There Is None Righteous
Then what advantage has the Jew? Or what is the value of circumcision? 2 Great in every respect. First of all, that athey were entrusted with the boracles of God. 3 What then? If asome did not believe, does their unbelief abolish the faithfulness of God? 4 aMay it never be! Rather, let God be true and every man ba liar, as it is written,
“cThat You may be justified in Your words,
And overcome when You are judged.”
5 But if our unrighteousness ademonstrates the righteousness of God, bwhat shall we say? Is the God who inflicts wrath unrighteous? (cI am speaking in human terms.) 6 aMay it never be! For otherwise, how will bGod judge the world? 7 But if through my lie athe truth of God abounded to His glory, bwhy am I also still being judged as a sinner? 8 And why not say (as we are slanderously reported and as some claim that we say), “aLet us do evil that good may come”? Their condemnation is just.
9 What then? aAre we better? Not at all; for we have already charged that both bJews and cGreeks are dall under sin; 10 as it is written,
“aThere is none righteous, not even one;
11 There is none who understands,
There is none who seeks for God;
12 All have turned aside, together they have become worthless;
There is none who does good,
There is not even one.”
13 “aTheir throat is an open tomb,
With their tongues they keep deceiving,”
“bThe poison of asps is under their lips”;
14 “aWhose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness”;
15 “aTheir feet are swift to shed blood,
16 Destruction and misery are in their paths,
17 And the path of peace they have not known.”
18 “aThere is no fear of God before their eyes.”
19 Now we know that whatever the aLaw says, it speaks to bthose who are in the Law, so that every mouth may be shut and call the world may become accountable to God; 20 because aby the works of the Law no flesh will be justified in His sight, for bthrough the Law comes the knowledge of sin.
The Righteousness of God through Faith
21 But now apart from the Law athe righteousness of God has been manifested, being bwitnessed by the Law and the Prophets, 22 even the arighteousness of God through bfaith cin Jesus Christ for dall those who believe; for ethere is no distinction; 23 for all ahave sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 being justified as a gift aby His grace through bthe redemption which is in Christ Jesus; 25 whom God displayed publicly as aa propitiation bin His blood through faith, for a demonstration of His righteousness, because in the cforbearance of God He dpassed over the sins previously committed; 26 for the demonstration of His righteousness at the present time, so that He would be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.
27 Where then is aboasting? It is excluded. By bwhat kind of law? Of works? No, but by a law of faith. 28 For awe maintain that a man is justified by faith apart from works of the Law. 29 Or ais God the God of Jews only? Is He not the God of Gentiles also? Yes, of Gentiles also, 30 since indeed aGod, bwho will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through that faith, cis one.
31 Do we then abolish the Law through faith? aMay it never be! On the contrary, we bestablish the Law.
Abraham and David’s Faith Counted as Righteousness
What then shall we say that Abraham, our forefather aaccording to the flesh, has found? 2 For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about—but anot before God! 3 For what does the Scripture say? “aAbraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness.” 4 Now to the one who aworks, his wage is not counted according to grace, but according to what is due. 5 But to the one who does not work, but abelieves upon Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted as righteousness, 6 just as David also speaks of the blessing on the man to whom God counts righteousness apart from works:
7 “aBlessed are those whose lawless deeds have been forgiven,
And whose sins have been covered.
8 aBlessed is the man whose sin the Lord will not btake into account.”
9 Therefore, is this blessing on athe circumcised, or on the uncircumcised also? For bwe say, “cFaith was counted to Abraham as righteousness.” 10 How then was it counted? While he was circumcised, or uncircumcised? Not while circumcised, but while uncircumcised; 11 and he areceived the sign of circumcision, ba seal of the righteousness of the faith which he had while uncircumcised, so that he might be cthe father of dall who believe without being circumcised, that righteousness might be counted to them, 12 and the father of circumcision to those who not only are of the circumcision, but who also follow in the steps of the faith of our father Abraham which he had while uncircumcised.
13 For athe promise to Abraham or to his seed bthat he would be heir of the world was not through the Law, but through the righteousness of faith. 14 For aif those who are of the Law are heirs, faith has been made empty and the promise has been abolished; 15 for athe Law brings about wrath, but bwhere there is no law, there also is no trespass.
16 For this reason it is by faith, in order that it may be according to agrace, so that the promise will be guaranteed to ball the seed, not only to those who are of the Law, but also to cthose who are of the faith of Abraham, who is dthe father of us all— 17 as it is written, “aA father of many nations have I made you”—in the presence of Him whom he believed, even God, bwho gives life to the dead and ccalls into being dthat which does not exist. 18 In hope against hope he believed, so that he might become aa father of many nations according to that which had been spoken, “bSo shall your seed be.” 19 And without becoming weak in faith he contemplated his own body, now aas good as dead since bhe was about a hundred years old, and cthe deadness of Sarah’s womb; 20 yet, with respect to the promise of God, he did not waver in unbelief but grew strong in faith, agiving glory to God, 21 and abeing fully assured that bwhat God had promised, He was able also to do. 22 Therefore ait was also counted to him as righteousness. 23 Now anot for his sake only was it written that it was counted to him, 24 but for our sake also, to whom it will be counted, as those awho believe upon Him who braised Jesus our Lord from the dead, 25 He who was adelivered over on account of our transgressions, and was braised on account of our justification.