Introduction

In the preceding episode, we saw how Israel’s elective vocation was reconfigured by Paul to focus on the work of Christ and the resurrection. The focus was Romans 1-3 and how Paul understands faith/faithfulness and Torah keeping. In this episode the template of the faithfulness of Jesus, the faith of the individual believer, and the matter of works (specifically circumcision) are articulated by Paul using the story of Abraham in Romans 4. Again, Paul contextualizes the Old Testament in light of the work of Jesus and his own encounter with the risen Christ.