Romans 3
21 But now God has shown us a way to be
made right with him without keeping the requirements of the law, as was
promised in the writings of Moses and the prophets long ago.
22 We are made right with God by placing
our faith in Jesus Christ. And this is true for everyone who believes, no
matter who we are.
23 For everyone has sinned; we all fall
short of God’s glorious standard.
24 Yet God freely and graciously declares
that we are righteous. He did this through Christ Jesus when he freed us from
the penalty for our sins.
25 For God presented Jesus as the sacrifice
for sin. People are made right with God when they believe that Jesus sacrificed
his life, shedding his blood. This sacrifice shows that God was being fair when
he held back and did not punish those who sinned in times past,
26 for he was looking ahead and including
them in what he would do in this present time. God did this to demonstrate his
righteousness, for he himself is fair and just, and he declares sinners to be
right in his sight when they believe in Jesus.
27 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.
28 So we are made right with God through
faith and not by obeying the law.
29 After all, is God the God of the Jews
only? Isn’t he also the God of the Gentiles? Of course he is.
30 There is only one God, and he makes people
right with himself only by faith, whether they are Jews or Gentiles.
31 Well then, if we emphasize faith, does
this mean that we can forget about the law? Of course not! In fact, only when
we have faith do we truly fulfill the law.
Romans 4
1 Abraham was, humanly speaking, the
founder of our Jewish nation. What did he discover about being made right with
God?
2 If his good deeds had made him
acceptable to God, he would have had something to boast about. But that was not
God’s way.
3 For the Scriptures tell us, “Abraham
believed God, and God counted him as righteous because of his faith.”
4 When people work, their wages are not a
gift, but something they have earned.
5But people are counted as righteous, not because
of their work, but because of their faith in God who forgives sinners.
6 David also spoke of this when he
described the happiness of those who are declared righteous without working for
it:
7 “Oh, what joy for those whose
disobedience is forgiven, whose sins are put out of sight.
8 Yes, what joy for those whose record the
LORD has cleared of sin.”
9 Now, is this blessing only for the Jews,
or is it also for uncircumcised Gentiles? Well, we have been saying that
Abraham was counted as righteous by God because of his faith.
10 But how did this happen? Was he counted
as righteous only after he was circumcised, or was it before he was
circumcised? Clearly, God accepted Abraham before he was circumcised!
11 Circumcision was a sign that Abraham
already had faith and that God had already accepted him and declared him to be
righteous—even before he was circumcised. So Abraham is the spiritual father of
those who have faith but have not been circumcised. They are counted as
righteous because of their faith.
12 And Abraham is also the spiritual father
of those who have been circumcised, but only if they have the same kind of
faith Abraham had before he was circumcised.
13 Clearly, God’s promise to give the whole
earth to Abraham and his descendants was based not on his obedience to God’s
law, but on a right relationship with God that comes by faith.
14 If God’s promise is only for those who
obey the law, then faith is not necessary and the promise is pointless.
15 For the law always brings punishment on
those who try to obey it. (The only way to avoid breaking the law is to have no
law to break!)
16 So the promise is received by faith. It
is given as a free gift. And we are all certain to receive it, whether or not
we live according to the law of Moses, if we have faith like Abraham’s. For
Abraham is the father of all who believe.
17 That is what the Scriptures mean when
God told him, “I have made you the father of many nations.” This happened
because Abraham believed in the God who brings the dead back to life and who
creates new things out of nothing.
18 Even when there was no reason for hope,
Abraham kept hoping—believing that he would become the father of many nations.
For God had said to him, “That’s how many descendants you will have!”
19 And Abraham’s faith did not weaken, even
though, at about 100 years of age, he figured his body was as good as
dead—and so was Sarah’s womb.
20 Abraham never wavered in believing God’s
promise. In fact, his faith grew stronger, and in this he brought glory to God.
21 He was fully convinced that God is able
to do whatever he promises.
22 And because of Abraham’s faith, God
counted him as righteous.
23 And when God counted him as righteous,
it wasn’t just for Abraham’s benefit. It was recorded
24 for our benefit, too, assuring us that
God will also count us as righteous if we believe in him, the one who raised
Jesus our Lord from the dead.
25 He was handed over to die because of our
sins, and he was raised to life to make us right with God.
Romans 5
1 Therefore, since we have been made right
in God’s sight by faith, we have peace with God because of what Jesus Christ
our Lord has done for us.
2 Because of our faith, Christ has brought us
into this place of undeserved privilege where we now stand, and we confidently
and joyfully look forward to sharing God’s glory.
3 We can rejoice, too, when we run into
problems and trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance.
4 And endurance develops strength of
character, and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation.
5 And this hope will not lead to
disappointment. For we know how dearly God loves us, because he has given us
the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love.
6 When we were utterly helpless, Christ
came at just the right time and died for us sinners.
7 Now, most people would not be willing to
die for an upright person, though someone might perhaps be willing to die for a
person who is especially good.
8 But God showed his great love for us by
sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners.
9 And since we have been made right in
God’s sight by the blood of Christ, he will certainly save us from God’s
condemnation.
10 For since our friendship with God was
restored by the death of his Son while we were still his enemies, we will
certainly be saved through the life of his Son.
11 So now we can rejoice in our wonderful
new relationship with God because our Lord Jesus Christ has made us friends of
God.
12 When Adam sinned, sin entered the world.
Adam’s sin brought death, so death spread to everyone, for everyone
sinned.
13 Yes, people sinned even before the law
was given. But it was not counted as sin because there was not yet any law to
break.
14 Still, everyone died—from the time of
Adam to the time of Moses—even those who did not disobey an explicit
commandment of God, as Adam did. Now Adam is a symbol, a representation of
Christ, who was yet to come.
15 But there is a great difference between
Adam’s sin and God’s gracious gift. For the sin of this one man, Adam, brought
death to many. But even greater is God’s wonderful grace and his gift of
forgiveness to many through this other man, Jesus Christ.
16 And the result of God’s gracious gift is
very different from the result of that one man’s sin. For Adam’s sin led to
condemnation, but God’s free gift leads to our being made right with God, even
though we are guilty of many sins.
17 For the sin of this one man, Adam,
caused death to rule over many. But even greater is God’s wonderful grace and
his gift of righteousness, for all who receive it will live in triumph over sin
and death through this one man, Jesus Christ.
18Yes, Adam’s one sin brings condemnation for
everyone, but Christ’s one act of righteousness brings a right relationship
with God and new life for everyone.
19 Because one person disobeyed God, many
became sinners. But because one other person obeyed God, many will be made
righteous.
20 God’s law was given so that all people could
see how sinful they were. But as people sinned more and more, God’s wonderful
grace became more abundant.
21 So just as sin ruled over all people and
brought them to death, now God’s wonderful grace rules instead, giving us right
standing with God and resulting in eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
