Faith and the Children of Abraham — Lectionary Reflection for Lent 2A (Romans 4:1-5, 13-17)

 

Romans 4:1-5, 13-17 New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition

4 What then are we to say was gained by Abraham, our ancestor according to the flesh? ² For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about, but not before God. ³ For what does the scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness.” ⁴ Now to one who works, wages are not reckoned as a gift but as something due. ⁵ But to one who does not work but trusts him who justifies the ungodly, such faith is reckoned as righteousness.

¹³ For the promise that he would inherit the world did not come to Abraham or to his descendants through the law but through the righteousness of faith. ¹⁴ For if it is the adherents of the law who are to be the heirs, faith is null and the promise is void. ¹⁵ For the law brings wrath, but where there is no law, neither is there transgression.

¹⁶ For this reason the promise depends on faith, in order that it may rest on grace, so that it may be guaranteed to all his descendants, not only to the adherents of the law but also to those who share the faith of Abraham (who is the father of all of us, ¹⁷ as it is written, “I have made you the father of many nations”), in the presence of the God in whom he believed, who gives life to the dead and calls into existence the things that do not exist.

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                My Jewish friend Ed, my Muslim friend Amin, and I were having coffee, something we do regularly. Ed told us that he wanted to go to the tomb of Abraham with a Muslim and a Christian to pray and ask forgiveness for what Abraham’s children had done to each other and to the world. We’re working on that proposal, which now may involve more than just the three of us. I share this because our reading from Romans 4 reminds us that being children of Abraham involves more than biological descent. According to Paul, one is a child of Abraham by faith. When Paul speaks of faith, he’s talking about more than assent to a set of doctrines, or even circumcision (circumcision is mentioned in the omitted section from Romans 4). What Paul has in mind is the same faith that led Abraham to follow God’s lead and head out on a journey to an unknown destination (Gen. 12).

                Paul’s message in Romans is that the righteousness of God requires faith, that is, trust in God. This leads to righteousness. The starting point is to recognize that we are all in the same boat. We’re all sinners and fall short of God’s glory and require redemption (Rom. 3:23). As for Abraham, by putting his trust in God, he set in motion God’s work of redemption or reconciliation, which, according to Paul, was poured out on the world through Christ. But the starting point was Abraham’s willingness to trust God. Now circumcision served as a marker of that original covenant God made with Abraham and his descendants (Gen. 17:10). In the section of Romans 4 that is omitted, Paul writes that Abraham put his trust in God, and thus was considered righteous, before being circumcised. Therefore, Abraham is the ancestor in faith not only of the circumcised but also the uncircumcised who put their trust in the God of Abraham (Rom. 4:9-12).

                I find the story of Abraham quite compelling. He was not perfect, as the story in Genesis reveals. However, despite his flaws, including his relationships with Sarah and Hagar, as well as with Isaac and Ishmael, he sought to live out the covenant that God had made with him. While there is more than one version of God’s call, the one I always return to is the one found in Genesis 12, where God calls on Abraham to pack up his family, head out on that journey to a land of promise. In calling Abraham, God promised to make him and his descendants a blessing to the nations. I used that image in my book Called to Bless: Finding Hope by Reclaiming Our Spiritual Roots. I used that image as the thread that ties together my own spiritual journey, which has taken me to several Christian traditions. In that book, I argue that while Christians claim to be children of Abraham, we’re not Abraham’s only children. We don’t supplant our Jewish cousins, but as Paul writes in Galatians 3, we become Abraham’s descendants through faith. As such, we can share in the promise of Abraham that through our lives of faith, we can be a blessing to the nations. Our Muslim cousins also claim descent from Abraham, though through Ishmael rather than Isaac.  

                Getting back to our reading from Romans 4, Paul attempts to address the question of whether our righteousness is based on keeping the law, including circumcision. He wants the Romans to understand that redemption/reconciliation is a gift received by faith and not something we earn by our works. As we ponder Paul’s understanding of Abraham’s calling as it is laid out in Genesis, we need to acknowledge that rabbinic interpretation of Abraham’s righteousness differs from Paul’s. According to the rabbis, Abraham’s faith involved specific actions that included circumcision, which Paul did not want to impose on Gentile believers. Since Paul draws here on a reading from Genesis 15:6, likely from the Septuagint, to prove his point, it is worth noting that the Hebrew text offers us a somewhat different possibility. The reading of Genesis 15:6 in the Common English Bible, which is based on the Masoretic text, offers us a somewhat different possibility from Paul’s reading:  “Abram trusted the Lord, and the Lord recognized Abram’s high moral character” (Gen 15:6 CEB). While the interpretations differ, when it comes to Paul’s usage, he wants to demonstrate that Abraham is the spiritual ancestor of both Jewish and Gentile believers in the God of Abraham. Therefore, in Paul’s view, we are reckoned as being righteous when we, like Abraham, put our trust in God. Now, does that mean we can now do whatever we wish? I believe he would shudder at that idea. The issue isn’t whether we live into God’s righteousness, but what comes first. Trust in God’s grace comes as a result of God’s grace, which is a gift. That gift enables us to live by faith, which is an expression of righteousness.

                As we read Romans, we need to keep in mind Paul’s desire to bridge the gap that seems to crop up in the churches where Jewish followers of Jesus are joined by Gentile followers of Jesus. Some of the original followers who were Jewish, and thus circumcised, wanted the Gentile followers of Jesus to be circumcised before they could be considered full members of the body of Christ. For his part, Paul rejected the idea that Gentile believers had to be circumcised. Culturally, circumcision was a stumbling block to many Gentiles. So, removing that obstacle allowed them to enter the flock. Here, Paul wants both Jewish and Gentile believers to know that Abraham, their father in the faith, was deemed righteous before God before he was circumcised. Circumcision might have its place for Jewish believers, but it was not a requirement for Gentiles. As we must often do, we need to recognize that passages like this can be used (and have been used) in anti-Jewish efforts, especially when Paul speaks of the law in seemingly negative ways. What Paul tries to do is make it clear that we are Abraham’s descendants by faith, but putting our trust in Abraham’s God. So, the promise given to Abraham is offered not only to the circumcised but to all those who put their trust in Abraham’s God. The key is found in verse 17, where Paul  reminds his audience of God’s promise to Abraham: “I have made you the father of many nations.” This points us back to God’s covenant-making effort, in which Abram’s name is changed to Abraham (Gen. 17:5). In that chapter, God declares that this will be an everlasting covenant (Gen. 17:7).

                In Paul’s view, both Jew and Gentile are Abraham’s heirs through the righteousness of faith rather than through the law. It is not that the law is meaningless, but it is not the foundation of the relationship. Trust in the promises of God is the foundation. What the law did, following on what is said in chapter 3, is to reveal where people have fallen short of God’s expectations. The promise made to Abraham that he and his descendants would inherit the world came long before the law was given to Moses. We can say that the law helped form the people who would embody the promise, but it did not define the extent of the promise. Only faith (trust) can do that. Thus, neither circumcision nor uncircumcision brings justification, only God’s grace received by faith. Therefore, Abraham is the father (ancestor) of all who believe as Abraham did.

                So, like Abraham, we too can place our trust in the God who “gives life to the dead and calls into existence the things that did not exist” (Rom. 4:17). Michael Gorman notes the importance of this statement: ‘This is an extremely important description of God. The God who creates out of nothing is also the God who raises the dead (cf. Ps 71:20); they are similar activities. Moreover, Paul has just described God as the one who ‘justifies the ungodly’ (4:5). The creating God who is the resurrecting God is also the justifying God; this implies that justification is an act of new creation and resurrection” [Gorman, Romans, 136]. We know that for Paul the resurrection of Jesus and of his followers is of first importance (see 1 Cor. 15).

                The reading for the day ends with verse 17, but in verse 18, we’re told that Abraham hoped against hope that the promise that he would be the father of many nations would be fulfilled. According to Paul’s understanding, that promise was fulfilled through Jesus, who extended the promise to Gentiles as well as Jews. That promise is future-oriented and eschatologically defined. Paul has more to say about the promise later in the letter, including his message that Gentiles are grafted onto the vine that is Israel (Rom. 11:17-24).

                So, as we ponder Paul’s words here in Romans 4, we are reminded of our status as children of Abraham, a status rooted in trust placed in the God of Abraham, who creates and resurrects so that we might all share in the promise made to Abraham that he would be the father of many nations. If we go back to Genesis 12, that means Abraham’s children are meant to be a blessing to the nations. I look forward to sharing in that promise with my friends Ed and Amin, and any others who will join us on the journey.