Romans 4:9-12
When Abraham believed God’s promise, God forgave him. From that moment, God disregarded Abraham’s sins and regarded him as righteous. All of this happened before God ordained the rite of circumcision. God did not ordain circumcision as a means to righteousness. Circumcision was a seal and sign of Abraham’s righteousness received by faith. Abraham was therefore the father of all who believe, in order that God might credit them as righteous, both those circumcised and those uncircumcised.

When the Hebrews circumcised a child as a baby, it did not make them righteous. Circumcision was an outward sign of God’s promise that He offered forgiveness and righteousness as a gift. As Hebrew children grew old enough to make decisions, they could choose to believe God’s promise, and God would credit that belief as righteousness. This was only possible because God was already looking forward to the coming of Christ and the gospel. There was coming a day when the promise would not be limited to the Jews, but offered to all humanity.

The Jewish Christians believed that salvation was for the gentiles, but some thought it was only for them if they accepted the outward sign of circumcision. They put more faith in the outward sign, than in the inward work. The early church put an end to this theological debate. Circumcision is not required to be a Christian.

For some Christians, a debate about baptism has replaced the debate about circumcision. Just as childhood circumcision did not negate the necessity of faith for the Jew, baby baptism does not negate the necessity of faith for the child raised as a Christian. All must arrive at a point of faith. Baptism is not required to be a Christian. Abraham was righteous by faith, before his circumcision; a believer can be a Christian before baptism. Neither circumcision nor baptism is a substitute for faith. God calls everyone to receive the righteousness of Abraham. The only way to receive the righteousness of Abraham is to walk in his footsteps of faith.