Wherefore by works of law no flesh shall be justified before him; for by law [is] knowledge of sin.
Paul has just finished his charge against the whole human race, Jews and Gentiles alike, and verse 20 is the verdict that follows. It raises two questions: why can't a good law make a man right with God, and what is the law for?
Verse 20 draws its "therefore" from verse 19, where every mouth is shut. One writer shows how complete that silence is:
Here the apostle finishes his detailed charge against the whole human race, Gentiles and Jews alike: "so that every mouth may be stopped, and the whole world may be held accountable to God." This means no one can say a single word to soften man's universal condition of guilt and ruin. No one can give a fair reason why God should not pass sentence at once. How would a man feel standing before the judge with nothing at all to say in his defence? This is exactly man's position in relation to God. He may not be convinced; he is convicted beyond all argument.
The verse tests the strongest possible case for human merit and rejects it:
If any works could justify anybody, those of God's law must be the surest benefit to the Jew. But the truth is that no human being will be justified in His sight on any such ground. On the contrary, law never produces holiness. It only brings a full knowledge of sin.
The failure is not in the law. It is the law's excellence that makes justification by it impossible:
It makes no allowance for weakness. It knows nothing of sincere but imperfect obedience. If it did, it would not be what it is — "holy and righteous and good." The sinner cannot get life by the law just because the law is what it is. If he could get life by it, either it would not be perfect, or he would not be a sinner. Its absolute perfection makes clear and seals man's absolute ruin and condemnation.
The second half of the verse gives the law's real job. It shows the problem; it cannot fix it:
The law does convict of sin, "since through the law comes knowledge of sin." But it cannot remove the sins, or free us from the power of sin. The law is only a plumb-line to show the crookedness of the wall. Holding a plumb-line against a crooked wall will never straighten it. It is just as foolish to think the law can justify a guilty sinner. So the law convicts us not only of being sinners before God, but of being helpless sinners.
Does the law create the sin it exposes?
He does not say that through the law comes sin, but only "knowledge of sin." Sin was already there, and it only needed law to bring it out in the form of "transgression." It is as if I say to my child, "you must not touch that knife." My prohibition reveals the tendency in his heart to do his own will. It does not create the tendency; it only reveals it.
The wording is precise: the law gives knowledge of sin, in the singular:
Even as to convincing power, he does not say that through the law comes knowledge "of sins." Conscience already told us that. He says knowledge "of sin." "All have sinned" comes at the end of Romans 3.
If the law cannot justify, that was never its purpose:
The law came in — to do what? To make clear what man was. He did not know himself. But it did not put him right… God did not give it with the aim of justifying. He says it in plain words, "For by works of the law no human being will be justified in his sight." So the aim of the law was not to justify. It was to make clear where man was and what he was. Then he could learn his own helpless ruin, and turn to God to learn what He is.
Verse 20 is the last word of the charge, but not the end of the story:
The beginning of the argument proved the Gentiles ruined, and the end proves the Jews ruined. Every mouth is stopped and the whole world is under judgment to God. What is His sentence? Is there no mercy? There is His righteousness by Christ Jesus, righteousness which justifies the believer.
Notice the timing of God's reply:
The verdict shuts every mouth and brings the whole world in guilty before God. As soon as it falls, God opens His mouth to declare His remedy.
- Verdict — Verse 20 is a sentence, not a suggestion. Man has nothing to say in his defence. He is convicted whether or not he is convinced.
- Perfection — The law fails to justify because it is good. A perfect standard can only expose a flawed man.
- Plumb-line — It measures the crooked wall; it never straightens it. It proves us sinners, and then proves us helpless sinners.
- Sin — The law shows more than wrong acts, which conscience already reports. It shows sin itself.
- Silence — The mouth the law stops is the mouth ready to hear the gospel. The moment man's case collapses, God speaks His own righteousness in Christ.
But now without law righteousness of God is manifested, borne witness to by the law and the prophets;
Paul has just closed his case: every mouth stopped, the whole world guilty before God. Then come two small words — "But now." The subject turns from what man owes to what God has done.
Everything before this verse has been demolition. Here the building starts.
And now the way lies open for the gospel. The shutting of man's mouth opens God's. The exhaustion of man's resources throws the full burden of his salvation onto the arm of God. There is no righteousness in man. The gospel cannot reopen that question; it is closed forever.
The first word of the gospel is not pardon — it is righteousness. That order fits what sin actually is.
God's righteousness means God maintaining all His rights in a right way. This must come first, because sin is lawlessness — man asserting his own will against God's rights. It is fitting, then, that the gospel opens this way. After the terrible unfolding of man's sin, its first word is "the righteousness of God."
Everything turns on where this righteousness comes from.
It is God's, not man's. It has its character, quality, and source from God, not from man… It comes from God for man, not from man for God. So it carries the character and qualities of its source, whoever may be given to benefit from it.
That reframes the very attribute a guilty conscience fears most.
It is natural for a convicted sinner to dread the righteousness of God. He argues that if a holy God deals rightly with a guilty sinner, it can only be to judge him for his sins. It never occurs to the sinner that God can righteously forgive his sins. But when we learn what the righteousness of God is, we discover something else. The very quality in God that we think is against us is the very quality that, above all others, is for us as sinners. It is the solid foundation of our peace as believers.
Law and gospel are not two versions of the same transaction. They run in opposite directions.
The law demanded righteousness from man that he was unable to give. The gospel declares God's righteousness to man, without making any demand on man. It is now clear that God, in righteousness, is proclaiming the forgiveness of sins to the sinner, and justifying the ungodly who believe in Jesus.
So does the gospel cancel the law? The wording of the verse is careful.
Romans 3:21 does not deny that law exists or that it matters. It shows that God's righteousness is now manifested apart from law.
The last clause guards against the idea that God changed His plan. The Old Testament spoke of this righteousness. But speaking of a thing and showing it are not the same.
The law and the prophets did not display the righteousness of God. Yet the law, in various forms, pointed to another righteousness that was coming. The prophets brought it out, if possible, still more clearly in their words. The one supplied types, the others assured that the Lord's righteousness was near to come. But now the gospel tells us it has come. Now divine righteousness is a revealed fact… There is no veil now. There was once, but the death of Christ tore it from top to bottom.
So the newness is in the showing, not in the substance. God had never justified anyone on any other basis.
It is not merely that this righteousness exists; it is now manifested. It existed long before in the purposes of God, since God never justified anyone in any other way. But He did not display it until the gospel was brought out and preached… From Adam onward, no sinner ever stood, or ever could stand, in God's presence except in God's righteousness. But God had not displayed it until now.
Because the righteousness is God's and not man's, the door it opens is as wide as human need.
If this righteousness were man's, it would have to come by the law. The law is the perfect measure of man's righteousness. So it would be only for the Jews, who alone had that law. But it is God's, and by faith, and so for all.
- Verdict. The case against man is closed. He has no righteousness of his own, so God speaks the moment man's mouth is shut.
- Source. The righteousness is God's own. It moves from God to man, never from man to God, so it carries God's character.
- Reversal. The quality a guilty conscience dreads most is the one thing on the believer's side. It is the ground of settled peace.
- Timing. The law and the prophets witnessed to it long before, and no one ever stood before God on any other ground. What is new at the cross is that God now displays it, with no veil.
- Reach. This righteousness comes by faith, not by law. So it is not limited to the people who had the law. It is for all.
righteousness of God by faith of Jesus Christ towards all, and upon all those who believe for there is no difference;
Paul has just shown that Jew and Gentile alike stand guilty, and now he gives God's answer: a righteousness that comes from God, not from man. Two questions run through the verse: whose righteousness is this, and how far does it reach?
A note on wording: older translations read "unto all and upon all them that believe." Much of the comment below turns on that double phrase. The ESV follows different manuscripts and reads "for all who believe."
This righteousness is not a standard God demands from us. It is something God Himself provides.
This righteousness of God is made known in the gospel, entirely apart from the law. The law demanded righteousness from man that he was unable to render. The gospel declares God's righteousness to man, without making any demand upon man... It is now clear that God is righteously proclaiming the forgiveness of sins to the sinner, and justifying the ungodly who believe in Jesus.
Faith is how a person comes to share in this righteousness. One writer also shows what would have followed if the righteousness had been man's own.
It is the righteousness of God by faith in Jesus Christ. Man has not accomplished it, man has not procured it. It is of God, it is His righteousness; by believing in Jesus Christ we come to share in it. Had it been a human righteousness, it would have been by the law, which is the rule of that righteousness — a law given to the Jews only... It is a righteousness of God for man, because no man had any for God. Wherever there is faith, there it is applied. The believer possesses it.
The older reading has two phrases, not one. Kelly argues that both belong there, and that each word carries its own sense.
The manuscripts differ here. Some of the most ancient ones leave out "and upon all." But I agree with those who keep the longer reading. I have little doubt that the words were dropped because the eye or ear caught one "all" and missed the other... The first phrase marks the direction of God's righteousness. It is not, like the law, restricted to a single nation; it addresses itself "unto all" men without exception; but the benefit depends on faith in Jesus Christ, and so it only reaches and takes effect "upon all that believe."
Commentators differ over which reading is original. Another writer pictures the two halves this way:
God's righteousness, so to speak, stretches out its hands kindly towards all men instead of frowning on them. And for those who believe, it comes down on them like a robe, so that they stand dressed in it in God's presence. All this happens without righteousness losing its own proper character in any way, or ceasing to be what it is.
The verse ends by cancelling every distinction between people. The reason is not that every person is equally bad. The reason is the measuring rod.
The only standard for measuring men is "the glory of God." All have fallen short of it — the best as well as the worst — so there is no difference. If it were only a question of conscience, or of human righteousness, there might be some difference. If the standard were only human, some shades of distinction could easily be drawn. But it is not so. All must be ruled by the glory of God, and ruled that way, all fall short alike.
The same words that flatten every human advantage also open the door equally wide.
Grace meets us just as and where we are, and meets all men alike, whether Jew or Gentile, philosopher or simple... All are alike in the ruin — all are alike the objects of the remedy.
The verse names believing, and nothing else. So assurance rests on God's word, not on feelings.
It does not say this righteousness is upon those who have this or that experience, or who feel saved. But if you can say, dear reader, that you are one of those who believe, you have God's word that His "righteousness" is upon you. And if "God's righteousness" is upon you, you are fit to dwell in His presence without a spot.
- Source — the righteousness is God's own, revealed apart from law. The law asked man for what he could not give; the gospel makes no demand at all.
- Channel — it comes by faith in Jesus Christ, not by works. A human righteousness would have come by law, and belonged to one nation.
- Reach — it goes out to all without exception, but takes effect only on those who believe.
- Level ground — the standard is God's glory, not human comparison. So the gap between the best and the worst disappears.
- Rest — all are alike in the ruin and alike the objects of the remedy. The believer's title is God's word, not his own experience.
for all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;
By this point in Romans, the whole human race stands guilty before God. The verse hangs on two words: "all," which leaves nobody out, and "glory," the standard nobody reaches.
The sweep of the word "all" is what makes this sentence so hard to escape. One writer puts the reach of that word next to what human effort can do about it:
Language this wide leaves no one a way out. It puts the whole human family under God's judgement. And nobody can lift themselves out of that condition. No amount of human effort — reforming your life, giving to the poor, and so on — can wash away a single sin.
Saying that everyone falls short does not flatten every sin into the same weight. One writer draws the line carefully. God will judge each person's works. But for salvation, everyone stands on the same ground.
The basic truth of the gospel is that there is no difference between one person and another. That does not mean everyone has sinned the same number of times, or as seriously. The day of judgment will bring out that difference. It will put each person who is not saved by the gospel in his place according to his works. So degrees of sin are real, and God will judge them all with perfect fairness. But that is not a question of salvation. As to that, everybody is precisely on the same footing.
Why "no difference"? It comes down to the standard God uses. Change the standard and you could rank people. Keep God's glory as the standard and the ranking collapses.
God measures people by one standard only: "the glory of God." All have fallen short of it, the best as well as the worst. So there is no difference. If the question were conscience, or human righteousness, there might be some difference. A human standard would let you draw fine distinctions between people. But that is not the standard. God measures everyone by His glory, and by that measure all fall short alike.
Only one man has ever met that standard, which is why comparing ourselves with other people is useless:
There has been only one man in this world whom the glory could own as worthy of it. To Him there came a voice from the excellent glory: "This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased" (2 Peter 1:17). In Him, then, we see what the glory of God requires in a man. Do we match Him? Here alone is the true standard by which we can measure ourselves correctly. Suppose a young man wanted to join the royal guards. There is no point in him arguing that he is the tallest person in town. If he is below the fixed height, he is out.
The two verbs are not in the same tense. The sinning is a finished fact. The falling short is still going on. The writer below quotes an older translation, which reads "do come short" where the ESV reads "fall short."
Not only have all sinned. Notice the wording too: "all do come short of the glory of God." The correct reading is "do come short," not "have come short." What a standard God gives! God does not say, "You have come short of what you ought to be." Most would admit that; but He says, "You have come short of my glory."
Verse 23 ends with a comma. What follows is not a demand but a gift, and one so unexpected that no guilty person would ever have thought to ask for it.
Nothing will meet their case except being "justified by His grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus" (v. 24). But who asked for this? Who pleaded for it? No one. God in His grace, and in keeping with His love, has given what no creature, aware of its own failure, would ever have asked for. You can imagine a cry going up for forgiveness, so that the deserved punishment might be turned aside. But imagine a sinner who really feels how serious his guilt is. Who could dream of him asking the Judge of all the earth to justify him freely by His grace?
If the falling short is still going on, does it stay true of a believer too? One writer says no, and the reason lies outside ourselves:
Does this apply to the believer? On the contrary, no believer comes "short of the glory of God." And how is this? Because there is One in the glory who bore my sins on the cross. And He who is in the glory of God is my life and my righteousness.
- All — the language shuts every door of escape, and no amount of self-improvement removes even one sin.
- Level — degrees of sin are real, and God will judge them; but for salvation everyone stands on the same ground.
- Measure — the standard is God's glory, not conscience or how you compare with other people. By that measure the best and the worst fall short alike.
- Present — the text says we do come short, and the bar is not "what you ought to be" but God's own glory.
- Answered — the verse runs straight on into being justified by His grace as a gift, one no guilty person would have dared to ask for.
being justified freely by his grace through the redemption which [is] in Christ Jesus;
Commentary for this verse has not been generated yet.