Why is David's blessing significant in understanding justification by faith in Romans 4:6? Romans 4:6 in Context “David speaks likewise of the blessedness of the man to whom God credits righteousness apart from works.” (Romans 4:6) Why Paul Reaches Back to David • Unites Old and New Testaments in a single, unbroken doctrine of grace • Shows that justification apart from works was not new with Christ’s apostles but embedded in Israel’s Scriptures • Presents a royal, prophetic voice confirming the same truth taught through Abraham (Romans 4:1-5) The Blessing David Describes Psalm 32:1-2, quoted in Romans 4:7-8: “Blessed are those whose lawless acts are forgiven, whose sins are covered. Blessed is the man whose sin the Lord will never count against him.” Key vocabulary that links David to Paul • Credits (logizomai): an accounting term meaning “to place to one’s account.” Paul uses it eleven times in Romans 4. • Apart from works: emphasizes zero contribution from human effort, ritual, or merit. • Blessedness (makarismos): deep, covenant joy grounded in God’s favor, not in personal performance. What David’s Experience Demonstrates • Even a king guilty of adultery and murder (2 Samuel 11-12) can receive full pardon—proof that justification is for the ungodly (Romans 4:5). • Forgiveness and righteousness are simultaneous gifts; the sin that is subtracted is matched by righteousness that is added. • Faith, not law-keeping, accesses this grace. David’s era still had the sacrificial system, yet his hope rested in God’s mercy (Psalm 51:1). Supporting Passages • Romans 3:24—“and are justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.” • Galatians 3:6—“So also, ‘Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.’” • Isaiah 53:11—“My righteous Servant will justify many, and He will bear their iniquities.” • 2 Corinthians 5:21—God “made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God.” Practical Takeaways • Moral failures and broken pasts do not disqualify anyone from receiving God’s gift of righteousness. • Assurance rests on God’s accounting, not self-evaluation: if He will “never count” sin against the believer, no accusation stands. • The same blessedness David celebrated belongs to every believer who trusts Christ today (Romans 4:24-25). Summary David’s blessing proves that from king to commoner, from Old Covenant to New, God justifies sinners solely by faith, crediting them with righteousness entirely “apart from works.” |
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