RomansChapter 3

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¹So what is the good of being a Jew? What is the value of being circumcised? ²There is a lot of good in every way. First of all, the Jews were trusted with the very words of God. ³What if some of them did not have faith? Will their lack of faith cancel out God's faithfulness? ⁴No way! God is always true, even if every person is a liar. As it is written, "This is so that you will be shown to be right when you speak, and win when you judge." ⁵But what if our wrongdoing shows even more clearly that God is righteous? What should we say then? Is God unfair to bring his anger on us? I'm talking the way people talk. ⁶No way! If that were true, how could God judge the world? ⁷But what if my lies make God's truth shine even more? What if that brings him more glory? Then why am I still judged as a sinner? ⁸Why not say, "Let's do evil so that good will come of it"? Some people tell lies about us and claim that we say this. They deserve to be judged! ⁹So what? Are we any better? Not at all. We have already said that Jews and Greeks are all under the power of sin. ¹⁰As it is written, "There is no one righteous. Not even one. ¹¹No one understands. No one looks for God. ¹²All of them have turned away. Together they have become useless. No one does good. Not even one." ¹³"Their throats are open graves. Their tongues tell lies." "The poison of snakes is on their lips." ¹⁴"Their mouths are full of cursing and bitter words." ¹⁵"Their feet run fast to kill people. ¹⁶They leave ruin and misery wherever they go. ¹⁷They do not know the way of peace." ¹⁸"They have no fear of God at all." ¹⁹We know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law. So every mouth will be shut. And the whole world will have to answer to God. ²⁰So no one will be made right with God by doing what the law says. The law only shows us that we have sinned. ²¹But now God has shown a way to be right with him without the law. The Law and the Prophets told about it. ²²God makes people right with him through faith in Jesus Christ. He does this for all who believe. There is no difference between people. ²³Everyone has sinned. Everyone falls short of God's glory. ²⁴And by his grace, God makes them right with him as a free gift. He does this through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus. ²⁵God presented Jesus as an atoning sacrifice by his blood, through faith. God did this to show that he is righteous. He did it because in his patience he had passed over the sins people did before. ²⁶He did this to show that he is righteous at this present time. So he is fair, and he also makes right with him the one who has faith in Jesus. ²⁷So where is our bragging? There is no room for it. Why not? Because of works? No, because of faith. ²⁸We hold that a person is made right with God by faith. It is not by doing what the law says. ²⁹Is God only the God of the Jews? Isn't he the God of the Gentiles too? Yes, he is the God of the Gentiles too. ³⁰There is only one God. He will make the circumcised right with him by faith. He will make the uncircumcised right with him through that same faith. ³¹So does this faith cancel the law? No way! Instead, we hold up the law.