Romans 4:1–8 gives us one of the clearest pictures of what justification by faith means. Paul has just finished demolishing the idea that the law—or any work of ours—could make us right with God. Then he turns to the figure every Jew would look to as the model of righteousness: Abraham, the father of their nation.
“What then shall we say that Abraham, our forefather according to the flesh, has found? For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about, but not before God. For what does the Scripture say? ‘Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.’” (Romans 4:1–3)
Paul is not starting a new topic here. As Steven Runge notes, Rom 3:31 serves as a hinge as Paul transitions between discussions. He uses a connecting word to indicate a summary drawn from the previous discussion framed as a rhetorical question: Has the law been nullified by faith in justification? We might seem that he is going off topic, but he is actually building on the prior argument, and Abraham’s potential boasting directly relates to the question of Rom 3:27.
Abraham’s Reputation vs. Paul’s Reality
Jewish tradition exalted Abraham as nearly flawless. The Book of Jubilees declares that Abraham “was perfect in all his deeds with the Lord, and well-pleasing in righteousness all the days of his life” (Jub. 23:10). Likewise, The Prayer of Manasseh claims that Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob had no need of repentance, since they “did not sin” against God (Pr. Man. 8).
If ever there was a man who could claim right standing with God by works, it was Abraham. And yet Paul boldly declares the opposite: “If Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about—but not before God.”
Why? Because Scripture itself says Abraham’s righteousness came not from doing, but from believing. Genesis 15:6 records:
“And he believed the Lord, and He credited it to him as righteousness.”
Abraham’s “credit” before God was not earned wages—it was a gift.
Imagine the bombshell that this was in the eyes of the early church.
Simple Faith
What exactly did Abraham believe? Genesis 15 spells it out:
- He would have a son of his own body, not through Eliezer of Damascus.
- His descendants would be as countless as the stars.
On human terms, this was laughable—Abraham was old, Sarah was barren. Yet Abraham trusted God to do what was impossible. Paul interprets this later in Romans 4:18–21: Abraham “believed in hope against hope” that God could bring life out of death. In this blog we discuss how this relates to believing in the Seed, which is Jesus Christ as per Galatians 3.
I’ve heard folks over the years saying that God took a good long look at Abraham’s life and thought, “Yep, this guy’s got it—let’s declare him righteous!” But it was simple faith—not a work, not an achievement, but simple trust in the God who calls things that are not as though they were.
Wages vs. Gift
Paul draws a sharp contrast:
- The worker earns wages—something owed, something due.
- The believer receives a gift—something credited apart from works.
If Abraham had worked for righteousness, then God would have been obligated to pay him. But God owes no one anything. In fact, the only wage He owes to sinful humanity is death (Romans 6:23).
The scandal of grace is this: “God justifies the ungodly” (Romans 4:5). He doesn’t declare righteous the person who thinks they’ve earned it. He declares righteous the sinner who knows they cannot and simply believes.
David’s Song of Forgiveness
To drive the point home, Paul calls David as his second witness. Israel’s greatest king wrote in Psalm 32:
“Blessed are those whose lawless deeds have been forgiven, and whose sins have been covered. Blessed is the man whose sin the Lord will not take into account.”
Notice what David doesn’t say. He doesn’t say, “Blessed is the man with good works credited to his account.” He says, “Blessed is the man whose bad works are not counted against him.”
David, like Abraham, knew that the true blessing comes not from flawless obedience but from God’s merciful accounting—our sins erased, Christ’s righteousness credited.
No Boasting, Only Believing
So what’s the takeaway? Abraham had no grounds to boast. Neither do we. If righteousness could be earned, Abraham of all people could have claimed it. But he could not.
He believed—and God credited him righteousness.
And that is the only way any of us can stand before God. Not by piling up religious achievements, not by trying to balance the scales with our good deeds, but by receiving what God freely gives in Christ.
As Paul puts it so plainly:
“To the one who does not work but believes in Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is credited as righteousness.”
That is the gospel: not wages earned, but grace received. Do you want to receive his righteousness and salvation today? Read this.
References
Commentaries & Study Notes
- Steven E. Runge, High Definition Commentary: Romans (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2014), 75.
- Edwin A. Blum, “Romans,” in CSB Study Bible: Notes, ed. Edwin A. Blum and Trevin Wax (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2017), 1786.
- Sam Storms, Biblical Studies: Romans (Edmond, OK: Sam Storms, 2016), Romans 4:1–8.
- William Hendriksen and Simon J. Kistemaker, Exposition of Paul’s Epistle to the Romans, vol. 12–13, New Testament Commentary (Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1953–2001), 145.
Jewish & Extra-Biblical Sources
- Jubilees 23:10, in The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha, ed. James H. Charlesworth (New York: Doubleday, 1985).
- Prayer of Manasseh 8, in The Apocrypha, ed. Bruce M. Metzger (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1983).
Scripture
- Genesis 12:1–3; Genesis 15:4–6; Genesis 26:5.
- Psalm 32:1–2.
- Romans 3:27; Romans 4:1–8; Romans 4:18–21; Romans 6:23.
- Acts 13:38–39.
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