Romans 3:27 - Printer Friendly

ESV: 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.

NIV: Where, then, is boasting? It is excluded. Because of what law? The law that requires works? No, because of the law that requires faith.

NASB: Where then is boasting? It has been excluded. By what kind of law? Of works? No, but by a law of faith.

CSB: Where, then, is boasting? It is excluded. By what kind of law? By one of works? No, on the contrary, by a law of faith.

NLT: Can we boast, then, that we have done anything to be accepted by God? No, because our acquittal is not based on obeying the law. It is based on faith.

KJV: Where is boasting then? It is excluded. By what law? of works? Nay: but by the law of faith.

NKJV: Where is boasting then? It is excluded. By what law? Of works? No, but by the law of faith.

Paul has shown that there is a way to be made righteous before God. However, this does not include perfectly keeping the works of the law—since nobody can, or does (Romans 3:10, 23). Instead, God handed over His own sinless Son to be the sacrifice to fully and completely pay the price for our sin. This upholds God's just-ness and righteousness, but punishing sin, as well as upholding His loving mercy. As a result, those who place their faith in Christ can now be redeemed and justified by God. We are welcomed into His family forever.

Now Paul turns back to our response. What can we possibly say? He asks, "What becomes of our boasting?" Paul is referring to the inevitable pride that comes with religious rule-following, as men and women compete to be morally superior to each other in order to be more acceptable to God. Paul says that game has become pointless. God has done all the work and offers His full acceptance to all by faith in Christ alone.

Paul anticipates an objection. Where is this written, that we can't boast in our own salvation? What kind of rule is this? Shouldn't we have this in black and white? Paul says no. That's the point. He calls it the "law of faith." Being made right before God in this way is all about faith in what God has done for us in and through Jesus. It's not about any law we can try to follow in our own strength and therefore be judged by.

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.