Rom 3-4 | ESV | STEP | Then what advantage has the Jew ? Or what is the value of circumcision ?

1 Then what advantage has the Jew? Or what is the value of circumcision? 2 Much in every way. To begin with, ^athe Jews were entrusted with ^bthe oracles of God. 3 ^cWhat if some were unfaithful? ^dDoes their faithlessness nullify the faithfulness of God? 4 By no means! ^eLet God be true though ^fevery one were a liar, as it is written,

^g“That you may be justified in your words,
and prevail when you ^hare judged.”
5 But if our unrighteousness serves to show the righteousness of God, what shall we say? That God is unrighteous to inflict ⁱwrath on us? ( ^jI speak in a human way.) 6 By no means! For then how could ^kGod judge the world? 7 But if through my lie God’s truth abounds to his glory, ^lwhy am I still being condemned as a sinner? 8 And why not ^mdo evil that good may come?—as some people slanderously charge us with saying. Their condemnation is just.

No One Is Righteous

9 What then? Are we Jews ^{▼▼Greek Are we} any better off? ^{▼▼Or at any disadvantage?} No, not at all. For we have already charged that all, both ^pJews and ^qGreeks, are ^runder sin, 10 as it is written:

^s“None is righteous, no, not one;
11 no one understands;
no one seeks for God.
12 All have turned aside; together they have become worthless;
no one does good,
not even one.”
13 ^t“Their throat is ^uan open grave;
they use their tongues to deceive.”
^v“The venom of asps is under their lips.”
14 ^w“Their mouth is full of curses and bitterness.”
15 ^x“Their feet are swift to shed blood;
16 in their paths are ruin and misery,
17 and ^ythe way of peace they have not known.”
18 ^z“There is no fear of God before their eyes.”
19 Now we know that whatever ^aathe law says it speaks to those who are under the law, ^abso that every mouth may be stopped, and ^acthe whole world may be held accountable to God. 20 For ^adby works of the law no human being ^{▼▼Greek flesh} will be justified in his sight, since ^afthrough the law comes knowledge of sin.

The Righteousness of God Through Faith

21 But now ^agthe righteousness of God ^ahhas been manifested apart from the law, although ^aithe Law and the Prophets bear witness to it— 22 the righteousness of God ^ajthrough faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. ^akFor there is no distinction: 23 for ^alall have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 ^amand are justified ^anby his grace as a gift, ^aothrough the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, 25 whom God ^apput forward as ^aqa propitiation ^arby his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God’s righteousness, because in ^ashis divine forbearance he had passed over ^atformer 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 ^auThen 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 ^avapart from works of the law. 29 Or ^awis God the God of Jews only? Is he not the God of Gentiles also? Yes, of Gentiles also, 30 since ^axGod is one—who will justify the circumcised by faith and ^aythe 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, ^baour forefather according to the flesh? 2 For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about, but ^bbnot before God. 3 For what does the Scripture say? ^bc“Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness.” 4 Now ^bdto 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 ^bebelieves 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 ^bg“Blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven,
and whose sins are covered;
8 blessed is the man against whom the Lord will not ^bhcount his sin.”
9 Is this blessing then only for ^bithe circumcised, or also for the uncircumcised? ^bjFor 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 ^bkHe received the sign of circumcision as a seal of the righteousness that he had by faith while he was still uncircumcised. The purpose was ^blto 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 ^bmthe promise to Abraham and his offspring ^bnthat he would be heir of the world did not come through the law but through the righteousness of faith. 14 ^boFor if it is the adherents of the law who are to be the heirs, faith is null and the promise is void. 15 For ^bpthe law brings wrath, but ^bqwhere there is no law ^brthere is no transgression.

16 That is why it depends on faith, ^bsin order that the promise may rest on grace and ^btbe guaranteed to all his offspring—not only to the adherent of the law but also to the one who shares the faith of Abraham, ^buwho is the father of us all, 17 as it is written, ^bv“I have made you the father of many nations”—in the presence of the God in whom he believed, ^bwwho gives life to the dead and calls into existence ^bxthe 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, ^by“So shall your offspring be.” 19 He did not weaken in faith when he considered his own body, which was ^bzas good as dead ( ^casince he was about a hundred years old), or when he considered ^cbthe 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 ^cdGod was able to do what he had promised. 22 That is why his faith was “counted to him as righteousness.” 23 But ^cethe words “it was counted to him” were not written for his sake alone, 24 but for ours also. It will be counted to us ^cfwho believe in ^cghim who raised from the dead Jesus our Lord, 25 ^chwho was delivered up for our trespasses and raised ^cifor our justification.