I have said so far that the main question Paul is answering in Romans 3:21ff is, how are we made right with God? I want to now rephrase that question in a more Jewish (and biblical) way: How does one become a member of the covenant community? How is one considered to be an heir of the covenant that God made with Abraham? Paul answers this here by appealing to Abraham himself. How is it that Abraham was able to be so blessed by God? How was Abraham made right with God? The answer is that Abraham “believed the Lord”. Abraham exercised faith, and that is what pleased God. Faith is what God really wants from us. It isn’t the case that God really wanted us to keep the rules, but, because we couldn’t, he just accepts faith as a sort of concession. No, faith was always the thing that God was looking for. The law itself points to, and is fulfilled by, the life of faith. And throughout Romans Paul appeals to the Old Testament Scriptures to show this. He quotes from Habakkuk who said: “The righteous will live by faith.” And here he is appealing to Abraham. Abraham didn’t have the law. But he fulfilled the law by living by faith, even though he was morally imperfect. Abraham wasn’t innocent. He was as guilty as the rest of humanity. And God paid for Abraham’s guilt in Jesus. Abraham received the grace that God made available in Jesus because he entrusted himself to God. And this is what God most wants. If we do this, he will cover our guilt.
Ask yourself whether you are willing to entrust your life to God. Ask God to increase your faith.
Read Romans 4
