📖 Romans 4:5

 

“But to him who does not work but believes on Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is accounted for righteousness.”

 

“God does not justify the religious worker striving for salvation, but the ungodly who believe the gospel.”

 

Paul shows us the great divide—God does not justify the worker striving for salvation, but the ungodly person who believes. This verse destroys every “faith + works” gospel and magnifies the scandal of grace.

 

✍️ Author, Audience, and Context

 

• Author: The Apostle Paul
• Audience: Believers in Rome (both Jews and Gentiles)
• Date: ~57 AD

 

Context: In Romans 4, Paul is building his argument that justification before God has always been by faith and not by works of the law. He uses Abraham as the central example (Gen. 15:6) to show that righteousness is credited through faith apart from works. Verse 5 is one of the clearest declarations in all of Scripture that salvation is a gift of grace, received by faith, and not earned by human effort.

 

 

📜 Phrase-by-Phrase Breakdown

 

“But to him who does not work”

 

• Salvation is not a wage earned by labor. Paul deliberately contrasts human effort with God’s grace.
• Romans 11:6 — “And if by grace, then it is no longer of works; otherwise grace is no longer grace.”
• The “does not work” does not mean laziness or no fruit of faith—it means no reliance on works to gain righteousness.

 

“but believes on Him”

 

• The contrast is striking: not working, but believing.
• The object of faith is not faith itself, but God—the One who justifies.
• John 6:29 — “This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He sent.”

 

“who justifies the ungodly”

 

• God is not just justifying the “good” or the religious, but the ungodly.
• This shocks religious thinking: God declares righteous the one who is undeserving.
• Romans 5:6 — “For when we were still without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly.”

 

“his faith is accounted for righteousness”

 

• “Accounted” (Greek logizomai) is an accounting term, meaning imputed, credited, or reckoned.
• Righteousness is not infused by our works but credited to us by faith.
• Genesis 15:6 — Abraham “believed in the Lord, and He accounted it to him for righteousness.”

 

✅ What It Does Mean

 

• Justification is entirely by faith apart from works.

• God does not justify the self-righteous worker striving to earn salvation—but the ungodly person who believes.

• Romans 4:5 makes this contrast unmistakable: “to him who does not work but believes….”

• That’s why this verse absolutely dismantles every works-based gospel—Catholic, legalistic Protestant, or modern “faith + works” systems.

• The righteousness of Christ is imputed, not earned.

 

✨ Summary

 

Romans 4:5 is one of the clearest proclamations of the gospel of grace. God justifies not those who prove themselves worthy, but those who acknowledge their ungodliness (sin) and believe the gospel (1 Corinthians 15:1-4). Faith is not a work; it is the empty hand that receives God’s righteousness—by faith alone.

 

This verse crushes self-righteousness and demolishes the idea that salvation can be earned by law-keeping, religious rituals, or human effort. Instead, it magnifies the grace of God who justifies the sinner the very moment they believe.

 

🔑 Key Takeaway

 

Justification before God is not a reward for the righteous but a gift for the guilty—received through faith in Christ alone.