Romans Chapter 3 Vs. 21

The Righteousness of God Through Faith

But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets; Rom 3:21

now the righteousness... Since the gospel has come and the New Testament has been made, people can be justified and made righteous without the law (Rom. 3:21-31).

righteousness of God... See Rom. 10:3.

witnessed by the... The rites and ceremonies of the law and the predictions of the prophets all testified of the great redemption in Christ that would justify people apart from both the law and the prophets (Col. 2:14-17; Heb. 8:1-10:23; Psm. 16:8-11; Isa. 53:1-12; Luke 24:44; John 5:39; etc.).

God’s Righteousness Revealed in Justification

In God’s condemnation of the human race His own personal infinite righteousness was revealed along with the fact that not a single human being — the Lord Jesus Christ excepted — has ever or will ever be able to meet that standard and be accepted by God on his own merit. Now in this second major section of Romans Paul discussed God’s “provided righteousness” for people through Jesus in justification. Justification is a forensic declaration of righteousness as a result of God’s imputing to believers Christ’s righteousness, provided by God’s grace and appropriated through faith.

Provided righteousness explained

By the words but now Paul introduced a sharp contrast with what preceded. He had just affirmed, “No one will be declared righteous in His [God’s] sight by observing the Law” (Rom. 3:20). This is now followed by the statement, Apart from Law (in the Gr. this phrase is in the emphatic first position) a righteousness from God… has been made known (i.e., made plain). This in essence repeats the words of Rom. 1:17. But Paul added the fact that the Law and the Prophets testify to this fact. Paul, having shown the impossibility of gaining righteousness by human effort, he turns to explain the righteousness that God Himself has provided.

This righteousness is unique:

(1) God is its source

(2) It fulfills both the penalty and precept of God’s law. Christ’s death as a substitute pays the penalty exacted on those who failed to keep God’s law, and His perfect obedience to every requirement of God’s law fulfills God’s demand for comprehensive righteousness, and

(3) Because God’s righteousness is eternal, the one who receives it from Him enjoys it forever.

Doing perfectly what God’s moral law required is impossible, so that every person is cursed by that inability. By the law is knowledge of sin, therefore the law only makes sin known, it cannot save. It is our schoolmaster.

Galatians 3:24: Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster [to bring us] unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith.

What Paul was introducing about God’s righteousness was not foreign to the Old Testament. “The Law and the Prophets” was often used of the entire Old Testament (see Mat. 5:17), the Law referring to the first five books and the Prophets, the other books. In Rom. 4:1-25 Paul illustrated this truth from the Law (Abraham: Gen. 15:6; Rom. 4:1-3, 4:9-23) and from the Prophets (David: Psm. 32:1-2; Rom. 4:4-8).