Romans 3:24 - Printer Friendly

ESV: and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus,

NIV: and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.

NASB: being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus,

CSB: They are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.

NLT: Yet God, in his grace, freely makes us right in his sight. He did this through Christ Jesus when he freed us from the penalty for our sins.

KJV: Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus:

NKJV: being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus,

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.

Romans 3:21–31 finally introduces the ''good news'' part of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Up to this point, Paul has shown that even following the law cannot spare us from being judged by God for our sin. Now Paul announces that, through faith in Christ, we can be made righteous in God's sight. Entirely apart from the law, we can be redeemed by the atoning sacrifice of Christ's blood, willingly shed for our sin. This gift of God's grace instead of wrath is available to everyone, Jews and Gentiles alike. This is truly good news!

Romans 3 begins with a question-and-answer scheme. These are responses one might expect from someone opposed to what Paul wrote in Romans 2. Next, Paul quotes from a series of Old Testament passages. These Scriptures show that those writers also agreed that nobody, not one person, deserves to be called righteous. Paul declares emphatically that no one will be justified by following the works of the law. Finally, though, he arrives at the good news: righteousness before God is available apart from the law through faith in Christ's death for our sin on the cross.

The prior chapter explained that God's judgment on sin will come to all men, whether or not they understand the literal law. Faith in God, in the heart, matters more to God than rote obedience. At the start of this chapter, Paul answers a series of questions from an imagined objector to those teachings. Next, he quotes a series of Old Testament passages which support His teaching that human beings are by nature sinful. Each of us turns away from God. Nobody can be justified by the law, Paul insists. Fortunately, it is possible to attain God's righteousness: but only by His grace, through faith in Christ's atoning sacrifice for our sin on the cross. We must come to this by faith, and it is available to Jews and Gentiles alike.

The book of Romans is the New Testament's longest, most structured, and most detailed description of Christian theology. Paul lays out the core of the gospel message: salvation by grace alone through faith alone. His intent is to explain the good news of Jesus Christ in accurate and clear terms. As part of this effort, Paul addresses the conflicts between law and grace, between Jews and Gentiles, and between sin and righteousness. As is common in his writing, Paul closes out his letter with a series of practical applications.