a. How does Paul’s reading of Abraham’s story support this belief? Pay attention to the way Paul reads the story of Abraham in chronological sequence:
1) Genesis 15:6//Rom 4:3, 9
2) Genesis 17:10-11//Rom 4:10-11a

In Jewish culture and in early scriptures, Abraham is considered the first of the Jews. God spoke to Abraham and the covenant between him and all of his descendants was made. In Romans, Paul uses the story of Abraham to support his belief that Jewish law actually correlates to the importance of faith and how faith is arguably more important than the law itself. “For what does Scripture say? ‘Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness.”  Paul quotes Genesis 15:6 in order to establish the basis of his claim: Abraham’s belief/faith in God was credited to him as righteousness, not any act of the law. In order to fight against the idea that circumcision was necessary to be in a good standing with God, Paul elaborates on that initial argument by analyzing Genesis 17:10-11, in which God commands Abraham to have all men circumcised as a sign of the covenant with God. Paul supports his belief by saying that Abraham himself was not yet circumcised at this point, but he was still considered righteous in the eyes of God due to his faith, thus the people of Rome should behave the same way and be justified through faith in Jesus, the resurrected Christ, so that they might not be “enslaved to sin” any longer.

b. What is the temporal sequence of Abraham’s faith and his commitment to the law (through the act of circumcision)? Why is it important for Paul to emphasize this temporal sequence? Specifically, what significance does it have for Paul’s vision of universal salvation? To answer this question, consider how Paul emphasizes Abraham as “the father of many nations” (Rom 4:11b-12, 17-18; compare with Genesis 15:5; 17:5)

As mentioned above (and in Romans 4:10-11), Abraham’s faith came before his circumcision. His righteousness was “reckoned to him” before his commitment to the law because of his faith. Through this emphasis, Paul establishes that any who have faith may have their “righteousness reckoned to them,” implying that Abraham was meant to be not only the literal “father of many nations,” but the ancestor of all who believe: “The purpose was to make him the ancestor of all who believe without being circumcised and who thus have righteousness reckoned to them, and likewise the ancestor of the circumcised who… follow the example that of the faith that our ancestor Abraham had before he was circumcised.” This passage widens the field of salvation from just Jews to all people of all nations who believe.