1 W hat, then, shall we say Abraham our father, to have found, according to flesh?

What about Abraham, our early father? What did he learn?

2 f or if Abraham by works was declared righteous, he hath to boast -- but not before god;

If Abraham was made right with God by what he did, he would have had something to be proud of. But he could not be proud before God.

3 f or what doth the writing say? `And Abraham did believe God, and it was reckoned to him -- to righteousness;'

The Holy Writings say, “Abraham put his trust in God and that made him right with God.”

4 a nd to him who is working, the reward is not reckoned of grace, but of debt;

If a man works, his pay is not a gift. It is something he has earned.

5 a nd to him who is not working, and is believing upon Him who is declaring righteous the impious, his faith is reckoned -- to righteousness:

If a man has not worked to be saved, but has put his trust in God Who saves men from the punishment of their sins, that man is made right with God because of his trust in God.

6 e ven as David also doth speak of the happiness of the man to whom God doth reckon righteousness apart from works:

David tells of this. He spoke of how happy the man is who puts his trust in God without working to be saved from the punishment of sin.

7 ` Happy they whose lawless acts were forgiven, and whose sins were covered;

“Those people are happy whose sinful acts are forgiven and whose sins are covered.

8 h appy the man to whom the Lord may not reckon sin.'

Those people are happy whose sins the Lord will not remember.”

9 t his happiness, then, upon the circumcision, or also upon the uncircumcision -- for we say that the faith was reckoned to Abraham -- to righteousness?

Is this happiness given to the Jews only? Or is it given also to the people who are not Jews? We say again, “Abraham put his trust in God and that made him right with God.”

10 h ow then was it reckoned? he being in circumcision, or in uncircumcision? not in circumcision, but in uncircumcision;

When did this happen? Was it before or after Abraham went through the religious act of becoming a Jew? It was before.

11 a nd a sign he did receive of circumcision, a seal of the righteousness of the faith in the uncircumcision, for his being father of all those believing through uncircumcision, for the righteousness also being reckoned to them,

He went through the religious act after he had put his trust in God. That religious act proved that his trust in God made him right with God even before he went through the religious act of becoming a Jew. In that way, it made him the early father of all those who believe. It showed that those who did not go through the religious act of becoming a Jew could be right with God.

12 a nd father of circumcision to those not of circumcision only, but who also walk in the steps of the faith, that in the uncircumcision of our father Abraham.

He is also the early father of all those who have gone through the religious act of becoming a Jew. It is not because they went through the act. It is because they put their trust in God the same as Abraham did before he went through the religious act of becoming a Jew.

13 F or not through law the promise to Abraham, or to his seed, of his being heir of the world, but through the righteousness of faith;

God promised to give the world to him and to all his family after him. He did not make this promise because Abraham obeyed the Law. He promised to give the world to Abraham because he put his trust in God. This made him right with God.

14 f or if they who are of law heirs, the faith hath been made void, and the promise hath been made useless;

If those who obey the Law are to get the world, then a person putting his trust in God means nothing. God’s promise to Abraham would be worth nothing.

15 f or the law doth work wrath; for where law is not, neither transgression.

God’s anger comes on a man when he does not obey the Law. But if there were no Law, then no one could break it.

16 B ecause of this of faith, that according to grace, for the promise being sure to all the seed, not to that which of the law only, but also to that which of the faith of Abraham,

So God’s promise is given to us because we put our trust in Him. We can be sure of it. It is because of His loving-favor to us. It is for all the family of Abraham. It is for those who obey the Law. It is for those who put their trust in God as Abraham did. In this way, he is the father of all Christians.

17 w ho is father of us all (according as it hath been written -- `A father of many nations I have set thee,') before Him whom he did believe -- God, who is quickening the dead, and is calling the things that be not as being.

The Holy Writings say, “I have made you a father of many nations.” This promise is good because of Who God is. He makes the dead live again. He speaks, and something is made out of nothing.

18 W ho, against hope in hope did believe, for his becoming father of many nations according to that spoken: `So shall thy seed be;'

Abraham believed he would be the father of many nations. He had no reason to hope for this, but he had been told, “Your children will become many nations.”

19 a nd not having been weak in the faith, he did not consider his own body, already become dead, (being about a hundred years old,) and the deadness of Sarah's womb,

Abraham was about one hundred years old. His body was about dead, but his faith in God was not weak when he thought of his body. His faith was not weak when he thought of his wife Sarah being past the age of having children.

20 a nd at the promise of God did not stagger in unbelief, but was strengthened in faith, having given glory to God,

Abraham did not doubt God’s promise. His faith in God was strong, and he gave thanks to God.

21 a nd having been fully persuaded that what He hath promised He is able also to do:

He was sure God was able to do what He had promised.

22 w herefore also it was reckoned to him to righteousness.

Abraham put his trust in God and was made right with Him.

23 A nd it was not written on his account alone, that it was reckoned to him,

The words, “He was made right with God,” were not for Abraham only.

24 b ut also on ours, to whom it is about to be reckoned -- to us believing on Him who did raise up Jesus our Lord out of the dead,

They were for us also. God will make us right with Himself the same way He did Abraham, if we put our trust in God Who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead.

25 w ho was delivered up because of our offences, and was raised up because of our being declared righteous.

Jesus died for our sins. He was raised from the dead to make us right with God.