Righteousness from God by Faith

Romans: The Gospel for God’s glory
Romans 3:21-31
Righteousness from God by faith
God presented Jesus as a sacrifice for sin that he might justly justify believers in Jesus

The most important question a person can ask: Job 9:2, how can a man be in the right before God?

1) Now God’s saving righteousness has been revealed apart from the law. 3:21a.

2) God’s saving righteousness is testified about in the Old Testament Scriptures, 3:21b.
What is the significance of “But now…” at the start of 3:21? What does Romans 3:21 mean?

3) God’s saving righteousness is by faith for all who believe for there is no distinction, 3:22.

4) All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 3:23.
How does 3:23 explain “there is no distinction”? How does “falling short of the glory of God” help describe what sin is?

5) All are counted righteous freely by God’s grace through the redemption in Christ, 3:24.
How does 3:24 describe the answer to the problem of 3:23?

6) God presented Christ as an atoning sacrifice by his blood to be received by faith, 3:25a.

7) God presented Christ as a sacrifice to show his righteousness because he patiently withheld judgment on past sins, 3:25b.
How does 3:24-25 explain how God can justify us, that is, count us righteous?

8) God presented Christ as a sacrifice to show his righteousness in the present time, 3:26a.

9) God presented Christ as a sacrifice that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus, 3:26b.
What is Paul’s point in 3:26? Why is this so important?

10) Since righteousness is through faith in Christ and not works, boasting is excluded, 3:27-28.
What are ways people “boast” or put their confidence in to justify themselves? How does righteousness by faith exclude boasting?

11) Since God is one, Jews and Gentiles are counted righteous the same way: by faith, 3:29-30.

12) Justification by faith doesn’t nullify the law, rather, it upholds it, 3:31.
How does justification by faith alone uphold the law, rather than nullify it?