Romans 3
Every mouth silenced. Every excuse stripped away. All fall short.
But now… a righteousness from God, apart from the law, is revealed.
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3:1–2
Then what advantage has the Jew?
Much in every way! They were entrusted with the oracles of God—the entire Old Testament.
(Deut 4:7–8) “What great nation has statutes so righteous?”
In a pagan world, the Jews were custodians of divine revelation.
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3:4
Let God be true though every one were a liar.
God’s faithfulness is unshaken by human failure.
(2 Tim 2:13) “If we are faithless, He remains faithful.”
Even when Israel faltered, God’s covenant purposes stood firm.
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3:10–12
“None is righteous, no, not one… no one seeks for God.”
This catena (chain of OT verses) reflects Psalm 14 and Isaiah 59.
(Isa 53:6) “We all like sheep have gone astray.”
Paul’s audience knew firsthand—Rome was morally bankrupt.
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3:18
“There is no fear of God before their eyes.”
This is more than theology—it’s cultural diagnosis.
(Prov 1:7) “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge.”
Roman society praised vice as virtue. Sound familiar?
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3:19–20
The law speaks… so that every mouth may be stopped.
The law wasn’t given to save—it was given to expose.
(Gal 3:24) “The law was our guardian until Christ came.”
Jewish rabbis debated merit. Paul calls the law a mirror—not a ladder.
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3:21–22
But now the righteousness of God has been manifested… through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe.
This is the hinge of history.
(Jer 31:31) “I will make a new covenant…”
“But now” signals the age of grace, foretold by prophets, fulfilled in Christ.
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3:23–24
“For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by His grace as a gift…”
Not some. All.
And yet—all may be justified.
(Eph 2:8) “By grace you have been saved through faith.”
Grace obliterates spiritual boasting. No one earns this.
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3:25–26
God put Christ forward as a propitiation by His blood, to be received by faith…
(Lev 17:11) “It is the blood that makes atonement.”
“Propitiation” = hilastΔrion = Mercy Seat.
Jesus fulfilled the Yom Kippur sacrifice—forever.
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3:28
For we hold that one is justified by faith apart from works of the law.
This shocked religious pride—Jew and Gentile alike.
(Hab 2:4) “The righteous shall live by his faith.”
In Rome, status was everything. Paul levels the field at the foot of the cross.
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Takeaway:
We’re all guilty.
But God justifies the ungodly through faith in Jesus.
Not by effort.
Not by law.
Only by grace.
Romans 3 is the courtroom—and the cross is the verdict of mercy.
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