Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

²¹ So now God has shown how people can be put right with him without the law. The law and the prophets said he would do it.

²² God puts people right with himself when they believe in Jesus Christ. He does this for all who believe. They are all alike.

²³ All have done wrong and all are far from being as good as God.

²⁴ But God is kind and makes them right with himself. It is a gift. He does it because Christ Jesus paid the price to set them free.

²⁵ God gave him as a sacrifice. When people believe in him, his blood pays for the wrong things they have done. This shows that God is good and right. He was right when he forgave the wrong things that people did long ago.

²⁶ God also shows that he is right now. He does this when he makes right any person who believes in Jesus.

²⁷ Then what have we to be proud of? Nothing at all. Why not? Does God put us right with himself because of anything we have done? No. He does it because we believe.

²⁸ We know that if a person believes in Christ, God makes him right again. It is not because that person has obeyed the law.

²⁹ Is God the God of the Jews only? Is he not the God of other people also? Yes, he is. There is only one God of all peoples.

³⁰ He will put right people who have been circumcised [the Jews] because they believe. And he will also put right people who are not circumcised when they believe.

³¹ When we believe, does that make the law no good to us? No. That is not so. When we believe, we show that the law is right.