Romans Week 11 September 25, 2022

Introduction—The Most Important Paragraph Ever Written

Romans I. Introduction: The Business of God

How can God remain just while at the same time justifying the unjust?

What is it the Gospel offers?

Forgiveness?

A Ticket to Heaven?

Adoption as Children of God?

Righteousness

According to Paul's letter to the Romans the greatest gift the gospel gives us is righteousness. Paul has devoted the first three chapters 2 convicting us that everyone on earth stands unrighteous before God. It doesn't matter if you are a Jew or anyone else. You are unrighteous in God's sight.

The Gospel offers the righteousness of God.

ever since the garden of Eden there has been a chasm, a breach between God and mankind. Ever since the garden of Eden mankind has struggled through incantations and rights and religious practices and shrines and self-flagellation desperately trying to get the attention of God trying to get a right standing in the presence of a righteous God. God even gave the Jews the law. and if you look through the Old Testament God showed the Jews where they began in the book of genesis God showed the Jews how he would faithfully save them in the book of exodus God showed the Jews in leviticus and deuteronomy how to scale that chasm and distance between him and them. but there continued to be a breach because the law was insufficient to bridge the gap that stood between man and God.

In order to really grasp the importance of this passage you need to understand again the audiences that Paul was speaking to. The Jews had been told previous entries that they had a good relationship with God because they were gods people. They had a good standing because God had chosen them as his own. On the other hand the gentiles had no real knowledge of the true God. Rome was filled with many different gods.

Perhaps this passage is more appropriate to the world we live in then we thought. We live in a world with many different gods. We live in a world with a church full of people and other people that feel very religious yet need to be challenged to trust in the gospel more than anything. And we live in a world full of people trusting in many different gods other than the God that created everything.

I love how one author put it:

Romans II. Commentary: Righteousness: What the Gospel Offers

This passage of Scripture has the answer for the self-righteous (all have sinned), the self-sacrificing (God provides the sacrifice), the self-condemning (all can receive righteousness), and the self-sufficient (boasting is excluded).

Let’s dive in!

This Righteousness Was Revealed in the Old Testament

It's so easy for us to think of the Old Testament simply in the light of the law. It's so easy for us to simply think that a relationship with God before Jesus was all about rules and regulations. And it's so easy to think that when Jesus came there was this brand new idea of salvation by grace through faith. Righteousness that God gives apart from what we can earn. But the reality of this verse that we're going to study right here is that God's righteousness, the kind of righteousness that Jesus brought through the cross is something that God had already revealed in the law and in the prophets and 1000 years ago. Now of course Jesus had not come so God had not completed the righteousness he had revealed but that does not mean people did not see that God wanted them to live by faith and not just by works.

Romans 3:21 ESV

21 But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it—

Earlier in this letter Paul said this:

Romans 1:17 ESV

17 For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, “The righteous shall live by faith.”

when Paul talks about righteousness here he's referring to something that is being revealed in an ongoing sense. But when he talks about it in verse 21 of chapter 3 he's talking about it in the past tense as something that has been completed.

We need to not miss the reality that Paul says this righteousness of God has been revealed apart from the law. Because for thousands of years the righteousness of God was revealed with the law. What Jesus brings is a righteousness that doesn't depend on works.

Now even though righteousness doesn't come through the law Paul doesn't dismiss the law. In fact in verse 31 he says this:

Romans 3:31 ESV

31 Do we then overthrow the law by this faith? By no means! On the contrary, we uphold the law.

The law leads us to Christ.

Galatians 3:24–25 ESV

24 So then, the law was our guardian until Christ came, in order that we might be justified by faith. 25 But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian,

The problem with righteousness coming through the law is that no one could obtain the righteousness required by the law.

OK let's try to clear the Muddy Waters here. God righteousness is revealed apart from the law. God's righteousness being revealed through the gospel doesn't get rid of the law it is what the law is pointing towards. The law makes us see how much we need the gospel.

But to muddy things further. The passage we are looking at in verse 21 says that this righteousness that has been manifested apart from the law is something that the law and prophets bear witness to !!

the righteousness of God apart from the law is something that the law and the prophets have revealed in the Old Testament there are stories where people word justified before God as righteous before the law came. There were stories of people whom God forgave and declared righteous even though they had not kept all of the law.

“Manifested”

One other crucial word in this verse is the word manifested. Paul does not say that God righteousness has been given. He doesn't describe it as something that God has just chosen to drop from heaven. But instead God has chosen to manifest it. You manifest something that has history and has been previously covered. this gospel is not a brand new creation it is a manifestation of what God has been doing for thousands of years.

“The Law”

Remember Abraham? Abraham was the father of the Jewish nation. He was a born gentile before God began the Jewish nation out of his children. And yet God lead him by faith away from his home country to a new country. Abraham had to learn to trust God.

Galatians 3:17 ESV

17 This is what I mean: the law, which came 430 years afterward, does not annul a covenant previously ratified by God, so as to make the promise void.

God established a covenant with Abraham which wasn’t replaced or annuled by the Law which came 430 years later.

So with Abraham God establishes a covenant and the relationship of faith. And in this we see the essence of the entire argument that Paul is making way back in the book of genesis.

Genesis 15:6 ESV

6 And he believed the Lord, and he counted it to him as righteousness.

Abraham didn’t have faith in Jesus but he believed in God. God credited this belief, as righteousness.

But then as God gave the law through Moses a descendant of Abraham it became clear that the problem with the sacrifices prescribed by the law was that they had to be repeated year after year after year. The law showed that this forgiveness that God gave through the sacrifices under the law anticipated something that would come later.

“And the Prophets”

So we can see that the law which was brought by a descendant of Abraham who lived by faith showed us the righteousness that God required and yet it anticipated and looked forward to what would be manifested later. In the same way also the prophets testified about a righteousness apart from the law.

Habakkuk 2:4 ESV

4 “Behold, his soul is puffed up; it is not upright within him, but the righteous shall live by his faith.

Habakkuk points to a righteousness that is lived by faith.

Isaiah anticipated and wrote about the coming Messiah in a number of places. In one verse he said this:

Isaiah 53:11 ESV

11 Out of the anguish of his soul he shall see and be satisfied; by his knowledge shall the righteous one, my servant, make many to be accounted righteous, and he shall bear their iniquities.

An individual shall make many righteous. An individual will make many righteous not by their works but by His actions.

Isaiah 9:6–7 ESV

6 For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. 7 Of the increase of his government and of peace there will be no end, on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time forth and forevermore. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this.

This passage which appears all around the birth of Jesus points forward from Isaiah to a messiah who would come and bring righteousness.

Righteousness that is by faith and righteousness that is brought through an individual is a concept that is found throughout the Old Testament. And while the prophets did not fully understand what the Messiah would be and do they certainly saw the Messiah who was coming. They certainly had the concept of a righteousness that is by faith and through an individual. And that is what was revealed through the law and the prophets.

This Righteousness Comes Through Faith.

OK so the Jews may have seen a glimpse of this righteousness revealed through the law and the prophets like we looked at in this previous verse. But in the passage we are going to look at next we will see this righteousness coming as a free gift through faith. And that's going to be a hard pill to swallow.

The Romans had a culture that was all about judging quickly and harshly those who had sinned and many of those who hadn't sinned as well. They had a severe judicial system. The Jews themselves have a I've arrived mentality you might call it. A sense of justice that if someone does something against you you bring retribution against them. Even though if you were a faithful Jew you would have seen many examples of God's grace in the Old Testament in the lives of men such as David.

But see to bring the problem to a point here the reality is most of the time when you acquit someone who is actually guilty that means a judge or someone else has been bribed doesn't it? The guilty should be punished shouldn't they? And doesn't the first three chapters of Romans argued that all are indeed guilty? From the Jews to the gentiles we are guilty, don't we deserve to be punished? And it's not just about what we deserve, if God is a just God then we should be condemned for our sin.

Romans B. Righteousness: Comes through Faith (3:22–24)

God would become as unrighteous as the guilty if he overlooked their sins and did not condemn them

Much like how our children are always watching us in how we parent. If we don't administer discipline and rules fairly and consistently they will rightly conclude that we are not just. And my daughters will point that out very quickly.

Let’s read.

Romans 3:22–24 ESV

22 the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction: 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus,

When our world throws out the problem of punishment for sin the response is Jesus. When we consider this conundrum how can God be just and yet not condemn us for our sin, the answer is Jesus. The answer at the beginning and the end of the three verses we've read here is Jesus.

I believe this passage will talk more about this in a minute but the answer to this question of how God can be just and not condemn us for our sin is that God has both adjust and the justifier. God is God the father in heaven and God is Jesus. God is the judge who was willing to pay the penalty himself.

Let’s walk through these 3 verses.

Faith is the Key

The key or the route to this righteousness is faith. This passes calls our tension back to verse 17 of chapter one.

Romans 1:17 ESV

17 For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, “The righteous shall live by faith.”

After this verse Paul spends the next two chapters showing us how all the world is in need of this righteousness. This righteousness that comes by faith. More than anything else our world needs righteousness. Paul has reminded us that our world feels the guilt in its conscience or it's sin. Many people talk about a God shaped hole, there is this reality of a present conviction of sin that our world fights to deny end the scape and God holds out righteousness and the only key to receiving it is faith.

There is no division or preference. All who would receive the righteousness of God by faith can receive it. There is none better or different. We are equal.

Romans B. Righteousness: Comes through Faith (3:22–24)

All men and women are made equal by three things: first, our equality in need (all are guilty). Second, our equality in what we receive (redemption is one gift; the same for all). Third, our equality in how we receive redemption (by faith; everyone receives it the same way)

One of the hallmarks of our Christian faith must be equality. And equal understanding in humility that we are all saved by grace. We are all sinners.

Romans 3:23 ESV

23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,

Romans B. Righteousness: Comes through Faith (3:22–24)

“The harlot, the liar, the murderer, are short of [God’s glory]; but so are you. Perhaps they stand at the bottom of a mine, and you on the crest of an Alp; but you are as little able to touch the stars as they”

Let's get into a little bit of grammar to understand this verse. Paul says in the beginning of the verse that all have sinned. This is written in the past tense, in the Greek it's called the perfect tense. And what that means is that it is an action that has been completed, that has happened. All have sinned.

Yesterday Ashley and I got to meet our newest niece Avery Catherine Glover. She was a spectacularly cute six week old baby precious in every way. She has no concept of sin she doesn't have a lot of thoughts other than seeking comfort or food. And yet being born a descendant of Adam she has inherited a sin nature. And in that sense she has sinned and Wilson. All have sinned past tense.

And then the next thing he says here he says and fall short of the glory of God. And in this verb he is Talking about an ongoing action. It's called the Aorist tense. It's talking about something you constantly keep doing. Each one of us is breathing. Until the day we die we will constantly keep on breathing.

Sadly also because of what Adam did thousands of years ago we will also keep falling short of the glory of God in our actions. Or as Bishop Moule said we will be like men standing on the Alps trying to touch the stars.

This verse levels the playing field for all of humanity. All have sinned. And the one way all can receive justification is through Jesus.

Romans 3:24 ESV

24 and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus,

You know when we give a nice gift to our children or we take them on a fun trip they get something that cost them nothing but it didn't mean it was free to us. It cost us time and stress and labor and money and effort. In the same way we are justified by grace as a gift from God but that does not mean the gift is free.

But you know ironically the reality that God gives away a gift for free to us that cost him plenty Ken surprisingly be a barrier to our ego keeping us from receiving that gift.

Romans B. Righteousness: Comes through Faith (3:22–24)

“There is a certain pride in people that causes them to give and give, but to come and accept a gift is another thing. I will give my life to martyrdom; I will dedicate my life to service—I will do anything. But do not humiliate me to the level of the most hell-deserving sinner and tell me that all I have to do is accept the gift of salvation through Jesus Christ”

What it means to be justified.

I've always thought of justification in the simplistic term just as if I had never sinned. Maybe you have heard of it explained that way. But as I've studied for this passage I've come to understand that's perhaps a dangerous over simplification.

Romans B. Righteousness: Comes through Faith (3:22–24)

When God justifies—declares righteous—a guilty sinner, two things happen: negatively, the sinner is declared no longer guilty of sin. Positively, the sinner is declared righteous. Not made righteous, but declared righteous. God cancels out the debt of guilt that is on the sinner’s account and then credits righteousness to his or her account

Perhaps it's illustrated like this. You go outside and you work in the garden and you prepare your yard for fall falling you sweat and work and get dirty all day long. Then you come inside and take a good shower and you can use a bar of soap to scrub your body squeaky clean. And you stand there refreshed and looking in the mirror and sigh and say to yourself it's just as if I had never been dirty. But that doesn't really capture what happened. You got dirty, you were filthy and sweaty and smelly and yet the effects and power of the shower what is that now you are clean.

Understanding justification means perpetually realizing that we are sinners. We are all in need of the gospel of Jesus Christ and yet God's justification declares us and makes us clean and forgiven.

Justified by grace

Justification is actually mentioned more than 20 times in Romans and galatians. Another way of understanding this idea of justification is to think of it as the idea of crediting righteousness from someone elses account to your own.

A week ago I transferred money from one of my bank accounts to another bank account. And with this particular transfer I had to go into the bank and ask a teller to make the transfer for me. When I got back home I looked online and discovered that the money that I thought I had moved between accounts was now in both accounts. I still had $300.00 in one account and I now had $300 in the account I wanted it to move to my money had miraculously doubled. I was surprised and a little excited and hopeful and so I called the bank. Lo and behold they didn't just double my money, the teller had accidentally transferred money from someone elses account into my own. They rectified the situation and the other guy got his money back.

justification is crediting God's righteousness from his account to our account. And it isn't the accident of a teller, it's the actions of a deity. It's the actions won by Jesus.

God gives what could only come out of Himself.

Romans B. Righteousness: Comes through Faith (3:22–24)

“God finds no reason, no basis, in the sinner for declaring him righteous. He must find the cause in himself”

Romans B. Righteousness: Comes through Faith (3:22–24)

Blaise Pascal said that “grace is indeed needed to turn a man into a saint, and he who doubts it does not know what a saint or a man is”

Romans B. Righteousness: Comes through Faith (3:22–24)

“Grace is costly because it costs a man his life, and it is grace because it gives a man the only true life”

God's grace is profound and life changing and it comes through Jesus alone.

Through the redemption

Romans 3:24 ESV

24 and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus,

Rome was likely more than half slave populated....they understood the value of redemption, of freedom.

The Jews had a history of being enslaved and oppressed, they new the power of redemption.

Jesus reminded the Jews and us of the power that sin works over us.

John 8:34 ESV

34 Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who practices sin is a slave to sin.

Conclusion

Sadly we will wrap up part one of the greatest paragraph ever written at this point. What we've seen today is that the righteousness that the gospel brings is something that was revealed in the law and the prophets and present throughout the Old Testament in all of God's working with humanity. It's a righteousness that comes through faith to everyone. And everyone is equal in their need in our need for the gospel. We are redeemed by the ransom price that Jesus paid on the cross.

Insomuch as our world is desperately trying to run away from God and to their sins they're living with the consequences and the guilt of their sins. One of the greatest gifts that we can give is the hope of the forgiveness of a father in heaven. The reality that God is willing to justify us. He's willing to justify us because of what Jesus did.

And justification does not mean that God gives us amnesia. Justification means you can look yourself square in the mirror and remember the mud of sin that you were covered with whether it's 20 years ago or 20 minutes ago and say that because of what Jesus did on the cross you are forgiven. You are squeaky clean because the blood of Jesus Christ washes over you and forgives you. Because the cost that Jesus paid ransoms you from the slavery that is sin and you can leave that mirror and go live with freedom. We are called to be free not enslaved by sin we are called to be free to love others and to love God.

So go out from here with the freedom that God that gives you and love your family love your neighbor as you love yourself love God with your heart soul in your mind. And maybe engage in a conversation with someone about your faith this week. Maybe talk about what God has done for you and how his forgiveness cleans you up so you can walk free of sins that holds you in slavery. His forgiveness is the love of the perfect father. Walk free this week.