“And therefore ‘it was accounted to him for righteousness.’ Now it was not written for his sake alone that it was imputed to him, but also for us. It shall be imputed to us who believe in Him who raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead” (Romans 4:22-24).
Many of Paul the Apostle’s New Testament letters share a common literary structure. These letters typically begin with a doctrinal section that establishes a foundation of spiritual truth. We are then presented with an application section that explores the practical implementation of those doctrinal principles. Here in the book of Romans, this “practical application” section appears in chapters twelve to sixteen.
Romans chapter four functions much like a miniature version of that literary structure, for Paul will now conclude his discussion of Abraham’s faith with some practical applications based on his life. The word “now” alerts us to that transition in verse twenty-two, for it marks a shift to the functional effect of Paul’s instruction regarding Abraham’s life.
Here is how one pastoral commentator addresses that transition…
“Paul is making an application to his teaching of justification by faith by presenting this example of the faith of Abraham. That application is that when we hear the Good News that God will declare us to be righteous simply because we believe the Gospel of Jesus Christ, we must believe God even as Abraham believed God and God gave him the gift of righteousness.” (1)
“He makes this same point when he explains the meaning of the word that tells us this righteousness was ‘accounted’ to Abraham. According to Paul, the word does not mean the righteousness was earned or deserved like wages for an honest day of work. It means precisely the opposite. This righteousness was a gift, freely bestowed on Abraham because he believed God.” (2)
So Abraham “invested” his faith in God, and God responded by “crediting his account,” so to speak. Genesis 15:6 identifies the nature of that credit when it tells us God “…counted it to him as righteousness” (ESV). A righteous person can be defined as someone who is in “right standing” with God, and our earlier text from Romans 4:20-22 explained that accreditation process in Abraham’s life: “[Abraham] did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God… This is why ‘it was credited to him as righteousness’” (NIV).
This has significant implications for us today, just as Paul notes here in Romans 4:22-24. We’ll expand on those implications with a look at a valuable study tool next.
(1) Dick Woodward, Mini Bible College Booklet Twenty-Nine The Book Of Romans Verse By Verse (part one) [pg.33] https://mbc.icm.org/
(2) Woodward, Ibid. [pg.34]