<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\nWe are reconciled with our Creator because of the death of the Messiah for us and his resurrection from the dead. Thus, Jesus has overcome the tyranny of sin that enslaves humanity and the penalty of death that hangs over each of us. Because we deserve condemnation and death, all we can now do is respond with repentance and faith to what God has done through the faithfulness of His Son.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jews have the Mosaic Law, but they fall short of its requirements. Gentiles have the witness of their own conscience, yet they continue to sin. Our sinful tendencies demonstrate that we are under God\u2019s wrath even now. Our never-ending transgressions are manifestations of the wrath that is \u201cbeing revealed<\/em> [present tense] from heaven against all unrighteousness<\/em>\u201d \u2013 (Romans 1:18).<\/p>\n\n\n\nWe persist in ungodliness. We demand it! Therefore, God gives us over to the very sins for which we lust. His judgment and wrath are manifested in our multitude of sins, especially idolatry. We worship anything and everything except the God who made us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Sin begets more sin and even worse transgressions as we \u201ctreasure up for ourselves wrath for the Day of Wrath<\/em>.\u201d This, after all, is a fair \u201cexchange<\/em>\u201d:<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n- \u201cFor I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.\u00a0For in it is being revealed a righteousness of God\u00a0from<\/strong><\/em>\u00a0[\u2018ek\u2019]\u00a0faith<\/em>\u00a0for<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0[\u2018eis\u2019]\u00a0faith. As it is written,\u00a0BUT THE RIGHTEOUS MAN\u00a0<\/em>[masculine and singular]\u00a0WILL LIVE FROM\u00a0<\/em>[\u2018ek\u2019]\u00a0FAITH.<\/em>\u00a0For the wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who possess the truth in unrighteousness.\u00a0<\/em><\u2026>\u00a0<\/em>Wherefore,\u00a0God delivered them to the lusts of their hearts for uncleanness, that their bodies should be dishonoured among themselves, for they exchanged the truth of God for a lie and venerated and gave homage to the creature rather than the Creator<\/em>\u201d\u00a0– (Romans 1:16-25. Note the verbal allusion to Habakkuk 2:4).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
Israel possessed the Law yet sinned all the same, and Jewish transgressors will be judged by the Torah<\/em>. Gentiles sin \u201cwithout the Law<\/em>\u201d and will \u201cperish without the Law<\/em>.\u201d Jews and Gentiles alike are \u201cunder sin<\/em>,\u201d and, therefore, they will pay the penalty, especially death. However,<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n- \u201cBut now, apart from the law, a righteousness of God has been manifested, borne witness to by the Law and the Prophets, a\u00a0righteousness of God\u00a0through the faith of Jesus Christ<\/strong>\u00a0for all who have faith, for there is no distinction. For all have sinned and lack the glory of God. Being declared righteous freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God set forth\u00a0a covering<\/strong>\u00a0<\/em>[\u2018hilast\u00e9rion\u2019], through faith in his blood, for proof of his righteousness by the passing-over of the previously committed sins in the forbearance of God,\u00a0with a view to a showing forth of his righteousness in the present season, that he might be righteous even when declaring righteous the man who has faith in Jesus<\/em>\u201d \u2013 (Romans 3:21-26. \u201cCovering,\u201d or \u201cmercy seat.\u201d The Greek noun \u2018hilast\u00e9rion<\/em>\u2019 or \u03b9\u03bb\u03b1\u03c3\u03c4\u03b7\u03c1\u03b9\u03bf\u03bd is used in the Greek\u00a0Septuagint<\/em>\u00a0for the \u201cmercy seat.\u201d See also\u00a0Exodus 25:21-22 and Leviticus 16:15-16).<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- \u201cAnd after the second veil, the tabernacle, which is called the Holy of holies;\u00a0having a golden altar of incense, and the ark of the covenant overlaid with gold, in which was a golden pot holding the manna, and Aaron’s rod that budded, and the tables of the covenant;\u00a0and above it cherubim of glory overshadowing\u00a0the mercy seat<\/strong><\/em>\u00a0[\u2018hilast\u00e9rion\u2019], of which things we cannot now speak severally<\/em>\u201d – (Hebrews 9:3-5).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
Just as wrath is being revealed from heaven, so the righteousness of God is being revealed, from faith and for faith. Paul is deliberate in his choice of prepositions, beginning in Romans 1:16-17 (\u201cA righteousness of God from<\/em> [\u2018ek\u2019] faith<\/em> for <\/em>[\u2018eis\u2019] faith<\/em>\u201d).<\/p>\n\n\n\nThe righteousness of God is revealed \u201cfrom<\/em>\u201d faith. This rendering represents the Greek preposition \u2018ek<\/em>\u2019, which stresses origin, source. In Romans 1:17, the clause \u201cmy righteous one<\/em>\u201d is singular and refers to Jesus, the Messiah, and not to righteous men in general. He is the man from whose faith or faithfulness the righteousness of God is revealed \u201cfor<\/em>\u201d or unto faith (the Greek preposition \u2018eis<\/em>\u2019).<\/p>\n\n\n\nThe grammatical structure is important to Paul\u2019s summary statement in Romans 3:21-26. No one is declared innocent of sin\u2019s penalty \u201cfrom the works of the Law<\/em>,\u201d therefore, we are reconciled to God on another basis, namely, \u201cfrom faith<\/em>.\u201d But not just from faith in general or any form of faith, but a very specific faith.<\/p>\n\n\n\nNotice in Romans 3:25 that God \u201cset forth<\/em>\u201d Jesus as a \u201ccovering<\/em>\u201d or \u201cmercy seat<\/em>.\u201d Paul\u2019s Greek term \u2018hilast\u00e9rion<\/em>\u2019 is borrowed from the ancient Greek translation or the Pentateuch, the Septuagint<\/em>, where, in the sixteenth chapter of the Book of Leviticus<\/em>, it translates the Hebrew word for \u201cmercy seat,\u201d the place where God met with Israel and the sins of the nation were covered or expiated. This Greek noun (\u2018hilast\u00e9rion<\/em>\u2019) is used only one more time in the New Testament, in Hebrews 9:5, where it also refers to the mercy seat of the ancient Tabernacle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\nSince God is the one who provides the place and the means of \u201catonement\u201d or reconciliation, ideas about appeasing or \u2018propitiating\u2019 the wrath of God do not fit the picture Paul is painting. Jesus is the means and the place of reconciliation where sins are dealt with decisively, and God is the one who provided it. Thus, for example, Paul points to this Divine intervention as \u201cproof<\/em>\u201d of God\u2019s righteousness, His covenant faithfulness.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\nGod\u2019s faithfulness to save His children is now revealed from<\/em><\/strong> the faith of Jesus, His \u201cRighteous One,\u201d and it is for<\/em><\/strong> the man or woman who responds to him and his faithful deed with faith – \u201cTo those who believe<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\nTHE FAITHFULNESS OF GOD<\/em><\/h4>\n\n\n\nThere is a \u201crighteousness of God<\/em>\u201d that is being \u201cmanifested apart from the Law<\/em>.\u201d Paul is referring to God\u2019s righteousness, something that He possesses, reveals, and delivers. The language reflects the Old Testament concept of God\u2019s covenant faithfulness to His people, which is demonstrated by the salvation He graciously provides for them – \u201cHis loving-kindness<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n- \u201cBut I have trusted in your loving-kindness. My heart will rejoice in your salvation<\/em>\u201d \u2013 (Psalm 13:5).<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- \u201cFor the mountains may depart, and the hills be removed. But My loving-kindness will not depart from you, neither will my covenant of peace be removed, declares the Lord who has mercy on you<\/em>\u201d \u2013 (Isaiah 54:10).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
God did not leave his wayward children without hope. He has provided a solution that remedies our otherwise hopeless predicament, and He has done so in a way that highlights His faithfulness and mercy, a solution confirmed by the \u201cLaw and the Prophets<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\nPaul hints at this in the opening declaration of Romans<\/em>. The Gospel was \u201cpromised beforehand <\/em>through his prophets in the holy scriptures<\/em>,\u201d and that promise has come to fulfillment through Jesus of Nazareth – (Romans 1:1-4, 3:21).<\/p>\n\n\n\nGod’s saving righteousness is provided \u201cthrough the faith of Jesus Christ<\/em>.\u201d We must note Paul\u2019s use of the Greek genitive noun case. It signifies something that Jesus possessed or did – his faith or faithfulness<\/em>. Christ\u2019s faith is the grounds of our salvation from the penalty of sin, especially his death, his \u201cobedience unto death<\/em>\u201d \u2013 (See Philippians 2:7-8).<\/p>\n\n\n\n\nThe salvation secured by Christ\u2019s act is \u201cfor<\/em> all men who believe<\/em>.\u201d Repentance and faith in Jesus are how we respond to what God has provided for us in His son. The purpose of atonement is to reconcile humanity with its Creator, not to appease the wrath of an enraged deity (\u2018at-one-ment<\/em>\u2019).<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\nThe proposition that we are saved through the \u201cfaith of Jesus<\/em>\u201d is not unique to this passage or the Letter to the Romans<\/em>. To the Philippians, Paul expressed his desire to be found in Jesus, \u201cnot having a righteousness of my own from the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ<\/em>\u201d \u2013 (Philippians 3:9).<\/p>\n\n\n\nIn his Letter to the Galatians<\/em>, Paul wrote that we \u201cknow a man is not justified from the works of the law, but through the faith of Jesus Christ, even we believed in Christ Jesus, that we might be justified from the faith of Christ<\/em>.\u201d In the same paragraph, Paul clarifies what he means by the \u201cfaith of Jesus<\/em>\u201d; namely, Christ\u2019s obedient death:<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n- \u201cI have been crucified with Christ, and it is no longer I who lives, but Christ lives in me, and that life which I now live in the flesh I live in\u00a0the faith of the Son of God, who loved me\u00a0and gave himself for me<\/em>\u201d \u2013 (Galatians 2:16-21).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
The claim that we are redeemed by the sacrificial act of Jesus goes back to Christ:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n- \u201cFor the Son of Man also came not to be served, but to serve, AND TO GIVE HIS LIFE A RANSOM FOR MANY<\/em>\u201d \u2013 (Mark 10:45. Note the allusion to Isaiah 53:12).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
Men and women who respond to Christ’s sacrificial death with repentance and faith are acquitted before God of the penalty of sin, \u201cfreely by His grace<\/em>,\u201d and this is \u201cthrough the redemption that is in Jesus<\/em>.\u201d We are reconciled with God when we respond to His gracious offer with repentance and faith in what He has done for us \u201cthrough the faith of Jesus<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n- \u201cHe was delivered up for our trespasses, and he was raised for our acquittal<\/em>\u201d \u2013 (Romans 4:25).<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- \u201cTherefore, having been declared innocent on the basis of faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom also we have our access by faith into this grace wherein we stand; and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God<\/em>\u201d \u2013 (Romans 5:1-2).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
About the Author: David Mass, I am educated in the history and languages of the Bible. I write about the kingdom of God, discipleship, and Bible prophecy. I am a citizen of God’s Kingdom and a resident of the State of Nevada, U.S.A.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
By David Maas\u00a0 We are acquitted before God through the faith of Jesus Christ, and not from the works of the Law \u2013 Romans 3:21-26. Having demonstrated that all men violate God\u2019s revealed will, the Apostle Paul concludes that no man or woman is acquitted from the penalty of sin from the works and rituals required<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":12845,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[40],"tags":[119,110,200,310],"coauthors":[976],"class_list":{"0":"post-12844","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-faith","8":"tag-bible","9":"tag-christianity","10":"tag-god","11":"tag-jesus"},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/cvnznews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Faith.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cvnznews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12844","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cvnznews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cvnznews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cvnznews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cvnznews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=12844"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/cvnznews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12844\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":12846,"href":"https:\/\/cvnznews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12844\/revisions\/12846"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cvnznews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/12845"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cvnznews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=12844"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cvnznews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=12844"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cvnznews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=12844"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cvnznews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcoauthors&post=12844"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}