Romans 3:27 (KJV)

What does Romans 3:27 mean?

Romans 3:27 says that people have no grounds to boast about their standing before God. Paul contrasts a basis of “works,” or what people do, with a basis of “faith,” or trust, and says that boasting is shut out by the latter.

Paul makes his point through a series of questions and answers. Following his discussion of God’s justice in verse 26, he asks what kind of “law” excludes boasting and answers his own question: “the law of faith.”

The Greek behind Romans 3:27

• “boasting” — καύχησις (kauchēsis): The word carries the sense of taking pride or making a boast. Here it points to a claim of personal credit before God.
• “excluded” — ἐκκλείω (ekkleíō): The word means to shut out. Paul pictures boasting as something barred from entry.
• “law” — νόμος (nomos): The word can refer to a law or a governing principle. Paul uses it with both “works” and “faith” to contrast two ways of understanding the basis for a person’s standing before God.

Why Romans 3:27 matters

• Paul’s question concerns a claim of credit, not simply whether a person feels proud. His answer, “It is excluded,” addresses whether anyone can claim such credit before God.
• The contrast also leads into Paul’s statement about Jews and Gentiles, or non-Jews. In verses 29–30, he asks whether God is the God of Jews only and answers that God is also the God of Gentiles.