<p>4:5&nbsp;<i>But to him that works not, but believes in Him</i>- The content of Abraham&rsquo;s faith was in the promise just given him that he would have a great descendant, the Lord Jesus, who would become many. The content of our faith in Christ which results in justification is the same. Note that Abraham wasn&rsquo;t presented with a complex theology of Christ which he had to say &ldquo;yes&rdquo; to. He was presented with very simple facts concerning Jesus- that He would be the future descendant of Abraham, and through connection with Him, blessing would be received and eternal inheritance of the earth. This is the same basic content of the faith in Christ which we are asked to have.</p><p><i>That justifies the ungodly</i>- Abraham, whom the Jews argued was sinless and Godly because of his works (see on 4:2). The word is used about gross sinners (e.g. Rom. 5:8; 1 Tim. 1:9; 1 Pet. 4:18). Again, Paul is using extreme language to demonstrate how serious is sin; a man like Abraham whom we would consider a Godly man was in fact ungodly- because he was a sinner.</p><p><i>His faith is reckoned for righteousness</i>- Paul comments that he persecuted the Christian church &quot;zealously&quot; (Phil. 3:6). He was alluding to the way that Phinehas is described as 'zealous' for the way in which he murdered an apostate Jew together with a Gentile who was leading him to sin (Num. 25). Note that the Jews in Palestine had no power to give anyone the death sentence, as witnessed not only by the record of the trial of Jesus but Josephus too (<i>Antiquities</i>&nbsp;20.202;&nbsp;<i>BJ</i>&nbsp;2.117; 6.302). Paul was a criminal murderer; and he had justified it by saying that he was the 1st Century Phinehas. Ps. 106:30 had commented upon the murder performed by Phinehas, that his zeal &quot;was accounted to him for righteousness&quot;. This sets the background for the converted Paul's huge emphasis upon the fact that&nbsp;<i>faith</i>&nbsp;in Jesus is what is &quot;reckoned for righteousness&quot;, and it is in&nbsp;<i>this</i>&nbsp;way that God &quot;justifies the unGodly&quot; (Rom. 4:3-5; 5:6; Gal. 3:6). Paul is inviting us to see ourselves as him- passionately obsessed with going about our justification the&nbsp;<i>wrong</i>&nbsp;way, and having to come to the&nbsp;<i>huge</i>&nbsp;realization that righteousness is<i> imputed</i>&nbsp;to us by our faith in the work of Jesus.</p>