Righteousness: What the Gospel Offers

Introduction

Me

We

Romans 3:21-31

Romans 3:21–31 CSB

21 But now, apart from the law, the righteousness of God has been revealed, attested by the Law and the Prophets. 22 The righteousness of God is through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe, since there is no distinction. 23 For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God; 24 they are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus. 25 God presented him as the mercy seat by his blood, through faith, to demonstrate his righteousness, because in his restraint God passed over the sins previously committed. 26 God presented him to demonstrate his righteousness at the present time, so that he would be just and justify the one who has faith in Jesus. 27 Where, then, is boasting? It is excluded. By what kind of law? By one of works? No, on the contrary, by a law of faith. 28 For we conclude that a person is justified by faith apart from the works of the law. 29 Or is God the God of Jews only? Is he not the God of Gentiles too? Yes, of Gentiles too, 30 since there is one God who will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through faith. 31 Do we then nullify the law through faith? Absolutely not! On the contrary, we uphold the law.

Pray

Righteousness - The First thing we have to answer is what is Righteousness. Definition in the Greek with the usage that this word is found in is:

Righteousness (state) — a status of legal rectitude that satisfies the moral requirements of God’s character. Related Topics: Equity; Innocence; Conscience; Justice; Integrity; Justification; Righteousness.

In other words it is a legal word dealing more in line of what we would consider a court room. Dealing with what God has deemed to be a moral or good person. Which Paul is quick to point out that all have sinned and fallen short. There is non that fit in this category of Righteous, not Jew or Gentile, Only Jesus.

And because there is only God who is Righteous. Any Right Standing we have with him can only Come from Him.

The Jews had been convinced for centuries that their heritage stood them in good stead with God, and what their heritage did not cover, their works of righteousness would (Paul has just finished explaining the fallacy of their thinking).

Gentiles, on the other hand, had no specific knowledge of the true God. Rome was a city filled with temples to gods of every sort. Even the Roman emperors were considered divine. And because Roman gods were man-made, they tended to operate in the image of humans, meaning they were untrustworthy, capricious, and required constant placation.

Sacrifices were made to Gentile gods to cool their anger, to woo their affections, and to win their favor.

There was no particular rhyme or reason—not to mention justice or righteousness—associated with the Gentile gods. There was only the will and emotion of the gods to which the Gentiles responded as best they could.

The Jews would be shocked at the idea that they needed righteousness and that the Gentiles qualified to receive God’s grace on an equal footing with themselves.

The Gentiles would be shocked to discover that the true God would offer anything free—that he would provide his own sacrifice and turn away his own wrath; and that once turned away, it would stay away.

In today’s Society we see the same attitude many will find it hard to believe they have done anything to deserve the wrath that Paul says God has taken it upon himself to turn away. Others with a religious view of God will find it hard to believe that righteousness can be received freely, without religious qualification and effort. Still others will be shocked to learn of grace—that Bible-only doctrine which says “I love in spite of” instead of “I love because of.”

We are such a transactional society. Nothing is free. So the Idea of God’s Grace Being Free that You do not have to earn. That you can’t boast about. If I give so much to the church then I will be safe. We give a tithe, that is true it is part of the teachings of the bible. The tithe goes to see the priest and the temple workings, including things like benevolence. I am personally Thrilled that you give. It does things like allow me to live in a house, and eat. but giving isn’t how you come to Christ, its in response to your call to Christ.

It’s Not about our Works.

What is the key to receiving God’s righteousness?

Faith

Paul Tells us It is Faith. This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe

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).

Equality in Christ represents a radical message from one who formerly prided himself on his rung on the ladder of racial (Jewish Roman Citizen) respectability.

Justification

We Receive Christ Righteousness through what is called Justification.

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.

Both actions must take place for justification to occur. To say that, once justified, God looks at sinners as if they had never sinned, discounts the worth of the sacrifice God offered to forgive our sin.

Charles Swindoll explains it this way: after a day of dirty yard work, a hot shower and a bar of soap renders one clean. It is tempting to say, “ ‘Ah, it’s just as if I’d never been dirty.’ But that would not have adequately conveyed the power and the value of the water and soap. Better to look in the mirror and say, ‘I was filthy and now I’m clean’ ” (Swindoll, p. 327).

And we are Justified Freely by His grace. The Word Freely( Dorean) in Greek is an adverb for of a word meaning gift.

John 15:25 CSB

25 But this happened so that the statement written in their law might be fulfilled: They hated me for no reason.

John uses that same word to say that they hated me with no reason. When Paul says that we are justified freely, he is saying that we are “justified without reason” insofar as reasons that exist in the sinner. “God finds no reason, no basis, in the sinner for declaring him righteous.” (Harrison, p. 42).

Redemption

And That Justification comes through redemption that came by Christ Jesus.

Redemption” was a term not lost on either Jews or Gentiles, for it was a term of the slave market. Historians believe that the population of first-century Rome was probably more than half slaves, so Gentiles in the church at Rome understood redemption—the process whereby a slave’s freedom is purchased for a ransom price.

What was new for both classes of humanity was that there is a slavery that all people are subject to for which there is only one ransom price.

Faith In Jesus Christ

Because the human race is completely unrighteous, the instigation for providing righteousness had to come from God. God satisfied his own standards of righteousness by offering a righteous sacrifice (his Son) for the sins of humankind. Every person who embraces by faith what God has done can be declared righteous in his sight.

Next Steps

How Might you have been tempted to “earn your salvation” or to boast in the work you have done?

Righteousness the standing before God that you are declared free from the punishment of your sin or you lack of moral standards compared to a Holy God is only through Faith in Jesus Christ. Have you put your Faith In Him

Have there been times when you have taken for granted God’s Grace?

Bibliography

Faithlife, LLC. “Δικαιοσύνη.” Logos Bible Study, Computer software. Logos Bible Study Factbook. Bellingham, WA: Faithlife, LLC, 22 January 2024. https://ref.ly/logos4/Factbook?ref=lemma.lbs.el.%CE%B4%CE%B9%CE%BA%CE%B1%CE%B9%CE%BF%CF%83%CF%8D%CE%BD%CE%B7.

Boa, Kenneth, and William Kruidenier. Romans. Vol. 6 of Holman New Testament Commentary. Nashville, TN: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 2000.

W., Jackson. Reading Romans with Eastern Eyes: Honor and Shame in Paul’s Message and Mission. Downers Grove, IL: IVP Academic: An Imprint of InterVarsity Press, 2019.

Questions

What is the Greek definition of righteousness as discussed in the sermon?

What does it mean to be justified, according to the sermon?

According to the sermon, why is faith important in receiving God's righteousness?

In what way is the concept of righteousness through faith contrasted with earning salvation or boasting in one's works in the sermon?

Reflect on a time when you may have felt the need to earn God's favor. How does the sermon's emphasis on faith in Jesus Christ challenge that belief?

In what ways can you demonstrate gratitude for God's grace in your daily life, based on the sermon's teachings?

What practical steps can you take to remind yourself that righteousness before God comes through faith in Jesus Christ, rather than through your own efforts?

How does the sermon challenge the common societal mindset that equates earning with deserving, especially in the context of God's free gift of righteousness through faith?