What does Romans 4:6 mean?
Paul has held up Abraham as an example from Scripture. His intent is to show that God declares people righteous in His sight based on their faith and not on their works (Romans 4:1–5). Paul is not only seeking to prove that salvation comes through faith, not works, but that this idea is not something new. Rather, it's part of the message God has already established. Now Paul turns to something written by another hero of the Israelites: King David of the golden age of Israel.Paul writes that David also speaks of those God declares righteous "apart from works," or in spite of their lack of works. David calls them blessed in the passage Paul will quote in the following verses. In a sense, Paul asks his readers to open their copies of Scripture to the familiar passage of Psalm 32:1–2, to read along as he further proves his point.