Romans 4:12-17

¹² And he is also the father of the circumcised, who are not only circumcised, but who also walk in the footsteps of the faith that our father Abraham possessed while he was still uncircumcised. ¹³ Because the promise to Abraham or to his descendants that he would inherit the world was not fulfilled by keeping the law, but through the righteousness that comes by faith. ¹⁴ Because if they become heirs by the law, faith is empty and the promise is nullified. ¹⁵ Because the law brings wrath, because where there is no law there is no transgression either. ¹⁶ For this reason it is by faith so that it may be by grace, with the result that the promise may be certain to all the descendants–not only to those who are under the law, but also to those who have the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all. ¹⁷ (Scripture states, “I have made you the father of a crowd of Gentiles”).[1] He is our father in the presence of God whom he believed–the God who makes the dead alive and summons the things that do not yet exist as though they already do.

father of us all

Paul talks about two groups of saPaul continues his careful, pastoral work of uniting the Roman church by returning to the shared spiritual ancestry of all believers. Abraham is not merely the father of the Jewish people; he is the father of all who walk in the footsteps of his faith. That means there are two groups of saved people, and both are saved by grace through faith in God’s promise.

First, there is the circumcised—Jewish believers—who follow in the spiritual footsteps of their natural ancestor. These believers do not trust in the outward sign or in their obedience to the law. They trust in the God of Abraham, the God who justifies the ungodly, the God who saves by promise rather than performance.

Next, there is the “crowd of Gentiles” who also walk in those same spiritual footsteps, even though they do not share Abraham’s bloodline and were never under the Mosaic covenant. They came to faith in Christ, and Paul insists they must be welcomed fully into the family of Abraham on the basis of that faith. Their inclusion is not a downgrade of Judaism but the fulfillment of what God promised—that Abraham would be the father of many nations.

Paul brings this up for at least two reasons.
He wants Jewish Christians to remain anchored in the gospel and not drift back into the legalism and ethnic pride that once defined their religious life. Such pride could tempt them to distance themselves from Gentile believers or even from Christ himself.
And he wants the entire Roman church—Jew and Gentile—to unite around one gospel: salvation by grace through faith, unpolluted by works‑based righteousness or cultural superiority. Only a gospel free from legalism and ethnic pride can create a unified people who reflect the heart of God.

Lord, help us keep the gospel we preach pure—free from the contamination of legalism and ethnic pride. May we walk together as children of Abraham, united by faith in your grace.

[1] Genesis 17:4 (from the Hebrew).