Romans 3:21-26, God's Righteousness Comes on His Terms

The Reason for Displaying His Righteousness from the Perspective of Man (v. 21–24)

Manifestation of Righteousness on God’s Terms (v. 21)

With the phrase “But now” (Νυνὶ δὲ) Paul clearly begins a new section. There is some question as to whether this phrase should be understood as logical or temporal. It is best to take it as both (Barrett, 69). As we saw in the introduction, these verses discussing righteousness from God stand in logical contrast to the failed righteousness coming from the Law in v. 20. This is also supported by the modifying phrase "apart from the law." But a temporal contrast also makes good sense, seeing this section refer to a new phase in salvation history.[1] The presence of the word “revealed” (πεφανέρωται) lends support to this approach (Cranfield, 1:201). By something being “revealed” it would seem to indicate that there was a previous time in which it was concealed. The tense of the verb also points to this event having a beginning point, which Paul soon will show to be the death of Christ.[2] Conceptually, the temporal reference to the crucifixion of Christ (not merely its ongoing benefits) is a vital part of Paul’s argument. We will more fully develop this idea later.

The phrase “apart from the law” deserves some explanation. It should not be taken as Paul stating that the Law has been set aside in favor of righteousness from God through Jesus Christ. Specifically we must keep in mind that Christ came not to abolish the law but to fulfill it (Matthew 5:17). Here “apart from the law” must be understood in light of verse 20. It is not the Law that is being set aside but rather humanity’s hope in its own execution of the Law. This righteousness is being manifested as something that is not earned by man’s fulfillment of the Law (Cranfield, 1:201). It is not that God’s righteousness couldn’t have been revealed through the Law, but when it was, it always led to wrath (Barrett, 69). But now, as Paul will go on to describe, this new revelation of God’s righteousness not only satisfies God’s perfect wrath against sin, but also permits Him to lavish His mercy on those who believe through faith.

“The righteousness of God” is a persistent theme throughout this passage.[3] For the sake of space we will examine this phrase in greater detail in verse 26 which deals more explicitly with righteousness being tied directly to the very nature of God. For now we will say (based on an examination of verse 26) that the righteousness of God refers to both His internal righteous character and His external righteous acts.[4]

It is both God’s being right and doing right that are revealed in the gospel of Christ (Barrett, 69). Not only are they revealed in the gospel of Christ, but they are also “attested to by the Law and the prophets.” This phrase is typically used throughout the New Testament to refer to the entire Old Testament scriptures (see Matthew 5:17; 7:12; 22:40; Acts 24:14; 28:23). This righteousness of God that has been revealed has attestation in the Old Testament. In other words, the gospel is consistent with the Old Testament: the Old Testament is understood as a witness to this righteousness, this gospel of Jesus Christ (Cranfield, 1:202).

This is a concept consistent throughout Romans (see 1:2; 9:25–33; 10:6–13, 16–21; 11:1–10, 26–29; 15:8–12). Most notably, Paul will use this passage to explain how this righteousness comes to believers only through faith. He will then dedicate all of chapter 4 to demonstrating how the Old Testament testified to Abraham being declared righteous on the basis of His faith and not his works. In the present context, Paul now proceeds to explain more specifically this righteousness of God.

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[1] See NET Bible note on Νυνὶ δέ in verse 26.

[2]πεφανέρωται is a perfect verb. In 1:17 Paul uses a synonym ἀποκαλύπτεται which is present indicative to refer to the ongoing preaching of the gospel. Here the perfect relates to the manifestation of the gospel events themselves (Cranfield, 202 & Barrett, 69).

[3] The term for righteousness, δικαιοσύνη occurs four times within these six verses, δίκαιος also appears, as does the verb δικαιόω twice.

[4] This is contra Cranfield who sees this righteousness in verses 21 and 22 taken in the same sense as 1:17, a status of righteousness before God as God’s gift (1:202). This is clearly not the sense of righteousness in verse 26 which refers to the very nature of God and it would make little sense for Paul to use the same term with such different meanings in a relatively short amount of space. If we follow Cranfield here, the flow of Paul’s argument is then: God demonstrates our status as being righteous through Christ in order that He would be righteous. This doesn’t follow since our status as being righteous is an act of God’s mercy, not His justice. Rather it makes better sense to see the flow of the argument as being God demonstrated His perfectly righteous nature in Christ so that He would be righteous. This may seem redundant, but in order for a being to be perfectly righteous this necessitates a demonstration of the righteousness, which we see in Christ bearing the penalty of sin.