Imputed Righteousness in Romans 4:22
Romans 4:22 states, "And therefore it was imputed to him for righteousness" (KJV) [1]. This verse concludes Paul's argument regarding Abraham's faith, emphasizing that Abraham's belief in God's promise was reckoned to him as righteousness. The broader context of Romans 4 focuses on demonstrating that justification, or being declared righteous by God, comes through faith and not through works of the law. Paul uses Abraham as a prime example, showing that Abraham was justified before the Mosaic Law was given and before circumcision was instituted, highlighting that his righteousness was a result of his faith [6].
The term "imputed" (Greek: elogisthē) is central to understanding this passage. It means "to ascribe to," "to reckon to," or "to lay to one's charge" [7]. Charles Hodge explains that when Paul told Philemon to impute Onesimus's debt to him, the meaning was clear [7]. Similarly, in Romans 4, God "imputed" righteousness to Abraham. John Calvin notes that Paul explicitly states that Abraham had no grounds for boasting because "faith was imputed to him for righteousness" [6]. This imputation is presented as a gratuitous act of grace, not a reward for work [6].
Interpretations of what exactly was "imputed" to Abraham for righteousness vary among traditions. John Gill, a Baptist/Reformed commentator, clarifies that it was not Abraham's faith itself that was imputed as righteousness, but rather the "righteousness" that his faith "looked to, and laid hold on" [4]. one tradition argues that while true faith is necessary, the righteousness imputed is the same for all true believers, regardless of the strength of their faith [2]. Gill's view emphasizes that faith is the instrument through which righteousness is received, not the righteousness itself [2].
Adam Clarke, representing a Methodist/Wesleyan perspective, paraphrases the verse to mean that "God was graciously pleased to place his faith to his account; and to allow his fiducial reliance upon the Divine goodness, power, and faithfulness, for a title to the Divine blessing" [3]. Clarke emphasizes Abraham's "strong faith in the promise of the coming Savior" as being "reckoned to him for justification" [3]. This perspective highlights the active nature of Abraham's faith and its object—the coming Savior—as the basis for his justification.
The passage in Romans 4:22 is part of Paul's larger argument in Romans 3 and 4, where one tradition asserts that "the righteousness of God without the law is manifested" and that believers are "justified freely by his grace" through faith [5]. Calvin argues against the idea that the works excluded from justification are merely ceremonial works, insisting that Paul refers to all works, moral included [5]. The imputation of righteousness to Abraham serves as a foundational example for the doctrine of justification by faith for all believers, both Jews and Gentiles [4].
Augustine, in his anti-Pelagian writings, frequently refers to Paul's emphasis on God's grace in opposition to those who "gloried in their works" and sought to "establish their own" righteousness [9]. This historical context underscores the significance of Romans 4:22 in theological debates concerning the nature of salvation. The doctrine of imputed righteousness, as exemplified by Abraham, asserts that it is "not what we do or are, but solely what Christ is and has done that can avail for our justification before the bar of God" [8]. This concept is crucial for understanding the judicial ground of a believer's justification [8].
Sources
- King James Version “[KJV] Romans 4:22 — And therefore it was imputed to him for righteousness.”
- Romans (Baptist/Reformed) “John Gill on Romans 4:21: And therefore it was imputed to him for righteousness. Not because his faith was strong, and he had a full assurance of it, but because it was right, resting on the promise of God, and relying upon his power and faithfulness to perform it; for though the righteousness of faith is not imputed to any sort of believers, not to mere nominal ones, yet to all such as have true faith, though it may be but weak; for faith, as to nature, kind, and object, though not as to degree, is the same in all true believers, and the same righteousness is imputed to one as to another. An”
- Romans (Methodist/Wesleyan) “Adam Clarke on Romans 4:22: And therefore it was imputed to him for righteousness - The verse is thus paraphrased by Dr. Taylor: "For which reason God was graciously pleased to place his faith to his account; and to allow his fiducial reliance upon the Divine goodness, power, and faithfulness, for a title to the Divine blessing, which, otherwise, having been an idolater, he had no right to." Abraham's strong faith in the promise of the coming Savior, for this was essential to his faith, was reckoned to him for justification: for it is not said that any righteousness, either his own, or that of”
- Romans (Baptist/Reformed) “John Gill on Romans 4:22: But for us also, to whom it shall be imputed,.... What was written in the books of the Old Testament, was not written merely on account of them who are the subjects thereof, but for the use, learning, instruction and profit of saints under the New Testament dispensation; and particularly this concerning the pulsation of Abraham's faith for righteousness, or of the imputation of the righteousness of faith unto him for justification; which was not Abraham's faith, but that "righteousness" which his faith looked to, and laid hold on: see Rom 4:12; for Abraham's faith its”
- CCEL (Reformed) “John Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion, section 66: he not plainly enough attribute everything to faith alone when he disconnects it with works? What I would ask, is meant by the expressions, “The righteousness of God without the law is manifested;” “Being justified freely by his grace;” “Justified by faith without the deeds of the law?” ( Rom. 3:21 , 24 , 28 ). Here they have an ingenious subterfuge, one which, though not of their own devising but taken from Origin and some ancient writers, is most childish. They pretend that the works excluded are ceremonial, not moral works. Such”
- CCEL (Reformed) “John Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion, section 66: of glorying, because faith was imputed to him for righteousness ( Rom. 4:2 ); and he adds in confirmation, that the proper place for justification by faith is where there are no works to which reward is due. “To him that worketh is the reward not reckoned of grace, but of debt.” What is given to faith is gratuitous, this being the force of the meaning of the words which he there employs. Shortly after he adds, “Therefore it is of faith, that it might be by grace,” ( Rom. 4:16 ); and hence infers that the inheritance is gratuitous b”
- CCEL (Reformed (Old Princeton)) “Charles Hodge, Systematic Theology, Vol. 3, section 22: § 5. Imputation of Righteousness. The righteousness of Christ is imputed to the believer for his justification. The word impute is familiar and unambiguous. To impute is to ascribe to, to reckon to, to lay to one’s charge. When we say we impute a good or bad motive to a man, or that a good or evil action is imputed to him, no one misunderstands our meaning. Philemon had no doubt what Paul meant when he told him to impute to him the debt of Onesimus. “Let not the king impute anything unto his servant.” ( 1 Sam. xxii. 15 .) “Let not my lord”
- CCEL (Reformed (Old Princeton)) “Charles Hodge, Systematic Theology, Vol. 3, section 23: that it should not only be practically held by the people, but that it should also be clearly presented and maintained by the clergy. It is not what we do or are, but solely what Christ is and has done that can avail for our justification before the bar of God. Other Passages teaching the same Doctrine. 4. This doctrine of the imputation of the righteousness of Christ; or, in other words, that his righteousness is the judicial ground of the believer’s justification, is not only formally and argumentatively presented as in the passages cit”
- Schaff ANF/NPNF (Patristic) “NPNF1 Vol 5: Augustine — Anti-Pelagian — CHAP. 43. --FROM THE EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS. (part 1): Let me now request your attention to the testimony of the Apostle Paul on this subject. And quotations from him may of course be made more abundantly, because he wrote more epistles, and because it fell to him to recommend the grace of God with especial earnestness, in opposition to those who gloried in their works, and who, ignorant of God's righteousness, and wishing to establish their own, submitted not to the righteousness of God.[12] In his Epistle to the Romans he writes: "The righteousness of ”