Romans 4:9-12 – RITUALS, RULES AND ORDINANCES:
“THE WRONG WAY FOR A MAN TO SEEK JUSTIFICATION.”

1.) WHO RECEIVES THE BLESSING OF FORGIVENESS? (ROM. 4:9) (Rom. 4:6-8)
2.) ABRAHAM WAS COUNTED RIGHTEOUS WHEN HE BELIEVED (ROM. 4:9) (Gal. 3:6; Rom. 4:3; Titus 3:4-5; Heb. 2:4)
3.) ABRAHAM WAS COUNTED RIGHTEOUS BEFORE THE RITUAL  (ROM. 4:10)
4.) ABRAHAM RECEIVED CIRCUMCISION AS A SIGN OR SYMBOL ONLY (ROM. 4:11)

a.) Circumcision was both a:

1.) Sign
2.) Seal

b.) Circumcision and all other rituals are a matter of the heart, not a matter of being spiritually cleansed by physical and material substances (Rom. 2:28-29; Col. 2:11; Deut. 10:16, 30:6)
c.) Baptism should be the first step of obedience in the believer’s new life in Christ (Mt. 3:15; Mk. 16:16; Acts 2:38; Col. 2:12)

5.) ABRAHAM WAS CHOSEN BY GOD FOR A TWOFOLD PURPOSE (ROM. 4:11-12)

a.) To be the father of all believers (Lk. 5:31-32, 19:10;Rom. 3:23-24)
b.) To be the father of the circumcised, “Who follow in the steps of Abraham’s faith.” (Mt. 7:22-23; Rom. 3:20, 10:2-4, 10; Gal. 2:16; Eph. 2:8-9)

The Great Principle: “The way to God is not through membership of any nation, not through any order or ruling which makes a mark upon a man’s body; but by the faith which takes God at His Word and makes everything dependent solely upon God’s grace.”