Romans 3–4

³Then what advantage has the Jew? Or what is the value of circumcision? ²Much, in every way. For in the first place, the Jews^j were entrusted with the oracles of God.^{* 3}What if some were unfaithful? Will their faithlessness nullify the faithfulness of God?^{* 4}By no means! Although every human is a liar, let God be proved true, as it is written,

“So that you may be justified in your words

and you will prevail^k when you go to trial.”^*

⁵But if our injustice serves to confirm the justice of God, what should we say? That God is unjust to inflict wrath on us? (I speak in a human way.)^{* 6}By no means! For then how could God judge the world? ⁷But if through my falsehood God’s truthfulness abounds to his glory, why am I still being judged as a sinner? ⁸And why not say (as some people slander us by saying that we say), “Let us do evil so that good may come”? Their judgment is deserved!^*

None Is Righteous

⁹What then? Are we any better off?^l No, not at all, for we have already charged that all, both Jews and Greeks, are under the power of sin,^{* 10}as it is written:

“There is no one who is righteous, not even one;^*

¹¹there is no one who has understanding;

there is no one who seeks God.

¹²All have turned aside; together they have become worthless;

there is no one who shows kindness;

there is not even one.”

¹³“Their throats are opened graves;

they use their tongues to deceive.”

“The venom of vipers is under their lips.”^*

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

¹⁵“Their feet are swift to shed blood;^*

¹⁶ruin and misery are in their paths,

¹⁷and the way of peace they have not known.”

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

¹⁹Now we know that, whatever the law says, it speaks to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be silenced and the whole world may be held accountable to God.^{* 20}For no human will be justified before him by deeds prescribed by the law, for through the law comes the knowledge of sin.^*

Righteousness through Faith

²¹But now, apart from the law, the righteousness of God has been disclosed and is attested by the Law and the Prophets,^{* 22}the righteousness of God through the faith of Jesus Christ^m for all who believe.ⁿ For there is no distinction,^{* 23}since all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God;^{* 24}they are now justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus,^{* 25}whom God put forward as a sacrifice of atonement^o by his blood, effective through faith. He did this to demonstrate his righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over the sins previously committed;^{* 26}it was to demonstrate at the present time his own righteousness, so that he is righteous and he justifies the one who has the faith of Jesus.^p

²⁷Then what becomes of boasting? It is excluded. Through what kind of law? That of works? No, rather through the law of faith.^{* 28}For we hold that a person is justified by faith apart from works prescribed by the law.^{* 29}Or is God the God of Jews only? Is he not the God of gentiles also? Yes, of gentiles also, ³⁰since God is one, and he will justify the circumcised on the ground of faith and the uncircumcised through that same faith.^{* 31}Do we then overthrow the law through this faith? By no means! On the contrary, we uphold the law.

The Example of Abraham

⁴What then are we to say was gained by^q Abraham, our ancestor according to the flesh? ²For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about, but not before God.^{* 3}For what does the scripture say? “Abraham believed^r God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness.”^{* 4}Now to one who works, wages are not reckoned as a gift but as something due.^{* 5}But to one who does not work but trusts him who justifies the ungodly, such faith is reckoned as righteousness. ⁶So also David pronounces a blessing on those to whom God reckons righteousness apart from works:

⁷“Blessed are those whose iniquities are forgiven

and whose sins are covered;^*

⁸blessed is the one against whom the Lord will not reckon sin.”

⁹Is this blessing, then, pronounced only on the circumcised or also on the uncircumcised? We say, “Faith was reckoned to Abraham as righteousness.” ¹⁰How then was it reckoned to him? Was it before or after he had been circumcised? It was not after but before he was circumcised. ¹¹He received the sign of circumcision as a seal of the righteousness that he had by faith^s while he was still uncircumcised. The purpose was to make him the ancestor of all who believe^t without being circumcised and who thus have righteousness reckoned to them,^{* 12}and likewise the ancestor of the circumcised who are not only circumcised but follow the example of the faith that our ancestor Abraham had before he was circumcised.

God’s Promise Realized through Faith

¹³For the promise that he would inherit the world did not come to Abraham or to his descendants through the law but through the righteousness of faith.^{* 14}For if it is the adherents of the law who are to be the heirs, faith is null and the promise is void. ¹⁵For the law brings wrath, but where there is no law, neither is there transgression.^*

¹⁶For this reason the promise depends on faith, in order that it may rest on grace, so that it may be guaranteed to all his descendants, not only to the adherents of the law but also to those who share the faith of Abraham (who is the father of all of us,^{* 17}as it is written, “I have made you the father of many nations”), in the presence of the God in whom he believed,^u who gives life to the dead and calls into existence the things that do not exist.^{* 18}Hoping against hope, he believed that he would become “the father of many nations,” according to what was said, “So shall your descendants be.” ¹⁹He did not weaken in faith when he considered his own body, which was already^v as good as dead (for he was about a hundred years old), and the barrenness of Sarah’s womb.^{* 20}No distrust made him waver concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God, ²¹being fully convinced that God was able to do what he had promised.^{* 22}Therefore “it was reckoned to him as righteousness.” ²³Now the words, “it was reckoned to him,” were written not for his sake alone^{* 24}but for ours also. It will be reckoned to us who believe^w in him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead,^{* 25}who was handed over for our trespasses and was raised for our justification.^*