21 But now, apart from the law, the righteousness of God has been revealed, as attested by the Law and the Prophets.

22 And this righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no distinction,

23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,

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

— Romans 3:21-24

God made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God.

— 2 Corinthians 5:21

know that a man is not justified by works of the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ. So we, too, have believed in Christ Jesus, that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by works of the law, because by works of the law no one will be justified.

— Galatians 2:16

So that, having been justified by His grace, we would become heirs with the hope of eternal life.

— Titus 3:7

Thoughts on Today’s Reading

Grace, mercy and love from Christ to you.

Justification means to be declared righteous or innocent before God. Imagine standing in a courtroom knowing you are guilty, and hearing the judge declare you are not guilty! That is what Paul describes here through Jesus, God offers a way to clear our debt. And we are to be seen as blameless. It’s not because we’ve earned it, but because Jesus took our penalty on Himself. This justification isn’t something we can achieve on our own. Paul in Romans makes it clear that no amount of good deeds, moral behavior or religious observance can make us right with God.

Humanity has tried to reach God through self effort, ritual, and the law but always falls short. Paul tells us that all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. It means that no matter how hard we try, we can’t measure up to God’s standard on our own. But here is the good news. God’s solution to our sin and our separation from Him isn’t found in our efforts. It’s found in our faith. To be justified by faith means that we trusted what Jesus has already done for us on the cross.