Romans 4:24 teaches that the righteousness God credits to believers is for them as well, not only for Abraham. Paul says that God will count righteousness to those who trust the Father who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead. The verse is written by the apostle Paul, traditionally identified as the author of Romans, to the church in Rome, a mixed community of Jewish and Gentile believers.
But for our sake also, to whom it will be accounted, who believe in him who raised Jesus, our Lord, from the dead…
Romans 4:24 (WEB)
What Romans 4:24 Means
The phrase “for our sake also” tells you that the story of Abraham was not preserved only as history about one man. Paul is saying that the same principle applies to everyone who belongs to God in faith. The word “accounted” is a bookkeeping term, the idea of crediting something to an account. God treats a person as righteous, not because that person has earned it through perfect performance, but because God has chosen to credit it to those who trust him.
The verse then names the object of that trust: the God who raised Jesus from the dead. This matters because it points to resurrection as the decisive act of God. Faith is not a vague feeling that things will work out. It is confidence in a specific God who has already demonstrated his power over death. The verse does not promise a life free from hardship or guarantee particular outcomes in your circumstances. What it does promise is that God counts those who believe in him as righteous, and that this standing rests on what God has done, not on what you can produce.
The Context of Romans 4:24
Romans was written by Paul to a church he had not yet visited, and it lays out the gospel in a systematic way. Chapter 4 uses Abraham as its main example. Paul had just quoted Genesis 15:6, where Abraham “believed God, and it was credited to him for righteousness.” In verses 21 and 22, Paul stresses that Abraham was fully persuaded that God could do what he promised, and that this trust is what was counted. Verse 24 extends that principle outward. The righteousness that came through faith was not reserved for the patriarch but is offered to all who share his kind of trust.
The verses that follow, 25 to 27, make the reasoning explicit. Jesus was “delivered up for our trespasses, and was raised for our justification.” Reading verse 24 in this setting shows that its focus is the gospel itself: the death and resurrection of Christ and the faith that receives them. This keeps the verse from being read as a general call to “believe in something.” The object of faith is the particular God revealed in Jesus.
Key Phrases in Romans 4:24
Romans 4:5
But to him who doesn’t work, but believes in him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is accounted for righteousness.
(WEB)
This verse states the principle behind Romans 4:24 more directly, describing God as the one who justifies the ungodly who trust him. It shows that the crediting of righteousness is a gift to people who do not deserve it, which sharpens your understanding of what the believing in verse 24 actually involves.
Romans 10:9
That if you will confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.
(WEB)
Here Paul connects confession of Jesus as Lord with belief that God raised him from the dead. It echoes the resurrection focus of Romans 4:24 and shows how that belief is lived out in open confession and trust, binding the inner conviction to a public response.
A Short Prayer From Romans 4:24
Father, you are the God who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead, and I place my trust in you. I confess that I cannot make myself righteous by my own effort, and I am grateful that you credit righteousness to those who believe in you. Help me to rest in that gift today rather than measuring my worth by my performance. Where I feel stuck or afraid, remind me that you are able to bring life where there seems to be none. Strengthen my faith, and let it show in how I live with the people you have placed around me. Amen.
