Romans
Chapter 3
1 What advantage does the Jew have? Or what benefit comes from circumcision?
2 In many ways, mostly because God’s messages were entrusted to them.
3 What if some do not believe? Does their lack of belief cancel out God’s faithfulness?
4 Absolutely not! Yes, God is truthful, and all people are liars; as the scripture says, “So that you may be right in your words and win when you are judged.”
5 If our wrongs show how right God is, what can we say? Is God wrong when He punishes? (I’m speaking like a human.)
6 Certainly not, because then how would God judge the world?
7 If God’s truth has spread more because of my lie to his glory, then why am I still judged as a sinner?
8 And instead of being falsely accused, as some claim we say, “Let’s do bad things so that good may happen”? Those who say this deserve to be punished.
9 So what? Are we better than them? Not at all: because we have already shown that both Jews and non-Jews are all guilty of sin.
10 It is written, no one is good, not even one.
11 No one understands; no one looks for God.
12 Everyone has strayed from the right path; they have all become useless; not even one person does good.
13 Their throat is like an open grave; they lie with their tongues; there is snake venom under their lips.
14 Their mouth is full of curses and bitterness.
15 Their feet quickly lead them to harm others.
16 Trouble and suffering are in their paths.
17 They do not know the way of peace.
18 They do not fear God at all.
19 We know that whatever the law says, it speaks to those who follow the law, so that no one can argue and the whole world is accountable to God.
20 No one will be seen as right by God only by following the law’s rules, because the law shows us what sin is.
21 Now, God’s goodness is shown without the law, and the law and prophets tell us about it.
22 God’s righteousness comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe, there is no difference.
23 Everyone has sinned and falls short of God’s glory.
24 We are made right with God for free by His kindness because of the rescue that comes through Jesus Christ.
25 God presented him as a sacrifice to forgive sins through faith in his blood, to show his righteousness by forgiving past sins because of God’s patience.
26 I am telling now about God’s goodness: so He can be fair and make right those who trust in Jesus.
27 Where can we boast, then? It is shut out. Through what rule? The rule of actions? No, but through the rule of trust.
28 We believe that a person is made right with God through faith, not by following the law’s actions.
29 Is he only the God of the Jews? Isn’t he also the God of the non-Jews? Yes, he is also the God of the non-Jews.
30 Since there is only one God, he will make both the circumcised right by faith and the uncircumcised through faith.
31 By having faith, do we cancel the law? No, we make the law stand.