Romans 3 — none righteous, and justified freely

Through Romans, part 5 · Romans 3

Chapter 3 sums up Paul's case that the Jew is just as guilty as the rest of the world — then turns the corner to the answer. He starts by answering five objections a Jewish reader would raise.

Five objections (vv. 1–9)

"What advantage does the Jew have?" (v. 1) — "Considerable in every way. First, they were entrusted with the very words of God" (v. 2). The Jews had the prophets, the Scriptures, God speaking to them. He chose them to bring His Word to the world. They had the means of salvation, but not a monopoly on it.

"Will their unbelief cancel God's faithfulness?" (v. 3) — "Absolutely not! Let God be true, even though everyone is a liar" (v. 4). Some not believing in Christ didn't make the prophecies untrue. God keeps His word though every man breaks his. It's better to doubt every man on earth than to doubt the faithfulness of God. The fact that many don't believe the Bible doesn't make it false.

"Is God unrighteous to judge sin that shows off His righteousness?" (vv. 5–6) — Absolutely not. Sin is not less sinful because God brings glory out of it.

"Then why not do evil so good may come?" (vv. 7–8) — Paul says people were slandering him with exactly that accusation, and he'll deal with it fully in chapter 6. Freedom from the law is not a license to sin. God's love for us and ours for Him is what keeps us from sin, not a rulebook.

"Are we better than they?" (v. 9) — "Not at all! For we have already charged that both Jews and Greeks are all under sin." Judged equally, and given equal access to God through faith.

None righteous (vv. 10–18)

"There is no one righteous, not even one. There is no one who understands; there is no one who seeks God. All have turned away; all alike have become worthless. There is no one who does what is good, not even one."

Paul quotes Psalm 14 and Psalm 53, and the conclusion is overwhelming. The whole of a person is controlled by sin: none who understands — the mind; none who seeks God — the heart; all turned away — the will. Compared with the righteousness of God, everyone is found unrighteous. Which is why God must seek the sinner. Every parable in Luke 15 — the sheep, the coin, the son — is the Lord seeking us.

Then a string of quotations about the body. "Their throat is an open grave" — words reveal character, and out of a dead spirit only death comes. "The venom of vipers is under their lips." "Their feet are swift to shed blood" — the second sin in the Bible was murder. "The path of peace they have not known." "There is no fear of God before their eyes." That's the natural state of everyone who has rejected God.

So here's the prayer for those who've been made alive in Christ: may our speech be holy — "Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O LORD" (Psalm 19:14). May our words build people up (Colossians 3:16). May our feet be quick to bring life, "shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace" (Ephesians 6:15). Same mouth, same feet — a different Master.

Every mouth stopped (vv. 19–20)

The law speaks so "every mouth may be shut and the whole world may become subject to God's judgment." Paul has quoted the Old Testament extensively to silence the self-righteous debate. Whether it's the law of Moses or the moral law written on every heart, no one will stand before God with the excuse of ignorance.

"For no one will be justified in his sight by the works of the law, because the knowledge of sin comes through the law." The law shows us our sin; it can't be the thing that makes us righteous. There are only two ways into heaven: keep the entire law and never sin once, or come through Jesus Christ and His perfection. Plenty of people today put their faith in a church, a ritual, or some other form of religion. Anything other than faith in Jesus alone will not hold up as a plea in God's courtroom.

But now (vv. 21–23)

"But now, apart from the law, the righteousness of God has been revealed, attested by the Law and the Prophets. The righteousness of God is through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe, since there is no distinction. For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God."

The righteousness of God never came by the law — the law and the prophets themselves are witnesses to that. The gospel isn't a new idea. God didn't sidestep His holiness with it; the gospel is how His holiness was satisfied. Animal sacrifices were only ever a covering. "Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place" (Hebrews 9:12). Isaiah 53 gives us both halves: our sin laid on Him (v. 6) and His righteousness credited to us (v. 11).

The only righteousness we could ever attain is Christ's, and it comes only by faith in Him — "to all who believe." Every religion in the world boils down to two options: work your way to heaven, or trust Christ as your way to heaven. Christianity is the only one that puts no reliance on you. Works aren't necessary for salvation; they're the result of it.

And the reason the gospel is for everyone is that everyone needs it. One sin puts you in the category of "fall short." Miss one question on a test and you'll never get 100%. No matter how short you fall, you still fall short — and we're not judged by human standards but by God's perfect one. That's also why anyone can be saved: everyone needs to be.

Justified freely (v. 24)

"They are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus."

Those who believe are declared righteous in God's courtroom. It's made possible by grace — unmerited favor — not by anything we produced. And we're declared righteous because we've been purchased: "If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed" (John 8:36).

There's a difference between forgiveness and justification. Imagine a woman who owes a bank a debt, and the bank cancels it. That's forgiveness — she's no longer liable, but she'll always feel a little awkward about the account. Now imagine instead the bank takes her to court and presses for payment, and while awaiting trial she marries the bank owner's wealthy son, who assumes the debt and pays it in full. Now there's no legal claim against her at all. She can stand before the court and say, "Not guilty." To be forgiven, you plead guilty and beg for mercy. To be justified, you plead not guilty and show the prosecution has no case. Both are part of salvation, but Paul is pressing the greater truth: God doesn't just forgive you — He declares you righteous.

"Freely" means free and undeserved. A poor widow with a sick daughter once found herself outside the king's greenhouse in winter, staring at clusters of fruit she couldn't afford. One of the king's children saw her and filled a basket. When she tried to pay what little she had, the prince said: "This fruit isn't for sale. My father is far too rich to sell it, and you are far too poor to buy it. You can have it for free or not at all." Our Father is a King. He doesn't sell. He offers salvation free, or not at all. You can't pay God with your goodness; He's already full of goodness. What good is your goodness to God?

And "redemption" is a ransom price — not just buying something, but buying someone and setting them free. The price was the blood of Jesus (1 Peter 1:18–19).

Propitiation (vv. 25–26)

God "presented him as the mercy seat by his blood, through faith, to demonstrate his righteousness." Propitiation is a sacrifice that satisfies — and more than that, one that takes the sin away. God's holiness has been so fully satisfied that He can now look on us with favor. Our sin was completely paid; there was no payment we could have made.

A Jewish reader would have heard the sin offering (Leviticus 16) and the Passover (Exodus 12) in these words. Jesus is the sacrifice they were all pointing to, and He has always been the only way. "Sins previously committed" were paid for on the cross too — everyone who trusted God's promise before Christ came was trusting a payment still in the future. God's "restraint" is why we don't go to hell after one sin: He's patient because there is a mediator, and He gives us time to receive Him.

Then verse 26: "so that he would be just and justify the one who has faith in Jesus." He's just because sin has been paid. He justifies because Christ paid it. "He hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him" (2 Corinthians 5:21). In the sin offering, the vileness of the sinner was placed on the substitute. In the burnt offering, the virtue of the substitute was placed on the sinner. Both happened at the cross.

A practical word. There were things a slave could only do after being freed — and doing those things didn't make him free; they were the result of being free. Don't live like a slave to sin. Not to earn your salvation, but because you're saved.

No boasting (vv. 27–31)

"Where, then, is boasting? It is excluded." Salvation is by faith, not works — "lest any man should boast" (Ephesians 2:8–9). A drowning swimmer doesn't brag about accepting the lifeguard's help; what else could he do? God has completely removed human pride from salvation. The beauty of the gospel is that Paul walked into heaven to the joyful welcome of people he had killed. We all come to the cross on the same level — sinners in need of a Savior. Our distance from God is far greater than our distance from each other.

"Is God the God of Jews only? Is he not the God of Gentiles too?" Of course He is. There's no prejudice at the cross. No race and no denomination has a monopoly on the gospel. One God justifies both the same way.

"Do we then nullify the law through faith? Absolutely not! On the contrary, we uphold the law." The sinner upholds the law by confessing his guilt and admitting he's justly condemned by it. Christ upholds the law by enduring its penalty. He fulfilled everything it required — it was a picture of Him all along. There has never been, and will never be, another way to God. Jesus is the way.

A drowning swimmer doesn't negotiate with the lifeguard. He quits fighting and lets himself be carried in. If you've never been saved, that's the whole thing. Stop swimming. You are not going to out-work the water. Justified freely by His grace, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, who died for your sin and walked out of the grave. Freely means it costs you nothing and cost Him everything. Call on Him and He will not turn you down.

Believers, there's no prejudice at the cross, so quit living like there is. Think of the person or the kind of person you quietly believe is further from God than you are. Our distance from Him was always greater than our distance from each other. Pray for that person by name every day this week, and if you get the chance, tell them what Jesus did for you. Nobody at the cross is standing on higher ground.

---

Through Romans: ← Part 4 · Part 5 · Part 6 →