Issues in Romans #3

Couched within arguably the most important book in the New Testament is the greatest paragraph ever written—Romans 3:21-26. In 1:18-3:20, Paul spends considerable time discussing bad news: everyone is a sinner. No one is exempt. Whether one is a Jew or Gentile, every person is a sinner and fallen short of the glory of God. By the end of that extended passage one is wondering if there is any hope. There is! Finally, the Apostle gets to the good news, and this passage is brimming with it. It teaches in one paragraph how God's righteousness is bestowed upon the guilty sinner.

The part of the passage that has brought on the most discussion is vv. 21-22: But now the righteousness of God part from the law is revealed, being witnessed by the Law and Prophets, even the righteousness of God, through faith in Jesus Christ, to all and on all who believe. For there is no difference…[NKJV]. Then there is v. 26: "to demonstrate at the present time His righteousness, that He might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus" [NKJV].

Note the underlined prepositional phrases, "faith in Jesus Christ." This genitive phrase can be translated two ways. Traditionally it has been translated as an objective genitive, as in the NKJV. However, an increasing number of scholars argue that the phrase should be translated as a subjective genitive. V. 22 in the NET translation reads: "the righteousness of God through the faithfulness of Jesus Christ for all who believe." The NET handles v. 26 similarly: "This was also to demonstrate his righteousness in the present time, so that he would be just and the justifier of the one who lives because of Jesus' faithfulness."

Is Paul focusing upon the sinner's faith in Jesus or Jesus' faithfulness demonstrating God's righteousness? Context determines meaning. At the end of v. 22 there are the words "on all who believe." That fact alone would cause one to lean toward the objective translation. Each time anyone places faith in Christ it demonstrates the righteousness of God.

However, the subjective idea is in the passage too. Paul writes in v. 25: "whom (speaking of Jesus) God set forth as propitiation by His blood." Surely Christ's going to the cross as propitiation is the greatest example in history of faithfulness to God. And there is no denying that without Christ's faithfulness the righteousness of God would not be available to sinful human beings.

That said, it seems the objective translation seems to fit the context best. The entirety of v. 25 reads: "Whom God set forth as propitiation by His blood, through faith, to demonstrate His righteousness, because in His forbearance God had passed over sins that were previously committed" [NKJV]. The NET translation is a little clearer: "God publicly displayed him at his death as the mercy seat accessible through faith…" V. 25 makes clear that God's righteousness is accessed by faith. Without a clear object to that faith, perhaps there would be confusion (as there is in much of the world today), but Paul was not unclear. He has already written in v. 22 that the object of faith is Christ.

I would handle v. 26 the same as v. 22. Christ's faithfulness is taken for granted by Paul (and by me) but it seems again that Paul's focus is on the object of faith—God is demonstrated to be both just (He judged sin at the cross) and the justifier every time someone believes.

The larger context of Romans also causes me to lean toward the objective translation. Paul immediately launches into a defense of 'faith in' using the life of Abraham as the primary example. Chapter 5 is all about the blessings that come when one believes and then receives God's righteousness. The believer has peace with God "through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand" [v. 2 NET]. If one wishes to move out even further, there is the famous chapter 10, the capstone of the Romans Road—if you confess with your mouth and believe in your heart [v. 9] and "Everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame" [v. 11].

There is no denying Christ's faithfulness. However, it seems Paul's primary emphasis is on how that righteousness comes to the sinner—it is by faith in Christ. Thus, the objective seems to be the best way to deal with the genitive phrase in Romans 3:22, 26 and similar passages [Gal 2:16, 20, 3:22; Eph 3:12; Phil 3:9].