Chiasm in Romans 3:19-31
There’s something chiastic going on in 3:19-31 (or maybe 2:25-3:30).
A. by works of law no flesh shall be justified, 19-20 B. Apart from law, righteousness of God is revealed, 21 C. righteousness through faith in Jesus—> for all have sinned, 22-23 D. being justified as a gift through Jesus the propitiation, 24-25a C’. to demonstrate his righteousness (having passed over sin), 25 B’. demonstration righteousness at the present time, right through faith 26-27 A’. Because man is justified by faith apart from wokrs of law, 28-31
The circumcision/uncircumcision in v 30 reaches back to the end of 2, so there may be something broader going on here. Verse 31 might go with chapter 4: Torah is established by an appeal to faith because Torah contains the story of Abe and he was justified by faith.
Peter Leithart
Peter J. Leithart is President of Theopolis Institute. He is the author of numerous books on theology, literature, and culture, including Theopolitan, Defending Constantine, and Baptized Body.
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