Verses 1-8: Counted Righteousness, Not Earned Wages

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.”

• Justification excludes boasting before God:

  Paul frames Abraham’s story to show that if righteousness were achieved by works, a person could “boast,” but such boasting cannot stand “toward God.” The chapter’s theological logic is that God’s verdict of righteousness is not a human achievement presented for divine approval; it is a gift-granting judgment that humbles the believer and honors God as the source of salvation.

• Faith receives what grace gives, rather than earning a debt:

  The contrast between a “reward” that is “owed” and righteousness that is “counted” establishes that salvation is not structured like wages for labor. God’s justifying act is gracious: righteousness is credited to the one who “believes,” not to establish a transactional claim upon God, but to receive what God freely provides.

• God justifies the ungodly, not the self-qualified:

  The text makes a deliberately startling claim: God “justifies the ungodly.” This teaches that justification begins with God’s mercy toward sinners, not with a preliminary moral status that makes someone worthy. At the same time, it preserves God’s holiness because the declaration comes from God himself, who alone has authority to count righteousness truly and rightly.

• Forgiveness and non-imputation are central to counted righteousness:

  By bringing in David’s blessing—iniquities forgiven, sins covered, and the Lord not charging sin—Paul shows that justification includes both pardon and a changed standing before God. The blessedness described is not merely inner relief; it is an objective covenantal reality: God does not “charge” sin to the one he counts righteous, grounding assurance in God’s gracious accounting.

Verses 9-12: One Family by Faith Before and Beyond the Sign

⁹ Is this blessing then pronounced on the circumcised, or on the uncircumcised also? 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 might be in uncircumcision, that righteousness might also be accounted to them. ¹² He is 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.

• God’s blessing is not restricted by ethnicity or ritual boundary:

  Paul asks whether the blessing applies to the circumcised only, and answers by pointing to the timing: Abraham was counted righteous in “uncircumcision.” The theological point is that God’s saving righteousness is available to all peoples, because its instrument is faith rather than membership in an external boundary marker.

• Sacred signs witness to faith; they do not create its righteousness:

  Circumcision is called a “sign” and a “seal” of the righteousness Abraham already had “while he was in uncircumcision.” This teaches that God-given covenant signs genuinely matter as confirmatory witnesses to God’s work, yet they function as seals of an already-given righteousness rather than as the foundation that produces it.

• True inheritance is defined by walking in Abraham’s faith:

  Abraham becomes father of believing uncircumcised peoples, and also father of circumcision for those who “walk in the steps of that faith.” Theologically, Paul holds together continuity and transformation: outward affiliation alone is not the defining feature of belonging; the defining mark is a lived faith that follows Abraham’s pattern of trusting God.

Verses 13-17: Promise Through Faith, Sure by Grace

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 produces 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 is in the presence of him whom he believed: God, who gives life to the dead, and calls the things that are not, as though they were.

• The promise rests on “the righteousness of faith,” not law-performance:

  Paul locates the promise’s channel: “wasn’t through the law, but through the righteousness of faith.” This teaches that God’s covenant inheritance is received by trusting God rather than achieved by law-keeping, so the promise remains grounded in God’s initiative and sustained by his fidelity.

• Law and promise have different functions, and confusing them empties faith:

  If inheritance is made to depend on being “of the law,” then “faith is made void, and the promise is made of no effect.” Paul is not denying the law’s reality or value; he is assigning it a distinct function. When law is treated as the basis of inheriting the promise, it undermines the very nature of promise, which depends on God’s giving rather than our earning.

• Grace makes the promise sure for all who share Abraham’s faith:

  “For this cause it is of faith, that it may be according to grace,” with a stated purpose: “that the promise may be sure to all the offspring.” The theological point is both pastoral and doctrinal: God structured salvation so that assurance rests on grace, and inclusion extends to all who are “of the faith of Abraham,” not limited to one group.

• Saving faith is oriented to God’s power to create life and fulfill his word:

  Faith’s object is specified: God “gives life to the dead, and calls the things that are not, as though they were.” This teaches that biblical faith is not vague optimism or self-generated confidence; it is trust in God’s sovereign life-giving ability and his effective speech, which establishes realities that human weakness cannot produce.

Verses 18-22: Faith that Perseveres, Gives Glory, and Rests on God’s Ability

¹⁸ Besides hope, Abraham in hope believed, 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 having been worn out, (he being about a hundred years old), and the deadness of Sarah’s womb. ²⁰ Yet, looking to 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 also was “credited to him for righteousness.”

• Faith clings to God’s spoken promise even when circumstances oppose it:

  Abraham’s believing is “according to that which had been spoken,” not according to what seemed naturally possible. Theologically, this shows that faith is shaped by God’s revelation—God’s word defines hope—so believers learn to interpret their situation through God’s promise rather than letting limitations define what God can do.

• Persevering faith faces human weakness without making it ultimate:

  The passage directly names bodily impossibility—Abraham’s age and “the deadness of Sarah’s womb”—yet emphasizes that he was “not…weakened in faith.” This teaches a mature realism: faith does not deny weakness, but refuses to enthrone weakness as the final authority over God’s promise.

• Faith glorifies God by resting in his ability to perform what he promised:

  Abraham “grew strong through faith, giving glory to God,” because he was “fully assured” God was “able to perform.” Theologically, confidence in God’s ability honors God’s character; it is not confidence in oneself. This also shapes worship: trusting God’s promise is presented as a God-glorifying act.

• Counted righteousness is connected to living, persevering trust:

  The conclusion—“Therefore it also was ‘credited to him for righteousness’”—ties the earlier doctrine of counted righteousness to Abraham’s persevering faith. This keeps justification and faith inseparable: righteousness is credited by God, and it is credited “to him” in relation to believing trust that looks to God and his promise.

Verses 23-25: Abraham’s Pattern Applied to Christ’s Death and Resurrection

²³ Now it was not written that it was accounted to him for his sake alone, 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.

• Scripture’s testimony about Abraham is intended to form the church’s faith today:

  Paul explicitly says the accounting of righteousness was written not only for Abraham, “but for our sake also.” Theologically, this anchors doctrine and discipleship in Scripture’s ongoing purpose: the pattern of God counting righteousness through faith is meant to instruct later believers, not merely preserve ancient history.

• Justifying faith is faith in God who raised Jesus from the dead:

  The chapter brings the focus to the gospel’s center: righteousness “will be accounted” to those “who believe in him who raised Jesus, our Lord, from the dead.” This teaches that Christian faith is not faith in faith; it is faith directed to God as revealed in the resurrection, where God vindicates Jesus and manifests life-giving power.

• Christ’s death and resurrection are the decisive saving events for trespasses and justification:

  Jesus “was delivered up for our trespasses, and was raised for our justification.” The theological point is that salvation is anchored in what God has done in Christ: the reality of human trespasses is met by Christ’s being delivered up, and the believer’s right standing is inseparably connected to his resurrection. This keeps the chapter’s “accounting” from becoming abstract, locating it in the person and work of Christ.

Conclusion: Romans 4 teaches that God counts righteousness by grace through faith, apart from works, so that no one boasts before God and the promise remains sure for all who share Abraham’s faith. Abraham’s story shows a faith that rests in God’s power and promise, and the chapter culminates by grounding that same counted righteousness in the God who raised Jesus—who was delivered up for our trespasses and raised for our justification.