Righteousness imputed (credited): Justification (3:21 thru 5:21)

Through Christ (3:21-26)

Rom 3:21 But now God has shown us a way to be made right with Him without keeping the requirements of the law, as was promised in the writings of Moses and the prophets long ago.

Effectively Paul is saying that on our own, even if we tried the old ways, we would fail. There were few million Jews then that follow those rules as a tribe. We are now billions of Christians and it is not now possible. Rom_3:20

Rom 3:22 We are made right with God by placing our faith in Jesus Christ. And this is true for everyone who believes, no matter who we are.

Every Christian knows this the verse (John 14:6 Jesus told him, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through Me.) Has been taught to us for many years. I feel bad for the Jew who has rejected this. Earlier in these writings we have shown the lineage of Jesus and how he and he alone has fulfilled the prophesies.

Rom 3:23 For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God's glorious standard.

Rom 3:23 For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; King James version of this verse the one most of us older folk have memorized. Rom 3:24 Yet God, with undeserved kindness, declares that we are righteous. He did this through Christ Jesus when He freed us from the penalty for our sins.

We were born into a sinful world. We live after the fall by Adam and Eve. Many say that they were the guilty party not me. Unfortunately, because of that act choice came onto the world and we had to follow God or Satan. Since we are seduced daily by television etc. we are bombarded with evil.

When we believe in Christ we are cleansed of sin when we repent of it. How cleansed are we? From The New Testament Bible Commentary: 3:24 Just as there is no distinction in our fallenness, Paul writes, so there is no distinction in the source of our justification. God justifies us; he declares us not guilty for our sins. When a judge in a court of law declares the defendant “not guilty,” all the charges are removed from the person’s record. Legally, it is as if the person had never been accused. When God forgives our sins, our record is wiped clean. From his perspective, it is as though we had never sinned. We do not have to anxiously work while hoping that in the end we will have been good enough to meet God’s approval. Instead, those who believe in Jesus Christ and his sacrifice on the cross are freed—Christ Jesus has taken away our sins. Our righteousness before God depends entirely on him and can only be accepted as a gift from him. God in his gracious kindness assures us of our acceptance and then calls us to serve him as best we can out of sheer love for him.

Rom 3:25 For God presented Jesus as the sacrifice for sin. People are made right with God when they believe that Jesus sacrificed His life, shedding His blood. This sacrifice shows that God was being fair when He held back and did not punish those who sinned in times past, Rom 3:26 for He was looking ahead and including them in what He would do in this present time. God did this to demonstrate His righteousness, for He Himself is fair and just, and He declares sinners to be right in His sight when they believe in Jesus. Thank you Jesus. Remember when you think you are unforgiveable, Jesus can and will forgive all for his children.