Romans 4:3

For what saith the scripture? And Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned unto him for righteousness.

This is a quotation from Genesis 15:6, introduced to show that Abraham could not possibly have been justified by the law, because in that reference, such a long while before the law, and even before the covenant of circumcision, Abraham appears in scriptures as already a believer in God, in fact, God's faithful servant, being already reckoned as righteous in God's sight on the basis of obedient faith. The justification of Abraham (God's reckoning him as righteous) was upon exactly the same basis of the justification of Christians, namely, obedient faith. The type of justification he received upon that basis is exactly the kind received by Christians, which is the status of having a covenant relationship with God. The preliminary state of justification, by which one is admitted to the community of God's people on earth and receives remission of past sins, follows the exhibition of an obedient faith; but the actual ground of forgiveness for any sin is in the sacrifice of Christ.

It was reckoned unto him for righteousness ... The faith which God reckoned as righteousness unto Abraham is spelled out at length in scripture; and a little patience will show what it was. For many years previous to God's reckoning righteousness to Abraham and entering into a covenant that in Abraham all the families of the earth should be blessed, Abraham had exhibited an obedient faith in all that God said: (1) God called Abram to leave Ur of the Chaldees (Genesis 12:1-3); Abram believed and obeyed, not even knowing whither he went (Hebrews 11:8). (2) When Abram reached Shechem in the land of Canaan, he built an altar and worshipped God (Genesis 12-6,7). (3) Abraham built an altar unto Jehovah and called upon God's name on a mountain between Bethel and Ai (Genesis 12:8). (4) After his journey to Egypt, he returned to that same altar and worshipped God (Genesis 13:3,4). (5) In the encounter with Melchizedek, Abraham appears as a devout and faithful worshiper of God (Genesis 14:14-24). All of these events, and others, show that Abraham's faith was an obedient faith, which is the only kind of faith that can lead to any kind of justification.

In the light of the above, the observation of R. L. Whiteside is fully in harmony with the truth. He said,

One of the strangest things in all the field of Bible exegesis is the contention so generally made that this language (Romans 4:3) refers to the justification of Abraham "as an alien sinner" (italics mine). It seems to be taken for granted that up to the time spoken of in this verse, Abraham was an unforgiven, condemned sinner. ... The facts are all against such a supposition. But what are the facts? For a number of years previous to the promise of Abraham of a son and numerous posterity, Abraham had been a faithful servant of God.[3]

That Abraham was already an obedient believer in God when the reckoning of righteousness to him took place is seen in the very verse cited by Paul here (Genesis 15:16). That passage is introduced by God's words to Abraham, "Fear not Abram, I am thy shield and exceeding great reward." This removes all possibility that the justification of that patriarch has anything whatever to do with the justification of an alien sinner. Why? God would not have told an alien sinner that he need not fear and that God was his exceeding great reward. The justification of Abraham in Genesis 15:6 has to be retrospective; and the faith which God counted to Abraham for righteousness was not faith apart from obedience, but faith demonstrated by Abram's prompt and unqualified obedience in all that God commanded, covering a period of many years prior to Genesis 15:6.