Romans 4
1 What then will we say that Abraham, our forefather, has found according to the flesh?
2 For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about, but not toward God.
3 For what does the Scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.”
4 Now to him who works, the reward is not counted as grace, but as something owed.
5 But to him who doesn’t work, but believes in him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is accounted for righteousness.
6 Even as David also pronounces blessing on the man to whom God counts righteousness apart from works,
7 “Blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven, whose sins are covered.
8 Blessed is the man whom the Lord will by no means charge with sin.”
9 Is this blessing then pronounced only on the circumcised, or also on the uncircumcised? For we say that faith was accounted to Abraham for righteousness.
10 How then was it counted? When he was in circumcision, or in uncircumcision? Not in circumcision, but in uncircumcision.
11 He received the sign of circumcision, a seal of the righteousness of the faith which he had while he was in uncircumcision, that he might be the father of all those who believe, though they be uncircumcised, that righteousness might be accounted 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 that faith of our father Abraham, which he had in uncircumcision.
13 For the promise to Abraham and to his offspring that he should be heir of the world wasn’t through the law, but through the righteousness of faith.
14 For if those who are of the law are heirs, faith is made void, and the promise is made of no effect.
15 For the law works wrath, for where there is no law, neither is there disobedience.
16 For this cause it is of faith, that it may be according to grace, to the end that the promise may be sure to all the offspring, not to that only which is of the law, but to that also which is of the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all.
17 As it is written, “I have made you a father of many nations.” This was in the presence of him whom he believed: God, who gives life to the dead, and calls the things that don’t exist as though they did.
18 Who in hope believed against hope, to the end that he might become a father of many nations, according to that which had been spoken, “So will your offspring be.”
19 Without being weakened in faith, he didn’t consider his own body, already as good as dead (he being about a hundred years old), and the deadness of Sarah’s womb.
20 Yet, looking at the promise of God, he didn’t waver through unbelief, but grew strong through faith, giving glory to God,
21 and being fully assured that what he had promised, he was also able to perform.
22 Therefore it was also “accounted to him for righteousness.”
23 Now it was not written for his sake alone, that it was accounted to him,
24 but for our sake also, to whom it will be accounted, who believe in him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead,
25 who was delivered up for our trespasses, and was raised for our justification.
Romans 4 Commentary
Chapter Overview
Romans 4 supports the conclusion of Romans 3 by turning to Abraham, the honored ancestor of Israel. Paul asks how Abraham came into right standing with God. If Abraham earned that standing through works, he would have a basis for boasting. Scripture instead says that Abraham believed God and his faith was counted to him as righteousness.
Paul contrasts wages with grace. A worker receives pay as a debt, but God’s justification is not a paycheck owed to the morally successful. God justifies the ungodly who trust him. David confirms the same pattern in Psalm 32, describing the blessed person whose sins are forgiven and no longer charged against him.
Abraham was counted righteous before he was circumcised. Circumcision later became a sign and seal of the righteousness he already had by faith. This sequence makes Abraham the father of believing Gentiles as well as believing Jews. Physical descent and religious ceremony cannot replace the faith by which he received God’s promise.
The promise did not rest on the law, which came centuries after Abraham, but on the righteousness of faith. Faith makes the promise depend on grace and therefore secures it for all who share Abraham’s faith. The God Abraham trusted gives life to the dead and brings about what human ability cannot produce.
Abraham’s trust was tested by his aged body and Sarah’s barrenness, yet he relied on God’s power to fulfill what God had spoken. His story was recorded not only for him but also for believers in Jesus, who was delivered over for sins and raised for justification. Romans 5 will unfold the peace, hope, and reconciliation that flow from this justifying faith.
Key Themes
Paul begins with Abraham because any teaching about justification had to account for Israel’s patriarch. Abraham’s story illustrates the gospel of grace: the Scripture revered by Paul’s Jewish hearers says his acceptance rested on believing God.
Genesis 15:6 is the chapter’s central text: “Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.” In Genesis 15, Abraham trusted God’s promise of descendants despite circumstances that made fulfillment appear impossible. His faith answered God’s word rather than creating a promise of its own.
The language of “counting” or “crediting” has courtroom and accounting force. God places righteousness to Abraham’s account. Faith is not a meritorious achievement; its value lies in the trustworthy God it receives.
Works and grace are opposite bases of justification. Contracted labor earns wages, but justification is not payment for moral success. God justifies the ungodly who trust him. Paul is not praising laziness or dismissing obedience; he is explaining how sinners are accepted. Good works follow faith as fruit, but they cannot become a price that obligates God to issue a righteous verdict.
David adds the dimension of forgiveness. Righteousness counted apart from works includes sins forgiven, covered, and not charged. In Psalm 32, the forgiven person is blessed not because sin is harmless, but because God graciously removes guilt from the repentant believer.
The timing of Abraham’s circumcision is decisive. Abraham believed in Genesis 15, while circumcision was commanded later in Genesis 17. His right standing therefore could not have been caused by the covenant sign that he had not yet received.
Circumcision was still meaningful. Paul calls it a sign and seal of the righteousness of faith. A sign points to a reality, and a seal confirms it; neither creates the reality it signifies. Religious practices are safest when they testify to God’s grace rather than being treated as substitutes for faith.
Abraham becomes the father of all who believe. Gentile believers belong to his family without first becoming Jews, and Jewish believers show their true kinship with Abraham by walking in the steps of his faith. The people of God are united around trust in God’s promise rather than ethnic boasting.
Paul expands the Abrahamic promise by calling Abraham and his offspring “heir of the world.” Genesis speaks of land, descendants, and blessing for all nations. Paul sees these promises reaching their worldwide goal through the Messiah and a multiethnic family of faith.
The law cannot be the basis of inheritance because law identifies transgression and brings wrath upon disobedience. Paul does not mean that wrongdoing is morally good where no command has been revealed. He means that a stated command turns sin into conscious violation and exposes the offender to a clear legal charge.
If inheritance depended on keeping the law, faith would be emptied and the promise made ineffective. Its certainty cannot rest on the uncertain performance of sinners. Because faith receives rather than earns, the promise rests on grace and extends to all who share Abraham’s faith.
Abraham believed “the God who gives life to the dead and calls the things that are not as though they were.” This describes divine power, not human speech creating reality. Abraham’s hope rested on God’s ability to produce life from bodies incapable of generating the promised child.
To believe “in hope against hope” is to trust God when ordinary human expectation offers no solution. Biblical faith is not denial of facts. Abraham knew his body was aged and Sarah’s womb was barren, but he judged God’s ability and faithfulness greater than those obstacles.
Abraham did not waver through unbelief but grew strong in faith, giving glory to God. Faith glorifies God because it treats him as truthful and able. This does not mean Abraham never experienced questions or failures; Genesis records both. Paul emphasizes the settled direction of his trust and God’s faithfulness through an imperfect journey.
Romans 4 and James 2 address different errors. Paul rejects works as the basis for earning justification; James rejects a dead claim to faith that produces no obedience. Abraham was counted righteous when he believed, and his later willingness to offer Isaac demonstrated that his faith was living.
The resurrection gives Christian faith the same God-centered shape as Abraham’s. He trusted the God who gives life to the dead; Christians trust the God who raised Jesus. Saving faith relies on God’s action in the crucified and risen Christ.
Important Verses
Verses 1–3 ask whether Abraham had grounds for boasting and answer with Genesis 15:6. Abraham believed God, and righteousness was credited to him. Scripture itself therefore locates his acceptance in faith rather than in works that could create a claim before God.
Verses 4–5 contrast earned wages with gracious justification. God does not merely assist people who have almost made themselves righteous; he justifies the ungodly who believe. Faith receives a verdict that human effort cannot earn.
Verses 6–8 quote David’s celebration of forgiveness. The blessed person receives righteousness apart from works, has lawless deeds forgiven, and is not charged with sin. Justification answers both the lack of righteousness and the burden of guilt.
Verses 9–12 show that Abraham was justified before circumcision. The covenant sign confirmed rather than created his righteous standing. He can therefore be father to uncircumcised believers and to circumcised people who follow his faith.
Verses 13–17 contrast promise, law, faith, and grace. The inheritance must rest on grace so the promise may be secure and extend to the whole believing family. Abraham trusted the life-giving God whose power is not limited by human impossibility.
Verses 18–22 portray persevering faith. Abraham faced the reality of age and barrenness without allowing those facts to cancel God’s word. He gave glory to God by becoming convinced that God could perform what he promised.
Verses 23–25 apply Abraham’s credited righteousness to Christians. Believers trust the God who raised Jesus, who was delivered over because of human trespasses and raised in connection with justification. The cross deals with sin, and the resurrection confirms Christ’s victory and saving work.
Practical Applications
Stop treating your spiritual record as a bill God must pay. Religious service, generosity, knowledge, and discipline are valuable responses to grace, but none makes God indebted to you. Come as one who needs a gift, not as an employee demanding wages.
Bring both guilt and inadequacy to Christ. Romans 4 speaks of sins forgiven and righteousness credited. The gospel does not merely erase failures while leaving a moral blank; God grants the right standing sinners lack through faith in Christ.
Use religious signs as testimonies, not replacements. Baptism, church membership, communion, and other practices can visibly confirm faith and identify believers with God’s people. They become dangerous when outward participation is used to avoid personal trust, repentance, and obedience.
Let Abraham’s family reshape how you view other Christians. Ethnicity, upbringing, social class, and denominational background do not establish spiritual rank. Everyone who trusts God’s promise in Christ enters the same family by grace and should be welcomed without pride or suspicion.
Face difficult circumstances honestly while trusting God deeply. Faith does not require pretending that illness, loss, barrenness, weakness, or delay is unreal. It looks directly at human limits and still confesses that God remains able and faithful to do everything he has truly promised.
Distinguish God’s promises from personal wishes. Abraham’s confidence rested on a word God had actually spoken. Mature faith studies Scripture carefully, refuses to assign divine authority to every desire, and then rests firmly on the promises God has given.
Give glory to God through persevering trust and obedient action. Assurance grows as believers remember God’s character, Christ’s cross, and Jesus’ resurrection. Such faith does not remain an empty claim; it produces a life that increasingly acts on what God has said.