Audio commentary on this verse

Note 8 at Rom. 4:5: What a statement!! Paul had been countering the false doctrine that acting righteous could make a person righteous. Now he drops the bomb that God justifies the ungodly! We might add from the context that that is the only kind of person that He justifies. That's because He hasn't got any other kind of people to justify. We've all sinned and come short of the glory of God (see notes 5-6 at Rom. 3:23, p.759). This verse should forever dispel any delusions that anyone might have of trying to earn God's favor by his or her performance.

Note 9 at Rom. 4:5: Faith in the atonement of Jesus grants us righteousness. Our actions don't grant us righteousness. However, true faith will produce actions (Jas. 2:17) and these actions, or lack thereof, can be used for others to determine where we stand with the Lord (1 Jn. 3:7-10). Although our actions are an indication of our inner faith, they can be misinterpreted and therefore any judgments made based on actions need to be for the purpose of discernment only and not condemnation (see note 46 at Mt. 7:1, p. 138).