Romans 4:1-6

The context

Romans 4 begins Paul's appeal to Abraham as the father of those who believe, arguing that his righteousness was credited before circumcision and before the law. Verses 4 to 5 introduce an analogy from wages, and verse 6 adds David as a second witness. The chapter continues with the promise and its timing.

What it establishes

The passage contrasts a wage owed for work with a gift credited to the ungodly who believe, and it makes that contrast the shape of justification. It also reads David's psalm as confirmation that the blessing belongs to the forgiven rather than the deserving.

What it does not establish

It does not make good works irrelevant. The letter goes on to demand a transformed life in chapters 6 through 8 and 12, and faith here is trust rather than inactivity. Nor does it define “work” as ceremonial observance only; the analogy is commercial and general.

Short note, first pass, October 2026. Corrections welcome.

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