Now to the one who works, wages are not credited as a gift but as
an obligation. However, to the one who does not work but trusts God
who justifies the ungodly, their faith is credited as righteousness. Romans 4:4-5
When you
work, you receive a wage for your work.
It’s not a gift. The employer is
obligated to pay you.
If you work for God’s favor,
believing him to credit you righteousness for your hard word, you look at your
belief like a wage. “Pay me back God for
my hard work!”
But if you trust God through faith,
you are not working, just simply trusting through relationship and love. That kind of faith receives a credit of being
right with God. The credit is
forgiveness and a right relationship with God (known as righteousness).
The words
“it was credited to him” were written not for him alone, but also
for us, to whom God will credit righteousness—for us who believe in him who
raised Jesus our Lord from the dead. Romans 4:24-25
The
original phrase “credited as righteousness” came from Genesis and the story of
Abraham who showed faith with no Bible and very little information. That kind of faith that makes us right with
God still applies to us today, with 66 books of the Bible and the death and
resurrection of Jesus Christ. We still
have to believe it all by faith.