Monday in Epiphany

1Verse 1. When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the LORD appeared to him and said, “I am God Almighty. Walk before Me and be blameless. 2Verse 2. I will establish My covenant between Me and you, and I will multiply you exceedingly.” 3Verse 3. Then Abram fell facedown, and God said to him, 4Verse 4. “As for Me, this is My covenant with you: You will be the father of many nations. 5Verse 5. No longer will you be called Abram, but your name will be Abraham, for I have made you a father of many nations. 6Verse 6. I will make you exceedingly fruitful; I will make nations of you, and kings will descend from you. 7Verse 7. I will establish My covenant as an everlasting covenant between Me and you and your descendants after you, to be your God and the God of your descendants after you. 8Verse 8. And to you and your descendants I will give the land where you are residing— all the land of Canaan— as an eternal possession; and I will be their God.” 9Verse 9. God also said to Abraham, “You must keep My covenant— you and your descendants in the generations after you. 10Verse 10. This is My covenant with you and your descendants after you, which you are to keep: Every male among you must be circumcised. 11Verse 11. You are to circumcise the flesh of your foreskin, and this will be a sign of the covenant between Me and you. 12Verse 12. Generation after generation, every male must be circumcised when he is eight days old, including those born in your household and those purchased from a foreigner — even those who are not your offspring. 13Verse 13. Whether they are born in your household or purchased, they must be circumcised. My covenant in your flesh will be an everlasting covenant.

1Verse 1. What then shall we say that Abraham, our forefather according to the flesh, has discovered? 2Verse 2. If Abraham was indeed justified by works, he had something to boast about, but not before God. 3Verse 3. For what does the Scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.” 4Verse 4. Now the wages of the worker are not credited as a gift, but as an obligation. 5Verse 5. However, to the one who does not work, but believes in Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is credited as righteousness. 6Verse 6. And David speaks likewise of the blessedness of the man to whom God credits righteousness apart from works: 7Verse 7. “Blessed are they whose lawless acts are forgiven, whose sins are covered. 8Verse 8. Blessed is the man whose sin the Lord will never count against him.” 9Verse 9. Is this blessing only on the circumcised, or also on the uncircumcised? We have been saying that Abraham’s faith was credited to him as righteousness. 10Verse 10. In what context was it credited? Was it after his circumcision, or before? It was not after, but before. 11Verse 11. And he received the sign of circumcision as a seal of the righteousness that he had by faith while he was still uncircumcised. So then, he is the father of all who believe but are not circumcised, in order that righteousness might be credited to them. 12Verse 12. And he is also the father of the circumcised who not only are circumcised, but who also walk in the footsteps of the faith that our father Abraham had before he was circumcised.