Romans 3:21

21 But now, quite apart from Torah, God's way of making people righteous in his sight has been made clear - although the Torah and the Prophets give their witness to it as well -

Romans 3:21 Meaning and Commentary

Romans 3:21

But now the righteousness of God
The apostle having proved that all men are unrighteous, and that no man can be justified in the sight of God by his obedience, either to the law of nature or of Moses, proceeds to give an account of that righteousness, which does justify before God; and so returns to his former subject, ( Romans 1:17 ) , concerning "the righteousness of God", the revelation of which he makes to be peculiar to the Gospel, as he does here; since he says, that it

without the law is manifested:
meaning, either that this righteousness is without the law, and the deeds of it, as performed by sinful men; or that the manifestation of it is without the law, either of nature or of Moses; for the law discovers sin, but not a righteousness which justifies from sin; it shows what righteousness is, but does not direct the sinner where there is one to be had, that will make him righteous in the sight of God: this is made known without the law, and only in the Gospel:

being witnessed by the law and the prophets;
a testimony is borne to the justifying righteousness of Christ both "by the law", particularly in the five books of Moses; which testify of Christ, of his obedience, sufferings, and death, by which he brought in life and righteousness; see ( Genesis 3:15 ) , compared with ( Daniel 9:24 ) ; and ( Genesis 15:6 ) with ( Romans 4:9 Romans 4:10 Romans 4:22-25 ) ; and ( Genesis 22:18 ) with ( Galatians 3:8 Galatians 3:9 Galatians 3:14 ) ; and ( Deuteronomy 30:11-14 ) with ( Romans 10:5-10 ) . And the prophets; Isaiah, Jeremiah, Daniel, and others; see ( Isaiah 42:21 ) ( Isaiah 45:24 Isaiah 45:25 ) ( Isaiah 46:12 Isaiah 46:13 ) ( Isaiah 51:5 Isaiah 51:6 Isaiah 51:8 ) ( 53:11 ) ( Jeremiah 23:6 ) ( Daniel 9:24 ) .

Romans 3:21 In-Context

19 Moreover, we know that whatever the Torah says, it says to those living within the framework of the Torah, in order that every mouth may be stopped and the whole world be shown to deserve God's adverse judgment.

20 For in his sight no one alive will be considered righteousn on the ground of legalistic observance of Torah commands, because what Torah really does is show people how sinful they are.

21 But now, quite apart from Torah, God's way of making people righteous in his sight has been made clear - although the Torah and the Prophets give their witness to it as well -

22 and it is a righteousness that comes from God, through the faithfulness of Yeshua the Messiah, to all who continue trusting. For it makes no difference whether one is a Jew or a Gentile,

23 since all have sinned and come short of earning God's praise.