I like J. B Phillips’ translation of Romans 3:21-26.
“But now we are seeing the righteousness of God declared quite apart from the Law (though amply testified to by both Law and Prophets)—it is a righteousness imparted to, and operating in, all who have faith in Jesus Christ. (For there is no distinction to be made anywhere: everyone has sinned, everyone falls short of the beauty of God’s plan.) Under this divine system a man who has faith is now freely acquitted in the eyes of God by his generous dealing in the redemptive act of Jesus Christ. God has appointed him as the means of propitiation, a propitiation accomplished by the shedding of his blood, to be received and made effective in ourselves by faith. God has done this to demonstrate his righteousness both by the wiping out of the sins of the past (the time when he withheld his hand), and by showing in the present time that he is a just God and that he justifies every man who has faith in Jesus Christ.”
The Christian Standard Bible reads,
“But now, apart from the law, the righteousness of God has been revealed, attested by the Law and the Prophets. The righteousness of God is through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe, since there is no distinction. For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God; they are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus. God presented him as the mercy seat by his blood, through faith, to demonstrate his righteousness, because in his restraint God passed over the sins previously committed. God presented him to demonstrate his righteousness at the present time, so that he would be just and justify the one who has faith in Jesus.” (CSB)
“But now a righteousness from God, apart from the law, has been revealed…” (3:21 CSB) Note the fact of the revelation of “a righteousness from God.” Other versions have that this righteousness has been “manifested” or “made known.” Phillips has “we are seeing this righteousness of God declared.” I previously discussed the implications of this revelation or declaration for the universality of salvation on the condition of faith. That this righteousness of God has been “made known” or broadcast publicly means that it is for all. Note also it is “apart from the law” yet “to which the Law and the Prophets testify.” (3:21) James D. G. Dunn writes,
“Thus he [Paul] underscores the point that his argument is not against the law as such, but against the assumption that God’s righteousness is his commitment to the people of the law so that a righteousness χωρὶς νόμου, “without the law,” outside the bounds of the covenant people, would be scarcely conceivable. Paul’s objective is to argue the contrary: Jesus’ sacrificial death provides a different criterion for the understanding of God’s righteousness; the one God must by definition be concerned for the Gentile as well as the Jew (3:21-31). The case is then made in terms of the determinative precedent of Abraham (chap. 4). And this crucial central section of the argument is summed up in individual and universal salvation-history terms in chap. 5” 1
Salvation now “comes through faith in Jesus Christ,” and it comes “to all who believe.” Note that “this righteousness from God that comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe.” (3:22) Whatever “election” is, it does not guarantee God’s exclusive righteousness or salvation for the Jew only. That same salvation is also for the Gentiles. The text is clear. It says, “since there is no distinction” (CSB) therefore, “the righteousness of God is through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe.” (CSB) Paul supports the point further. Just as all have sinned, all are justified freely by the redemption that came by Jesus. Paul states, “…for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Jesus Christ.” (3:22, 23, NIV) Now, in order for these verses to make sense, the all that have sinned are also the all that are “justified freely by his grace.” So, since all are sinners, so all these sinners are now “justified freely by his grace.”
Now, the ESV translates the phrase in 3:24, “justified freely by his grace,” as “justified by his grace as a gift.” Although the word “gift” is in the Greek text here, what the ESV suggests is that justification is a gift of God, as if this “gift” is given to those God has chosen by his grace to save. “Justified by his grace as a gift” may lend to an interpretation that justification is given as a “gift,” also suggesting that it is for the elect. Perhaps this wording might be used to support unconditional election by making justification “a gift.” But this would suggest an excluse application of the word “gift” which is contrary to the immediate context and Paul’s exposition of the concept in chapter 5 which I will examine below. Be that as it may, we have seen in a previous chapter that God’s grace” is “the redemption that came by Jesus Christ.” God justifies by faith in Christ Jesus who is the expression of God’s saving grace. God’s grace is freely given to all in Jesus. Phillips translates it as “his generous dealing in the redemptive act of Jesus Christ.” He states, “Under this divine system a man who has faith is now freely acquitted in the eyes of God by his generous dealing in the redemptive act of Jesus Christ.” (3:24) Furthermore, Paul speaks of the potentiality of faith and linking it with justification by God’s grace. This grace, or “righteousness of God,” is a gift to be received by faith (3:25, ESV).
In chapter 5 Paul mentions “gift” twice in verse 15, twice in 16, and once in 17. Here the ESV has “free gift” each time. The reference in verse 17 has Paul describing”righteousness” as “a free gift,” and speaks of “those who recieve the aboundance of grace.” Grace is to be recieved. Again, this confirms that “grace” is not “irresitible” as in Calvinism, but is to be “recieved” along with the “free gift of righteousness.” Paul previously made the point about there being no distinction as to who can be saved (3:22-23, 29), and this “gift” analogy only confirms that God’s grace knows no limitation for it makes no distinction between Jew and Gentile. The rationale Paul uses in 3:22-25a is this: since all have sinned, the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ is for all who believe. Based upon the universality of sin in both Jew and Gentile, that is, all individuals, there is therefore the need for grace from God. That grace is found in Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ is “put forward” (ESV). The Gr. is an aorist middle – προέθετο – from the verb προτίθημι (protithémi). or Englishman’s Lexicon has “displayed publically.” Thayer’s Greek Lexicon has “the middle seems to denote that it was his own Son whom he thus set forth; cf. 8:32.” Strong’s Lexicon provides the following definition.
“The Greek verb “protithémi” primarily means to set forth or to propose something. It conveys the idea of presenting or laying out a plan or purpose. In the New Testament, it is often used in the context of God’s divine purposes or plans being set forth for humanity. The term implies intentionality and forethought, highlighting the deliberate nature of God’s actions and decisions.” (https://biblehub.com/greek/4388.htm)
It is a divine grace that God has put forth publically in his Son. As such, God makes his salvation applicable to all by faith. God makes no distinction among sinners for divine grace has provided justification as a “free gift.” And since it is a “free gift” “to be received by faith” it is a gift that can be received by anyone. And as it can be recieved, it can also be rejected.
Paul’s theological rationale and consistency among all that he is saying here provides the way for a more coherent interpretation of the whole than Calvinism can offer. It leads us to conclude that God’s grace (i.e., “the redemption that is in Christ Jesus”) is expansive, dynamic, incarnated, and obtainable by faith. The dynamic of the passage is that grace is existentially present. It has been “revealed” and “declared.” Since all are sinners, all “are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. God presented him as a sacrifice of atonement, through faith in his blood.” (3:24,25, NIV) That is to say to all sinners that your justification, which God has graciously provided, is free because it is by faith. It is the same for both Jew and Gentile. Anyone may be saved by faith in Jesus. The free gift of righteousness, which is rooted in God’s graciousness to provide justification for all who have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God, is received “by faith.” 2
Given this whole context therefore, neither grace nor faith can be defined as in Calvinism. The Calvinist understands “grace” as a decision of God in eternity past to save some particular individuals out of all undeserving sinners, and these chosen ones are caused by God to believe subsequent to him having already regenerated, or saved, them. This re-establishment of a new privileged, exclusive class would go against all that Paul has been arguing here about the universal inclusivity of salvation. The text is clear. What has emerged is Paul’s affirmation that God has brought the Gentiles into his sphere of universal salvation by faith. God has also reestablished the Jew on the proper salvific footing. Note that their exclusive election neither prevented a falling away of the people as a whole, nor guaranteed their individual salvation. When Paul speaks of the salvation of the individual, he speaks of it on the basis of a person’s faith response to God and Christ. This response is a genuine response of the sinner themselves to the gospel message. It is always a decision of the sinner, never a predetermined reality or “response” caused by God. The Old Testament theme of Israel’s elective exclusivity now finds fulfillment in the “righteousness from God” that “comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe.” Again, the text is clear and should not be read in contradiction to texts that speak of the “chosen,” the “elect,” or “election.” The exclusivity of salvation in Jesus Christ is now centered in the inclusivity of the possibility of faith in Christ Jesus for both Jew and Gentile. God is now both “just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus.” (3:26, NIV)
1 James D. G. Dunn, Word Biblical Commentary Romans 1-8,vol. 38a, (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1988), 161.
2 See comments on Romans 5:17 for more on this concept of salvation as a “gift.”
The Truth of the Gospel 