No Difference

Summary of Romans 3:1-8: Since we’re all guilty before God, what good is being a Jew? Answer: The Jews were entrusted with the Word of God! Just because they didn’t carry out their mission, that doesn’t change the truth of God’s Word or His faithfulness to mankind. Human viewpoint argument: If my sinfulness magnifies God’s goodness, let’s wallow in sin, to emphasize the goodness of God. This is a false interpretation of God’s plan of grace. Paul said people who say such things deserve their condemnation.

People who have known only false religion sometimes do say things like that. I’ve actually heard, “I’m going to hell anyway, so why not just do whatever I want?” That person had not ever understood the gospel message of Jesus Christ. That message is what Paul was leading up to with these categorical descriptions of humanity.

What shall we conclude then? Do we have any advantage? Not at all! For we have already made the charge that Jews and Gentiles alike are all under the power of sin. As it is written: (Psalm 5:9,10:7,14:1-3,36:1,140:3, Isaiah 59:7-8)

“There is no one righteous, not even one; there is no one who understands;
there is no one who seeks God. All have turned away,
they have together become worthless; there is no one who does good, not even one.”
“Their throats are open graves; their tongues practice deceit.” “The poison of vipers is on their lips.”
“Their mouths are full of cursing and bitterness.” “Their feet are swift to shed blood;ruin and misery mark their ways, and the way of peace they do not know.”
“There is no fear of God before their eyes.”

Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be silenced and the whole world held accountable to God. Therefore no one will be declared righteous in God’s sight by the works of the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of our sin. Romans 3:9-20

How can humanity know God’s standards? How could we know God had any standards? God has made His standards known in His law. The law is not a means to righteousness, however. The law is a measuring rod by which we can see our shortcomings. The Gentiles didn’t have the law, but had a moral code of sorts. The Jews actually had the law, but couldn’t maintain that standard, so they practiced meaningless rituals and kept trying to be perfect by adding to the law they couldn’t keep. God had shown mankind His character and expectations. Mankind was blinded by evil thinking, self-righteousness and legalism.

Here it is:

V 21-22 But now apart from the law the righteousness of God has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. This righteousness is given through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference between Jew and Gentile,

Apart from the law…God’s Own righteousness... made known…given…through faith in Jesus Christ…to whom? To ALL WHO BELIEVE.

V 23-26 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. God presented Christ as a sacrifice of atonement, through the shedding of his blood—to be received by faith. He did this to demonstrate his righteousness, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished—he did it to demonstrate his righteousness at the present time, so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus.

All sinners. That makes us all equal before God. Equally condemned from birth.
Justified (declared righteous)…freely (can’t be earned)…by His grace (never deserved)….through the redemption (purchased from the slave marked and set free)…by Christ Jesus, the sacrifice of atonement (full payment for the penalty of all sins)…RECEIVED (as a gift)…by faith (knowing and believing God’s Word).

Why? To demonstrate HIS righteousness! All were sinners for the same reason: spiritually dead at birth. All can be saved through the same grace: the atonement of Jesus Christ.

V 27-31 Where, then, is boasting? It is excluded. Because of what law? The law that requires works? No, because of the law that requires faith. For we maintain that a person is justified by faith apart from the works of the law. Or is God the God of Jews only? Is he not the God of Gentiles too? Yes, of Gentiles too, since there is only one God, who will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through that same faith. Do we, then, nullify the law by this faith? Not at all! Rather, we uphold the law.

Nothing to boast about. We didn’t do it. We cannot do it. Jesus did it. He’s the God of the Jews and the God of the Gentiles. Same God, same salvation, same faith.

The faith that is required by the law.