21 But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it— 22 the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction: 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, 25 whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God's righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins. 26 It was to show his righteousness at the present time, so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.

 

27 Then what becomes of our boasting? It is excluded. By what kind of law? By a law of works? No, but by the law of faith. 28 For we hold that one is justified by faith apart from works of the law. 29 Or is God the God of Jews only? Is he not the God of Gentiles also? Yes, of Gentiles also, 30 since God is one—who will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through faith. 31 Do we then overthrow the law by this faith? By no means! On the contrary, we uphold the law.

 

3:21-23: Much has been written about the “But now” of Romans 3:21. Here are a few examples: Boice comments: “We would be under wrath, in spiritual and moral decline…But now things are different. There is hope because of what the Lord Jesus has accomplished.” (341)

 

Barnhouse stated: “I am convinced today, after these many years of Bible study, that these verses are the most important in the Bible.” (Hughes, 76) Stott writes: “After the long dark night the sun has risen, a new day has dawned, and the world is flooded with light.” (108)

 

Pate observes: “’But now’ marks the eschatological shift between this age and the age to come; between the old covenant and the new covenant; between the old era of the domination of sin and the new era in Christ of salvation that began at the cross (cf. Ephesians 2:13; Colossians 1:22).” (77)

 

On the one hand, God’s righteousness may be found in the Law and the Prophets (see Genesis 3:15; 12:1-3; Exodus 12:1-32; Psalm 103:12; 118:14; Isaiah 1:18; 9:6; 43:11; 53; Jeremiah 31:31; Ezekiel 36:24-26), but on the other hand, God’s righteousness is “apart from the law” because the law cannot save us from our sins.

 

“There is no distinction” (3:22) in two senses. First, there is no distinction because “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” (3:23) Sin in Romans 3:23 refers to “missing the mark” of God’s righteous and morally perfect standard. Like an archer who aims for the bulls-eye (mark), we likewise, miss (fall short) God’s standard.  

 

Second, there is no distinction because everyone can be saved “through faith in Jesus.” (3:22) The gospel is for the Jews and Gentiles—it’s to be proclaimed throughout the world and to the nations. Regardless of one’s social status, age, finances, physical appearance, or relationships—all who call upon the name of the Lord will be saved (Romans 10:13).    

 

3:24: In general, there are three view about being righteous in God’s eyes. (1) The secular: we are justified—righteous by good works of charity and serving others. (2) Roman Catholicism: we are justified—righteous by faith and good works. (3) Protestant: we are justified—declared righteous by God through our faith in Christ alone.

 

Romans 3:21-31 supports the third view. According to Grudem, “Justification is an instantaneous legal act of God in which he (1) thinks of our sins as forgiven and Christ’s righteousness belonging to us, and (2) declares us to be righteous in his sight.” (723)

 

We are justified by God’s grace (and not good works). Grace is God’s unmerited favor and goodness; it’s something we don’t deserve (we actually deserve to be punished for our sins). Justification is also a gift. Although it may have been paid for by someone else, justification is a gift that is freely given to us if we simply receive it by faith.  

 

“Redemption is in Christ Jesus.” The word “redemption” carries the idea of a slave being purchased at a market. Metaphorically speaking, Jesus purchased us as slaves of sin (cf. John 8:34) with his life (his blood) in order to set us free so that we could freely worship and serve him (cf. 1 Corinthians 1:30; Galatians 3:3; 4:5; Ephesians 1:7; Titus 2:14; Hebrews 9:10-9:15; Revelation 14:3, 4).

 

3:25-26: What does it mean for Jesus to be “put forward as a propitiation by his blood?” (3:25) Boice explains: “The word ‘propitiation’ is drawn from the world of ancient religion. Propitiation signifies what the worshiper does when he or she presents a sacrifice to a deity. It is an ‘atoning sacrifice,’ an act by which the wrath of the offended deity is appeased or turned aside.” (373)

 

But we—sinful humans can’t present Jesus as a sacrifice to the Father. While it’s true that Jesus (in a sense) presents himself as a sacrifice (Mark 10:45), one can also make the case that it’s God who offers Jesus as a sacrifice to Himself to appease His wrath (Romans 5:8; 8:32; cf. Leviticus 17:11 where God gives the sacrifices to His people to make sacrifices to Himself).

 

Stott explains: “God’s own great love propitiated his own holy wrath through the gift of his own dear Son, who took our place, bore our sin and died our death. Thus God Himself gave Himself to save us from Himself.” (115)

 

In the past (Old Testament) God “in his forbearance…had passed over former sins.” (3:25) This sounds like God gave everyone a free pass—no need to deal with their sins. Let’s look a bit closer with 3:26—“It was to show his righteousness at the present time, so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.”

 

What Paul is saying is that these sins from the past were not fully dealt with (sins not fully punished through imperfect Old Testament sacrifices; see Hebrews 10:1-18) because God was waiting (as part of His sovereign plan) until the Son would die on the cross for all of our sins (past, present, future).

 

Thus, at the the cross, God is both “just” because He judges sin (Jesus pays the penalty for our sins) and “the justifier” (the Father declares us righteous on the basis of Jesus’ death and righteousness belonging to us).  

 

3:27-31: In these five verses, Paul addresses four issues: (1) Boasting is excluded because human works don’t play any role in our salvation (3:27). (2) We have been saved by “the law of faith” (3:27) because we are “justified by faith apart from the works of the law.” (3:28)

 

(3) The Jews still have a role to play in God’s sovereign plan, but He is also the God of the Gentiles because they have been grafted into the vine by faith (3:29-30; cf. Romans 9-11). (4) Faith has not nullified the law. We uphold the law because it reflects God’s righteousness, restrains sin, and drives us to the cross.

 

Perhaps we can summarize Romans 3:21-31 in the following way: “We have been saved by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone.”

 

1 How does Paul "lay out his case" for humanity's sin in 1:18-23, 1:24-32, 2:1-16, 2:17-3:8, and 3:9-20? What “kinds” of people does he address in these passages?

 

2 What makes the "But now" of 3:21 significant? 

 

3 Explain the idea of redemption. Why is it important? 

 

4 What's the relationship between Jesus, "propitiation," and God's wrath?

 

5 How can God be just and the justifier?

 

6 How is God the God of both Jews and Gentiles?