"To the one who does not work but believes in Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted as righteousness, just as David also speaks of the blessing of the one to whom God counts righteousness apart from works: 'Blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven, and whose sins are covered; blessed is the man against whom the Lord will not count his sin.'"
- Romans 4:5-8.
Referring to the passage above, Rev. Davis Engelsma wrote, "[T]his is truly the state of the justified sinner when God justifies him: he is only, wholly, and truly 'ungodly,' not only devoid of any working of faith, of any works of faith, of any love of God and of the neighbor, but also guilty of unbelief, of the working of unbelief, of hatred of God, and of hatred of the neighbor. He is only, wholly, and truly 'ungodly' regarding the means of his justification and regarding his righteousness before God that is the content of his justification" ("Gospel Truth of Justification," p. 204).
The contrast in both Romans and in Engelsma's response is between the prior condition of the unbeliever which is changed upon true faith. Paul speaks negatively of lawless deeds forgiven and sins covered, to describe what is done by the imputation of righteousness. Engelsma describes the condition of the unbeliever for which he needs the imputation of righteousness.
In theology, we call the unbeliever's condition "total depravity." "Total" here is used for extent not for depth. That, the unbeliever's condition is that sin has corrupted all of his faculties, spiritual, mental, emotional, rational, emotional, not that he is as wicked as is possible. Even an exemplar of evil such as Hitler could have done even more evil than he did. And since ever faculty has been corrupted by sin, there can be no contribution from the sinner to his own salvation. It is possible only by grace alone through faith alone in the person and work of Jesus Christ alone.
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