Justification by Faith in Romans

Introduction

During the height of the Protestant Reformation, John Calvin wrote in an early edition of his Institutes of the Christian Religion that justification by faith “is the chief article of the Christian religion.”[1] Many of the Reformers would have said the same. Many today, however, argue that justification is of secondary importance. The doctrine of “justification by faith” in Romans especially has been the subject of intense debate. In the first five chapters of this letter, Paul lays out the doctrine of justification by faith. Thus, in understanding Romans, one must come to grips with what Paul teaches about this doctrine throughout the book. In the first five chapters of Romans, Paul suggests that justification occurs when God, once and for all, declares righteous, on the basis of Christ’s death and resurrection, the one who believes in Jesus, leading to great peace, access into God’s grace, and the certain hope of glory.

Definition

In his letter to the Romans, Paul wastes no time in presenting the doctrine of justification by faith. He writes in 1:16-17, “For 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. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, ‘The righteous shall live by faith.’”[2] While Paul does not use the words “justification” (δικαίωσις) or “justify” (δικαιόω) in this passage, his phrase the “righteousness of God” (δικαιοσύνη θεοῦ) and its connection with faith clearly express the idea of justification by faith.[3] In the gospel, the righteousness of God—his saving, justifying activity—is revealed.[4] This is one of the great themes in the letter. However, what Paul’s justification language in Romans actually means is the subject of intense debate. Thus, from the outset, the term “justification” must be defined.

            The traditional understanding of “justification” in evangelical and Reformed circles can be expressed in the words of Jonathan Edwards: “A person is said to be justified, when he is approved of God as free from the guilt of sin and its deserved punishment, and as having that righteousness belonging to him that entitles to the reward of life.”[5] Put simply, to be justified, is to be declared righteous by God and given the status of “righteousness.” Those who take this position insist that Paul’s justification language in this context is forensic: believers are declared righteous by God’s verdict, but not made righteous by this declaration. Often the doctrine of imputation is also closely linked with justification. Finally, those who hold this view place “justification” in the category of soteriology: justification has to do with how one is saved.[6]

            Another view that has grown in popularity is expressed by the “New Perspective on Paul.” One of the proponents of this perspective, N. T. Wright, writes, “Justification is the judge’s verdict that someone is in the right. Righteousness is the status before the court which results from that declaration.”[7] In Wright’s view, justification is forensic. However, he goes on to say that justification “is not how someone becomes a Christian, but simply the declaration that someone is a Christian.”[8] Thus, Wright defines justification as forensic, but having to do with ecclesiology, not soteriology. Others of the New Perspective persuasion go farther than Wright and claim that justification is not purely forensic.[9] Generally, however, New Perspective scholars define justification as the declaration that someone is within the people of God, with an emphasis on the covenant, ecclesiology, and corporate groups rather than individuals.

            Which definition of “justification” best fits the context of Romans and Paul’s teaching on justification by faith? Paul uses the verb “justify” (δικαιόω) fifteen times in Romans. From these uses, the word appears to have a primarily forensic sense. To begin with, as Paul endeavors to lay out the sinfulness of all mankind in 1:18-3:20, he quickly establishes a legal or forensic setting. The language of “judgement”  and “condemnation”  abounds in this section, especially at the beginning of chapter 2 (see esp. 2:1-2). Thus, when Paul comes to the heart of his discussion of justification by faith in Romans 3:21-5:21, the scene has been set. God is “just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus” (3:26). All, both Jew and Gentile, have sinned (1:18-3:20) and God had passed over those sins (3:25b). But now, through Christ’s propitiatory sacrifice, God has been vindicated and declares righteous those who believe in Jesus. This language clearly “comes from the realm of the law court.”[10]

One other example is Romans 8:31-34. Here Paul asks, “Who shall bring any charge against God’s elect?” (8:33a). What is his answer? No one may accuse the elect because God is the one who justifies (8:33b). As Mark Seifrid writes, “The language of accusation, condemnation, intercession and defence, makes the forensic, declaratory setting of Paul's discourse unmistakable.”[11] Those who insist, like Thomas Stegman, that Paul’s righteousness language is far from purely forensic language do acknowledge this obvious forensic aspect. However, they also read into it other ideas such as new life, empowerment, and the manifestation of the new creation in Jesus.[12] These additions read into Paul’s justification language more than what the Roman church would have heard.  They go beyond the simple meaning of Paul’s words. Justification is the forensic declaration that the one who believes is righteous.

Justification also has to do with how one is saved—it is soteriological (though it certainly has huge ecclesiological implications). Throughout Romans, this soteriological aspect is clear. Paul mentions salvation and righteousness together in his thesis (1:16-17). The gospel is the power of God for salvation for both Jew and Gentile because in the gospel, God’s saving, justifying activity is revealed. Justification is not the mere recognition that someone is saved. Rather, it is the declaration that the one who believes is righteous, and this declaration is a metaphor for what happens when one is saved. Dr. Tom Schreiner writes, “Justification has to do with whether one is right before God, whether one is acquitted or condemned, whether one is pardoned or found guilty, and that is a soteriological matter.”[13] In Romans, then, Paul often uses the imagery of the law-court (justification) for what God has done for both Jews and Gentiles in Christ: he declares them to be righteous.[14]

The Basis of Justification

            In Romans 4:5, Paul refers to God as “he who justifies the ungodly.” Justification, then, is God’s declaration that the ungodly are “righteous.” However, in Proverbs 17:15, it is said that he who “justifies the wicked” is “an abomination to the LORD.” Thus, God cannot justify sinners without a basis for doing so. He cannot declare someone who is unrighteous to have the status of “righteousness” without ground for his declaration. The basis for God justifying the ungodly is “the redemption that is in Christ Jesus,” (3:24b). As Kenneth Allen writes, “The grounds of justification are the person and work of the Lord Jesus Christ.”[15] God justifies the ungodly on the basis of Christ’s death and resurrection.

            Nowhere in Romans does Paul lay out a clearer picture of the basis of the Christian’s justification than in 3:21-26.[16] He has just finished demonstrating that all of mankind is under sin, unable to be justified by their deeds (1:18-3:20). “But now,” Paul writes, “the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law,” (3:21a). God’s saving activity, his justifying work, has been revealed “through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe” (3:22). All Jews and Gentiles are under sin (3:23), and both are justified “by his [God’s] grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith [emphasis added],” (3:24-25a). Christ’s atoning work on the cross is the basis for the believer’s justification. God put forward his own Son in order to redeem the one who believes in him as the atoning sacrifice for sin.[17] He did this to display his own righteousness, that “he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus,” (3:26). Christ’s work on the cross not only allows God to declare the ungodly righteous because their debt has been paid, but also vindicates (justifies) God’s own action of passing over the sins that his people committed before Christ’s death and resurrection. God justifies the ungodly on the basis of Christ’s redemptive, atoning work on the cross.

            In Romans 4, Paul demonstrates how Abraham himself was justified by faith, not works, allowing him to be “the spiritual father of both believing Jews and Gentiles.”[18] In verses 23-25, he applies his discussion of Abraham’s faith to believers: righteousness “will be counted to us who believe in him who raised from the dead Jesus our Lord, who was delivered up for our trespasses and raised for our justification,” (4:24-25). In this passage, Paul teaches (probably using “an early Christian confessional creed”)[19] that Jesus “was raised for the sake of our justification” (4:25b NET).[20] Christ’s resurrection, as a part of his redemptive work proclaimed in the gospel (see Rom. 10:9; 1 Cor. 15:3-4), is also the ground of the believer’s justification. It displays his Lordship and the efficacy of the atonement he provides. Because of Christ’s resurrection, God is able to justify the ungodly.

Both Christ’s death and resurrection play vital, basic roles in the Christian’s justification.[21] The two must not be separated in the discussion of justification, for Paul demonstrates that the Christian’s justification is grounded in both. As Paul writes, “For as by the one man’s [Adam] disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man’s [Christ] obedience the many will be made righteous,” (5:19). The basis of God’s justifying the ungodly rests on the basis of Christ’s righteous, atoning work on the cross and his resurrection from the dead.

The Means of Justification

            God declares the ungodly righteous on the basis of Christ’s work on the cross and his resurrection from the dead. This picture, however, is not complete. In Romans 1:17, Paul writes that in the gospel, “the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith.”  Furthermore, in Romans 3:24, Paul writes that both Jew and Gentile “are justified by his grace as a gift,” and in 3:28 that “one is justified by faith apart from works of the law.” Thus, the picture becomes clearer: God justifies those who believe in Jesus by his grace. One obtains justification by God’s grace through faith, not the works of the law.

            In his thesis of the letter (1:16-17), Paul writes that in the gospel, “the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, ‘The righteous shall live by faith,” (1:17). The major emphasis of this verse is on the word “faith.” It is repeated three times in this one key verse. The phrase “from faith for faith” (ἐκ πίστεως εἰς πίστιν) has been interpreted in various ways. However, as Moo writes, the phrase is probably best interpreted “as an emphatic construction, ‘faith from first to last.’”[22] God’s righteousness, his saving, justifying activity, is revealed in the gospel and is experienced through faith—faith alone. Paul strengthens his statement with a quotation from Habakkuk 2:4: “The righteous shall live by faith.” Given the context of this quote and Paul’s emphasis on justification by faith, this quotation is probably better translated, “The righteous by faith will live,” (NET).[23] In other words, those who are justified by faith will live. Thus, Paul emphasizes in his thesis that justification, the revelation of God’s righteousness, is experienced by both Jews and Gentiles through faith.

            In the next section of his letter (1:18-3:20), Paul argues that the sinfulness of both Jews and Gentiles renders the works of the law unable to justify either group. In Romans 1:18-32, Paul contends that all Gentiles are under sin.[24] He reasons that though God has made his character plain to all people in what he has created, men and women suppress the truth and turn to idolatry, which, as Bruce writes, “is the source of immorality.”[25] Men and women reject God’s general revelation and choose idolatry and sin over God. Thus, the wrath of God is revealed against them. In Romans 2, Paul argues that all Jews are under sin.[26] Their self-righteous judging condemns them because God shows no partiality (2:1-11), their possession of Law does not justify them because they do not keep it (2:12-24), and their circumcision does them no good if they break the law (2:25-29).[27] Coming to chapter 3, Paul brings his argument to its conclusion: “all, both Jews and Greeks, are under sin,” (3:9b). Thus, Paul reasons, “by the works of the Law no flesh will be justified in His sight;” (3:20a NASB). The means of justification is not the works of the Law. No one is able to do good (3:12b) and be justified in that way.

In Romans 3:21-4:25, Paul returns to the theme of faith. He has established that no one is able to be justified by the works of the law. Now, he establishes the means by which both Jew and Gentile are justified: grace through faith. Paul’s thesis for 3:21-4:25 is that both Jews and Gentiles now have access to God’s righteousness (justification) through faith in Jesus Christ (3:21-22). God justifies both Jew and Gentile “by his grace as a gift,” on the basis of Christ’s work of redemption (3:24).[28] This gift is received by faith (3:25b). Thus, Paul argues, all boasting (Jewish boasting especially) is excluded because justification is only obtained by God’s grace through faith without distinction between Jew and Gentile (3:27-31).

In Romans 4:1-8, Paul answers the question, “What about Abraham, then?”[29] He establishes that Abraham also had no right to boast because his faith was “counted to him as righteousness” (4:1-5). He notes that David spoke of this blessing of justification by faith, which leads him to quote Psalm 32:1-2: those who are forgiven, having their sin covered and not counted against them are blessed (4:6-8). Then, in 4:9-17, Paul answers a second question: is this blessing only for those who have been circumcised (i.e. Jews)? Paul argues that it is not because Abraham, being justified by faith before he was circumcised, is father of both the circumcised and the uncircumcised (4:9-17). Then, in verses 19-25, Paul concludes with some final reflections on the nature of Abraham’s faith—it was unwavering and completely dependent upon God’s promise[30]—and an application for believers: those who believe will also be counted righteous on the basis of Christ death and resurrection. This chapter hammers home the point that justification is obtained by faith for both Jews and Gentiles.

In the chapters that follow, Paul fleshes out the blessings and results of justification by faith, introducing new themes and expounding on ones he has already introduced. When he comes to 9:30-10:13, in the midst of his argument concerning God’s faithfulness to Old Testament promises made to Israel (9:1-6), Paul once again emphasizes justification by faith, not works. In 9:30-10:13, he explains, as Moo writes, that Israel has failed to attain righteousness “because she has been preoccupied with a righteousness based on the law,” while the Gentiles have embraced “a righteousness based on faith.”[31] Paul goes on to argue that “with the heart one believes and is justified,” (10:10a). Jews and Gentiles are not declared righteous by means of their attempt to attain righteousness through the law, but by their faith in Christ. Ultimately, then, in his letter to the Romans, Paul clearly maintains that both Jews and Gentiles obtain justification by God’s grace through faith, not the works of the law. God declares righteous, on the basis of Christ’s redemptive work, those who believe in Christ.

Time Factors

Thus far, the basic picture of justification by faith has been laid out: justification occurs when God declares righteous, on the basis of Christ’s redemptive work, those who believe in him. One of the implications of this picture is that justification by faith is an instantaneous act, not a gradual one. As Allen writes, “Justification is a once-and-for-all-time transaction.”[32] It is not a process that takes place over a period of time, but a declarative act by God. The definition of justification and one passage in Romans in particular make this clear.

            Justification has been defined as the declaration that one is no longer unrighteous before God, but righteous. In other words, as F. F. Bruce writes, justification is “the conferment of a righteous status.”[33] Thus, it follows that justification is an event and not a process. It is not a progressive “conferment” or declaration. Furthermore, it is not the progressive infusion of righteousness.[34] Rather, justification is God’s legal declaration that the one who believes in Christ is “righteous.” In the law court, the judge does not progressively confer a righteous status on the defendant little by little. If the defendant is declared righteous (or innocent), that declaration is an instantaneous event. This imagery is what Paul is using when he speaks of justification in Romans. All have sinned (3:23), yet all may be declared righteous and given a righteous status through faith in the person and work of Christ (3:24-25). This declaration is a once-and-for-all event.

            In Romans 5:1, Paul writes, “Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.” The phrase “since we have been justified” is translated from the aorist participle δικαιωθέντες. “We have” is translated from the present indicative verb ἔχομεν. While one must be cautious before making any conclusions about time from the tenses of these verbs,[35] the relationship between these tenses and their context seem to suggest that justification is a non-continuous event upon which the possession of peace is contingent. Daniel Wallace writes, “Time with participles (especially adverbial participles) depends on the time of the main verb.”[36] In Romans 5:1, the main verb, ἔχομεν (“we have”), is a present tense verb, which often communicate the idea of a progressive action.[37] Thus, Paul’s use of the aorist tense for δικαιωθέντες (“since we have been justified”) seems to suggest that justification is a non-continuous action in relation to having peace in the present. This fits well in the context. In Romans 5:1, Paul is moving on from his discussion of justification by faith for both Jew and Gentile in 3:21-4:25 to what comes after this justification.[38] Since those who have believed have been justified, they have peace with God. Justification seems to be presented here as a non-continuous action upon which ongoing peace with God is contingent.[39]

            Ultimately, if one defines “justification” forensically as the declaration that someone is “righteous,” it naturally follows that justification is an event, not a process. Furthermore, Romans 5:1 seems to confirm this idea. In Romans, Paul presents justification as a non-continuous action in relation to the peace the believer now enjoys with God. It occurs when God, once and for all, declares righteous, on the basis of Christ’s propitiatory sacrifice, the one who believes in Jesus.

The Fruits of Justification

            Beginning in Romans 5, Paul presents several of the results, or fruits, of justification. Once a person has been justified, certain fruits follow. Douglas Moo writes in his commentary, “He [Paul] has established the truth of justification by faith in chapters 1-4. Now he will elaborate the results of the new status God has given us in Christ.”[40] Paul presents three major results of justification in Romans 5:1-2: peace with God (5:1), access into God’s grace (5:2a), and joy in the “hope of the glory of God” (5:2b).[41]

            First, those who have been justified have peace with God. Paul writes, “Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,” (5:1). As was noted earlier in passing, peace with God is contingent upon justification. When a person believes in Christ, he or she is declared to be in the right. As a result, believers no longer stand under the wrath of God (c.f. 5:9), but have peace with God. The hostility between God and the former rebel has been removed.[42] A second fruit of justification is the access by faith into God’s grace in which believers stand (5:2a). F. F. Bruce writes, “the former rebels are not merely forgiven by having their due punishment remitted; they are brought into a place of high favour with God – ‘this grace in which we stand’.”[43]

A third fruit stems from the peace believers have with God and the access they enjoy into God’s grace: joy in the “hope of the glory of God” (5:2b). Believers are now in the right with God and have the glorious hope of final salvation.[44] This theme is repeated throughout Romans 5-8 and, as Moo notes, forms the inclusio for this section of the letter (see 5:1-11, 8:18-39).[45]  In 8:30, Paul writes that “those whom he [God] justified he also glorified.” Those who have been justified have the hope of eternal glory. Their hope is not an uncertain hope, but a certain one. In one of the most beloved passages in Romans, Paul presents the assurance that the believer has: “Who shall bring any charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies,” (8:33). No one, angel or human, can claim that any one of God’s elect stands condemned before God, unable to enter eternal glory. While all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God (3:23), those who are justified by faith rejoice in the firm hope of that glory (5:2b).

The fruits of justification cannot be limited to the three fruits that have been presented, though they are the most explicit in Paul’s argument in his letter to the Romans. Many scholars, theologians, and pastors emphasize different fruits that arise from justification. For example, N. T. Wright argues that “Justification . . . results in holiness and hope.”[46] In addition, Walter Maier writes that “Justification brings with it the gift of spiritual and eternal life (Rom. 1:17; 5:17-21) and the other blessings of salvation (Romans 6-8).”[47] One could go into great detail investigating the results of justification. However, the peace with God (5:1), access into God’s grace (5:2a), and joy in the “hope of the glory of God” (5:2b) that result from justification are three glorious fruits that Paul lists in Romans and should be the cause of great rejoicing for those who have been justified.

Assurance of Justification

            Justification, according to Paul, occurs when God, once and for all, declares righteous, on the basis of Christ’s death and resurrection, the one who believes in Jesus, leading to great peace, grace, and the hope of glory. This justification is certain. Those who have faith in Christ can be assured of their justification because it rests not in their own striving to achieve it, but in God’s grace, on the basis of Christ’s redemptive work.

            Paul argues that the believer’s justification rests in Christ’s death and resurrection. On this basis, the one who believes is justified by the grace of God. It follows, therefore, that the one who truly believes can be assured that he or she is justified. Paul writes in 3:24-25 that both Jew and Gentile “are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith.” Justification is a gift that is firmly grounded in Christ’s atoning, redemptive sacrifice.[48] One’s nationality does not exclude him or her from this gift. All have sinned (3:23), but all can be sure of justification if their faith in is the person and work of Jesus Christ. The status of “righteousness” is a gift of grace given by God (3:24a). Those who receive this gift through faith have no need to fear that they will be condemned because “it is God who justifies” (8:33b). No one can bring the charge that they are unrighteous before God, because God, the judge himself, has declared them righteous. 

In Romans 4:23-25, Paul writes, “But the words ‘it was counted to him’ were not written for his [Abraham’s] sake alone, but for ours also. It [righteousness] will be counted to us who believe in him who raised from the dead Jesus our Lord, who was delivered up for our trespasses and raised for our justification.” Those who, like Abraham, believe in him who raises the dead will be counted righteous.[49] Abraham is not only the father of those who share his faith (4:16), but also a testimony that God justifies those who believe. Abraham’s testimony should give believers assurance that their justification is certain. Furthermore, Paul writes in this passage that Christ “was raised for the sake of our justification,” (4:25b NET). As F. F. Bruce writes, “Christ was ‘delivered up’ to atone for his people’s sins and raised to guarantee their justification [emphasis added].”[50] The believer’s justification is guaranteed by Christ’s resurrection. Therefore, believers are able to rest assured that they are justified if they have believed.

Paul writes in Romans 10:10, “For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved.” God, out of the riches of his grace, declares righteous those who believe in Jesus. This truth is certain; Paul makes no exceptions here. Those who believe in Christ have no need to fear condemnation when they stand before God because they have been declared righteous. Therefore, let those who have believed in Christ stand firm in faith, knowing that their righteousness has been secured by God’s grace through Christ’s death and resurrection.       

Conclusion

This paper has been a meager attempt to give an introduction to one of the cardinal doctrines of the Christian faith as set forth by Paul in Romans: justification by faith. Scholars continue to debate the importance of justification, but it is clear in Romans that for Paul, justification by faith is fundamental to the gospel itself (1:16-17). Paul argues in Romans that justification occurs when God, once and for all, declares righteous, on the basis of Christ’s death and resurrection, the one who believes in Jesus, leading to great peace, access into God’s grace, and the certain hope of glory. As Douglas Moo writes, “Everything else in the Christian life flows from this marvelous experience.”[51] Thus, believers should not minimize this doctrine, but rejoice in it daily, saying with Paul, “I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is God’s power for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For the righteousness of God is revealed in the gospel from faith to faith, just as it is written, ‘The righteous by faith will live’” (1:16-17 NET).   

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[1]John Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion: A New Translation of the 1541 Institutes, trans. Robert White (Edinburgh, UK: The Banner of Truth Trust, 2014), Chapter 6, second paragraph, eBook.

[2]All Scripture quotations are from the English Standard Version unless otherwise noted.  

[3]Douglas J. Moo, Romans: The NIV Application Commentary (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2000), 55, Kindle.

[4]The interpretation of δικαιοσύνη θεοῦ is fiercely debated and is beyond the scope of this paper. Some insist that Paul is setting forth God’s righteousness as an attribute, i.e. his justice, see Moo, 51. Others, such as John Piper, define the phrase as the “the external righteousness that is imputed to us,” see John Piper, Counted Righteous in Christ: Should We Abandon the Imputation of Christ’s Righteousness? (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2002), 64-68. Others, such as N. T. Wright, define the phrase as God’s “covenant faithfulness,” see N. T. Wright, “Paul and the Patriarch: The Role of Abraham in Romans 4,” Journal for the Study of the New Testament (Online) 35, no. 3 (2013): 218-19.  Finally, others take the position that has been stated in this paper: δικαιοσύνη θεοῦ refers to God’s saving activity—as Moo writes, the “Righteousness done by God,” see Moo, 52. This view seems to fit both the literary context and the Old Testament context. See also Mark A. Seifrid, “In what Sense is ‘Justification’ a Declaration?” Churchman 114, no. 2 (2000): 123-36. 

[5]Jonathan Edwards, “Justification by Faith Alone,” in The Works of Jonathan Edwards, ed. Edward Hickman (Washington, D.C.: OSNOVA, 2011), under point I, Kindle.

[6]Thomas R. Schreiner, “Justification: The Saving Righteousness of God in Christ,” Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society 54, no. 1 (2011): 22-28, accessed January 25, 2016. http://www.etsjets.org/files/ JETS-PDFs/54/54-1/JETS_54-1_19-34_Schreiner.pdf.

[7]N. T. Wright, “Justification: The Biblical Basis and its Relevance for Contemporary Evangelicalism,” in The Great Acquittal: Justification by Faith and Current Christian Thought, ed. Gavin Reid (London: Collins, 1980), 13, accessed January 25, 2016, http://ntwrightpage. com/Wright_Justification_Biblical_Basis.pdf.

[8]Ibid.

[9]Thomas Stegman writes, “By focusing on forensic imagery, Wright overly restricts what Paul means by this language. He thereby sets forth an impoverished interpretation of ‘justification.’” Thomas Stegman, “Paul's use of Dikaio-Terminology: Moving Beyond N. T. Wright's Forensic Interpretation,” Theological Studies 72, no. 3 (2011): 521, accessed February 16, 2015, ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials, EBSCOhost. 

[10]Moo, 130.

[11]Seifrid, 128-29.

[12]Stegman, 519.

[13]Schreiner, “Justification: The Saving Righteousness of God in Christ,” 22.  

[14]Moo, 130-31.

[15]Kenneth W. Allen, “Justification by Faith,” Bibliotheca Sacra 135, no. 538 (1978): 111, accessed February 18, 2016, ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials, EBSCOhost.

[16]Romans 5:8-9 is also a powerful text with this picture: “but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God [emphasis added].”

[17]While the focus of this paper is justification, it is necessary to remember that Paul also uses other imagery for salvation in these verses. Bruce comments, “Paul has thus pressed into service the language of the law-court (‘justified’), the slave-market (‘redemption’) and the altar (‘expiation’, ‘atoning sacrifice’) in the attempt to do justice to the fullness of God’s gracious act in Christ. Pardon, liberation, atonement – all are made available to men and women by his free initiative and may be appropriated by faith.”  F. F. Bruce, Romans: An Introduction and Commentary, Tyndale New Testament Commentaries 6 (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1985), 112-13.

[18]Moo, 143. 

[19]Robert H. Mounce, Romans: An Exegetical and Theological Exposition of Holy Scripture, The New American Commentary 27 (Nashville: B&H Publishing Group, 1992), 131, Kindle.

[20]There is debate surrounding the use of the preposition διὰ in this verse. The NET Bible’s rendering, “for the sake of,” seems to fit the context best. For relevant discussion of this issue see Moo, 165-66; Bruce, 124; Michael F. Bird, “‘Raised for our Justification’: A Fresh Look at Romans 4:25,” Colloquium 35, no. 1 (2003): 39-46, accessed January 25, 2016, http://colloquiumjournal.org/back-issues/Coll35.1/Bird.pdf.

[21]Bird, 46.

[22]Moo, 52. Mounce represents another view, saying, “Righteousness is ἐκ πίστεως—it is based on faith, and εἰς πίστιν—it leads to an ever-increasing faith,” Mounce, 74. For a relevant discussion of this construction see Terrance Randall Wardlaw, “A Reappraisal of ‘from Faith to Faith’ (Romans 1:17).” European Journal of Theology 21, no. 2 (2012): 107-19, accessed February 27, 2016, ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials, EBSCOhost.   

[23]As F. F. Bruce writes, “When Paul takes up Habakkuk’s words and sees in them the foundation truth of the gospel, he gives them the sense, ‘it is he who is righteous (justified) through faith that will live.’” Bruce, 86.

[24]Schreiner writes, “That Paul is speaking exclusively of Gentiles in 1:18-32 is supported by the fact that he refers only to natural revelation in these verses (cf. Rom 1:19-21), and a condemnation of the Jews would probably refer also to their transgression of the Torah.” Thomas R. Schreiner, “Did Paul Believe in Justification by Works?: Another Look at Romans 2,” Bulletin for Biblical Research 3 (1993): 141, accessed January 25, 2016, https://www. ibr-bbr.org/files/bbr/BBR-1993_09_Schreiner_PaulWorks.pdf.  

[25]Bruce, 89. 

[26]See Moo, 72; Schreiner, “Did Paul Believe in Justification by Works?: Another Look at Romans 2,” 140; Mounce, 87-88.

[27]The observant reader will notice that throughout chapter 2, some of Paul’s words seem to contradict the conclusion he is going to make. For example, he writes in 2:6-7, “He will render to each one according to his works: to those who by patience in well-doing seek for glory and honor and immortality, he will give eternal life;” and in 2:13, “For it is not the hearers of the law who are righteous before God, but the doers of the law who will be justified.” Moo notes that Paul is not contradicting himself, but speaking of the “standard by which God judges all human beings. That standard is works.” Paul is showing the standard, but also the incapability of any to live up to it. Moo, 80-82. Others argue that Paul is speaking, in some of these cases, of Gentile Christians. For this view, see Schreiner, “Did Paul Believe in Justification by Works?: Another Look at Romans 2,” 131-58.

[28]Moo, 127.

[29]Bruce, 115.

[30]Ibid., 122-24.

[31]Moo, 326.

[32]Allen, 114.

[33]Bruce, 45. 

[34]Allen, 112-13.

[35]See Donald A. Carson, Exegetical Fallacies, 2nd ed. (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 1996), 68-73.

[36]Daniel B. Wallace, Greek Grammar Beyond the Basics: An Exegetical Syntax of the New Testament (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1996), 497.

[37]Ibid., 514. 

[38]Moo, 168.

[39]Most translations present this idea in the way they translate δικαιωθέντες (e.g. “since we have been justified” ESV, or “having been justified” NASB). It must be emphasized, however, that it is the context and the participle’s relationship to the main verb that convey this idea, not merely the use of the aorist tense. See Wallace, 557.

[40]Moo, 169.

[41]See Mounce, 133-34.

[42]Bruce, 124.

[43]Ibid.

[44]Moo, 168.

[45]Ibid.

[46]Wright, “Justification: The Biblical Basis and its Relevance for Contemporary Evangelicalism,” 2.

[47]Walter A. Maier, “Paul’s Concept of Justification, and some Recent Interpretations of Romans 3:21-31,” Springfielder 37, no. 4 (1974): 248, accessed January 25, 2016. http://www.ctsfw.net/media/pdfs/MaierPauls ConceptJustification.pdf.

[48]Mounce, 116. 

[49]See Moo, 165. 

[50]Bruce, 124. 

[51]Moo, 56.