But to him who doesn’t work, but believes in him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is accounted for righteousness.
Parallel Translations
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But to him who doesn’t work, but believes in him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is accounted for righteousness.
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To him that worketh not but beleveth on him that iustifieth the vngodly is his fayth counted for rightewesnes.
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But to him that worketh not, but beleeueth in him that iustifieth the vngodly, his faith is counted for righteousnesse.
Cross-references (19)
Passages linked to Romans 4:5 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- Philippians 3:9 and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own, that which is of the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith,
- Romans 3:22 even the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ to all and on all those who believe. For there is no distinction,
- Titus 3:3-7 For we were also once foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving various lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful, and hating one another. But when the kindness of God our Savior and his love toward mankind appeared, not by works of righteousness which we did ourselves, but according to his mercy, he saved us through the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us richly, through Jesus Christ our Savior; that being justified by his grace, we might be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life.
- Romans 10:9-10 that if you will confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart, one believes resulting in righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made resulting in salvation.
- Galatians 3:8-14 The Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the Good News beforehand to Abraham, saying, “In you all the nations will be blessed.” So then, those who are of faith are blessed with the faithful Abraham. For as many as are of the works of the law are under a curse. For it is written, “Cursed is everyone who doesn’t continue in all things that are written in the book of the law, to do them.” Now that no man is justified by the law before God is evident, for, “The righteous will live by faith.” The law is not of faith, but, “The man who does them will live by them.” Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us. For it is written, “Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree,” that the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Christ Jesus, that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.
- Romans 10:3 For being ignorant of God’s righteousness, and seeking to establish their own righteousness, they didn’t subject themselves to the righteousness of God.
- Galatians 2:16-17 yet knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ, even we believed in Christ Jesus, that we might be justified by faith in Christ, and not by the works of the law, because no flesh will be justified by the works of the law. But if while we sought to be justified in Christ, we ourselves also were found sinners, is Christ a servant of sin? Certainly not!
- 1 Corinthians 6:9-11 Or don’t you know that the unrighteous will not inherit God’s Kingdom? Don’t be deceived. Neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor male prostitutes, nor homosexuals, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor slanderers, nor extortionists, will inherit God’s Kingdom. Some of you were such, but you were washed. But you were sanctified. But you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and in the Spirit of our God.
- John 5:24 “Most certainly I tell you, he who hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life, and doesn’t come into judgment, but has passed out of death into life.
- John 6:29 Jesus answered them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent.”
- Romans 1:17-18 For in it is revealed God’s righteousness from faith to faith. As it is written, “But the righteous shall live by faith.” For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness,
- Acts 13:38-39 Be it known to you therefore, brothers, that through this man is proclaimed to you remission of sins, and by him everyone who believes is justified from all things, from which you could not be justified by the law of Moses.
- Romans 4:3 For what does the Scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.”
- Romans 4:24–5:2 but for our sake also, to whom it will be accounted, who believe in him who raised Jesus, our Lord, from the dead, who was delivered up for our trespasses, and was raised for our justification. Being therefore justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ; through whom we also have our access by faith into this grace in which we stand. We rejoice in hope of the glory of God.
- Romans 3:26-30 to demonstrate his righteousness at this present time; that he might himself be just, and the justifier of him who has faith in Jesus. Where then is the boasting? It is excluded. By what kind of law? Of works? No, but by a law of faith. We maintain therefore that a man is justified by faith apart from the works of the law. Or is God the God of Jews only? Isn’t he the God of Gentiles also? Yes, of Gentiles also, since indeed there is one God who will justify the circumcised by faith, and the uncircumcised through faith.
- Romans 5:6-8 For while we were yet weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. For one will hardly die for a righteous man. Yet perhaps for a righteous person someone would even dare to die. But God commends his own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
- Romans 8:30-34 Whom he predestined, those he also called. Whom he called, those he also justified. Whom he justified, those he also glorified. What then shall we say about these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who didn’t spare his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how would he not also with him freely give us all things? Who could bring a charge against God’s chosen ones? It is God who justifies. Who is he who condemns? It is Christ who died, yes rather, who was raised from the dead, who is at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for us.
- Habakkuk 2:4 Behold, his soul is puffed up. It is not upright in him, but the righteous will live by his faith.
- 1 Timothy 1:13-15 although I used to be a blasphemer, a persecutor, and insolent. However, I obtained mercy, because I did it ignorantly in unbelief. The grace of our Lord abounded exceedingly with faith and love which is in Christ Jesus. The saying is faithful and worthy of all acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am chief.
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this verse (18 sources)
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John Calvin 1540 · Public Domain 5. But believes on him, etc. This is a…
5. But believes on him, etc. This is a very important sentence, in which he expresses the substance and nature both of faith and of righteousness. He indeed clearly shews that faith brings us righteousness, not because it is a meritorious act, but because it obtains for us the favor of God. Nor does he declare only that God is the giver of righteousness, but he also arraigns us of unrighteousness, in order that the bounty of God may come to aid our necessity: in short, no one will seek the righteousness of faith except he who feels that he is ungodly; for this sentence is to be applied to what is said in this passage, — that faith adorns us with the righteousness of another, which it seeks as a gift from God. And here again, God is said to justify us when he freely forgives sinners, and favors those, with whom he might justly be angry, with his love, that is, when his mercy obliterates our unrighteousness.
John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.
Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain That maketh him which is wicked in himself, just…
That maketh him which is wicked in himself, just in Christ.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain 5 But to him that worketh not, but believeth…
5 But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness.
Ver. 5. His faith] Yet not as a work, not in a proper sense, as Arminius and Bertius held, but as an act of receiving Christ.
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That justifieth the ungodly] i.e. Him that was ungodly; but being justified is made godly also; or the ungodly, that is, him that is not perfectly godly; for Abraham is here made the ungodly person.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain To him that worketh not; i.e. to him that…
To him that worketh not; i.e. to him that worketh not to the end or intent before mentioned, or with respect to justification, but takes the other way to be justified and saved, and that is, the way of believing.
That justifieth the ungodly; that makes him, who is wicked in himself, just and righteous in Christ; or justifies him that was ungodly, but after justification is made godly. By ungodly, some would understand such as want that perfection of godliness, as they may build the hopes of justification upon; because the proposition is drawn from the instance of Abraham, a man not void of godliness.
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His faith is counted for righteousness; not considered in itself as a work, but in relation to Christ, the object of it, and as an act of receiving and applying him; as eating nourisheth, though it be the meat that doth it.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain But to him that worketh not,.... Not that the…
But to him that worketh not,.... Not that the believer does not work at all, but not from such principles, and with such views as the other; he does not work in order to obtain life and salvation; he does not seek for justification by his doings:
but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly: or that ungodly one: particular reference is had to Abraham, who in his state of unregeneracy was an ungodly person; as all God's elect are in a state of nature, and are such when God justifies them, being without a righteousness of their own; wherefore he imputes the righteousness of another, even that of his own Son, unto them: and though he justifies the ungodly, he does not justify their ungodliness, but them from it; nor will he, nor does he leave them to live and die in it; now to him that worketh not, that is perfect righteousness; or has no opportunity of working at all; or what he does, he does not do, that he might be justified by it; but exercises faith on God as justifying persons, who, like himself, are sinners, ungodly and destitute of a righteousness:
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his faith is counted for righteousness; not the act, but the object of it; which was Abraham's case, and therefore was not justified by works. The Vulgate Latin version here adds, "according to the purpose of the grace of God".
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain But to him that worketh not - It being…
But to him that worketh not - It being impossible he should without faith. But believeth, his faith is imputed to him for righteousness - Therefore God's affirming of Abraham, that faith was imputed to him for righteousness, plainly shows that he worked not; or, in other words, that he was not justified by works, but by faith only. Hence we see plainly how groundless that opinion is, that holiness or sanctification is previous to our justification. For the sinner, being first convinced of his sin and danger by the Spirit of God, stands trembling before the awful tribunal of divine justice; and has nothing to plead, but his own guilt, and the merits of a Mediator. Christ here interposes; justice is satisfied; the sin is remitted, and pardon is applied to the soul, by a divine faith wrought by the Holy Ghost, who then begins the great work of inward sanctification. Thus God justifies the ungodly, and yet remains just, and true to all his attributes! But let none hence presume to "continue in sin;" for to the impenitent, God "is a consuming fire." On him that justifieth the ungodly - If a man could possibly be made holy before he was justified, it would entirely set his justification aside; seeing he could not, in the very nature of the thing, be justified if he were not, at that very time, ungodly.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain Verse 5. But to him that worketh not] Which…
Verse 5. But to him that worketh not] Which was the case with Abraham, for he was called when he was ungodly, i.e. an idolater; and, on his believing, was freely justified: and, as all men have sinned, none can be justified by works; and, therefore, justification, if it take place at all, must take place in behalf of the ungodly, forasmuch as all mankind are such. Now, as Abraham's state and mode in which he was justified, are the plan and rule according to which God purposes to save men; and as his state was ungodly, and the mode of his justification was by faith in the goodness and mercy of God; and this is precisely the state of Jews and Gentiles at present; there can be no other mode of justification than by faith in that Christ who is Abraham's seed, and in whom, according to the promise, all the nations of the earth are to be blessed.
It is necessary to observe here, in order to prevent confusion and misapprehension, that although the verb δικαιοω has a variety of senses in the New Testament, yet here it is to be taken as implying the pardon of sin; receiving a person into the favour of God. See these different acceptations cited in Clarke's note on "Ro 1:17", and particularly under No. 7. It is also necessary to observe, that our translators render the verb λογιζομαι differently in different parts of this chapter. It is rendered counted, Ro 4:3; Ro 4:5; reckoned, Ro 4:4; Ro 4:9-10; imputed, Ro 4:6; Ro 4:8; Ro 4:11; Ro 4:22-24. Reckoned is probably the best sense in all these places.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain But to him that worketh not - Who does…
But to him that worketh not - Who does not rely on his conformity to the Law for his justification; who does not depend on his works; who seeks to be justified in some other way. The reference here is to the Christian plan of justification.
But believeth - Note, Rom 3:26.
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On him - On God. Thus, the connection requires; for the discussion has immediate reference to Abraham, whose faith was in the promise of God.
That justifieth the ungodly - This is a very important expression. It implies,
(1) That people are sinners, or are ungodly.
(2) That God regards them as such when they are justified. He does not justify them because he sees them to be, or regards them to be righteous; but knowing that they are in fact polluted. He does not first esteem them, contrary to fact, to be pure; but knowing that they are polluted, and that they deserve no favor, he resolves to forgive them, and to treat them as his friends.
(3) In themselves they are equally undeserving, whether they are justified or not. Their souls have been defiled by sin; and that is known when they are pardoned. God judges things as they are; and sinners who are justified, he judges not as if they were pure, or as if they had a claim; but he regards them as united by faith to the Lord Jesus; and in this relation he judges that they should be treated as his friends, though they have been, are, and always will be, personally undeserving. It is not meant that the righteousness of Christ is transferred to them, so as to become personally theirs - for moral character cannot be transferred; nor that it is infused into them, making them personally meritorious - for then they could not be spoken of as ungodly; but that Christ died in their stead, to atone for their sins, and is regarded and esteemed by God to have died; and that the results or benefits of his death are so reckoned or imputed to believers as to make it proper for God to regard and treat them as if they had themselves obeyed the Law; that is, as righteous in his sight; see the note at Rom 4:3.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain Abraham, before his vocation, was an idolater, according to…
Abraham, before his vocation, was an idolater, according to Josephus; (Jewish Antiquities, lib. i. chap. viii.) according to some of the Rabbins, and as the Scripture itself seems to insinuate, Josue chap. xxiv; Isaias xliii; Wisdom x; Judith v. He did not then merit his vocation to the faith by his works. But when God had called him, and made him depart from his country, when he promised to him an innumerable posterity, Abraham believed in his promises, and it was reputed to him unto justice, that his faith and his justice were the pure gift of God. His faith was not a dead and speculative faith only, but an active faith, a faith animated by charity, as appears from the sequel of his life. (Calmet)
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain But to him that worketh not--who, despairing of acceptance…
But to him that worketh not--who, despairing of acceptance with God by "working" for it the work of obedience, does not attempt it.
but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly--casts himself upon the mercy of Him that justifieth those who deserve only condemnation.
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his faith, &c.--(See on Rom 4:3).
Second: David sings of the same justification.
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain 5. Worketh not—For the due wages.
5. Worketh not—For the due wages.
The ungodly—The man is ungodly up to the time of his justification. He is not a sanctified or regenerate man. Regeneration does not precede justification, but follows it. The order is, first, faith under the convicting guidance of the Holy Spirit; second, justification, acquitting the man of guilt; third, the regenerating Spirit, making the heart right with God.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain 5. to him that worketh not] The Gr. implies…
5. to him that worketh not] The Gr. implies a general statement; Abraham’s case in universal application.—“Worketh not:”—i.e., of course, in respect of justification. It is another form of the truth expressed Rom_3:28 and Rom_4:6 by “without works;” and the phrases singly and together go as far as language can in defining faith to be the sole condition of Justification.
on him that justifieth the ungodly] These words, with numberless others, remind us that justifying faith is not trust in “anything,” but trust in God and His Word. See below on Rom_4:20-22.—“The ungodly:”—a very strong word—the impious man. Same word as ch. Rom_5:6; 2Pe_2:5; Judges 4, &c. Here St Paul leaves the special features of Abraham’s case, to enforce the principle of Justification by an extreme case. He contemplates a man so emphatically “without works” as to be an open sinner: now, this man is justified, is declared to be accepted as righteous, on the sole condition of faith in the Justifier. And God is, as it were, characterized here as He who (habitually) so acts; doubtless to encourage the most unreserved trust. The word “ungodly” is not descriptive of every man: “all have sinned” fatally (Rom_3:19; Rom_3:23); but not all are openly impious. And as men look on these latter as extreme cases, just these are selected for special mention as proper objects of Justification.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain (5) But to him who puts forward no works,…
(5) But to him who puts forward no works, but has faith in God, who justifies men, not for their righteousness, but in spite of their sins, &c.
The ungodly.—A stronger word is here used than simply “the unrighteous,” “the impious,” or “ungodly.” Their impiety is condoned to them in virtue of their single exercise of faith. It is characteristic of the Apostle not to flinch from the boldest expression, though, as a matter of fact, the two things, faith and positive impiety, would hardly be found together. “The ungodly” clearly belongs to the general form of the proposition, and is not intended to apply to Abraham.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Biblical Illustrator 1887 · Public Domain But to him that worketh not, but believeth on…
Rom_4:5
But to him that worketh not, but believeth on Him that Justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness.
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Justification of the ungodly
The first sound of these words is startling. What! is it, then, the idle or the vicious person, he that does nothing or nothing that is good, and merely has faith or belief, who is to be treated as righteous? And is God the justifier, not of the godly, but of the ungodly? A moments examination of the words will show that the apostle never entertained the sentiments which at first sight they appear to exhibit.
1. The very expression, His faith is counted for righteousness, intimates that righteousness is essentially worthy and acceptable. If faith is received in the stead of righteousness, then surely righteousness is of as much value, at least, as that which is accepted in its place. If righteousness be the debt which man owes to God, and it pleases God, in consideration of mans failure, to take his faith as an equivalent, it is clear that righteousness, the debt, is even of more value than faith, which is taken, in kindness and pity, as an equivalent. And a clue is here put into our hands by following which, with the context to aid us, we shall no doubt be guided to a satisfactory interpretation, and a clear result.
2. His faith is counted for righteousness. But what righteousness? The righteousness which ought to have been; which is due; which is not paid. He who worketh not owes long arrears of righteousness; he has been a sinful man; he is a debtor to a large amount. But when he turns away from sin, and believes heartily and truly on God, then his faith, which is a pledge of future righteousness, is graciously credited to him for those long arrears, and the debt remains no more against him. By grace are we saved through faith. The single consideration, then, that it is past righteousness which is intended in the text, lights it up at once with a holy, and cheering, and satisfying light.
3. And that this consideration is introduced, not only allowably but necessarily, appears from the context (Rom_4:6-8). To impute righteousness without works is evidently synonymous with forgiveness of sin; it is to treat one who has not worked as if he had worked. But then there is a condition--faith, which, working by love, produces henceforth the fruits of righteousness. So the imputation of righteousness without works, or the non-imputation of sin, is by no means a dispensation from future righteousness, but exactly the contrary. This is the doctrine of St. James, as well as of St. Paul; the doctrine of our Saviour and of His most touching parable of the prodigal son; and is the doctrine not only of the New Testament, but of the Old. Abraham, before he knew and believed in God, was not the righteous man that he was after he believed in Him; and his faith was counted to him for righteousness; his past sins were forgiven. Since Jesus came and died, there is a louder call to repentance and a stronger array of motives, and a more general justification. A sincere and earnest faith in Him will move, if anything can move, the heart to love and gratitude, and the life to duty. And the heart being thus moved to love and gratitude, and the life to duty, past sin is forgiven, the ungodly is justified, and faith is counted for righteousness; not, surely, because this powerfully moving faith dispenses with righteousness, or is above righteousness, but because it moves to it and secures it. (F. W. P. Greenwood, D. D.)
Justification by faith
I. The general ground of the doctrine.
1. Man was made in the image of God, holy as He is holy, and perfect as He is perfect. To man, thus upright, God gave a perfect law, to which He required a perfect obedience, which man was capable of rendering. To this was superadded the commandment not to eat of the fruit of the tree, with death as the penalty annexed.
2. Man disobeyed, and the sentence began to take effect. His soul died, being separated from God, his body became mortal, and he hastened on to death everlasting. Thus, by one man sin entered into the world, and we have inherited the sin and penalty of our representative,
3. In this state we were when God gave His Son to be a second general Parent and Representative, and as such He bore our sins, and by that one oblation of Himself He has redeemed all mankind. In consideration of Christs death God has reconciled the world unto Himself, not imputing their former trespasses.
II. Its nature.
1. Not the being made righteous; that is sanctification, which follows justification, but is a distinct and inward gift.
2. Nor the clearing us from the accusation--
(1) Of Satan.
(2) Of the law--theories found nowhere in the Bible.
3. Nor that which implies that God is deceived in those He justifies, viz., accounting them to be otherwise than what they are.
4. But that act of God the Father, whereby, for the sake of Christs propitiation, He forgives sin (verses 6, 7).
III. Its subjects.
1. The ungodly and only such. As the righteous need no repentance, so they need no forgiveness; which contradicts the absurd supposition that holiness is necessary to justification. Only sinners can be forgiven.
2. Him that worketh not. But do not men feed the hungry, etc., before justification? Yes, and these may in a sense be called good works--good and profitable to men--but no work is good which is not done as God wills and commands, and God hath willed that all our works should be done in charity, i.e., that love to Him from which love to man proceeds. But none of our works can be done in this love while the love of the Father is not in us.
IV. Its condition. Faith, i.e., a sure trust and confidence that Christ died for my sins, and loved me, and gave Himself for me. This is the only but the necessary condition, for he that believeth not is condemned already. (J. Wesley, M. A.)
Justification the gift of grace received by faith
1. The man who has obtained justification may be looked upon as in possession of a title deed, which secures to him a right to Gods favour. The question is, How comes he into possession of this title deed? Did he work for it, and thus receive it as a return for his works? No; he did not work for it; and thus it is that justification is to him who worketh not--that is, he did nothing antecedent to his justification to bring this privilege down upon him; nor subsequently, for it is a contradiction to allow that he has to work to obtain what he already has; nor at the time, for he came to it by believing. But then, as in the case of a man coming into an estate, no sooner does he lay hold of the deed than he begins, and that most strenuously, to qualify himself for the possession: and, with a foot which touches lightly that earth from which he is to ascend so soon into the fields of eternal glory that are above him, to aspire after the virtues which are current there; and, by an active cultivation of his heart, labour to prepare himself for a station of happiness and honour.
2. But beware of having any such view of faith as will lead you to annex to it the kind of merit which is annexed to works under the law. It is God who justifies. He drew up the title deed, and He bestowed it. It is ours simply by laying hold of it. Ye are saved by grace through faith. By which is a house enlightened by the sun, or by an open window? The answer may justly enough be that it is by the window--and yet the window does not enlighten the house--it is a mere opening for the transmission of the light of the sun. Christ hath wrought out a righteousness for us that is freely offered to us of God. By faith we discern the reality of this offer: and all that it does is to strike out, as it were, an avenue of conveyance, by which the righteousness of another passes to us; and through faith are we saved by this righteousness. (T. Chalmers, D. D.)
The fitness of faith in order to justification
1. It is obviously the only way in which a testimony can be received; and God has been pleased to appoint that such only as receive His testimony shall reap the benefit of what it reveals.
2. It is a medium of justification by which the whole glory is secured, as it ought to be, to the God of all grace; agreeably to the nature and design of the whole scheme of redemption, by which the loftiness of man is bowed down, and the haughtiness of man is laid low; and Jehovah alone is exalted.
3. It is a method of justification which unites it inseparably with sanctification. The truth must be received by faith into the mind in order to its operating with its holy influence on the affections and desires of the heart. (R. Wardlaw, D. D.)
Salvation not by works
Observe what happens when the cry rises at sea, A man overboard! With others on deck, you rush to the side; and, leaning over the bulwarks, with beating heart you watch the place where the rising air bells and boiling deep tell that he has gone down. After some moments of breathless anxiety, you see his head emerge from the wave. Now, that man, I shall suppose, is no swimmer; he has never learned to breast the billows; yet, with the first breath he draws, he begins to beat the water. With violent efforts he attempts to shake off the grasp of death, and by the play of limbs and arms to keep his head from sinking. It may be that these struggles but exhaust his strength, and sink him all the sooner. Nevertheless, that drowning one makes instinctive and convulsive efforts to save himself. So, when first brought to feel and cry, I perish! when the horrible conviction rushes into the soul that we are lost. When we feel ourselves going down beneath a load of guilt into the depth of the wrath of God, our first effort is to save ourselves. Like a drowning man, who will clutch at straws and twigs, we seize on anything, however worthless, that promises salvation. Thus, alas! many poor souls toil, and spend weary, unprofitable years, in the attempt to establish a righteousness of their own, and find in the deeds of the law protection from its curse. (T. Guthrie, D. D.)
Faith a universal possibility
Faith is natural to man; the mightiest principle in the soul. It is the foundation of trade; the wheel of commerce; the bond of social life; the abiding root of the family tree. And such is the faith that reposes on the Son of God. Faith is not the creation of theology or Christianity. It is older than either. It is not something supernaturally implanted in a man when he becomes a Christian. It is no new faculty bestowed. That principle which trusts a parents love, and produces obedience to a parents will, is the same principle exercised in another region which makes us one with God. Thus, the salvation which God has provided for all becomes a salvation not only worthy the acceptance of all, but possible to be accepted by all. Salvation becomes a universal possibility, because it is offered to a capacity which all men possess and exercise. (R. Henry.)
The way of salvation
I. The way of the natural man. Worketh. He wishes it to be of desert.
II. The better way--by faith. This is--
1. The old way.
(1) Abrahams.
(2) Davids.
2. The blessed way. (J. Lyth, D. D.)
The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
B. W. Johnson 1891 · Public Domain 5. But to him that worketh not. Does not…
5. But to him that worketh not. Does not trust his works for acceptance with God. But believeth, etc. Trusts in the mercy of him who justifies sinners who come to him penitent and believing. His faith, etc. It is made the ground of his acceptance with God. By faith he clings to Christ, the Savior.
B. W. Johnson's The People's New Testament with Notes (1889–1891) — public domain. Electronic text from the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (CCEL) ThML edition.
William B. Godbey 1900 · Public Domain 5. “But to him that worketh not, but believeth…
5. “But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him who justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness.” This argument is so plain, clear and explicit that he who runs may read and not be mistaken. Here Paul so utterly annihilates all the dogmas of justification by water baptism, sacraments, legal obedience, church rites, priestcraft, prelacy, popery or ecclesiastical loyalty as to put the gainsayer in the awful attitude of flatly contradicting God Almighty. How strange that people reading these plain and unequivocal statements of the Holy Ghost, by which they are to be judged in the great day, can still swallow down Satan’s lies, proclaimed from fallen pulpits, and go off after legalistic rites, vainly seeking justification where they will never find it. In order to set this matter clear and unequivocal, God actually justified Abraham twenty-four years before he became a member of the visible church, or received circumcision, lest somebody might be stupid enough to identify justification with legal obedience. Now, remember, if you are not identified with the Abrahamic covenant, you have no interest in Christ (Gal 3:29). If you are a bona fide member of that covenant you are justified by faith alone, without works, like Abraham, whom God converted through faith alone twenty- four years before he received a solitary church ordinance. If you do not belong to the faithful paternity of Abraham, you have no participation in the Fatherhood of God, but, on the contrary, you are a child of the devil (Joh 8:44), with all your boasted church membership and legal obedience.
6. “Therefore indeed David speaks of the blessedness of the man to whom God imputeth righteousness without works [Psalms 31]:
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7. “Blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven, and whose sins are covered,
8. “Blessed is the man to whom the Lord may not impute sin.
9. “Therefore cometh this blessedness on the circumcision, or indeed upon the uncircumcision? For we say, that faith was imputed unto Abraham for righteousness.
William B. Godbey, Commentary on the New Testament (1896–1900) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
J. W. McGarvey 1914 · Public Domain But to him that worketh not, but believeth on…
But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is reckoned for righteousness . [Let us illustrate our point by the case of a workman. If the workman does all he agreed to do, then his reward or hire is due him, not as a matter of grace or favor, but as a just debt. But if, on the contrary, the workman does not fulfill his agreement at all, but merely believes the promise of his employer that he shall nevertheless be paid, then the hire is not hire at all; it is a mere gift of grace and favor, and not a debt. Now, this latter is the position occupied by Abraham, and by every one that believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, for their faith is reckoned unto them for the works of the law--those works of righteousness which they promised to do, but never performed. The sentence is very elliptical, the apostle mingling the illustration with its application, in the on-rushing of his thought.]
J. W. McGarvey (with Philip Y. Pendleton), Commentaries on the New Testament (The Fourfold Gospel, 1914; Acts; and the epistles) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
C. I. Scofield 1917 · Public Domain Or, reckoned, or imputed, i.e. put to the account…
counted
Or, reckoned, or imputed, i.e. put to the account of.
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See Phm 1:18, same word:
The Scofield Reference Bible (1917 edition), notes by C. I. Scofield — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.