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Genesis 15: 1-6

After this, the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision:

“Do not be afraid, Abram.
I am your shield,
your very great reward.^]”

² But Abram said, “Sovereign Lord, what can you give me since I remain childless and the one who will inherit my estate is Eliezer of Damascus?”

 ³ And Abram said, “You have given me no children; so a servant in my household will be my heir.”

⁴ Then the word of the Lord came to him: “This man will not be your heir, but a son who is your own flesh and blood will be your heir.”

 ⁵ He took him outside and said, “Look up at the sky and count the stars—if indeed you can count them.” Then he said to him, “So shall your offspring be.”

⁶ Abram believed the Lord, and he credited it to him as righteousness.

Romans 4: 1-15

What then shall we say that Abraham, our forefather according to the flesh, discovered in this matter?

² If, in fact, Abraham was justified by works, he had something to boast about—but not before God.

 ³ What does Scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.”

⁴ Now to the one who works, wages are not credited as a gift but as an obligation.

 ⁵ However, to the one who does not work but trusts God who justifies the ungodly, their faith is credited as righteousness.

 ⁶ David says the same thing when he speaks of the blessedness of the one to whom God credits righteousness apart from works:

⁷ “Blessed are those
whose transgressions are forgiven,
whose sins are covered.
⁸ Blessed is the one
whose sin the Lord will never count against them.”

⁹ Is this blessedness only for the circumcised, or also for the uncircumcised?

We have been saying that Abraham’s faith was credited to him as righteousness.

¹⁰ Under what circumstances was it credited? Was it after he was circumcised, or before? It was not after, but before!

 ¹¹ And he received circumcision as a sign, a seal of the righteousness that he had by faith while he was still uncircumcised.

 So then, he is the father of all who believe but have not been circumcised, in order that righteousness might be credited to them.

¹² And he is then also the father of the circumcised who not only are circumcised but who also follow in the footsteps of the faith

that our father Abraham had before he was circumcised.

¹³ It was not through the law that Abraham and his offspring received the promise that he would be heir of the world,

 but through the righteousness that comes by faith.

 ¹⁴ For if those who depend on the law are heirs, faith means nothing and the promise is worthless,

 ¹⁵ because the law brings wrath. And where there is no law there is no transgression.