20Therefore no one will be justified in His sight by works of the law. For the law merely brings awareness of sin.

Righteousness through Faith in Christ

21But now, apart from the law, the righteousness of God has been revealed, as attested by the Law and the Prophets.22And this righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no distinction,23for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,24and are justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.25God presented Him as the atoning sacrifice through faith in His blood, in order to demonstrate His righteousness, because in His forbearance He had passed over the sins committed beforehand.26He did this to demonstrate His righteousness at the present time, so as to be just and to justify the one who has faith in Jesus.

27Where, then, is boasting? It is excluded. On what principle? On that of works? No, but on that of faith.28For we maintain that a man is justified by faith apart from works of the law.29Is God the God of Jews only? Is He not the God of Gentiles too? Yes, of Gentiles too,30since there is only one God, who will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through that same faith.

31Do we, then, nullify the law by this faith? Certainly not! Instead, we uphold the law.

Abraham Justified by Faith

1What then shall we say that Abraham, our forefather, has discovered?2If Abraham was indeed justified by works, he had something to boast about, but not before God.3For what does the Scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.”4Now the wages of the worker are not credited as a gift, but as an obligation.5However, to the one who does not work, but believes in Him who justifies the wicked, his faith is credited as righteousness.6And David speaks likewise of the blessedness of the man to whom God credits righteousness apart from works:

9Is this blessing only on the circumcised, or also on the uncircumcised? We have been saying that Abraham’s faith was credited to him as righteousness.10In what context was it credited? Was it after his circumcision, or before? It was not after, but before.11And he received the sign of circumcision as a seal of the righteousness that he had by faith while he was still uncircumcised. So then, he is the father of all who believe but are not circumcised, in order that righteousness might be credited to them.12And he is also the father of the circumcised who not only are circumcised, but who also walk in the footsteps of the faith that our father Abraham had before he was circumcised.

Abraham Receives the Promise

13For the promise to Abraham and his offspring that he would be heir of the world was not given through the law, but through the righteousness that comes by faith.14For if those who live by the law are heirs, faith is useless and the promise is worthless,15because the law brings wrath. And where there is no law, there is no transgression.

16Therefore, the promise comes by faith, so that it may rest on grace and may be guaranteed to all Abraham’s offspring—not only to those who are of the law, but also to those who are of the faith of Abraham. He is the father of us all.17As it is written: “I have made you a father of many nations.” He is our father in the presence of God, in whom he believed, the God who gives life to the dead and calls into being what does not yet exist.18Against all hope, Abraham in hope believed and so became the father of many nations, just as he had been told, “So shall your offspring be.”19Without weakening in his faith, he acknowledged the decrepitness of his body (since he was about a hundred years old) and the lifelessness of Sarah’s womb.20Yet he did not waver through disbelief in the promise of God, but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God,21being fully persuaded that God was able to do what He had promised.22This is why “it was credited to him as righteousness.”23Now the words “it was credited to him” were written not only for Abraham,24but also for us, to whom righteousness will be credited—for us who believe in Him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead.25He was delivered over to death for our trespasses and was raised to life for our justification.

The Triumph of Faith

1Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,2through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we stand. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God.3Not only that, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance;4perseverance, character; and character, hope.5And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out His love into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, whom He has given us.

Christ’s Sacrifice for the Ungodly

6For at just the right time, while we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly.7Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die.8But God proves His love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

9Therefore, since we have now been justified by His blood, how much more shall we be saved from wrath through Him!10For if, when we were enemies of God, we were reconciled to Him through the death of His Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through His life!

11Not only that, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.

Death in Adam, Life in Christ

12Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, so also death was passed on to all men, because all sinned.13For sin was in the world before the law was given; but sin is not taken into account when there is no law.14Nevertheless, death reigned from Adam until Moses, even over those who did not sin in the way that Adam transgressed. He is a pattern of the One to come.

15But the gift is not like the trespass. For if the many died by the trespass of the one man, how much more did God’s grace and the gift that came by the grace of the one man, Jesus Christ, abound to the many!16Again, the gift is not like the result of the one man’s sin: The judgment that followed one sin brought condemnation, but the gift that followed many trespasses brought justification.17For if, by the trespass of the one man, death reigned through that one man, how much more will those who receive an abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ!

18So then, just as one trespass brought condemnation for all men, so also one act of righteousness brought justification and life for all men.19For just as through the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the one man the many will be made righteous.20The law came in so that the trespass would increase; but where sin increased, grace increased all the more,21so that, just as sin reigned in death, so also grace might reign through righteousness to bring eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Dead to Sin, Alive to God

1What then shall we say? Shall we continue in sin so that grace may increase?2Certainly not! How can we who died to sin live in it any longer?3Or aren’t you aware that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death?4We were therefore buried with Him through baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may walk in newness of life.

5For if we have been united with Him like this in His death, we will certainly also be united with Him in His resurrection.6We know that our old self was crucified with Him so that the body of sin might be rendered powerless, that we should no longer be slaves to sin.7For anyone who has died has been freed from sin.8Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with Him.9For we know that since Christ was raised from the dead, He cannot die again; death no longer has dominion over Him.10The death He died, He died to sin once for all; but the life He lives, He lives to God.11So you too must count yourselves dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus.