Romans 3
3 What advantage, then, is there in being a Jew, or what value is there in circumcision? 2 Much in every way! First of all, the Jews have been entrusted with the very words of God.
3 What if some were unfaithful? Will their unfaithfulness nullify God’s faithfulness? 4 Not at all! Let God be true,and every human being a liar. As it is written:
“So that you may be proved right when you speak
and prevail when you judge.”[a]
5 But if our unrighteousness brings out God’s righteousness more clearly, what shall we say? That God is unjust in bringing his wrath on us? (I am using a human argument.) 6 Certainly not! If that were so, how could God judge the world? 7 Someone might argue, “If my falsehood enhances God’s truthfulness and so increases his glory,why am I still condemned as a sinner?” 8 Why not say—as some slanderously claim that we say—“Let us do evil that good may result”? Their condemnation is just!
No One Is Righteous
9 What shall we conclude then? Do we have any advantage? Not at all! For we have already made the charge that Jews and Gentiles alike are all under the power of sin. 10 As it is written:
“There is no one righteous, not even one;
11 there is no one who understands;
there is no one who seeks God.
12 All have turned away,
they have together become worthless;
there is no one who does good,
not even one.”[b]
13 “Their throats are open graves;
their tongues practice deceit.”[c]
“The poison of vipers is on their lips.”[d]
14 “Their mouths are full of cursing and bitterness.”[e]
15 “Their feet are swift to shed blood;
16 ruin and misery mark their ways,
17 and the way of peace they do not know.”[f]
18 “There is no fear of God before their eyes.”[g]
19 Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be silenced and the whole world held accountable to God.20 Therefore no one will be declared righteous in God’s sight by the works of the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of our sin.
Righteousness Through Faith
21 But now apart from the law the righteousness of God has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. 22 This righteousness is given through faith in[h] Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference between Jew and Gentile, 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. 25 God presented Christ as a sacrifice of atonement,[i] through the shedding of his blood—to be received by faith. He did this to demonstrate his righteousness, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished— 26 he did it to demonstrate his righteousness at the present time, so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus.
27 Where, then, is boasting? It is excluded. Because of what law? The law that requires works? No, because of the law that requires faith. 28 For we maintain that a person is justified by faith apart from the works of the law.29 Or is God the God of Jews only? Is he not the God of Gentiles too? Yes, of Gentiles too, 30 since there is only one God, who will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through that same faith. 31 Do we, then, nullify the law by this faith? Not at all! Rather, we uphold the law.
Imagine standing in a hospital waiting room where everyone has received the same diagnosis. The CEO in the designer suit, the college student in worn-out sneakers, the retired teacher, the single mom—all sitting together, all facing the same life-threatening condition. In that moment, their bank accounts, achievements, and social status mean nothing. What matters is that they all need the same cure, and none of them can heal themselves. This is the picture Paul paints for us in Romans 3, and it’s both humbling and hopeful.
Paul pulls no punches in this chapter: “There is no one righteous, not even one… for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:10, 23). He’s demolishing the human tendency to create hierarchies of goodness, where we measure ourselves against others and think, “Well, at least I’m not as bad as them.” But God’s standard isn’t our neighbour—it’s His own perfection. His aim is not to deal with the surface-level symptoms but to deal with the root of our sickness. We’ve all missed the mark, and the gap between our best efforts and God’s holiness is infinite. This isn’t meant to crush us with despair, though. It’s meant to free us from the impossible and exhausting idea that we can earn our way to God. There is a unity in our condition.
There is also universal hope: “All are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus” (Romans 3:24). The same diagnosis means we all need the same cure, and God has provided it. Jesus didn’t come for people who had their act together; He came for sinners who knew they needed help. The ground at the foot of the cross is level—no one gets there by climbing, and no one is turned away for not being good enough. We’re saved by grace through faith, not by our résumé of religious activities or moral achievements.
So what does this mean for us? It means you can stop performing and start resting in what Christ has done. It means you can be honest about your failures because your identity isn’t built on being flawless—it’s built on being forgiven. And it means you can extend the same grace to others that God has lavished on you, because you’re not standing above anyone; you’re standing beside them, equally in need, equally loved, equally welcomed. The question isn’t whether you’re good enough. The question is whether you’ll accept the cure.
How does thinking about sin as a sickness help to remove shame and comparison?
How does Jesus’ death deal with the cause of our symptoms?
Who could you tell about this?
