Romans 4:3-8 – Righteousness Without Works

Paul’s talking to people who know Scripture.

He’s using the Old Testament to prove his point that now, today, in this dispensation, justification, salvation is by faith alone.

Even though the law of Moses was full of rules and works, Paul shows that those works never saved anyone.

He goes back to Abraham and David to prove that God’s way has always been by grace through faith.

In Romans 3:31, Paul says he’s not throwing out the law—he’s using it to teach truth, but in doing so he’s almost overturning Israel’s religious beliefs, which is why, of course, the Jews persecuted him so badly.

In Romans 4:1–2, Paul asks, “What did Abraham find?” or what did he learn or find out? If Abraham was made righteous by works, he could brag—but not before God. Then Paul quotes Genesis 15:6,

And he (Abraham) believed in the LORD; and he (God) counted it to him for righteousness.

 

That’s before circumcision in Genesis 17 and before the offering of Isaac in Genesis 22 and even before there was a nation of Israel, before the 12 tribes of Israel that came from Jacob (who was later named Israel).

So Paul’s talking about Abraham when he simply believed, and God counted that belief to him as righteousness. No works were involved. We’ve included the little timeline that we used last episode again which helps see where in time this all happened.

 

James talks about Abraham too, but later in his life, when he did obey God. So both Paul and James are right—they’re just talking about different parts of Abraham’s story. They’re also talking about how God is dealing with mankind in different times.

Paul’s point is that in Genesis 15, Abraham was counted righteous just by believing. That’s what Paul calls “righteousness without works.”

 

This idea messes with people’s heads. It doesn’t feel fair. How can a sinner be called righteous without doing anything good?

Even today people laugh at Christians who try to explain how man can be saved no matter how bad he is and how lacking he is in good works.

All they see are hypocrites that say they’re saved yet still do wrong. It simply doesn’t make sense to the unsaved world and even to many, if not most, Christians.

 

But Paul explains in Romans 2 and 3 that all people are sinners. No one is righteous. Yet through Jesus, through His blood and His sacrifice—God can save sinners who believe and that’s the only way to salvation. That’s Romans 3:21–26. God gives them Christ’s righteousness. That’s what justification means: being declared righteous.

 

Only God is truly justified by who He is and what He does.

The rest of us are sinners. But even in everyday life, we understand what it means to be justified. When someone proves they’re honest or trustworthy they’re justified, but if you lie or cheat, you’re not justified. That’s how people judge each other.

 

So religious folks say, “If you do good, you’re righteous.” And that’s true in a human sense. If you do right, you are right. That’s how society works. But Paul’s teaching goes much deeper. His teaching is that our human righteousness no matter how good we think we are, falls totally short of God’s righteousness.

We can only look good in our own sight as we compare ourselves with an abominable sinner such as the rapist or the murderer. Most of us probably scrub up fairly well in that comparison. But, when we use a different standard to judge our own righteousness by, such as a comparison with God’s perfect righteousness, we all know we fall hopelessly short.

 

Now here’s Paul saying we can be righteous before God without doing anything—just by believing and that’s what makes Romans 4 so radical.

 

Religions everywhere teach that you have to do good to be saved. Even Christians say, “If you were really saved, you wouldn’t do that.” They think being a Christian means always doing right.

Non-religious people think the same way. They reject religion because they don’t want to be hypocrites. They say, “I don’t do good, so I’m not religious.”

Many think that to quote “find God” means to stop sinning.” The idea is: if you’re close to God, you don’t do wrong.

 

So people think that to be a Christian means to stop doing wrong and start doing right and yes, doing good is good.

But Paul says righteousness, the the only righteousness that can save us, comes without works. That’s the shocker.

It goes against everything people naturally think. But in Genesis 15:6, God counted Abraham righteous just because he believed. That’s the gospel Paul’s preaching and that’s what he’s saying here in Romans.

 

Now, there were times when Abraham had to do something and times when he didn’t.

For many centuries man didn’t understand how that worked. How can just believing make someone righteous?

 

James says Abraham proved his faith by doing what God told him—like offering Isaac in Genesis 22. But Paul points out something different in Romans 4. He says in Genesis 15, Abraham didn’t do anything—he just believed. No works. Yet God counted his belief as righteousness. That’s Paul’s point: justification—being made right with God—comes by faith, not by works and the window where we can view that happening in the past is Genesis 15:6.

 

Romans 4:4 says,

Now to him that worketh is the reward not reckoned of grace, but of debt. 

 

That means if we work, our pay isn’t a gift—it’s what we’re owed. In our job: we work, we get paid. That’s not grace, that’s debt. Our employer owes us something because of our work.

Grace is when we get something we didn’t earn. It’s a gift. So if we’re working for salvation, then it’s not grace anymore. It’s like saying, “God, I did good, now you owe me heaven.” But that’s not how it works.

Paul’s talking about sinners—people who’ve got nothing to offer God and yet, God justifies them by faith. That’s what happened with Abraham.

In Genesis 15, he believed, and God counted it as righteousness. No works involved, but in Genesis 22, after Abraham obeyed, God said, “Because you did this, I will bless you.” That’s a reward for works. But in Genesis 15 it was by grace alone.

 

So Paul’s saying that if salvation came by works, it wouldn’t be grace. And that’s a problem, because first, Paul already said in Romans 2 and 3 that no one is righteous. We’re all sinners.

Second, if salvation is by works, then it’s not grace. It becomes a trade—you do good, God gives you something back.

But Paul’s talking about people who can’t do anything to earn it and that’s every single person ever born of Adam.

We’re under grace because of what Jesus did. It was His works that justify us.

 

Romans 3:24 says,

Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus: 

 

That’s the gospel Paul preached—the gospel of grace.

Israel believed God was gracious, sure, but Paul’s saying if it’s really grace, then it can’t be by works.

Ephesians 2:8-9 says it plainly,

For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast. 

 

If we add works, it’s not grace anymore.

So Paul’s saying, in this time, in this dispensation, we’re justified by grace through faith alone. God’s not asking you to do something to earn it. He’s saying, “I’ve done it—believe in Jesus.”

Romans 3:25-26 says,

Whom God (that’s Jesus) hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God; To declare, I say, at this time his righteousness: that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus.

 

That’s it. Believe, and God counts it as righteousness.

But what about my good deeds? Well, do good, sure, and we should, but they won’t make us righteous before God. He’s seen all our bad as well as any good. To be justified, believe what God said. That’s the only way.

 

Romans 4:5 says,

But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness.

 

That’s grace. That’s the gospel and that’s big.

It means God gives righteousness not to the one who works for it, but to the one who believes.

Grace isn’t a bonus for doing good. It’s a gift for those who didn’t earn it.

 

In Israel’s old covenant, God told them to do stuff—offer sacrifices, keep commandments, observe holy days etc. Jesus even told his disciples in Matthew 28:20 to teach all He commanded. So if God tells us to do something, we do it. But now, in this dispensation, God says Christ did it all. We just believe. There’s nothing left for us to do to be justified.

Now, the “worketh not” in that verse doesn’t mean sinning. We’re all sinners, but Paul isn’t saying sin gets you righteousness. He’s saying it’s not by our works. Sin isn’t the condition for justification. Justification by faith overcomes sin. “Worketh not” means we haven’t done anything, and we can’t do anything, and God hasn’t told us to do anything for it.

 

Some people say faith or belief is actually a work.

But Romans 4:5 shows us that belief isn’t a work. It’s not in the same category. Faith is hearing what God says in His Word and trusting that it’s true. That’s it.

So when someone says faith is a work they haven’t seen Romans 4:5. The man who believes is not working.

 

But faith alone isn’t the whole story.

We need to ask, “Faith in what?”

I mean it could be faith that when I turn the door knob the door’ll open. Even a dyed in the wool atheist has faith and a lot of it. He has to in order to believe that everything came from nothing.

Abraham believed what God actually said.

the content of our faith, what we have faith in matters. Romans 4:5 says, “believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly.” That’s the object of faith, God who saves sinners.

 

So when someone says, “I’m a believer,” we ask, “A believer in what?” We can’t just believe anything.

God counts it as righteousness to those who believe what He said and what He did, His works on Calvary’s cross to pay the price for our redemption.

God saves sinners. Justification means being declared righteous, and righteousness leads to eternal life. So “justifies the ungodly” means God saves sinners, not sin. Sin‘s not justified. The sinner is.

 

God doesn’t say, “I’ll justify every sin.” No, He saves the person from sin’s penalty.

The sinner is ungodly and undeserving, but God saves them anyway. That’s grace.

Salvation in Christ separates the person from sin—through His death, through being crucified with Him. That’s how God deals with the sin problem.

 

Romans 4:5 says and we’ll read it again because of its importance,

But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness.

 

That’s the heart of the gospel. It’s not just saying “I believe.” It’s believing on God who saves sinners. And how does He do that? Romans 3:21–26 tells us that the law shows us our sin, but now God’s righteousness is shown without the law.

We’ve all sinned, but we’re justified freely by His grace through Christ.

 

If we don’t believe God’s right to save sinners based on Christ’s work, then we’ve got no reason to think we’re saved without works.

We have to have faith in Christ’s finished work if we believe salvation is by grace through faith.

That word “ungodly” in Romans 4:5 is powerful. It means God saves people who are sinners. He doesn’t just welcome them in—He justifies them. That’s how everyone gets saved today.

And here’s the shocker: He only saves sinners. It’s not just that He  “also saves sinners” it’s that He only saves sinners.

If we’re not a sinner, we don’t need saving. But the truth is, we’re all sinners. So there’s no room for boasting or self-righteousness.

The gospel is this: God saves sinners by grace through faith in Christ. Romans 3:24 says we’re justified freely by His grace through the redemption in Christ Jesus. That connects right to Romans 4:5. Faith is counted for righteousness. That’s how you get saved today—by believing, not working.

 

 

That’s why Israel had trouble with this message. They were taught to do right and be blessed. That was their covenant. Now God blesses without works.

Some in Israel understood this. Abraham and David did. They knew they were sinners and they trusted God’s mercy. Even though they did good works, they knew salvation came from grace.

 

 

Paul brings up David in verse 6 to show this. Abraham and David weren’t just examples of grace—they were the father and king of Israel. Paul’s showing that even the greatest men in Israel were saved by grace, not works.

David was Israel’s man. If you had to pick someone to represent the best of Israel, it’d be David. He did great works, was a mighty king, and had a strong reputation. So when Paul says in Romans 4:6 that David talks about the blessedness of the man to whom God imputes righteousness without works, that’s a big deal.

Paul’s saying even David—Israel’s hero—was justified without works. Just like Abraham, David shows that God gives righteousness by grace, not by earning it.

 

Now that word “impute” sounds old and confusing. You don’t hear it every day. Some Bible versions change it to “counted” or “reckoned.” But you can figure out what it means by reading the verses around it. Romans 4:3 says Abraham’s faith was “counted” for righteousness. Verse 5 says the man who believes on God who justifies the ungodly, his faith is “counted” for righteousness. Verse 6 says God “imputes” righteousness. So impute means to count or reckon something to someone. It’s like putting it on their account.

 

The King James Bible uses different words for the same Greek word on purpose. That way, you learn what the word means by how it’s used. If they used the same word every time, people might miss the meaning or twist it. But using “counted,” “reckoned,” and “imputed” helps clarify the meaning.

 

Back to David—he was the greatest king of Israel.

Saul, David, and Solomon were the first three kings, and David wasn’t the richest or the wisest, but he was the greatest. Solomon had wisdom and wealth, but David had God’s favor and a heart after God.

That’s why Paul using David to teach justification without works is shocking to religious folks. They think David earned his place, but Paul says even David was saved by grace.

 

David’s story starts in 1 Samuel 16. God tells Samuel to go to Jesse’s house to find the next king. Jesse lines up his sons, but none of them are the one. Then he brings in David, the youngest, a shepherd. God says, “That’s him.” Samuel anoints David, and the Spirit of the Lord comes upon him. David hadn’t done anything yet—God chose him.

Soon after, Saul, the king at this time, is troubled by an evil spirit and needs someone to play soothing music for him.

One of his servants says, “I know a son of Jesse who’s skilled, brave, wise, and the Lord is with him.” That’s David. Saul sends for him, and David becomes Saul’s armor-bearer. He goes from shepherd to king’s servant because of his reputation and God’s favor.

 

David could play music, fight battles, and lead people. He was talented and chosen by God. That’s why people praise him. But Paul says even David was justified without works. That’s the point—no matter how great someone is, salvation comes by grace through faith, not by what a person does.

 

Romans 4:5–6 shows that even the best man in Israel was saved the same way as the worst sinner—by believing on God who justifies the ungodly. That’s the gospel. That’s grace.

 

In 1 Samuel 17, David fights Goliath. He’s already Saul’s armor-bearer, already known as a mighty man, already anointed. So when he kills Goliath, it just adds to his reputation. People say he was brave—but remember, the Spirit of the Lord was on him.

 

After Goliath, David gets promoted. In 1 Samuel 18:5, Saul puts him over the men of war. He behaves wisely, and everyone loves him. Then the women sing, “Saul has slain his thousands, and David his ten thousands.” That’s when Saul gets jealous. David’s fame is growing, and he’s not even king yet so Saul seethes in his jealousy but even when Saul tries to hurt him, David doesn’t fight back.

In 1 Samuel 18:14, it says David behaved wisely in all his ways, and the Lord was with him.

Saul throws spears and tries to kill him, but David respects Saul as God’s chosen king. He even kills a man for speaking against Saul. That’s honor.

 

Saul offers David his daughter to marry, trying to trap him. But we read in 1 Samuel 18:18,

And David said unto Saul, Who am I? and what is my life, or my father’s family in Israel, that I should be son in law to the king? 

 

“Who am I?” That’s humility. He’s the best man in the land, but he doesn’t boast. Saul keeps scheming, but David keeps doing right.

 

In 1 Samuel 24, David has the chance to kill Saul but doesn’t. He tells Saul, “I could’ve killed you, but I didn’t.” Saul weeps and says in verse 17, “You are more righteous than I.” That’s a big praise. David didn’t fail—he showed righteousness.

 

David wrote many Psalms, praising God’s law and asking to be judged by his works. Psalm 119 is full of love for God’s law. David was zealous to do good. His songs were sung for centuries. Even Jesus quoted David’s Psalms—maybe even sang them.

 

David’s resume is full of good works, wisdom, music, leadership, and scripture. He finally becomes king and in 2 Samuel 7:1 after Saul dies, God gives David rest from all his enemies. David had cleared out the land, doing what Saul couldn’t.

David is a picture of Jesus. Just like David conquered enemies and set up the kingdom, Jesus will return and do the same (1 Corinthians 15). Solomon shows Christ’s glory, but David shows Christ’s return and victory.

So when Paul talks about David in Romans 4:6, saying God imputes righteousness without works—even to David—that’s huge. David wasn’t known for sin. He was known for righteousness. Yet Paul says even David was saved by grace, not by works.

 

In 2 Samuel 7:12, David’s resting from battle and says, “I want to build God a house.” He’s living in a palace, but God’s still in a tent—the tabernacle. David wants to build something better for Him. But God tells the prophet Nathan, “No, David won’t build it. His son will.” That’s Solomon, who later builds the temple.

 

Then God makes David a promise: “When you die, I’ll raise up your seed, and I’ll set up his kingdom. He’ll build a house for me, and I’ll make his throne last forever” (2 Samuel 7:12–13). That’s a big deal. God is saying David’s family line will last forever. Saul’s line ended quick, but David’s won’t. This is where the promise of the Messiah comes in. The Savior, promised since Genesis 3, will come from David’s family.

 

Jesus was born in the city of David. He’s called the Son of David in Matthew 1:1. That fulfills the promise. God also says in 2 Samuel 7:14, “I will be his Father, and he shall be my Son.” That’s not just poetic—it’s prophecy. Some Bible versions change it to “like a father,” but that weakens the truth. God is saying Jesus is His Son. Just like in Genesis 22, when God said He’d provide Himself a lamb. God Himself would be the lamb. The words matter.

 

God also says, “If he sins, I’ll chasten him, but my mercy won’t leave him like it did Saul.” That’s huge. Saul sinned and God cut him off. But with David, God promises mercy that won’t go away. That’s not because David was perfect. It’s because God made a covenant of mercy with him.

God tells David, “You and your house are mine forever.” That’s why being in David’s family matters. Jesus being the Son of David means He’s the promised King with God’s mercy and kingdom forever.

 

Isaiah 55:3 talks about this too.

God says to Israel,

Incline your ear, and come unto me: hear, and your soul shall live; and I will make an everlasting covenant with you, even the sure mercies of David. 

 

Israel failed to keep the law, but God promises to save them by mercy—just like He did with David.

 

Now flip to 2 Samuel 11. What happens after David gets this promise of mercy?

He sins.

He stays home from battle, sees Bathsheba bathing, and commits adultery. Then he tries to cover it up by having her husband, Uriah, killed. That’s murder. According to the law, there was no sacrifice for those sins. The punishment was death.

 

So why wasn’t David cut off like Saul?

It wasn’t because he was above the law. It was because God had already promised him mercy.

That’s the point. David, the great king, the Psalm writer, the man after God’s own heart—he still sinned and sinned big.

But God’s mercy held. That’s the “sure mercies of David.” Mercy that doesn’t quit, even when we fall. It’s so hard for us to grasp the magnitude of that kind of mercy.

 

God told David in 2 Samuel 7:14, “If he commits iniquity, I’ll chasten him, but my mercy won’t depart.” And that’s exactly what happened. God knew David would sin—He knows the end from the beginning. David’s sins—adultery and murder—deserved death.

Leviticus 20:10 says there’s no sacrifice for those sins. We read this,

And the man that committeth adultery with another man’s wife, even he that committeth adultery with his neighbour’s wife, the adulterer and the adulteress shall surely be put to death.

 

In the law, most sins had a way to make things right by bring an offering or paying restitution. But for David’s sins, there was nothing. No sacrifice. No payment. Just death. That’s the law.

But David was forgiven. That’s grace.

We see the prophet Nathan exposing and rebuking Dvid in the incredible passage of 2 Samuel 12:1-14.

Then, in Psalm 32, we see David’s heart after Nathans exposure and rebuke when he writes, “Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered.”

 

How was his sin covered? David didn’t, couldn’t, offer a sacrifice. He didn’t know how God could forgive him and still be righteous. He just knew God promised mercy.

 

He says, “Blessed is the man to whom the Lord imputes not iniquity.” That’s David talking about himself—not boasting, but humbled. He felt God’s hand heavily on him. He confessed his sin, and God forgave him.

That raises a huge question. How can God forgive a sin that has no sacrifice?

Psalm 51 goes deeper.

David cries, “Have mercy on me, O God… blot out my transgressions.”

He pleads for cleansing, knowing he can’t earn it. He says, “Against thee only have I sinned.”

Paul quotes that in Romans 3. David admits, “I was shaped in iniquity.” Even though he was anointed and praised, he knew he was a sinner from birth.

 

He says, “You desire truth in the inward parts.”

Nobody saw what David did—Uriah was dead, Bathsheba was now his wife. But God saw.

David asks, “Create in me a clean heart… renew a right spirit.” Christians sing that verse today, but David didn’t know about Christ. He didn’t know how God could forgive him. He just trusted God’s mercy.

 

He says, “Take not thy Holy Spirit from me.”

That’s not a prayer Christians should pray today. If you know the gospel, you know the Spirit won’t leave you. You’re sealed by grace through faith in Christ but David didn’t know that.

He had the right spirit, but not the full truth.

Today, we should say, “Thank you for saving me,” not “Please don’t leave me.”

 

David says, “Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation.” He’s guilty, and he wants to be changed. But today, we know Christ already forgave us. That’s grace. David says, “If you wanted a sacrifice, I’d give it.” He was king—he had animals, wealth, power. But God didn’t ask for anything and that’s the point.

We can’t do anything to justify ourself. Even if we might be better than some others, we’re still a sinner. We can’t earn salvation. God doesn’t owe us. He’s always the giver and we’re always the receiver. That’s why salvation is by grace through faith—not of works.

 

Psalm 51:16-17 says God doesn’t want sacrifices—He wants a broken spirit and a contrite heart.

David knew that.

After his sin, he had nothing to offer. No sacrifice could fix what he did. But he trusted God’s mercy, mercy promised by God’s very word of promise.

That’s what Paul teaches in Romans 4: it’s not by works, but by faith—believing what God said and what Christ did.

Paul uses David as proof. David, Israel’s righteous king, sinned badly. Yet in Psalm 32, he writes, “Blessed is the man whose sins are forgiven… to whom the Lord will not impute sin.” David knew he was forgiven without works.

 

Paul connects this mercy to Jesus. In Acts 13:34, Paul preaches to Jews saying,

And as concerning that he raised him up from the dead, now no more to return to corruption, he said on this wise, I will give you the sure mercies of David.

 

Paul says those mercies point to Jesus. David was a picture of Christ. God didn’t count David’s sins against him because of Jesus—even though Jesus hadn’t come yet. But God already knew of Christ’s coming.

 

2 Corinthians 5:19 says God isn’t imputing sin to the world today. Same with David back then. Why? Because of Jesus.

Paul says in 2 Timothy 2:8,

Remember that Jesus Christ of the seed of David was raised from the dead according to my gospel: 

 

That gospel is how God gave mercy to David.

 

So Abraham and David were justified by grace through faith, not works. They didn’t know about the cross, but God justified them anyway and that’s Paul’s point: God justifies the ungodly by Christ’s blood, without works, law, or covenants. That’s the mystery of grace in Romans 4.