“Even as David also describeth the blessedness of the man, unto whom God imputeth righteousness without works,”
My Notes
What Does Romans 4:6 Mean?
Paul quotes David (Psalm 32:1-2) to support his argument about justification apart from works: blessed is the man to whom God imputes righteousness without works. David — the man after God's own heart — described blessedness as receiving a gift, not earning a wage.
The word "imputeth" (logizomai) means to credit, to reckon to one's account, to count as belonging to someone. God credits righteousness to you the way a bank credits a deposit. It goes into your account. Not because you earned it. Because someone deposited it.
"Without works" (chōris ergōn) is the explosive phrase. The righteousness is credited apart from anything you've done. David knew this. The man who committed adultery and murder knew that his standing with God wasn't based on his performance. It was based on what God chose to credit to his account.
Reflection Questions
- 1.Does David's example (credited with righteousness after adultery and murder) expand your understanding of grace?
- 2.How does 'imputed righteousness' (credited to your account) differ from earned righteousness?
- 3.Where are you still trying to earn what God has already deposited?
- 4.Does the 'without works' phrase free you or make you nervous — and what does that reveal?
Devotional
David — adulterer, murderer, man after God's own heart — described blessedness as receiving righteousness you didn't earn.
Paul's argument in Romans 4 reaches for the strongest possible example: David. Not a Gentile. Not a newcomer. The king of Israel. The psalmist. The man whose throne would produce the Messiah. And David described blessedness in terms of what's credited to you, not what you've accomplished.
"Imputeth righteousness without works" — God puts righteousness in your account the way a payroll department deposits money. You open the account and find something there that you didn't earn. It was credited. Given. Deposited by someone else.
David knew this personally. Psalm 32, which Paul quotes, was written after David's worst failures — Bathsheba, Uriah, the cover-up, the confrontation with Nathan. And from inside that wreckage, David writes about the blessedness of the person whose sin is covered, whose iniquity is not counted. He's describing his own experience: God chose not to count his sin and chose to credit righteousness instead.
If David — with his history, his crimes, his public disgrace — can be credited with righteousness without works, the principle is established for everyone. The worst résumé in Scripture still received the gift. Your résumé isn't worse than David's. And the gift hasn't been revoked.
Without works. Credited. Deposited. Given. That's how righteousness arrives. Not through your best effort. Through God's generous accounting.
Commentary
Trusted original commentary from respected historical Bible scholars and theologians.
Even as David also describeth the blessedness of the man,.... the apostle having instanced in Abraham, the father of the…
Even as David - The apostle having adduced the example of Abraham to show that the doctrine which he was defending was…
Even as David also, etc. - David, in Psa 32:1, Psa 32:2, gives us also the true notion of this way of justification,…
Here the apostle proves that Abraham was justified not by works, but by faith. Those that of all men contended most…
Even as David also In Psalms 32. This quotation is specially to the point, being not only an inspired statement of…
Cross References
Related passages throughout Scripture