Romans 3–6

God’s Faithfulness

3What advantage, then, is there in being a Jew, or what value is there in circumcision? ²Much in every way!^a First of all, the Jews have been entrusted with the very words of God.^b

³What if some were unfaithful?^c Will their unfaithfulness nullify God’s faithfulness?^{d 4}Not at all! Let God be true,^e and every human being a liar.^f As it is written:

“So that you may be proved right when you speak

and prevail when you judge.”^ag

⁵But if our unrighteousness brings out God’s righteousness more clearly,^h what shall we say? That God is unjust in bringing his wrath on us? (I am using a human argument.)^{i 6}Certainly not! If that were so, how could God judge the world?^{j 7}Someone might argue, “If my falsehood enhances God’s truthfulness and so increases his glory,^k why am I still condemned as a sinner?”^{l 8}Why not say—as some slanderously claim that we say—“Let us do evil that good may result”?^m Their condemnation is just!

No One Is Righteous

⁹What shall we conclude then? Do we have any advantage?ⁿ Not at all! For we have already made the charge that Jews and Gentiles alike are all under the power of sin.^{o 10}As it is written:

“There is no one righteous, not even one;

¹¹there is no one who understands;

there is no one who seeks God.

¹²All have turned away,

they have together become worthless;

there is no one who does good,

not even one.”^bp

¹³“Their throats are open graves;

their tongues practice deceit.”^cq

“The poison of vipers is on their lips.”^dr

¹⁴“Their mouths are full of cursing and bitterness.”^es

¹⁵“Their feet are swift to shed blood;

¹⁶ruin and misery mark their ways,

¹⁷and the way of peace they do not know.”^ft

¹⁸“There is no fear of God before their eyes.”^gu

¹⁹Now we know that whatever the law says,^v it says to those who are under the law,^w so that every mouth may be silenced^x and the whole world held accountable to God.^{y 20}Therefore no one will be declared righteous in God’s sight by the works of the law;^z rather, through the law we become conscious of our sin.^a

Righteousness Through Faith

²¹But now apart from the law the righteousness of God^b has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify.^{c 22}This righteousness^d is given through faith^e in^h Jesus Christ^f to all who believe.^g There is no difference between Jew and Gentile,^{h 23}for all have sinnedⁱ and fall short of the glory of God, ²⁴and all are justified^j freely by his grace^k through the redemption^l that came by Christ Jesus. ²⁵God presented Christ as a sacrifice of atonement,^im through the shedding of his bloodⁿ—to be received by faith. He did this to demonstrate his righteousness, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished^o—²⁶he 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.

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

Abraham Justified by Faith

4What then shall we say^t that Abraham, our forefather according to the flesh,^u discovered in this matter? ²If, in fact, Abraham was justified by works, he had something to boast about—but not before God.^{v 3}What does Scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.”^aw

⁴Now to the one who works, wages are not credited as a gift^x but as an obligation. ⁵However, to the one who does not work but trusts God who justifies the ungodly, their faith is credited as righteousness.^{y 6}David says the same thing when he speaks of the blessedness of the one to whom God credits righteousness apart from works:

⁷“Blessed are those

whose transgressions are forgiven,

whose sins are covered.

⁸Blessed is the one

whose sin the Lord will never count against them.”^bz

⁹Is this blessedness only for the circumcised, or also for the uncircumcised?^a We have been saying that Abraham’s faith was credited to him as righteousness.^{b 10}Under what circumstances was it credited? Was it after he was circumcised, or before? It was not after, but before! ¹¹And he received circumcision as a sign, a seal of the righteousness that he had by faith while he was still uncircumcised.^c So then, he is the father^d of all who believe^e but have not been circumcised, in order that righteousness might be credited to them. ¹²And 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.

¹³It was not through the law that Abraham and his offspring received the promise^f that he would be heir of the world,^g but through the righteousness that comes by faith.^{h 14}For if those who depend on the law are heirs, faith means nothing and the promise is worthless,^{i 15}because the law brings wrath.^j And where there is no law there is no transgression.^k

¹⁶Therefore, the promise comes by faith, so that it may be by grace^l and may be guaranteed^m to all Abraham’s offspring—not 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.^{n 17}As it is written: “I have made you a father of many nations.”^co He is our father in the sight of God, in whom he believed—the God who gives life^p to the dead and calls^q into being things that were not.^r

¹⁸Against all hope, Abraham in hope believed and so became the father of many nations,^s just as it had been said to him, “So shall your offspring be.”^{dt 19}Without weakening in his faith, he faced the fact that his body was as good as dead^u—since he was about a hundred years old^v—and that Sarah’s womb was also dead.^{w 20}Yet he did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God, but was strengthened^x in his faith and gave glory to God,^{y 21}being fully persuaded that God had power to do what he had promised.^{z 22}This is why “it was credited to him as righteousness.”^{a 23}The words “it was credited to him” were written not for him alone, ²⁴but also for us,^b to whom God will credit righteousness—for us who believe in him^c who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead.^{d 25}He was delivered over to death for our sins^e and was raised to life for our justification.^f

Peace and Hope

5Therefore, since we have been justified^g through faith,^h we^a have peaceⁱ with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,^{j 2}through whom we have gained access^k by faith into this grace in which we now stand.^l And we^b boast in the hope^m of the glory of God. ³Not only so, but we^c also glory in our sufferings,ⁿ because we know that suffering produces perseverance;^{o 4}perseverance, character; and character, hope. ⁵And hope^p does not put us to shame, because God’s love^q has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit,^r who has been given to us.

⁶You see, at just the right time,^s when we were still powerless,^t Christ died for the ungodly.^{u 7}Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person someone might possibly dare to die. ⁸But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.^v

⁹Since we have now been justified^w by his blood,^x how much more shall we be saved from God’s wrath^y through him! ¹⁰For if, while we were God’s enemies,^z we were reconciled^a to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life!^{b 11}Not only is this so, but we also boast in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.^c

Death Through Adam, Life Through Christ

¹²Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man,^d and death through sin,^e and in this way death came to all people, because all sinned^f—

¹³To be sure, sin was in the world before the law was given, but sin is not charged against anyone’s account where there is no law.^{g 14}Nevertheless, death reigned from the time of Adam to the time of Moses, even over those who did not sin by breaking a command, as did Adam,^h who is a pattern of the one to come.ⁱ

¹⁵But the gift is not like the trespass. For if the many died by the trespass of the one man,^j how much more did God’s grace and the gift that came by the grace of the one man, Jesus Christ,^k overflow to the many! ¹⁶Nor can the gift of God be compared with the result of one man’s sin: The judgment followed one sin and brought condemnation, but the gift followed many trespasses and brought justification. ¹⁷For if, by the trespass of the one man, death^l reigned through that one man, how much more will those who receive God’s abundant provision of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life^m through the one man, Jesus Christ!

¹⁸Consequently, just as one trespass resulted in condemnation for all people,ⁿ so also one righteous act resulted in justification^o and life^p for all people. ¹⁹For just as through the disobedience of the one man^q the many were made sinners,^r so also through the obedience^s of the one man the many will be made righteous.

²⁰The law was brought in so that the trespass might increase.^t But where sin increased, grace increased all the more,^{u 21}so that, just as sin reigned in death,^v so also grace^w might reign through righteousness to bring eternal life^x through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Dead to Sin, Alive in Christ

6What shall we say, then?^y Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase?^{z 2}By no means! We are those who have died to sin;^a how can we live in it any longer? ³Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptized^b into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? ⁴We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death^c in…