Justification is the heart and soul of New Testament soteriology.

While Jesus laid the firm foundation of this doctrine, He did not give its full-fledged definition (see Luke 18:14). Instead, the Lord appointed the apostle Paul to expound the depths of this watershed Reformation doctrine in his epistle to the Romans.

Paul’s Great Letter

The first half of Romans divides naturally into three parts. Paul begins by showing that all men and women have sinned against God’s perfect righteousness. This is his theme throughout the opening chapters of the book: “There is none righteous, not even one” (3:10). Beginning in 3:21 through the end of chapter 5, he explains in detail the doctrine of justification by faith. “Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ” (5:1). In chapters 6 through 8 he expounds the doctrine of sanctification. “How shall we who died to sin still live in it?” (6:2).

So Paul talks about sin, saving faith, and sanctification. Or, as a friend of mine has said, Romans 1:1–3:20 speaks of God’s righteousness defied by a sinful world. Romans 3:21–5:21 shows God’s righteousness supplied for believing sinners. Chapters 6 through 8 focus on God’s righteousness applied in the lives of the saints.

Justification by faith is the means through which God’s righteousness is supplied on behalf of believing sinners. I wish there were space here for a full exposition of these crucial chapters (Romans 3–5) which make up the core of biblical truth about justification. But that would require many months of blog posts, so instead we will focus on only one section.

God’s Righteousness Supplied

After his detailed discourse on the problem of sin, culminating in that resounding declaration about the hopelessness of the human dilemma (Romans 1:18–3:20), Paul suddenly shifts both tone and direction in 3:21 with the words “But now.” Verses 21–26 form a potent passage which is absolutely vital for a correct understanding of justification. Here’s the complete paragraph in one bite:

But now apart from the Law the righteousness of God has been manifested, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets, even the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all those who believe; for there is no distinction; for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus; whom God displayed publicly as a propitiation in His blood through faith. This was to demonstrate His righteousness, because in the forbearance of God He passed over the sins previously committed; for the demonstration, I say, of His righteousness at the present time, so that He would be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.

Paul presents in these verses the definitive feature of his teaching on the gospel. He restates it succinctly a few verses later with these words: “God imputes righteousness apart from works” (4:6, NKJV). This is the principle the Reformers labeled sola fide (Latin for “faith alone”).

Faith as the sole instrument of justification is a doctrine the Roman Catholic Church has formally and emphatically anathematized since the Council of Trent in the mid-sixteenth century. Apologists for the Roman position often claim they can’t find this doctrine anywhere in Scripture.

But it is here in plain terms. In fact, it’s the first point Paul makes as he shifts from the bad news about the human predicament to the gospel’s good news: for “those who believe,” God Himself supplies all the righteousness necessary for their justification (Romans 3:22).

Critics of sola fide are fond of pointing out that Paul doesn’t use the precise words “faith alone.” But there’s no escaping his meaning—the immediate context makes it plain. Remember that final, devastating point in Paul’s lengthy discourse on sin: “By the works of the Law no flesh will be justified in His sight; for through the Law comes the knowledge of sin” (Romans 3:20). In other words, works are worthless for justification. Paul’s very next statement is that “the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ [is granted] for all those who believe” (v. 22). That is a clear affirmation of the principle of sola fide.

Most Roman Catholic theologians (and a fairly recent strain of nominal Protestants who reject the principle of sola fide) have claimed that when Paul speaks of “the works of the Law,” he means only the formal rituals and other ceremonial features of the law—circumcision, rules governing ceremonial cleanness, and such. But Paul’s use of this phrase simply cannot be narrowed down that way, in what amounts to a heretical effort to give sinners some credit for their salvation.

In Romans 7, for example, when Paul wanted to illustrate the law’s utter inability to justify sinners, the one precept he chose to single out as an example is the tenth commandment: “You shall not covet” (v. 7; cf. Exodus 20:17). Coveting is arguably the least of all sins named in the Decalogue. It deals with desire. To resist committing that sin does not require any kind of action. So when Paul speaks of “the works of the Law,” he is using that expression in the broadest possible sense. His meaning cannot be limited to the rituals and ceremonial features of the law.

Quite the contrary, the expression “works of the Law” as Paul consistently employs it would include any thought, action, or attitude that aims to gain God’s approval through a show of obedience to the Old Covenant’s 613 commandments. No matter how rigorously the sinner tries to follow the law, seeking justification before God that way is futile exercise.

Scripture is perfectly clear on this. No good work of any kind contributes anything meritorious to the sinner’s justification before God. All human righteousness (other than the perfect righteousness of Christ incarnate) is a product of fallen flesh and is therefore fatally flawed. Yet again, “We are all like an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are like filthy rags” (Isaiah 64:6, NKJV).

By this point in his epistle to the Romans, Paul has repeatedly stressed that truth, and he will continue to bring it up. Immediately after the passage we are examining, Paul argues that justification by faith leaves no one with any ground for personal pride—and he expressly contrasts works with faith: “Boasting . . . is excluded. By what kind of law? Of works? No, but by a law of faith” (Romans 3:27). Then he reiterates the central point: “We maintain that a man is justified by faith apart from works of the Law” (v. 28).

Though he might not use the precise expression “faith alone,” Paul is plainly defending the principle of sola fide. He makes the same point again in Romans 4:5: “To the one who does not work, but believes . . . his faith is credited as righteousness.” That is as clear a statement of sola fide as any of the Protestant Reformers ever affirmed.

So, Scripture is abundantly clear that we are not justified by our own works. But we are justified by works—the works of Christ credited to our account.

Next time we will explore this glorious truth as we continue into chapter 4 of Paul’s letter to the Romans.

(Adapted from The Gospel According to the Apostles and The Gospel According to Paul)