Romans 3:24 Study Bible: being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus;

◄ Romans 3:24 ►

and are justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.

and are justified
The term "justified" comes from the Greek word "dikaioō," which means to declare righteous. In a legal sense, it is akin to a judge declaring someone not guilty. In the context of Romans, Paul is emphasizing that believers are declared righteous by God. This justification is not based on human merit but is a divine act of grace. Historically, this concept was revolutionary, as it shifted the focus from adherence to the Law to faith in Christ.

freely
The Greek word for "freely" is "dorean," which means without cost or undeservedly. This highlights the nature of God's grace as a gift that cannot be earned. In the historical context of the Roman Empire, where transactions and merit were highly valued, the idea of receiving something so valuable without cost was countercultural and emphasized the generosity of God's love.

by His grace
"Grace" is translated from the Greek word "charis," which refers to unmerited favor. In the scriptural context, grace is the foundation of the Christian faith, underscoring that salvation is a gift from God, not a result of human effort. This grace is a central theme in Paul's letters, emphasizing that it is through God's initiative and love that humanity is saved.

through the redemption
The word "redemption" comes from the Greek "apolutrōsis," which means a release secured by the payment of a ransom. In the historical context, this term was often used in reference to the liberation of slaves. Paul uses this powerful imagery to convey that Christ's sacrifice has liberated believers from the bondage of sin, a concept deeply rooted in the sacrificial system of the Old Testament.

that is in Christ Jesus
The phrase "in Christ Jesus" signifies the sphere in which redemption and justification occur. It emphasizes the personal relationship and union believers have with Christ. Historically, this was a radical departure from the Jewish understanding of the Law as the means to righteousness. Paul asserts that it is only through Christ, the Messiah, that one can be truly justified and redeemed. This underscores the centrality of Christ in the Christian faith and the transformative power of His work on the cross.

Persons / Places / Events

1. Paul the Apostle
The author of the Book of Romans, Paul was a key figure in the early Christian church, known for his missionary journeys and theological teachings.

2. The Roman Church
The recipients of the letter, the Roman Christians were a diverse group of Jewish and Gentile believers living in the heart of the Roman Empire.

3. Christ Jesus
Central to this verse, Jesus is the Messiah and the means through which redemption and justification are provided to believers.

4. Justification
A legal term used in the New Testament to describe the act of God declaring a sinner righteous through faith in Jesus Christ.

5. Redemption
A term that refers to the act of buying back or liberating someone, often used in the context of Christ's sacrificial death freeing believers from sin.

Teaching Points

Understanding Justification
Justification is a legal declaration by God that a person is righteous. It is not based on human merit but is a gift of grace through faith in Jesus Christ.

The Role of Grace
Grace is unmerited favor from God. It is by His grace that we are justified, highlighting the generosity and love of God towards humanity.

Redemption in Christ
Redemption is the act of being set free from sin. It is through Christ's sacrificial death and resurrection that believers are redeemed.

Living in Freedom
Understanding that we are justified and redeemed should lead to a life of freedom from the bondage of sin, encouraging believers to live in the newness of life.

Faith and Works
While justification is by faith, it should result in a life that reflects the transformative power of God's grace, leading to good works as a response to salvation.

Bible Study Questions

1. How does understanding the concept of justification change your perspective on your relationship with God?

2. In what ways can you see the evidence of God's grace in your life, and how does this impact your daily walk with Him?

3. How does the idea of redemption through Christ influence your understanding of freedom from sin?

4. What are some practical ways you can live out the freedom and new life that comes from being justified and redeemed?

5. How can you explain the relationship between faith and works to someone who is struggling to understand the concept of grace?

Connections to Other Scriptures

Ephesians 2:8-9
This passage emphasizes that salvation is by grace through faith, not by works, reinforcing the concept of being justified freely by God's grace.

Titus 3:5-7
These verses highlight the mercy of God in salvation, aligning with the idea of being justified by His grace.

1 Corinthians 1:30
This scripture speaks of Christ being our righteousness, sanctification, and redemption, connecting to the redemption found in Christ Jesus.

Galatians 2:16
Paul discusses justification by faith in Christ and not by works of the law, which complements the message in Romans 3:24.

Sermons

Justification	Prof. Godet.	Romans 3:24
Justification	J. Guyse, D. D.	Romans 3:24
Justification	R. Wardlaw, D. D.	Romans 3:24
Justification by Grace	C. H. Spurgeon.	Romans 3:24
Of Justification		Romans 3:24
Redemption	E. B. Pusey, D. D.	Romans 3:24
Redemption	Prof. J. A. Beet.	Romans 3:24
Redemption: Glory Of	H. W. Beecher.	Romans 3:24
Redemption: Gratitude For	H. W. Beecher.	Romans 3:24
The Cost of Redemption	T. L. Cuyler.	Romans 3:24
The Mode and Means of Pardon	W. Griffiths.	Romans 3:24
God's Method of Righteousness	T. G. Horton.	Romans 3:21-26
God's Righteousness Man's Fear and Man's Hope	W. Baxendale.	Romans 3:21-26
How to Attain Righteousness	W. J. Adeney, M. A.	Romans 3:21-26
Justifying Righteousness	A. M. McGillivray.	Romans 3:21-26
No Difference	C.H. Irwin	Romans 3:21-26
Redemption Working Righteousness	T.F. Lockyer	Romans 3:21-26
The Announcement of Righteousness by Faith	W. Griffiths.	Romans 3:21-26
The Righteousness of God	H. Bonar, D. D.	Romans 3:21-26
The Righteousness of God	J. Haldane.	Romans 3:21-26
The Righteousness of God Is	J. Lyth, D. D.	Romans 3:21-26
Justification Through Faith in Christ	R.M. Edgar	Romans 3:21-31

People

Paul, Romans

Places

Rome

Topics

Acquittal, Christ, Credit, Declared, Deliverance, Free, Freely, Gaining, Gift, Grace, Guilt, Justified, Redemption, Righteous, Righteousness, Salvation, Unpurchased

Dictionary of Bible Themes

Romans 3:24

     2027   Christ, grace and mercy
     6720   redemption
     8106   assurance, nature of

Romans 3:19-24

6512 salvation, necessity and basis

Romans 3:20-24

8774 legalism

Romans 3:20-28

8157 righteousness, as faith

Romans 3:21-24

     5362   justice, believers' lives
     6669   grace, and salvation
     8822   self-justification

Romans 3:21-26

     2072   Christ, righteousness
     2424   gospel, promises
     6661   freedom, and law
     6712   propitiation

Romans 3:21-30

8022 faith, basis of salvation

Romans 3:22-24

     5308   equality
     6668   grace, and Christ
     6687   mercy, God's

Romans 3:22-26

6029 sin, forgiveness

Romans 3:23-24

     1315   God, as redeemer
     6730   reinstatement
     8261   generosity, God's

Romans 3:23-25

6723 redemption, NT

Romans 3:24-25

     1055   God, grace and mercy
     1680   types
     2354   Christ, mission

Romans 3:24-26

2324 Christ, as Saviour
6028 sin, deliverance from

Romans 3:24-30

6678 justification, Christ's work

Library

No Difference
'There is no difference.'--ROMANS iii. 22. The things in which all men are alike are far more important than those in which they differ. The diversities are superficial, the identities are deep as life. Physical processes and wants are the same for everybody. All men, be they kings or beggars, civilised or savage, rich or poor, wise or foolish, cultured or illiterate, breathe the same breath, hunger and thirst, eat and drink, sleep, are smitten by the same diseases, and die at last the same death. …
Alexander Maclaren—Romans, Corinthians (To II Corinthians, Chap. V)

The Law Established through Faith
Discourse I "Do we then make void the law through faith? God forbid: Yea, we establish the law." Romans 3:31. 1. St. Paul, having the beginning of this Epistle laid down his general proposition, namely, that "the gospel of Christ is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth;" -- the powerful means, whereby God makes every believer a partaker of present and eternal salvation; -- goes on to show, that there is no other way under heaven whereby men can be saved. He speaks particularly …
John Wesley—Sermons on Several Occasions

God Justified, Though Man Believes Not
"For what if some did not believe? Shall their unbelief make the faith of God without effect? God forbid: yea, let God be true, and every man a liar; as it is written, That thou mightest be justified in thy sayings, and mightest overcome when thou art judged."--Romans 3:3,4. The seed of Israel had great privileges even before the coming of Christ. God had promised by covenant that they should have those privileges; and they did enjoy them. They had a revelation and a light divine, while all the world …
Charles Haddon Spurgeon—Spurgeon's Sermons Volume 38: 1892

Justice Satisfied
WHEN THE SOUL is seriously impressed with the conviction of its guilt, when terror and alarm get hold upon it concerning the inevitable consequences of its sin, the soul is afraid of God. It dreads at that time every attribute of divinity. But most of all the sinner is afraid of God's justice. "Ah," saith he to himself, "God is a just God; and if so, how can he pardon my sins? for my iniquities cry aloud for punishment, and my transgressions demand that his right hand should smite me low. How can …
Charles Haddon Spurgeon—Spurgeon's Sermons Volume 5: 1859

"That the Righteousness of the Law Might be Fulfilled in Us. "
Rom. viii. 4.--"That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us." God having a great design to declare unto the world both his justice and mercy towards men, he found out this mean most suitable and proportioned unto it, which is here spoken of in the third verse,--to send his own Son to bear the punishment of sin, that the righteousness of the law might be freely and graciously fulfilled in sinners. And, indeed, it was not imaginable by us, how he could declare both in the salvation …
Hugh Binning—The Works of the Rev. Hugh Binning

How Christ is the Way in General, "I am the Way. "
We come now to speak more particularly to the words; and, first, Of his being a way. Our design being to point at the way of use-making of Christ in all our necessities, straits, and difficulties which are in our way to heaven; and particularly to point out the way how believers should make use of Christ in all their particular exigencies; and so live by faith in him, walk in him, grow up in him, advance and march forward toward glory in him. It will not be amiss to speak of this fulness of Christ …
John Brown (of Wamphray)—Christ The Way, The Truth, and The Life

How Christ is Made Use of for Justification as a Way.
What Christ hath done to purchase, procure, and bring about our justification before God, is mentioned already, viz. That he stood in the room of sinners, engaging for them as their cautioner, undertaking, and at length paying down the ransom; becoming sin, or a sacrifice for sin, and a curse for them, and so laying down his life a ransom to satisfy divine justice; and this he hath made known in the gospel, calling sinners to an accepting of him as their only Mediator, and to a resting upon him for …
John Brown (of Wamphray)—Christ The Way, The Truth, and The Life

The Necessity of Other Preparatory Acts Besides Faith
1. HERETICAL ERRORS AND THE TEACHING OF THE CHURCH.--Martin Luther, to quiet his conscience, evolved the notion that faith alone justifies and that the Catholic doctrine of the necessity of good works is pharisaical and derogatory to the merits of Jesus Christ. This teaching was incorporated into the symbolic books of the Lutherans(811) and adopted by Calvin.(812) It has been called one of the two basic errors of Protestantism. The Tridentine Council solemnly condemns it as follows: "If anyone saith …
Joseph Pohle—Grace, Actual and Habitual

Justification.
"Being justified freely by His grace, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus."--Rom. iii. 24. The Heidelberg Catechism teaches that true conversion consists of these two parts: the dying of the old man, and the rising again of the new. This last should be noticed. The Catechism says not that the new life originates in conversion, but that it arises in conversion. That which arises must exist before. Else how could it arise? This agrees with our statement that regeneration precedes conversion, …
Abraham Kuyper—The Work of the Holy Spirit

Certainty of Our Justification.
"Being justified freely by His grace, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus."--Rom. iii. 24. The foregoing illustrations shed unexpected light upon the fact that God justifies the ungodly, and not him who is actually just in himself; and upon the word of Christ: "Now are ye clean through the word which I have spoken unto you." (John xv. 3) They illustrate the significant fact that God does not determine our status according to what we are, but by the status to which He assigns us He determines …
Abraham Kuyper—The Work of the Holy Spirit

Justification
'Being justified freely by his grace.' Rom 3:34. Q-xxxiii: WHAT IS JUSTIFICATION? A: It is an act of God's free grace, whereby he pardons all our sins, and accepts us as righteous in his sight, only for the righteousness of Christ, imputed to us, and received by faith alone. Justification is the very hinge and pillar of Christianity. An error about justification is dangerous, like a defect in a foundation. Justification by Christ is a spring of the water of life. To have the poison of corrupt doctrine …
Thomas Watson—A Body of Divinity

A Great Deal for Me to Read Hast Thou Sent...
1. A great deal for me to read hast thou sent, my dearest brother Consentius: a great deal for me to read: to the which while I am preparing an answer, and am drawn off first by one, then by another, more urgent occupation, the year has measured out its course, and has thrust me into such straits, that I must answer in what sort I may, lest the time for sailing being now favorable, and the bearer desirous to return, I should too long detain him. Having therefore unrolled and read through all that …
St. Augustine—Against Lying

Nuremberg Sept. 15, 1530. To the Honorable and Worthy N. , My Favorite Lord and Friend.
Grace and peace in Christ, honorable, worthy and dear Lord and friend. I received your writing with the two questions or queries requesting my response. In the first place, you ask why I, in the 3rd chapter of Romans, translated the words of St. Paul: "Arbitramur hominem iustificari ex fide absque operibus" as "We hold that the human will be justified without the works of the law but only by faith." You also tell me that the Papists are causing a great fuss because St. Paul's text does not contain …
Dr. Martin Luther—An Open Letter on Translating

This Conflict None Experience in Themselves, Save Such as War on the Side Of...
7. This conflict none experience in themselves, save such as war on the side of the virtues, and war down the vices: nor doth any thing storm the evil of lust, save the good of Continence. But there are, who, being utterly ignorant of the law of God, account not evil lusts among their enemies, and through wretched blindness being slaves to them, over and above think themselves also blessed, by satisfying them rather than taming them. But whoso through the Law have come to know them, ("For through …
St. Augustine—On Continence

Sanctification.
V. The conditions of this attainment. 1. A state of entire sanctification can never be attained by an indifferent waiting of God's time. 2. Nor by any works of law, or works of any kind, performed in your own strength, irrespective of the grace of God. By this I do not mean, that, were you disposed to exert your natural powers aright, you could not at once obey the law in the exercise of your natural strength, and continue to do so. But I do mean, that as you are wholly indisposed to use your natural …
Charles Grandison Finney—Systematic Theology

Justification.
Christ is represented in the gospel as sustaining to men three classes of relations. 1. Those which are purely governmental. 2. Those which are purely spiritual. 3. Those which unite both these. We shall at present consider him as Christ our justification. I shall show,-- I. What gospel justification is not. There is scarcely any question in theology that has been encumbered with more injurious and technical mysticism than that of justification. Justification is the pronouncing of one just. It may …
Charles Grandison Finney—Systematic Theology

Atonement.
We come now to the consideration of a very important feature of the moral government of God; namely, the atonement. In discussing this subject, I will-- I. Call attention to several well-established principles of government. 1. We have already seen that moral law is not founded in the mere arbitrary will of God or of any other being, but that it has its foundation in the nature and relations of moral agents, that it is that rule of action or of willing which is imposed on them by the law of their …
Charles Grandison Finney—Systematic Theology

Its Evidence
In Romans 3:28 the Apostle Paul declared "that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law," and then produces the case of Abraham to prove his assertion. But the Apostle James, from the case of the same Abraham, draws quite another conclusion, saying, "Ye see then how that by works a man is justified, and not by faith only" (James 2:24). This is one of the "contradictions in the Bible" to which infidels appeal in support of their unbelief. But the Christian, however difficult he finds …
Arthur W. Pink—The Doctrine of Justification

The Impossibility of Failure.
"But, beloved, we are persuaded better things of you, and things that accompany salvation, though we thus speak: for God is not unrighteous to forget your work and the love which ye showed toward His name, in that ye ministered unto the saints, and still do minister. And we desire that each one of you may show the same diligence unto the fulness of hope even to the end: that ye be not sluggish, but imitators of them who through faith and patience inherit the promises. For when God made promise to …
Thomas Charles Edwards—The Expositor's Bible: The Epistle to the Hebrews

Faith
What does God require of us, that we may escape his wrath and curse due to us for our sin? Faith in Jesus Christ, repentance unto life, with the diligent use of all the outward means, whereby Christ communicateth to us the benefits of redemption. I begin with the first, faith in Jesus Christ. Whom God has set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood.' Rom 3: 25. The great privilege in the text is, to have Christ for a propitiation; which is not only to free us from God's wrath, but to …
Thomas Watson—The Ten Commandments

Christian Behavior
Being the fruits of true Christianity: Teaching husbands, wives, parents, children, masters, servants, etc., how to walk so as to please God. With a word of direction to all backsliders. Advertisement by the Editor This valuable practical treatise, was first published as a pocket volume about the year 1674, soon after the author's final release from his long and dangerous imprisonment. It is evident from the concluding paragraph that he considered his liberty and even his life to be still in a very …
John Bunyan—The Works of John Bunyan Volumes 1-3

The Gospel the Power of God
'I am not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth.'--ROMANS i. 16. To preach the Gospel in Rome had long been the goal of Paul's hopes. He wished to do in the centre of power what he had done in Athens, the home of wisdom; and with superb confidence, not in himself, but in his message, to try conclusions with the strongest thing in the world. He knew its power well, and was not appalled. The danger was an attraction to his chivalrous …
Alexander Maclaren—Romans, Corinthians (To II Corinthians, Chap. V)

The Loftiness of God
ISAIAH lvii. 15. For thus saith the high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity, whose name is Holy, I dwell in the high and holy place; with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones. This is a grand text; one of the grandest in the whole Old Testament; one of those the nearest to the spirit of the New. It is full of Gospel--of good news: but it is not the whole Gospel. It does not tell us the whole character …
Charles Kingsley—The Good News of God

The Pharisee and the Publican
Two men went up into the temple to pray; the one a Pharisee, and the other a Publican. The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself; God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this Publican. I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I possess. And the Publican, standing afar off would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner.-- Luke, xviii. 10-13. In the beginning …
John Bunyan—The Pharisee And Publican

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