Romans 4:12

And the father of circumcision to them who not only are of the circumcision, but who also walk in the steps of that faith of our father Abraham which he had in uncircumcision.

Who also walk after the steps of that faith of our father Abraham ... These words mean "who have an obedient faith like Abraham." Abrahamic faith was not any such thing as faith ONLY, but it was a faith that walked after God's commandments, as pointed out under Romans 4:3; and Gentiles (or others) who would participate in the promise of salvation God gave through Abraham are here identified as those who "walk" in the steps of that faith, which is a way of saying they must have an obedient faith as did Abraham. Some of the so-called translations and modern speech renditions of the New Testament have butchered this verse by eliminating all reference to obedience.

For Abraham found favor with God by faith alone, before he was circumcised (The Living Word New Testament, paraphrased).

For those who have the faith of Abraham (NEB).

Because they live the same life of faith (The New Testament in Today's English). Etc.

The word "walk" or "tread" is in the Greek New Testament, and it should be in all valid translations of the word of God; but that expression is so obviously a reference to obedience that it cannot fit into the theories of salvation by faith alone; and the conviction persists that this fact influenced some of the so-called translations. It is admitted by all that Christians are saved by the same kind of faith Abraham had, before circumcision and the law; and a further study of the steps of Abraham's faith will reveal that obedience was coupled with it, and that it was by obedient faith that Abraham was justified.

THE STEPS OF ABRAHAM'S FAITH

Now the Lord said unto Abram, get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father's house, unto a land that I will show thee. And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing (Genesis 12:1,2).

There are discernible three things in the steps of Abraham's faith, these being: (1) leave something, (2) enter something, and (3) become something. The same essential steps of that faith must be followed today by those who would be saved.

1. Leave something. What a sorrow must have swept over Abraham's heart as he turned his back for the last time upon the battlements of Ur! Walter Scott caught something of the mystic charm which lies for every man in the scenes of his nativity.

Breathes there the man with soul so dead Who never to himself hath said, This is my own, my native land, Whose heart has never in him burned As home his footsteps he has turned From wandering on a foreign strand?[11]

How fond and tender must have been the farewells of Abraham as he kissed his loved ones goodbye forever, placed his life in the care of God, and set his face toward an unknown destination!

Abraham did not shrink from leaving all behind. He obeyed God. If he had not done so, God would have chosen another for the office to which he called Abraham. It is the same with all who would walk in the steps of that faith now. Those who would follow the Lord are commanded to "leave all" that they have (Luke 14:33), and to subordinate the love of father, mother, brother, sister, son, or daughter (Matthew 10:37), and to follow Christ even unto death (Revelation 2:10). James and John left their nets and Zebedee their father; Paul left the honor of the Sanhedrin; they "left all and followed" Christ (Mark 10:28). Likewise, people today must forsake the dead past, leave all their yesterdays, and follow the Lord. For people who have never left anything, who never intend to leave anything, not even their sins, and who stubbornly remain in the world, accepting utterly the world's value judgments, wallowing in its excesses, and being fully identified with the world for such people to think that they have the faith of Abraham is blindness.

2. Enter something. God spoke to Abram of a "land that I will show thee," and God's plan called for him to enter that land. Did Abraham obey? Let the word of the Lord reply:

By faith Abraham when he was called to go out into a place which he would afterwards receive as an inheritance, OBEYED, and he went out not knowing whither he went (Hebrews 11:8).

And did Abraham actually enter that land? Let God's word answer:

And they went forth to go into the land of Canaan; and into the land of Canaan they came (Genesis 12:5).

And what if Abraham had demurred, had decided that he could believe ONLY, without obeying, and returned home? The obvious deduction thunders in the mind that contemplates such questions as these.

For those who will walk in the steps of Abraham's faith, there is something for every man to enter, no less than there was for Abraham. All who aspire to walk after the steps of Abraham's faith must enter into the rest which is in Christ.

For we who have believed do enter into that rest (Hebrews 4:3).

They must enter into the kingdom of God, the kingdom of heaven, the kingdom of the Son of his love. Failure to enter the kingdom is forfeiture of eternal life. The verse cited above from Hebrews shows who may enter, "we who have believed"; and Christ himself explained how the entering is accomplished:

Except one be born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God (John 3:5).

Entering the kingdom is equivalent to entering Christ, in whom is "every spiritual blessing" (Ephesians 1:3); and the scriptures repeatedly affirm that one is baptized "into Christ" (Romans 6:3; Galatians 3:27).

But, what of him who fancies that he is walking in the steps of Abraham's faith while neglecting or refusing baptism, thus refusing to enter the kingdom? Abraham ENTERED! Have we?

3. Become something. Implicit in all God's plans for people is the heavenly intention that they shall not merely do certain things, but that they may become a blessing. God said to Abraham, "Thou shalt become a blessing." Likewise, the person walking in the steps of that faith of Abraham will have a lot of "becoming" to do. He is to become the salt of the earth and the light of the world (Matthew 5:13-16). He is to become heir of all things, "joint-heirs with Christ" (Romans 8:17). He is to become a citizen of heaven (Philippians 3:20,21). He is to become a messenger, bearing the good news to all people: "Go preach the gospel to every creature. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved" (Mark 16:15,16). He is to become an example of the believers, "in spirit, in faith, in purity" (1 Timothy 4:12). Abraham became a blessing; those who walk in the steps of his faith will do likewise.

By way of summary, to walk in the steps of Abraham's faith is to believe in the Lord Jesus with all the heart, repent of transgressions, obey his everlasting gospel by being baptized "into Christ" for the remission of sins, thus entering the kingdom of light and leaving the kingdom of darkness, receiving also, at last, the crown of life that fadeth not away. Anything less than this is not walking in the steps of Abraham's faith.