21 And now apart from law hath the righteousness of God been manifested, testified to by the law and the prophets,
to this one do all the prophets testify, that through his name every one that is believing in him doth receive remission of sins.'
In those days is Judah saved, And Jerusalem doth dwell confidently, And this `is' he whom Jehovah proclaimeth to her: `Our Righteousness.'
which He announced before through His prophets in holy writings --
I greatly rejoice in Jehovah, Joy doth my soul in my God, For He clothed me with garments of salvation, With a robe of righteousness covereth Me, As a bridegroom prepareth ornaments, And as a bride putteth on her jewels.
I have brought near My righteousness, It is not far off, And My salvation -- it doth not tarry, And I have given in Zion salvation, To Israel My glory!
For as a garment eat them doth a moth, And as wool eat them doth a worm, And My righteousness is to the age, And My salvation to all generations.
Lo, days are coming -- an affirmation of Jehovah, And I have raised to David a righteous shoot, And a king hath reigned and acted wisely, And done judgment and righteousness in the earth. In his days is Judah saved, and Israel dwelleth confidently, And this his name that Jehovah proclaimeth him, `Our Righteousness.'
`Seventy weeks are determined for thy people, and for thy holy city, to shut up the transgression, and to seal up sins, and to cover iniquity, and to bring in righteousness age-during, and to seal up vision and prophet, and to anoint the holy of holies.
for as through the disobedience of the one man, the many were constituted sinners: so also through the obedience of the one, shall the many be constituted righteous.
for we by the Spirit, by faith, a hope of righteousness do wait for,
Simeon Peter, a servant and an apostle of Jesus Christ, to those who did obtain a like precious faith with us in the righteousness of our God and Saviour Jesus Christ:
by faith a better sacrifice did Abel offer to God than Cain, through which he was testified to be righteous, God testifying of his gifts, and through it, he being dead, doth yet speak. By faith Enoch was translated -- not to see death, and was not found, because God did translate him; for before his translation he had been testified to -- that he had pleased God well, and apart from faith it is impossible to please well, for it behoveth him who is coming to God to believe that He is, and to those seeking Him He becometh a rewarder. By faith Noah, having been divinely warned concerning the things not yet seen, having feared, did prepare an ark to the salvation of his house, through which he did condemn the world, and of the righteousness according to faith he became heir. By faith Abraham, being called, did obey, to go forth to the place that he was about to receive for an inheritance, and he went forth, not knowing whither he doth go; by faith he did sojourn in the land of the promise as a strange country, in tabernacles having dwelt with Isaac and Jacob, fellow-heirs of the same promise, for he was looking for the city having the foundations, whose artificer and constructor `is' God. By faith also Sarah herself did receive power to conceive seed, and she bare after the time of life, seeing she did judge Him faithful who did promise; wherefore, also from one were begotten -- and that of one who had become dead -- as the stars of the heaven in multitude, and as sand that `is' by the sea-shore -- the innumerable. In faith died all these, not having received the promises, but from afar having seen them, and having been persuaded, and having saluted `them', and having confessed that strangers and sojourners they are upon the earth, for those saying such things make manifest that they seek a country; and if, indeed, they had been mindful of that from which they came forth, they might have had an opportunity to return, but now they long for a better, that is, an heavenly, wherefore God is not ashamed of them, to be called their God, for He did prepare for them a city. By faith Abraham hath offered up Isaac, being tried, and the only begotten he did offer up who did receive the promises, of whom it was said -- `In Isaac shall a seed be called to thee;' reckoning that even out of the dead God is able to raise up, whence also in a figure he did receive `him'. By faith, concerning coming things, Isaac did bless Jacob and Esau; by faith Jacob dying -- each of the sons of Joseph did bless, and did bow down upon the top of his staff; by faith, Joseph dying, concerning the outgoing of the sons of Israel did make mention, and concerning his bones did give command. By faith Moses, having been born, was hid three months by his parents, because they saw the child comely, and were not afraid of the decree of the king; by faith Moses, having become great, did refuse to be called a son of the daughter of Pharaoh, having chosen rather to be afflicted with the people of God, than to have sin's pleasure for a season, greater wealth having reckoned the reproach of the Christ than the treasures in Egypt, for he did look to the recompense of reward; by faith he left Egypt behind, not having been afraid of the wrath of the king, for, as seeing the Invisible One -- he endured; by faith he kept the passover, and the sprinkling of the blood, that He who is destroying the first-born might not touch them. By faith they did pass through the Red Sea as through dry land, which the Egyptians having received a trial of, were swallowed up; by faith the walls of Jericho did fall, having been surrounded for seven days; by faith Rahab the harlot did not perish with those who disbelieved, having received the spies with peace. And what shall I yet say? for the time will fail me recounting about Gideon, Barak also, and Samson, and Jephthah, David also, and Samuel, and the prophets, who through faith did subdue kingdoms, wrought righteousness, obtained promises, stopped mouths of lions, quenched the power of fire, escaped the mouth of the sword, were made powerful out of infirmities, became strong in battle, caused to give way camps of the aliens. Women received by a rising again their dead, and others were tortured, not accepting the redemption, that a better rising again they might receive, and others of mockings and scourgings did receive trial, and yet of bonds and imprisonment; they were stoned, they were sawn asunder, they were tried; in the killing of the sword they died; they went about in sheepskins, in goatskins -- being destitute, afflicted, injuriously treated, of whom the world was not worthy; in deserts wandering, and `in' mountains, and `in' caves, and `in' the holes of the earth; and these all, having been testified to through the faith, did not receive the promise, God for us something better having provided, that apart from us they might not be made perfect.
For the law having a shadow of the coming good things -- not the very image of the matters, every year, by the same sacrifices that they offer continually, is never able to make perfect those coming near, since, would they not have ceased to be offered, because of those serving having no more conscience of sins, having once been purified? but in those `sacrifices' is a remembrance of sins every year, for it is impossible for blood of bulls and goats to take away sins. Wherefore, coming into the world, he saith, `Sacrifice and offering Thou didst not will, and a body Thou didst prepare for me, in burnt-offerings, and concerning sin-offerings, Thou didst not delight, then I said, Lo, I come, (in a volume of the book it hath been written concerning me,) to do, O God, Thy will;' saying above -- `Sacrifice, and offering, and burnt-offerings, and concerning sin-offering Thou didst not will, nor delight in,' -- which according to the law are offered -- then he said, `Lo, I come to do, O God, Thy will;' he doth take away the first that the second he may establish; in the which will we are having been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once, and every priest, indeed, hath stood daily serving, and the same sacrifices many times offering, that are never able to take away sins. And He, for sin one sacrifice having offered -- to the end, did sit down on the right hand of God, -- as to the rest, expecting till He may place his enemies `as' his footstool, for by one offering he hath perfected to the end those sanctified;
`Having obtained, therefore, help from God, till this day, I have stood witnessing both to small and to great, saying nothing besides the things that both the prophets and Moses spake of as about to come,
`A prophet out of thy midst, out of thy brethren, like to me, doth Jehovah thy God raise up to thee -- unto him ye hearken; according to all that thou didst ask from Jehovah thy God, in Horeb, in the day of the assembly, saying, Let me not add to hear the voice of Jehovah my God, and this great fire let me not see any more, and I die not; and Jehovah saith unto me, They have done well that they have spoken; a prophet I raise up to them, out of the midst of their brethren, like to thee; and I have given my words in his mouth, and he hath spoken unto them all that which I command him; and it hath been -- the man who doth not hearken unto My words which he doth speak in My name, I require `it' of him.
and he said to them, `These `are' the words that I spake unto you, being yet with you, that it behoveth to be fulfilled all the things that are written in the Law of Moses, and the Prophets, and the Psalms, about me.'
Philip findeth Nathanael, and saith to him, `Him of whom Moses wrote in the Law, and the prophets, we have found, Jesus the son of Joseph, who `is' from Nazareth;'
for if ye were believing Moses, ye would have been believing me, for he wrote concerning me; but if his writings ye believe not, how shall ye believe my sayings?'
whom it behoveth heaven, indeed, to receive till times of a restitution of all things, of which God spake through the mouth of all His holy prophets from the age. `For Moses, indeed, unto the fathers said -- A prophet to you shall the Lord your God raise up out of your brethren, like to me; him shall ye hear in all things, as many as he may speak unto you; and it shall be, every soul that may not hear that prophet shall be utterly destroyed out of the people; and also all the prophets from Samuel and those following in order, as many as spake, did also foretell of these days. `Ye are sons of the prophets, and of the covenant that God made unto our fathers, saying unto Abraham: And in thy seed shall be blessed all the families of the earth;
and having appointed him a day, they came, more of them unto him, to the lodging, to whom he was expounding, testifying fully the reign of God, persuading them also of the things concerning Jesus, both from the law of Moses, and the prophets, from morning till evening,
that even as the sin did reign in the death, so also the grace may reign, through righteousness, to life age-during, through Jesus Christ our Lord.
for not knowing the righteousness of God, and their own righteousness seeking to establish, to the righteousness of God they did not submit. For Christ is an end of law for righteousness to every one who is believing,
and of Him ye -- ye are in Christ Jesus, who became to us from God wisdom, righteousness also, and sanctification, and redemption,
and the Writing having foreseen that by faith God doth declare righteous the nations did proclaim before the good news to Abraham --
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Matthew Henry Commentary » Commentary on Romans 3
Commentary on Romans 3 Matthew Henry Commentary
Chapter 3
The apostle, in this chapter, carries on his discourse concerning justification. He had already proved the guilt both of Gentiles and Jews. Now in this chapter,
The many digressions in his writings render his discourse sometimes a little difficult, but his scope is evident.
Rom 3:1-18
Rom 3:19-31
From all this Paul infers that it is in vain to look for justification by the works of the law, and that it is to be had only by faith, which is the point he has been all along proving, from ch. 1:17, and which he lays down (v. 28) as the summary of his discourse, with a quod erat demonstrandu-hich was to be demonstrated. We conclude that a man is justified by faith, without the deeds of the law; not by the deeds of the first law of pure innocence, which left no room for repentance, nor the deeds of the law of nature, how highly soever improved, nor the deeds of the ceremonial law (the blood of bulls and goats could not take away sin), nor the deeds of the moral law, which are certainly included, for he speaks of that law by which is the knowledge of sin and those works which might be matter of boasting. Man, in his depraved state, under the power of such corruption, could never, by any works of his own, gain acceptance with God; but it must be resolved purely into the free grace of God, given through Jesus Christ to all true believers that receive it as a free gift. If we had never sinned, our obedience to the law would have been our righteousness: "Do this, and live.' But having sinned, and being corrupted, nothing that we can do will atone for our former guilt. It was by their obedience to the moral law that the Pharisees looked for justification, Lu. 18:11. Now there are two things from which the apostle here argues: the guiltiness of man, to prove that we cannot be justified by the works of the law, and the glory of God, to prove that we must be justified by faith.