Last time, we learned that justification comes not by works, but by faith. Sinners cannot be justified by their works because even their best deeds are stained by sin (Isaiah 64:6)—they are incapable of acting righteously (Ephesians 2:1).

But if we are not justified by our works, how are we justified? What is the ground of our righteousness before God? Paul answers these very questions in Romans 4:1–5:

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.” Now to the one who works, his wage is not credited as a favor, but as what is due. But to the one who does not work, but believes in Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is credited as righteousness.

We Do Not Merit Justification

Three crucial truths arise from this text. First, in Romans 3 Paul teaches that salvation comes by faith, not by works. In Romans 4, Paul continues explaining this wonderful truth.

There are only two kinds of religion in all the world. Every false religion ever devised by mankind and Satan is a religion of human merit. Pagan religion, humanism, animism, and even false Christianity all fall into this category. They focus on what people must do to attain righteousness or please the deity.

Biblical Christianity alone is the religion of divine accomplishment. Other religions say, “Do this.” Christianity says, “It is done” (cf. John 19:30). Other religions require that the devout person supply some kind of merit to atone for sin, appease deity, or otherwise attain the goal of acceptability. Scripture says Christ’s merit is supplied on behalf of the believing sinner.

The Pharisees in Paul’s day had turned Judaism into a religion of human achievements. Paul’s own life before salvation was one long and futile effort to please God through personal merit. He had been steeped in the Pharisaic tradition as “a Pharisee, a son of Pharisees” (Acts 23:6), “a Hebrew of Hebrews; as to the Law, a Pharisee; as to zeal, a persecutor of the church; as to the righteousness which is in the Law, found blameless” (Philippians 3:5–6). Paul understood the religious culture of his day as well as anyone. He knew that the Pharisees revered Abraham as the father of their religion (John 8:39). So he singled him out to prove that justification before God is by faith in what God has accomplished.

By showing Abraham as the ultimate example of justification by faith, Paul was setting Christian doctrine against centuries of rabbinic tradition. By appealing to the Old Testament Scriptures, Paul was showing that Judaism had moved away from the most basic truths affirmed by all believing Jews since Abraham himself. He was seeking to anchor the church so that it would not follow the drift of Israel.

Abraham’s faith was the foundation of the Jewish nation and the basis for God’s covenant with His chosen people. For the Pharisees’ tradition to be at odds with Abraham was unthinkable. But, as Paul was about to prove, Abraham did not practice the Pharisees’ religion of merit.

Imputation Excludes Boasting

If people could earn justification by works, they would indeed have something to boast about. The doctrine of justification by faith is therefore a humbling truth. We do not merit salvation. We cannot be good enough to please God. There is no room in God’s redemptive plan for human pride. Even Abraham, the father of the faith, had no reason to glory in himself: “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 4:2–3).

Paul was quoting Genesis 15:6, “[Abraham] believed in the Lord; and He reckoned it to him as righteousness.” That single Old Testament verse is one of the clearest statements in all of Scripture about justification. The word “reckoned” shows the forensic nature of justification. In Romans 4, “reckoned” or “credited” is translated from the Greek word logizomai, a term used for accounting and legal purposes. It speaks of something put down to an account.

This reckoning was a one-sided transaction. God designated Christ’s human righteousness to Abraham’s spiritual account. Abraham did nothing to earn it. Even his faith was not meritorious. Faith is never said to be the ground for justification, only the channel through which justifying grace is received. Abraham believed God, and so God imputed righteousness to his account.

Again, the forensic nature of justification is clearly evident: “Now to the one who works, his wage is not credited [logizomai] as a favor, but as what is due. But to the one who does not work, but believes in Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is credited [logizomai] as righteousness” (Romans 4:4–5). Those who attempt to earn justification by doing something will find a huge debt on their ledger. Those who receive God’s gift by grace through faith have an infinitely sufficient asset applied to their account.

Faith, then, means the end of any attempt to earn God’s favor through personal merit. God saves only those who do not trust in themselves, those who trust “Him who justifies the ungodly.” Therefore, until a person confesses that he is ungodly, that person cannot be saved, because he still trusts in his own goodness. That is what Jesus meant when He said, “I have not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance” (Luke 5:32). Those who are righteous in their own eyes have no part in God’s redemptive work of grace. Consequently, those who are saved know they have nothing to boast about because the ground of their justification is Christ’s righteousness, not their own.

Positive and Negative Imputation

In Romans 4:6–8 Paul quotes David as support for the idea of righteousness by imputation: “David also speaks of the blessing on the man to whom God credits [logizomai] righteousness apart from works: ‘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.’” Paul is quoting from Psalm 32:1–2, and the blessedness David refers to is salvation.

Notice that David speaks of both a positive and a negative accounting—righteousness is credited to the believer and sin is not taken into account. So justification has both positive and negative elements: the credited of righteousness to the individual, and the forgiveness of sins. This forgiveness would not be possible if our sin had not been paid for by the sacrifice of Christ’s own blood. His death paid the price so “PAID” can be written on the believer’s spiritual invoice (cf. Colossians 2:14).

Just as our sin was imputed to Christ so He could pay our debt in our place (1 Peter 2:24), so His righteousness—His perfect, active obedience—is imputed to us (2 Corinthians 5:21). Therefore, no other payment or reimbursement is required for us to stand justified before God.

This glorious truth is clearly seen in the life of Abraham. So next time, we’ll continue looking at Romans 4 to understand why Paul uses this Old Testament figure as an illustration of justification.

(Adapted from The Gospel According to the Apostles and The Gospel According to Paul)