In Romans 3 and 4 we find Paul talking about faith and
circumcision. God instituted this
ceremony for his children, the Jews, starting with Abraham. Paul explains that circumcision was not the
instrument that made Abraham holy; it was his faith that he demonstrated before
hand that justified him. The act of
circumcision was only an outward sign of Abraham’s faith.
Today there are those that sometimes think that the
ceremonies of baptism, catechism, and confirmation make us a child of God. We sometimes get confused as to what they
represent. God asks us to have the faith
of Abraham. “Abraham believed God, and
it was credited to him as righteousness.”
Romans 4:3 So, we see that faith
in God is a prerequisite to our walk with him and not the ceremonies that make us
holy. Without faith in God and a belief
that he has a plan for our lives, we are not walking with him, but walking to the
beat of our own drummer instead. One
then can see that these previously mentioned ceremonies mean nothing if our hearts
are not right with God.
These rituals are only representations of our faith in God,
not the other way around. Ceremonies are good for they proclaim our faith,
but they do not make us holy, it is our heart and our faith in God that do just
that. “For we maintain that a man is
justified by faith. . .” Romans 3:28
