RomansChapter 4

Tap any verse to comment or suggest a better wording.

¹So what should we say about Abraham? He is our forefather by birth. What did he find out? ²If Abraham was made right with God by what he did, he had something to brag about. But he could not brag before God. ³What does the Scripture say? "Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness." ⁴When a person works, his pay is not counted as a gift. It is something he is owed. ⁵But suppose a person does not work. Instead, he trusts God, who makes ungodly people right with him. That person's faith is credited as righteousness. ⁶David says the same thing. He tells how happy a person is when God counts him right without anything he has done. David says, ⁷"Blessed are those whose lawless acts are forgiven. Blessed are those whose sins are covered. ⁸Blessed is the person whose sin the Lord will never count against him." ⁹Is this blessing only for those who are circumcised? Or is it also for those who are not? We have been saying that Abraham's faith was credited to him as righteousness. ¹⁰When was it counted to him? Was it after he was circumcised, or before? It was not after. It was before! ¹¹Abraham was given circumcision as a sign. It was a seal to show that he was right with God by faith. He had this faith before he was circumcised. So he is the father of all who believe but are not circumcised. That way they too can be counted right with God. ¹²He is also the father of those who are circumcised. But they must do more than be circumcised. They must also walk in the steps of faith. That is the faith our father Abraham had before he was circumcised. ¹³God promised Abraham and his children that they would receive the world. This promise did not come through the law. It came because Abraham was right with God by faith. ¹⁴Suppose those who live by the law are the ones who get what God promised. Then faith is useless, and the promise is worth nothing. ¹⁵That is because the law brings God's anger. But where there is no law, there is no breaking of the law. ¹⁶So the promise comes by faith. That way it rests on grace. And it is sure for all of Abraham's children. It is not only for those who have the law. It is also for those who have the faith of Abraham. He is the father of us all. ¹⁷As it is written, "I have made you a father of many nations." He is our father in God's sight. Abraham believed in God, who gives life to the dead. God speaks, and things that did not exist come to be. ¹⁸There was no reason to hope. But Abraham still hoped and believed. So he became the father of many nations. God had told him, "That is how many children you will have." ¹⁹Abraham's faith did not grow weak. He knew his body was as good as dead. He was about 100 years old. He knew that Sarah could not have children. ²⁰But he did not doubt God's promise or stop believing. Instead, his faith grew strong. And he gave glory to God. ²¹He was fully sure that God could do what he had promised. ²²That is why "it was credited to him as righteousness." ²³The words "it was credited to him" were not written only for Abraham. ²⁴They were written for us too. God will count us as right with him. That is for us who believe in God, who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead. ²⁵Jesus was handed over to die for our sins. He was raised to life to make us right with God.