Romans 3 & 4

Paul wrote to the Romans -

"For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek." (New Testament Romans 1:16)

Paul seems to be writing to the saints that were Roman, Greek, and also converted Jews. But it seems he is speaking more to the converted Jews as they appear to be greatly influenced by their former Jewish traditions and the Mosaic law. Elder McConkie writes -

“To whom was the Epistle to the Romans written? To the Gentiles in Rome? To the world in general? To sectarian Christians today? Not by any means. If there is any truth the world can gain from this Epistle, such is all to the good. But Paul wrote it to the saints, to members of the Church, to those who already had the gift of the Holy Ghost, to those who had been born again, to those who held the priesthood and enjoyed the gifts of the Spirit. Hence he was writing to the people who already knew the doctrines of salvation, and his teachings can only be understood by people who have the same background, the same knowledge, and the same experience as the original recipients of the message. Romans is a sealed book to the sectarian world; it is an open volume of inspiring gospel truth to the saints of God.” (McConkie, DNTC, 2:216.)

Even though these Jewish saints were believed in Christ, they were also entrenched in the Mosaic law which many Jews believed was all that was needed for Salvation. It is to this group that Paul teaches that the righteous are not justified by obedience only but it also requires the grace of God -

"Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight..." (New Testament Romans 3:20)

For we are -

"...justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus..." (New Testament Romans 3:24)

To those that assume that salvation can come by their works only, Paul asks -

"Where is boasting then? It is excluded. By what law? of works? Nay: but by the law of faith." (New Testament Romans 3:27)

Faith is power. Paul said that it is the "power of God unto salvation". Faith in Jesus Christ provides sufficient power to repent and experience a mighty change of heart. It is with the power of faith that we are baptized for a remission of our sins. It is through this power that we receive the Gift of the Holy Ghost and -

"...are wrought upon and cleansed by the power of the Holy Ghost..." (Book of Mormon Moroni 6:4)

Joseph Fielding Smith taught -

"There is a difference between the Lord Jesus Christ and the rest of mankind. We have no life in ourselves, for no power has been given unto us, to lay down our lives and take them again. That is beyond our power, and so, being subject to death, and being sinners—for we are all transgressors of the law to some extent, no matter how good we have tried to be—we are therefore unable in and of ourselves to receive redemption from our sins by any act of our own.

This is the grace that Paul was teaching. Therefore, it is by the grace of Jesus Christ that we are saved. And had he not come into the world, and laid down his life that he might take it again, or as he said in another place, to give us life that we may have it more abundantly we would still be subject to death and be in our sins. . . .

So it is easy to understand that we must accept the mission of Jesus Christ. We must believe that it is through his grace that we are saved, that he performed for us that labor which we were unable to perform for ourselves, and did for us those things which were essential to our salvation, which were beyond our power; and also that we are under the commandment and the necessity of performing the labors that are required of us as set forth in the commandments known as the gospel of Jesus Christ:” (Smith, Doctrines of Salvation, 2:309–11.)

In the inspired version, Paul taught -

"Therefore ye are justified of faith and works, through grace, to the end the promise might be sure to all the seed; not to them only who are of the law, but to them also who are of the faith of Abraham; who is the father of us all." JST Rom. 4: 16