The Bridge · Explore the Bible
Saving Faith
Romans 3:21-4:5 | CSB
The Bridge · First Baptist Church Minden · September 20, 2026 · Taught by Rob
A right standing with God comes by faith alone.
Pronunciation Key
A few terms in this week's passage and commentary are worth pronouncing confidently.
| Term | Pronunciation | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Abraham | AY-bruh-ham | Called Abram in Gen. 12-16; the patriarch Paul uses as his prime example of faith |
| hilastērion | hil-as-TAY-ree-on | Greek for "mercy seat" / "propitiation" in v. 25 |
| Habakkuk | huh-BAK-kuk | OT prophet quoted in Rom. 1:17 — "the righteous will live by faith" |
Context from Prior Weeks
Two weeks ago (Session 1, Romans 1:13-25), Paul declared the gospel is the power of God for salvation, then exposed the Gentile world's guilt. Last week (Session 2, Romans 2:1-13), he turned that same judgment on the self-righteous reader — God judges impartially, and hearing the law isn't the same as keeping it.
Between then and now, Paul closes his case: Romans 3:9-20 concludes that Jews and Gentiles alike are "all under sin," that "there is no one righteous, not even one," and that the law was never able to justify anyone — it only makes us conscious of sin. Everyone is guilty, and nothing we do can remove that guilt.
Today's passage is the hinge of the entire letter. After three chapters of bad news, Paul writes two words that change everything: "But now." God has provided what the law never could.
Reading Assignments
- PSG ReaderPage 28 — opening paragraph ("We put our faith to work every day...")
- Reader 1Romans 3:21-26 — righteousness apart from the law, through faith in Jesus
- Reader 2Romans 3:27-31 — boasting excluded; justified by faith apart from works of the law
- Reader 3Romans 4:1-5 — Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him for righteousness
Setting the Scene
Romans 3:21-4:25
So far in Paul's instruction, we've learned that all people are guilty of sin and there's nothing we can do to remove our guilt. But God has done something about our sin that reflects His grace: He forgives freely because Christ paid the price. By allowing Jesus to die in our place, God provided the only way for our sins to be forgiven for good.
Paul then points to two Old Testament figures who validate this truth about forgiveness — David, and Abraham. Abraham could not boast about anything he had done to cause God to accept him as righteous. He simply placed his trust in God, and God made him right with Him. God demonstrated that right standing by making a monumental promise — and He made it before the law was given, resulting solely from Abraham's believing God.
Hook — The Empty Chair
Ask the class: "In whom or in what have you been placing your trust lately? What factors can make trusting others challenging?" (PSG, p. 28)
Read aloud the opening paragraph on page 28 of the PSG, highlighting the last sentence: "However, we often struggle with trusting the Lord."
Object lesson (Leader Guide, p. 37): position an empty chair where everyone can see it. Sit down in it and point out that we accept things by faith every day — we trust a chair will hold our weight without inspecting it first. Lead the group to list other examples of everyday faith and record them on the board.
Transition: to this point in Romans, Paul focused on proving that we're all sinners with no power to save ourselves. In this session, we'll see that God has made a way for faith to be the solution to a right standing with Him.
Teaching Points
Falling Short
Romans 3:21-26
21But now, apart from the law, the righteousness of God has been revealed, attested by the Law and the Prophets. 22The righteousness of God is through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe, since there is no distinction. 23For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God; 24they are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus. 25God 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. 26God 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.
Key Truth: Everyone falls short of God's standard, so everyone needs Jesus.
"But now" (v. 21) is the pivot of the whole letter. After three chapters establishing universal guilt, Paul announces that God's righteousness has been revealed apart from the law — not earned by keeping rules, but received through faith in Jesus Christ. The Law and the Prophets testified to this all along; it isn't a new plan, but the plan Scripture pointed toward. Verse 23 levels everyone: "all have sinned and fall short." Theologian Hadley Moule illustrated it this way — "The harlot, the liar, the murderer, are short of [God's glory]; but so are you. Perhaps they stand at the bottom of a mine, and you on the crest of an Alp; but you are as little able to touch the stars as they."
Worth noting: three loaded words sit in verses 24-25. "Justified" (Gk. dikaioō) is a courtroom verdict — a judge declaring someone innocent, not a process of gradually improving. "Redemption" (apolytrōsis) came from the slave market: the purchase price paid to free a slave, a prisoner of war, or a condemned criminal. And "mercy seat" (hilastērion) is tabernacle language — the gold lid of the ark of the covenant, where the high priest sprinkled blood once a year on the Day of Atonement (Ex. 25:17-22; Lev. 16:15-16). Paul is saying Jesus Himself is now that place where God's wrath is satisfied and mercy is met.
Something to consider: verse 26 says God did this so He could be "just and justify" — both at once. Why couldn't God simply forgive sin without the cross, and what does it say about Him that He refused to?
Key Doctrine — Salvation (Justification): Justification is God's gracious and full acquittal upon principles of His righteousness of all sinners who repent and believe in Christ (1 Cor. 1:30; Gal. 2:16).
Discussion: Why can't good works lead to salvation?
🔒 Discussion answers post the day after class — check back tomorrow.
- The standard is God's own glory (v. 23), not a passing grade — and no one reaches it.
- The law was diagnostic, not curative: it showed the problem of sin but never provided the fix.
- Justification is a verdict God declares, not a wage we accumulate — a gift can't be earned and still be a gift.
- Any works-based system would give someone grounds to boast, which Paul explicitly rules out in v. 27.
- If good works could save, the cross was unnecessary — and God would not have paid a price He didn't owe.
Finding Hope
Romans 3:27-31
27Where, then, is boasting? It is excluded. By what kind of law? By one of works? No, on the contrary, by a law of faith. 28For we conclude that a person is justified by faith apart from the works of the law. 29Or is God the God of Jews only? Is he not the God of Gentiles too? Yes, of Gentiles too, 30since there is one God who will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through faith. 31Do we then nullify the law through faith? Absolutely not! On the contrary, we uphold the law.
Key Truth: We can never be "good enough" to make ourselves right with God.
Paul asks a rapid series of rhetorical questions, and each one closes a door. Is there room for spiritual boasting? Excluded — because justification came by faith, not achievement. Regardless of background or history, our hope is found only in Christ. Verse 31 answers the obvious objection: if faith justifies, is the law useless? "Absolutely not!" — Paul's strongest possible denial. The law was never useless; it was never a ladder. Its penalty still had to be paid, and Jesus paid it on the cross. Jesus said the same thing: "Don't think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to abolish but to fulfill" (Matt. 5:17).
Worth noting: verses 29-30 make an argument most modern readers skip past — because God is one, He must justify Jews and Gentiles the same way. Paul is reaching back to the Shema, "Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one" (Deut. 6:4), the most familiar confession in Judaism and recited daily. He uses their own bedrock creed to prove that a single God cannot have two different salvation plans.
Something to consider: Paul says boasting is "excluded" — shut out entirely. If that's true, what does subtle spiritual boasting sound like in a church that already knows the right answer is "grace"?
Discussion: What does it mean to be justified by faith instead of works?
🔒 Discussion answers post the day after class — check back tomorrow.
- It means God declares us righteous on the basis of Christ's record, not ours.
- It removes any ground for comparison between believers — no one has a better standing than anyone else.
- It shifts our confidence from our performance (which fluctuates) to Christ's finished work (which doesn't).
- It makes salvation equally accessible to everyone — no heritage, background, or track record required.
- It doesn't discard the law; it fulfills the law's demands in Christ rather than in us.
Following Faith
Romans 4:1-5
1What then will we say that Abraham, our forefather according to the flesh, has found? 2If Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about—but not before God. 3For what does the Scripture say? Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him for righteousness. 4Now to the one who works, pay is not credited as a gift, but as something owed. 5But to the one who does not work, but believes on him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is credited for righteousness.
Key Truth: God calls all people to accept His offer of salvation through faith in Jesus.
Paul now calls his strongest witness. For Jewish readers, Abraham personified the conviction that a person could earn justification by works — he left his homeland, fathered the nation, and was widely regarded as blameless. The non-authoritative Book of Jubilees even claimed Abraham was perfect in all his dealings with the Lord. Paul's answer comes straight from Scripture: Genesis 15:6 — "Abram believed the LORD, and he credited it to him as righteousness." Abraham was declared righteous before he was circumcised (Gen. 17), and centuries before the law was given at Sinai. His faith, not his résumé, is what God counted.
Worth noting: "credited" (Gk. logizomai) is an accounting term — to enter something in the ledger's positive column. Verses 4-5 turn on the difference between a paycheck and a gift: wages are owed, so they prove nothing about the employer's generosity; a gift is freely given, so it reveals everything about the giver. Note also who gets justified in v. 5 — "him who justifies the ungodly." That phrase would have sounded scandalous, even offensive, to Paul's first readers.
Something to consider: James 2:24 says "a person is justified by works and not by faith alone." Paul and James aren't contradicting each other — they're answering different questions. Paul asks how a sinner gets right with God (by faith alone). James asks how you can tell a professed faith is real (it produces works). What's the practical difference between works that earn and works that evidence?
Discussion: In what ways do you sometimes try to "earn" God's favor through your actions?
🔒 Discussion answers post the day after class — check back tomorrow.
- Treating church attendance, giving, or service as a running tally that should count for something.
- Feeling more confident of God's approval on days we've performed well, and less on days we haven't.
- Quietly comparing our spiritual track record to others' as reassurance.
- Trying to make up for a particular sin with extra effort rather than simply receiving forgiveness.
- Assuming our family heritage, church membership, or upbringing gives us standing with God.
Close & Challenge
Review these points from Apply the Text (PSG, p. 36): everyone falls short of God's standard, so everyone needs Jesus; we can never be "good enough" to make ourselves right with God; God calls all people to accept His offer of salvation through faith in Christ. Ask: what difference does God's gift of forgiveness through Christ make in your life? Work in pairs on the first set of questions on page 36 of the PSG, and share ideas for breaking through barriers to accepting God's forgiveness — especially works-based thinking. Close in prayer, thanking God for the gift of salvation.
Memorize
Romans 3:23-24 (CSB)
"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."
Quick Reference — Timing
| Time | Segment |
|---|---|
| 0:00–0:03 | Welcome & Prayer |
| 0:03–0:10 | Hook — the empty chair |
| 0:10–0:20 | Point 1 — Falling Short (3:21-26) |
| 0:20–0:30 | Point 2 — Finding Hope (3:27-31) |
| 0:30–0:40 | Point 3 — Following Faith (4:1-5) |
| 0:40–0:44 | Close & Challenge |
| 0:44–0:45 | Closing Prayer |
Supporting Scriptures