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Romans 3:30 – Faith for All

Posted on December 2, 2009 by admin

Romans 3:30

since there is one God who will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through faith.

Truth to Learn

God will justify anyone who comes by faith.

Behind the Words

The Greek word starting off this verse is different depending on which Greek text is used. Some have it as epeiper, meaning “since indeed” whereas others have it as eiper, meaning “if on the whole.” Although the epeiper is a stronger assertion, they both imply that what follows is a true statement.

The word “by” is from the Greek word ek, meaning “out of, from, or by means of.” In other words, it implies origin.

“Through” is translated from dia, meaning “through,” or “through which.” In other words, it implies instrumentality.

Meaning Explained

Since Paul has just demonstrated that Jehovah is the God of both the Jews and the Gentiles and that man is justified by faith apart from the works of the Law, he now takes the next step in his explanation. He says that it is one God who will justify both the Jews and the Gentiles and that justification comes not from keeping the Law but from faith.

The construction of this verse is a little confusing and has been argued back and forth for centuries (in my opinion it is an example of senseless quibbling). Some say that even though the prepositions are different, they are used to express the same thing. They would interpret this phrase as, “… who will justify circumcision by faith and uncircumcision by the same faith.”

Others would argue that the Jews are justified by (out of) the faith which Abraham had and which they now also have, whereas the Gentiles must acquire such faith independently in order to receive justification through such faith. If you think that this is an unnecessary splitting of hairs, I agree with you. The point is that God will declare a person righteous based on faith, whether a Jew or a Gentile.

The two points that Paul has been making all along in this chapter are: 1 – There is no difference between Jews and Gentiles when it comes to justification, and 2 – The only way to obtain justification is by faith.

If you look back through the Old Testament you will see a number of examples where men were justified by faith. For instance, Noah believed God was going to send a flood and demonstrated that faith by building an Ark. Abraham believed that he was going to have a son even when he and Sarah were too old to have children. Moses believed God was going to release the Israelites from bondage when he went in and challenged Pharaoh to “let my people go.”

Throughout the ages, men (and women) have been saved by faith, not by works. That is precisely what Paul is teaching these Jewish Christians in Rome.

Application

The message of salvation is very simple: Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved. It’s not, believe and keep the Ten Commandments. It’s not, believe and join the church. It’s not, believe and be baptized. It’s simply “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ.” That’s all there is to it – just believe.

In God’s service, for His glory,

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Romans 3:28 – Faith Alone

Posted on November 30, 2009 by admin

Romans 3:28

Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith apart from the deeds of the law.

Truth to Learn

Righteousness comes by faith and faith alone, not by works.

Behind the Words

“Therefore” is from the Greek word oun, which marks a connection between the current phrase and that which proceeded.

The verb translated “we conclude” is logidzomai, which means “to put together with one’s mind, to count, or to make calculations or reckonings in the mind.” When used with oun, as it is here, it indicates “a proof” or “a conclusion.”

The words “apart from” are translated from chōris, which indicates separation of two things in space or time. Therefore, it could be translated here as “separate from.”

“Deeds,” as we have seen before, is from the Greek word ergon, meaning “a deed, a work, something involving labor.”

There is no definite article before the word “law” in the Greek text. Hence, the word “the” has been added by translators.

Meaning Explained

Paul has just gone through a very complete rationalization of why the Jews were falsely confident in the Law, having stated that whether Jew or Gentile we all have sinned and have come short of God’s glory. He further went on to show that the blood of Christ is represented by the mercy seat in that it “covers” our sins, allowing God to pass them by. And, in doing so, He draws attention to His own righteousness as he credits righteousness to anyone who has faith in the covering blood.

He now states the conclusion of this part of his dissertation. That is, that we are justified by faith separate from works of law. In other words, the works have absolutely no bearing on our justification (our being declared righteous).

The Jewish Christians in Rome had always considered their righteousness to be the result of keeping the requirements of the Law. Because of the teachings of the Law and the Prophets, they waited for their Messiah to come. These converts from Judaism considered themselves Christians because they kept the Law AND believed in their Messiah, Jesus of Nazareth. Paul now tells them that keeping the Law has no effect on salvation, further demonstrating that there can be no boasting in salvation because we didn’t do anything to deserve it.

We can only be justified by the principle (law) of faith. In order to satisfy this principle of faith we must humble ourselves before the mighty hand of our sinless God, agree with Him that we are sinners who are undeserving of justification (salvation), and agree with God (confess) that Jesus Christ died on the cross to pay the penalty for our sins.

Our justification does not come about because we perform some work or deed. We are justified in His sight because He reveals His son to us and He draws us to Himself so that we believe. It’s all His work and none of ours.

Application

Paul makes it very clear that we can’t do anything to earn salvation; we can only receive it humbly, as a free gift. Are you still trying to earn “favor” with God? Why? It can’t be done!

In God’s service, for His glory,

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Romans 3:24 – Free Righteousness

Posted on November 23, 2009 by admin

Romans 3:24

being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus,

Truth to Learn

Through faith in Jesus Christ we are declared to be righteous.

Behind the Words

“Being justified” is translated from dikaioō. This is based on dikaios, which as we saw in verse ten means “meeting God’s standard of always doing what is right.” The oō ending of a verb generally indicates “bringing out something about a person.” The verb is expressed here in the passive voice indicating action done to someone. So, this word means that someone is being declared righteous.

The word translated “freely” is dorean, an adverb based on the noun dorea, which refers to “a gift.” Hence, dorean means “gratuitously” or “as a free gift.”

“Grace” is translated from charis, which refers to “a favor done without expectation of anything in return.”

The word “redemption” is translated from apolutrōsis, which is a compound word made up of apo, meaning “from or away from” and a form of lutron, which means “a ransom that is paid for someone.” It denotes the rescuing of captives (sinners) from captivity (sin) through the payment of a ransom for them.

Meaning Explained

Paul now continues on his statement of justification by faith, declaring to us that even though we are all sinners and have come short of God’s glory, we can be declared righteous (justified). Since we are all sinners, we need to be redeemed. So what does this mean? The fact that Paul used apolutrōsis instead of simply lutron implies that not only was a ransom paid for us (the blood of Jesus Christ) but, having paid that ransom, He also took us away from the captor (sin).

Here’s a deeper explanation of what this verse says.

Because of the faith spoken of in verse 22, because we believed in the atoning death of Jesus Christ on the cross of Calvary, even though we are sinners, we are justified (declared righteous by God) freely (without payment on our part, simply as a gift) by God’s grace (a favor done without expectation of return; the absolutely free expression of the loving kindness of God) through the ransom that was paid for us by Jesus Christ (His blood), and we have been taken out of our captivity by sin.

Wow! Read that again!

In his letter to the Ephesians, the Apostle Paul said almost the same thing in a slightly different way:

For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast. (Ephesians 2:8-9)

Application

Paul has shown us that there is no way we could earn the righteousness that we need to stand before Almighty God. He has also shown us that we can obtain that righteousness for free simply by believing in the blood of Christ.

If that doesn’t drive us to our knees in praise and adoration, nothing will!

In God’s service, for His glory,

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