Introductory remarks:
"The Jews were favored in receiving God's Word. Their inability to keep the Law had the benefit of showing how righteous God is, but they will still be judged. Whether Jew or Gentile, no man is righteous. The Law served the purpose of showing man's sinfulness, but does not justify anyone. Through Christ, sins are forgiven and man is justified by faith in Him" (Brenda's Survey of Romans). This chapter may be outlined as follows: righteousness is from God vv. 1-8; there is none righteous vv. 9-20; righteousness through faith vv. 21-31.
Righteousness is from God
Verse 1, "What advantage then hath the Jew? Or what profit is there of circumcision?"
LGT "What then [is] the superiority of the Jew, or what [is] the profit of the circumcision?"
What then is the superiority of the Jew: it is a logical question after Paul's stinging condemnation of the Jew in the last chapter. Or what is the profit of circumcision: if the Gentile would do the things that are in the Law he would be treated the same as the Jew; so what is the big deal of being a Jew; or what is the advantage of being circumcised?
Verse 2, "Much every way: chiefly, because that unto them were committed the oracles of God."
LGT "Much in every way. For first, that they were entrusted with the Oracles of God."
Much in every way: Paul answers the Jews question that they had a great superiority, and he list the most important advantage; first, and most important, they were entrusted with the Oracles of God: God's purpose for Israel is that they possessed the Word of God, and they were called to display that Light in a darkened world. A very disturbing thing is going on in religion today; theologians are claiming that there is no difference in Judaism and Christianity. They claim that Judaism is but a foreshadowing of Christianity. This is so far out of line that only confusion can result from such a view. God has not given up on Israel, for He made unconditional covenants with them, and He will eventually fulfill these covenants which will culminate in the Millennial reign of Jesus Christ at the end of the seven year Tribulation period. The church is also an entity in which will culminate at the rapture before the tribulation begins, for then she will meet the Lord in the air and will every be with Him as His chosen Bride. It is imperative that we keep the Church separate from Israel in order to maintain a proper exegesis of the Scriptures.
Verse 3, "For what if some did not believe? Shall their unbelief make the faith of God without effect?"
LGT "For what if some had not believed? Shall their unbelief make the faithfulness of God of no effect?"
God had offered Israel a Redeemer but when He came they rejected Him; because the Jews did not accept the Messiah, did that mean that God is unfaithful? Of course not. The Jew has always relied on their own worthiness, and that has been their problem. I thank God He did not leave me to my own righteousness, but imputed on me the righteousness of Christ. For if He left it up to me I would be lost for eternity; however, God did not leave me up to my own way, but provided me with the way, that is, a faith in Jesus Christ that has saved me, and now I am hid with Christ in God (Col. 3:3).
Verse 4, "God forbid: yea, let God be true, but every man a liar; as it is written, That thou mightest be justified in thy sayings, and mightest overcome when thou art judged."
LGT "May it never be: but let God be true, and every man false, just as it has been written [and stands written], That thou should be justified in thy words, and overcome in thy being judged."
May it never be: Paul answers the person who may ask such disrespectful questions with this phrase. But let God be true: this phrase could be paraphrased: let God be found by His creatures to be true. God is truth and it is up to man to believe His Word that He is true. But every man a liar: the contrast is that every man when examined is found to be a liar. This certainly flies in the face of those 'bleeding heart' liberals who make the outlandish statement that there is a little good in everyone. As it is written [and stands written], That thou should be justified in thy words, and overcome in thy being judged: Paul is quoting from the LXX Psalms 51:4.
Barnes notes here:
"David was overwhelmed with grief; he saw his crime to be awful; he feared the displeasure of God, and trembled before Him; yet he held to this principle that God is right. This he never once thought of calling in question. He had sinned against God, God only; and he did not once think of calling in question the fact of God was just altogether in reproving him for his sin, and in pronouncing against him the sentence of condemnation. That thou mightest be justified. That thou mightest be regarded as just or right, not unjust. This does not mean that David had sinned against God for the purpose of justifying him, but that he now clearly saw that his sin had been so directly against Him, and so aggravated, that God was right in His sentence of condemnation. And overcome: is sometimes used with reference to litigations or trials in a court of justice. He that was accused and acquitted, or was adjudged to be innocent, might be said to overcome, or to gain the cause. The expression is thus used here. As if there were a trial between David and God, God would overcome; that is, would be esteemed pure and righteous in His sentence condemning the crime of David. When thou art judged: the Hebrew is, when thou art judged; that is, in thy judgment pronounced on this crime. The Greek may also be in the middle voice as well as the passive, and may correspond, therefore, in meaning precisely with the Hebrew. The meaning, as expressed by David, is, that God is to be esteemed right and just in condemning men for their sins, and that a true penitent, i.e. a man placed in the best circumstances to form a proper estimate of God, will see this, though it should condemn himself. The meaning of the expression in the connection in which Paul uses it, is, that it is to be held as a fixed, unwavering principle, that God is right and true, whatever consequences it may involve; whatever doctrine it may overthrow; or whatever man it may prove to be a liar."
Verse 5, "But if our unrighteousness commend the righteousness of God, what shall we say? Is God unrighteous who taketh vengeance? (I speak as a man)."
LGT "But if our unrighteousness commends God's righteousness, what shall we say? God [is] unrighteous who inflicts wrath? According to man I speak."
But if our unrighteousness commends God's righteousness: the word commend here means to prove. Our unrighteousness is our sins; the specific sin Paul seems to be referring to in verse three unbelief. Our unrighteousness shows forth God's righteousness. A person will never come to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ until they first see themselves as totally depraved. What shall we say: this is a rhetorical question making the next statement a conclusion. God is unrighteous who inflicts wrath: this rhetorical question states the misconception that if the nations unbelief commends the righteousness of God, does this not make God unrighteous who punishes sin? According to man I speak: "now the whole point is this: if my unrighteousness reveals the marvelous, wonderfully infinite faithfulness of God in the grace of God, then has God the right to judge me? That's what Paul is asking here. This makes it very clear that the unsaved world in Paul's day understood that Paul was preaching salvation by the grace of God. How wonderful!" (McGee).
Verse 6, "God forbid: for then how shall God judge the world?"
LGT "May it never be: since how shall God judge the world?"
Since this is a rhetorical question, that is, Paul speaks as a man who might rationalize his position before God in this way, and he answers with an astounding: may it never be; or, this is ridiculous to even entertain such a thought in this manner; for if it were true, God would never be able to judge the word, would He? All men believe a man should be judged; just not themselves.
Verse 7, "For if the truth of God hath more abounded through my lie unto his glory; why yet am I also judged as a sinner?"
LGT "For if the truth of God in my lie aboundeth to His glory, why yet am I judged as a sinner?"
Paul transfers the question to himself this lie, a moral falsehood as an imaginary objection. Paul is saying that this entire state of affairs would make man exempt of God's judgment on the grounds that his own personal sin brings glory to God, especially as it concerns my personal salvation by believing in Jesus Christ, by God's grace.
Verse 8, "And not rather, (as we be slanderously reported, and as some affirm that we say,) Let us do evil, that good may come? Whose damnation is just."
LGT "And [why] not, according as we are injuriously charged and according as some affirm [that] we say, Let us practice evil things, in order that good things may come? Whose judgment is just."
Paul was accused of being Antinomian because he preached salvation was by God's grace with no human works attached; men were accusing Paul with antinomianism, that is, against the Mosaic Law, because he preached faith alone in Christ alone.
Barnes notes:
"The meaning is, 'If the glory of God is to be promoted by sin, and if man is not therefore to be condemned, or held guilty for it; if this fact absolves man from crime, why not carry the doctrine out, and make it a principle of conduct, and DO ALL THE EVIL WE CAN, in order to promote His glory.' This was the fair consequence of the objection. And yet this was a result so shocking and monstrous, that all that was necessary in order to answer the objection was merely to state this consequence. Every man's moral feelings would revolt at the doctrine; every man would know that it could not be true; and every man, therefore, could see that the objection was not valid. As we: this refers, doubtless, to the apostles, and to Christians generally. It is unquestionable, that this accusation was often brought against them."
Whose judgment is just: that is, judgment against all those who slanderously charged them with this false doctrine. Their damnation is just for those who say that Paul and the other Christians were teaching that they could do evil in order that God's glory might shine.
There is None Righteous
Verse 9, "What then? Are we better than they? No, in no wise: for we have before proved both Jews and Gentiles, that they are all under sin."
LGT "What then? Are we better? Not at all: for we before charged both Jews and Gentiles all [with] being under sin."
What then? Are we better: that is, are we Jews better off than the Gentile as it refers to justification by faith. Not at all: the Jews have no preference from the rest of the world when it comes to justification. For we before charged both Jews and Gentiles all [with] being under sin: all mankind is under the dominion of sin. "Now it's very important to understand what it means to be under sin. Man is a sinner four different ways. God is giving man four strikes (in baseball you get only three). (1.) Man is a sinner by act. (2.) Man is a sinner by nature. Sinning does not make a sinner; we sin because we are sinners. (3.) Man is a sinner by imputation. We'll see that later in this epistle. (4.) The estate of man is under sin. We all are under sin - the entire human family" (McGee).
Verse 10, "As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one."
LGT "Just as it has been written [and stands written], There is not a righteous one, not even one:"
Paul is quoting Psalm 14:1-3. This is a summary for what follows. All men are sinners by birth, and not one is righteous. We are all living according to God's rules not men's rules; according to men there are a lot of people who they think are righteous; but man's rules for righteousness differ from God's rules, because God's rules of righteousness are in direct ratio with His perfect divine character, which has no flaws, not even a speck. Man can only measure up to God's perfect righteousness by accepting the imputed righteousness of Christ by faith alone in Christ alone.
Verse 11, "There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God."
LGT "There is not [one] that understands, there is not [one] that seeks after God."
There is not one that understands: no man has God's knowledge. Apart from the Word of God, and accepting Christ as Savior, no man can understand God's divine viewpoint. There is not one that seeks after God: religion today tells us that man is seeking after God; this is completely wrong. Although God had revealed Himself in everything that He has made, man is still not seeking after God. Jesus said the Son of man came to seek and to save that which is lost (Luke 19:10); man is not seeking God, God is seeking man.
Verse 12, "They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one."
LGT "All did go out of the way, together they became unprofitable; there is not [one] practicing kindness, [there is not] so much as one."
All did go out of the way: man is wandering in the wrong direction, without Christ, ever since Eden; every heathen tribe was at one time civilized, but left to himself he became a fool. Together they became unprofitable; the Hebrew word for unprofitable is to make sour like milk (Robertson). The thought then is that man left to himself becomes useless; Jesus said If a man abide not in Me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned. Whether a lost sinner, or a Christian out of fellowship, they become useless through unbelief or loss of fellowship, in the case of the believer. There is not one practicing kindness: the unbeliever practices sin as a way of life; only by accepting Christ as Savior, and Christ imputes His righteousness upon that one, can he or she practice kindness; divine good is completely foreign to the unbeliever. There is not so much as one: there has never been an unbelieving man since Adam that has done one righteous act.
Verse 13, "Their throat is an open sepulcher; with their tongues they have used deceit; the poison of asps is under their lips."
LGT "Their throat [is] an opened sepulcher; with their tongues they used deceit; poison of asps [is] under their lips:"
Their throat is an opened sepulcher: their mouth [words] stink like an opened grave. Some expositors explain this phrase as a beast ready to devour all in its site. With their tongues they used deceit: in their conversation, the promises etc. of the unbeliever, they have been false, treacherous, and unfaithful (Barnes). With their tongues they used deceit: guile [cunning] is under their lips. Nothing profitable can come from the mouth of the unbeliever. Poison of asps is under their lips: the asp is a deadly small snake in Egypt whose bite is deadly without remedy. "The sentiment is, that as the poison of the asp is rapid, certain, spreading quickly through the system, and producing death; so the words of the slanderer are deadly, pestiferous, quickly destroying the reputation and happiness of man. They are subtle, as insinuating, and as deadly to the reputation, as the poison of the adder is to the body. Wicked men in the Bible are often compared to serpents; Matt. 23:33; Gen. 49:17" (Barnes).
Verse 14, "Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness."
LGT "Of whom the mouth of cursing and bitterness is full:"
"The meaning is, that they are in every way full of wickedness; for if they speak fair, they deceive and blend poison with their flatteries; but if they draw forth want they have in their hearts, bitterness and cursing stream out" (Calvin).
Verse 15, "Their feet are swift to shed blood."
LGT "Swift their feet to shed blood."
"They thirsted for the blood of innocence, and hasted to shed it, to gratify their malice, or to satisfy their vengeance" (Barnes).
Verse 16, "Destruction and misery are in their ways."
LGT "Ruin and misery [are] in their ways."
Verses 15, 16, and 17 Paul is quoting Isaiah 59:7,8. The destruction of the peace and happiness of all men is their goal.
Verse 17, "And the way of peace have they not known"
LGT "And a way of peace they did not know."
When I was in my thirties, the hippies were chanting Peace at any price, as they railed against the United States stand against the communist regime in Russia and China. Some forty years later we see the results of these cowards; we have just elected a black president who is a Muslim (my opinion), and has just released the terrorist who bombed the USS Cole that killed 17 U.S sailors; our bleeding heart majority population feels so wonderful that they have crashed through the race barrier without discerning what the man stands for. Barrack Hussein Obama, I predict, will be the ruin of our country, unless God intervenes is some miraculous way. Our economy is in ruins; our social policies are almost one hundred percent socialism; our religious society is almost completely humanist, that is, they have gone the way of Rick Warren's Purpose Driven Church, that is, this millionaire pastor is out to change the world, and he helped get Obama elected, and his motto is, by the way, Change we can believe in. So together these two will work together to make a society we can be proud of; that is, if feeling good about yourself makes you proud. I predict that in a short while this president is going to sell the U.S. down the river, which I believe we are already heading for the rapids.
Verse 18, "There is no fear of God before their eyes."
LGT "There is no fear of God before their eyes."
This is the sum total of all unbelief, for the fool has said in his heart there is no God (Psalm 14:1). Today the Democratic Party is trying to rid our country of the name of God completely. They have accomplished it in our public schools, and now they are working at ridding His wonderful name from the public square.
Verse 19, "Now we know that what things soever the law saith, it saith to them who are under the law: that every mouth may be stopped, and all may become guilty before God."
LGT "Now we know that whatsoever the law says, it speaks to the ones in the law, in order that every mouth should be stopped, and under judgment be all the world to God."
Whatsoever the law says: this obviously means of course the whole of the Old Testament, from which Paul had been teaching. It speaks to the ones in the law: this means that Paul is referring to the Jews; for it was to the nation Israel that the law was given. In order that every mouth should be stopped: that is, every mouth speaking contrary things to the law of God. This is Paul's conclusion to his whole argument that the Jew is guilty before God stated clearly in the Old Testament; this of course refers also to the whole world. The Jew is Guilty by God's Word, while the Gentile nations are guilty by nature. And under judgment be all the world to God: God is the Judge and He will judge the entire world, and the whole world is guilty before God. "The argument of the apostle here shows, (1.) That in order to guilt, there must be a law, either that of nature or by revelation (chp. 1-3); and, (2.) That in order to guilt, there must be a violation of that law which may be charged on them as individuals, and for which they are to be held personally responsible" (Barnes).
Verse 20, "Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin."
LGT "Because by works of law shall not all flesh be justified before Him: for through the law [is] knowledge of sin."
Because by works of law: that is, by keeping the Mosaic Law or any other law of God. Shall not all flesh be justified before Him: this is the all-inclusive answer to those who believe that they are justified by keeping the law. By works of the law no one can possibly be regarded as just before God. For through the law [is] knowledge of sin: all the law can do is point out that man is a sinner by nature, but it is impotent in saving man. Paul states it another way in Gal. 3:4, that the law is a schoolmaster to bring us to Christ. The law was never given to justify man; it was given to man to reveal man's sinful terrible condition by birth. Until a man realizes that he is totally depraved there can be no salvation. Now Paul begins to teach how men can be justified before God in the rest of the chapter.
Righteousness Through Faith
Verse 21, "But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets."
LGT "But now apart from law a righteousness of God has been manifested, being borne witness to by the law and the prophets:"
But now apart from the law: Paul now logically points out in verse 21-31 the God-kind of righteousness that man needs to be saved. The word now draws ones attention to the contrast between man's attempt at justification by works of the law, and God's gracious provision of His justifying man. Paul writes in 2 Corinthians 5:21, "For He [God] hath made Him [Christ] to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him [Christ]; this verse explains the perfect righteousness of Christ being imputed on everyone who might believe. Being borne witness to by the law and the prophets: the law certainly shows us that we are all sinners, and Isaiah points out "All our righteousness are as filthy rags" (Isa. 64:6), and as McGee points out, "God is not taking in dirty laundry."
McGee goes on to illustrate the righteousness of God:
"This is a righteousness that is apart from the Law. That is, you can't get it, my friend, by doing something or keeping something - not even God's law. You can't keep the Law to begin with. God can't save you by law for the very simple reason that you can't measure up to it. God can't accept imperfection, and you and I cannot provide perfection. Therefore, He cannot save us by law. Being witnessed by the law and the prophets means that the Law bore witness to it that at the very center of the Mosaic system was a tabernacle where bloody sacrifices were offered which pointed to Christ. Also the prophets witnessed to it when they spoke of the coming of Christ, His death and resurrection. For example, Isaiah prophesied, All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord hath laid on Him [Christ] the iniquity of us all . . . . Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise Him; He hath put Him to grief: when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, He shall see His seed, He shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in His hands (Isa. 53:6,10). Both the Law and the Prophets witnessed to this righteousness that God would provide in Christ."
Verse 22, "Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference."
LGT "Even a righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ towards all the ones who believe. For there is no difference."
Even a righteousness of God: 'righteousness' does not have the article so it should read, a righteousness of God. This righteousness of God Paul is referring to is not about God's character or attribute, rather it is God's plan of making men righteous. Through faith in Jesus Christ: "here he says that it is by faith in Jesus Christ; but surely an attribute of God is not produced by faith in Jesus Christ. It means God's mode of regarding men as righteous through their belief in Jesus Christ" (Barnes). Towards all the ones who believe: Paul says in the first phrase, through faith in Jesus Christ, and in the second phrase, towards all the ones who believe, making it very emphatic that salvation comes by faith alone in Christ alone, and that without believing in Jesus Christ there is no imputed righteousness, which would mean that without faith there is no salvation. For there is no difference: there is no distinction made in the way men must be justified. For man cannot approach God without Christ's imputed righteousness. Justification is offered to the Jew first and also to the Greek on the same basis of Christ's imputed righteousness. Men cannot be saved by works; they must depend on God's mercy and grace through Jesus Christ our Lord. William Cunningham wrote: "Under law God required righteousness from man. Under grace, He gives righteousness to man. The righteousness of God is that righteousness which God's righteousness requires Him to require." Calvin wrote: "Having been made partakers of Christ, we ourselves are not only just, but our works also are counted just before God, and for this reason, because whatever imperfections there may be in them, are obliterated by the blood of Christ."
Verse 23, "For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God."
LGT "For all sinned and fall short of the glory of God."
For all have sinned: there is not one member of the human race that has not sinned. All men, save Jesus Christ, are born sinners; we are not sinners because we have sinned; rather, we sin because we are born sinners. And fall short: this is continued action; they have fallen short and are still falling short. Of the glory of God: men have an idea about themselves that they are not as bad as the next fellow; however, this is not the scale on which God judges man; God's scale is not a sliding scale; God's scale is an absolute scale, which is His own perfect righteousness, and the best man in the world does not come up to God's glory. "Unbelievers, or mere legalists, do not approve [commend] themselves before God by the righteousness which is of the law. They come short of the approbation [approval] which is extended only to those who are justified by faith" (Vincent).
Verse 24, "Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus."
LGT "Being justified without cause by His grace, through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus:"
Being justified without cause: there is nothing in man that would make God justify him; man is justified without a cause of his own. By His grace: Man does not deserve justification, but he is justified by the grace of God. Grace is unmerited favor; it is God's love manifested to man. Through the redemption: God did not leave man in a lost condition: the word redemption means a ransom paid for a prisoner. Which is in Christ Jesus: Christ Jesus paid that ransom for all of mankind on the cross; but only those who accept this ransom are set free from the slave market of sin, and are saved for eternity.
Verses 25, 26, "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 which believeth in Jesus."
LGT "Whom God declared a propitiation through faith by His blood, for a showing forth of His righteousness, in respect of the passing by the sins that had before taken place in the forbearance of God; for [the] showing forth of His righteousness in the present time, for His being just and justifying the one that [is] of [the] faith of Jesus."
Whom God declared: there are two meanings in the word declared: (1.) God determined before hand that Christ would be the Mediator between He and mankind, and (2.) God set Christ forth openly and publicly before mankind. Both of these views fit the context. A propitiation: the word propitiation means mercy seat. God was completely satisfied with Christ's offering Himself on the cross bringing man to God, that is, reconciling man to God, in the sense of getting rid of sin that stands between God and man. "This propitiation is the highest expression of divine love for man, taking common part with humanity even unto death, that it might reconcile it through faith and self-surrender to God" (Vincent). Through faith by His blood: Reconciliation implies two parties. "No propitiation reaches the mark that does not, on its way, reconcile or bring into faith, the subject for whom it is made. There is no God-welcome prepared which does not open the guilty heart to welcome God" (Bushnell). This reconciliation caused Christ to shed His blood. For a showing forth of His righteousness: God demanded atonement and He also provided it in Christ. "The righteousness of God here is not His judicial or punitive righteousness, but His righteous character, revealing its antagonism to sin in its effort to save man from his sin, and out forward as a ground of mercy, not as an obstacle to mercy" (Vincent).
McGee comments on the propitiation or mercy of God:
"To be a propitiation points back to the time over nineteen hundred years ago when Christ was set forth as the Savior. You will recall that the veil of the temple hid the mercy seat and only the high priest could go in past that veil. But today Christ has been set before us as the mercy seat. Speaking of the mercy seat, the writer to the Hebrews says, And over it the cherubims of glory shadowing the mercy seat . . . (Heb. 9:5) - the Greek word for mercy seat, hilasterion, is the same word translated propitiation. Christ has been set forth as the mercy seat. You recall that the poor publican cried out, because he needed a mercy seat, . . . God be merciful to me a sinner (Luke 18:13), which literally is, God, if there were only a mercy seat for me, a poor publican, to come to! You see, when a Jew became a publican, he cut himself off from the temple and from the mercy seat that was there. Paul is saying that now there is on display a mercy seat - God hath set forth Christ to be a propitiation through faith in His blood. It is wonderful to know that we have a holy God who in joy and in satisfaction and delight can hold out to the world today a mercy seat."
In respect of the passing by the sins that had before taken place: these are the sins of the believers before Christ came; the Jews brought a sacrifice to the altar as a type of the sacrifice Christ made; these sacrificial lambs foreshadowed Christ's death on the cross. In the forbearance of God: "The sacrifices were a service rendered to God's righteousness, but they did not touch sin with the power and depth which attached to Christ's sacrifice. No demonstration of God's righteousness and consequent hatred of sin could be given equal to that of the life and death of Jesus. Hence Paul. As I take it, says: God set forth Christ as the world's mercy-seat, for the showing forth of His righteousness, because previously He had given no such manifestation of His righteousness, but held it back, passing over, with the temporary institution of sacrifices, the sin at the roots of which He finally struck in the sacrifice of Christ" (Vincent). For the showing forth of His righteousness in the present time: the contrast here is with the past. Now is the time since Christ has paid the price for the sin of the world that His righteousness is showing forth. "What had been revealed at all times, he applies to the time when Christ was revealed, and not without reason; for what was formerly known in an obscure manner under shadows, God openly manifested in His Son. So the coming of Christ was the time of His good pleasure, and the day of salvation. God had indeed in all ages given some evidence of His righteousness; but it appeared far brighter when the Sun of Righteousness shone. Noticed, then, ought to be the comparison between the Old and the New Testament; for then only was revealed the righteousness of God when Christ appeared" (Calvin). For His being just and justifying the one that is of the faith of Jesus: "God's justice demanded some punishment for sin. The only possible way to save some was the propitiatory offering of Christ and the call for faith on man's part" (Robertson). "The very strongest reason why God should make men right lies in His own righteousness. Because He is righteous He must hate sin, and the antagonism can be removed only by removing the sin, not by compounding it" (Vincent). The only way a sinner may be made the righteousness of Christ is by faith alone in Christ alone. "The result of the gospel plan of salvation is to prevent all self-approbation, self-gratulation and exaltation on the part of the sinner" (Hodge). [When Hodge says sinner he means the sinner saved by God's grace]
Verse 27, "Where is boasting then? It is excluded. By what law? Of works? Nay: but by the law of faith."
LGT "Where then [is] the glorying? It was excluded. Through what law? Of the works? No, but through the law of faith."
Where then is the glorying: Paul is referring to the Jews proclaiming their own goodness and the merit of their ceremonial observances (chp. 2:17). It was excluded: it is excluded by righteousness being received by grace though faith. Through the law: by what arrangement of law is glorying excluded? Of the works: the works that the Jews make so much of. This of course includes any work that man thinks of as a merit system before God. No, but through the law of faith: all man's works are excluded and replaced by the divine system of faith. Man's viewpoint has no commending principle by God's divine viewpoint. Paul does not say that there are two laws; he simply says that God's divine viewpoint is the only viewpoint.
Verse 28, "Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law."
LGT "For we reckon a man to be justified by faith apart from works of law."
Paul is giving a reason why glorying is excluded, that is, that man is justified by faith alone, apart from any meritorious works on man's part.
Verse 29, "Is he the God of the Jews only? Is he not also of the Gentiles? Yes, of the Gentiles also."
LGT "[Is He] the God of the Jews only? And not also of Gentiles? Yes, also of Gentiles:"
"If justification is by the law, then God does belong to the Jews. But if justification is by faith, then He is the God of both Jews and Gentiles. Now, notice the logic of this. If the Jew persisted in this position, then there must be two Gods - one for the Jews, one for the Gentiles. But the Jew would not allow this. He was a monotheist, that is, he believed in one God. Probably the greatest statement that ever was given to the nation Israel was Deuteronomy 6:4, Hear, O Israel: Jehovah, our Elohim is one Jehovah (literal translation mine). That was the clarion message He gave in the pagan world before Christ came" (McGee).
Verse 30, "Seeing it is one God, which shall justify the circumcision by faith, and uncircumcision through faith."
LGT "Since indeed [it is] one God who will justify [the] circumcision by faith, and uncircumcision through faith."
On the whole both Jew and Gentile have always been justified by faith apart from any works of righteousness. "The Jews are justified out of the faith which their father Abraham had, and which they are supposed to have in him. The Gentiles must enter that door and pass through it in order to be justified" (Vincent).
Verse 31, "Do we then make void the law through faith? God forbid: yea, we establish the law."
LGT "Do we then make law of no effect through the faith? May it never be: but we establish law."
Do we then make law of no effect through faith: Paul uses the word "law" here to refer to the entire Old Testament Scriptures teaching regarding morality; this would give way to licentiousness; it was at this point that Paul was accused of antinomianism, that is, that his grace teaching of justification by faith, made void the Old Testament Scriptures. It is true that we should never mix law and grace, but that does not suggest antinomianism. May it never be: this is an unequivocal denial of any such thing. But we establish law: Paul will show in the next chapter with the lives of David and Moses how this is being done by justification by faith alone in Christ alone. The Law of Moses was given in order to prove that man cannot live up to the righteous character of God, and that man could never be justifies by the works of the Law. The Law was established as a "Schoolmaster to bring the Jew to Christ" (Gal. 3:24). The question today is not whether or not we keep the law, but what do we do with God's only begotten Son, "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him [Christ], will never perish, but have everlasting life" (John 3:16). The question now is not how good we are, but do we believe in the name of Jesus Christ and put our trust in Him as our Savior. Will we accept His atonement and be saved for eternity.
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