Romans 3:23-24 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.
Freely Justified
All are justified freely…amen.
All have sinned. And, how are all able to be justified? Freely by God’s grace. And, how has this grace been demonstrated/shown itself to the world? Through the redeeming work of Christ…through the redemption which is hidden in Christ and received by faith.
Notice the word “are” (often translated as “being”), “…and are justified freely.” It does not say “have been” as in “have been justified freely.” It is in the present and is ongoing, not objectively in the past.
Now, go back and read these verses in context (context is once again king) and see that everything surrounding these verses is speaking of righteousness and justification by faith. Decide for yourself if these verses speak of UOJ or if UOJ is being imposed upon the text.
So, what do you think…does UOJ or JIC work best here?