “Is this really how God counts people righteous? Or is Paul introducing something new?”
So Paul examines the life of Abraham.
His central question is:
On what basis did God count Abraham righteous?
Since being counted righteous is Paul's language for justification, this is ultimately a question about the basis on which a person is saved and accepted as righteous before God.
Abraham's Story Gives Us the Answer
Paul quotes Genesis 15:6:
“Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.”
The timing of this statement is critical.
Abraham was not yet circumcised.
The chronology of Genesis is:
Genesis 15
Abraham believes → God credits righteousness.
Genesis 17
Abraham is circumcised.
Genesis 22
Abraham demonstrates remarkable obedience when God tests him.
Paul is deliberately using this chronology to separate the basis of Abraham's righteousness from the things Abraham did afterward.
Righteousness Came Before Circumcision
Paul makes this point directly in Romans 4:10:
“How then was it credited? While he was circumcised, or uncircumcised?”
His answer:
“Not while circumcised, but while uncircumcised.”
Then Paul explains circumcision in Romans 4:11:
“He received the sign of circumcision, a seal of the righteousness of the faith which he had while uncircumcised.”
Notice the order:
Faith → righteousness credited → circumcision
Circumcision was a sign and seal of the righteousness Abraham already had by faith.
It was not the act of obedience that caused God to count him righteous.
This is why Paul's discussion of circumcision is actually evidence against the idea that a physical act of obedience could make Abraham righteous.
Abraham's Obedience Came Later Too
Abraham eventually demonstrated extraordinary obedience, particularly in Genesis 22.
But that happened after Genesis 15:6 had already declared that his faith was credited as righteousness.
Paul's point in Romans 4:4–5 is that righteousness is not something a person earns from God as a wage for performing enough works.
Instead:
“To the one who does not work, but believes in Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is credited as righteousness.”
Abraham's later obedience was real and important. But it did not become the basis of the righteousness God had already credited through faith.
Why Abraham Matters to the New Covenant
This is the larger purpose of Paul's case study.
Paul is establishing the grounds for the righteousness made available throughout God's new-covenant plan of salvation.
Abraham demonstrates that a person can be counted righteous before receiving the physical covenant sign and before performing the later works of obedience.
That is why Abraham can be called the father of those who believe, whether or not they possess the physical sign of circumcision.
What Romans 4 Is Really Teaching
Paul is using circumcision to answer a much larger question:
How does God count a sinful person righteous?
Abraham's life provides the answer:
He believed God.
[next,]
God credited righteousness.
[next,]
Circumcision came afterward as a sign and seal.
[next,]
Obedience followed.
The order matters.
Righteousness was received by faith; the sign and the works came afterward.
Romans 4 is establishing the basis of justification, and how a person is counted righteous before God. It refutes any teaching that righteousness is earned through religious ceremonies or good works.
That is why Abraham is such a powerful case study for understanding the gospel.
One Important Distinction
Romans 4 is primarily explaining how a person is counted righteous before God. That does not mean Paul's larger message, concerning righteous living, is unimportant.
The chapters that follow increasingly address the next question:
How does that righteousness become evident in the believer's actual life?
That distinction helps us read Romans correctly.
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