Passage: Romans 4:5-8
The Big Idea
God justifies the ungodly, not the ones who work for it, but the ones who believe. David knew how wonderful it is for a sinner to be forgiven: blessed is the one whose sins are covered and to whom the Lord doesn’t count sin. No one can carry away their own guilt. Only God can. And Scripture paints justification in many beautiful pictures: a substitute sacrifice, a slave redeemed, a courtroom verdict, a battle won and a broken relationship restored.
Righteousness Apart from Works (4:5-8)
Paul writes that to the one who doesn’t work but believes in Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is accounted for righteousness. David describes the same blessedness, the blessedness of the person to whom God credits righteousness apart from works: blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven and whose sins are covered; blessed is the one whose sin the LORD will never count against him (Romans 4:5-8, quoting Psalm 32:1-2).
- Notice who God justifies: the ungodly. Not the good people. There aren’t any.
- David knew how wonderful it is for a sinner to be forgiven. He’d committed adultery and murder, and God forgave him.
The commentator R.C.H. Lenski observed that no sinner, however hard he tries, can carry away his own sins and come back clean. No money, science, skill, army or earthly power can remove even one sin and its guilt. Once committed, sin clings to the sinner like his own shadow, forever, unless God carries it away.
Imputed means credited: given, not earned. Just as Abraham was credited with righteousness.
Which do you enjoy more, a paycheck or a Christmas gift?
In Psalm 32, David celebrates the blessedness not of someone justified by works, but of someone cleansed because God placed something on their account. It’s all about what God puts on us, the righteousness of Jesus, not what we do for God.
Read Psalm 32 and see what God shows you. David describes how miserable he was while he kept silent about his sin, and the relief that came when he finally acknowledged it to God and was forgiven.
How do we respond to the grace we’ve been given? By admitting we’re broken people and receiving it.
Five Pictures of Justification
The Bible uses several pictures to help us understand what God did for us in Christ.
1. A substitute sacrifice
Jesus’ death was a sacrifice in our place: a substitutionary atonement. Christ died for us and bore our sins on Himself, like the lambs offered in the Old Testament.
2. Redemption
In the ancient world, a slave could be bought out of slavery with a payment that secured his freedom. Jesus paid the price to redeem us from slavery to sin.
3. A courtroom
We stand before the Judge. Our sins are exposed, and we’re rightly declared guilty and sentenced to death. But before we’re led away, the Judge Himself announces that He will satisfy justice by taking the penalty for the guilty. Jesus bears the curse of the law (Galatians 3:13), and we’re declared not guilty. Justice is satisfied, and mercy is extended in the same act.
4. A cosmic battle
All the powers of evil, death and darkness line up against Jesus and His people. When our Champion dies, it looks like the end of all hope. But the resurrection turns the tables. What seemed like Jesus’ defeat was actually Satan’s defeat and the overthrow of death. Christ is our victor (Colossians 2:15).
5. Reconciliation
The broken relationship between God and people is restored through Jesus, who is both our Priest and our sacrifice. He bridges the gap sin created and brings us back into fellowship with God (2 Corinthians 5:18-19).
Grace Takeaway
You can’t carry your own sin away. It clings like a shadow. But God can, and in Jesus He has. He justifies the ungodly who believe. Your lawless deeds are forgiven, your sins are covered, and the Lord will not count them against you. That’s not a paycheck. It’s a gift. Blessed is the one who receives it!
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