The Apostle Paul’s teaching on justification by faith stands at the very center of the Gospel. It’s the Good News that sinners are declared righteous not by their works, efforts, or spiritual progress, but by grace alone through faith in Christ alone. This truth was the key rediscovery of the Lutheran Reformation and remains the ongoing comfort for all who struggle with guilt, exhaustion, and the relentless pressure to prove themselves before God and others. Romans 3:19-28 is the beating heart of this message—a passage that silences pride, proclaims grace, and restores weary souls to peace with God.
The Law that Silences Every Mouth (vv. 19-20)
“Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those 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 no flesh will be justified in His sight, for by the law is the knowledge of sin.”
Paul begins by personifying the Law as a divine judge who gathers all humanity into the courtroom of Heaven and declares to everyone, “Guilty.” Now, the Law is good, holy, and righteous (7:12), but it is not redemptive. It exposes sin but cannot cure it. It diagnoses our condition but cannot provide the medicine. As we confess in the Formula of Concord, “Before God [humans] are thoroughly and utterly infected and corrupted by original sin, as by a spiritual leprosy. Because of this corruption and because of the fall of the first man, the human nature or person is accused or condemned by God’s Law. So we are by nature the children of wrath, death, and damnation, unless we are delivered from them by Christ’s merit” (FC SD, I, 6). The Law, then, stops every mouth. It strips away every self-defense and boasting, leaving no room for excuses or comparisons.
Today, people still try to justify themselves in countless ways: by moral performance, social activism, religious ritual (ex opere operato—the mere performance of the act), or the illusion of self-made virtue. Yet every effort ends the same way: silence before the holy God. The Law’s true purpose is not to humiliate but to prepare us for grace. When the Law silences us, God Himself begins to speak the better Word—the Word of forgiveness that raises the condemned to life.
“But Now”: The Turning Point of History (vv. 21-22a)
Into that silence, two words burst like sunlight through storm clouds: “But now.” These words mark one of the most dramatic turns in Scripture. What humanity could never achieve, God has now accomplished in Christ. “But now the righteousness of God apart from the law is revealed, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets, even the righteousness of God, through faith in Jesus Christ, to all and on all who believe…” Righteousness apart from the Law doesn’t mean moral chaos; it means salvation apart from human achievement—no synergism, just monergism. This righteousness comes through faith in Jesus Christ, not through obedience to rules.
The Old Testament had already testified to this promise—Abraham was justified by faith; the people of Israel were brought into the Promised Land because of God’s promise, not their conquering of the land; David was forgiven apart from works; and so on. Now, in Christ, what was foreshadowed has been fully revealed. The righteousness of God is no longer a standard we fail to meet; now it is a gift He freely gives by faith in Christ. It’s the righteousness of Christ Himself—perfect, unblemished, and imputed to sinners through faith. Faith is the empty hand that receives what God freely gives.
“For All Have Sinned”: The Level Ground of Grace (vv. 22b-26)
Paul then levels all human distinction: “For there is no difference; for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God set forth as a propitiation by His blood, through faith, to demonstrate His righteousness, because in His forbearance God had passed over the sins that were previously committed, to demonstrate at the present time His righteousness, that HE might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.”
The Law leaves no room for moral comparison: Jew and Gentile, moralist and sinner alike stand condemned. Yet Paul immediately adds some of the sweetest words in Scripture: “being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.”
To be “justified freely” means to be declared righteous as a gift, not as a reward. The image Paul uses is that of a ransom—Christ’s blood paying the price to set captives free. God “set Him forth as a propitiation by His blood,” meaning Christ satisfied divine justice by bearing the penalty of sin Himself. Sin is real and must be dealt with. God doesn’t sweep it under the rug like it isn’t really there. He has dealt with it on the cross. Thus, forgiveness isn’t cheap; it cost the blood of Christ.
For the Christian crushed by guilt, perfectionism, or shame, this truth is liberating. The cross declares there is no condemnation left to bear (8:1). Every accusation has already been answered in Christ. The Gospel is not a command to perform but a declaration to believe that your debt is paid, your sins are forgiven, and your righteousness is secured. Christ has already carried what you still try to carry. You don’t have to perform for God’s favor because it is freely given. Your worth is anchored in Christ, not in success or failure.
Faith Alone, Grace Alone, Christ Alone (vv. 27-28)
This section concludes with the triumphant summary of the Gospel: “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 apart from the deeds of the law.” There’s no room for pride because salvation leaves no room for contribution, whether before or after conversion. We bring nothing but our sin; Christ supplies everything else. This “law of faith” is the rule of trust—depending entirely on what God has done, not what we do. We can’t brag about receiving mercy because it’s undeserved.
For Martin Luther, this verse was the “gateway to paradise.” Through it, he rediscovered that righteousness is not something God demands from us but something He bestows upon us. Justification by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone (sola gratia, sola fide, solus Christus) became the cornerstone of the Lutheran Reformation. It shattered the chains of every works-righteousness and restored the Gospel’s pure comfort: we are righteous because Christ is righteous, which He imputes to us by faith.
Thus, the doctrine of justification by faith continues to confront pride in the Church and in our own hearts by exposing our tendency to measure faith by visible “goodness” or activity, reminding us that our obedience flows from grace, and by preventing us from looking down on others who struggle differently. Lest anyone accuse Lutherans of antinomianism, we do not deny good works. Here’s what we confess concerning good works in the Augsburg Confession and Formula of Concord Solid Declaration respectively:
Our churches teach that this faith [justification by faith in article IV] is bound to bring forth good fruit [Galatians 5:22-23]. It is necessary to do good works commanded by God [Ephesians 2:10], because of God’s will. We should not rely on those works to merit justification before God. The forgiveness of sins and justification is received through faith.
AC, VI, 1; emphases mine.
Faith must be the mother and source of works that are truly good and well pleasing to God, which God will reward in this world and in the world to come… [Faith] does not ask whether good works are to be done, but before the question is asked, it has already done them, and is constantly doing them.
FC SD, IV, 9, 11
Living the Gospel
The same righteousness that saves us also sustains us. Our standing before God doesn’t rise or fall with our week’s performance, our moods, or our moral successes. It rests entirely on the finished work of Christ. This truth frees us from performing for God’s love and frees us to love others without fear. When we know our salvation is secure, we’re liberated to serve our neighbor in order to reflect God’s favor, not to earn it. We don’t have to do the Law; we get to do the Law as grateful children of grace.
Understanding justification by faith transforms the daily Christian life. It means waking up each morning as one already accepted by God, not striving to earn what has already been given. It means facing failure with repentance and confidence, knowing Christ’s blood still covers every sin. And it means extending that same grace to others who stumble, fail, and doubt, remembering all of us stand on the same level ground of mercy.
The Ongoing Rhythm of the Reformation
The Lutheran Reformation’s rediscovery of justification by faith is not a relic of history; it’s the living heartbeat of the Church. Every generation must rediscover the Gospel anew, for the human heart is a restless idol-producing factory, seeking to justify ourselves. The rhythm of the Christian life remains the same: repentance and faith, Law and Gospel, death and resurrection. Each day, we hear again that we are sinners, and that we are justified freely by His grace (Law & Gospel).
If we truly believed—every day—that we are already righteous in Christ, our fears would quiet, our striving would cease, and our hearts would rest. The Christian life is a journey deeper into gratitude, not a climb toward divine acceptance.
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