Nov 5<\/p>\n
Romans 3:21 marks a dramatic shift. After showing that <\/span>all<\/span><\/i>\u00a0 (Jew and Gentile) are under sin (1:18\u20133:20), Paul now proclaims the solution: <\/span>\u201cBut now, apart from the law, the righteousness of God has been made known\u201d<\/span><\/i> (3:21).\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Paul presents<\/span> justification by faith<\/b> as central to the gospel.<\/span> Unlike Jewish reliance on the law or circumcision, Paul says righteousness comes through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe (3:22). Faith\u2014not works\u2014places both <\/span>Jews and Gentiles on the same footing before God<\/b>.\u00a0 This righteousness is not a human achievement but a <\/span>divine gift, grounded in the redemptive work of Christ<\/b> (3:24\u201326).\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n In 3:24\u201326, Paul uses sacrificial language (e.g., \u201cpropitiation\u201d or \u201catoning sacrifice\u201d) to explain how Jesus\u2019 death satisfies God\u2019s justice and makes justification possible. This is the heart of Paul\u2019s gospel: <\/span>salvation is rooted in God\u2019s grace and Christ\u2019s cross.<\/b><\/p>\n Faith becomes the <\/span>sole means<\/b> of receiving this righteousness, excluding any grounds for boasting (3:27\u201331).<\/span><\/p>\n Romans 4 then reinforces this claim by turning to Abraham, showing that even he was justified by faith, not works (4:1\u20138), and that this principle predates both the law and circumcision (4:9\u201312). Moo stresses Paul’s argument that Abraham is the father of all who believe, and his justification anticipates the justification of all believers (4:13\u201325).<\/span><\/p>\n 21 <\/b>But now apart from the law the righteousness of God has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. <\/span>22 <\/b>This righteousness is given through faith in[<\/span>a<\/span><\/a>] Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference between Jew and Gentile, <\/span>23 <\/b>for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, <\/span>24 <\/b>and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. <\/span>25 <\/b>God presented Christ as a sacrifice of atonement,[<\/span>b<\/span><\/a>] through the shedding of his blood\u2014to be received by faith. He did this to demonstrate his righteousness, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished\u2014 <\/span>26 <\/b>he did it to demonstrate his righteousness at the present time, so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus.<\/span><\/p>\n 27 <\/b>Where, then, is boasting? It is excluded. Because of what law? The law that requires works? No, because of the law that requires faith. <\/span>28 <\/b>For we maintain that a person is justified by faith apart from the works of the law. <\/span>29 <\/b>Or is God the God of Jews only? Is he not the God of Gentiles too? Yes, of Gentiles too, <\/span>30 <\/b>since there is only one God, who will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through that same faith. <\/span>31 <\/b>Do we, then, nullify the law by this faith? Not at all! Rather, we uphold the law.<\/span><\/p>\n 4 <\/b>What then shall we say that Abraham, our forefather according to the flesh, discovered in this matter? <\/span>2 <\/b>If, in fact, Abraham was justified by works, he had something to boast about\u2014but not before God. <\/span>3 <\/b>What does Scripture say? \u201cAbraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n 4 <\/b>Now to the one who works, wages are not credited as a gift but as an obligation. <\/span>5 <\/b>However, to the one who does not work but trusts God who justifies the ungodly, their faith is credited as righteousness. <\/span>6 <\/b>David says the same thing when he speaks of the blessedness of the one to whom God credits righteousness apart from works:<\/span><\/p>\n 7 <\/b>\u201cBlessed are those<\/span> 8 <\/b>Blessed is the one<\/span> 9 <\/b>Is this blessedness only for the circumcised, or also for the uncircumcised? We have been saying that Abraham\u2019s faith was credited to him as righteousness. <\/span>10 <\/b>Under what circumstances was it credited? Was it after he was circumcised, or before? It was not after, but before! <\/span>11 <\/b>And he received circumcision as a sign, a seal of the righteousness that he had by faith while he was still uncircumcised. So then, he is the father of all who believe but have not been circumcised, in order that righteousness might be credited to them. <\/span>12 <\/b>And he is then also the father of the circumcised who not only are circumcised but who also follow in the footsteps of the faith that our father Abraham had before he was circumcised.<\/span><\/p>\n 13 <\/b>It was not through the law that Abraham and his offspring received the promise that he would be heir of the world, but through the righteousness that comes by faith. <\/span>14 <\/b>For if those who depend on the law are heirs, faith means nothing and the promise is worthless, <\/span>15 <\/b>because the law brings wrath. And where there is no law there is no transgression.<\/span><\/p>\n 16 <\/b>Therefore, the promise comes by faith, so that it may be by grace and may be guaranteed to all Abraham\u2019s offspring\u2014not only to those who are of the law but also to those who have the faith of Abraham. He is the father of us all. <\/span>17 <\/b>As it is written: \u201cI have made you a father of many nations.\u201d[<\/span>e<\/span><\/a>] He is our father in the sight of God, in whom he believed\u2014the God who gives life to the dead and calls into being things that were not.<\/span><\/p>\nRomans 3:21-4:25, serves as Paul’s theological heart of the gospel: <\/span>justification by faith<\/b> rooted in God\u2019s grace and Christ\u2019s atonement.<\/span><\/h3>\n
Romans 3:21-4:25<\/span><\/h2>\n
Righteousness Through Faith<\/b><\/h3>\n
Abraham Justified by Faith<\/b><\/h3>\n
\n<\/span>\u00a0 \u00a0 whose transgressions are forgiven,<\/span>
\n<\/span>\u00a0 \u00a0 whose sins are covered.<\/span><\/p>\n
\n<\/span>\u00a0 \u00a0 whose sin the Lord will never count against them.\u201d[<\/span>d<\/span><\/a>]<\/span><\/p>\n