Was Abraham saved by works or by faith according to Romans 4?
According to Romans 4, Abraham was not saved by works but by faith. He believed God, and God accounted that faith to him as righteousness. Scripture presents him as a believer, showing that salvation is by trusting God's act, not by human effort or works.
Les explains that the Bible is talking about a concerted faith and trust in God's act, that God Himself paid the penalty for all our sin. He illustrates that if you or I had been the only person living, Christ would still have gone to the cross to purchase redemption. When a person believes that with all their heart, God sees that faith as salvation. As Romans 4 makes plain, it was not by works that Abraham was saved, but by faith. Abraham believed God, and God accounted it to him as righteousness; he was a believer.