Romans 3:29-31 – Faith and Our Flesh

Israel had two boasts, one boast was in God being their God.

When Jesus taught his disciples to pray and said, Our Father, who art in heaven, the “our” there was Israel, he was the God of Israel, not the God of the Egyptians.

They knew the true God who spoke to their fathers Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. That was their other boast, that God revealed and gave oracles to them. Information and knowledge in the law.

Romans 2:23 says,

Thou that makest thy boast of the law, through breaking the law dishonourest thou God? 

 

In Romans 3:2 Paul asks what profit is there in being a Jew.

Much every way: chiefly, because that unto them were committed the oracles of God. 

 

Paul’s pointing out how they did boast in the law and the advantage they had of being Jews to whom were committed the oracles of God, even though they broke the law.

Gentiles didn’t have that to claim. God didn’t make their nations. But God did birth the nation of Israel who were God’s firstborn son when he birthed them out of Egypt, when he miraculously conceived their fathers through Abraham’s son and then, Isaac’s son, and then Jacob and his twelve sons. And so God made this nation and delivered them from Egypt through Moses. And so the foundation of their boasting is in these glories.

 

So when Paul asks, where is boasting He’s talking about Israel.

But it can also be widened out to mankind in general. Boasting in our flesh who we are, what we do, things that we think we deserve or things that we earn.

Now, when we come to know the gospel of the grace of God, we know that thinking we’re saved by what we deserve or what we’ve earned is not it?

The gospel is by grace, which means we haven’t earned it and we don’t deserve it.

 

Paul’s revealing this for the first time in Romans and he says, boasting is excluded by what law? Not of works, not the law that was given Israel or by who we think we are and what we deserve.

It’s by the law of faith.

It’s not by a law requiring faith as if the Gospel itself was a law, a sort of new, milder one. The word “law” here signifies any “doctrine” or “instruction”, and here particularly, the doctrine of a sinner’s justification by faith in the righteousness of Christ. According to this law of faith the most unlikely persons are justified, even the ungodly and the worst and vilest of sinners; and without any consideration of their works, by faith only, which is freely given to them by faith in Christ’s righteousness alone.

This is the law that makes a person righteous when they believe on the righteousness of God, which is by faith of Christ Jesus.

It’s upon all that believe in him. They’re the ones that get justified. It’s by faith. So there’s no boasting in our flesh because, as we’ve seen, all are sinners.

 

So in Ephesians 2:8-9 we have the passage that is so basic and elementary to us, who know God’s grace,

For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast. 

 

Ephesians 2:10 goes on to say,

For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them. 

 

This is after we’re saved by grace through faith. We’re his workmanship.

We didn’t make ourself to be who we are in Christ.

We believe and he makes us something. We are a Christian, not by our own behavior, our own deserving of it, but because God made us that when we trust his finished work.

We are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works. Not because of good works.

 

And so this is Romans three. Boasting is removed by grace and faith as Paul reveals it here but it’ll come up again and again through Romans.

So the conclusion is in Romans 3:29,

Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law. 

 

Then Romans 3:29-30 says,

Is he the God of the Jews only? is he not also of the Gentiles? Yes, of the Gentiles also: Seeing it is one God, which shall justify the circumcision (the Jew) by faith, and uncircumcision (the Gentile) through faith. 

 

We might ask why Paul’s talking about this?

Well, Paul’s just got through saying how boasting is excluded by the law of faith, and a man is not justified by the deeds of the law, and then he straight away asks the question, is he the God of the Jews only?

See, the proud, boastful Jew would say, he’s our God. And Paul’s saying, is he your God only? He is your God.

The Jews would have known that these pagan sinners, the Gentiles weren’t justified, but they regarded themselves as being protected in their flesh because God was their God.

Paul’s already cleared that up by saying no flesh will be justified and that’s a bash against Israel. And he says that all, all meaning Jew and Gentile, have sinned and come short of the glory of God.

But if you’re a Jew reading that, you’re going, well, wait a minute, you mean all them don’t you? Those heathen Gentiles.

 

Even Christians today tend to think that way. But all means all have sinned.

And so this is how a Jew would read it and Paul’s saying, no, no, no! It’s everybody. Even you religious people because he’s not just your God. He’s the God of everybody.

He’s the same God that judges the Gentiles, judges the nations, judges sinners, and judges you religious people to be sinners as well.

 

Romans 3:22

Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference:

 

Romans is so fundamental to our understanding as a Christian.

In every other of Paul’s epistles, he’s bringing something out of Romans.

For example in 1Corinthians 1:22-27 we read,

For the Jews require a sign, and the Greeks seek after wisdom: 

But we preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews a stumblingblock, and unto the Greeks foolishness; 

But unto them which are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God, and the wisdom of God. 

Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men; and the weakness of God is stronger than men. 

For ye see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called: 

But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty; 

 

Paul’s talking about Jews and Gentiles and how the gospel is a stumbling block to the Jews and to the Greeks foolishness.

What does that mean?

It’s not about our flesh, is it? That’s the point. God’s chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise. By the way, notice it says not many wise after the flesh, which means it’s not that they’re excluded. It’s just not many. And there’s reasons for that. It’s because there’s got to be an understanding of our own sin.

That’s what the Jews stumbled over and what the Greeks saw as foolishness. Salvation is by faith. That’s foolishness. People stumble over it because it’s got to be faith and works.

So Paul’s saying no flesh should glory in his presence.

By the way, verse 29 is quoting the Old Testament. Jeremiah 9:23–24 says this,

Thus saith the Lord, Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, neither let the mighty man glory in his might, let not the rich man glory in his riches:

But let him that glorieth glory in this, that he understandeth and knoweth me…

This passage aligns with Corinthians 1:29, showing that true boasting is not in human strength or wisdom, but in knowing the Lord.

 

What’s Paul doing? Using the prophets to witness the truth of the gospel of the grace of God.

So God is the creator of all things so He’s the God of the Gentiles too, even if they don’t know Him and reject Him He’s still their God.

 

Later in Romans Paul will bring this point up again from Old Testament prophecy about how the Gentiles were promised there’d be a time where they would glorify God.

Remember, the Gentiles will be blessed through Israel’s rise according to prophecy.

Romans fifteen talks at length about the Gentiles glorifying God and again uses Old Testament prophets as a witness.

 

Paul’s common point here, according to these prophecies is Gentiles, Gentiles and Gentiles. He’s quoting Israel’s books because they didn’t think the Gentiles should have what they had. And Paul’s saying, have you read your own books? They’re going to get what you have. They’ve been promised it. You just get it first. That was Israel’s program.

But in this dispensation, Israel’s fallen.

So it goes to all mankind without Israel.

Paul’s point is that God does not exclude the Gentiles. He’s the God of them, too.

 

Paul say’s in Ephesians 2:13,

But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ.

 

Jesus Christ is preached as God manifest in the flesh to all, and He’s the God of all.

So Romans three verse twenty nine, then is the God of the Jews only? Is he not also the Gentiles? Yes, of the Gentiles also. There’s no So we see that Romans 3:29 and Romans 3:30 are one sentence the first part of the sentence in verse 29 being that God is God of the Gentiles as well as the Jew and then the sentence continues in verse thirty with,

Seeing it is one God, which shall justify the circumcision by faith, and uncircumcision through faith.

 

This is doubling down on the fact that justification doesn’t come from being Israel or the law. No flesh is justified by the law. Justification comes by faith. That’s been concluded.

It’s one God Who justifies the circumcision (the Jew) and uncircumcision (the Gentile).

Circumcision by faith, uncircumcision through faith.

 

Look at Galatians 3:23-24.

But before faith came, we were kept under the law, shut up unto the faith which should afterwards be revealed.  Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith. 

 

It is this issue that that Paul had taught in Romans here, but it’s coming back up because the Galatians were being persuaded to be circumcised and to keep the law of Israel. Why?

Well, God made Israel special, and he gave them things to do that were righteous. So they were being persuaded by this. And Paul’s point in Galatians is, no, that’s not what makes you special, and it’s not what you do that gets you what God’s given you.

That’s his whole argument to the Galatians.

God set up a system of covenants and promises to the Jews and if they were to receive all this by faith, they’d go through these covenants, which included the law, and arrive at the promise fulfilled which would be Christ and His kingdom where He reigns on earth with Israel.

 

So they haven’t received yet, but they’ve been promised it. There’s things they’ve got to do first before they receive what was covenanted to them. Blessings and glory forever. Gentiles didn’t have that.

In fact, Paul even explains in Ephesians 2:12 they’re without hope, so how’re they supposed to get any blessing? They weren’t given covenants and promises.

 

The Circumcision, the Jews, had covenants, and laws and promise so they could be justified before the cross, before Paul’s revelation of the gospel of grace. How?

Abraham justified by faith? When he was given a promise by God, he was justified by faith through keeping what God told him to do.

When God told Abraham to circumcise himself and his sons, it was by faith that he went and circumcised.

When he gave Moses the law, Moses was justified by faith through keeping the law.

Hebrews 11, the faith hall of fame, talks about the importance of faith.

Without faith, it’s impossible to please God and it was by faith that these people in time past, Israel, did what God told them to do.

It wasn’t the doing. It was the faith that justifies.

We’ve seen in Romans 2 that Israel, who was given the law, failed to do it.

So how can they get what God promised them if they failed to do what God said? Because it’s by faith.

That’s what Paul’s point is.

 

In Galatians 3:2 Paul says.

This only would I learn of you, Received ye the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith? 

 

Now these are Gentiles. Paul asks did you receive the spirit by the works of the law or did you get the Holy Spirit by faith when you heard without the works.

The Galatians believed the gospel and received the spirit upon believing as Ephesians 1:13 confirms,

In whom (Christ) ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise, 

 

The Holy Spirit was given to them freely and He sealed them by his grace when they had faith in the cross of Christ.

So when you trust the cross, you get the spirit and it’s not anything they did.

It’s by faith and through faith. No works. It’s not that they’re so special. It’s that Christ did it all. So it’s by faith and through faith.

 

In Galatians 3:8 we see this,

And the scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the heathen through faith, preached before the gospel unto Abraham, saying, In thee shall all nations be blessed. 

 

Abraham was given a promise, and there’s nothing for him to do. Abraham believed, and God counted his faith for righteousness.

So, the Scripture, foreseeing what Paul says, explained how the Gentiles would get blessed by faith through faith.

This’s why Paul says in Romans 3:29, it’s one God. He justifies all by faith, the Jews by faith, and in the uncircumcision through faith. It’s by faith and through faith there’s nothing else.

Jews had faith, and they had their covenants and their promises and their laws that they had to go through.

 

People argue about by faith in and through faith, and they are different words, but the point’s the same. It’s all faith.

Israel had to be justified even though they broke their covenants, this channel through which they’d be blessed. So on what basis could God righteously give them the blessing? Answer by faith.

The Gentiles had nothing to do. They were already given up by God. But how did they get righteousness? By faith and through faith. It’s all faith. There’s nothing else.

 

The man of faith would always do what God said to do in Israel’s past, when they broke the law, the man of faith would express his faith by confessing his sin and offering a sacrifice, praying for mercy as the law required the sinner to do under the covenant.

A Jew without faith wouldn’t confess his sins and wouldn’t offer the sacrifice and wouldn’t even pray and ask God for mercy. They didn’t care.

And, they didn’t receive anything because they didn’t have faith.

So Paul’s point is that faith is always required. It’s the thing that God looks at whether he gave you covenants or not. He looks at faith.

 

But now, as Ephesians 2:12-13 states,

That at that time ye were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world: 

But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ.

 

So how, as Gentiles, do we get anything from God?

Faith! Through faith.

We can now understand how God can justify anyone in the Bible. Faith is necessary and God’s grace is necessary. The cross was necessary.

Remember Romans 3:25, that Christ died for the sins that were past. We now know God’s manifold wisdom of how salvation’s possible for anybody.

 

What’s being removed from Paul’s preaching? You don’t have to be Israel. You don’t have to be in the law. There’s no more boasting anymore. No more special ministers. He’s sending salvation to everybody, freely.

So now, neither circumcision nor uncircumcision avails anything. It doesn’t matter if ‘re circumcised or not or if you’re religious or not. We’re all sinners who need Christ to save us.

 

Paul ends his letter to the Galatians with this, Galatians 6:14-15,

But God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world. For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision availeth any thing, nor uncircumcision, but a new creature. 

 

This means there’s no glory in our flesh, in what we do for Christ Jesus.

He justifies by faith. Faith is the requirement.

Paul says a new creature. What’s that? That’s what we are when we trust the gospel of grace of God, and have faith in what Christ did.

He makes us a new creature.

Why wasn’t that true before?

We have to understand how different that is from what God was doing before.

 

So let’s refresh where we are in Romans and read this vital passage of Romans 3:29-31 again,

Is he the God of the Jews only? is he not also of the Gentiles? Yes, of the Gentiles also: Seeing it is one God, which shall justify the circumcision by faith, and uncircumcision through faith. 

Do we then make void the law through faith? God forbid: yea, we establish the law.

 

We see Paul clarifying this further in Ephesians 2:15,

Having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances; for to make in himself of twain one new man, so making peace; 

 

Part of Christ’s work was the abolishing of the enmity that smoldered between Jew and Gentile and also between man and God.

Paul identifies the law as the innocent cause of this enmity, that is, the law of commandments contained in ordinances.

The Law of Moses was a single code but it was made up of separate, formal commandments and these in turn consisted of dogmas or decrees covering most areas of life.

The law itself was holy, just, and good (Romans 7:12), but man’s sinful nature used the law for hatred because it set up Israel as God’s chosen earthly people.

Many Jews became arrogant and treated the Gentiles with contempt and the Gentiles struck back with deep hostility, which we’ve come to know as anti-Semitism.

But how did Christ remove the law as the cause of enmity?

First, He died to pay the penalty of the law that had been broken and in doing so, satisfied the righteous claims of God.

Now the law has nothing more to say to those who are “in Christ” because the penalty’s been paid in full.

Believers are not under law but under grace.

As a result of abolishing the hostility stirred up by the law, the Lord has been able to usher in a new creation. He’s made in Himself from the two, that is, from believing Jew and believing Gentile, one new man, the church, united with one another in this new fellowship in His Body. The church, the Body of Christ is new in the sense that it’s a kind of organism that never existed before and it’s important to see this.

The church, the Body of Christ is not a continuation of the Israel of the OT. It’s something entirely distinct from anything that’s ever existed before. This is what’s new:

1. That a Gentile should have equal rights and privileges with a Jew.
2. That both Jews and Gentiles lose their national identities by becoming Christians.
3. That Jews and Gentiles should be fellow members of the Body of Christ.
4. That a Jew should have the hope of reigning with Christ instead of being a subject in His kingdom as will happen after the dispensation of grace has ended and the Kingdom comes.
5. That a Jew should no longer be under the law.

The church is clearly a new creation, with a distinct calling and a distinct destiny, occupying a unique place in the purposes of God. But Christ’s work doesn’t end there.

He has also made peace between Jew and Gentile. He did this by removing the cause of hostility, by imparting a new nature, and by creating a new union. The cross is God’s answer to racial discrimination, segregation, anti-Semitism, bigotry, and every form of strife between men.

 

So believers in this dispensation of grace are not under the law but that doesn’t mean the law is no longer real and relevant. It’s every bit as real today as it was when it was given to Moses.

When Jesus came He said in Matthew 5:17-18,

Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil. 

For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled. 

 

The difference is that Jesus did exactly what He said was required, He fulfilled the law, every Jot and tittle of it.

We’ve already seen in Romans 3 that no flesh will be justified by the deeds of the law. We saw by the law was the knowledge of sin.

Paul’s saying that God now justifies freely by his grace, and that it’s His righteousness, not ours that justifies the unbeliever, the sinner.

He can do this while fully completing the demands of His own justice because the penalty of disobedience to the law has been fully paid for on the cross.

 

Men under the law had faith. Moses had faith. Abraham had faith. David had faith, and he broke the law. It wasn’t his faith that broke the law. It was his sins. So you see by asking, well, is it faith or law? Christians argue this all the time. Is it just by faith that we’re saved or is it by works or is it by works and faith?

But we’re framing the question wrongly and using the wrong comparison.

Faith’s always been something that was necessary, even under the law. Works never saved anyone, not Moses or even one person of the Old Testament. Faith is how people are saved by grace. But faith is what you hear from God and how you respond to that. And so if what you’re hearing is that you must do the works of the law, then faith says I’ll give it a go. If Abraham heard, “You must sacrifice your only son”, faith says where’s the blade? If Israel heard you must sacrifice an innocent animal for the forgiveness of sins, faith says ok let’s do it.

It’s always of faith.

Israel’s faith back then, in the past was in the law that they were to keep.

Our faith, the Body of Chris’s faith, is in Christ’s finished work.

Through faith we believe what God said, that he’s offered Christ.

He set forth Christ as a propitiation for our sins and we’re justified freely by the redemption in Christ Jesus. We trust His work.

 

How are people saved in the Old Testament? That’s a common and a valid question because Christ hadn’t come yet.

And it can’t be by the law because everybody broke it.

So the Christian question of whether it’s by faith or works is wrong. Dichotomy. Dichotomy should be. Does God operate today through We should ask what is it that God is doing today that we need to have faith in?

God knew he was giving His law to sinners. He knew the standard of the law was higher than these sinners could ever reach.

So why give it? To show them they’re sinners.

We may say that’s kind of a mean thing to do. No, because He wants them to trust Him for salvation, not trust their own inadequate works.

That’s the whole point of removing the boast of our flesh and our own works, and focusing on our glory in the Lord.

 

How do we do that? By removing our own glory. By not thinking we’re special and our works can actually get us eternal life. It’s all our way.

God answers that by saying well, okay, here’s a law. Just keep it and I’ll bless you.

We fail over and over again and so there goes our glory. The law’s functioning just fine, as it was intended to but the people are failing. And that’s what God’s trying to get through to mankind.

That we need Him and His perfection and glory. He doesn’t need us.

People tend to think that somehow religion is God needing us but we need to see how we need God.

 

So in Romans 3:31 Paul has this combined question and answer,

Do we then make void the law through faith? God forbid: yea, we establish the law. 

 

He says faith doesn’t destroy the law or make it void.

Faith doesn’t say the law was bad. No, the law is good. And it worked. It did what it was supposed to do, at least for those who understand it and by understanding faith we can actually communicate the law’s purpose clearly.

Faith is establishing or authenticating the law.

The law can’t be established by trying to teach people that they must do it to earn God’s blessing, because that can never happen.

 

What could the law not do? Actually atone for our sins! Only Christ could do that.

In Galatians 2:19 Paul says,

For I through the law am dead to the law, that I might live unto God. 

 

What’s that mean? See the Galatians were talking about the law and whether they should keep it or not. And Paul says, let’s talk about keeping the law. I can’t and neither can you which means through the law, we’re dead. So you keeping the law is your death. What can you do for that? Nothing but Christ can. He died as a sacrifice that permanently satisfies the just penalty for failing to keep the law’s demands.

And so if we trust Him, then death now becomes the means through which we can live. I’m dead to the law that I might live unto God because I’m crucified with Christ.

The law declares me dead. And I say, declare me dead in Christ Jesus. That’s what Paul says in Galatians 2:20,

I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.

 

I live by the faith of the Son of God. He’s in me.

That’s the only way I can live. Who loved me and gave himself for me.

Galatians 2:21,

I do not frustrate the grace of God: for if righteousness come by the law, then Christ is dead in vain. 

 

So the law teaches righteousness. But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested. If righteousness came by the law, then we don’t need Christ. But it doesn’t, so we need Christ and the law brings us to Christ.

 

Romans 3:31 is the last verse in Romans chapter three where Paul says, we establish the law. We need to get comfortable with that. We need to know why that is. If we don’t, we’re going to have confusion and error.

If we read, establish the law, and we think, I’ve got to do something, we’ve missed the boat.

 

So we’ll go to Romans four next episode as we talk about Abraham and David and Paul brings up the scriptures, Israel’s scriptures.