Romans 3:21–31 (Friday, October 16, 2026)

[u/FergusCragson]

Prayer

May God our Father, by the riches of His glory,
grant you to be strengthened with might
through the Holy Spirit in your inner self,
that Jesus the Messiah may live in your hearts by faith,
and that you, being rooted and grounded in Love,
may know how wide, long, high, and deep
the Love of Jesus is, beyond our comprehension,
so that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.
AMEN!

^{Based on Ephesians 3:16~18}

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Romans 3:21-31, New King James Version

(For alternate translations, see here.)

²¹ But now the righteousness of God apart from the law is revealed, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets, ²² even the righteousness of God, through faith in Jesus Christ, to all and on all who believe. For there is no difference; ²³ for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, ²⁴ being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, ²⁵ whom God set forth as a propitiation by His blood, through faith, to demonstrate His righteousness, because in His forbearance God had passed over the sins that were previously committed, ²⁶ to demonstrate at the present time His righteousness, that He might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.

²⁷ Where is boasting then? It is excluded. By what law? Of works? No, but by the law of faith. ²⁸ Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith apart from the deeds of the law. ²⁹ Or is He the God of the Jews only? Is He not also the God of the Gentiles? Yes, of the Gentiles also, ³⁰ since there is one God who will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through faith. ³¹ Do we then make void the law through faith? Certainly not! On the contrary, we establish the law.

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QUESTIONS

1. How are we justified, or put right with God?

2. Who does it?

3. How does this show God's righteousness?

4. "Where is boasting, then?"

5. Verse 28 reads,
   Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith apart from the deeds of the law.
   That's great, but what the heck is faith? It often sounds like some kind of nebulous "thing" that some people have. What is it, really?

6. When I think about question three, I recall the Letter to the Hebrews. Not just the well-known list of the faithful, nor the famous "Now faith is..." verse, but the following: But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.
   Hebrews 11:6
   The first part talks about the situation of having no faith, while the second half contrasts it with a two-part description of faith. What strikes me is that many people today seem to think that faith means believing in God or Jesus in the sense of believing that they exist or are real. That's the first part of faith to be sure, but what is the second part? And how necessary is that?

7. Jesus said,
   "...If you have faith as a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you."
   Matthew 17:20

   In light of today's talk about what faith is, how would you reword Jesus' statement without using the word "faith"?

8. What do you think it takes to have such faith?

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Feel free to leave any thoughts, comments, or questions of your own!

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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. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.
Ephesians 2:8-10

[u/ExiledSanity]

Q1. That's kind of the point of this whole section. Just, Justified, Righteousness all have the same root in Greek and are used 9 times in these 11 verses (and several times in the preceding and subsequent sections as well.

Vs. 21 tells us its apart from the law. Vs. 22 says 'through faith in Jesus Christ'. Vs. 24 says its by grace. vs. 26 ties it again to faith in Jesus. vs. 28 also ties to faith, as does vs. 30.

So, we are justified apart from the law, through grace and faith.

Q2. The works of justification are completed by God, we are entrusted with the means by which God works to apply that justification to people (preaching of the word and administration of the sacraments).

Q3. It shows that God is faithful to His promises, that God is true to His word.

Q4. It is excluded....shut out. It has no place.

Q5. This is the big question that doesn't get addressed regularly, mostly because the Bible doesn't define it for us. It does tell us somethings though, its clearly set up as the opposite of works. Romans 10:17 tells us that it comes from hearing the word of God. Its clearly a personal thing present in those who receive God's gifts.

It seems fair to me to say that faith is the means by which we receive the benefits of the gifts from God.

Q6. Faith is not necessarily intellectual....that can be part of it but we don't necessarily believe that we we lose our faith while sleeping, in a coma, or even when someone's mental faculties are severely reduced (infancy, mental illness, dementia, etc).

Faith the the empty hand of a beggar receiving a gift of charity. The empty hand of a child receiving a gift from his/her parent.

Q7. I'm not sure how I'd reword it, but its contrasting the fact that the 'capacity' to receive does not constrain the magnitude of the gift God can give us. I might compare it to the feeding of the 5000. The capacity the people had to eat did not constrain the abundance of what God gave....leftovers were collected.

Q8. The Grace of God.

[u/RaphTurtlePower]

1.) By being washed by the blood of Christ. Having faith in His work on the cross.

2.) Jesus did it.

3.) God is trying hard to save people. Paul is saying God is going outside of the law or beyond the law to save people. It is through His grace that we can be saved.

4.) Boasting in the work of Jesus Christ, not in my goodness, righteousness or works, but only in what Jesus did.

5.) It is interesting the Bible never gives a definition of faith. Hebrews mentions something like a definition but it really is more of an observational comment. Instead, the Bible gives many examples of people who have saving faith. 

I used to struggle with the idea of faith and works in the context that my faith is my own. If my faith saves me then my faith is my work and that doesn't fit perfectly. I've recently encountered the idea that my faith is given to me by God and is there for not my work, but His. This seems to fit better, but man, is it humbling to think that not even my own belief saves me. God has to do it. What if I felt and thought the same way, but God had not given me faith? Humbling. I think it was ExiledHumanity who said a few months back one of his favorite verses is 'Lord, I believe. Help my unbelief.' 

So what is faith? Something God gives you to save you. 

7.) Not sure I would reword it. I think this statement has prophetic undertones that point to clearing The Way as a physical path in the Millennial Kingdom for travellers to reach Jerusalem. 

8.) God must give it to you, but you can exercise it and build on it to increase it.