Romans 3
Living Bible
3 Then what’s the use of being a Jew? Are there any special benefits for them from God? Is there any value in the Jewish circumcision ceremony? 2 Yes, being a Jew has many advantages.
First of all, God trusted them with his laws so that they could know and do his will.[a] 3 True, some of them were unfaithful, but just because they broke their promises to God, does that mean God will break his promises? 4 Of course not! Though everyone else in the world is a liar, God is not. Do you remember what the book of Psalms says about this?[b] That God’s words will always prove true and right, no matter who questions them.
5 “But,” some say, “our breaking faith with God is good, our sins serve a good purpose, for people will notice how good God is when they see how bad we are. Is it fair, then, for him to punish us when our sins are helping him?” (That is the way some people talk.) 6 God forbid! Then what kind of God would he be, to overlook sin? How could he ever condemn anyone? 7 For he could not judge and condemn me as a sinner if my dishonesty brought him glory by pointing up his honesty in contrast to my lies. 8 If you follow through with that idea you come to this: the worse we are, the better God likes it! But the damnation of those who say such things is just. Yet some claim that this is what I preach!
9 Well, then, are we Jews better than others? No, not at all, for we have already shown that all men alike are sinners, whether Jews or Gentiles. 10 As the Scriptures say,
“No one is good—no one in all the world is innocent.”[c]
11 No one has ever really followed God’s paths or even truly wanted to.
12 Every one has turned away; all have gone wrong. No one anywhere has kept on doing what is right; not one.
13 Their talk is foul and filthy like the stench from an open grave.[d] Their tongues are loaded with lies. Everything they say has in it the sting and poison of deadly snakes.
14 Their mouths are full of cursing and bitterness.
15 They are quick to kill, hating anyone who disagrees with them.[e]
16 Wherever they go they leave misery and trouble behind them, 17 and they have never known what it is to feel secure or enjoy God’s blessing.
18 They care nothing about God nor what he thinks of them.
19 So the judgment of God lies very heavily upon the Jews, for they are responsible to keep God’s laws instead of doing all these evil things; not one of them has any excuse; in fact, all the world stands hushed and guilty before Almighty God.
20 Now do you see it? No one can ever be made right in God’s sight by doing what the law commands. For the more we know of God’s laws, the clearer it becomes that we aren’t obeying them; his laws serve only to make us see that we are sinners.
21-22 But now God has shown us a different way to heaven[f]—not by “being good enough” and trying to keep his laws, but by a new way (though not new, really, for the Scriptures told about it long ago). Now God says he will accept and acquit us—declare us “not guilty”—if we trust Jesus Christ to take away our sins. And we all can be saved in this same way, by coming to Christ, no matter who we are or what we have been like. 23 Yes, all have sinned; all fall short of God’s glorious ideal; 24 yet now God declares us “not guilty” of offending him if we trust in Jesus Christ, who in his kindness freely takes away our sins.
25 For God sent Christ Jesus to take the punishment for our sins and to end all God’s anger against us. He used Christ’s blood and our faith as the means of saving us from his wrath.[g] In this way he was being entirely fair, even though he did not punish those who sinned in former times. For he was looking forward to the time when Christ would come and take away those sins. 26 And now in these days also he can receive sinners in this same way because Jesus took away their sins.
But isn’t this unfair for God to let criminals go free, and say that they are innocent? No, for he does it on the basis of their trust in Jesus who took away their sins.
27 Then what can we boast about doing to earn our salvation? Nothing at all. Why? Because our acquittal is not based on our good deeds; it is based on what Christ has done and our faith in him. 28 So it is that we are saved[h] by faith in Christ and not by the good things we do.
29 And does God save only the Jews in this way? No, the Gentiles, too, may come to him in this same manner. 30 God treats us all the same; all, whether Jews or Gentiles, are acquitted if they have faith. 31 Well then, if we are saved by faith, does this mean that we no longer need obey God’s laws? Just the opposite! In fact, only when we trust Jesus can we truly obey him.
Footnotes
- Romans 3:2 so that they could know and do his will, implied.
- Romans 3:4 See Psalm 51:4.
- Romans 3:10 See Psalm 14:3.
- Romans 3:13 Their talk is foul and filthy like the stench from an open grave, literally, “Their throat is an open grave.” Perhaps the meaning is “Their speech injures others.”
- Romans 3:15 hating anyone who disagrees with them, implied.
- Romans 3:21 now God has shown us a different way to heaven, literally, “now a righteousness of God has been manifested.”
- Romans 3:25 as the means of saving us from his wrath, literally, “to be a propitiation.”
- Romans 3:28 saved, literally, “justified.”
Romans 3
International Children’s Bible
3 So, do Jews have anything that other people do not have? Is there anything special about being circumcised? 2 Yes, of course, there is in every way. The most important thing is this: God trusted the Jews with his teachings. 3 It is true that some Jews were not faithful to God. But will that stop God from doing what he promised? 4 No! God will continue to be true even when every person is false. As the Scriptures say:
“So your words may be shown to be right.
You are fair when you judge me.” Psalm 51:4
5 When we do wrong, that shows more clearly that God is right. So can we say that God is wrong to punish us? (I am talking as men might talk.) 6 No! If God could not punish us, then God could not judge the world.
7 A person might say, “When I lie, it really gives God glory, because my lie shows God’s truth. So why am I judged a sinner?” 8 It would be the same to say, “We should do evil so that good will come.” Some people find fault with us and say that we teach this. Those who say such things about us are wrong, and they should be punished.
All People Are Guilty
9 So are we Jews better than others? No! We have already said that Jews and non-Jews are the same. They are all guilty of sin. 10 As the Scriptures say:
“There is no one without sin. None!
11 There is no one who understands.
There is no one who looks to God for help.
12 All have turned away.
Together, everyone has become evil.
None of them does anything good.” Psalm 14:1-3
13 “Their throats are like open graves.
They use their tongues for telling lies.” Psalm 5:9
“Their words are like snake’s poison.” Psalm 140:3
14 “Their mouths are full of cursing and hate.” Psalm 10:7
15 “They are always ready to kill people.
16 Everywhere they go they cause ruin and misery.
17 They don’t know how to live in peace.” Isaiah 59:7-8
18 “They have no fear of or respect for God.” Psalm 36:1
19 The law commands many things. We know that those commands are for those who are under the law. This stops all excuses and brings the whole world under God’s judgment, 20 because no one can be made right with God by following the law. The law only shows us our sin.
How God Makes People Right
21 But God has a way to make people right with him without the law. And God has now shown us that way which the law and the prophets told us about. 22 God makes people right with himself through their faith in Jesus Christ. This is true for all who believe in Christ, because all are the same. 23 All people have sinned and are not good enough for God’s glory. 24 People are made right with God by his grace, which is a free gift. They are made right with God by being made free from sin through Jesus Christ. 25 God sent him to die in our place to take away our sins. We receive forgiveness through faith. And all of this is because of the blood of Jesus’ death. This showed that God always does what is right and fair. God was right in the past when he was patient and did not punish people for their sins. 26 And God gave Jesus to show today that God does what is right. God did this so that he could judge rightly and also make right any person who has faith in Jesus.
27 So do we have a reason to brag about ourselves? No! And why not? It is the way of faith that stops all bragging, not the way of following the law. 28 A person is made right with God through faith, not through what he does to follow the law. 29 Is God only the God of the Jews? Is he not also the God of the non-Jews? 30 Of course he is, for there is only one God. He will make Jews right with him by their faith. And he will also make non-Jews right with him through their faith. 31 So do we destroy the law by following the way of faith? No! Faith causes us to be what the law truly wants.
The Living Bible copyright © 1971 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
The Holy Bible, International Children’s Bible® Copyright© 1986, 1988, 1999, 2015 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission.
