What does Romans 3:24 mean?

The previous verse described the universal human tragedy: Every one of us has sinned. Because of that sin, we have all fallen short of being able to participate in the glories of God and His family. In direct terms, this means nobody deserves heaven; we all have earned separation from God as a result of our own actions.

This verse describes the universal opportunity for every person. In spite of our sin, God has made it possible for us to be justified—declared righteous and sinless—by His grace. It is essential to understand what the Bible means by the word "grace." Grace is receiving a good thing when we deserve a bad thing. Paul describes it that way here. God gives to us the opportunity to be justified in His eyes "as a gift."

As Paul has already made clear: We cannot be justified by following the works of the law. Why? Because none of us can do so without breaking the law. Everyone sins in that way. That's why God must justify us by His grace, as a gift we could never earn. This gift is given through faith in Christ to "all who believe" (Romans 3:22).

Paul adds another important word to this verse: redemption. God gives to us this gift of grace, this opportunity to be included in His family and to participate in His glory, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus. Redemption comes from a very specific word in the Greek. Apolytrōs󠅍eōs literally means "a ransom payment." Our sin held us captive, unable to be included in God's family. The price of our sin was death. Jesus paid that price when He died for our sin on the cross. He paid the ransom for us. He redeemed us. He received the anger of God's judgment on our sin in His own body.