Does baptism or religious identity make us right with God? See how Romans 4:9–12 shows that God's blessing comes through faith in Christ, not outward religious signs.
Introduction: A Seal that Confirms Life
There was nothing quite like our kids being born. What joy and celebration! We’d been praying for them before they were born and while in the womb. Then we finally saw and held each of them! They were loved and belonged to the family. Then came all the paperwork—most important of which is the birth certificate. It has an official seal on it. That seal matters. It confirms the reality of life. But let’s be clear: the certificate itself didn’t create their lives. The seal didn’t make them part of the family. That seal on the certificate confirmed a reality that already existed.
That’s very close to what Paul is saying here in Romans 4:9–12.
As we saw last week, in verses 6–8 Paul quoted King David as speaking of the “blessing” of the one to whom God counts righteousness apart from works. That raises the next question in verse 9: who gets this blessing? Is this blessing then only for the circumcised, or also for the uncircumcised? In other words: is God’s grace only for those who first wear the covenant badge of circumcision or can complete outsiders receive it too?
That wasn’t a small question in Paul’s day. The Jews looked at circumcision as the mark of belonging to God’s people. It was the visible sign that set them apart from the nations. So, Paul does something brilliant. He doesn’t argue first from ethnicity or experience. He says, in effect, “Open your Bible and check the timeline.” When was Abraham counted righteous? Before circumcision or after?
And that’s where the whole case turns. Because if Abraham was counted righteous before he received the sign, then the sign couldn’t be the cause of reason of his acceptance with God. Grace came first. The sign came after.
Theme
Here’s Paul’s point: God gave Abraham righteousness before the sign, so the sign confirmed grace, it didn’t create it; thus we are justified by faith alone.
Transition: So, Paul asks one simple question in verse 9, and then answers it by reading Abraham’s life in the right order. Let’s follow his argument.
Who Gets the Blessing? (v. 9)
Here’s Paul’s pressing question: Is this blessing then only for the circumcised (Jews), or also for the uncircumcised (Gentiles)? (v. 9) What blessing? The blessing David described in Psalm 32: forgiven sin, covered guilt, and righteousness counted apart from works. In other words, the blessing of justification. Paul’s asking, who gets that blessing of being right before God? Is it only for covenant insiders as marked by circumcision? Or can the uncircumcised receive it too?
That question gets to the heart of human-created religion. We all want some visible marker, some badge, some external credential that tells us, “Now I belong. Now I qualify. Now I’m in.” For the Jew, they turned God-given circumcision into such a badge. Today, people may look to baptism in the right church, confirmation in the right church, membership in the right church. Or how about the morality of being “on the right side of history” by belonging to the right political party? But Paul is asking: does the badge of circumcision itself bring the blessing? Does the outward sign create the inward reality?
And Paul’s answer is going to be a hard “No.” Not because the sign of circumcision or baptism now is unimportant, but because it must stay in its proper place. The blessing is wider than the sign.
Application: Brothers and sisters, the first question this text asks us is simple: what are you trusting to make you “in” with God? That means this isn’t just a first-century Jewish problem. It’s our problem. Ask yourself: what are you trusting to say, “Now I belong”?
Transition: How does Paul answer the question? Not with speculation, but with chronology. He takes us back to Abraham and says, “When exactly was righteousness counted to him?”
When Was Abraham Counted Righteous? (v. 10)
In Romans 4, Paul continues to prove that God justifies sinners by faith alone apart from any and all works of the law by showing us the example of the father of all believers, Abraham. Paul re-asserts this theme: we say that faith was counted to Abraham as righteousness (v. 9).
He then asks, how then was it counted to him? Was it before or after he had been circumcised? (v. 10) He answers with complete clarity: It was not after, but before he was circumcised (v. 10). That’s Paul’s argument. He says to those familiar with the Old Testament: “Check the timeline.” Genesis 15 comes before Genesis 17. In Genesis 15, Abraham believed the Lord, and it was counted to him as righteousness when he was eighty-five or even younger. Later in Genesis 17—when ninety-nine—he received circumcision.
The chronology of Abraham’s life proves that righteousness was counted first; the sign came second.
That means circumcision wasn’t the basis of Abraham’s justification. It didn’t make him righteous. It didn’t move God to accept him. It didn’t turn him from outsider to insider. God counted him righteous while he was still uncircumcised.
Paul wants you to feel the force of that. Abraham wasn’t first a circumcised man who happened to believe God’s Word. He was first a believing man who later received the sign. Grace came first. Faith came first. Righteousness counted came first. The sign followed.
That means no one can say, “The outward sign is what made Abraham acceptable to God.” No. Abraham was accepted before he bore circumcision.
Here’s the big theological point in three simple questions:
When did Abraham believe? Genesis 15.
When was he circumcised? Genesis 17.
What does that prove? That justification preceded circumcision.
Application: Brothers and sisters, this matters. In our sinful thinking, we’re always tempted to reverse God’s order. We want the sign, the badge, the ritual, the performance, the visible religious identity. That’s why people say, “I was baptized,” or “I grew up in church,” or “I’ve always believed in God,” as though those things by themselves can reconcile them to God. Paul says “No!’ God counted Abraham righteous before the sign ever touched his body. Grace first. Sign after.
The sign didn’t create Abraham’s righteousness;
it confirmed a righteousness he already had by faith.
Transition: If that’s true, then what exactly was circumcision for? If it didn’t justify Abraham, why did God give it at all? Paul tells us in verses 11–12.
Why Did God Give the Sign? (vv. 11–12)
Paul then says, he received the sign of circumcision from God. Why? As a seal of the righteousness that he had by faith while he was still uncircumcised (v. 11). Note how careful Paul is. Circumcision was a sign and a seal. It wasn’t the righteousness itself. It pointed to something and confirmed something. It pointed to God’s promise and sealed the righteousness Abraham already had by faith.
A sign points beyond itself. A seal authenticates and confirms. Circumcision was God’s covenant mark, but it was never meant to be confused with the grace it signified. It wasn’t magic. It wasn’t a substitute for trust in God. It wasn’t a ritual shortcut into righteousness. That’s kind of the message of the whole Old Testament! It was a God-given sign and seal of what Abraham already possessed by faith.
Children: When your parents sign you up for school or a sport, there’s often a minimum age requirement. How do they prove your age? They use an important document like your birth certificate, which has an official stamp from the government. That stamp is called a “seal.” The seal doesn’t create the reality written in the document. It confirms that what the document says is real and trustworthy. So too with circumcision. It didn’t create Abraham’s righteousness; it confirmed the righteousness God had already counted to him.
Then Paul gives the purpose (v. 11) God did it in this order: he justified Abraham before circumcision:
…to make him the father of all who believe without being circumcised, so that righteousness would be counted to them as well, and to make him the father of the circumcised who are not merely circumcised but who also walk in the footsteps of the faith that our father Abraham had before he was circumcised (vv. 11–12).
Note his big punchline:
Abraham is the father of believing Gentiles because he was justified while uncircumcised, before circumcision.
Abraham is the father of believing Jews because the true children of Abraham aren’t merely marked in the flesh, but those who walk in the same faith Abraham had.
What makes someone a true child of Abraham? Not merely having or relying on the sign. But sharing Abraham’s faith (v. 12).
That means Paul is saying to the Jews: “Don’t trust in circumcision without faith.” And he is saying to the Gentiles: “Don’t think you’re shut out, because Abraham was counted righteous before he bore the sign.” That ancient Jewish temptation can be ours so easily: outward identity can be confused with inward grace. We need to believe and preach that the badge of the covenant never replaces faith in the God of the covenant; the sign marks God’s people, but faith unites us to God’s promise.
Application: This is vital for us as a church that practices baptism of little ones. You know I love to share the “baptize yo’ babies” meme and razz my Baptist brothers and sisters as much as the next guy! But we always need to understand that God’s sign doesn’t create grace by its mere administration. It confirms God’s promise. That’s why we must insist that everyone—outsider and insider, child and adult—must be born again and receive the promise to enter God’s kingdom!
Illustration: In our world, people love verification badges. A little symbol next to your name tells the world, “This person is recognized and authenticated.” But that badge doesn’t create the person. It doesn’t make someone truthful. It only marks something claimed to be true already. Paul’s saying something like that about circumcision. The sign didn’t create Abraham’s righteousness. It confirmed and sealed what God had already done by grace and what faith received.
Application: What does this mean for us?
What a gospel! Amen? But our theology must become our biography. So, what does this Old Testament example mean to us? Because Abraham is the father of all who believe let me offer several avenues of application.
First, never confuse the sign with the thing signified. The Jews were tempted to trust in circumcision. We’re tempted to trust in baptism. But none of those things can replace faith in Christ. The sign is precious, but it can’t save apart from the Savior.
Second, take comfort that grace comes first. Abraham was counted righteous before he had done this covenant act. That means God’s acceptance doesn’t rest on your religious performance, but on his promise received by faith.
Third, rejoice that Abraham is the father of all believers. The door is open wide to Jew and Gentile, insider and outsider, marked and unmarked. If you share Abraham’s faith, you share Abraham’s blessing. As father of all believers, Abraham reminds us that God’s people have unity in their diversity. The Jews were justified by faith, and so were the Gentiles. In the world’s eyes, we are different colors of skin, all different socio-economic classes, different political opinions and parties—so OURC shouldn’t be able to work. But why does our church “work?” Jesus Christ! Everything else is secondary to our common identity in the Lord. When people ask, “Would I fit in at your church,” tell them yes!
Gospel Call
The life of Abraham shows that there’s hope for all sinners. As I mentioned, don’t forget that Abram came from an idolatrous household. God loves sinners and shows that in Abraham. If you grew up in a similar home that didn’t worship the true God, I want you to know that it doesn’t matter what you’ve done; God promises you that if you trust in Jesus Christ as a righteous Savior to stand in your place before a holy God, you’ll be accepted by God as a Father.
“Do not trust the badge without the faith. Do not trust baptism, upbringing, or covenant nearness apart from Christ. If Abraham was counted righteous before the sign, then you too must come by faith, not by religious association.”
Conclusion
So, what has Paul shown us? He’s shown us that Abraham was counted righteous before he received circumcision. Grace came first. The sign came after. That means circumcision could never be the source of his acceptance with God; it was the confirmation of a righteousness he already had by faith.
It’s like that birth certificate. The seal matters. It’s real. It’s important. But it doesn’t create the child’s life or make the child part of the family. It confirms what is already true. So it was with Abraham. The sign didn’t make him righteous. God had already counted him righteous by faith.
That means the door of blessing is open wide—not only to the circumcised, but to all who share the faith of Abraham. So, don’t trust the badge without the faith. Don’t trust baptism, upbringing, churchliness, or covenant nearness apart from Christ. Trust in Jesus Christ, and you will find that the blessing promised to Abraham belongs to all who believe.
Abraham was accepted before the sign, and so must you come to God: not resting in outward things, but by faith alone in Christ alone.