“Do we then make void the law through faith? Certainly not! On the contrary, we establish the law” (Romans 3:31).

In addition to its doctrinal teachings, we should bear in mind that the Epistle to the Romans served as Paul the Apostle’s introduction to the first-century church at Rome. As such, it offered a helpful resource for those who were unfamiliar with his life, ministry, and doctrine. It also served to reassure the members of Paul’s Jewish audience and affirm the value of their cultural identity.

From one perspective, the final verse of this chapter serves as a mirror image of the first verse, as Paul affirmed the importance of the Jewish law and their shared cultural legacy. Paul’s standing as a Jewish scholar also lent credibility to this teaching, and it will later become a recurring theme within this epistle…

“God’s law was given so that all people could see how sinful they were. But as people sinned more and more, God’s wonderful grace became more abundant. So just as sin ruled over all people and brought them to death, now God’s wonderful grace rules instead, giving us right standing with God and resulting in eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord” (Romans 5:20-21 NLT).

“For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit” (Romans 8:3-4 ESV).

“For the commandments, ‘You shall not commit adultery, You shall not murder, You shall not steal, You shall not covet,’ and any other commandment, are summed up in this word: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfilling of the law” (Romans 13:9-10 ESV).

So, it seems that Paul anticipated this objection from Romans 3:31 and took steps to address it in advance. In doing so, he established the continuing merit of the law. Two crucial elements contributed to the law’s enduring significance. First, Christ fulfilled the law’s demands on our behalf. Next, the law itself foreshadowed the concept of justification by faith.

Thus, in the words of one Biblical translation, “…we confirm and establish and uphold the Law [since it convicts us all of sin, pointing to the need for salvation]” (AMP). We’ll explore that relationship at greater length in our next study.

“Or is He the God of the Jews only? Is He not also the God of the Gentiles? Yes, of the Gentiles also” (Romans 3:29).

The common-sense questions posed in Romans 3:29 enable us to draw some important conclusions. For instance, we might include a wide variety of groups, nationalities, social classes, or individuals within these designations. The point is that God reigns over all humanity, and He justifies all in the same way. That way is through faith, as Paul the Apostle will go on to explain in the following verse…

“since there is one God who will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through faith” (Romans 3:30).

This passage carries significant implications for those who subscribe to the notion that there are many ways to God or that “all roads lead to God.” Our text from Romans 3:29 reminds us that God does not provide an alternate means of salvation for individual people groups. Instead, everyone must come to Him through faith in Christ. Jesus was unequivocal when it came to this idea…

“…’I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me'” (John 14:6).

Paul was equally direct in the New Testament letter we know today as 1 Timothy…

“For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus” (1 Timothy 2:5).

These Biblical teachings refute the idea that roads lead to God. In addition, we should also remember that our existence does not end with when we pass from this earthly life. As we have repeatedly observed throughout our study of the first three chapters of Romans, eternal life is not a reward for accumulating enough “good deeds” throughout our lives. Eternal life can only be obtained through Christ, and those who place their faith in Him have full Biblical assurance of entry into heaven when their time on earth has come to an end.

Nevertheless, the Bible is equally clear that anyone who seeks an alternate means of salvation will not inherit eternal life. As we are told in the New Testament epistle of 1 John…

“And what is it that God has said? That he has given us eternal life and that this life is in his Son. So whoever has God’s Son has life; whoever does not have his Son, does not have life” (1 John 5:11-12).

So, there is one God who is sovereign over all people, regardless of their ethnicity. As the God of those diverse people groups, He accepts them all in the same way: by faith.

Image Attribution: Image by Wannapik Studio

“Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith apart from the deeds of the law” (Romans 3:28).

As we approach the end of Romans chapter three, our text from verse twenty-eight prepares us for a larger discussion concerning the relationship between faith and works, or “…the deeds of the law.” We can identify four reasons why God has chosen to justify us by faith and not by our own efforts…

1. “Faith eliminates the pride of human effort, because faith is not a deed that we do.
2. Faith exalts what God has done, not what we do.
3. Faith admits that we can’t keep the law or measure up to God’s standards—we need help.
4. Faith is based on our relationship with God, not our performance for God.” ₍₁₎

Ephesians 2:8-9 contains what is arguably the most significant Biblical verse on this subject…

“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.”

We can expand on this key Biblical teaching if we divide this portion of Scripture from Ephesians chapter two into its constituent elements…

• For by grace (or God’s undeserved favor).
• you have been saved (or delivered from an eternity of separation from God in a place of outer darkness and torment, where there is weeping and gnashing of teeth).
• through faith (trust and reliance on God).
• and that not of yourselves (not through human effort).
• it is the gift of God, not of works (salvation is a divine gift that is beyond the reach of human accomplishment).
• lest anyone should boast (or gloat, brag and/or show off).

One source draws a helpful analogy that serves to illuminate the nature of genuine faith…

“When God says, ‘Whosoever believes on Him [His Son] has eternal life’ (John 3:16), faith involves accepting that promise as true. Someone has compared saving faith to reaching out to accept a gift that another person offers, like a Christmas present. One must extend his or her arm to receive the gift, but that act does not constitute doing something that earns the gift.” ₍₂₎

Finally, many have seen what appears to be a disparity in the Biblical teaching that appears in our text from Romans 3:28 and the Biblical teaching that appears in James chapter two. We will address that seeming inconsistency when we enter into a discussion of Abraham, the great Old Testament patriarch, in our study of Romans chapter four.

(1) Life Application Study Bible NKJV [Romans 3:28] Copyright © 1988, 1989, 1991, 1993, 1996, 2004 by Tyndale House Publishers Inc., all rights reserved.

(2) Dr. Thomas L. Constable, Notes on Romans 2026 Edition (n.d.). https://soniclight.com/tcon/notes/html/romans/romans.htm

“Then what becomes of our boasting? It is excluded. By what kind of law? By a law of works? No, but by the law of faith” (Romans 3:27 ESV).

Several resources define the word “boasting” in the following manner:

• Speaking of yourself in superlatives. ₍₁₎
• To glorify oneself in speech; talk in a self-admiring way; To speak of with excessive pride. ₍₂₎
• To talk or write about oneself or something related to oneself in a proud or self-admiring way. ₍₃₎
• To call attention to one’s own accomplishments. ₍₄₎

As seen in the passage quoted above, the word translated “boasting” encompasses a word that means “that of which one glories or can glory, [and/or a] matter or ground of glorying” ₍₅₎ The Scriptures disapprove of these attitudes because boasting is inconsistent with the type of love that is defined for us in 1 Corinthians 13:4-8…

“Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails…” (NIV).

The noted author C.S. Lewis offers several valuable observations in this regard…

“There is one vice of which no man in the world is free; which everyone in the world loathes when he sees it in someone else; and of which hardly any people, except Christians, ever imagine that they are guilty themselves. I have heard people admit that they are bad-tempered, or that they cannot keep their heads about girls or drink, or even that they are cowards. I do not think I have ever heard anyone who was not a Christian accuse himself of this vice. And at the same time I have very seldom met anyone, who was not a Christian, who showed the slightest mercy to it in others. There is no fault which makes a man more unpopular, and no fault which we are more unconscious of in ourselves. And the more we have it ourselves, the more we dislike it in others. The vice I am talking of is Pride.” ₍₆₎

…Pride gets no pleasure out of having something, only out of having more of it than the next man. We say that people are proud of being rich, or clever, or good-looking, but they are not. They are proud of being richer, or cleverer, or better-looking than others. If everyone else became equally rich, or clever, or good-looking there would be nothing to be proud about. It is the comparison that makes you proud: the pleasure of being above the rest…” ₍₇₎

Image Attribution: C. S. Lewis, Levan Ramishvili, Public Domain CC BY-NC 1.0, via flickr.com. Disclaimer Notice

(1) Power Thesaurus. “BOASTING Definition & Meaning – Explained.” WordNet 3.1 © 2011 by Princeton University, 2026, www.powerthesaurus.org/boasting/definitions. Accessed 18 Dec. 2025.
(2) American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Third Edition. (1992)
(3) American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. (2011). Retrieved December 18 2025 from https://www.thefreedictionary.com/boasting
(4) boasting. (n.d.) Picturesque Expressions: A Thematic Dictionary, 1st Edition. (1980). Retrieved December 18 2025 from https://www.thefreedictionary.com/boasting
(5) G2746 – kauchesis – Strong’s Greek Lexicon (KJV). (n.d.). Blue Letter Bible. https://www.blueletterbible.org/lexicon/g2746/kjv/mgnt/0-1/ [see relation to G2745]
(6) C. S. Lewis, Mere Christianity (New York: The Macmillan Company, 1958), p. 94. Quoted in Boice, J. M. (2005). Romans: Justification by Faith (Romans 1-4). Baker Books. [p.404]
(7) Lewis, Ibid. pp. 95, 96.

“Where is boasting then? It is excluded. By what law? Of works? No, but by the law of faith” (Romans 3:27).

Because God is “…just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus” (Romans 3:26) there is no room for boasting in something God has done on His own. While there is little shortage of those who seek to brag about who they are and what they have accomplished, there is nothing for us to boast of with respect to our salvation.

We can associate this reference to works in Romans 3:27 with an attempt to follow the Old Testament Law or anything else we might do to earn God’s favor. We will never find justification in taking that approach because human efforts to win God’s approval will inevitably fall short. As we were reminded earlier in Romans 3:20, “…no one is put right in God’s sight by doing what the Law requires; what the Law does is to make us know that we have sinned” (GW).

The Law of God accomplishes that purpose in showing us where we fall short of God’s standards. Consider the observations made by the following commentary…

“Some sins seem bigger than others because their obvious consequences are much more serious. Murder, for example, seems to us to be worse than hatred, and adultery seems worse than pride. But this does not mean that because we only commit ‘little’ sins we deserve eternal life. All sins make us sinners, and all sins cut us off from our holy God. All sins, therefore, lead to death (because they disqualify us from living with God), regardless of how great or small they seem. Don’t minimize ‘little’ sins or overrate ‘big’ sins. They all separate us from God, but they all can be forgiven.” ₍₁₎

That same source later adds…

“Most religions require specific duties that must be performed to make a person acceptable to a god. Christianity is unique in that no good deed that we do will make us right with God. No amount of human achievement or personal goodness will close the gap between God’s moral perfection and our imperfect daily performance. Good deeds are important, but they will not earn us eternal life. We are saved only by trusting in what God has done for us (see Eph_2:8-10).” ₍₂₎

So, before we begin to boast of who we are and what we have done, we would do well to take a more accurate perspective…

“Man takes credit for everything. We take pride in our abilities and accomplishments. We have self-confidence and trust in our money and strength. But who are we to boast? God is holding the molecules of our bodies together (Col. 1:17). God is the source of every good thing we receive (James 1:17). We must give Him the credit for all things…” ₍₃₎

(1) Life Application Study Bible NKJV [Romans 3:23] Copyright © 1988, 1989, 1991, 1993, 1996, 2004 by Tyndale House Publishers Inc., all rights reserved.

(2) Life Application Study Bible NKJV. Ibid. [Romans 3:27-28]

(2) Daniel, R. (n.d.). Revelation 14:1-20 | Ron Daniel’s Bible Studies. https://rondaniel.com/library/66-Revelation/Revelation1401.php

“to demonstrate at the present time His righteousness, that He might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus” (Romans 3:26).

Romans 3:26 highlights God’s just nature in speaking of Him as “…a God of justice” (GW). When we say that someone is “just,” we mean that he or she is acting in a manner that is appropriate and right. So, in declaring that God is just, we are saying that His conduct is always fair, impartial, and equitable.

But how do we know God is a just God? As an omnipotent being, God could simply cause us to believe anything He wished about His nature, and we, as mere mortals, would never suspect otherwise. Of course, that would call God’s just nature into question, but how would we know it? In light of this, how can we affirm God’s just nature with any degree of certainty?

To begin, it is important to note that God cannot overlook sin, because a just God is obligated to act against those who violate the law. The penalty for that violation fell upon Christ, for as we’re told in 2 Corinthians 5:21, “…He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.”

Romans 3:26 follows with the end result of that process: “It was to show his righteousness at the present time, so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus” (ESV). Therefore, we can say with certainty that God is just because His unwavering commitment to justice came at a verifiable cost: the life of His Son.

In executing this plan of salvation, God implemented a divine strategy that was consistent with His just nature while enabling Him to justify the unjust at the same time. First, God’s justice is perfectly satisfied because the penalty for sin has been paid. Next, He also justifies the unrighteous because a perfect substitute has given His life in their place.

Since Jesus’ sacrificial death satisfies the legal sentence associated with sin, those who place their faith in Him are acquitted of all charges and declared to be justified. God then imputes (or legally transfers) Christ’s righteousness to those who accept Him (Romans 4:5-8). So, justification does not ignore sinful conduct, for God’s wrath against sin was fully satisfied in Christ’s atoning death. Therefore, He is both “…just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus” as we see here in Romans 3:26.

“whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God’s righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins” (Romans 3:25 ESV).

This portion of Scripture offers a remarkable wealth of spiritual insight in one brief sentence. Here in the final segment of our three-part study of Romans 3:25, we’ll take a closer look at this reference to God’s forbearance in “passing over” these “former sins.” The quotation from the Living Bible paraphrase of this verse that closed our previous study points the way to a proper understanding of this idea.

To begin, we can view this passage in relation to those Old Testament saints who placed their trust in God before Jesus came into the world. God’s decision to pass over the sins of the Old Testament faithful does not mean He ignored, dismissed, or excused those sins. Instead, He graciously looked forward to the time when Jesus’ sacrificial death on the cross would atone for them.

One Biblical commentary offers a concise, but thorough explanation of this concept that warrants an extended excerpt…

“The finished work of Christ declares God’s righteousness for the remission of sins that are past. This refers to sins committed before the death of Christ. From Adam to Christ, God saved those who put their faith in Him on the basis of whatever revelation He gave them. Abraham, for example, believed God, and it was reckoned to him for righteousness (Gen_15:6).

But how could God do this righteously? A sinless Substitute had not been slain. The blood of a perfect Sacrifice had not been shed. In a word, Christ had not died. The debt had not been paid. God’s righteous claims had not been met. How then could God save believing sinners in the OT period?

The answer is that although Christ had not yet died, God knew that He would die, and He saved men on the basis of the still-future work of Christ. Even if OT saints didn’t know about Calvary, God knew about it, and He put all the value of Christ’s work to their account when they believed God. In a very real sense, OT believers were saved on credit. They were saved on the basis of a price still to be paid. They looked forward to Calvary; we look back to it.” ₍₁₎

In this manner, God saw fit to demonstrate His righteousness as He revealed the scope of His redemptive plan through the unfolding narrative of human history.

(1) William Macdonald, Believer’s Bible Commentary Edited by Arthur Farstad. Thomas Nelson Publishers [Romans 3:21-31]

“God publicly displayed him at his death as the mercy seat accessible through faith. This was to demonstrate his righteousness, because God in his forbearance had passed over the sins previously committed” (Romans 3:25 NET).

Under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, Paul the Apostle made a connection between the mercy seat of the Old Covenant and Jesus’ New Covenant work of atonement as the propitiation for human sin. One commentary offers a lengthy and detailed explanation that serves to illustrate that connection…

“One of the most unique types in the Old Testament is the mercy seat. This was the lid on the ark of the covenant and was covered with gold. At each end was a golden cherub, whose wings stretched toward the center of the lid. The ark was the meeting place between God and man. It contained the tablets of the Mosaic law (Ex 25:16–22). Therefore, the mercy seat was that which covered the law of God.

When the translation of the Hebrew Old Testament was made into Greek, which is called the Septuagint, the Greek word chosen to translate ‘mercy seat’ (Heb kaphorah) was hilasterion which means ‘the place of propitiation.’ To propitiate means to appease an offended party and the hilasterion (mercy seat) was the place where, by blood, the sins of Israel were atoned, the penalty paid, and wrath of God (the offended party) was appeased.

It is certainly no coincidence that the word Paul uses here to describe Jesus Christ is the same word used for ‘mercy seat,’ the hilasterion. Jesus Christ is our mercy seat. He is the person by whom our sins were atoned, our penalty paid, and the offended party appeased.” ₍₁₎

In addition to what we read here, three other New Testament passages refer to Jesus’ propitiation for our sins: Hebrews 2:17; 1 John 2:2; and 1 John 4:10. This act of propitiation is distinctly personal, for involves God’s righteous and holy wrath against humanity’s sinful attitudes and behaviors. Romans chapter one discussed God’s wrath and characterized it as a violent, passionate response to the presence of sin and evil. That response is not without justification, as we saw earlier in our study of Romans 3:10-18.

Christ thus propitiates God’s wrath through His substitutionary work on the cross. In that act of propitiation, He endured the divine wrath that should have been directed toward sinful humanity and satisfied the demands of God’s justice on our behalf. In doing so, God showed that “…he was being entirely fair, even though he did not punish those who sinned in former times. For he was looking forward to the time when Christ would come and take away those sins” (Romans 3:25 TLB).

(1) Edward E. Hindson and Woodrow Michael Kroll, eds., KJV Bible Commentary (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1994), 2222.

“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” (Romans 3:25).

Much like a mine-worker who discovers a rich vein of precious metal, Romans 3:25 presents us with a rich vein of spiritual insight ready to be explored. The opening words of this verse prepare us for those insights in speaking of the One “whom God set forth…” This tells us that the truths we’re about to read are not hidden from view. Instead, God has “set them forth” for all to see.

One of those insights is this: “God presented Him as a propitiation through faith in His blood…” (HCSB). “Propitiation” is an important theological term that conveys two primary ideas:

• The satisfaction of God’s justice.
• The appeasement of His righteous anger towards those who have broken His laws.

This word also possesses a colorful history that traces back to the idolatrous practices of antiquity. For instance, “propitiation” once referred to a sacrificial offering that one might present to a pagan deity. That offering sought to appease the wrath of an idolatrous god and avert any form of divine retribution. It also allowed for the restoration of a positive relationship with the offended deity.

However, these concepts underwent a significant transformation within the spiritual framework of Old Testament Israel. When ancient Jewish scholars translated the Old Testament Scriptures into Greek, they chose the phrase hilasterion, or “mercy seat,” to convey this image. This referenced the Jewish tabernacle and a crucial portion of the Old Testament sacrificial system.

The tabernacle of that era featured two veiled entrances, one exterior and one interior. The first veil separated the interior portion of the Tabernacle (known as the Holy Place) from the exterior courtyard. The second veil divided the Holy Place from another interior area known as the Most Holy Place, or Holy of Holies. At the heart of the Holy Place stood the Ark of the Covenant.

The ark was a wooden chest overlaid with gold. The top (or lid) of the Ark was known as the mercy seat. This communicated the image of a sovereign authority who pardoned the sins of His people under the terms of the Old Covenant. Two angelic beings (known as cherubim) were positioned above the ark at each end. These cherubim faced one another with their wings stretched above the mercy seat. It was there that God manifested His divine presence (see Exodus 25).

Once a year, the high priest would enter beyond this inner veil to sprinkle the blood of a sacrificial animal upon the mercy seat as an act of atonement. We’ll tie these images together in the context of Romans 3:25 next.

“being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus” (Romans 3:24).

Thus far, we have explored three key concepts in Romans 3:24: justification, grace, and redemption. Now, we will pause to consider one additional element that underlies these important ideas- the doctrine of atonement.

“Atonement” refers to an act that rectifies a shortcoming or deficiency. In a spiritual sense, atonement can be defined as “the act by which God restores a relationship of harmony and unity between Himself and human beings.” ₍₁₎ With these things in mind, we can ask, “What is the nature of humanity’s shortcoming before God and why must Jesus atone for it?”

To address these questions, we can begin with our previous verse from Romans 3:23: “All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.” Since all have missed the mark of perfection that God intends for His human creation, everyone is deficient in their relationship to Him. The Biblical book of Proverbs presents this dilemma in the form of a rhetorical question: “Who can say, ‘I have made my heart clean, I am pure from my sin’?” (Proverbs 20:9). The assumed answer to that question is, “none.”

In response to that deficiency, God offered a path to reconciliation. Under the Old Covenant, that path to reconciliation featured an extensive system of animal sacrifices and other types of offerings. Under that covenant, God accepted the death of an animal on behalf of the guilty party, thus providing atonement for the sin of the one who brought it.

The Law of Moses outlined a broad set of requirements regarding the use of sacrificial animals. Some animals were appropriate for sacrificial use, others were not, and all had to be free of any defect. When offering a sacrificial animal, the person who presented that sacrifice had to identify with it by placing his hand upon its head (Leviticus 1:4).

While the people of Israel experienced genuine atonement through those sacrifices, there was a flaw within that system. First, the blood of those sacrificial animals had no inherent worth to remove sin. As Hebrews 10:4 tells us: “…it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.” Instead, those sacrifices merely served to cover them up. Furthermore, those sacrifices did nothing to change the internal mindsets of those who offered them.

Something better was needed, and that “something” was Christ. Just as God provided the Old Covenant sacrifices for the people of ancient Israel, He also offered His Son as the New Covenant sacrifice. Jesus thus becomes our atonement, for He made up for our deficiency through the sacrifice of Himself.

(1) “Atonement” Nelson’s New Illustrated Bible Dictionary. General Editor Ronald F. Youngblood, Copyright © 1986, 1995 by Thomas Nelson Publishers.