9 What then? Are we any better off? No, not at all; for we have already charged that all, both Jews and Greeks, are under the power of sin, 10as it is written: ‘There is no one who is righteous, not even one; 11 there is no one who has understanding, there is no one who seeks God. 12 All have turned aside, together they have become worthless; there is no one who shows kindness, there is not even one.’13 ‘Their throats are opened graves; they use their tongues to deceive.’ ‘The venom of vipers is under their lips.’ 14 ‘Their mouths are full of cursing and bitterness.’ 15 ‘Their feet are swift to shed blood; 16 ruin and misery are in their paths, 17 and the way of peace they have not known.’18 ‘There is no fear of God before their eyes.’

1. Who is the ‘we’ in v. 9? And we are not better off than whom? What is Paul’s basic argument here? It may refer to the Jews not being better off then Gentiles or it may refer to believers not being ‘better’ off than Jews or Jewish Christians who slander them. Regardless, noone has a sufficient faith – a right understanding or discovery of God or commitment to the truth -- that makes them righteous in God’s sight.

19 Now we know that whatever the law says, it speaks to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be silenced, and the whole world may be held accountable to God. 20For ‘no human being will be justified in his sight’ by deeds prescribed by the law, for through the law comes the knowledge of sin.

2. So the Law helps us to understand what? And that is even more so the case when we look at the Royal Law of Christ.
3. And knowing that we are sinful, we do what?

21 But now, irrespective of law, the righteousness of God has been disclosed, and is attested by the law and the prophets, 22the righteousness of God through (the faith of) Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction, 23since all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God; 24they are now justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, 25whom God put forward as a sacrifice of atonement by his blood, effective through faith. He did this to show his righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over the sins previously committed; 26it was to prove at the present time that he himself is righteous and that he justifies the one who has faith in (the faith of) Jesus.

4. How does God respond to our lack of faith/ trust/ righteousness?
5. Where do we see the faithfulness and righteousness of God? In Christ Jesus; his teachings and his deeds.
6. And we receive that faithfulness/ righteousness how? By believing in and following him and his Way.
7. A critical part of this righteousness is revealed by the cross and God’s doing what therein? Forgiving the sins of the world; swallowing them up and putting them to death; not holding our sins against us and always loving us.

27 Then what becomes of boasting? It is excluded. By what law? By that of works? No, but by the law of faith. 28For we hold that a person is justified by faith apart from works prescribed by the law. 29Or is God the God of Jews only? Is he not the God of Gentiles also? Yes, of Gentiles also, 30since God is one; and he will justify the circumcised on the ground of faith and the uncircumcised through that same faith. 31Do we then overthrow the law by this faith? By no means! On the contrary, we uphold the law.

8. Boasting is excluded by what law?
9. What non-justifying works is Paul alluding to (to review)?
10. Does our weak faith justify us (i.e make us righteous in God’s sight)? Whose
faith/ faithfulness does (to review again)?
11. If our faith/ faithfulness justified us, we would have something to boast in
right?
12. Is God the God of Christians only? Is God not the God of non-Christians as
well?
13. Does God not justify them by Way of the faithfulness of Jesus? And yet
again, they/we grow in righteousness by Way of trusting in Jesus.
14. What Law(s) do we keep as a result of faith?