COUNTED RIGHTEOUS
Romans 4:1-12
Fifteenth in the sermon series, “Romans: Gospel Blueprint.”
Paul made a bold claim: God makes people right with himself by faith, apart from good works, and this leaves no room for anyone to boast. But a Jewish reader would immediately object: “What about Abraham? He’s our founding father, the greatest man in our history. Surely he earned his standing with God.” So Paul does something brilliant. He doesn’t argue from his own opinion; he goes to the Scriptures they already trusted and puts Abraham himself on the witness stand. And what he finds there overturns the whole idea that we can earn God’s approval.
Credited Righteousness
Paul reaches for the key text: Genesis 15:6: “Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness.” Notice the moment. God had just promised the childless, elderly Abraham more descendants than the stars. Abraham couldn’t produce that; he could only trust the God who promised it. And God “counted” that trust as righteousness. Paul then uses a simple accounting picture everyone understands.
Romans 4:1-5, ESV: What then shall we say was gained by Abraham, our forefather according to the flesh? 2 For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about, but not before God. 3 For what does the Scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness.” 4 Now to the one who works, his wages are not counted as a gift but as his due. 5 And to the one who does not work but believes in him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted as righteousness
When you work a job, your paycheck isn’t a gift; it’s a debt your employer owes you. But righteousness doesn’t work like wages. God gives it as a gift to the person who stops trying to earn it and simply trusts “him who justifies the ungodly.”[1]
Forgiveness is a Blessing
To seal the argument, Paul calls a second witness: King David. In Psalm 32, David describes the deeply happy (blessed) person, and it’s not the flawless achiever. It’s the one “whose lawless deeds are forgiven, whose sins are covered,” the one against whom “the Lord will not count sin.” Paul’s point is precise. If God is not counting sin against you, then he is crediting you with a righteousness you didn’t produce.[2]
Romans 4:6-8: just as David also speaks of the blessing of the one to whom God counts righteousness apart from works:
7 “Blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven,
and whose sins are covered;
8 blessed is the man against whom the Lord will not count his sin.”
Both Abraham and David describe the same thing from two angles: God putting something on your account you didn’t earn (righteousness), and God removing something you did earn (guilt). This isn’t a New Testament novelty; it was the heartbeat of the Old Testament all along.
Blessings for Jew and Gentile
Now, Paul springs the trap on the objection. When did God count Abraham righteous, before or after he was circumcised? The timeline is decisive: Genesis 15 comes at least 14 years before Abraham was circumcised in Genesis 17. So God declared him righteous while he was still, in effect, an outsider, an “uncircumcised” man, no different in status from a Gentile.[3]
Romans 4:9-12: Is this blessing then only for the circumcised, or also for the uncircumcised? For we say that faith was counted to Abraham as righteousness. 10 How then was it counted to him? Was it before or after he had been circumcised? It was not after, but before he was circumcised. 11 He received the sign of circumcision as a seal of the righteousness that he had by faith while he was still uncircumcised. The purpose was to make him the father of all who believe without being circumcised, so that righteousness would be counted to them as well, 12 and to make him the father of the circumcised who are not merely circumcised but who also walk in the footsteps of the faith that our father Abraham had before he was circumcised.
Circumcision came afterward, as a “seal,” a sign confirming a righteousness he already had by faith. Why did God arrange it this way? So Abraham could be the father of two families at once: the father of all who believe without the Jewish badge, and of Jews who don’t merely bear the badge but also walk in his footsteps of faith.
Application
1. Stop treating God like an employer you’re clocking hours for. You cannot put him in your debt, and you don’t need to. Your standing with God isn’t a paycheck you earn by being good enough; it’s a gift you receive by trusting Christ. Rest in that.
2. Real happiness isn’t found in a perfect record or a spotless past. It’s found in being forgiven. If guilt haunts you, hear this: for those in Christ, God has chosen not to count your sin against you. Let that settle your soul — you are covered.
3. No one is too far outside to be welcomed by God, and no religious credential can substitute for real faith. Don’t lean on your background, your church membership, or your rituals. What made Abraham right with God, simple trust, is exactly what’s open to you today.
[1] Frank S. Thielman, Romans, ed. Clinton E. Arnold, Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament (Zondervan Academic, 2018), 4:4-5.
[2] Colin G. Kruse, Paul’s Letter to the Romans (Eerdmans, 2012), 4:6-8.
[3] F. F. Bruce, Romans (IVP, 2015), 4:9-12.
Poem
FATHER ABRAHAM by Ed Pilapil Jr Abraham believed God’s promise Righteousness and faith, the premise From the Lord God, he earned no wage It was a gift in his old age David speaks of a happiness It’s blessedness in forgiveness The guilt is covered, judgment done Due to the Lord, the only One Faith was before circumcision That is to our satisfaction Before the sign, before the seal God counted faith alone as real Abraham’s children, we all are Jews and Gentiles, both near and far Sands on the shore, stars in the night God fulfilled His promise all right
Study Guide
1. Why does Paul use the picture of “wages” versus a “gift,” and what does it mean that God “justifies the ungodly”? (Ro 4:1-5)
2. According to David, who is the truly happy person, and how does forgiveness relate to being counted righteous? (Ro 4:6-8)
3. Why does the timing of Abraham’s faith (before circumcision) matter, and what does it mean that he is “father of all who believe”? (Ro 4:9-12)
