In his discussion of the way in which salvation is to be achieved, Paul presents the same arguments that he used in his Epistle to the Galatians. He emphasizes that salvation is not brought about by efforts on the part of the individual to observe the requirements of the Law. It makes no difference so far as this point is concerned whether the laws are human or divine in their origin. Laws of any kind are powerless to make people good, evidence of which can be seen in the state of society as it existed in Rome during Paul's life. The Romans boasted of the superior quality of their system of laws. Although their laws were among the best that the nations of the world had known up to that time, Roman society had become notoriously corrupt. The state of this corruption is indicated in the closing verses of the first chapter of Paul's Epistle to the Romans.
Concerning corruption, Paul argues that Jews are not better off than the Romans. The Romans have had their human laws, and Jews have had divine laws, but in neither case have the laws changed the desires of humans or transformed their natures from that which is evil into that which is good. Only by faith can a transformation of this kind occur. In this connection, Paul writes about justification by faith. Having pointed out that "no one will be justified in [God's] sight by observing the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of sin," he goes on to say that everyone is "justified freely by [God's] grace through the redemption that came by Jesus Christ." And again, he says, "For we maintain that a man is justified by faith apart from observing the law." People are in need of justification because they are estranged from God. They are not living in harmony with their own best interests, which is equivalent to saying that they are not in harmony with the divine will. Justification is that which overcomes the estrangement and puts people on the right track, a process that happens when the Spirit of God takes possession of one's heart and life. A person's desires are changed, and a "new creature" emerges, which is what Paul means by salvation.
