Is this blessing then only for the circumcised, or also for the uncircumcised? For we say that faith was counted to Abraham as righteousness. How then was it counted to him? Was it before or after he had been circumcised? It was not after, but before he was circumcised. He received the sign of circumcision as a seal of the righteousness that he had by faith while he was still uncircumcised. ~Romans 4:9-11a (ESV)
How is faith the same as righteousness? Well, if we can agree that we are all sinners and can never make ourselves good enough to be in God's presence, then we can also say that it's only by having faith in God's grace that we are able to be with him. We are not righteous people, but through our faith in Christ, God chooses to see us as righteous. Now, there are certain things God gives us in the Bible that act as signs or seals to show whether or not we truly have faith, (even if some of them are a bit out of date). But, as Paul explains in the passage above, let us not get these signs and "covenants" mixed up to be more important than they really are. Circumcision can't save you, only Jesus can.
THIS IS THE SECOND POST FOR THIS WEEK
I am attempting to catch up for a few missed posts a while back, so the post below this is new to this week as well.
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