What kind of believing is counted in God's accounting?
The believing that is counted is faith in the one who justifies the ungodly. It is not working but trusting Him who justifies the ungodly. That kind of believing is counted, imputed, or put to the account, a Greek bookkeeping term used in Romans.
Les explains that God cannot justify self-righteous people who see no need; He deals with those who recognize they are without God and need Him. When a person believes on the one who justifies the ungodly, that faith—that kind of believing—is counted. The word 'counted' is a Greek bookkeeping term, used in Romans as imputed or put to the account. Les illustrates this same word from Philemon, where Paul pleads for a runaway slave to be received back without punishment, showing how an account is settled.
But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness.
More Questions
What does the Greek word translated 'counted' in Romans 4:5 mean?
The word 'counted' in Romans 4:5 comes from a Greek bookkeeping term, and in many other places in Romans it is translated as 'imputed,' meaning put to the account.