(21)But now apart from the law the righteousness of God has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify.(22)This righteousness is given through faith in[h] 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.
Most of you have probably heard verse 23 in this passage. However, I’d like to look at the broader context to see how it plays in with the rest of its sentence and paragraph. Paul is speaking to his Jewish readers at this point in the letter, and his purpose in verses 21-24 is to say that they aren’t any different from the Gentiles. It is faith in God that saves, not the Law. Jesus did not come to abolish the Law, but to fulfill it. There’s no difference between Jew and Gentile, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. It really gives a new meaning to verse 23 than how I’ve always heard it used. Instead of “YOU have sinned, and YOU have sinned, and so have YOU!” It’s actually “You’ve sinned, but so have I. We’re no different because we both sin and we’re both saved through faith in Christ Jesus.”
Verses 25-26 add some additional explanation of Paul’s message that his Jewish audience would have understood. They were well familiar with the sin offering that was set up in Leviticus 16:15-16 where a goat would be sacrificed in lieu of the people bearing the brunt of God’s wrath (hence the word scapegoat). God waited and “passed over” (sound familiar from the plagues on Egypt?) the sins of the people so that Christ could be the sin sacrifice once for all. Then and only then would the sacrifice be accomplished. God and God alone judges because only through God are we saved.
Paul ends this section with a Q&A session with himself. He refutes some arguments that people may choose to use against Him. The law is about faith, not works. God is the God of everyone. We declare the law by keeping the faith. That last part can be a tad confusing, but we proclaim God’s love and forgiveness when we uphold the way and demonstrate our faith, so law and faith go hand-in-hand.
We are not alone in our sin. Even though we all sin, we are all also justified freely and equally through Jesus’ blood on the cross. Christ is the once-for-all sacrifice for us. Walk by faith. In doing so, uphold the law. Christ is our righteousness.
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