Romans 4:8 - Printer Friendly

ESV: blessed is the man against whom the Lord will not count his sin."

NIV: Blessed is the one whose sin the Lord will never count against them."

NASB: BLESSED IS THE MAN WHOSE SIN THE Lord WILL NOT TAKE INTO ACCOUNT.'

CSB: Blessed is the person the Lord will never charge with sin.

NLT: Yes, what joy for those whose record the Lord has cleared of sin.'

KJV: Blessed is the man to whom the Lord will not impute sin.

NKJV: Blessed is the man to whom the Lord shall not impute sin.”

Paul completes a quote from Psalm 32:1–2, as begun in the previous verse. David wrote that the one whose sin is covered, whose lawless actions are forgiven, is blessed by God. Now he makes a slight change. Blessed is the one against whom the Lord will not count (or not "reckon") his sin.

Again, Paul is making the point that God's decision to not count the sins of which we are guilty against us is a gift of His grace. Paul is rejecting any idea that we somehow pay off our own sins by doing good works to balance them out. That is not a biblical idea. It is false. There is no scale at the gate of heaven on which our good works will be weighed against our sinful choices to determine our eternal fate.

No, God declares us to be righteous (sinless, justified) based only on our faith in Him and not at all on our inadequate works. Without faith in God, all that is left is unforgiven sin and God's angry judgment for that sin.

Very blessed indeed, then, are those forgiven for their sin based on their faith.

Romans 4:1–12 focuses on the faith of Abraham, referenced by Paul to further his case about faith. God only declares people righteous based on their faith in Him. David, as well, describes those against whom God will not count their sin as ''blessed.'' Paul insists that this blessing of being declared righteous by God is available to both the circumcised and the uncircumcised. After all, God declared Abraham righteous long before he was circumcised. In that way, he became the spiritual father of both the believing Gentiles and the believing Jews.

Romans 4 is all about the faith of Abraham. God declared Abraham righteous because of his faith, not because of his works. A declaration of righteousness was God's gift, not a payment. This righteousness is available to everyone, circumcised or not. God declared Abraham righteous many years before he was circumcised, making him the spiritual father of all who believe, whether circumcised or not, whether Jew or Gentile. God's promises to Abraham and his offspring can't be received by keeping the law, only by faith. Abraham's faith in God's promise of a son with Sarah did not waver even as he grew older. God will declare us righteous, as well, if by faith we believe in the God who delivered Jesus to die for our sins and raised Him back to life for our justification.

So far, this letter has established that every single person is guilty of sin and does not deserve God's forgiveness. Whether we know God's law explicitly, or not, we still fail to obey. Only faith in Christ can rescue us from the penalty we deserve for that sin. Romans 4 explores the example of Abraham, and God's amazing gift of declaring Abraham righteous solely on the basis of his faith. This declaration was given many years before Abraham was circumcised, causing Abraham to become the father of all who believe God by faith. Abraham's continued faith in God is a model for us. Romans will continue by exploring how Christ brings us peace with God.

The book of Romans is the New Testament's longest, most structured, and most detailed description of Christian theology. Paul lays out the core of the gospel message: salvation by grace alone through faith alone. His intent is to explain the good news of Jesus Christ in accurate and clear terms. As part of this effort, Paul addresses the conflicts between law and grace, between Jews and Gentiles, and between sin and righteousness. As is common in his writing, Paul closes out his letter with a series of practical applications.

Accessed 12/4/2024 3:42:21 AM