Romans 3:31

My Notes

What Does Romans 3:31 Mean?

Romans 3:31 anticipates and answers the most obvious objection to justification by faith: if we're saved by faith apart from works of the law, have we just thrown the law out? Paul's answer is emphatic and surprising.

"Do we then make void the law through faith?" — the Greek katargoumen (make void, nullify, render inoperative, abolish) is a strong word. The question is whether the doctrine of justification by faith functionally eliminates the law — makes it irrelevant, strips it of authority, treats it as a discarded relic of a previous era.

"God forbid" — the Greek mē genoito (may it never be, let it not happen, absolutely not) is Paul's strongest possible negation — he uses it fourteen times in his letters, always to reject an idea he finds abhorrent. The suggestion that faith abolishes the law is, for Paul, not just wrong but offensive.

"Yea, we establish the law" — the Greek histanomen (we establish, we cause to stand, we uphold) means the opposite of katargoumen. Faith doesn't tear the law down. It sets it upright. It establishes what the law was always pointing toward.

How does faith establish the law? Several ways. First, the law's primary function was to reveal sin (3:20) and drive people to the need for grace — faith fulfills that purpose, not cancels it. Second, the law pointed to Christ (Galatians 3:24 — the law was a schoolmaster to bring us to Christ); faith arrives at what the law was directing toward. Third, the righteous requirement of the law is fulfilled in those who walk by the Spirit (Romans 8:4) — the life of faith produces what the law demanded but could never produce on its own.

Paul will develop this theme extensively in chapters 6-8: the believer freed from law's condemnation is empowered by the Spirit to live in a way that fulfills law's intention. The law isn't voided. It's completed.

Reflection Questions

• 1.Paul says faith 'establishes' the law rather than abolishing it. How does that change your understanding of the relationship between grace and moral living?
• 2.If grace doesn't void the law, what role does the law play in the life of someone who's already been justified by faith?
• 3.Some people use grace to excuse moral carelessness. Others use the law to earn standing with God. Which error are you more prone to — and how does this verse correct it?
• 4.Paul says 'God forbid' — his strongest negation — to the idea that faith nullifies the law. Why does this suggestion offend him so deeply? What's at stake?

Devotional

The most common misunderstanding of grace is that it makes the law irrelevant. Paul saw the objection coming from a mile away and answers it here: absolutely not. Faith doesn't abolish the law. It establishes it.

This matters because the alternative — faith that discards the law entirely — produces a Christianity with no moral framework. A grace that doesn't care how you live. A salvation that requires nothing of you because the law has been voided. And Paul says that's not what's happening. Not even close.

The law was never the problem. The problem was us — our inability to do what the law required. The law said "be righteous." We couldn't. The law said "love God and neighbor." We failed. The law diagnosed the disease accurately but couldn't provide the cure. Faith provides the cure — and in doing so, it establishes what the law was always trying to accomplish.

Think of it this way: a road sign that says "bridge out ahead" is doing its job when you stop and take the detour. The sign isn't abolished by the detour. It's established. It did what it was designed to do — warned you, redirected you, pointed you toward safety. The law did the same thing. It warned. It pointed. And faith is the destination it was pointing toward.

If you've been living as though grace means the law doesn't matter anymore — as though faith gives you permission to ignore moral reality — Paul's response is his strongest possible "no." And if you've been living as though the law is still the mechanism of your salvation — as though keeping the rules is what earns your standing — Paul's entire preceding argument says no to that too. The law stands. Faith fulfills it. Both are true.

Commentary

Trusted original commentary from respected historical Bible scholars and theologians.

Cross References

Related passages throughout Scripture