Romans 3:1-21

Contemporary English Version

3 What good is it to be a Jew? What good is it to be circumcised? ² It is good in a lot of ways! First of all, God's messages were spoken to the Jews. ³ It is true that some of them did not believe the message. But does this mean that God cannot be trusted, just because they did not have faith? ^4 (A) No, indeed! God tells the truth, even if everyone else is a liar. The Scriptures say about God,

⁵ If our evil deeds show how right God is, then what can we say? Is it wrong for God to become angry and punish us? What a foolish thing to ask. ⁶ But the answer is, “No.” Otherwise, how could God judge the world? ⁷ Since your lies bring great honor to God by showing how truthful he is, you may ask why God still says you are a sinner. ⁸ You might as well say, “Let's do something evil, so that something good will come of it!” Some people even claim that we are saying this. But God is fair and will judge them as well.

No One Is Good

⁹ What does all this mean? Does it mean that we Jews are better off^[a] than the Gentiles? No, it doesn't! Jews, as well as Gentiles, are ruled by sin, just as I have said. ^10 (B) The Scriptures tell us,

¹⁹ We know that everything in the Law was written for those who are under its power. The Law says these things to stop anyone from making excuses and to let God show that the whole world is guilty. ^20 (G) God doesn't accept people simply because they obey the Law. No, indeed! All the Law does is to point out our sin.

God's Way of Accepting People

²¹ Now we see how God does make us acceptable to him. The Law and the Prophets^[b] tell how we become acceptable, and it isn't by obeying the Law of Moses.