What is the meaning of Romans 4:5? However - Paul turns a corner from wages-earned thinking (Romans 4:4) to grace-given truth. - “However” signals a contrast: salvation is not a paycheck; it is a gift (Ephesians 2:8-9; Titus 3:5). - This sets the stage for every believer who feels disqualified by past failures, shifting attention from human merit to God’s mercy (Isaiah 55:1). To the one who does not work - “Does not work” rules out spiritual sweat-equity as a means of justification. • No ritual, rule-keeping, or moral résumé can force God’s hand (Galatians 2:16). • Abraham himself was counted righteous before circumcision or law-keeping (Romans 4:9-10; Genesis 15:6). - The phrase invites the tired achiever to lay down the tools of self-righteousness (Matthew 11:28-30). But believes - Trust, not toil, is the qualifying response. • Belief is wholehearted reliance, like resting your full weight on a chair (John 3:16; Acts 16:31). • It involves admitting inability and casting everything on Christ’s finished work (1 Peter 2:24). - Faith is active in the sense of reception, not production. In Him who justifies the ungodly - God justifies “the ungodly,” not the already cleaned-up. • The tax collector beating his breast in Luke 18:13-14 illustrates this shocking grace. • Christ died for us “while we were still sinners” (Romans 5:8). - “Justifies” is a courtroom term: God declares the guilty pardoned because Jesus bore their sentence (2 Corinthians 5:21). - The verse underscores God’s character: He loves to rescue the unworthy, magnifying His glory (Exodus 34:6-7). His faith is credited as righteousness - “Credited” is accounting language: righteousness is transferred to the believer’s ledger (Philippians 3:9). • The moment of belief equals the moment of full acceptance (John 5:24). - This righteousness is perfect because it is Christ’s own (Romans 3:22; 1 Corinthians 1:30). - Nothing can subtract from or add to this credited status; it is secure (Romans 8:1, 38-39). summary Romans 4:5 dismantles every hope in human effort and invites sinners to trust the God who delights to declare the guilty righteous. By simple faith in Christ, the believer receives a perfect, permanent standing before God, grounded in grace alone and secured forever. |
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