Romans 3:27Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

When judgment has arrived, those who wish to repent no longer have a fitting time. So also then, when the sentence had finally been pronounced and all were ready to perish, He appeared Who destroys every evil by grace.

The Jews no longer had time to defend themselves by justification from the law. If they had needed to establish themselves on this, they should have done so before Christ's coming.

When the One Who saves through faith had come, the time for struggles had already been taken away. Since all the former means had proved ineffective, Christ saves by grace.

Therefore He came now, so that they could not say, if He had appeared at the beginning, that one could also be saved with the help of the law, by one's own labors and merits.

Thus, to remove such shamelessness from them, Christ delayed for a long time. He saved by His grace when it had been clearly proved through everything that human beings lacked sufficient strength of their own.

Therefore, when the Apostle said above, "for a showing of righteousness" (Rom 3:25), he added, "at the present time" (Rom 3:26).

If some were to contradict, they would act like a man who committed grave crimes and could not justify himself in court. He was condemned and had to suffer punishment.

Then, by royal mercy, he was released. After his release, he would have the shamelessness to boast and assert that he had committed no offense.

This should have been proved before the gift appeared. But once it appeared, it was no longer time to boast.

This is exactly what happened with the Jews. They had already been sold from their own homeland. Therefore Christ came, and by His coming deprived them of boasting.

For the one who says of himself that he is a teacher of children, who boasts in the law and calls himself an instructor of the foolish, yet needs a Teacher and Savior like them, has no ground for boasting.

If even before this, circumcision was uncircumcision, then all the more now, since it has been abolished both for the past and for the present.

Having said, "It has been excluded," the Apostle shows how this happened. How, then, was it abolished? the Apostle asks.

"By what law? Of works? No, but by the law of faith."

See how Paul even called faith a law. He gladly uses the former names in order to soften what seemed to be a novelty.

In what, then, does the law of faith consist? In salvation by grace.

Here the Apostle proves the power of God. He not only saved, but justified and brought into boasting, needing none of our works for this, but requiring faith alone.

He says this while training the believing Jew in modesty, and humbling the unbelieving Jew, so as afterward to draw him also.

If the one who received salvation begins to think much of himself, then by looking into the law he will learn that the law itself stopped his mouth.

The law itself accused him, refused him salvation, and deprived him of boasting. The unbeliever, in turn, having been humbled by the same thing, may be brought to faith.

Do you see what the riches of faith are? Do you see how it removed us from all that came before, not even allowing us to boast in it?

No, he answers, but by the law of faith, which justifies by grace and not by works. See how he even calls faith a law, because the word "law" was held in honor among the Jews.

Therefore boast, O Jew, in faith, which is able to justify you.

He did not simply call faith a law, but did so while recalling Jeremiah's prophecy. For it is written, "In those days and at that time I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah.

"It will not be according to the covenant which I made with their fathers" (Jer 31:31-32). If the Law of Moses is called a covenant, and the new one is likewise called a covenant, and it legislates faith in Christ, then the divine Apostle prophetically gave faith the name of law.

Then he composes his discourse on faith.

"By the law of faith." "If he called the Law of Moses a covenant, and also similarly called the New one a covenant (Jer 31:31-32), and it legislates faith in Christ, then the divine Apostle prophetically gave faith the name of law" (Theodoret).

Faith does it not only negatively, as the law does, but also positively. It not only brings a person to acknowledge the impossibility of justifying himself before God. It directly gives him this justification freely.

Can one boast of an acquisition received as a gift? Yet man has only this free means of justification. "For we conclude," says the Apostle, "that a man is justified by faith apart from works of the law" (Rom 3:28).

Therefore, whoever this man may be, and however strict a keeper of the law he imagines himself, he will still have nothing to boast about.

"Bring faith, and you will buy the garment of righteousness. You will put it on and be glorified brightly in it, however low your former condition may have been."

As ransom for us, God's insolvent debtors, Jesus Christ gave His Blood. Thus it would be clear that God has mercy on us and justifies us not arbitrarily, but according to righteousness.

By this righteousness, in the Old Testament He as it were passed over sins, looking toward the sufficient sacrifice of righteousness that was to be offered for us.

In the New Testament He did not punish believers for sins because this sacrifice had been offered. Thus both God's righteousness and His holiness were preserved.

There was no contradiction or discord between the Old Testament law, New Testament faith, and the spirit of grace. But if justification is given apart from the law, through faith, one naturally asks: What meaning did the law have?

Will it not be blasphemed? No, says the Apostle. He then shows that faith was the most important saving means even before the law, which was given only through Moses and for a time, during which it had its beneficial significance.

"He did not say, 'It has vanished and perished,' but 'It has been excluded.' This indicates rather the untimeliness of boasting. There was a time to boast, but now it is no longer the time.

"Just as after judgment has come there is no longer time for those who wish to repent, so also it was no longer time for the Jews to say: we can be corrected by fulfilling the law.

"This was when the sentence had been pronounced and He had come Who by grace destroys every evil. They should have cared for this before Christ's coming.

"But when the One Who saves through faith had come, the time for the struggles under the law had already ceased. Since all means had proved ineffective, Christ saves by grace.

"For this reason He came now. If He had come at the beginning, they could have said that it was possible to be saved with the help of the law, by their own labors and merits.

"Therefore, so as not to give occasion for such shameless words, Christ waited a long time.

"When it became evident in every way that human beings did not have sufficient strength of their own, then He saved them by His grace.

"Whoever contradicts this acts like a man who committed grave crimes and could not justify himself before the court. He was condemned and sentenced to death, but was then released by royal mercy.

"After his release, he has enough shamelessness to boast and assert that he committed no offense. This should have been shown before mercy was received.

"But when mercy has been shown, it is no longer time to boast. The same happened with the Jews.

"Since they did not defend themselves, Christ came and by His coming deprived them of boasting.

"The one who presents himself as a teacher of children, boasts in the law, and calls himself an instructor of the ignorant, yet needs a Teacher and Savior just as they do, has nothing in which to boast.

"If even before, circumcision became uncircumcision, then all the more now. For circumcision has been abolished both for the past and for the present" (Saint Chrysostom).

"By what law?" "Having said that it has been excluded, the Apostle shows how this happened: how was it excluded?" (Saint Chrysostom).

The word "law" may be understood in the proper sense, and also as meaning: by virtue of what was it excluded?

"By works?" From the Greek: "of works?" That is, by a law of works? By virtue of works? No, but by virtue of faith, that is, by virtue of the New Covenant established on faith.

How boasting was excluded by virtue of faith is clear in itself. But how could it have been excluded by virtue of works, or by a law of works?

Although the Apostle denies this, by asking the question he shows that it is possible. How is it possible?

It is possible in the sense that the law reproves the Jews. But this is precisely what happened, and the Apostle could not deny it, since he himself reproves the Jews by the law and takes away their boasting by it.

The law reproved and took away boasting. One could not say, "No, boasting was not excluded by a law of works."

Therefore it seems that by this question and the negative answer, "By works? No," the Apostle wished only to set forth the power of faith more strikingly, first placing the law before its face.

For after the question, "By what law?" he could have said directly, "By the law of faith." "No, but by the law of faith."

"See how Paul even called faith a law. He keeps to the old names in order to make bearable what seemed to be a novelty.

"In what, then, does the law of faith consist? In being saved by grace.

"Here the Apostle proves that all things are possible to God. He not only saved, but also justified and gave a right to boast, without needing our works for this, but requiring faith alone.

"He says this in order to train the believing Jew in modesty, and to humble the unbelieving Jew and then draw him. Do you see the riches of faith?" (Saint Chrysostom).

Boasting was excluded by the law of faith not in order to cover everyone with dishonor, but in order to show everyone the path to true glory.

Through faith in the Lord they received remission of sins and opened entrance within themselves to grace. This grace is given in the mysteries.

It sanctifies the one faithful to the conditions of the gracious covenant and makes him pure and glorious before the face of God, angels, and men.

This is boasting.

Such a law of faith abolished boasting in the law. It did so both through what it gave believers, which the law did not give, and because it was established not for Jews alone, but for all people universally.

"As soon as grace appeared and was poured out upon all nations, the boasting of the Jews ceased. For God gave men a short way to salvation: faith" (Blessed Theodoret).