Avoiding the Hermeneutical Trap of Arminianism: Part 5 – Romans 3:23-24

By Mark W. Christy, PhD

(This series has been adapted from several sermons that covered verses relied upon by Arminians to defend their stance. In order to properly undergird their position, the Arminians are tasked with finding clear biblical support for the human will being an active part (and therefore, completely free and beyond the control of God’s sovereign will) of the salvation process. If this can be accomplished, then they must, of necessity, engage the verses that appear to directly support the Calvinistic position that salvation is wholly based upon God’s sovereign, elective will. These verses include (but are not limited to) Matthew 11:25-27, John 5:21 and 12:37-40, Romans 8:28-9:33, and Ephesians 1:4-7.)

Rom 3:23-24 – “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus;”

As it has already been alluded to with other texts surveyed in this series, Arminians often appeal to texts that on the surface seem to support universalism. Besides Romans 3:23-24 and those previously covered (in Parts 1-4), here are several more texts which seem to offer proof for universalism:

In 1 Timothy 4:10, Paul writes, “For it is for this we labor and strive, because we have fixed our hope on the living God, who is the Savior of all men, especially of believers.” Similarly, he comments in Titus 2:11, “For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all men.” The writer of Hebrews, on the surface, likewise offers evidence to prove universalism when he states, “But we do see Him who was made for a little while lower than the angels, namely, Jesus, because of the suffering of death crowned with glory and honor, so that by the grace of God He might taste death for everyone” (2:9). John follows suit by saying, “We have seen and testify that the Father has sent the Son to be the Savior of the world” (1 John 4:14).

All of these references and more besides can easily lead one to a faulty theological position such as universalism. None of them, however, should serve as evidence for Arminianism because any discussion about how the will of God and response of humanity, freewill or otherwise, is beyond the scope of these verses. Just as this was true in the previous verses explored in this series, it is also true in Romans 3:23-24. With this in mind, this present addition to the series will once again consider the context of the verses being offered as proof for Arminianism while at the same time admonishing the reader to do the same for any other verses used by the Arminians, as the context will always bear out the truth being proclaimed.

In Romans 3, Paul makes it abundantly clear that all are under sin in vv.9-18. In v.19, Paul creates a class of people “called those who are under the Law.” This class includes everyone because he says “every mouth.” No one in this group can be justified by “works of the Law.” In v.21, Paul rushes in to give hope since he has now rendered everyone hopeless. This hope offered by Paul is the “righteousness of God through faith in Christ for all those who believe” (vv.21-22).

When he comes to v.23, Paul refers to “all,” and on the surface, one would think that “all” refers to everyone. This, however, is not the case, because context shows that “all” refers back to “all those who believe” in v.22. This being his intended referent, Paul is simply saying that those who believe are “justified as a gift of His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus.”