The book of Romans has often been used as a theological battleground. Some open it to defend or reject “Calvinism.” Others turn to it as a handbook on conversion. But that was never Paul’s purpose.
Romans was written to Christians, men and women already in Christ. These sons and daughters of God didn’t need to learn how to be saved. They needed to understand what their salvation meant and why God could forgive them and still be just. Paul’s letter wasn’t written to win a debate. It was written to build faith, deepen gratitude, and magnify the cross.
K. C. Moser once explained, Romans was written in defense of Christ as sin-offering and Savior. The letter doesn’t just describe a plan of salvation; it reveals the heart of salvation, i.e., the atonement. It shows that every blessing of grace flows from one fountain: the blood of Christ.
The Great Divide: Law and Grace
From Romans 1:18 through 3:20, Paul makes a sweeping argument: every person stands guilty before God. Jew and Gentile alike are under sin. The law, though holy, can only expose sin; it cannot cure it. For no one will be justified in his sight by the works of the law, because the knowledge of sin comes through the law, (Romans 3:20 NASB).[i]
Then, like the dawn breaking through the darkest night, Paul writes: But now, apart from the law, the righteousness of God has been revealed… (Romans 3:21). Those two words: but now, mark the most significant turning point in human history. They distinguish the hopelessness of our efforts from the hope of God’s grace. Under law, righteousness was demanded but never achieved. Under grace, righteousness is given and received through faith.
The “righteousness of God” in Romans 3:21 is not a characteristic of God, but rather God’s way of making sinners righteous. It is justification given by God, not something we earn. Law only justifies the innocent, but since everyone has sinned, another approach is needed; one based not on our performance but on mercy. “The law was nailed to the cross,” Moser[ii] wrote, “and by the cross grace began its reign.”
A Righteousness Revealed
Paul says this righteousness is “apart from the law.” That means it cannot be achieved by moral achievement or rule-keeping. It’s not discovered through self-improvement but revealed through divine intervention.
And yet, this new way was not an afterthought. “The Law and the Prophets bear witness to it.” From the sacrifices of Leviticus to the suffering Servant of Isaiah 53, the Old Testament anticipated a Redeemer whose blood would do what animal offerings could never do: remove sin.
We must understand that Romans does not reveal another system of commandments, but a new kind of righteousness altogether. It’s not the righteousness of us doing our best, but of God giving His best. The cross is not a supplement to law; it is the end of law as a means of justification.
Faith: The Hand That Receives
Let’s read Romans 3:22-24 without the parenthetical statement of 3:22b-23: The righteousness of God is through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe… they are all justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus. Notice how Paul gathers several of the greatest words in the Christian vocabulary and strings them together like pearls. Let’s identify and define the key terms in these verses:
· Faith means dependence or trust in the one who saves us.
· Belief is not merely the recognition of God’s existence and providential care. It is far deeper than that. In this verse, belief is our acceptance of His atonement for our sin. In it, we acknowledge that we cannot save ourselves.
· Grace is a favor bestowed when wrath is owed. Jack Cottrell[iii] once argued that grace is not simply God giving us something we don’t deserve ... it is God giving us the opposite of what we do deserve.
· Redemption is the removal of the penalty of sin; The redeemed person has received pardon or forgiveness. God is the one who demands the penalty be paid; Jesus pays it for us.
Faith is never a substitute for obedience; it is a posture of dependence. Grace and faith are inseparably connected. What God grants by grace, we receive through faith. Faith is the open hand that accepts God’s gift. It’s trusting the One who has already done everything necessary. The legalist asks, “What must I do to save myself?” The believer says, “I trust the One who died for me.”
The beautiful thing here is that Paul is not teaching an escape from obedience but a liberation from self-reliance. True faith doesn’t make obedience unnecessary; it makes it meaningful. We serve God, not to earn His favor, but because we already stand in it.
All Have Sinned
Now, returning to the parenthetical statement in verse 22b-23: since there is no distinction, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. This erases all pride. Jew and Gentile, moral and immoral—all have fallen short of God’s glory. Sin is not only the wrong we’ve committed; it’s the glory we’ve lost. Humanity was created to reflect God’s character, but sin has tarnished that image.
However, as Moser pointed out, the gospel doesn’t just remove guilt — it rebuilds relationship[iv]. The righteousness revealed in Christ is God’s way of restoring us to fellowship with Himself. Through faith in Jesus, the sinner becomes a child of God — no longer condemned, but adopted.
A New Standing Before God
Romans 3:21-23 teaches us both the bad news and the good.
· Bad news: No one can earn righteousness.
· Good news: God freely gives it through faith in His Son.
This righteousness is not a human achievement; it’s a divine gift. It does not erase justice; it fulfills it through the cross. Moser summarized it this way: “God saves sinners the only way possible — by grace through faith in the crucified Christ.”[v] When Paul says, “The righteousness of God has been revealed,” he means the entire plan of redemption has now been made clear. The cross is not merely a symbol of sacrifice: it is the place where the justice of God and the mercy of God meet.
The Message for Us
We are called to rest, not in performance, but in promise. Scripture calls us to look away from ourselves to the Savior. Salvation is not about climbing a ladder; it’s about standing beneath the cross. Romans is not a book of controversy. It is a book of wonder. It shows how a holy God can look upon guilty sinners and declare them righteous — not because of what they’ve done, but because of what His Son has done for them.
[i] “the Law” is not just the Law of Moses here. It is law in general. No law system given by God at any time has the power to save.
[ii] Moser, K. C., The Gist of Romans (Delight, AR: Gospel Light Publishing Co., 1957), pp. 16–17.
[iii] Cottrell, Jack. What the Bible Says About God the Creator, Ruler, Redeemer: God Most High. Joplin, MO: College Press, 2012, p. 370.
[iv] Paraphrased from Moser, The Gist of Romans, pp. 25–27.
[v] Moser, K. C. The Gist of Romans. Delight, AR: Gospel Light Publishing Co., 1957, pp. 18-19.
