“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.

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

Our text from Romans 3:24 features two familiar terms: grace and redemption. “Grace” involves God’s unmerited favor towards those who do not deserve it. Since grace involves God’s unmerited favor, it is not something we can earn through virtuous conduct or by fulfilling various requirements. Instead, grace describes God’s benevolence towards us without respect to our talents, capabilities, possessions, or social standing.

This reference to grace leads directly into the concept of redemption. From a Biblical perspective, the idea of “redemption” may vary significantly from the way we think about that word today. For example, redemption opportunities offered by merchants, airlines, and financial services organizations typically rely on the principle of an exchange. However, the Biblical concept of redemption is also defined by words such as “ransom,” “rescue,” and “deliverance.” ₍₁₎

One Pastoral commentator offers a further clarification…

“Redemption has the idea of buying back something, and involves cost – yet the cost is paid by God, because we are justified freely. The word redemption had its origin in the release of prisoners of war on payment of a price (the ‘ransom’); it was extended to include the freeing of slaves, again by the payment of a price. The idea of redemption means that we are bought by Jesus Christ; therefore we belong to Him: For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s (1 Corinthians 6:20).” ₍₂₎

Another source adds,

“The word redeem means ‘to buy out.’ The term was used specifically in reference to the purchase of a slave’s freedom. The application of this term to Christ’s death on the cross is quite telling. If we are ‘redeemed,’ then our prior condition was one of slavery. God has purchased our freedom, and we are no longer in bondage to sin or to the Old Testament law…

Related to the Christian concept of redemption is the word ransom. Jesus paid the price for our release from sin and its punishment (Matthew 20:28; 1 Timothy 2:6). His death was in exchange for our life. In fact, Scripture is quite clear that redemption is only possible ‘through His blood,’ that is, by His death (Colossians 1:14).” ₍₃₎

Thus, Jesus serves as our Redeemer, for His death on the cross served to ransom, deliver, and rescue us from sin and its resulting effects. As we’re told in Galatians 4:4-5…

“…when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive the adoption as sons.”

(1) H6299 – pada – Strong’s Hebrew Lexicon (KJV). (n.d.). Blue Letter Bible. https://www.blueletterbible.org/lexicon/h6299/kjv/wlc/0-1/

(2) Guzik, D. (2025, February 11). Enduring Word Bible Commentary Romans Chapter 3. Enduring Word. https://enduringword.com/bible-commentary/romans-3/

(3) GotQuestions.org. (2023, October 25). GotQuestions.org. https://www.gotquestions.org/redemption.html

“and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus” (Romans 3:24 ESV).

Earlier in Romans chapter two, we examined the spiritual concept of justification. “Justification” describes the manner in which sinful human beings are made acceptable to a holy God. ₍₁₎ The original language of the New Testament defines “justification” as, “to declare, pronounce, one to be just, righteous, or such as he ought to be.” ₍₂₎ In short, justification involves a divine act of God that eliminates the guilt and penalty of sin for those who trust in Christ.

This leads us to the legal aspects of justification. In addition to the definitions given to us above, “justification” represents a legal concept that pertains to one’s standing before God. One common way of expressing this idea involves the phrase “just as if I never sinned” to describe those who are justified in God’s sight. While that expression has merit, the concept of justification actually goes much further.

When God justifies someone, He legally attributes (or confers) the positive righteousness of Christ to those who place their faith in Him. Jesus’ atoning work on the cross makes this possible, for it satisfies the penalty demanded by the Law. This means divine mercy is now available to humanity because divine justice has been satisfied in Jesus’ sacrificial death.

Since justification pertains to our legal status before God through Christ, it is not subject to our personal faults, mistakes, or deficiencies. For instance, a person who has been acquitted of a crime in a human court of law is deemed “not guilty” even though he or she is a fallible human being. The fact that he or she is an imperfect person with human weaknesses and shortcomings has no bearing on that person’s legal status before the court. The same is true of our justification.

So, justification is more than just a mere pardon, as in, “just as if I never sinned.” Justification is an act by which God legally declares someone to be righteous in His sight. Those who are in Christ are deemed righteous before God under the Law, and we can summarize this concept in the following way…

“[Justification] is grounded in Christ’s lifelong obedience, in which He fulfilled the precepts of God’s law for us, and in His death on the cross, where He bore the penalty of God’s judgment against us… Therefore, believers now share the same righteous status as the risen Christ Himself, with whom they are united now and forever (2 Cor. 5:21).” ₍₃₎

(1) “Justification” Nelson’s Illustrated Bible Dictionary, Copyright © 1986, Thomas Nelson Publishers

(2) G1344 – dikaioo – Strong’s Greek Lexicon (kjv). (n.d.). Blue Letter Bible. https://www.blueletterbible.org/lexicon/g1344/kjv/tr/0-1/

(3) R. C. Sproul, ed., The Reformation Study Bible: English Standard Version (2015 Edition) (Orlando, FL: Reformation Trust, 2015), 1984.

“for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23 ESV).

Sean McDowell is a popular author, podcaster, and associate professor of Christian apologetics. In his book, Evidence That Demands A Verdict (an updated version of the classic apologetic work he co-authored with Josh McDowell, his father), McDowell made an important observation regarding the universal application of Romans 3:23…

“Apologist Clay Jones has spent decades studying the problem of evil. He closely examined the evil perpetrated in the twentieth century by Nazis in Germany, communists in Russia, China, and Cambodia, the Japanese in World War II, and other nations including Turkey, Pakistan, Uganda, Sudan, and the United States.

After immersing himself in these human tragedies, Jones concluded: ‘I first began to study human evil so that no one could disqualify me for having glossed over the immense sufferings that people perpetrate on each other. I didn’t want anyone to say that I had gotten God out of the problem of evil the easy way: by making evil seem less serious than it really is.

But as I read about one sickening rape or torture or murder after another, something strange happened: I was struck that evil is human. I realized that heinous evils weren’t the doings of a few deranged individuals or even of hundreds or of thousands, but were done by humankind en masse. I studied continent after continent, country after country, torture after torture, murder after murder and was staggered to discover that I hadn’t taken Scripture seriously enough: humankind is desperately wicked.’

Human fallenness makes the gospel powerful: we can only appreciate the extent of the work of Christ when we understand the evil and corruption we and the world truly contain.'” ₍₁₎

These observations underscore the depth and importance of our text from Romans 3:23: “…all have sinned.” The Biblical book 1 John offers some additional support for this conclusion with the following declaration: “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us” (1 John 1:8 KJV). The Old Testament book of Ecclesiastes acknowledges this reality as well: “There is no one on earth who does what is right all the time and never makes a mistake” (Ecclesiastes 7:20 GNB).

Finally, we should note that our text from Romans 3:23 is rendered in the present tense. As such, we should guard against the tendency to apply this passage to previous generations that were seemingly less advanced than our own. Instead, this verse describes the present state of fallen humanity as we relate to God and one another.

(1) Jones, Clay. “Christians Don’t Take Human Evil Seriously So We Don’t Understand Why We Suffer:” Paper presented at the annual meeting of the Evangelical Theological Society, New Orleans, LA, November, 2009. Quoted in McDowell, J., & McDowell, S. (2017). Evidence that demands a verdict: Life-Changing Truth for a Skeptical World.

“for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23).

While Romans 3:23 contains one of the Bible’s most recognizable quotes, it references a concept that is often poorly defined: sin. For instance, “sin” is a relatively familiar word, but how many can explain its definition? Its probably safe to assume that most of us would likely (and correctly) associate “sin” with something wrong or bad, but what exactly is it?

When we encounter the Biblical use of the word “sin,” it generally involves something more than just the mere presence of evil or corruption: it means “to miss the mark.” One way to understand the meaning behind this word is to visualize an archer as he or she prepares to shoot an arrow at a bulls-eye. For example, consider an archer as he or she takes aim, draws the bowstring, and lets the arrow fly towards its target.

But unfortunately for our hypothetical archer in this example, the arrow falls short of its intended destination and lands on the ground. In this instance, the archer missed the mark; in other words, he or she “sinned” by falling short and failing to hit the target.

Much like the archer in our illustration, sin involves more than inappropriate behavior; it means “to miss the mark.” When we consider the word “sin” in the context of Romans 3:23, it helps to remember this illustration, for every human being has missed the mark as well. You see, the mark (or target) that God has set for His creation is perfection. He has every right to demand we meet that standard, for God deemed the first human being (and the rest of His creation) “very good” prior to humanity’s fall (see Genesis 1:31).

But what fallible human being could ever hope to meet that standard? If we’re honest with ourselves, the answer is none. No one is without fault, for everyone has knowingly done something wrong, made a mistake, or spoken in error at some point in life. Thus, we have all fallen short of God’s intent for His human creation, and all have “missed the mark,” so to speak. Perhaps some may come closer than others, but everyone falls short.

Our earlier study of Romans 3:10 referenced several expressions that have become axiomatic in this regard. Those statements include “to err is human,” “nobody’s perfect,” and “everyone makes mistakes.” These sayings are widely acknowledged as fundamental truths of human existence; thus, we should have little need to defend the truth of Romans 3:23: “…all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”

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