After showing that no one can be justified before God by the works of the law, Paul goes on to say that Abraham could not merit anything according to the flesh either. In saying the flesh, Paul meant circumcision, because Abraham sought nothing on the basis of his circumcision. For he was already justified before he was circumcised.

Paul shows from the example of Abraham that faith is not given only to those who are under the law and the circumcision, but also to those who are not circumcised. For Abraham was not justified by his works either, nor did he have any reason to boast, for he was imperfect and apart from God he could do nothing. . . . Abraham our father was justified by faith. Paul calls him the forefather according to the flesh of those Israelites who have become sons of God by the Spirit. For Christ was made like them in his birth according to the flesh, and now he has made them like him through his birth by grace in the Spirit.

The Jews kept repeating that Abraham, the friend of God, was the first to be circumcised. Paul wants to show that he was justified by faith. ^[1] [PSEUDO-]CONSTANTIUS: In saying according to the flesh Paul reveals that Abraham handed down his flesh but not his soul. ^[1]

Paul calls the Jews back to the beginning of circumcision, so that what it originally stood for might be fully understood.

This is a rhetorical argument, which goes like this: Someone who is justified by works has nothing to boast of before God. But Abraham did have something to glory in before God. Therefore he was justified by faith and not by works.

In this whole passage it seems that the apostle wants to show that there are two justifications, one by works and the other by faith. He says that justification by works has its glory but only in and of itself, not before God. Justification by faith, on the other hand, has glory before God, who sees our hearts and knows those who believe in secret and those who do not believe. Thus it is right to say that it has glory only before God, who sees the hidden power of faith. But the one who looks for justification by works may expect honor mainly from other persons who see and approve of them.

Let no one think that someone who has faith enough to be justified and to have glory before God can at the same time have unrighteousness dwelling in him as well. For faith cannot coexist with unbelief, nor can righteousness with wickedness, just as light and darkness cannot live together.

This is a rhetorical argument. For Abraham indeed does have glory before God, but because of the faith by which he was justified, because nobody is justified by the works of the law in a way which would give him glory before God. And because those who keep the law are still being justified, Paul adds: If Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about, but not before God.

For someone to be justified by faith if he had no works was unusual. But for one who had plenty of good works to delight in being justified not by works but by faith—that was something to cause amazement. It put the power of faith in a new light.

What Paul is saying here is not plain, and so it is necessary to make it clearer. There are two kinds of boasting—one of works and one of faith. . . . Paul’s great strength is particularly displayed in this, that he turns the objection around and shows that what seemed to favor the idea of salvation by works (viz., boasting) belonged much more truly to salvation by faith. For the man who boasts in his works is boasting about himself, but the man who finds his honor in having faith in God has a much better reason for boasting, because he is boasting about God, not about himself.^[1] . . . To abstain from stealing or murder is a minor accomplishment compared to believing that God can do the impossible. . . . The believer boasts not only because he sincerely loves God but also because he has received great honor and love from him.

Since Abraham without the law obtained glory not by the works of the law (as if he could fulfill the law in his own strength), since the law had not yet been given, the glory belongs to God, not to him. For he was justified not by his own merit, as if by works, but by the grace of God through faith.

If Abraham was justified because of his circumcision, then God gave him nothing and he could have gloried in what he did to himself. Or it may mean that if Abraham carried out the ordinances, he had glory in his own eyes but not in God’s.

What can we say to those who insist that Abraham was justified by works because he was ready to sacrifice his son Isaac on the altar?^[1] Abraham was already an old man when God promised him that he would have a son and that his descendants would be as countless as the stars of the sky.^[2] Abraham piously believed that all things are possible with God and so exercised this faith. God reckoned him to be righteous on this account and gave Abraham a reward worthy of such a godly mind, viz., the forgiveness of his previous sins. . . . So even if Abraham was also justified by his willingness to sacrifice Isaac, this must be regarded as an evident demonstration of a faith which was already very strong.^[3]

The accomplishment of good works honors those who do them, but it does not reveal the kindness of God. Faith, on the other hand, reveals both the love for God of the one who believes and God’s kindness.

Abraham believed that God was the maker of heaven and earth, the only true God, and he also believed that God would make his seed as numerous as the stars of heaven.^[1]

Was Abraham justified just because he had the faith to believe that he would be given a son? Or was it also because of all the other things which he had believed previously? . . . Before this point, Abraham had believed in part but not perfectly. Now, however, all the parts of his earlier faith are gathered together to make a perfect whole, by which he is justified.

I do not demand a reason from Christ. If I am convinced by reason, I deny faith. Abraham believed God. Let us also believe, so that we who are the heirs of his race may likewise be heirs of his faith. ON THE DEATH OF HIS BROTHER SATYRUS 2.89.^[1] THE REWARD OF PRAISE. AMBROSIASTER: Paul revealed that Abraham had glory before God not because he was circumcised nor because he abstained from evil, but because he believed in God. For that reason he was justified, and he would receive the reward of praise in the future.

The Master proclaimed that Abraham was just because he outran the weakness of his human nature. He strained with his whole mind toward the power of him who had made the promise.

Abraham’s faith was so great that his earlier sins were all forgiven him, and righteousness was counted as credit for every one of them by faith alone. Later he was on fire with such love for God that he piled one good work on top of another. Therefore he has glory in God’s eyes.

Faith relies on the grace of the justifier. Works rely on the justice of the rewarder. When I consider the greatness of Paul’s speech, by which he says that the worker receives what is due to him, I can hardly persuade myself that there is any deed which could claim a reward from God as its due. . . . Therefore, it seems that Paul is really referring here to evil deeds, of which Scripture frequently says that they get their due reward.^[1]

No merit is imputed for reward to the man who is subject to the law—either to the law of works, i.e., of Moses, or to the law of nature. For he who is obliged to keep the law is a debtor. A necessity is imposed upon him by the law to keep it whether he wants to or not, so as not to be guilty, as Paul says in another passage: Those who resist will incur judgment.^[1] On the other hand, to believe or not to believe is a matter of choice. No one can be required to accept something which is offered as a gift. But he is invited to receive it. He is not forced but persuaded. He believes what he does not see but hopes for. This is what glorifies God.

Paul was speaking here of the way wages are given. But God gave by grace, because he gave to sinners so that by faith they might live justly, that is, do good works. Thus the good works which we do after we have received grace are not to be attributed to us but rather to him who has justified us by his grace. For if God had wanted to give us our due reward, he would have given us the punishment due to sinners.

An employee must do as he is told, and unless he complies he is dismissed. But if he does what he is told, he has no glory, because a servant who does no more than what he has to is still called unprofitable.^[1] Or else he is not given righteousness freely but is paid a wage for prior work.

The doer of righteousness expects a reward, but justification by faith is the gift of the God of all.

Faith, which believes in the justifier, is the beginning of justification before God. And this faith, when it is justified, is like a root in the soil of the soul, which the rain has watered, so that as it begins to grow by the law of God, branches appear, which bring forth fruit. The root of righteousness does not spring from works; rather, the fruit of works grows from the root of righteousness, viz., by that root of righteousness by which God brings righteousness to the one whom he has accepted apart from works.

This refers to somebody who is bound by sin and who therefore does not do what the law commands. Paul says this because to an ungodly person, that is, to a Gentile, who believes in Christ without doing the works of the law, his faith is reckoned for righteousness just as Abraham’s was. How then can the Jews think that they have been justified by the works of the law in the same way as Abraham, when they see that Abraham was not justified by the works of the law but by faith alone? Therefore there is no need of the law when the ungodly is justified before God by faith alone.

Think how great a thing it is to be persuaded and have complete confidence that God is able not only to set an ungodly man free from punishment but also to make him righteous and count him worthy to receive these immortal honors. . . . This is what makes a believer glorious—the fact that he enjoys so great a grace and displays such great faith. Note too that the recompense is greater. For the one who works receives his reward, but the one who believes is made righteous. Righteousness is much greater than a reward, because it is a recompense which includes many rewards.

God makes the ungodly man godly, in order that he might persevere in this godliness and righteousness. For a man is justified in order that he might be just, not so that he might think it is all right to go on sinning.

When an ungodly person is converted, God justifies him by faith alone, not for good works which he does not have. On that basis he would have been punished for his ungodly works. But note that Paul does not say one who remains in sin is justified by faith but rather the ungodly, i.e., one who has just come to believe.

Paul backs this up by the example of the prophet David, who says that those are blessed of whom God has decreed that, without work or any keeping of the law, they are justified before God by faith alone. Therefore he foretells the blessedness of the time when Christ was born, just as the Lord himself said: Many prophets and righteous men longed to see what you see and to hear what you hear and did not hear it.^[1]

It is a great blessing to obtain the Lord’s grace without the work of the law and penance, as if one were receiving some public honor without having earned it.

After demonstrating by the example of the patriarch Abraham that faith is older than the law, Paul quotes a further witness in support of his position, viz., David the prophet and king.

Obviously they are blessed, whose iniquities are forgiven without labor or work of any kind and whose sins are covered without any work of penitence being required of them, as long as they believe.

How can these words apply to a penitent, when we know that penitents obtain the forgiveness of sin with much struggle and groaning? How can they be applied to a martyr, when we know that the glory of martyrdom is obtained by sufferings and pressures? But the prophet, foreseeing a happy time when the Savior comes, calls them blessed because their sins are forgiven, covered and not reckoned to them, and this without labor or work of any kind. ^[1] IN ^[1]

What is forgiven is not retained in the mind, and what is covered does not come to light, and for that reason it is not counted against us.

Note the order here. First comes the forgiveness of iniquity, then the covering of sin, then the non-imputation of the sin to the sinner. This is the order: First, the beginning of the soul’s conversion is the renunciation of evil. Second, the soul begins to do good works, which eventually become more numerous than the evil deeds which preceded them, and in this sense those sins may be said to be covered over. Finally, the soul reaches maturity. Every trace of sin is uprooted from it so that not even the smallest trace of wickedness remains The height of perfect blessedness is promised. The Lord will not impute any sin to the soul.

Wickedness is different from sin in that it applies to things which are done without the law. In Greek the word for this is anomía, meaning something which is done without the law. Sin, on the other hand, refers to something which is done against the dictates of conscience and nature.

Forgive, cover, not reckon—all amount to one and the same thing. For all three are given and received in the same way.

Paul has three categories to cover the different types of sin. The first category is that of wickedness or ungodliness, in that the Creator is not acknowledged. The second category is that of the more serious sins, and the third is that of the less serious ones. All of these are wiped out in baptism.

Some people say that sin is forgiven in baptism, covered by penitential works and through martyrdom not counted against us. But others say that when sins have been forgiven in baptism, love for God is increased, which covers a multitude of sins and keeps them from being counted against us as long as daily good works surpass past misdeeds.^[1]

Sinful works are not counted against the faithful. God’s love of humanity is the greatest thing that has happened.

If Abraham was justified by faith before he was circumcised, then it is possible for anyone who believes in God to be justified by faith, even if uncircumcised.

Is this blessedness given to the children of Abraham only or to the Gentiles also? If in those days the Gentiles were not forbidden to come under the law and the promise made to Abraham, how could it be that in the time of Christ they should be prevented from coming to grace, when God has clearly invited them?

Paul shows that the blessing, far from shunning the uncircumcised, was given to the uncircumcised (i.e., Abraham) before circumcision was instituted.

Paul means that the blessing is to be found in each of the three periods of nature, circumcision and Christian faith. Everyone agrees that faith was reckoned to Abraham as righteousness. Therefore, what reason discovers about Abraham, we will heed with regard to the rest.

In that Abraham was justified while he was still uncircumcised, it is obvious that he is the head and father of all uncircumcised believers.

What did Abraham believe? He believed that he would have a descendant, a son, in whom all the nations would be justified by faith while they were still uncircumcised, as Abraham then was.^[1]

Now we must see whether circumcision is born of righteousness or righteousness of circumcision. It must be the former, because Abraham was righteous before he was circumcised.

Paul demonstrates that faith was not only older than the law, it was older than circumcision as well.

But you Jews say that Abraham was circumcised. Yes, but he pleased God before his circumcision, and he did not yet observe the sabbath. For he had accepted circumcision as a sign for that time, not as a prerogative title to salvation.

Abraham received circumcision as a sign of the righteousness of faith. For believing that he would have a son, he received the sign of the thing which he believed, that it might be known that he was justified because of what he believed. Circumcision has no special value; it is just a sign.^[1] The children of Abraham received this sign so that it would be known that they were the children of him who had received this sign because he believed in God and so that they would imitate their father’s faith and believe in Jesus, who was promised to Abraham. Isaac was born as a type of Christ, for the nations are not blessed in Isaac but in Christ, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved, says the apostle Peter.^[2]

See how the uncircumcised had Abraham as their father before the circumcised came into existence! So if circumcision must be honored because it preaches righteousness, uncircumcision is still preeminent, because it came before circumcision in the dispensation of faith.

Paul taught us both that Abraham received circumcision as a sign and that while he was still uncircumcised he gave evidence of righteousness arising from faith.

In case anyone says that Abraham was circumcised unnecessarily, Paul argues that it is the sign or seal of an existing righteousness, not of growth in an unfolding righteousness. This righteousness was so perfect that it deserved a seal, for something that is full is always sealed.

Circumcision was given for these three reasons: First, to be a sign of faith; second, to mark out the race of Abraham, and third, to be a sign and symbol of good and wise behavior. It was not given in order to produce righteousness but as a sign and seal of the righteousness which was Abraham’s by faith.

After believing, Abraham received circumcision as a sign of the faith which he already had . . . which is how he can also be the father of those who are circumcised, provided that they share the same faith which he had while he was still uncircumcised.

Paul says this because Abraham by believing became the forefather of the circumcision, but of the heart, not only of those who descended from him but also of those who, from among the nations, believed in the way he did. He is the father of the Jews according to the flesh, but according to faith he is the father of all believers.

Circumcision is meaningless if there is no faith within. It is a sign of righteousness, but if there is no righteousness, then there is no sign either. The reason the Jews received a sign was that they might seek diligently for the reality of which the sign spoke. If they had done so, they would not have needed the sign in the first place. Righteousness is not the only thing that circumcision proclaims; it also proclaims that righteousness can be found in an uncircumcised man (e.g., Abraham). In effect, therefore, circumcision proclaims that there is no need of circumcision.

Therefore all the Gentiles who believe are children of Abraham when faith alone is credited to them as righteousness and they too receive the circumcision—of the heart.^[1] Or perhaps this verse should be understood like this: Abraham was righteous in uncircumcision so that he could become the father of uncircumcised believers, and he remained righteous once he was circumcised in order to become the father of the righteous who are circumcised.

If a Gentile who has not been circumcised follows Abraham’s faith, which he manifested before being circumcised, he will not be rejected. For the God of all, since he had foreseen as God that he would gather one people from both Jews and Gentiles and prepare for them salvation by faith, had appointed Abraham as their father as well. Paul had demonstrated that Abraham had acquired righteousness by faith before being circumcised and that even after being circumcised he lived not according to the law of Moses but by clinging to his faith. Hence Paul called him the father of the Gentiles who believe.

Long before Moses ever existed, the Lord appeared to Abraham and said: Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and him who curses you I will curse; and by you all the families of the earth will be blessed.^[1]

It is clear that the law had not yet been given, neither was there as yet circumcision, when the promise was made to Abraham the believer and to his seed, which is Christ, who would cleanse the sins of all.^[1] Therefore Abraham was made heir to the world not by the merit earned from keeping the law but by faith. The heir of the world is the heir of the earth, which he obtained in his children. For Christ is the heir of the nations, as David sings: I will make the nations your heritage and the ends of the earth your possession.^[2]

Here Paul calls circumcision the law, because every commandment can be regarded as part of the law. Abraham inherited the world, either because in his seed (viz., Christ) all the nations which were given to him by the Father might be blessed^[1] or because the nations would sup with him in the kingdom of heaven.^[2]

Paul says that the righteous will inherit the world because the ungodly will be thrown out and handed over to punishment on the day of judgment, but the righteous will possess the universe which remains, and will have been renewed, and the good things of heaven and earth will be theirs.

Paul says that the promise given to Abraham that he should inherit the world did not come from the law but by faith, which was reckoned to him as righteousness. It doubtless follows that everyone who hopes that God’s righteousness will be imputed to him hopes for this by faith and not by the law.

The apostle shows that there is something wicked in hoping for an inheritance by the law.

To prevent anyone from saying that it is possible to have faith and to keep the law at the same time, Paul shows that this is impracticable. For one who clings to the law as if it were of saving force dishonors the power of faith. This is why Paul says that faith is made void, i.e., that there is no need of salvation by grace. . . . And without faith, there is no promise of inheritance, which is what scared the Jews most of all, because that is what they really wanted. For the promise was that they should be heirs of the entire world.

If only the circumcised are heirs, God has not fulfilled his promise to Abraham that he would be the father of many nations,^[1] and it will seem that the nations believed in God without any reason.

Paul says that the law brings wrath in order to underline his point, [made in the previous verse,] that it is not the pathway to the inheritance of the promise.

The law which brings transgression cannot be the law of Moses, because there was plenty of transgression before that came into force. Rather, it is the law which dwells in our members and leads us into sin. This is the same law which the apostle says brings wrath. For without a doubt it brings wrath when it leads its captive into sin. But where the law of sin does not obtain, then of course there is no transgression.

In order to show that no man can be justified before God by the law, nor can the promise be given through the law, Paul says that the law brings wrath. It was given in order to make transgressors guilty. But faith is the gift of God’s mercy, so that those who have been made guilty by the law may obtain forgiveness. Therefore faith brings joy. Paul does not speak against the law but gives priority to faith. It is not possible to be saved by the law, but we are saved by God’s grace through faith. Therefore the law itself is not wrath, but it brings wrath, i.e., punishment, to the sinner, for wrath is born from sin. For this reason Paul wants the law to be abandoned so that the sinner will take refuge in faith, which forgives sins, that he may be saved.

Paul says that where there is no law there is no transgression, because once the guilty have been removed from the power of the law and given forgiveness, there is no transgression. For those who were sinners because they had transgressed the law are now justified. For the law of works has ceased, that is, the observance of sabbaths, new moons, circumcision, distinction of foods and the expiation by a dead animal or the blood of a weasel.

The law works wrath and makes those who are under it liable for their transgressions, which is a curse, not a promise! . . . But when faith comes it brings grace with it, and so the promise takes effect. For where there is grace there is forgiveness, and where there is forgiveness there is no punishment. Once punishment is removed and righteousness takes hold from faith, there is no obstacle to our becoming heirs of the promise.

This applies to the second state of man, when he is under the law.

Paul said this because God’s wrath is more severe toward a transgressor who knows sin by the law and still commits it.

The law brings wrath because it was ordained for the unrighteous,^[1] and it weighed sinners down rather than set them free. . . . Where there is no law there is nothing which can be broken. Or perhaps this means that there is nothing to be punished where the law is not necessary.

It might appear from this that faith is not a free gift of God but that it must first be offered to him by man in order for grace to be given in return. But consider what the apostle teaches about this elsewhere. For when he lists the gifts of the Spirit, which he says are given to believers according to the measure of faith, there among the rest he asserts that the gift of faith is also given.^[1] Therefore faith is given by grace. . . .

If the promise rested on works, it would not be guaranteed. But now it is guaranteed because it rests on grace, not on works. I think this can be understood to mean that the things of the law are external to us, but the things of grace are internal . . . and therefore they have a firmer foundation.

The promise could not be certain to every offspring, that is, to everyone from every nation, unless it was by faith. The source of the promise is faith and not the law, because those who are under the law are guilty, and the promise cannot be given to those who are guilty. For this reason they must first be purified by faith, so that they may become worthy to be called the children of God, so that the promise may be certain. For if they say they are children of God when they are still guilty (that is to say, under the law), then the promise is not certain. First the children of God must be set free from sin. So those who are under the law must be rescued from the law in order to deserve to receive the promise, which is all the greater because it is apart from the law.

It is not only the law which faith upholds but the promise also. . . . But the law when kept after its expiry date makes even faith of no effect and blocks the promise. In saying this Paul shows that faith, far from being superfluous, is necessary to the extent that without it there is no salvation.

Here Paul mentions two blessings. The first is that the things which have been given are secured. The second is that they are given to all Abraham’s descendants, including the Gentiles who believe and excluding the Jews who do not.

The law does not forgive sins but condemns them, and therefore it cannot make all nations children of Abraham, because in the end all must be punished since all are found under sin. But faith makes all believers children of Abraham, because their sins have been forgiven by grace.

Paul humbled the pride of the Jews by calling all those who imitated Abraham’s faith the seed of Abraham, even if they were of a different race. For if the law punishes those who break it, grace gives forgiveness of sins and confirms the promise of God, giving a blessing to the Gentiles.

The dead here are those whose souls have sinned, for Scripture says: The soul that sins will die.^[1] For just as the senses perish in our mortal body so that the body can no longer hear, smell, taste or touch, so also the spiritual senses perish in the soul so that it cannot see God or hear his Word, or sense the sweet odor of Christ, or taste the good Word of God, or handle the word of life. People like that must be said to be dead. This is what we were like when Christ came, but he has given us life by his grace.^[2]

Abraham is the father of all believers, not just of the nation of Israel. Life to the dead is given to those who are dead for the purpose of bearing children, which is the context of the present discussion.

Paul confirms by quoting the law that Abraham is the father of all who believe, and so the promise is firm if they abandon the law on account of their faith, because the promise of the kingdom of heaven is given to the righteous, not to sinners. Those who are under the law are under sin because all have sinned, and it is not possible for anyone who is under the law to receive grace.

In order to teach that there is one God for all, Paul tells the Gentiles that Abraham believed in God himself and was justified in his sight. The Gentiles also believe in him that they may be justified, and so there is no difference between Jew and Greek in faith,^[1] for when the circumcision and the uncircumcision are taken away they are made one in Christ.

Paul invites the Gentiles to share the faith of Abraham, who believed God while he was still uncircumcised. Now that that faith is preached in Christ, he has been raised from the dead, along with his wife. For when they were already very old they sprang back to life, so that Abraham did not doubt that he would have a son by Sarah, whom he knew to be sterile and who had long since ceased to have her menstrual period. Paul said this so that they would not worry about circumcision or uncircumcision but that they would respond eagerly because of their faith, secure in the knowledge that the one in whom they believe is no other than the one who gives life to the dead, who has the power to bring things which do not exist into being by his will.

Is God here referring to the fact that Abraham was the father of the Ishmaelites, or the Amalekites, or the Hagarenes?^[1] No . . . God is a father not by way of natural relationship but by way of the relation of faith. It is in this sense also that Abraham is the father of us all.

This means that faith is in the inner man, in the sight of God and not in human display, which is what the circumcision of the flesh is.

Everything which God did not beget of himself but made through his Word he made not out of things which already existed but out of what did not exist at all, i.e., out of nothing.^[1]