Justification By Faith
The Bulletin, 3/17/25
“For we maintain that a man is justified by faith apart from works of the Law.”
(Romans 3:28 NASB95)
This verse is among one of the most controversial sayings in the entire Bible. Its teaching was at the heart of Luther and the Reformers’ split from Roman Catholicism, and it has further served as a dividing line between the denominational world and the Restoration Movement.
However, the verse itself is not terribly difficult to interpret.
It is only when baggage is added onto it that the troubles begin. To some, “justified by faith” means mere mental assent and verbal confession is all God expects from the Christian. They do this to downplay baptism, or even to insist that living a Christ-like life is not required for salvation. Others overcorrect this mistake by returning to a salvation of works, relying on their own goodness. But before we run off to Ephesians 2, James 2, and all the other relevant cross-references, we should be able to appreciate Romans 3:28 in its own context.
In reality, the verse just means what it says.
The way our sins are cleansed is not by our own Law-keeping. It is by faith in Jesus and the price He paid on the cross. If you keep reading Romans, you’ll see that good works are a natural part of our new life in Christ (ch. 6-8, 12-15). But they are not what save us.
On that final day, in the hypothetical situation that you should be asked by the Father why He should let you in, this verse teaches us not to list our accomplishments and why we may have been good enough. Instead, we turn and point to Jesus and His blood-stained cross. We are, indeed, justified by the faith that trusts and surrenders all to Him, and we should be grateful for the confidence this gives us as we consider our standing at the judgment.
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Hello Jack,
I tend to like & agree with most all of your articles. But, I am a bit hesitant on this ‘Justified by faith apart from works’ Romans 3:28 article. Not that it’s not sound doctrine in thought based on past groups of peoples beliefs and persuasions.
But, my concern is in the way Romans 6 was included in the article. As that specific use there in your article could lead many naive and immature Christians to not be fully assured of the necessity for baptism at Romans 6:1-4.
B/R brother,
And thx for all your very informative writings.
Russ