God has now revealed his saving righteousness in Christ. He declares sinners righteous freely by grace, on the basis of Christ’s redemptive work and received through faith, not by works of the law. Abraham shows that this has always been in line with God’s scriptural plan.

After showing that the whole human race stands guilty before God, Paul makes a decisive turn with the words, “But now.” God has now revealed his righteousness in a saving, climactic way. This righteousness is not gained by keeping the law. At the same time, Paul is careful to show that it is not opposed to the Old Testament, since the Law and the Prophets already bore witness to it.

This righteousness comes through Jesus Christ and is for all who believe. The passage includes both Christ’s faithful saving work as the basis and the believer’s faith as the response that receives God’s gift. Paul immediately explains why this saving righteousness is for everyone: there is no distinction, because all have sinned and fall short of God’s glory. Jews and Gentiles share the same guilt, so they also need the same salvation.

Paul then gathers several strong terms to explain what God has done. Sinners are justified, that is, declared righteous in God’s court. They are justified freely, which means it is not earned. It is by God’s grace, which means it comes from his undeserved favor. It comes through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, meaning Christ has accomplished an objective work to set sinners free. Justification, then, is not grounded in human worth, effort, or religious standing, but in God’s action in Christ.

Paul goes on to explain Christ’s death as God’s public display of the atoning means by which sin is dealt with. The language recalls the mercy seat and the sacrificial system. The point is not merely that the cross shows love, though it certainly does. Here the emphasis is that through Christ’s blood God has acted openly and righteously to deal with sin. In earlier times, God had passed over sins in his forbearance. That did not mean he ignored evil or treated sin lightly. The cross now demonstrates that God is righteous when he forgives. He remains just even while justifying the one who believes in Jesus.

That leads Paul to ask, “Where, then, is boasting?” It is completely shut out. No one can boast before God on the basis of works, heritage, law possession, circumcision, or moral record. If justification is by faith and not by works of the law, then human pride has no place. Paul’s point is not only personal but also Jew-Gentile in scope. Since God is one, he justifies both Jews and Gentiles on the same basis: by faith. The one God has one way of justification for all.

Paul then answers an objection. Does faith make the law useless? No. Faith upholds the law. It does so because the law itself bears witness to God’s saving righteousness, because the law rightly condemns sinners instead of justifying them, and because faith preserves the law’s proper role in God’s plan rather than turning it into a means of human boasting.

In chapter 4, Paul turns to Abraham as scriptural proof. If Abraham had been justified by works, then he would have reason to boast—but not before God. Scripture says, “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.” That statement governs Paul’s argument. The word “credited” means counted or reckoned. God counted Abraham righteous, not because Abraham earned it, but because he believed God’s promise.

Paul makes the contrast plain. When someone works for wages, the payment is owed, not freely given. Justification is not like that. God justifies “the ungodly,” which shows how completely grace rules this matter. This does not mean ungodliness is acceptable or unimportant. It means God declares guilty sinners righteous on the basis of his grace, not on the basis of their prior goodness. Faith is not a work that earns righteousness. It is the receiving response that rests in God’s promise.

Paul adds David as a second witness. In Psalm 32, David speaks of the blessedness of the person whose sins are forgiven and against whom the Lord does not count sin. This supports Paul’s point that righteousness is credited apart from works. Forgiveness and the non-imputation of sin belong to the same gracious act by which God gives a right standing before him.

Next Paul asks whether this blessedness belongs only to the circumcised or also to the uncircumcised. He answers by looking carefully at Abraham’s life. When was righteousness credited to Abraham? It was before he was circumcised, not after. That timing is crucial. Circumcision was a sign and seal of the righteousness Abraham already had by faith. It was not the cause of that righteousness. Therefore Abraham is the father of all who believe, including Gentiles who are not circumcised. He is also the father of believing Jews, but not simply because they are circumcised. They must also walk in the same kind of faith Abraham had before circumcision.

Paul then broadens the argument from circumcision to law. The promise to Abraham and his offspring did not come through the law, but through the righteousness that comes by faith. This matters because if inheritance depended on law, then faith would be emptied of meaning and the promise would be canceled. Law brings wrath in the sense that law makes transgression known and accountable. Therefore the inheritance must be by faith, so that it may be by grace and so that the promise may be sure to all Abraham’s offspring—not only to Jews under the law but also to Gentiles who share Abraham’s faith.

This is why Abraham can be called the father of many nations, just as Scripture says. The God Abraham believed is the God who gives life to the dead and calls into being what does not yet exist. That description prepares for both Abraham’s own story and the Christian gospel. Abraham trusted God’s promise even when its fulfillment seemed humanly impossible. His body was as good as dead in terms of fathering a child, and Sarah’s womb was barren. Yet Abraham did not waver in unbelief. He grew strong in faith, gave glory to God, and became fully convinced that God was able to do what he had promised. That is why righteousness was credited to him.

Paul then says this was written not only for Abraham but also for us. Righteousness will be credited to those who believe in the God who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead. Abraham’s faith, then, is not merely an inspiring example of optimism. It is the scriptural pattern that explains how God justifies his people: by promise, by grace, through faith in the God who gives life.

The section ends with a brief summary of the gospel. Jesus was handed over because of our transgressions and raised for the sake of our justification. His death addressed our sins. His resurrection is the saving counterpart and public confirmation of the success of his atoning work. The Christ who died for our sins has been raised, and faith in the God who raised him is the faith through which righteousness is credited.