Romans 3:22-31 - Justification by Grace - by Scott Sperling

²² This righteousness is given through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference between Jew and Gentile, ²³ for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, ²⁴ and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.

²⁵ God presented Christ as a sacrifice of atonement, through the shedding of his blood—to be received by faith. He did this to demonstrate his righteousness, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished— ²⁶ 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.

²⁷ Where, then, is boasting? It is excluded. Because of what law? The law that requires works? No, because of the law that requires faith. ²⁸ For we maintain that a person is justified by faith apart from the works of the law. ²⁹ Or is God the God of Jews only? Is he not the God of Gentiles too? Yes, of Gentiles too, ³⁰ since there is only one God, who will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through that same faith. ³¹ Do we, then, nullify the law by this faith? Not at all! Rather, we uphold the law. — Romans 3:22–31

The Gospel: A Multi-Faceted Diamond

We continue, by the grace and good providence of God, through the grand declaration of the Gospel that the Apostle Paul has set before us in the third chapter of his Epistle to the Romans. In the previous study, we considered the first portion of this most noble passage—that passage which the Biblical scholar Leon Morris has called “possibly the most important single paragraph ever written”—and there we examined the What, the When, and the How of the Gospel: that the righteousness of God is given through faith in Jesus Christ; that this was no invention of the Apostles but a plan devised within the eternal councils of the Trinity before the foundation of the world, to which the Law and the Prophets bear witness; and that we obtain this righteousness through faith—not a vague faith in the existence of a Creator, but a particular and saving faith in Jesus Christ as the atoning sacrifice for our sins.

In this study, we will continue through this passage, and examine yet more aspects of the Gospel as Paul does here unfold them. For the Apostle looks at the Gospel message from every conceivable angle in these verses, turning it as a jeweler turns a diamond in the light, so that every facet might flash with its own particular brilliance. We shall consider who needs the Gospel, why we need it, from where our justification comes, at what cost it was purchased, by what mechanism it was accomplished within the confines of God’s Law, and what the scope of Christ’s sacrifice truly is. And having traversed all these things, we shall hear the Apostle’s own summary of the implications of the Gospel for our manner of life. Let us, then, take up the text where we left off, and dig into the riches that remain.

Who Needs the Gospel, and Why (vs. 22–23)

²² ... There is no difference between Jew and Gentile, ²³ for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.

The Apostle answers two questions in swift succession. First: Who needs the Gospel? Paul’s answer is immediate and absolute: “There is no difference between Jew and Gentile, for all have sinned” (vs. 22). Everyone needs the Gospel. Everyone needs the salvation of Christ. Jew and Gentile, rich and poor, weak and strong, every nation and every culture beneath the skies of heaven—all stand in equal need, for “all have sinned” (vs. 23). No man can be saved by his own merit. No woman can purchase her own righteousness. The need is universal, because the disease is universal.

And why do we need it? Paul’s answer follows directly: “...for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (vs. 23). We have all sinned—that much is plain. But what does it mean to “fall short of the glory of God?” The phrase is, by design, somewhat expansive in its meaning, and there is no settled consensus among the scholars and commentators as to its precise signification—and this, I am persuaded, is no accident, but rather an invitation from the Holy Spirit for us to meditate upon the words, and to permit the Spirit of God to speak to us through their depths.

It may mean that we “fall short” of being able to appear in God’s glorious presence, for sinners cannot dwell where infinite holiness dwells. It may mean that, because of our sin, we “fall short” of receiving “glory” from God—that is, His approval and commendation. Or it may mean that we “fall short” of displaying the “glory” of God through our lives; for we were fashioned in God’s image, and therefore ought, by all rights, to reflect His “glory” in some measure—yet because of our sin, we fail to do so. Any or all of these interpretations are valid, and the very breadth of the phrase serves to encompass them all. The Holy Spirit has, I believe, given us purposely ambiguous language in certain places of Holy Scripture, not to confuse us, but to invite us into deeper meditation—that the Word might speak to us in manifold ways, and the Spirit might illuminate facets of truth that a narrower expression would conceal.

From Where Does Our Justification Comes (vs. 24)

²⁴ ...and all are justified freely by his grace...

We have been told who needs the Gospel, and why. Now the Apostle tells us from where our justification comes—its source, its fountain, its origin—and his answer is given in those words of surpassing beauty: “freely by his grace” (vs. 24).

Mark the deliberate redundancy of this phrase, for it is a redundancy fashioned with holy purpose. If our justification comes by the “grace” of God, then of course it comes “freely”; for it would not be “grace” if we had to purchase it. “Grace,” by its very nature, is unearned, unmerited, undeserved. And yet Paul adds the word “freely”—as if to hammer the point into our understanding with a double blow, lest we miss it, lest we entertain even for a moment the delusion that there is something we might do to earn or to merit the favor of Almighty God.

There is nothing we can do to earn this justification. It is “given,” as Paul said in verse 21, “apart from the law”—and apart from works. We do not earn it by attending the church; we do not earn it by attending Bible studies; we do not earn it by reading our Bibles, or tithing, or feeding the poor. These are all excellent things, worthy things, things that every Christian ought to pursue with diligence—but they contribute absolutely nothing toward our justification. We cannot buy this righteousness, for it is “free.” God will not accept any money for it, nor any labor, nor any service, nor any devotion, nor any piety. He will accept nothing for it, because He gives it “freely.”

Paul declares the same truth in his Epistle to the Ephesians, in a verse well known to many of us: “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast” (Eph. 2:8–9). Saved by grace. Through faith. Not by works. The gift of God. Every clause seals the door against human merit, and opens it wide to divine generosity. Our salvation comes to us “freely,” at absolutely no cost, by the “grace” of God—and that is the source from which our justification flows.

At What Cost: The Price of Redemption (vs. 24)

²⁴ ...through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.

Though justification comes free to us, it did not come free to Christ. And that leads us to the next question that Paul’s text answers: At what cost was our justification purchased? The answer is found in one word of immense weight: “redemption.” We are “justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus” (vs. 24).

“Redemption,” in the culture of that ancient world, was a commercial transaction by which a slave was freed from bondage, or a prisoner of war was released from captivity, through a price that another paid on his behalf. The word carries within it the sound of chains breaking, of prison doors swinging open, of the first breath drawn in liberty. In the context of the Gospel, our “redemption” is the price that Christ paid to free us from the dominion of sin—for we were all slaves to sin, held in its iron grip—and to free us also from the effects of sin, which is the punishment that we deserve for our transgressions.

Christ paid the price of “redemption” by suffering for our sins upon the cross—by suffering in our place. Because Christ was sinless, the wrath of God that He bore upon the cross was not a punishment that He deserved for His own transgressions, for He had none. And therefore His suffering could be applied as a substitutionary payment for ours. The cost of our “redemption” was paid in Christ’s blood.

Consider this, dear reader: imagine the joy, in those ancient times, when a slave was “redeemed” by a generous benefactor. Imagine the wonder in his eyes when the chains fell from his wrists. Imagine the exhilaration of walking, for the first time, as a free person—of drawing that first breath of air in liberty, with no master to beat him, no taskmaster to drive him, no yoke upon his neck. We should all possess such joy, and more—infinitely more—because of the freedom that we have through the sacrifice of Christ. For we have been “redeemed” out of a slavery far worse than any earthly bondage: a slavery to the evil taskmaster of sin. We have been delivered from a punishment far more terrible than any mortal prison: an eternity of separation from God. And perhaps, as long-accustomed Christians, we have permitted ourselves to forget how magnificent this “redemption” truly is—what a great and daily cause of rejoicing it ought to be for us. Let us not forget. Let us rejoice in it every single day that God gives us breath.

By What Mechanism: The Sacrifice of Atonement (vs. 25)

²⁵ God presented Christ as a sacrifice of atonement, through the shedding of his blood—to be received by faith...

Next, Paul teaches us what the mechanism was, within the confines of God’s Law, by which we are justified. For the Apostle has already told us, in verse 21, that this righteousness of God is something “to which the Law and the Prophets testify.” And therefore there must be a mechanism within the Law by which such justification is accomplished. Paul gives us that mechanism: “God presented Christ as a sacrifice of atonement, through the shedding of his blood—to be received by faith” (vs. 25).

In the Law, God established that sin could be atoned for through a substitutionary blood sacrifice. Those ancient sacrifices—the slaying of the lamb, the goat, the bull upon the altar—were prophetic of the ultimate sacrifice of atonement, which was the death of Christ upon the cross. The Law’s demand for punishment due to sin is satisfied by the punishment that Christ received on our behalf.

Let us consider a passage from Leviticus that illuminates this mechanism with remarkable clarity: “If the offering is a burnt offering from the herd, you are to offer a male without defect. You must present it at the entrance to the tent of meeting so that it will be acceptable to the Lord. You are to lay your hand on the head of the burnt offering, and it will be accepted on your behalf to make atonement for you. You are to slaughter the young bull before the Lord, and then Aaron’s sons the priests shall bring the blood and splash it against the sides of the altar” (Lev. 1:3–5). Here we see the entire architecture of the “atonement” as God ordained it: the sinner brings his offering; the animal must be without defect; the sinner lays his hand upon the head of the sacrifice, as a sign that he seeks “atonement,” that he believes his sins will be forgiven through this offering; and the blood is shed upon the altar.

Now mark how the language of Romans echoes the language of Leviticus. In Romans, “God presented Christ as a sacrifice of atonement.” In Leviticus, the sinner was to present a male without defect at the tabernacle to make “atonement.” Paul is directly evoking the passage in Leviticus, signifying to us that Christ fulfills the “atonement” described in the Law. The shadows of the Old Covenant find their substance in the cross of Christ. It is, as we may observe with wonder, a thing most marvelous, how all the parts of Holy Scripture do fit together—how the sacrificial laws of Moses do point, through the centuries, to the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.

But the Law, as we have seen in Leviticus, demanded active participation from the sinner in the sacrificial process. The sinner himself was to present the animal; the sinner himself was to lay his hand upon its head. Where, then, is the sinner’s participation in the justification offered through the Gospel? It is here: “to be received by faith,” as Paul says at the end of verse 25. By “faith,” we demonstrate our desire that our sins be atoned for, that we be forgiven by God. And only through “faith” will Christ’s sacrifice, as the passage in Leviticus expresses it, “be accepted on your behalf to make atonement for you.” Our “faith” is the New Covenant equivalent of the sinner’s hand laid upon the head of the offering. Through our “faith,” we declare: Yes. I believe that the sacrifice of Christ will atone for my sins.

The Scope of Christ’s Sacrifice (vs. 25–26)

²⁵ ... He did this to demonstrate his righteousness, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished— ²⁶ 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.

In the latter portion of verse 25, through verse 26, Paul expands the scope of Christ’s sacrifice to a breadth that astonishes the mind. The atoning death of Christ covers not only the sins of those who live after His coming, but also the sins of those who lived before it—the so-called Old Testament saints: Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, Noah, David, and all who sought God according to the light they were given.

Let us read the passage with care: “He did this to demonstrate his righteousness, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished—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” (Rom. 3:25–26). These are remarkable verses, for they resolve a problem that might otherwise seem insoluble. There were, throughout the ages of the Old Covenant, many souls who sought the righteousness of God, who sought God and found God according to the light and knowledge they had been given, and whom God in His grace desired to forgive. Yet to forgive sins without an adequate sacrifice of atonement would be a violation of God’s own righteous nature. God is infinitely righteous, and He cannot permit sin to go unpunished, for He hates sin, and according to His righteous character, all sin must receive its due.

The solution is given in these verses: Christ died for all sins—even those committed before He came to earth. In His forbearance, God had left those sins temporarily unpunished, awaiting the day when the perfect sacrifice would be offered. And when Christ died upon the cross, His blood covered those ancient sins as surely as it covers ours. As the Apostle John declares: “[Christ] is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world” (1 John 2:2). Christ’s sacrifice provides atonement for all sins ever committed—past, present, and future.

And what manner of faith saved those who lived before the time of Christ? Philip Schaff, the eminent Swiss-born theologian of the nineteenth century, summarizes it admirably: “There certainly can be no remission of sin without the sacrifice of Christ; and whatever remission there was under the Old Dispensation, was granted and enjoyed only by the trustful anticipation of Christ’s sacrifice.” And our Lord Himself testified that Abraham possessed such a faith, when He said to the Jewish leaders in the Temple court: “Your father Abraham rejoiced at the thought of seeing my day; he saw it and was glad” (John 8:56).

What, then, is this trustful anticipation of Christ’s sacrifice, in practical terms? It is this: when a soul, according to whatsoever light and knowledge of God he has been given, turns unto God in prayer and says, Have mercy upon me, O Lord. I fall so far short of where You would have me be. Forgive me, O Lord. It is when a sinner cries out to God for forgiveness, believing that God, in His grace, will provide it—even when the sinner cannot yet see the mechanism by which that forgiveness shall come.

And we have examples of precisely such faith in the pages of the Old Testament. David, when the weight of conscience bore down upon him for his sin, prayed: “I acknowledged my sin to you and did not cover up my iniquity. I said, ‘I will confess my transgressions to the Lord.’ And you forgave the guilt of my sin” (Ps. 32:5). The author of Psalm 130 exclaimed: “Out of the depths I cry to you, Lord... If you, Lord, kept a record of sins, Lord, who could stand? But with you there is forgiveness” (Ps. 130:1, 3–4). And Job, that man of sorrows, longed for a mediator between God and man, crying: “If only there were someone to mediate between us, someone to bring us together, someone to remove God’s rod from me” (Job 9:33–34). These are the prayers of sinners crying out to God for mercy before the coming of Christ—relying upon God’s grace, trusting that somehow He would provide forgiveness—and at long last, God did indeed provide a way, through Christ, and through Christ’s all-encompassing atonement for all the sins of the whole world, past, present, and future.

Three Implications of the Gospel (vs. 27–31)

²⁷ Where, then, is boasting? It is excluded. Because of what law? The law that requires works? No, because of the law that requires faith. ²⁸ For we maintain that a person is justified by faith apart from the works of the law. ²⁹ Or is God the God of Jews only? Is he not the God of Gentiles too? Yes, of Gentiles too, ³⁰ since there is only one God, who will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through that same faith. ³¹ Do we, then, nullify the law by this faith? Not at all! Rather, we uphold the law.

Paul ends the chapter by drawing out three implications of all that he has taught concerning the Gospel of justification by faith.

The First Implication: The Exclusion of Boasting: Paul asks and answers, “Where, then, is boasting? It is excluded” (vs. 27). The Gospel, rightly understood, destroys all arrogance and all self-righteousness at the root. There is no room in Christianity for the pointing of the finger, for the attitude that declares I am holier than you. For if we are justified by faith apart from the works of the law, then our works get us nowhere with respect to our reconciliation unto God. These things—justification, forgiveness, righteousness—come only by the grace of God. They are a gift, and no one boasts of a gift that he has received but done nothing to earn.

A holier-than-thou disposition builds walls between people—walls between those who profess the faith of Christ and those who do not yet know Him. If a person stands before his neighbors and points his finger, and says arrogantly, You are a sinner! You shall be judged for your sin!—such words erect a barrier as high and as thick as the walls of any fortress. But if a person says humbly instead, We are all sinners. I stand in need of the forgiveness and grace of God as much as any person alive. I fall as far short of where I ought to be as you do—then the walls come down, and the heart is opened, and the Gospel may enter in. It is far easier to reach souls for Christ with an attitude of humility than with a spirit of condemnation. And that is what Paul teaches us here: “Where, then, is boasting? It is excluded.”

The Second Implication: The Universality of God’s Grace: Paul speaks of the universality of God’s reign and thus the universality of God’s grace: “Or is God the God of Jews only? Is he not the God of Gentiles too? Yes, of Gentiles too, since there is only one God” (vss. 29-30). The grace of God is available to all people, because God is the God of all people. The Jews had the great privilege of being entrusted with the very words of God, as Paul established at the beginning of this chapter; but this does not mean that salvation is limited to them. Through Christ, and faith in Christ, salvation is available to all—and praise God for it.

And here again we see the Gospel tearing down walls that people have built. The Jews, the chosen people of God, had used their privileges to erect barriers between themselves and the other nations and cultures of the earth. But through Christ and the Gospel, God tears down those barriers, for everyone stands upon equal footing with respect to receiving the grace of God. “There is one God, who will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through that same faith” (vs. 30). The door of mercy is opened as wide as the human race itself.

The Third Implication: The Upholding of the Law: Paul speaks of the compatibility of Law with this grace of God, in verse 31: “Do we, then, nullify the law by this faith? Not at all! Rather, we uphold the law.” Here Paul answers a question that would naturally arise in the minds of his readers: if we are justified by faith and not by works, does this mean that the Law of God is rendered void? Has the Gospel cancelled all that God did in the past? “Not at all!” states Paul. On the contrary, the Gospel upholds the Law, and it does so in two ways.

First, because atonement through a substitutionary sacrifice was established within the Law itself, Christ’s perfect sacrifice of atonement is in perfect accordance with the Law. The salvation that we receive by “faith” does not circumvent the Law; it fulfils it. The Law demanded blood for the remission of sins; Christ provided the blood. The Law demanded a sacrifice without defect; Christ was that sacrifice. In Him, the Law is not nullified but consummated.

Second—and this is a principle that Paul shall expound at great length when we arrive at chapters six and seven of this Epistle—the Gospel upholds the Law because the love and grace of God, as revealed in the Gospel, are far more powerful incentives to effect the obedience of the Law, than the threatenings of the Law ever were. People are far more inclined to keep the commandments of God when they are moved by gratitude and love, than when they are driven by fear and punishment. Grace and love are stronger influencers toward obedience than the strong arm of the law.

This is a truth not confined to theology, but woven into the very fabric of human nature. We have all seen it in the lives of those around us, and perhaps in our own lives: that a soul who is confronted with love responds with obedience far more readily than a soul who is confronted with the pointing of the finger and the threatening of judgment. If we approach the world with condemnation—if we stand before the unbeliever and cry, You are a sinner! You will go to hell!—such words harden the heart and build up walls against Christ. But if we approach the world with love, and with grace, and find common ground, and reflect to others the love of Christ, and the patience of God, and the tenderness of His mercy—that is how hearts are changed, and minds are turned, and souls are won for the kingdom of heaven.

And so the Gospel, far from nullifying the Law, does establish it upon a surer and deeper foundation than the Law could ever provide for itself. For the Law says, Thou shalt, and Thou shalt not; but the Gospel says, You are loved, and therefore you will obey. The one commands obedience by force; the other wins obedience by love. And love, in the end, is the stronger master.

The Proper Response to the Depths of This Knowledge

And so we have traversed the full breadth of the Apostle’s grand declaration of the Gospel, and we find ourselves, at the close of this third chapter, in possession of all that we need to know concerning the good news of Jesus Christ. We know what the Gospel is: the righteousness of God, given through faith in Christ. We know when it was purposed: from before the foundation of the world, testified to by the Law and the Prophets. We know how we receive it: through faith in Jesus Christ. We know who needs it: all, without exception, for all have sinned. We know why we need it: because we fall short of the glory of God. We know from where it comes: freely, by the grace of God. We know at what cost it was purchased: through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus, paid in His blood upon the cross. We know by what mechanism it was accomplished: through the sacrifice of atonement, fulfilling the pattern laid down in the Law. And we know its scope: it covers all sins ever committed—past, present, and future—and is available to every soul that draws breath.

Let us, then, receive this Gospel with the humility it demands, and the gratitude it deserves. Let us boast in nothing save the cross of Christ. Let us build no walls between ourselves and those who do not yet know Him, but rather let us approach the world with that same love and grace by which we ourselves were saved. And let us uphold the Law—not by the force of our own striving, but by the power of the love that the Gospel has shed abroad in our hearts—to the praise and honor and glory of God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit, forever Amen.

❦