“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” (Romans 4:12).
The idea of those “…who also follow in the footsteps of the faith our father Abraham” (CSB) finds its origin in a term that expresses the idea of following in a track made by someone else. (1) In this sense, Abraham was much like a pioneer who established the path of faith. A person who travels that path (or follows in Abraham’s footsteps, so to speak), can find right standing with God just as he did, regardless of whether he or she has engaged in a religious ritual or ceremonial observance.
One source points to Jesus’ interaction with the religious leaders of His day in commenting on this passage…
“There is a difference between being Abraham’s descendants and Abraham’s children. Jesus said to the Pharisees, ‘I know that you are Abraham’s descendants’ (Joh_8:37). But then He went on to say, ‘If you were Abraham’s children, you would do the works of Abraham’ (Joh_8:39). So here Paul insists that physical circumcision is not what counts. There must be faith in the living God. Those of the circumcision who believe in the Lord Jesus Christ are the true Israel of God.” (2)
The following verse continues by saying…
“For the promise that he would be the heir of the world was not to Abraham or to his seed through the law, but through the righteousness of faith” (Romans 4:13).
So, the Apostle Paul summarized these ideas by reiterating some of the key thoughts he had already established in the preceding verses:
- God did not promise to make Abraham the heir of the world because he obeyed God’s laws. Instead, Abraham accepted that promise by faith.
- If we claim that God’s blessings accrue to those who follow the Law (or some other observance like circumcision or baptism, for example), then God’s promises to those who have faith must be invalid. If someone could work to achieve salvation, then he or she wouldn’t need to exercise faith. Salvation would then become something God owes us instead.
Therefore, “Paul reminded his readers that part of God’s promised blessing to Abraham was that he would be the ‘father of many nations’ (v. 17). God had given him this promise after his justification (Gen. 17:4-6), and He repeated it to Abraham’s descendants (Gen. 22:17-18)… Therefore the Israelites were not the only people God had promised to bless. They did not have a corner on God’s blessings.” (3)
(1) G2487 – ichnos – Strong’s Greek Lexicon (KJV). (n.d.). Blue Letter Bible. https://www.blueletterbible.org/lexicon/g2487/kjv/tr/0-1/
(2) William Macdonald, Believer’s Bible Commentary Edited by Arthur Farstad. Thomas Nelson Publishers [Romans 4:1-25]
(3) Dr. Thomas L. Constable, Notes on Romans 2025 Edition https://soniclight.com/tcon/notes/html/romans/romans.htm