Romans 3 Devotional

Justified as a Gift

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

Romans 3 closes the case Paul has been building. Jews and Gentiles alike are under sin, and he strings together lines from the Scriptures to show it: nobody is in the right before God, and nobody goes looking for him on their own (3:9-18). Its work is to silence every excuse and make us aware of sin (3:19-20).

Then Paul turns the corner (3:21). God has made known a righteousness that does not come from keeping the law. It comes through faith in Jesus Christ, to everyone who believes, because everyone has sinned (3:22-23). Such people are justified, declared right with God, freely, by his grace (3:24). God put Christ forward as an atoning sacrifice, a death that removes guilt by bearing God's judgment, so that God remains just while declaring the guilty righteous (3:25-26). He does not wink at sin. He deals with it in his Son. That leaves no room for boasting (3:27), and no room for despair either. You do not have to earn a standing you have already been given.

To think about: Where are you still trying to earn a standing with God that he offers freely in Christ?