“Is this blessing only for the circumcised, then? Or is it also for the uncircumcised? For we say, Faith was credited to Abraham for righteousness. In what way, then, was it credited—while he was circumcised, or uncircumcised? It was not while he was circumcised, but uncircumcised. And he received the sign of circumcision as a seal of the righteousness that he had by faith, while still uncircumcised. This was to make him the father of all who believe but are not circumcised, so that righteousness may be credited to them also. And he became the father of the circumcised, who are not only circumcised but who also follow in the footsteps of the faith our father Abraham had while he was still uncircumcised.” (CSB – Read the chapter)
I don’t think I consciously remember a single Sunday school lesson before about sixth grade (and I only remember one from that year). But I do remember my third and fourth grade class quite well. Our teachers brought us Schwartz’s glazed donuts and Tang, and we sang Father Abraham most weeks. It was a silly Sunday school song whose motions we always did backwards such that we wound terribly dizzy by the end of it. But the point of the song was to teach a theologically rich spiritual truth that we find Paul espousing in this next part of his letter.
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