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But to him who is not working, but trusting in the Justifier of the ungodly, his faith is reckoned to him for righteousness, even as also David says the man is blessed to whom God accounts righteousness apart from works: “Blessed are those whose transgressions were pardoned, and whose sins were covered.  Blessed is the man to whom the Lord will not be reckoning sin.”

The person who works to justify himself to God is spinning his wheels in sand, digging a progressively deeper pit in which he will become inextricably buried...

Now to him who works the wage is not accounted according to grace, but according to debt; yet to him who is not working, yet believes upon Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is accounted to righteousness”

When someone works, he earns his reward; his reward is deserved. Grace is the extension of some benefit which is not deserved. There is no grace in paying someone what they have earned; the wages are owed; they must be paid.

When someone does not work, he earns nothing. Any benefit he receives is undeserved, and imparted through the grace of the one who gives. A man who does not work to earn God’s benefits, but trusts God, has acknowledged God as God when he believes what God has said...

“Where is boasting then? It is excluded. By what law? Of works? No: but by the law of faith.
Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law. Is He the God of the Jews only? And not also of the Gentiles? Yes, of the Gentiles also, since there is one God, who shall justify the circumcision by faith, and the uncircumcision through faith.”

We know that, if God were to require our justification by the deeds of the law, we would all perish, for we are all guilty of all the law. The Jew cannot claim the Law for his salvation, for he knowingly violates its written precepts. The Gentile cannot hide from the Law for his justification; he is equally guilty and equally condemned. 

But praise be to God, who has justified sinful men, not by our deeds, but by fa...

“Where is boasting then? It is excluded. By what law? Of works? No: but by the law of faith.
Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law. Is He the God of the Jews only? And not also of the Gentiles? Yes, of the Gentiles also, since there is one God, who shall justify the circumcision by faith, and the uncircumcision through faith.”

Indeed, if all men are proven to be sinful, and every individual of us guilty before God of violating His righteous law, how does anyone have anything of which to boast? Indeed, anyone with a requirement for propitiation is excluded from boasting, for whatever ‘good’ he  might claim to his credit is sullied by the wrong he has committed.

So then, pitiful men must fall upon the grace and mercy of a loving God or suff...

Romans 3:21-26:           “But now the righteousness of God without the Law is revealed, being witnessed by the Law and the prophets; even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all who believe[2] –  for there is no difference [1]; for all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God – being justified freely[3] by His grace [4] through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God hath set forth[5] to be a propitiation[6] through faith in His blood[7], to declare His righteousness[8] for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God; to declare, I say, at this time His righteousness: that He might be just, and the justifier[9] of him with faith in Jesus.”[10]

Paul has said many things in this short su...

Romans 3:21-26:           “But now the righteousness of God without the Law is revealed, being witnessed by the Law and the prophets; even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all who believe –  for there is no difference, for all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God – being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in His blood, to declare His righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God; to declare, I say, at this time His righteousness: that He might be just, and the justifier of him with faith in Jesus.”

If Paul’s first words are true, the state of mankind is hopeless: if no one is righ...

“Now we know that whatever things the law says, it says to them who are under the law: that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God.

Therefore by the deeds of the Law shall no flesh be justified in his sight: for by the Law is the knowledge of sin.”

The Law was not given to everyone; it was given only to the children of Jacob; it applied exclusively to them. But there’s the rub: the list of judgements, ordinances, and rituals given to Israel by God through Moses could not make them ‘good’. All it could do is show them how desperately far they were from attaining perfection, and how completely impossible it would be for them to ever succeed at attaining it...