This week Paul offered Father Abraham as an example of how to obtain righteousness with God—through Christ by faith alone. We learned that Abraham’s faith was counted to him as righteousness BEFORE he was circumcised. God made a promise to and covenant with Abraham to redeem the world—both the circumcised AND the uncircumcised—and it would be carried out by Abraham believing God and his promises, not by his own keeping the law. When we are under grace, believing God, then our sin is forgiven and our faith is counted to us as righteousness. Abraham’s faith was/is the model and the pointer to God’s plan for his people.