Romans 4:2 and Its Implications
Abraham, Justification by Faith, and the God Who Justifies the Ungodly
Introduction
Romans 4:2 is a short verse, but it opens a very large doctrinal question: what does it mean for a sinner to be justified before God?
"For if Abraham were justified by works, he hath whereof to glory; but not before God."
— Romans 4:2
This verse teaches that even Abraham, the great father of Israel, had no basis for boasting before God. If Abraham had been justified by his own works, then he could have taken credit for his standing before God. But Paul immediately closes that door: "but not before God."
Before men, Abraham may appear righteous, obedient, faithful, and honourable. Before God, however, Abraham needed the same thing every sinner needs: righteousness counted to him by faith.
Paul continues in Romans 4:3:
"For what saith the scripture? Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness."
— Romans 4:3
This quotation comes from Genesis 15:6:
"And he believed in the LORD; and he counted it to him for righteousness."
— Genesis 15:6
The foundation of Romans 4 is therefore very clear: Abraham was not justified because he earned righteousness. He was justified because he believed God, and God graciously counted that faith for righteousness.
While the verse itself is brief, its implications reach further than they might first appear. They touch on the nature of saving faith, why righteousness is imputed to men but not to fallen angels who also believe God exists, and what it means that God chose to provide a Redeemer for mankind at all. Each of these questions flows naturally from what Romans 4:2 denies: that any sinner can stand before God on the basis of his own merit.
Abraham Had No Glory Before God
Romans 4:2 does not deny that Abraham did righteous things. Abraham obeyed God's call, left his country, trusted God's promises, interceded for others, and later showed his faith by obeying even in the matter of Isaac. But those works did not give him a right to boast before God.
Paul had already said in Romans 3:27–28:
"Where is boasting then? It is excluded. By what law? of works? Nay: but by the law of faith."
— Romans 3:27
"Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law."
— Romans 3:28
Romans 4:2 applies that same truth to Abraham. If anyone might seem to have reason to glory in his religious life, Abraham would be an obvious candidate. Yet Paul says Abraham did not have grounds to glory before God.
This means that justification cannot be based on human achievement. It cannot be earned by obedience, religious heritage, moral effort, ceremony, sacrifice, law-keeping, or personal merit. If righteousness could be earned, salvation would become a debt God owed to man. Paul rejects that idea immediately in Romans 4:4–5:
"Now to him that worketh is the reward not reckoned of grace, but of debt."
— Romans 4:4
"But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness."
— Romans 4:5
That phrase is astonishing: "him that justifieth the ungodly." God does not justify the person who successfully makes himself righteous. He justifies the ungodly person who believes Him.
Imputed Righteousness
Genesis 15:6 says Abraham's faith was "counted" to him for righteousness. Romans 4 uses the same idea repeatedly. This is the doctrine of imputed righteousness.
To impute means to reckon, count, or credit something to someone's account. Abraham did not possess perfect personal righteousness. Rather, God counted him righteous by faith.
Paul explains the same truth through David in Romans 4:6–8:
"Even as David also describeth the blessedness of the man, unto whom God imputeth righteousness without works,"
— Romans 4:6
"Saying, Blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven, and whose sins are covered."
— Romans 4:7
"Blessed is the man to whom the Lord will not impute sin."
— Romans 4:8
This is very important. Justification has two sides. God does not impute sin to the believer, and God imputes righteousness to the believer.
The sinner is not saved because God pretends sin does not matter. Sin matters so much that Christ had to die. The believer is saved because God provides righteousness through faith, apart from works.
Paul later says in Romans 5:1:
"Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ:"
— Romans 5:1
Justification brings peace with God because the believer is no longer standing before God in his own righteousness. He stands by faith in the righteousness God gives.
Faith Is Not a Work
A common misunderstanding is to treat faith as though it were a work that earns salvation. But Paul is careful to distinguish faith from works. Romans 4:5 has already shown that faith and works stand on opposite sides of the ledger. The one who "worketh not, but believeth" is the one whose faith is counted for righteousness.
Faith does not purchase righteousness. Faith receives righteousness. Faith is not the price paid for salvation; it is the empty hand that receives the gift of God.
This is why salvation remains entirely by grace.
"For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:"
— Ephesians 2:8
"Not of works, lest any man should boast."
— Ephesians 2:9
Faith excludes boasting because faith admits need. Faith says, "I cannot save myself. I believe God. I trust His promise. I receive what He gives." That is why Abraham had no glory before God. His faith did not make God his debtor. His faith received what God graciously counted to him.
Abraham Believed God
Genesis 15:6 does not merely say Abraham believed in God's existence. Abraham already knew God existed. The point is that Abraham believed God Himself. He trusted God's word.
God had promised Abraham a son and a seed. Humanly speaking, this promise seemed impossible. Abraham was old. Sarah was barren. Yet Abraham believed that God would do what He had spoken.
Paul explains in Romans 4:20–22:
"He staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief; but was strong in faith, giving glory to God;"
— Romans 4:20
"And being fully persuaded that, what he had promised, he was able also to perform."
— Romans 4:21
"And therefore it was imputed to him for righteousness."
— Romans 4:22
This shows the nature of saving faith. Abraham did not simply acknowledge a fact about God. He trusted God's promise. He was "fully persuaded" that God was able to perform what He had said. This is one reason James 2:19 is so important.
James 2:19 and the Faith of Demons
"Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble."
— James 2:19
At first glance, this may seem to complicate Genesis 15:6. Abraham believed God, and righteousness was counted to him. Demons also believe, yet righteousness is not counted to them. Why?
The answer is that James and Genesis are not describing the same kind of belief. Demons believe true facts about God. They know God exists. They know Christ is Lord. They know judgment is coming. Their belief is real in the sense of knowledge, but it is not saving faith. It produces trembling, not reconciliation.
Abraham's faith was different. Abraham believed God in trust, dependence, and submission to His word. Demons believe while remaining enemies of God. Abraham believed and entrusted himself to God's promise.
So James 2:19 teaches that mere doctrinal acknowledgment is not saving faith. A person may say, "I believe there is one God," and yet still not be trusting God. That kind of belief may be orthodox in statement, but dead in reality. It is possible to know correct doctrine and still remain unchanged, unrepentant, and unreconciled to God. James is warning against that kind of empty profession.
"Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works."
— James 2:18
James is not contradicting Paul. Paul explains how a sinner is justified before God: by faith apart from works. James explains what genuine faith looks like when it is real: it produces works.
Paul and James Are Not Contradicting Each Other
Paul says in Romans 4:3:
"For what saith the scripture? Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness."
— Romans 4:3
James says in James 2:21:
"Was not Abraham our father justified by works, when he had offered Isaac his son upon the altar?"
— James 2:21
These statements are sometimes treated as contradictory, but they are addressing different questions. Paul is dealing with the ground of justification before God. He points to Genesis 15, where Abraham believed God and was counted righteous. James is dealing with the evidence of living faith before men. He points to Genesis 22, where Abraham offered Isaac, demonstrating that his faith was real.
James himself connects the two in James 2:23:
"And the scripture was fulfilled which saith, Abraham believed God, and it was imputed unto him for righteousness: and he was called the Friend of God."
— James 2:23
Genesis 15 came before Genesis 22. Abraham was counted righteous by faith before he offered Isaac. His later obedience did not create his faith; it revealed it. So the relationship is simple: faith is the root, and works are the fruit. Faith justifies before God. Works demonstrate that faith is living. This preserves both truths. We are not saved by works, but saving faith is not dead, barren, or empty.
Why Righteousness Is Not Imputed to Demons
The question then becomes: if demons believe God is real, why is righteousness not imputed to them? There are two biblical reasons.
First, their belief is not saving faith. It is knowledge without trust, fear without love, acknowledgment without submission. They know the truth but remain in rebellion against God.
Second, Scripture does not present the saving work of Christ as applying to fallen angels.
"For verily he took not on him the nature of angels; but he took on him the seed of Abraham."
— Hebrews 2:16
Christ did not become an angel to redeem angels. He became man to redeem men. He entered Adam's race, took human nature, died as a man, and rose again as a man.
"For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus;"
— 1 Timothy 2:5
"Who gave himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time."
— 1 Timothy 2:6
Christ is the mediator between God and men. Scripture never describes Him as mediator between God and fallen angels. This explains why demons can believe and tremble without being saved. Their knowledge of God is not joined to saving faith, and Scripture gives no offer of redemption to fallen angels.
The Fallen Angels and the Absence of Redemption
The Bible presents fallen angels as awaiting judgment, not restoration.
"And the angels which kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation, he hath reserved in everlasting chains under darkness unto the judgment of the great day."
— Jude 6
"For if God spared not the angels that sinned, but cast them down to hell, and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved unto judgment;"
— 2 Peter 2:4
"Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels:"
— Matthew 25:41
These passages do not describe a probationary period, an offer of repentance, or a future restoration. They describe judgment. This does not mean fallen angels are simply "worse" than human beings in some general sense. Rather, their rebellion appears to be of a different order. They sinned from a position of direct heavenly knowledge. They were not born into a fallen race. They were not deceived in the same way mankind was. They left their own habitation and rebelled against God with extraordinary light. The greater the light a creature is given, the greater its accountability before God. Fallen angels sinned against the highest order of light, and Scripture nowhere presents them with an offer of redemption.
For mankind, however, God provided a Redeemer.
Adam and Eve: Lost or Offered Grace?
Adam and Eve sinned under extraordinary privilege. They were not born into a fallen world. They were created innocent. They lived in Eden. They had direct fellowship with God. They received a clear command.
"But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it..."
— Genesis 2:17
Their sin was therefore very serious. They rebelled against God in a state of innocence and blessing. Yet Scripture does not present Adam and Eve as being in the same position as fallen angels. Immediately after their sin, God gave a promise.
"And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel."
— Genesis 3:15
This is often called the first promise of the gospel. It points forward to the seed of the woman who would defeat the serpent. That promise ultimately finds its fulfillment in Christ. This means grace was revealed immediately after the fall. God judged sin, but He also announced redemption.
Adam then named his wife Eve.
"And Adam called his wife's name Eve; because she was the mother of all living."
— Genesis 3:20
This is significant. God had just declared death as the consequence of sin. Yet Adam named her Eve, a name connected with life. This may suggest that Adam believed God's promise that life would continue through the woman, and ultimately that deliverance would come through her seed.
Then God clothed them.
"Unto Adam also and to his wife did the LORD God make coats of skins, and clothed them."
— Genesis 3:21
Adam and Eve had tried to cover themselves with fig leaves. God replaced their covering with coats of skins. This appears to be a picture of divine covering: man's self-made covering was insufficient, and God Himself provided a covering that involved the death of another. The full sacrificial system had not yet been revealed, but the picture points forward to a principle that runs through all of Scripture: sin requires covering, and God must provide it.
So Adam and Eve lost Eden, but they were not abandoned without hope. They lost innocence. They lost direct access to the garden. They lost access to the tree of life. But they were given promise, covering, and continued life.
Scripture does not explicitly say that Adam and Eve were saved, and that should be stated plainly. What Scripture does show is that God responded to their sin not by consigning them to hopeless judgment, as He did the fallen angels, but by announcing mercy and providing a covering. The evidence leans toward God offering them grace, and that grace ultimately points forward to the same source as every sinner's hope: the seed of the woman, Christ Himself.
Christ as the Last Adam
Paul's treatment of Adam deepens this point. Adam is the head of fallen humanity, but Christ is the head of redeemed humanity.
"For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive."
— 1 Corinthians 15:22
"The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening spirit."
— 1 Corinthians 15:45
Christ is called the "last Adam" because He came to undo what the first Adam brought upon mankind. Adam brought sin and death. Christ brings righteousness and life.
"Therefore as by the offence of one judgment came upon all men to condemnation; even so by the righteousness of one the free gift came upon all men unto justification of life."
— Romans 5:18
"For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous."
— Romans 5:19
This is directly connected to Romans 4. The righteousness that saves is not produced by the sinner. It comes through Christ and is received by faith. Adam's sin condemned the race. Christ's obedience provides righteousness for those who believe.
The Difference Between Men and Demons
This brings us back to the original question: why is righteousness imputed to men but not to demons who also believe God exists?
The answer is not that men are naturally better than demons. Men are sinners.
"For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;"
— Romans 3:23
The difference is that God, in His grace, provided redemption for mankind through Christ. Christ took on human nature, not angelic nature. He became the Son of man, the seed of the woman, the seed of Abraham, the Son of David, and the last Adam. He entered the human race in order to redeem human sinners.
Demons believe in the sense that they know God is real. But they are not invited in Scripture to trust Christ as their Redeemer. Christ is not presented as their mediator. Their belief is terror before judgment, not faith unto salvation.
Man's salvation is therefore not explained by man's worthiness. It is explained by God's mercy.
The Meaning of Saving Faith
Romans 4 helps define saving faith. Saving faith is not merely believing that God exists. Saving faith is not merely believing correct doctrines. Saving faith is not merely fearing judgment. Saving faith is believing God, trusting His promise, and depending on His mercy.
Abraham believed God's promise concerning his seed. The Christian believes God's promise concerning His Son.
Paul says Romans 4 was not written for Abraham alone.
"Now it was not written for his sake alone, that it was imputed to him;"
— Romans 4:23
"But for us also, to whom it shall be imputed, if we believe on him that raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead;"
— Romans 4:24
"Who was delivered for our offences, and was raised again for our justification."
— Romans 4:25
This is the climax of the chapter. Abraham believed God, and righteousness was imputed to him. We also are counted righteous if we believe on Him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead. Christ was delivered for our offences. Christ was raised again for our justification. That is the foundation of Christian salvation.
The Implications of Romans 4:2
Romans 4:2 has several major implications.
First, no man can boast before God. If Abraham could not glory before God, neither can anyone else. Religious history, obedience, sacrifice, morality, and good works cannot justify a sinner.
Second, justification is by faith, not works. Abraham was counted righteous because he believed God. This happened before the law of Moses and before circumcision, proving that righteousness is not based on law-keeping or religious ceremony.
Third, faith is not mere mental agreement. James 2:19 shows that demons believe true things about God and tremble. Saving faith is not bare acknowledgment; it is trust in God's word and promise.
Fourth, genuine faith produces evidence. James does not overturn Paul. Rather, James shows that living faith reveals itself through obedience. Abraham's offering of Isaac did not earn his justification; it fulfilled and demonstrated the reality of the faith already counted to him for righteousness.
Fifth, Christ's saving work applies to mankind, not fallen angels. Hebrews 2:16 shows that Christ did not take on the nature of angels, but the seed of Abraham. Scripture presents fallen angels as reserved for judgment, not offered redemption.
Sixth, Adam and Eve appear to have been offered grace. Though they sinned in direct fellowship with God, God immediately gave the promise of the seed of the woman and covered them Himself. Unlike fallen angels, mankind was given a Redeemer.
Seventh, the whole doctrine points to Christ. Abraham's faith looked forward to God's promise. Our faith looks back to the finished work of Christ: His death for our offences and His resurrection for our justification.
Why This Matters
Romans 4:2 protects the gospel from human pride. If Abraham had been justified by works, then salvation would not be entirely by grace. Man would have grounds to boast. But Abraham was not justified that way. He believed God, and God counted it to him for righteousness.
This means the sinner's hope is not in becoming impressive enough for God to accept him. The sinner's hope is in believing the God who justifies the ungodly. That does not make works meaningless. Good works matter deeply. They honour God, serve others, and reveal living faith. But they do not purchase salvation.
The order must never be reversed. We are not saved by works. We are saved by grace through faith. Then, having been saved, we are called to walk in the good works God has prepared.
"For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them."
— Ephesians 2:10
Works follow salvation. They do not cause it.
Conclusion
Romans 4:2 teaches that Abraham had no reason to glory before God. Though he was a great man of faith, his justification did not come from his works. It came because he believed God, and God counted that faith for righteousness.
James 2:19 reminds us that not all belief is saving faith. Demons believe true things about God and tremble. Abraham believed God in trust and dependence. His later obedience proved that his faith was alive.
The fallen angels appear fixed in judgment, with no biblical offer of redemption. Adam and Eve, however, though they sinned in Eden, were given the promise of the seed of the woman and clothed by God Himself. Mankind was not abandoned. God provided a Redeemer.
That Redeemer is Jesus Christ, the last Adam, who was delivered for our offences and raised again for our justification.
The great implication of Romans 4:2 is that salvation leaves no room for boasting. The sinner does not stand before God in righteousness of his own making. He stands in righteousness counted to him by the grace of God, received through faith, not earned through works. That is why Abraham had no glory before God, and that is why every justified sinner finds his only confidence not in what he has done for God, but in what God has done through Christ.
"But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness."
— Romans 4:5