Romans 3:27–28

The principle of faith established

Where, then, is boasting? It is excluded. On what principle? On that of observing the law? No, but on that of faith. 28 For we maintain that a man is justified by faith apart from observing the law.

In Christ, God has demonstrated that he is a God who justifies those who have faith. Objectively, God has declared the whole world righteous (Romans 5:18,19; 2 Corinthians 5:19). The benefit of this general justification, however, comes to the individual by faith, by believing and trusting in Christ, by accepting the merit Christ has earned. This personal, individual justification is often called subjective justification, to distinguish it from the former general justification.

Speaking of this justification of the individual believer, Paul now reasons as follows: If, by definition, faith is trust and confidence in what someone else has done, then it can’t be of any credit to the person who trusts and believes. There is no ground for boasting about benefits received.

That is Paul’s point here. If the sinner had kept God’s law and thereby had earned something, then he’d have grounds for boasting. But that’s not the case. Justification doesn’t come on the principle of obeying the law but on accepting righteousness from God by faith as a free gift. Paul repeats and emphasizes that principle when he says, “We maintain that a man is justified by faith apart from observing the law.

This, incidentally, is the verse where Luther in his German Bible inserted the word alone. While that word is not in the Greek text, the context overwhelmingly supports the sense that justification is by faith alone, apart from lawworks of any kind.*

* Luther’s defense for the addition of alone can be found in the American Edition of Luther’s Works, Volume 35, pages 185-189,195-202. For scriptural support of the concept of faith alone, see Ephesians 2:8,9.