Justification by Faith in Romans 3:21–26: An Exegetical-Theological Study and Its Relevance to Legalism in the Indonesian Church
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.69668/juita.v3i2.224Kata Kunci:
Justification by faith, Romans 3:21–26, δικαιοσύνη θεοῦ, πίστις Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ, legalismAbstrak
This study analyzes justification by faith in Romans 3:21–26 through an exegetical-theological approach and evaluates its relevance for addressing legalism in the Indonesian church. The study addresses tendencies to associate salvation with obedience to the Law, religious performance, and human works, thereby obscuring divine grace. It aims to elucidate Paul’s understanding of justification and demonstrate how this theological framework critically engages legalistic patterns in church life. Using a qualitative literature-based method and historical-grammatical analysis of the Greek text, supported by critical commentaries, the study finds that justification is grounded in δικαιοσύνη θεοῦ (the righteousness of God), revealed apart from the Law and accomplished through Christ’s redemptive work, with faith as its means of reception. The term ἱλαστήριον places Christ’s death at the center of God’s saving action. Good works are therefore the ethical outworking, not the ground, of justification. This framework challenges performance-based religiosity and reorients ecclesial life toward grace and faithful obedience. The novelty of this study lies in integrating a historical-grammatical exegesis of Romans 3:21–26 with Barclay's concept of incongruous grace to provide a framework for evaluating whether religious practices function as responses to grace or as substitutes for it.
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