Rom 3:27-31 “Where is boasting then? It is excluded. By what law? of works? Nay: but by the law of faith. Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law. Is he the God of the Jews only? is he not also of the Gentiles? Yes, of the Gentiles also: Seeing it is one God, which shall justify the circumcision by faith, and uncircumcision through faith. Do we then make void the law through faith? God forbid: yea, we establish the law.”
Paul begins with a very pointed rhetorical question: what do we have to boast about? The scripture has already established that there is no one who is righteous on their own account. We have all sinned and are inferior to the glory of God. Therefore, there is absolutely no room for us to boast of ourselves.
Although we have failed to keep the law of Moses, this is not the crux of the matter. Boasting is excluded by the principle (law) of faith. It is obvious that many boast because of their belief system. However, this is not what is under consideration here.
The word translated as “faith” carries this meaning according to Strong’s: “persuasion, that is, credence; moral conviction (of religious truth, or the truthfulness of God or a religious teacher), especially reliance upon Christ for salvation; abstractly constancy in such profession; by extension the system of religious (Gospel) truth itself.” The strength of the law of faith lies especially in reliance upon Christ for salvation! The Truth is taught in the truth of the gospel. Understanding of the Truth comes through revelation from God by the Holy Spirit. There is no waffling back and forth between what God has done to save us versus what man must do to receive salvation.
When we understand that our whole hope is in our reliance upon Christ for salvation, then boasting disappears. The conclusion is that man is justified by reliance upon Christ for salvation. It has nothing to do with how well man has or has not done what the law requires. Whereas the works of the law might be mandated according to lineage, reliance on Jesus Christ for salvation knows no such boundaries.
He is the God of the Jews. He is also the God of the Gentiles. He is one God, and beside Him there is no Savior (Isaiah 43:11). It is this one God that justifies the circumcision (Jews) by faith. This same God justifies the uncircumcision (Gentiles) through faith. God is the origin of faith for the Jew and the avenue of faith for the Gentile.
At this point, we might be tempted to say there is no need for us to labor in God’s kingdom because we have faith. Our faith does not make the law of God useless (void). Instead, it is only through faith that we truly understand the reason why we labor. By faith, we are able to realize constancy in our profession that is never ours when we rely on our works as the source.
May we always look to Jesus Christ who is the Author and the Finisher of our faith!
