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10 As it is written,

“There is no one who is righteous,
    not even one.
11 There is no one who has understanding,
    there is no one who seeks God.
12 All have turned away;
    together they have become worthless.
There is no one who shows kindness,
    not even one.
13 Their throats are open graves;
    they use their tongues to deceive.
The venom of vipers is on their lips;
14     their mouths are full of cursing and bitterness.
15 Their feet hasten to shed blood;
16     ruin and misery mark their paths.
17 The way of peace they do not know;
18     there is no fear of God before their eyes.”

19 Now we know that what the Law says is addressed to those who are under the Law, so that every mouth may be silenced and the entire world may be seen as guilty before God. 20 For no one can be regarded as justified in the sight of God by keeping the Law. The Law brings only the consciousness of sin.

The Redemption in Jesus Christ[a]

21 God’s Righteousness through Faith in Jesus Christ.[b] But now the righteousness of God that is attested by the Law and the Prophets has been manifested apart from law: 22 the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. No distinction has been made. 23 For all have sinned and thereby are deprived of the glory of God, 24 and all are justified by the gift of his grace that is given freely through the redemption in Christ Jesus.

25 God designated him to be a sacrifice of expiation of sin through faith by the shedding of his blood because in his divine forbearance he allowed to be unpunished the sins previously committed.

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Footnotes

  1. Romans 3:21 By dying on the cross, Jesus Christ publicly manifested the justice of God, that is, the faithful fulfillment of what God had promised for the salvation of every human being.
  2. Romans 3:21 Sacrifice of expiation alludes to the cover of the ark, known as the “propitiatory,” which played an important role in the Jewish ritual of the Day of Atonement (Lev 16). It was sprinkled with the blood of animals, as though to atone for collective sin. By giving his life, Christ really freed the people from sin and brought them God’s forgiveness.