Rom 3:21-5:11 | ESV | STEP | But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law , although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it

21 But now ^athe righteousness of God ^bhas been manifested apart from the law, although ^cthe Law and the Prophets bear witness to it— 22 the righteousness of God ^dthrough faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. ^eFor there is no distinction: 23 for ^fall have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 ^gand are justified ^hby his grace as a gift, ⁱthrough the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, 25 whom God ^jput forward as ^ka propitiation ^lby his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God’s righteousness, because in ^mhis divine forbearance he had passed over ⁿformer sins. 26 It was to show his righteousness at the present time, so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.

27 ^oThen what becomes of our boasting? It is excluded. By what kind of law? By a law of works? No, but by the law of faith. 28 For we hold that one is justified by faith ^papart from works of the law. 29 Or ^qis God the God of Jews only? Is he not the God of Gentiles also? Yes, of Gentiles also, 30 since ^rGod is one—who will justify the circumcised by faith and ^sthe uncircumcised through faith. 31 Do we then overthrow the law by this faith? By no means! On the contrary, we uphold the law.

Romans 4

Abraham Justified by Faith

1 What then shall we say was gained by ^{▼▼Some manuscripts say about} Abraham, ^uour forefather according to the flesh? 2 For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about, but ^vnot before God. 3 For what does the Scripture say? ^w“Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness.” 4 Now ^xto the one who works, his wages are not counted as a gift but as his due. 5 And to the one who does not work but ^ybelieves in ^{▼▼Or but trusts; compare verse 24} him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted as righteousness, 6 just as David also speaks of the blessing of the one to whom God counts righteousness apart from works:

7 ^aa“Blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven,
and whose sins are covered;
8 blessed is the man against whom the Lord will not ^abcount his sin.”
9 Is this blessing then only for ^acthe circumcised, or also for the uncircumcised? ^adFor we say that faith was counted to Abraham as righteousness. 10 How then was it counted to him? Was it before or after he had been circumcised? It was not after, but before he was circumcised. 11 ^aeHe received the sign of circumcision as a seal of the righteousness that he had by faith while he was still uncircumcised. The purpose was ^afto make him the father of all who believe without being circumcised, so that righteousness would be counted to them as well, 12 and to make him the father of the circumcised who are not merely circumcised but who also walk in the footsteps of the faith that our father Abraham had before he was circumcised.

The Promise Realized Through Faith

13 For ^agthe promise to Abraham and his offspring ^ahthat he would be heir of the world did not come through the law but through the righteousness of faith. 14 ^aiFor if it is the adherents of the law who are to be the heirs, faith is null and the promise is void. 15 For ^ajthe law brings wrath, but ^akwhere there is no law ^althere is no transgression.

16 That is why it depends on faith, ^amin order that the promise may rest on grace and ^anbe guaranteed to all his offspring—not only to the adherent of the law but also to the one who shares the faith of Abraham, ^aowho is the father of us all, 17 as it is written, ^ap“I have made you the father of many nations”—in the presence of the God in whom he believed, ^aqwho gives life to the dead and calls into existence ^arthe things that do not exist. 18 In hope he believed against hope, that he should become the father of many nations, as he had been told, ^as“So shall your offspring be.” 19 He did not weaken in faith when he considered his own body, which was ^atas good as dead ( ^ausince he was about a hundred years old), or when he considered ^avthe barrenness ^{▼▼Greek deadness} of Sarah’s womb. 20 No unbelief made him waver concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God, 21 fully convinced that ^axGod was able to do what he had promised. 22 That is why his faith was “counted to him as righteousness.” 23 But ^aythe words “it was counted to him” were not written for his sake alone, 24 but for ours also. It will be counted to us ^azwho believe in ^bahim who raised from the dead Jesus our Lord, 25 ^bbwho was delivered up for our trespasses and raised ^bcfor our justification.

Romans 5:1-11

Peace with God Through Faith

1 ^bdTherefore, since we have been justified by faith, ^bewe ^{▼▼Some manuscripts let us} have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. 2 Through him we have also ^bgobtained access by faith ^{▼▼Some manuscripts omit by faith} into this grace ^biin which we stand, and ^bjwe ^{▼▼Or let us; also verse 3} rejoice ^{▼▼Or boast; also verses 3, 11} in hope of the glory of God. 3 Not only that, but we ^bmrejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering ^bnproduces endurance, 4 and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, 5 and ^bohope does not put us to shame, because God’s love ^bphas been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.

6 For ^bqwhile we were still weak, at the right time ^brChrist died for the ungodly. 7 For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die— 8 but ^bsGod shows his love for us in that ^btwhile we were still sinners, Christ died for us. 9 Since, therefore, ^buwe have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from ^bvthe wrath of God. 10 For if ^bwwhile we were enemies ^bxwe were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by ^byhis life. 11 More than that, we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received ^bzreconciliation.