Why was Abraham called the father of faith?
He was considered the Father of the Jews because the nation of Israel can trace their ancestry back to Abraham. God was faithful in his promise to Abraham that he would be the father of many nations (Gen. 17:5). And Jews throughout Biblical history felt that they were superior because they had the Law from God, the Covenant of Circumcision, and that Abraham was their father. And New Testament writer and Old Testament “scholar,” Paul, comes along in the Book of Romans and says: “If, in fact, Abraham was justified by works, he had something to boast about—but not before God. What does the Scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.” 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. Under what circumstances was it credited? Was it after he was circumcised, or before? It was not after, but before! And he received the sign of circumcision, a seal o
