Romans 4:5-8

Main Points

• God has made a way for sinners to be made right with Him, and that way is through Jesus Christ alone.

• Abraham demonstrates that righteousness is credited by faith, not earned by works (Romans 4:3–5).

• God justifies the ungodly—not because they are righteous, but because they trust in His promises.

• Genuine godliness is the fruit of God's grace, not the cause of it.

• Mature Christians face subtle dangers:

  • Forgetting that God's grace, not personal effort, sustains the Christian life.

  • Becoming so focused on imitating Christ that they neglect resting in Christ.

  • Measuring others by their own standard of sanctification rather than Christ's righteousness.

• David's testimony in Psalm 32 illustrates the joy of forgiveness despite grievous sin.

• The heroes of Scripture are not examples of moral perfection but examples of faith in God's promised Redeemer.

• Jesus alone perfectly fulfilled God's law, bore our sins, and provides the righteousness credited to believers.

• The Christian's only hope before God is Christ's finished work, not personal merit.

Key Scripture References

• Romans 4:3–12

• Genesis 15:6

• Psalm 32:1–2

• Romans 3:20

• Isaiah 64:6

• Hebrews 11

• Hebrews 12:2

• James 2

• 1 John 1:8–9

• Exodus 23:7

Theme

Justification by Faith Alone Through Christ Alone

Introduction

Romans 4 continues Paul's explanation that sinners are declared righteous solely through faith in Christ. Abraham and David serve as two Old Testament witnesses that salvation has always been by God's grace through faith rather than human achievement.

1. Abraham: Faith Counted as Righteousness

Read: Romans 4:3–5; Genesis 15:6

Paul emphasizes that Abraham was declared righteous before circumcision and before any covenant sign. His standing before God rested entirely on believing God's promise.

Discussion

• Why is Abraham's justification before circumcision significant?

• What does it mean that God "justifies the ungodly"?

• How does this challenge the idea that salvation is earned?

2. Grace Rather Than Wages

Read: Romans 4:4–5

Paul contrasts wages earned by labor with the free gift of God's grace.

Application

• Salvation cannot be treated as compensation for religious effort.

• Good works follow salvation but never produce it.

• Christians obey because they have received grace, not to obtain grace.

3. David's Joy in Forgiveness

Read: Psalm 32:1–5; Romans 4:6–8

David knew the misery of hidden sin after his adultery with Bathsheba and the murder of Uriah. His joy came not from denying guilt but from God's forgiveness.

Discussion

• Why does Paul choose David as an example?

• What happens when believers hide their sin?

• How does confession restore fellowship with God?

4. Looking to Christ Rather Than Biblical Heroes

Throughout Scripture, every human example ultimately points beyond themselves.

• Noah sinned.

• Abraham failed.

• Jacob deceived.

• David committed adultery and murder.

• Samson displayed serious moral weakness.

Their hope—and ours—is found in Christ alone.

Read

• Hebrews 11

• Hebrews 12:1–2

Jesus is not merely another example; He is the perfect Savior who accomplished what none of the saints could.

Historical Background

Abraham

Paul emphasizes that Abraham was justified before receiving circumcision (Genesis 17), proving that justification comes through faith and extends to both Jews and Gentiles.

David

Psalm 32 reflects David's repentance after his sin recorded in 2 Samuel 11–12. His experience demonstrates that even great sinners may receive complete forgiveness through God's mercy.

Westminster Standards

Westminster Confession of Faith

Chapter 11 – Of Justification

• Justification is an act of God's free grace.

• Believers are justified only by faith.

• Christ's righteousness is imputed to believers.

• Faith itself is not counted as the ground of righteousness; rather, it receives Christ and His righteousness.

Chapter 16 – Of Good Works

• Good works are the fruit of true faith.

• They cannot merit forgiveness or eternal life.

• They demonstrate gratitude and strengthen assurance.

Westminster Larger Catechism

Q.70
What is justification?

Justification is an act of God's free grace whereby He pardons all our sins and accepts us as righteous solely because of Christ's righteousness imputed to us and received by faith alone.

Q.73
How does faith justify?

Faith justifies not because of any virtue in itself but because it receives and rests upon Christ and His righteousness.

Westminster Shorter Catechism

Q.33
What is justification?

Justification is an act of God's free grace, wherein He pardons all our sins and accepts us as righteous in His sight only for the righteousness of Christ imputed to us and received by faith alone.

Q.35
What is sanctification?

Sanctification is God's work of free grace whereby believers are renewed after God's image and enabled increasingly to die unto sin and live unto righteousness.

Will you please turn in your Bibles with me to Romans chapter 4. Romans chapter 4, if you're using your pew Bibles, you'll find that on page 1001. For context, we'll read Romans chapter 4 beginning at verse 3 and we'll read down through verse 12. Hear now God's word. For what does the scripture say?

Abraham believed God and it was accounted to him for righteousness. Now to him who works, the wages are not counted, grace, but as debt. But to him who does not work, but believes on him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness. Just as David also describes the blessedness of the man to whom God imputes righteousness apart from works. Blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven and whose sins are covered. Blessed is the man to whom the Lord shall not impute sin.

Does this blessedness then come upon the circumcised only or upon the uncircumcised also? For we say that faith was accounted to Abraham for righteousness. How then was it accounted? Was he circumcised or uncircumcised? Not while circumcised, but while uncircumcised. And he received the sign of the covenant as a seal of the righteousness of the faith which he had while still uncircumcised, that he might be the father of all those who believe, though they are uncircumcised, that righteousness might be imputed to them also. and the father of circumcision to those who not only are of the circumcision, but who also walk in the steps of the faith which our father Abraham had while still uncircumcised.

When the reading of God's word there, the grass withers and the flower fades, but brothers and sisters, the word of God endures forever. Let's pray. Father, you have given us your word and we've read it, and we know that every single jot and tittle, the smallest stroke of the pen and dot of punctuation or vowels, every single one of them is inspired by you. And you have told us that it is good, that your word is like a sharp, two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of joint and marrow, soul and spirit. And Father, we plead with you that we might be able to learn, that your spirit work in our hearts, that if we need corrected or rebuked, we might listen to those things. Lord, we also pray that you might train us up in righteousness. Lord, please thoroughly equip us for every good work. We need your spirit's help. We're not smart enough or strong enough to do this ourselves. So help us, God, we pray in Jesus' name.

Amen. I'm just gonna jump into it today. I don't have a nice introduction for you. I just have something I want you to know. I want you to know that God has made a way for sinners to be made right with Him. God has made a way for sinners like us to be made right with Him. And it's only through Jesus. That's your only introduction to this text. Jesus is the way that we are made right with God. So look with me first at verse five.

But to him who does not work, but believes on Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is accounted for righteousness." Paul's whole thing that he's been wrapping up and wrestling with is, we're all sinners. I'm not going to rehearse for you Romans chapter 1 and 2 and 3, but there is none righteous, no not one. All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. And so none of us can work our way up to glory because we can never get that high. We always fall short. And as Romans 3, 20 said, Therefore by the deeds of the law no flesh will be justified in his sight, for by the law is the knowledge of sin.

And then last week we picked up with this example of the faith, Abraham himself. Who though he was, as the text later in Romans 4 is going to say, was as good as dead, believed God's promises. Believed that God was true to his word. That he would give him a son and make him into a great nation. And in Genesis chapter 3, 15 says, Abraham believed God and it was accounted to him for righteousness. Not his works, not his perfect righteousness, his faith. God justified, God accounted to him as righteousness because he believed. Abraham was not a perfect guy. But he believed God's goodness. Abraham believed on the one who justifies. And that's what the text is saying here today in verse five. but to him who does not work, but believes on him who justifies the ungodly. Do you believe that God can declare you righteous? Do you believe that you will never have enough fear of the Lord to save you? You can never be reverent enough for God to respect you.

Because we're always going to fall short. We're always going to fail. Even our good works, Isaiah says, are as filthy rags. Even the good things we want to do, we don't do them. And when we do do them, they always seem to be tinged by pride or selfishness or vainglory. Sometimes manipulation and sometimes we think we're being loving and trying to do a good thing and actually what we're doing is we're still loving ourselves. And we're thinking about how we would want to be loved and not how that person needs loved.

Now don't hear me wrong. God isn't telling you to stay ungodly here. The word in verse 5, believes on him who justifies the ungodly. The root word is there, more of the idea of irreverent. God justifies people who don't by themselves fear him. Now you might go, what in the world? How can God How can God justify, how can God declare righteous, how can God impute righteousness to someone who's ungodly, who's irreverent?

That's exactly what he did with Abraham. And the Bible doesn't hide it. Actually, Joshua highlighted it in one of his sermons. When Teran and Abraham, our forefathers, lived on the other side of the river, worshiping foreign gods, That's when Abraham believed. That's when God showed up. Abraham didn't show up perfect. God showed up merciful.

True reverence comes from a faith that trusts in God's goodness. We don't work ourselves into godliness. Godliness flows out of God's goodness. but to him who does not work, but believes on him who justifies the ungodly. If you don't see yourself as ungodly, you have no reason for God to justify you, because you've already justified yourself. I don't think it's going to work out well on the final judgment day.

There's a danger here, and I want to speak to people who have been Christians for a while. Three different dangers and they overlap, but they're subtle dangers that we could fall into. You may strive, Christian, you may have been striving for decades, desiring holiness.

But in all your striving for holiness, in all your white-knuckle perseverance, running your race set before you, you may have forgotten that you don't have to earn God's grace. You're running the race because He's shown you grace. Sometimes we exhaust ourselves during our Christian race because we forget that we're supposed to be resting in Christ as we do it. You can forget that God is gracious. Even Christians at times can forget that God is gracious and even start thinking He feels like a slave master driving us on. If you think that the holiness that you're chasing after you produce in yourself. We must not forget God's grace.

Second subtle danger for people who have been Christian for a while is we can be so preoccupied by being like Christ that we forget to rest in Christ. Even Paul, when he was encouraging the church, be like me, as I am like Christ, but insofar as I am like Christ. Whatever you see in me that is good, noble, pure, praiseworthy, but I guarantee you there were times that people in the church saw Paul as a real guy. saw his sin, saw his failings and his fallings, but where he was resting in Christ and following after Christ, follow that way. Do not be so preoccupied by being like Christ that you forget the love of Christ for you.

The third danger Because we can be so serious with our own sanctification. This is one that hurts. Hurts our testimony, hurts our reputation. If we're so serious about our own sanctification that we start judging others by our righteousness. There's a real danger.

As you've been a Christian a while, and you've been serious about sanctification, you're wanting to walk in holiness, you may actually start measuring people up to, you know, a yardstick of, you must be this high to get into heaven. But the problem is, you're the measurement. And you're judging people by how righteous you are. And, oh, they're not as righteous as you are. It's the wrong standard. It's the wrong measure. It's hypocrisy.

We must be serious about our sanctification, about our desire to be conformed to the likeness of image of Christ, but that happens because our eyes are fixed on Jesus. Because we love Him, and we desire to be like Him, and we desire to love others like Him. Your faith, like Abraham's, is accounted as righteous. Abraham believed God and it was accredited to him as righteousness. Make no doubt about it, what Paul is saying here in verse 5 is that Abraham was not godly. He was not righteous in and of himself. He was not reverent But God stepped into the picture and Abraham believed. And this is true for all of us.

This is where Paul is going as he keeps moving in verse 6 is that God blesses people by counting us as righteous without works. Just like he did with Abraham, justified him not by his works but because of his faith The same way, point two, God blesses his people by counting us righteous without works. Look with me at verse six. Just as David also described the blessedness of the man to whom God imputes righteousness apart from works.

Wow. This is offensive. It's offensive to say this, that God just imputes righteousness apart from works, and I'm going to tell you it's offensive, because even as I've been preaching through this series, if you go on our social media, you'll find people who are saying, you're wrong.

Faith plus works equals belief. The problem is that faith and belief are actually the same root word. There are people who believe because they so want to cling on to their own righteousness. Anything possible that they can take credit or merit for. But that's the whole point Paul is making. We don't get to brag unless our boast is in Christ. And Jesus alone is our only hope. And so people, I don't want you to be surprised if you walk out of here and You have these conversations.

And somebody says, well what about James chapter two? Right, Abraham was going up to the mountain and he was going to offer up Isaac and God stopped his hand and says that, and God justified him. Well see, he was justified by his works. That's what James two is talking about.

And I would say, no, no, no, no, no, hold on, back up. Why was Abram willing to offer up Isaac? The book of Hebrews is clear. See, when Abraham was going to go up that mountain and sacrifice Isaac, he told to the people down at the bottom, he said, we are going up to make a sacrifice and we will come back. And people have scratched their heads for a long time. How does Abraham, he's gonna go make a sacrifice to Isaac. How does he know that he's gonna come back?

The book of Hebrews tells because he believed God so much that even if he had to go through with sacrificing his own son, he believed that God would raise Isaac up from the dead. That's the type of faith he had. That's why James is able to say, show me your faith without your works, and I'll show you my faith by my works. It's not about saying you're justified by your works. It's that type of saving faith is a type of hope that is so deep, so enduring, so saying, I know this is impossible, but with God, all things are possible. Abraham believed, and God credited to him as righteous. And this is what he's saying, that David even described this type of blessing. that the man whom God imputes righteousness apart from the works of the law.

This is hard. We're going to get in verses 7 and 8 here. Because when Paul brings up, when the Holy Spirit inspires Paul to write these words, He brings in front of our eyes one of the most heinous scenes of the entire Bible. And so our point three is going to be, look to Jesus, but it needs to start with who this happens with, with David. Just as David also describes the blessedness of the man to whom God imputes righteousness apart from the works, and then David says this, blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven and whose sins are covered. We've got a problem here.

David is writing this inspired by the Holy Spirit. This is Psalm 32, that's why we read it before the sermon. We sang the first part of it, and we're gonna sing the second half of it after the sermon. David is writing this for Christians to know for all time, and yet, he's speaking it from his own soul. David knew he was lawless. David knew his sins needed to be covered.

Because the context of Psalm 32, the situation and the life of David is that, he writes this, when his bones have been crushed as he's been keeping this secret in his heart. That he had an affair with one of his best friends' wives. And then to cover up that affair, he conspired to have him murdered. He tried to manipulate his best friend, Uriah the Hittite, one of his 30 mighty men.

David broke the third commandment, dishonoring the Lord's name. David broke the fifth commandment, He did not pray for and care for and provide and protect the people under him with this. David killed a man at the hands of his enemies. David committed adultery, stealing a man's wife who wasn't his own. David sought to lie, to twist the truth, to hide it. David coveted his neighbor's wife.

And every day he kept silent about that, his bones were crushed. His strength was sapped. Maybe you know what that's like when the Spirit works in your heart. And you know you're not righteous. You know you're not perfect. You can't work your way out from underneath that. You can't undo the harm that you've done to people. You can't take back the words you said. The opportunity to help is missed. It's gone. And we were too selfish to take it.

And we know that God doesn't acquit the guilty. That's what he says about himself in Exodus chapter 23 verse 7. God will in no wise acquit the guilty. And so when David writes this in chapter 4 verse 6 and 7, or 7 and 8, blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven and whose sins are covered. He's saying, I need God to intervene. I have real sin and I need God to cover my sin. I need him to do something about my transgressions, my lawless deeds.

And this is where I just want to speak to you real quick because there's a thing that we struggle with with David. You may have even in your heart wrestled with David. I don't know how I can ever think that this is a guy who's after God's own heart. How in the world is this supposed to be the man who Jesus would come from? I think you might have missed the point. It's not because David was righteous in himself, but it was because he was a man of faith in the Messiah that would come from him. David would say, to one of his descendants, my Lord, and would trust the one who told even his descendant to sit at his right hand.

You're not gonna find if you flip through the pages of scripture, and I think this is partly our fault. We take passages like Hebrews 11, And we want to find heroes of the faith. And by heroes of the faith, we want to have perfect role models we can follow.

But we can't follow Noah perfectly. I don't know about you, but I personally don't want to get drunk in my tent and my children see me laying in my birthday suit. I can't follow Abraham perfectly, at least I know my wife doesn't, because I don't want to be pawning off my spouse as my sister.

We can't look to Jacob as perfect, he's a schemer, manipulating. We can't look to David as a perfect role model. We can't look to Samson as a perfect role model. We can't look to Jephthah and his rash vows as a perfect role model. We can't look to Isaiah as a perfect role model. We can't look to Ezekiel as a perfect role model. We can't look through anybody in the Bible and find this is the perfect role model for our faith. Because you weren't called to follow after them, you were called to follow after Jesus.

He is the only one who is tested in every way as we are yet never sinned. Why do we list them as the heroes of the faith in Hebrews chapter 11? Not because they were perfect, but because they believed in the one who would justify them. And they knew where to go to have their transgressions covered. to have their lawless deeds forgiven, and it was in Jesus. That's what Psalm 32 is pointing you to. When you sang that psalm a few minutes ago, you were singing about Jesus' perfect blood that covered over for your sin. When we sing of being blessed because our lawless deeds were forgiven, our deeds, our lawless deeds are forgiven in Jesus. We're blessed if our sins are covered in the blood of Jesus.

Do you not see? This is the tapestry of all the Bible. That's why in 1 John, if you say you have no sin, you're deceiving yourself. You make God a liar. But if we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us of all unrighteousness. God is faithful. God is just. God is the one who does take your sins so seriously and loves you so much that he sent his own son to die on the cross for you while you and I were still sinners. Our sins are forgiven in Jesus. Our debts are paid by Jesus's righteous blood.

God is the righteous judge. He will by no means acquit the guilty. Do you see yourself as guilty? Standing on your own? Before God's all-seeing eyes who knows even the secrets of your heart, do you see yourself as guilty? Do you confess your hopelessness as a sinner before God?

That's the posture of the heart that God delights in. Because when we have nothing to cling in ourselves, that's when we can truly hope in Jesus. That's when we can call ourselves blessed. I love this word twice used here in Psalm 32 and verses seven and eight, blessed. Blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven and whose sins are covered. Blessed is the man whom the Lord shall not impute sin. Blessed is the soul's joyful heart smiling at God's face, smiling on them for no reason other than He loves them.

Some translations will even go so far with this word, makarios, or blessed, a saying that's happy. By happiness, we're not talking about just a flippant, like, I'm happy when I get ice cream. We're talking about your soul rejoicing in the Lord. Your soul having peace.

Because God is good. Because he gives us a righteousness, not our own, but he gives us the righteousness of Jesus. Because even before His holy throne and judgment seat, He sees us through the blood of His Son. And His face smiles upon us. Jesus is the perfect one we look to. And in Jesus, our lawless deeds can be forgiven. By faith in Jesus, our sins are covered by His perfect blood. In Jesus, And only by Jesus will God not impute our sins to us because He's already reckoned them, counted them onto Jesus.

See, when your Lord, when your Savior hung upon the cross and He declared, it is finished. There is no more debt to be paid. The Lord is not going to string you up on a cross and crucify you because Jesus' sacrifice was enough. The payment, the penalty for death has been paid in Jesus. So cling to Jesus. Confess that your only hope is in Jesus. Because we need Jesus' blood. We need Jesus to cleanse us from our sin. We need Jesus' redemption. We need Jesus' righteousness. We need Jesus. The world needs Jesus. There's no other way to the Father but through Jesus.

Is that your hope? Because that hope resides someplace so deep in your soul that can never be snatched away from you. And then when you talk about your Lord, even though you may be afraid, yet people know the joy you have because God has been so good to you that he sent his only son to die for you. Brothers and sisters, cling to Jesus. Have your righteousness found in Jesus. There's freedom and peace for your soul, just like it was for Abraham. Trust in Jesus. Let's pray.

God, we are unworthy of mercy. But you have given us mercy. We don't deserve grace, and we cannot earn it. But because you are good, you have made your face shine upon us in your Son. God, we pray that you would please help us Help us shed our self-righteousness and look to Jesus. God, please forgive us for how often we do sin. But thank you. Thank you that there is a way to be made right with you. And so, Father, we pray that you might please keep us humble. Lord, we plead with you that you would please never let us take our eyes off of Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith. Lord, renew our hearts with joy. Help us, God, we pray in Jesus' name.

• Why does Paul use Abraham as the primary example of justification?

• What does it mean that God "justifies the ungodly"?

• Why can no amount of good works earn righteousness before God?

• How does David's experience deepen our understanding of God's grace?

• Why is it dangerous to compare our righteousness with that of others?

• What is the relationship between justification and sanctification?

• How does resting in Christ differ from striving to earn God's favor?

• Why are biblical heroes ultimately meant to point us to Jesus?

• How does Christ's finished work provide assurance for believers?

• How should the doctrine of justification shape daily Christian living?

• Justification – God's legal declaration that a sinner is righteous because of Christ.

• Imputation – The crediting of Christ's righteousness to believers and believers' sins to Christ.

• Faith – Trusting and resting in Christ alone for salvation.

• Grace – God's undeserved favor toward sinners.

• Sanctification – The lifelong work of growing in holiness after justification.

• Righteousness – Perfect conformity to God's holy standard.

• Covenant Sign – An outward sign that seals God's covenant promises (e.g., circumcision in the Old Testament).

• Repentance – Turning from sin to God in faith.

• Forgiveness – God's gracious removal of the guilt and penalty of sin through Christ.

• Gospel – The good news that sinners are saved by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone.