| [an error occurred while processing this directive] | New Living Translation |
| 1[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 1Abraham was, humanly speaking, the founder of our Jewish nation. What did he discover about being made right with God? |
| 2[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 2If his good deeds had made him acceptable to God, he would have had something to boast about. But that was not God’s way. |
| 3[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 3For the Scriptures tell us, “Abraham believed God, and God counted him as righteous because of his faith.” |
| 4[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 4When people work, their wages are not a gift, but something they have earned. |
| 5[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 5But people are counted as righteous, not because of their work, but because of their faith in God who forgives sinners. |
| 6[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 6David also spoke of this when he described the happiness of those who are declared righteous without working for it: |
| 7[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 7“Oh, what joy for those whose disobedience is forgiven, whose sins are put out of sight. |
| 8[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 8Yes, what joy for those whose record the LORD has cleared of sin.” |
| 9[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 9Now, is this blessing only for the Jews, or is it also for uncircumcised Gentiles? Well, we have been saying that Abraham was counted as righteous by God because of his faith. |
| 10[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 10But how did this happen? Was he counted as righteous only after he was circumcised, or was it before he was circumcised? Clearly, God accepted Abraham before he was circumcised! |
| 11[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 11Circumcision was a sign that Abraham already had faith and that God had already accepted him and declared him to be righteous—even before he was circumcised. So Abraham is the spiritual father of those who have faith but have not been circumcised. They are counted as righteous because of their faith. |
| 12[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 12And Abraham is also the spiritual father of those who have been circumcised, but only if they have the same kind of faith Abraham had before he was circumcised. |
| 13[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 13Clearly, God’s promise to give the whole earth to Abraham and his descendants was based not on his obedience to God’s law, but on a right relationship with God that comes by faith. |
| 14[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 14If God’s promise is only for those who obey the law, then faith is not necessary and the promise is pointless. |
| 15[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 15For the law always brings punishment on those who try to obey it. (The only way to avoid breaking the law is to have no law to break!) |
| 16[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 16So the promise is received by faith. It is given as a free gift. And we are all certain to receive it, whether or not we live according to the law of Moses, if we have faith like Abraham’s. For Abraham is the father of all who believe. |
| 17[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 17That is what the Scriptures mean when God told him, “I have made you the father of many nations.” This happened because Abraham believed in the God who brings the dead back to life and who creates new things out of nothing. |
| 18[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 18Even when there was no reason for hope, Abraham kept hoping—believing that he would become the father of many nations. For God had said to him, “That’s how many descendants you will have!” |
| 19[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 19And Abraham’s faith did not weaken, even though, at about 100 years of age, he figured his body was as good as dead—and so was Sarah’s womb. |
| 20[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 20Abraham never wavered in believing God’s promise. In fact, his faith grew stronger, and in this he brought glory to God. |
| 21[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 21He was fully convinced that God is able to do whatever he promises. |
| 22[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 22And because of Abraham’s faith, God counted him as righteous. |
| 23[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 23And when God counted him as righteous, it wasn’t just for Abraham’s benefit. It was recorded |
| 24[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 24for our benefit, too, assuring us that God will also count us as righteous if we believe in him, the one who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead. |
| 25[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 25He was handed over to die because of our sins, and he was raised to life to make us right with God. |
| [an error occurred while processing this directive] | Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved. |
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