Romans 4:5

3 For what does the Scripture say? ^a“Abraham believed God, and it was¹ accounted to him for righteousness.”

4 Now ^ato him who works, the wages are not counted¹ as grace but as debt.

David Celebrates the Same Truth

5 But to him who ^adoes not work but believes on Him who justifies ^bthe ungodly, his faith is accounted for righteousness,

6 just as David also ^adescribes the blessedness of the man to whom God imputes righteousness apart from works:

7 “Blessed^a are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven,
And whose sins are covered;

8 Blessed is the man to whom the Lord shall not impute sin.”

Abraham Justified Before Circumcision

9 Does this blessedness then come upon the circumcised only, or upon the uncircumcised also? For we say that faith was accounted to Abraham for righteousness.

10 How then was it accounted? While he was circumcised, or uncircumcised? Not while circumcised, but while uncircumcised.

11 And ^ahe received the sign of circumcision, a seal of the righteousness of the faith which he had while still uncircumcised, that ^bhe might be the father of all those who believe, though they are uncircumcised, that righteousness might be imputed to them also,

12 and the father of circumcision to those who not only are of the circumcision, but who also walk in the steps of the faith which our father ^aAbraham had while still uncircumcised.

The Promise Granted Through Faith

13 For the promise that he would be the ^aheir of the world was not to Abraham or to his seed through the law, but through the righteousness of faith.

14 For ^aif those who are of the law are heirs, faith is made void and the promise made of no effect,

15 because ^athe law brings about wrath; for where there is no law there is no transgression.

16 Therefore it is of faith that it might be ^aaccording to grace, ^bso that the promise might be sure to all the seed, not only to those who are of the law, but also to those who are of the faith of Abraham, ^cwho is the father of us all

17 (as it is written, ^a“I have made you a father of many nations”) in the presence of Him whom he believed—God, ^bwho gives life to the dead and calls those ^cthings which do not exist as though they did;

18 who, contrary to hope, in hope believed, so that he became the father of many nations, according to what was spoken, ^a“So shall your descendants be.”

19 And not being weak in faith, ^ahe did not consider his own body, already dead (since he was about a hundred years old), ^band the deadness of Sarah’s womb.

20 He did not waver at the promise of God through unbelief, but was strengthened in faith, giving glory to God,

21 and being fully convinced that what He had promised ^aHe was also able to perform.

22 And therefore ^a“it was accounted to him for righteousness.”

23 Now ^ait was not written for his sake alone that it was imputed to him,

24 but also for us. It shall be imputed to us who believe ^ain Him who raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead,

25 ^awho was delivered up because of our offenses, and ^bwas raised because of our justification.

Commentaries:

Forerunner Commentary
What is the Forerunner Commentary?

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What Does Romans 4:5 Mean?

Romans 4:5-8

God simply accounts righteousness, the righteousness of Christ, where righteousness does not in reality exist. When we are justified, He looks upon us as though we were sinless like His Son. That is awesome! Do we deserve that? Have we earned it? It is incredible that He should deal with us as though we were righteous and without sin!

In "account," we are obviously dealing with an accounting term. The picture is as if a person were looking at a ledger, and every figure is in the debit column. He is hopelessly in debt; he cannot figure out how to bring things into balance. He could never earn enough because His income is not great enough. He has no real assets. Nothing can balance the account. In his despair, he cries out to God. Then he looks at his ledger, and suddenly a figure appears on the credit side that completely balances the account. The debt is gone!

Justification is not something that we can earn. God, for His own reasons, determines to favor us with it. As Paul puts it in Ephesians 2:8-9, it is by grace through faith, not of works.

John W. Ritenbaugh
Grace Upon Grace

Romans 4:5-13

Before all else, God requires a person to have faith in order to be justified. Then, he must repent of his sins (Psalm 51; Matthew 3:1-2; Acts 2:37-38; 3:19) and upon baptism, be born from above (or made spiritually alive) by the power of the Holy Spirit (John 3:3-8). Much more than a simple human decision, justification is God's recognition and acceptance of an individual's repentance and decision to be baptized. At that time, a faithful individual becomes a part of the Body of Christ (I Corinthians 12:13) through the indwelling of His Holy Spirit (Romans 8:10; Galatians 2:20; I John 3:24).

Martin G. Collins
Are You Justified?

Other Forerunner Commentary entries containing Romans 4:5:

Romans 5:1-2
Romans 6:23
Romans 7:13-25
Romans 8:33
2 Corinthians 13:5
Hebrews 10:14

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David Celebrates the Same Truth

Abraham Justified Before Circumcision

The Promise Granted Through Faith

What Does Romans 4:5 Mean?

A Verse and a Thought,Every Morning

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