THE FAITH THAT GOD COUNTS AS RIGHTEOUSNESS

 There are chapters in Scripture that read like thunder—loud, arresting, impossible to ignore.

Then there are chapters that read like a courtroom—structured, reasoned, persuasive.

And then there is Romans 4…

A chapter that feels like watching God peel back the curtain on what has always been true about salvation:
We never earned it. We never could. And we never will.

Romans 4 is Paul standing before the early church—and before us—saying, “Look back at Abraham. Look at David. Look at the very foundation stones of our faith. Do you see it yet? God has always made people right through faith, not performance.”

This chapter is not just theology.
It's not just doctrine.
It is the beating heart of what makes the gospel good news.

And when you let it speak, it becomes something more than words.
It becomes freedom.

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THE FOUNDATION OF ROMANS 4: WHY PAUL TAKES US BACK IN TIME

Paul could have made his point in a sentence:
“You are saved by faith, not works.”

But he didn’t.
He walked his readers—Jew and Gentile—into their own history books.

Why?

Because false teaching wasn’t just bad doctrine at the time.
It was a deep wound.
For generations, the people of Israel had carried the crushing belief that righteousness came from:
– Law
– Performance
– Circumcision
– Behavior
– Ritual
– Heritage

But Paul goes straight for the roots, quoting the most respected names in Jewish history. If his argument were a legal case, he’s about to call his star witnesses.

And witness #1… is Abraham.

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ABRAHAM: THE MIRACLE OF “COUNTED” RIGHTEOUSNESS

Romans 4:3 says:
“Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.”

That one sentence is an earthquake.

Credited.
Not earned.
Not achieved.
Not negotiated.
Not traded.
Not deserved.

This is the language of accounting—a transaction where something is placed into your account that you did not deposit.

Let that sink in:
Abraham didn’t climb his way to righteousness. God placed righteousness into Abraham’s account because Abraham trusted Him.

THE POWER OF BELIEVING GOD, NOT JUST BELIEVING IN GOD

There is a difference between:

Believing IN God
and
Believing God.

Believing in God is acknowledging that He exists.
Believing God is taking Him at His word—resting your entire life and future on a promise you cannot yet see.

When Abraham believed God, he was an old man with:
– No heir
– No evidence
– No reason to expect the impossible
– No Instagram feed to show progress
– No timeline that made sense
– No understanding of how

But he believed the God who gave the promise more than he believed the circumstances shouting against it.

And God said…
“That faith counts as righteousness.”

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RIGHTEOUSNESS ISN'T A REWARD — IT’S A REVELATION

Paul makes a revolutionary argument here:
If Abraham had earned righteousness, God would have owed him something.

Romans 4:4 says:

“Now to the one who works, wages are not credited as a gift but as an obligation.”

But God owes no one anything.
He cannot be manipulated, pressured, or cornered into blessing.
So righteousness cannot be a wage.

It must be a gift… or it isn’t righteousness at all.

WHY THIS TERRIFIES RELIGIOUS PEOPLE

To say righteousness is a gift means:
– You cannot control it.
– You cannot boast about it.
– You cannot compare yourself with others.
– You cannot exalt your accomplishments.
– You cannot shame someone else’s failures.
– You cannot act like the gatekeeper of God’s acceptance.

Grace is dangerous to pride.
It removes the scoreboard.
It levels the ground at the foot of the cross.

And humans hate losing the illusion of control.

But freedom begins where control ends.

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DAVID'S TESTIMONY: THE ONE WHO BLEW IT AND STILL FOUND GRACE

Paul doesn’t just use Abraham—the hero of faith.
He also uses David—the man who broke nearly every rule.

Romans 4:7–8 quotes Psalm 32:

“Blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven…
Blessed is the one whose sin the Lord will never count against them.”

Never count.
Never.
Not even once.
Not on your worst day.
Not on your record.
Not in your file.

If Abraham shows that righteousness is a gift,
David shows that sin can be forgiven so deeply that God Himself refuses to bring it back up.

THE MIRACLE OF A CLEARED RECORD

David is proof that faith isn’t for the perfect.
If righteousness came through perfection, David would have been erased from Israel’s story, not celebrated in it.

David is the story of:
– Failure
– Repentance
– Grace
– Restoration

And Paul brings him into Romans 4 to show us that righteousness by faith isn’t just for the obedient…
but also for the broken.

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THE CIRCUMCISION QUESTION — AND WHY PAUL DESTROYS THE ARGUMENT

Paul goes straight into the heart of religious identity.

Circumcision was the sign of being in covenant with God.
To many Jews, it was the proof of righteousness.

But Paul asks one devastating question:
Was Abraham counted righteous before or after circumcision?

Before.

That means:
– Righteousness preceded ritual.
– Salvation preceded ceremony.
– God’s promise preceded human obedience.
– Relationship preceded religion.

In other words:
God didn’t bless Abraham because he was circumcised.
Abraham was circumcised because God had blessed him.

Symbol followed truth, not the other way around.

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THE PROMISE THAT RESTED ON NOTHING BUT GOD

Romans 4:13 declares something massive:

“It was not through the law that Abraham and his offspring received the promise… but through the righteousness of faith.”

This is Paul saying:
God never intended for His promises to be tied to human performance.

Because what is based on effort collapses when effort collapses.
What is based on behavior crumbles when behavior crumbles.
What is based on consistency falls apart when life falls apart.

But what is based on God…
stands forever.

WHY THE LAW CAN NEVER PRODUCE LIFE

Paul explains it clearly:
– The law reveals sin.
– The law exposes guilt.
– The law brings wrath.
– The law cannot save.

Why? Because the law says:
“Do this perfectly.”
But grace says:
“Come as you are.”

The law diagnoses the disease.
Grace provides the cure.

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THE UNREASONABLE, UNSTOPPABLE FAITH OF ABRAHAM

Romans 4:18 is one of the most beautiful verses in Scripture:
“Against all hope, Abraham in hope believed…”

That is the very definition of faith.
When logic ends, faith begins.
When options run out, faith steps in.
When evidence disappears, faith holds on.

Abraham didn’t deny reality.
He faced it.
He looked at his age.
He looked at Sarah’s age.
He heard the biological clock having its final expiration date.

But he believed God more than he believed his circumstances.

He believed a promise that contradicted biology.
Contradicted years of disappointment.
Contradicted what his eyes could see.
Contradicted his own logic.

That is why Scripture says:
“He did not waver through unbelief.”

Not because he never felt doubt,
but because he never surrendered to it.

FAITH: NOT THE ABSENCE OF DOUBT, BUT THE PRESENCE OF TRUST

We often think faith means never struggling.
But biblical faith is the courage to move forward even when something in you trembles.

Abraham had questions—of course he did.
But he kept stepping.
Kept believing.
Kept trusting.
Kept hoping.

And God called that unwavering faith.

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THE PHASES OF ABRAHAM’S FAITH (AND OURS)

Romans 4 paints Abraham’s faith as a journey, not an event.
Here are the phases Paul reveals:

1. Faith Begins With a Promise

Abraham heard God.
He didn’t understand it.
He didn’t know how.
He didn’t know when.
But he knew Who.

Every promise starts with God’s voice.

**2. Faith Confronts Reality

**
Romans 4:19 says Abraham faced the facts.
Faith does not deny reality.
Faith refuses to let reality define God.

3. Faith Refuses to Shrink Back

Romans 4:20 says he did not waver.
He didn’t walk away when it got harder.
He didn’t collapse under pressure.
He didn’t let the silence of God silence his belief in God.

4. Faith Gives Glory to God in Advance

Abraham praised God before the miracle happened.
Faith worships before it sees evidence.

5. Faith Becomes Fully Persuaded

Romans 4:21:
“Being fully persuaded that God had power to do what he promised.”

This is the moment faith matures—
when you trust God’s power over your understanding of the process.

6. Faith Receives What God Has Already Decided

Romans 4:22:
“This is why it was credited to him as righteousness.”

God sees faith and says,
“This is what I count as righteousness. Not performance. Not perfection. Trust.”

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THE CONNECTION BETWEEN ABRAHAM’S STORY AND YOURS

Paul ends Romans 4 with one of the most liberating truths in the entire Bible:

“The words ‘it was credited to him’ were not written for him alone, but also for us…”
(v. 23–24)

This means:
Abraham’s story is your story.
Abraham’s God is your God.
Abraham’s promise is your promise.
Abraham’s righteousness is your righteousness.

If Abraham was justified by faith…
then you are justified by faith.

If Abraham was made righteous before any ritual…
then your righteousness isn’t tied to your religious résumé.

If God counted Abraham’s faith as righteousness…
then God counts your faith as righteousness.

And Paul gives the final, breathtaking reason why:
Jesus was delivered over for our sins, and raised for our justification. (v. 25)

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WHAT ROMANS 4 MEANS FOR YOUR DAILY LIFE

Romans 4 is not simply information.
It is transformation.
It changes everything about how we see ourselves, our failures, our future, and our God.

Here’s what this chapter establishes:

1. You don’t work for righteousness — you live from it.

Your starting point is not guilt.
Your starting point is righteousness credited to you by God.

2. Your failures do not define you.

David’s story proves that grace outruns sin every time.
Your past may explain you, but it does not define you.

3. Faith is your pathway — not perfection.

God responds to trust, not flawless performance.
God moves through faith, not through religious applause.

4. God keeps promises that seem impossible.

Abraham is proof.
If God says it, it is already real—whether or not it is visible.

5. God does not call you righteous because of what you do… but because of Who He is.

Your righteousness is grounded in God’s character, not your achievements.

6. You can rest — because righteousness is not fragile.

Works-based righteousness collapses under pressure.
Faith-based righteousness stands because God upholds it.

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WHEN ROMANS 4 COMES ALIVE IN YOUR HEART

Something happens when Romans 4 stops being a theological argument and becomes your personal reality.

You start living with:
– Less fear
– Less guilt
– Less shame
– Less religious pressure
– Less comparison
– Less insecurity

And more:
– Confidence
– Peace
– Joy
– Freedom
– Identity
– Worship
– Gratitude

Because the moment you believe God instead of believing your feelings…
you become unstoppable.

THE SHIFT THAT CHANGES EVERYTHING

You stop trying to prove yourself to God.
You stop performing your way into worth.
You stop bargaining with heaven.
You stop thinking God is disappointed in you.

You begin to breathe differently.

Because you finally understand:
Righteousness isn’t something you achieve.
It’s something you receive.

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THE BEAUTY OF CREDITED RIGHTEOUSNESS

Let’s end where Paul ends — at the cross and resurrection.

Jesus was delivered over for your sins.
Every failure.
Every mistake.
Every moment you regret.
Every season you survived but never understood.
Every sin that whispers shame.

Jesus took all of it.

And He was raised for your justification.
Which means the resurrection is God’s eternal declaration:

“You are forgiven.”
“You are clean.”
“You are Mine.”
“You are righteous.”
“You are accepted.”
“You are whole.”

Romans 4 is God saying:
“Stop living like you’re earning something I already gave you.”

You are righteous because God said so.
You are justified because Jesus rose.
You are accepted because your faith rests in the One who never fails.

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FINAL WORD: WALK LIKE ABRAHAM

You don’t need more qualifications.
You don’t need more accomplishments.
You don’t need a spotless track record.
You don’t need everyone’s approval.

You need exactly what Abraham had:
A heart that believes God more than it believes the world.

Walk like Abraham.
Hope like Abraham.
Trust like Abraham.
Stand like Abraham.
Live like Abraham.

And the God who credited righteousness to him
will continue writing a story of grace, promise, and fulfillment in you.

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— Douglas Vandergraph

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