BIBLE CHAPTER STUDY
Romans 4 — Abraham Justified by Faith
Romans 4 argues that Abraham was declared righteous through believing God, apart from works, and that this pattern of faith-righteousness applies to all who believe in the God who raised Jesus.
Scripture
1What then shall we say that Abraham, our forefather, hath found according to the flesh?
2For if Abraham was justified by works, he hath whereof to glory; but not toward God.
3For what saith the scripture? And Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned unto him for righteousness.
4Now to him that worketh, the reward is not reckoned as of grace, but as of debt.
5But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is reckoned for righteousness.
6Even as David also pronounceth blessing upon the man, unto whom God reckoneth righteousness apart from works,
7saying, Blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven, And whose sins are covered.
8Blessed is the man to whom, the Lord will not reckon sin.
9Is this blessing then pronounced upon the circumcision, or upon the uncircumcision also? for we say, To Abraham his faith was reckoned for righteousness.
10How then was it reckoned? when he was in circumcision, or in uncircumcision? Not in circumcision, but in uncircumcision:
11and 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 them that believe, though they be in uncircumcision, that righteousness might be reckoned unto them;
12and the father of circumcision to them 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.
13For not through the law was the promise to Abraham or to his seed that he should be heir of the world, but through the righteousness of faith.
14For if they that are of the law are heirs, faith is made void, and the promise is made of none effect:
15for the law worketh wrath; but where there is no law, neither is there transgression.
16For 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 seed; 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, A father of many nations have I made thee) before him whom he believed, even God, who giveth life to the dead, and calleth the things that are not, as though they were.
18Who 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 shall thy seed be.
19And without being weakened in faith he considered his own body now as good as dead (he being about a hundred years old), and the deadness of Sarah's womb;
20yet, looking unto the promise of God, he wavered not through unbelief, but waxed strong through faith, giving glory to God,
21and being fully assured that what he had promised, he was able also to perform.
22Wherefore also it was reckoned unto him for righteousness.
23Now it was not written for his sake alone, that it was reckoned unto him;
24but for our sake also, unto whom it shall be reckoned, who believe on him that raised Jesus our Lord from the dead,
25who was delivered up for our trespasses, and was raised for our justification.
What this passage means
The chapter opens by asking what Abraham, the physical forefather of the Jews, actually obtained 'according to the flesh' (v. 1). If his standing before God came from his works, he would have grounds to boast before people — but not before God, because Scripture already states: 'Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned unto him for righteousness' (v. 3). The contrast is sharpened in v. 4–5: a worker's pay is owed as a debt, but the person who does not work yet believes the One who justifies the ungodly has faith 'reckoned for righteousness.'
To prove this is not a late novelty, Paul cites David from Psalms 32: 'Blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven' and 'Blessed is the man to whom, the Lord will not reckon sin' (vv. 7–8). Forgiveness and non-imputation are framed as blessing language, showing the righteousness Abraham received was the non-counting of sin, not the earning of merit. The timing question in vv. 9–10 is decisive: the reckoning happened while Abraham was still uncircumcised, so righteousness-by-faith preceded the covenant sign.
Abraham therefore becomes 'the father of all them that believe' in uncircumcision as well as the father of circumcision to those who also 'walk in the steps of that faith of our father Abraham' (vv. 11–12). The promise to Abraham and his seed that he should be 'heir of the world' came 'not through the law... but through the righteousness of faith' (v. 13), because if inheritance were law-based, faith would be emptied and the promise annulled (v. 14). The chapter closes by tying Abraham's faith to resurrection: God 'giveth life to the dead, and calleth the things that are not, as though they were' (v. 17), and v. 25 frames Christ as 'delivered up for our trespasses, and... raised for our justification.'
Context
The curated note summarizes the chapter as 'Abraham justified by faith,' which frames the entire argument. The chapter proceeds in three movements: a worked-example section (vv. 1–8) using Abraham and then David; an inclusion section (vv. 9–12) tying Abraham's fatherhood to both circumcised and uncircumcised believers; and a theology-of-promise section (vv. 13–25) where the contrast with the Mosaic law is sharpened by Abraham's example of believing the God who raises the dead. The cross-references provided point to Genesis 15:6 (the original reckoning scene), Genesis 17:4–5 (the covenant of many nations), Psalms 32:1–2 (the Davidic blessing of forgiveness), and several passages about resurrection life and the pattern of calling into being what does not exist.
Within the provided cross-references, Romans 8:29–30 echoes Romans 4's logic by chaining foreknowledge, calling, and justification; 1 Corinthians 1:28 mirrors the language of 'the things that are not' being chosen by God; John 5:21 and Luke 1:37 underline the resurrection-and-creation-by-word theme of Romans 4:17; and 1 Peter 2:10 reinforces the theme of those once 'not a people' now becoming the people of God, paralleling the uncircumcision-inclusion argument of Romans 4:11–12.
Key words in the original
- G3049 The verb λογίζομαι (logizomai), used repeatedly in Romans 4 (vv. 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, 10, 11, 22, 23, 24), is defined in the entry as 'to take an inventory, i.e. estimate (literally or figuratively).' In this chapter it carries the technical sense of crediting or imputing — as in 'it was reckoned unto him for righteousness.'
- G1344 The verb δικαιόω (dikaioō), found in v. 2 ('was justified') and v. 25 ('our justification'), is glossed as 'to render (i.e. show or regard as) just or innocent.' In Romans 4 it is used of God's act in declaring the believer righteous rather than making them inherently righteous.
- G3408 The noun μισθός (misthos) appears in v. 4 ('the reward is not reckoned as of grace, but as of debt'), defined in the entry as 'pay for service (literally or figuratively), good or bad.' Paul contrasts this wages-of-debt concept with the grace-based reckoning of faith-righteousness.
Related verses
- Genesis 15:6 This is the foundational text Paul quotes in Romans 4:3 and 22: 'he believed in Jehovah; and he reckoned it to him for righteousness.' Genesis 15:6 establishes the original occurrence of faith-righteousness reckoning that Romans 4 builds upon.
- Psalms 32:1 Cited in Romans 4:7 as the second witness after Abraham: 'Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered.' The Davidic psalm of forgiveness parallels and confirms the Genesis 15:6 pattern of non-imputation.
- Genesis 17:5 Echoed in Romans 4:17 ('A father of many nations have I made thee'). Genesis 17:5 records the covenant renaming of Abram to Abraham and the promise that he would become 'the father of a multitude of nations,' which Romans 4 connects to Abraham's fatherhood of all believers.
Common questions
Why does Paul use Abraham as the central example in this chapter?
Abraham is the shared patriarch of both circumcised Jews and uncircumcised Gentile believers in Paul's audience. By showing Abraham was declared righteous in Genesis 15:6 before he was circumcised in Genesis 17, Paul proves faith-righteousness is not a later or distinctively Gentile doctrine, but the original pattern from which circumcision itself derived as a confirming sign.
How does Romans 4 relate faith to the resurrection of Jesus?
In vv. 17 and 24–25, faith is described as directed toward 'him that raised Jesus our Lord from the dead.' Abraham's faith is portrayed as trusting the God 'who giveth life to the dead, and calleth the things that are not, as though they were,' and v. 25 explicitly states Christ was 'raised for our justification,' so the resurrection is presented as the grounding act that secures the verdict of righteousness for believers.
Does the chapter say Abraham's works had no role at all?
The chapter does not deny that Abraham acted in obedience — v. 19 notes his awareness of his aged body and Sarah's womb. But vv. 2 and 4–5 are explicit that the ground of his standing before God was not works as a basis for credit. Works are not dismissed as irrelevant; they are distinguished from the foundation. Faith is the instrument through which righteousness is credited, as vv. 3 and 22 repeatedly state.