God’s Faithfulness

3 What advantage, then, is there in being a Jew, or what value is there in circumcision? 2 Much in every way!a First of all, the Jews have been entrusted with the very words of God.b

3 What if some were unfaithful?c Will their unfaithfulness nullify God’s faithfulness?d 4 Not at all! Let God be true,e and every human being a liar.f As it is written:

“So that you may be proved right when you speak

and prevail when you judge.”a g

5 But if our unrighteousness brings out God’s righteousness more clearly,h what shall we say? That God is unjust in bringing his wrath on us? (I am using a human argument.)i 6 Certainly not! If that were so, how could God judge the world?j 7 Someone might argue, “If my falsehood enhances God’s truthfulness and so increases his glory,k why am I still condemned as a sinner?”l 8 Why not say—as some slanderously claim that we say—“Let us do evil that good may result”?m Their condemnation is just!

No One Is Righteous

9 What shall we conclude then? Do we have any advantage?n Not at all! For we have already made the charge that Jews and Gentiles alike are all under the power of sin.o 10 As it is written:

“There is no one righteous, not even one;

11 there is no one who understands;

there is no one who seeks God.

12 All have turned away,

they have together become worthless;

there is no one who does good,

not even one.”b p

13 “Their throats are open graves;

their tongues practice deceit.”c q

“The poison of vipers is on their lips.”d r

14 “Their mouths are full of cursing and bitterness.”e s

15 “Their feet are swift to shed blood;

16 ruin and misery mark their ways,

17 and the way of peace they do not know.”f t

18 “There is no fear of God before their eyes.”g u

19 Now we know that whatever the law says,v it says to those who are under the law,w so that every mouth may be silencedx and the whole world held accountable to God.y 20 Therefore no one will be declared righteous in God’s sight by the works of the law;z rather, through the law we become conscious of our sin.a

Righteousness Through Faith

21 But now apart from the law the righteousness of Godb has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify.c 22 This righteousnessd is given through faithe inh Jesus Christf to all who believe.g There is no difference between Jew and Gentile,h 23 for all have sinnedi and fall short of the glory of God, 24 and all are justifiedj freely by his gracek through the redemptionl that came by Christ Jesus. 25 God presented Christ as a sacrifice of atonement,i m through the shedding of his bloodn—to be received by faith. He did this to demonstrate his righteousness, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunishedo—26 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.

27 Where, then, is boasting?p It is excluded. Because of what law? The law that requires works? No, because of the law that requires faith. 28 For we maintain that a person is justified by faith apart from the works of the law.q 29 Or is God the God of Jews only? Is he not the God of Gentiles too? Yes, of Gentiles too,r 30 since there is only one God, who will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through that same faith.s 31 Do we, then, nullify the law by this faith? Not at all! Rather, we uphold the law.

Abraham Justified by Faith

4 What then shall we sayt that Abraham, our forefather according to the flesh,u discovered in this matter? 2 If, in fact, Abraham was justified by works, he had something to boast about—but not before God.v 3 What does Scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.”a w

4 Now to the one who works, wages are not credited as a giftx but as an obligation. 5 However, to the one who does not work but trusts God who justifies the ungodly, their faith is credited as righteousness.y 6 David says the same thing when he speaks of the blessedness of the one to whom God credits righteousness apart from works:

7 “Blessed are those

whose transgressions are forgiven,

whose sins are covered.

8 Blessed is the one

whose sin the Lord will never count against them.”b z

9 Is this blessedness only for the circumcised, or also for the uncircumcised?a We have been saying that Abraham’s faith was credited to him as righteousness.b 10 Under what circumstances was it credited? Was it after he was circumcised, or before? It was not after, but before! 11 And he received circumcision as a sign, a seal of the righteousness that he had by faith while he was still uncircumcised.c So then, he is the fatherd of all who believee but have not been circumcised, in order that righteousness might be credited to them. 12 And he is then also the father of the circumcised who not only are circumcised but who also follow in the footsteps of the faith that our father Abraham had before he was circumcised.

13 It was not through the law that Abraham and his offspring received the promisef that he would be heir of the world,g but through the righteousness that comes by faith.h 14 For if those who depend on the law are heirs, faith means nothing and the promise is worthless,i 15 because the law brings wrath.j And where there is no law there is no transgression.k

16 Therefore, the promise comes by faith, so that it may be by gracel and may be guaranteedm to all Abraham’s offspring—not only to those who are of the law but also to those who have the faith of Abraham. He is the father of us all.n 17 As it is written: “I have made you a father of many nations.”c o He is our father in the sight of God, in whom he believed—the God who gives lifep to the dead and callsq into being things that were not.r

18 Against all hope, Abraham in hope believed and so became the father of many nations,s just as it had been said to him, “So shall your offspring be.”d t 19 Without weakening in his faith, he faced the fact that his body was as good as deadu—since he was about a hundred years oldv—and that Sarah’s womb was also dead.w 20 Yet he did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God, but was strengthenedx in his faith and gave glory to God,y 21 being fully persuaded that God had power to do what he had promised.z 22 This is why “it was credited to him as righteousness.”a 23 The words “it was credited to him” were written not for him alone, 24 but also for us,b to whom God will credit righteousness—for us who believe in himc who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead.d 25 He was delivered over to death for our sinse and was raised to life for our justification.f

Peace and Hope

5 Therefore, since we have been justifiedg through faith,h wea have peacei with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,j 2 through whom we have gained accessk by faith into this grace in which we now stand.l And web boast in the hopem of the glory of God. 3 Not only so, but wec also glory in our sufferings,n because we know that suffering produces perseverance;o 4 perseverance, character; and character, hope. 5 And hopep does not put us to shame, because God’s loveq has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit,r who has been given to us.

6 You see, at just the right time,s when we were still powerless,t Christ died for the ungodly.u 7 Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person someone might possibly dare to die. 8 But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.v

9 Since we have now been justifiedw by his blood,x how much more shall we be saved from God’s wrathy through him! 10 For if, while we were God’s enemies,z we were reconcileda to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life!b 11 Not only is this so, but we also boast in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.c

Death Through Adam, Life Through Christ

12 Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man,d and death through sin,e and in this way death came to all people, because all sinnedf—

13 To be sure, sin was in the world before the law was given, but sin is not charged against anyone’s account where there is no law.g 14 Nevertheless, death reigned from the time of Adam to the time of Moses, even over those who did not sin by breaking a command, as did Adam,h who is a pattern of the one to come.i

15 But the gift is not like the trespass. For if the many died by the trespass of the one man,j how much more did God’s grace and the gift that came by the grace of the one man, Jesus Christ,k overflow to the many! 16 Nor can the gift of God be compared with the result of one man’s sin: The judgment followed one sin and brought condemnation, but the gift followed many trespasses and brought justification. 17 For if, by the trespass of the one man, deathl reigned through that one man, how much more will those who receive God’s abundant provision of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in lifem through the one man, Jesus Christ!

18 Consequently, just as one trespass resulted in condemnation for all people,n so also one righteous act resulted in justificationo and lifep for all people. 19 For just as through the disobedience of the one manq the many were made sinners,r so also through the obediences of the one man the many will be made righteous.

20 The law was brought in so that the trespass might increase.t But where sin increased, grace increased all the more,u 21 so that, just as sin reigned in death,v so also gracew might reign through righteousness to bring eternal lifex through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Dead to Sin, Alive in Christ

6 What shall we say, then?y Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase?z 2 By no means! We are those who have died to sin;a how can we live in it any longer? 3 Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptizedb into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 4 We were therefore buried with him through baptism into deathc in order that, just as Christ was raised from the deadd through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.e

5 For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we will certainly also be united with him in a resurrection like his.f 6 For we know that our old selfg was crucified with himh so that the body ruled by sini might be done away with,a that we should no longer be slaves to sinj—7 because anyone who has died has been set free from sin.k

8 Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him.l 9 For we know that since Christ was raised from the dead,m he cannot die again; death no longer has mastery over him.n 10 The death he died, he died to sino once for all;p but the life he lives, he lives to God.

11 In the same way, count yourselves dead to sinq but alive to God in Christ Jesus. 12 Therefore do not let sin reignr in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires. 13 Do not offer any part of yourself to sin as an instrument of wickedness,s but rather offer yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer every part of yourself to him as an instrument of righteousness.t 14 For sin shall no longer be your master,u because you are not under the law,v but under grace.w

Slaves to Righteousness

15 What then? Shall we sin because we are not under the law but under grace?x By no means! 16 Don’t you know that when you offer yourselves to someone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one you obeyy—whether you are slaves to sin,z which leads to death,a or to obedience, which leads to righteousness? 17 But thanks be to Godb that, though you used to be slaves to sin,c you have come to obey from your heart the pattern of teachingd that has now claimed your allegiance. 18 You have been set free from sine and have become slaves to righteousness.f

19 I am using an example from everyday lifeg because of your human limitations. Just as you used to offer yourselves as slaves to impurity and to ever-increasing wickedness, so now offer yourselves as slaves to righteousnessh leading to holiness. 20 When you were slaves to sin,i you were free from the control of righteousness.j 21 What benefit did you reap at that time from the things you are now ashamed of? Those things result in death!k 22 But now that you have been set free from sinl and have become slaves of God,m the benefit you reap leads to holiness, and the result is eternal life.n 23 For the wages of sin is death,o but the gift of God is eternal lifep inb Christ Jesus our Lord.

Released From the Law, Bound to Christ

7 Do you not know, brothers and sistersq—for I am speaking to those who know the law—that the law has authority over someone only as long as that person lives? 2 For example, by law a married woman is bound to her husband as long as he is alive, but if her husband dies, she is released from the law that binds her to him.r 3 So then, if she has sexual relations with another man while her husband is still alive, she is called an adulteress.s But if her husband dies, she is released from that law and is not an adulteress if she marries another man.

4 So, my brothers and sisters, you also died to the lawt through the body of Christ,u that you might belong to another,v to him who was raised from the dead, in order that we might bear fruit for God. 5 For when we were in the realm of the flesh,a w the sinful passions aroused by the lawx were at work in us,y so that we bore fruit for death.z 6 But now, by dying to what once bound us, we have been released from the lawa so that we serve in the new way of the Spirit, and not in the old way of the written code.b

The Law and Sin

7 What shall we say, then?c Is the law sinful? Certainly not!d Nevertheless, I would not have known what sin was had it not been for the law.e For I would not have known what coveting really was if the law had not said, “You shall not covet.”b f 8 But sin, seizing the opportunity afforded by the commandment,g produced in me every kind of coveting. For apart from the law, sin was dead.h 9 Once I was alive apart from the law; but when the commandment came, sin sprang to life and I died. 10 I found that the very commandment that was intended to bring lifei actually brought death. 11 For sin, seizing the opportunity afforded by the commandment,j deceived me,k and through the commandment put me to death. 12 So then, the law is holy, and the commandment is holy, righteous and good.l

13 Did that which is good, then, become death to me? By no means! Nevertheless, in order that sin might be recognized as sin, it used what is goodm to bring about my death,n so that through the commandment sin might become utterly sinful.

14 We know that the law is spiritual; but I am unspiritual,o soldp as a slave to sin.q 15 I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do.r 16 And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree that the law is good.s 17 As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me.t 18 For I know that good itself does not dwell in me, that is, in my sinful nature.c u For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. 19 For I do not do the good I want to do, but the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing.v 20 Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it.w

21 So I find this law at work:x Although I want to do good, evil is right there with me. 22 For in my inner beingy I delight in God’s law;z 23 but I see another law at work in me, waging wara against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sinb at work within me. 24 What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body that is subject to death?c 25 Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord!d

So then, I myself in my mind am a slave to God’s law,e but in my sinful natured a slave to the law of sin.f