ESTUDIO DEL CAPÍTULO
Romans 4 — Abraham Justified by Faith
Paul defends justification by faith apart from works by re-reading Abraham and David, then ties the promise to resurrection.
Escritura
- 1.¿Qué, pues, diremos que halló Abraham, nuestro padre según la carne?What then shall we say that Abraham, our forefather, hath found according to the flesh?
- 2.Porque si Abraham fue justificado por las obras, tiene de qué gloriarse, pero no para con Dios.For if Abraham was justified by works, he hath whereof to glory; but not toward God.
- 3.Porque ¿qué dice la Escritura? Creyó Abraham a Dios, y le fue contado por justicia.For what saith the scripture? And Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned unto him for righteousness.
- 4.Pero al que obra, no se le cuenta el salario como gracia, sino como deuda;Now to him that worketh, the reward is not reckoned as of grace, but as of debt.
- 5.mas al que no obra, sino cree en aquel que justifica al impío, su fe le es contada por justicia.But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is reckoned for righteousness.
- 6.Como también David habla de la bienaventuranza del hombre a quien Dios atribuye justicia sin obras,Even as David also pronounceth blessing upon the man, unto whom God reckoneth righteousness apart from works,
- 7.diciendo: Bienaventurados aquellos cuyas iniquidades son perdonadas, Y cuyos pecados son cubiertos.saying, Blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven, And whose sins are covered.
- 8.Bienaventurado el varón a quien el Señor no inculpa de pecado.Blessed is the man to whom, the Lord will not reckon sin.
- 9.¿Es, pues, esta bienaventuranza solamente para los de la circuncisión, o también para los de la incircuncisión? Porque decimos que a Abraham le fue contada la fe por justicia.Is this blessing then pronounced upon the circumcision, or upon the uncircumcision also? for we say, To Abraham his faith was reckoned for righteousness.
- 10.¿Cómo, pues, le fue contada? ¿Estando en la circuncisión, o en la incircuncisión? No en la circuncisión, sino en la incircuncisión.How then was it reckoned? when he was in circumcision, or in uncircumcision? Not in circumcision, but in uncircumcision:
- 11.Y recibió la circuncisión como señal, como sello de la justicia de la fe que tuvo estando aún incircunciso; para que fuese padre de todos los creyentes no circuncidados, a fin de que también a ellos la fe les sea contada por justicia;and he received the sign of circumcision, a seal of the righteousness of the faith which he had while he was in uncircumcision; that he might be the father of all them that believe, though they be in uncircumcision, that righteousness might be reckoned unto them;
- 12.y padre de la circuncisión, para los que no solamente son de la circuncisión, sino que también siguen las pisadas de la fe que tuvo nuestro padre Abraham antes de ser circuncidado.and the father of circumcision to them who not only are of the circumcision, but who also walk in the steps of that faith of our father Abraham which he had in uncircumcision.
- 13.Porque no por la ley fue dada a Abraham o a su descendencia la promesa de que sería heredero del mundo, sino por la justicia de la fe.For not through the law was the promise to Abraham or to his seed that he should be heir of the world, but through the righteousness of faith.
- 14.Porque si los que son de la ley son los herederos, vana resulta la fe, y anulada la promesa.For if they that are of the law are heirs, faith is made void, and the promise is made of none effect:
- 15.Pues la ley produce ira; pero donde no hay ley, tampoco hay transgresión.for the law worketh wrath; but where there is no law, neither is there transgression.
- 16.Por tanto, es por fe, para que sea por gracia, a fin de que la promesa sea firme para toda su descendencia; no solamente para la que es de la ley, sino también para la que es de la fe de Abraham, el cual es padre de todos nosotros.For this cause it is of faith, that it may be according to grace; to the end that the promise may be sure to all the seed; not to that only which is of the law, but to that also which is of the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all
- 17.(como está escrito: Te he puesto por padre de muchas gentes) delante de Dios, a quien creyó, el cual da vida a los muertos, y llama las cosas que no son, como si fuesen.(as it is written, A father of many nations have I made thee) before him whom he believed, even God, who giveth life to the dead, and calleth the things that are not, as though they were.
- 18.El creyó en esperanza contra esperanza, para llegar a ser padre de muchas gentes, conforme a lo que se le había dicho: Así será tu descendencia.Who in hope believed against hope, to the end that he might become a father of many nations, according to that which had been spoken, So shall thy seed be.
- 19.Y no se debilitó en la fe al considerar su cuerpo, que estaba ya como muerto (siendo de casi cien años), o la esterilidad de la matriz de Sara.And without being weakened in faith he considered his own body now as good as dead (he being about a hundred years old), and the deadness of Sarah's womb;
- 20.Tampoco dudó, por incredulidad, de la promesa de Dios, sino que se fortaleció en fe, dando gloria a Dios,yet, looking unto the promise of God, he wavered not through unbelief, but waxed strong through faith, giving glory to God,
- 21.plenamente convencido de que era también poderoso para hacer todo lo que había prometido;and being fully assured that what he had promised, he was able also to perform.
- 22.por lo cual también su fe le fue contada por justicia.Wherefore also it was reckoned unto him for righteousness.
- 23.Y no solamente con respecto a él se escribió que le fue contada,Now it was not written for his sake alone, that it was reckoned unto him;
- 24.sino también con respecto a nosotros a quienes ha de ser contada, esto es, a los que creemos en el que levantó de los muertos a Jesús, Señor nuestro,but for our sake also, unto whom it shall be reckoned, who believe on him that raised Jesus our Lord from the dead,
- 25.el cual fue entregado por nuestras transgresiones, y resucitado para nuestra justificación.who was delivered up for our trespasses, and was raised for our justification.
Qué significa este pasaje
Romans 4 is a sustained argument from two Jewish test cases — Abraham and David — that justification is by faith apart from works. Paul opens with a question about what Abraham "found according to the flesh" (4:1), then answers with Scripture itself: Abraham "believed God, and it was reckoned unto him for righteousness" (4:3). The reasoning in 4:4–5 sets up a contrast between a wage economy (where pay is owed, not granted) and a gift economy (where God "justifieth the ungodly"). Paul's point is not that works are evil but that the ground of a person's right standing before God cannot be a wage owed for performance.
Paul then brings in David (Psalm 32) to show that this is not an isolated Abrahamic anomaly but the ordinary experience of the forgiven. The blessing in 4:7–8 falls on those whose lawless deeds are forgiven and whose sins are covered, with no mention of human achievement. The rhetorical move is important: Abraham is the father of the circumcised, but David is a concrete example of a sinner declared blessed on the same non-merit basis, widening the principle beyond covenant pedigree.
Finally, 4:9–25 resolves the question of whether the blessing is restricted to the circumcised. Paul argues that Abraham was declared righteous in uncircumcision (4:10–11), so circumcision is a later seal of an earlier righteousness. The promise in 4:13 is grounded not in law but in faith-righteousness, because law brings wrath (4:15). The chapter culminates in a theology of God who "giveth life to the dead" (4:17) and who raised Jesus (4:24–25), so that Abraham's faith and Christian faith share the same shape: trust in a God who brings the dead to life.
Contexto
Romans 4 sits at the heart of Paul's argument developed from Romans 1:18 through Romans 5:21. Romans 1–3 establishes that both Gentile and Jew stand under sin and that no flesh will be justified by works of the law; chapter 4 supplies the positive scriptural warrant for that claim by going back to Abraham before Sinai and forward to David. The chapter is best read as a tight exegetical unit that anticipates the discussion of Adam and Christ in Romans 5.
The chapter depends on two OT texts Paul treats as authoritative: Genesis 15:6 (cited explicitly in 4:3 and echoed in 4:22) and Psalm 32:1–2 (cited explicitly in 4:7–8). Paul's argument assumes a Jewish audience familiar with these passages, and he presses them to a conclusion their original contexts could bear but did not foreground — that righteousness is by faith apart from law-works, and that this blessing extends to all who share Abraham's faith, circumcised or not.
Palabras clave del original
- G1344 δικαιόω (dikaiō), rendered 'justified'. Defined in this lexicon as 'to render (i.e. show or regard as) just or innocent'. Paul uses it in Romans 4 of a declarative act by God, not a process of moral improvement: Abraham's faith was 'reckoned' as righteousness (4:3, 4:5, 4:22).
- G3049 λογίζομαι (logizomai), 'to reckon / count / credit'. A bookkeeping metaphor: what is 'reckoned' is not produced but credited to the account (4:3, 4:5, 4:9, 4:10, 4:11, 4:22, 4:23, 4:24). The verb is central to Paul's contrast with works (4:4): wages are owed, but a credited righteousness is a gift.
- G5485 χάρις (charis), 'grace'. In 4:4 the wage is 'not reckoned ... κατὰ χάριν' ('according to grace'); in 4:16 the inheritance is 'of faith, that it may be κατὰ χάριν' — so the whole economy of promise is structured by grace rather than debt. The term is not devotional filler here but the formal antithesis of ὀφείλημα ('debt', 4:4).
Versículos relacionados
- Genesis 15:6 The foundational verse Paul quotes in 4:3 and 4:22: 'he believed in Jehovah; and he reckoned it to him for righteousness.' Romans 4's whole argument turns on the timing question Paul raises in 4:9–11 — the reckoning happened before circumcision, so it cannot be tied to the law ritual.
- Psalms 32:1 Cited in 4:7 to extend Abraham's pattern to David: the blessed person is one whose transgression is forgiven and sin is covered. Paul uses this to show justification by faith apart from works is not a new doctrine but one already endorsed in Israel's own psalter.
- Genesis 17:5 Cited in 4:17 ('A father of many nations have I made thee'). Paul connects Abraham's role as father of many nations to God's creative power — 'who giveth life to the dead, and calleth the things that are not, as though they were.' This shapes the resurrection theology of 4:24–25.
Preguntas frecuentes
Does Romans 4 teach that works have no place in a Christian's life?
No. The chapter denies that works are the *ground* of justification, not that works matter at all. Paul contrasts wage (ὀφείλημα, 4:4) with grace (χάρις, 4:4, 4:16); a wage is owed for work done, whereas righteousness is credited to the ungodly who believe (4:5). The argument is about the basis of right standing, not about whether obedience follows.
Why does Paul bring up circumcision in 4:9–12?
Because the obvious Jewish objection to justification by faith is that God's covenant with Abraham included circumcision (Genesis 17), so the blessing might apply only to the circumcised. Paul answers by arguing that the Genesis 15:6 reckoning preceded circumcision; thus circumcision is a later seal of an already existing faith-righteousness, and Abraham is father of both the circumcised and the uncircumcised who share his faith (4:11–12).
What is the connection between Abraham's faith and Christian faith in Romans 4?
Paul makes the connection by identifying the object of the two faiths. Abraham believed 'him that giveth life to the dead' (4:17); Christians 'believe on him that raised Jesus our Lord from the dead' (4:24). Both trust the same God — one who can call into existence what does not yet exist — and both are credited with righteousness on that basis (4:22–24). The closing verse (4:25) ties the whole argument to the cross and resurrection: Christ was delivered for trespasses and raised for justification.