Romans 3:24
“Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus:”
King James Version (KJV)
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This verse comes after Paul has shown that both Jew and Gentile are under sin, so that no one is justified by their own works of the law. It introduces how God makes sinners right with Himself.
What Does Romans 3:24 Mean?
Paul says we are declared righteous as a free gift of God's grace, through the redemption accomplished in Christ Jesus. This verse stands at the heart of the letter, following Paul's sweeping argument that all have sinned and fall short of God's glory. Against that backdrop, the word "freely" shines: the right standing humanity could not achieve is offered without cost to the receiver. "Justified" is a courtroom word -- to be declared in the right -- and here the verdict comes by grace, God's unearned favor.
The means of this gift is "the redemption that is in Christ Jesus." Redemption pictures a release secured at a price, like the freeing of a captive. What God grants freely to us was not free to Him; it came through what Christ did on our behalf. Paul holds together two truths that might seem in tension: the gift is free to us, yet it is grounded in a real and costly act of God in Christ. This is the foundation on which the believer stands. The verse invites readers to receive what they could never produce and to marvel that the God who is perfectly just has also become the One who sets the guilty free.
In the Original Language
"Justified" translates the Greek "dikaioō," to declare righteous. "Freely" renders "dōrean," as a gift, without cause in the recipient, and "redemption" comes from "apolytrōsis," a release secured by the payment of a ransom.
Cross References
“For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;”
- Romans 3:23
“In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace;”
- Ephesians 1:7
“That being justified by his grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life.”
- Titus 3:7
Application
Believers can rest in a right standing that is received as a gift rather than achieved, freeing them from the burden of trying to earn God's acceptance.