By what law is boasting excluded in Romans 3:27?
Boasting is excluded by the law of faith, not the law of works. Romans 3:27 shows that salvation cannot be earned by human effort, so no one has grounds to boast. Faith plus nothing saves, and good works follow afterward as a result, never as the basis for salvation.
Les explains that Romans 3:27 asks where boasting is. He illustrates that heaven would be unbearable if people had to stop every five seconds and hear someone recount everything they did to get there. He notes that the next chapter will say Abraham could have boasted if he had been saved by works, and if he boasted, he would still be boasting a jillion years later. But boasting is excluded, taken out of the way. It is not excluded by the law of works, but by the law of faith. No one can work for salvation; Paul says faith plus nothing until we are saved, and then works follow. Therefore no one can come back and say, “I did this for my salvation.” We must totally rest on what has been done on our behalf. He also mentions James’s statement that faith without works is dead, but he does not get into the controversy.
Where is boasting then? It is excluded. By what law? of works? Nay: but by the law of faith.
More Questions
Why is boasting excluded?
Boasting is excluded because the Law of Faith excludes it.