Romans 3

Romans 3 is a continuation of Paul’s argument about the universal sinfulness of humanity. In this chapter, Paul shows that both Jews and Gentiles are under the power of sin. He also explains that the law reveals sin, but it cannot justify sinners. The chapter reaches its climax when Paul declares that righteousness comes through faith in Jesus Christ, apart from the works of the law, for all who believe.

Romans 3:1-2 (NKJV)
1 What advantage then has the Jew, or what is the profit of circumcision?
2 Much in every way! Chiefly because to them were committed the oracles of God.

Paul begins by acknowledging that the Jews did have special advantages. Their greatest privilege was that God entrusted them with His oracles—that is, His revealed word through the law and the prophets. This was a great blessing because God’s promises, commandments, and plan were first made known to Israel. However, possessing the law did not make the Jews immune from sin or judgment. Their privilege gave them a special role in God’s plan, but it also gave them greater responsibility to live according to the truth they had received.

Romans 3:3-4 (NKJV)
3 For what if some did not believe? Will their unbelief make the faithfulness of God without effect?
4 Certainly not! Indeed, let God be true but every man a liar. As it is written:
“That You may be justified in Your words,
And may overcome when You are judged.”

Paul then addresses an important question: if some Jews were unfaithful and did not believe, does that mean God’s promises failed? Paul answers strongly: “Certainly not!” God’s faithfulness does not depend on human faithfulness. Even when people are unbelieving, dishonest, or unfaithful, God remains true. Paul quotes Scripture to show that God is always righteous in His words and judgments. Human failure does not cancel God’s truth or make His promises void.

Romans 3:5-6 (NKJV)
5 But if our unrighteousness demonstrates the righteousness of God, what shall we say? Is God unjust who inflicts wrath? I speak as a man.
6 Certainly not! For then how will God judge the world?

Paul now deals with another possible objection. Someone might say, “If our sin makes God’s righteousness stand out more clearly, then is God unjust for punishing us?” Paul rejects this idea completely. Sin may reveal the contrast between human unrighteousness and God’s righteousness, but that does not make sin acceptable. God is not unjust for judging sin. If God could not judge sin, then He could not be the righteous Judge of the whole world. Human sin cannot excuse itself simply because God’s righteousness is shown more clearly by contrast.

Romans 3:7-8 (NKJV)
7 For if the truth of God has increased through my lie to His glory, why am I also still judged as a sinner?
8 And why not say, “Let us do evil that good may come”?—as we are slanderously reported and as some affirm that we say. Their condemnation is just.

Paul presents another false argument: if someone’s lie makes God’s truth appear greater and brings Him glory, why should that person still be judged as a sinner? This reasoning is dangerous because it turns sin into an excuse for glorifying God. Some people even falsely accused Paul of teaching, “Let us do evil that good may come.” They twisted his message of grace, as if he taught that more sin would bring more grace and therefore more glory to God. Paul firmly rejects this perversion of the gospel. God’s grace is never a license to sin. Grace does not encourage evil; it calls people out of sin and into righteousness, transformation, and obedience. Those who promote such false reasoning are rightly condemned because they misuse the goodness of God as an excuse for rebellion.

Romans 3:9-10 (NKJV)
9 What then? Are we better than they? Not at all. For we have previously charged both Jews and Greeks that they are all under sin.
10 As it is written:
“There is none righteous, no, not one;

Paul now brings his argument to a clear conclusion: Jews are not better than Gentiles, and Gentiles are not better than Jews. Both groups are under sin. This means that all humanity is under the power, guilt, and condemnation of sin. Paul then quotes from the Old Testament to prove that no one is righteous in himself. No person, by his own nature or works, can stand before God as righteous. Everyone needs God’s grace and the righteousness that comes through Christ.

Romans 3:11-12 (NKJV)
11 There is none who understands;
There is none who seeks after God.
12 They have all turned aside;
They have together become unprofitable;
There is none who does good, no, not one.”

Paul continues quoting Scripture to describe the natural condition of fallen humanity. Apart from the work of God’s Spirit, no one truly understands spiritual things or seeks God with a pure heart. Humanity has turned away from God and become spiritually unprofitable, like something that has lost its proper purpose. This does not mean people never do outwardly good actions, but that no one is naturally righteous before God or able to produce true righteousness from a sinful heart. This shows why justification cannot come through human effort or law-keeping. Humanity needs a Savior and a new heart.

Romans 3:13-14 (NKJV)
13 “Their throat is an open tomb;
With their tongues they have practiced deceit”;
“The poison of asps is under their lips”;
14 “Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness.”

Paul now shows how sin reveals itself through human speech. He compares the throat to an open tomb, showing that corrupt words come from spiritual death within. The tongue is used for deceit, lies, manipulation, cursing, and bitterness. The image of poison under the lips shows how words can harm, destroy, and spread corruption. Sin is not only seen in outward actions, but also in the way people speak. The mouth reveals the condition of the heart, and fallen humanity often uses speech to wound others rather than to reflect the character of God.

Romans 3:15-18 (NKJV)
15 “Their feet are swift to shed blood;
16 Destruction and misery are in their ways;
17 And the way of peace they have not known.”
18 “There is no fear of God before their eyes.”

Paul continues describing the result of sin in human life. Sin does not only affect the mind and mouth; it also affects the direction of a person’s life. “Their feet are swift to shed blood” shows that fallen humanity is quick to violence, hatred, and destruction. Where sin rules, it produces misery, brokenness, conflict, and the absence of true peace. Paul then identifies the root problem: “There is no fear of God before their eyes.” When people do not reverence God, they lose the foundation for true wisdom, righteousness, and peace. A lack of the fear of God leads to a life that follows sinful desire rather than God’s will.

Romans 3:19-20 (NKJV)
19 Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God.
20 Therefore by the deeds of the law no flesh will be justified in His sight, for by the law is the knowledge of sin.

Paul now explains the purpose of the law in his argument. The passages he quoted in Romans 3:10-18 come from the Old Testament Scriptures, and they speak especially to those who were “under the law,” namely the Jews who had received the written law. This means the Jews could not use the law as a reason for boasting or as proof that they were righteous before God. Instead, the law itself testified against them and exposed their sin. The phrase “that every mouth may be stopped” means that all excuses, boasting, and claims of moral superiority are silenced. The Jews had the law, but they did not perfectly keep it. The Gentiles did not have the written law, but they still sinned against the light they had. Therefore, Paul’s conclusion is that “all the world may become guilty before God.” Both Jews and Gentiles stand accountable before Him. No one can claim righteousness based on knowledge, privilege, circumcision, moral effort, or works of the law. This prepares the way for Paul to introduce the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ in Romans 3:21-22. Since all have sinned, all need the same Savior. The law can show what righteousness requires, but it cannot give righteousness to the sinner. It can expose guilt, but it cannot justify. Therefore, Paul says, “By the deeds of the law no flesh will be justified in His sight.” When Paul says, “by the law is the knowledge of sin,” he means that God’s law defines sin, exposes sin, and makes sin known (cf. Romans 7:7). The law functions like a mirror, showing the sinner his true condition. It also functions like a schoolmaster, leading the sinner to see his need for Christ (cf. Galatians 3:24). But the law was never given as a means to justify sinners or transform the heart. It can reveal the disease, but it cannot heal it. Before a person comes to Christ, the law exposes guilt and shows that he is under sin’s dominion. But once faith has come, the believer is no longer under the law as a covenant of condemnation, but under grace (cf. Romans 6:14; Galatians 3:25). This does not mean the believer is free to sin. Rather, it means the believer is no longer governed by fear, condemnation, or the letter of the law as a covenant judge. Instead, he is brought into a new life in Christ, where obedience flows from the Spirit working within the heart. In the New Covenant, the Holy Spirit—the Comforter, the Spirit of Christ poured out and dwelling in believers—does not lead God’s children by judicial condemnation, because “there is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus” (Romans 8:1). The Spirit convicts the world of sin by exposing unbelief in Christ (John 16:8-9), but believers are led, renewed, and transformed from within as sons and daughters of God (Romans 8:9-14; 2 Corinthians 3:17-18). The Spirit does not merely point out sin from the outside; He brings the life of Christ into the believer, enabling true obedience from the heart. And when believers do sin, they are not thrown back under condemnation or law-based judgment. They have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous, whose finished sacrifice secures their standing and restores fellowship (1 John 2:1-2). Therefore, if a believer falls into sin, the answer is not despair, self-condemnation, or trying to earn back God’s favor through law-keeping. The answer is to come honestly to Christ, confess the sin, repent, and trust His forgiveness and cleansing (1 John 1:9). The Spirit then continues His work of renewing the heart, restoring the believer, and leading him back into obedience. This means that occasional failure or weakness does not mean a believer is lost. A true believer may stumble, but he does not make peace with sin or choose to live in rebellion against Christ. He is grieved by sin, brought to repentance, and drawn back to Christ by the Spirit. His hope remains in Christ’s righteousness, Christ’s sacrifice, Christ’s intercession, and Christ’s indwelling life. Therefore, the only way a New Testament believer who is in Christ can be lost is not through weakness, failure, or stumbling that is confessed and repented of, but through a deliberate denial, rejection, or abandonment of faith in Christ Himself (cf. Hebrews 3:12; Hebrews 10:26; John 15:6; 1 John 2:22). Salvation is found nowhere else. The law brings the knowledge of sin and shuts every mouth before God, but Christ brings righteousness, forgiveness, new life, restoration, and victory through His Spirit. The law exposes the sinner’s need; the gospel provides the Savior. Life in the Spirit then governs the believer, so that obedience comes not from fear of condemnation, but from Christ’s victorious life dwelling within.

Romans 3:21-22 (NKJV)
21 But now the righteousness of God apart from the law is revealed, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets,
22 even the righteousness of God, through faith in Jesus Christ, to all and on all who believe. For there is no difference;

Paul now turns from man’s complete failure under sin to God’s answer in Christ. The “righteousness of God” here is not a righteousness that man produces by trying to keep the law in his own strength. It is God’s own righteousness, revealed in Jesus Christ and received by faith. The law can describe righteousness, expose sin, and show what God’s character is like, but the law cannot give life or produce righteousness in a fallen person. Therefore, this righteousness is “apart from the law,” meaning it does not come through law-keeping, human effort, or outward religious performance. This righteousness is found in Christ Himself. Christ is the living expression of God’s righteousness. He is not only the One who forgives us and makes us accepted before God, but also the One who comes to live in us by His Spirit. When we believe in Jesus, we receive more than a legal declaration; we receive the life of Christ. His Spirit dwelling in us becomes the power of a new life, which Paul later calls “the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus.” This life sets us free from the law of sin and death and produces in us the righteousness that the law could only describe. This does not mean the righteousness of God is against the law. Paul says it was “witnessed by the Law and the Prophets.” The Old Testament had already pointed forward to a righteousness that would come from God, through the promised Messiah, and would be written in the heart by His Spirit. So the righteousness of God is Christ for us and Christ in us: Christ as our acceptance before God, and Christ as the living power of righteousness within the believer. Paul also says this righteousness is “to all and on all who believe.” It is not limited to Jews, and it is not received through circumcision, ceremonies, or human works. Jew and Gentile are both sinners and both need the same Savior. Therefore, the righteousness of God is given only through faith in Jesus Christ, to every person who believes.

Romans 3:23-24 (NKJV)
23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
24 being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus,

Paul explains why every person needs the righteousness of God: all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. This means no one has perfectly reflected God’s character, holiness, love, and righteousness. Both Jews and Gentiles are in the same condition. All are guilty, all are weak in the flesh, and all need salvation from sin.

But the good news is that God justifies sinners freely by His grace. This justification is not earned by keeping the law, performing religious works, or trying to make ourselves righteous. It is God’s free gift in Christ. To be justified means to be forgiven, accepted, and counted righteous before God, but it is more than a change of legal standing. In Christ, God gives us the very life and righteousness that we do not possess in ourselves. This justification comes “through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.” Redemption means being set free from bondage. In Christ, God has provided deliverance from sin, condemnation, and the power of the old life. Jesus is not only the One who forgives us; He is our righteousness, our new life, and the One who brings us back into union with God.

Romans 3:25-26 (NKJV)
25 whom God set forth as a propitiation by His blood, through faith, to demonstrate His righteousness, because in His forbearance God had passed over the sins that were previously committed,
26 to demonstrate at the present time His righteousness, that He might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.

Paul now explains how God can forgive sinners and still remain righteous. God set forth Jesus as the “propitiation” through His blood. This word carries the idea of sacrifice and also points to the mercy seat, where mercy and justice meet. This does not mean Jesus had to calm down an unwilling or angry Father. Rather, God Himself provided His Son as the saving sacrifice, showing that the Father is the source of mercy and salvation. Through Christ’s blood, sin is exposed, condemned, and dealt with, while the sinner is offered forgiveness, restoration, and new life.

God had been patient with the sins committed in the past. He had “passed over” them in His forbearance, meaning He did not immediately bring final judgment upon sinners. But now, through Christ, God has fully revealed His righteousness. The cross shows both the seriousness of sin and the greatness of God’s love. God does not save by pretending sin does not matter. He deals with sin in Christ, condemns sin in the flesh, and gives the believer the life of His Son. Therefore, God is just because He remains righteous in how He deals with sin, and He is the justifier because He forgives, accepts, restores, and gives His own righteousness to the one who has faith in Jesus.

Romans 3:27-28 (NKJV)
27 Where is boasting then? It is excluded. By what law? Of works? No, but by the law of faith.
28 Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith apart from the deeds of the law.

Because justification is a gift of grace through Christ, there is no room for boasting. No one can say, “I made myself righteous,” or “I earned my salvation by my obedience.” Human effort, religious privilege, and works of the law cannot make a sinner right with God. The law can reveal sin and show the standard of righteousness, but it cannot give life to the sinner. Only Christ can give life.

Paul says boasting is excluded by “the law of faith.” This means the principle of salvation is not works, but faith. Faith receives what God has provided in Christ. Faith does not produce righteousness from self; it receives Christ, who is our righteousness. Therefore, a person is justified by faith apart from the deeds of the law. Good works are not the foundation of our acceptance with God. They are the fruit of Christ living in us. We are accepted because of Christ, and His Spirit within us produces the true obedience that the law could describe but could never create in fallen man.

Romans 3:29-30 (NKJV)
29 Or is He the God of the Jews only? Is He not also the God of the Gentiles? Yes, of the Gentiles also,
30 since there is one God who will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through faith.

Paul now shows that God’s plan of salvation is for everyone. God is not only the God of the Jews; He is also the God of the Gentiles. Since there is only one God, there is only one way of salvation. The Jews, who had circumcision and the law, are justified by faith. The Gentiles, who did not have those privileges, are also justified through faith.

This removes all spiritual pride and division. Jews and Gentiles are both sinners, both need grace, and both must come to God through Jesus Christ. No one is saved because of race, religious background, outward signs, or law-keeping. All are justified in the same way: by faith in Christ. The same Savior, the same grace, and the same righteousness of God are given to all who believe. This righteousness is not man’s achievement, but Christ Himself received by faith — Christ for us, Christ in us, and Christ living out God’s righteous life through His Spirit.

Romans 3:31 (NKJV)
31 Do we then make void the law through faith? Certainly not! On the contrary, we establish the law.

Paul addresses a possible misunderstanding of justification by faith. Some might think that if a person is justified by faith apart from the deeds of the law, then faith makes the law useless or abolishes it. But Paul strongly denies this, saying, “Certainly not! On the contrary, we establish the law.” The “law” here can be understood broadly as the Law, the writings of Moses, and the Old Testament witness, not only the Ten Commandments. Paul has already said that the righteousness of God was “witnessed by the Law and the Prophets” (Romans 3:21). Therefore, faith does not destroy the law; faith confirms what the law was always pointing toward.

This does not mean believers establish the law by returning to it as an external system of rule-keeping, works, condemnation, or self-produced righteousness. The law, in its writings and commands, could describe righteousness, reveal sin, give types and shadows, and point forward to Christ, but it could not give life or produce righteousness in fallen man. Only Christ can do that. So “we establish the law” means that through faith in Christ, the true purpose and testimony of the law is fulfilled and confirmed.

In this sense, the law includes the righteous moral principles of God, the writings of Moses, the sacrificial system, and the whole Old Testament witness that pointed to the righteousness of God in Christ. Faith receives Christ Himself, and Christ is the righteousness of God. When His life and Spirit dwell in the believer, He produces the love, holiness, obedience, and character that the law described but could never create by itself.

This does not mean believers are free to sin or ignore the moral truth revealed in the law, such as the Ten Commandments. Sin is still sin, and the law still reveals what sin is. But as Galatians 3:24–26 explains, the law had a role as a tutor to lead people to Christ, and after faith has come, believers are no longer under that tutor. Paul also explains in Romans 7:6 and 2 Corinthians 3:6–11 that believers now serve in the newness of the Spirit, not in the oldness of the letter. The old outward system has passed away in its Old Covenant function, not because God’s righteousness has passed away, but because it has been replaced by the greater ministry of the Spirit.

So when Paul says, “we establish the law,” he means that faith confirms the true purpose of the law and its writings. The law was never able to make sinners righteous, but it pointed to the righteousness of God revealed in Christ. Now, through faith, that righteousness is received as a living reality. Those who truly have Christ living in them walk according to the Spirit, and the righteous requirement of the law is fulfilled in them, as Romans 8:4 says. In this way, the law is not abolished, but fulfilled, confirmed, and expressed in a higher and living way through Christ in us.