Romans 4
4
Faith and Righteousness
1 What then shall we say that Abraham, our father according to the flesh, has discovered? 2 For if Abraham was justified* by works, he has a reason for boasting, but not before God. 3 For what does the Scripture say? “And Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.”* 4 Now to the one who works, his wages are not credited as a gift, but as an obligation. 5 But to the one who does not work, but who believes on the One who justifies the ungodly, his faith is credited as righteousness, 6 just as David also speaks of the blessedness of the man, to whom God credits righteousness apart from works:
7 “Blessed are those whose lawless acts have been forgiven,
and whose sins have been covered;
8 blessed is the man*
whose sin the Lord will never take into account.”*
9 Therefore, is this blessedness for the circumcised,* or also for the uncircumcised? * For we are saying, “Faith was credited to Abraham as righteousness.” 10 How then was it credited? While he was in a state of circumcision, or in a state of uncircumcision? Not in a state of circumcision, but in a state of uncircumcision.* 11 And he received the sign of circumcision, a seal of the righteousness that is grounded in faith,* which he had while he was in a state of uncircumcision, in order that he might be the father of all those who believe while in a state of uncircumcision,* so that righteousness might be credited to them, 12 and the father of the circumcised,* to those who are not only of the circumcision, but who walk in the footsteps of the faith of our father Abraham,* which he had while in a state of uncircumcision.*
13 For the promise to Abraham or to his descendants,* that he would be heir of the world, was not through the Law, but through the righteousness that is grounded in faith. 14 For if those of the Law are heirs, faith is made empty and the promise is rendered ineffective. 15 For the Law works out wrath, but where there is no law, neither is there transgression.
16 On account of this, it is by faith, so that it may be according to grace, in order that the promise may be made certain to all the descendants, not only to the follower of the Law,* but also to the follower of the faith of Abraham,* who is the father of us all. 17 Just as it is written: “A father of many nations I have made you”*—in the presence of the God in whom he believed, who gives life to the dead and calls the things that do not exist as though they existed, 18 who contrary to hope believed in hope, so that he might become the father of many nations according to that which had been spoken, “So will your descendants be.”* 19 And not being weak in faith, he considered* his own body already* dead (since he was about a hundred years old), and the deadness of the womb of Sarah. 20 But he did not waver at the promise of God in unbelief, but was made strong in faith, giving glory to God, 21 and fully convinced that what He had promised, He was also able to perform. 22 Consequently, it was credited to him as righteousness. 23 But it was not written for his sake alone that it was credited to him,* 24 but also for our sake, to whom it is going to be credited, to those who believe in the One who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead, 25 who was delivered over for our trespasses, and was raised for our justification.
Notes
2 Or declared righteous
3 Quoted from Gen. 15:6
8 Or person, as the term is understood in a generic sense
7-8 Quoted from Ps. 32:1-2
9 Greek circumcision
9 Greek uncircumcision
10 Greek How then was it credited? While in circumcision, or in uncircumcision? Not in circumcision, but in uncircumcision
11 Greek the righteousness of faith. So also v. 13
11 The reading in the Greek text is elliptical, which is given as: And he received a sign of circumcision, a seal of the righteousness of the faith that in the uncircumcision, in order that he might be the father of all those who believe through uncircumcision… .
12 Greek and father of circumcision
12 Greek but also to those who walk in the footsteps of the faith of our father Abraham
12 Greek …but also to those who walk in the footsteps of the faith of our father Abraham during uncircumcision
13 Greek seed . So also vv. 16,18
16 Greek not only to the one of the Law
16 Greek but also to the one of the faith of Abraham
17 Quoted from Gen. 17:5
18 Quoted from Gen. 15:5
19 Some ancient manuscripts insert not
19 Some ancient manuscripts omit already
23 Some ancient manuscripts insert as righteousness
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Copyright © 2026 Michael Adeyemi Adegbola. This Scripture text is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License (CC BY-SA 4.0).
