Romans 3:21-4:25

The Law of Righteousness

Romans 3:21–4:25 (KJV 1900)

21 But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets;

22 Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference:

23 For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;

24 Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus:

25 Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God;

26 To declare, I say, at this time his righteousness: that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus.

27 Where is boasting then? It is excluded. By what law? of works? Nay: but by the law of faith.

28 Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law.

29 Is he the God of the Jews only? is he not also of the Gentiles? Yes, of the Gentiles also:

30 Seeing it is one God, which shall justify the circumcision by faith, and uncircumcision through faith.

31 Do we then make void the law through faith? God forbid: yea, we establish the law.

1 What shall we say then that Abraham our father, as pertaining to the flesh, hath found?

2 For if Abraham were justified by works, he hath whereof to glory; but not before God.

3 For what saith the scripture? Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness.

4 Now to him that worketh is the reward not reckoned of grace, but of debt.

5 But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness.

6 Even as David also describeth the blessedness of the man, unto whom God imputeth righteousness without works,

7 Saying, Blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven, and whose sins are covered.

8 Blessed is the man to whom the Lord will not impute sin.

9 Cometh this blessedness then upon the circumcision only, or upon the uncircumcision also? for we say that faith was reckoned to Abraham for righteousness.

10 How was it then reckoned? when he was in circumcision, or in uncircumcision? Not in circumcision, but in uncircumcision.

11 And he received the sign of circumcision, a seal of the righteousness of the faith which he had yet being uncircumcised: that he might be the father of all them that believe, though they be not circumcised; that righteousness might be imputed unto them also:

12 And the father of circumcision to them who are not of the circumcision only, but who also walk in the steps of that faith of our father Abraham, which he had being yet uncircumcised.

13 For the promise, that he should be the heir of the world, was not to Abraham, or to his seed, through the law, but through the righteousness of faith.

14 For if they which are of the law be heirs, faith is made void, and the promise made of none effect:

15 Because the law worketh wrath: for where no law is, there is no transgression.

16 Therefore it is of faith, that it might be by grace; to the end the promise might be sure to all the seed; not to that only which is of the law, but to that also which is of the faith of Abraham; who is the father of us all,

17 (As it is written, I have made thee a father of many nations,) before him whom he believed, even God, who quickeneth the dead, and calleth those things which be not as though they were.

18 Who against hope believed in hope, that he might become the father of many nations; according to that which was spoken, So shall thy seed be.

19 And being not weak in faith, he considered not his own body now dead, when he was about an hundred years old, neither yet the deadness of Sara’s womb:

20 He staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief; but was strong in faith, giving glory to God;

21 And being fully persuaded that, what he had promised, he was able also to perform.

22 And therefore it was imputed to him for righteousness.

23 Now it was not written for his sake alone, that it was imputed to him;

24 But for us also, to whom it shall be imputed, if we believe on him that raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead;

25 Who was delivered for our offences, and was raised again for our justification.

Paul's theme in the second section of his letter was salvation— righteousness declared. He proved that all people are sinners, so his next goal was to explain how sinners can be saved. The

theological term for this salvation is justification by faith. Justification is an act of God whereby He declares the believing sinner righteous in Christ based on the finished work of Christ on the cross. Each part of this definition is essential, so we must consider it carefully.

To begin with, justification is an act, not a process. There are no degrees of justification; each believer has the same right to stand before God. Also, justification is something God does, not man. No sinner can justify himself before God. Most importantly, justification does not mean that God makes us righteous but that He declares us righteous. Justification is a legal matter. God puts the righteousness of Christ on our record in place of our sinfulness. And nobody can change this record.

Do not confuse justification with sanctification.

Sanctification is the process by which God makes the believer more and more like Christ.

God uses …

The Word of God The Holy Spirit’s teaching, leadership, and conviction And the fellowship of the church and our service in the church

All these aspects of development and teaching bring us into a closer likeness to the Lord Jesus Christ.

Sanctification may change from day to day. Justification never changes; it is a constant.

When the sinner trusts Christ, God declares him righteous, and that declaration will never be repealed. God looks at us and deals with us like we have never been a sinner!

But how can the holy God declare sinners righteous? Is justification merely a fictional idea with no real foundation? In this section of Romans, Paul answered these questions in two ways.

First, he explained justification by faith (Rom. 3:21-31);

The Illustration: justification from faith in Abraham’s life (Rom. 4:1-25).

1. JUSTIFICATION EXPLAINED (3:21-31)

"But now the righteousness of God ... has been manifested" (Rom. 3:21, literal translation). God revealed His righteousness in many ways before the full revelation of the gospel:

His law, His judgments against sin, His appeals through the prophets, His blessing on the obedient. But in the gospel, a new kind of righteousness has been revealed (Rom. 1:16-17), and the characteristics of this righteousness are spelled out in this section.

Apart from the law (v. 21).

Under the Old Testament law, righteousness was demonstrated and pictured in the tabernacle and temple worship and the judgment under the law, but under the gospel, righteousness comes from believing. The law itself reveals the righteousness of God because the law is "holy, and just, and good" (Rom. 7:12). Furthermore, the law bore witness to this gospel righteousness even though it could not provide it. Beginning at Genesis 3:15, and continuing through the Old Testament, witness is given to salvation by faith in Christ.

The Old Testament sacrifices,

the prophecies,

the types of Christ,

and the great "gospel Scriptures" (such as Isa. 53) all bore witness to this truth.

The law could witness to God's righteousness, but it could not provide it for sinful humanity. Only Jesus Christ could do that (see Gal. 2:21).

Through faith in Christ (v. 22a).

Faith is only as good as its object.

All people trust in something if only their intellect, reasoning, strength, or personal goodness. But the Christian trusts Christ. Law righteousness is a reward for work. Gospel righteousness is a gift through faith. Many people say, "I trust in God!" But this is not what saves us.

Personal, individual faith in Jesus Christ saves and justifies the lost sinner. Even the demons from hell believe in God and tremble, yet this does not save them (James 2:19).

Whosoever - For all men (vv. 22b-23).

God gave His law to the Jews, not to the Gentiles, but the good news of salvation through Christ is offered to all men.

All men need to be saved. There is no difference between the Jew and the Gentile when it comes to condemnation. "All have sinned, and are coming short of the glory of God" (Rom. 3:23, literal translation). God declared everyone guilty and offered everyone His gift of salvation. A Gift is free because it has already been purchased.

By grace (v. 24).

God has two attributes: absolute (what He is in Himself) and relative (how He relates to the world and men).

One of His absolute attributes is love: "God is love" (1 John 4:8). When God relates that love to you and me, it becomes grace and mercy. In His mercy, God does not give us what we deserve, and God, in grace, shows us what we do not deserve. The Greek word "freely" is translated in John 15:25 as "without a cause." We are justified without a cause! No cause in us would merit the salvation of God! It is all of grace!

At significant cost to God (vv. 24b-25).

Salvation is free, but it is not cheap. Three words express the price God paid for our salvation: propitiation, redemption, and blood. In human terms, "propitiation" means appeasing someone angry, usually with a gift. But this is not what it means in the Bible.

"Propitiation" implies satisfying God’s holy law, meeting its just demands so that God can freely forgive those who come to Christ. The word blood tells us what the price was. Jesus died on the cross to satisfy the law and justify lost sinners.

The best illustration of this truth is the Jewish Day of Atonement described in Leviticus 16. Two goats were presented at the altar, and one was chosen for a sacrifice. The goat was slain, and its blood taken into the Holy of Holies and sprinkled on the mercy seat, that golden cover on the ark of the covenant. This sprinkled blood covered the two tablets of the law inside the ark. The shed blood met (temporarily) the righteous demands of the holy God.

The priest then put his hands on the head of the other goat and confessed the sins of the people. Then, the goat was taken out into the wilderness and set free to symbolize the carrying away sins.

Psalm 103:12 KJV 1900

12 As far as the east is from the west, So far hath he removed our transgressions from us.

In the Old Testament, the blood of animals could never take away sin; it could only cover it until Jesus came and purchased finished salvation. God had “passed over” the past sins (Rom. 3:25, literal translation), knowing His Son would come and finish the work. Because of His death and resurrection, there would be “redemption”—purchasing the sinner and setting him free.

Dr. G. Campbell Morgan tried to explain "free salvation" to coal miners, but the man could not understand it. "I have to pay for it," he kept arguing.

With a flash of divine insight, Dr. Morgan asked, "How did you get into the mine this morning?"

"Why, it was easy," the man replied. "I just got on the elevator and went down."

Then Morgan asked, "Wasn't that too easy? Didn't it cost you something?"

The man laughed. "No, it didn't cost me anything, but it must have cost the company plenty to install that elevator." Then the man saw the truth: "It doesn't cost me anything to be saved, but it cost God the life of His Son."

In perfect justice (vv. 25-26).

God must be perfectly consistent with Himself. He cannot break His law or violate His nature. "God is love" (1 John 4:8), and "God is light" (1 John 1:5). A God of love wants to forgive sinners, but a God of holiness must punish sin and uphold His righteous law. How can God be both "just and the justifier"? The answer is in Jesus Christ. When Jesus suffered the wrath of God on the cross for the sins of the world, He fully met the demands of God's law and also fully expressed the love of God's heart. The animal sacrifices in the Old Testament never took away sin, but when Jesus died, He reached back to Adam and took care of those sins. No one (including Satan) could accuse God of being unjust or unfair because of His seeming passing over of sins in the Old Testament time.

To establish the law (vv. 27-31).

Because of his Jewish readers, Paul wanted to say more about the gospel’s relationship to the law. The doctrine of justification by faith is not against the law because it establishes it. God obeyed His law in working out the plan of salvation.

Jesus, in His life and death, completely fulfilled the demands of the law.

1Jn 3:4  Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law.

1Jn 3:5  And ye know that he was manifested to take away our sins; and in him is no sin.

God does not have two ways of salvation, one for the Jews and one for the Gentiles, for He is one God. He is consistent with His nature and His own law. If salvation is through the law, then men can boast, but the principle of faith makes it impossible for men to boast.

The swimmer does not brag when saved from drowning because he trusts the lifeguard. What else could he do? When a believing sinner is justified by faith, he cannot boast of his faith but in a wonderful Savior.

In Romans 4-8, Paul explained how God's great plan of salvation was in complete harmony with the Old Testament Scriptures. He began first with the father of the Jewish nation, Abraham.

2. JUSTIFICATION ILLUSTRATED (4:1-25)

The Jewish Christians in Rome would immediately have asked, "How does this doctrine of justification by faith relate to our history? Paul, you say that the law witnesses this doctrine; what about Abraham?"

Paul accepted the challenge and explained how Abraham was saved.

Abraham was called "our father," referring primarily to the Jews' natural and physical descent from Abraham. But in Romans 4:11, Abraham was also called "the father of all them that believe," meaning all who have trusted Christ (see Gal. 3:1-18). Paul stated three critical facts about Abraham's salvation that prove that the patriarch's spiritual experience was like that of believers today.

(1) He was justified by faith, not works (vv. 1-8). Paul called two witnesses to prove that statement: Abraham (Gen. 15:6) and David (Ps. 32:1-2).

In Romans 4:1-3, Paul examined Abraham’s experience as recorded in Genesis 15. Abraham had defeated the kings (Gen. 14) and wondered if they would return to fight again.

God appeared and assured him that He was his shield and “exceeding great reward” (Gen. 15:1).

Abraham wanted a son and heir most. God had promised him a son, but the promise had not yet been fulfilled.

It was then that God told him to look at the stars. "So shall thy seed [descendants] be!" God promised (v. 5), and Abraham believed God's promise.

The Hebrew word translated “believed” means “to say amen.” God gave a promise, and Abraham responded with “Amen!” This faith was counted for righteousness.

The word counted in Romans 4:3 is a Greek word that means "to put to one's account." It is a banking term. This same word is used eleven times in this chapter, translated as "reckoned" (Rom. 4:4, 9-10) and "imputed" (Rom. 4:6, 8, 11, 22-24), as well as "counted."

When a man works, he earns a salary, which is put into his account. But Abraham did not work for salvation; he trusted God's Word.

Jesus Christ did the work on the cross, and His righteousness was added to Abraham's account.

Romans 4:5 makes a startling statement: God justifies the ungodly!

The law said, "I will not justify the wicked" (Ex, 23:7).

The Old Testament judge was commanded to "justify the righteous, and condemn the wicked" (Deut, 25:1);

when Solomon dedicated the temple, he asked God to condemn the wicked and justify the righteous (1 Kings 8:32),

But God justifies the ungodly —because there are no godly for Him to justify! He put our sins on Christ's account so that He might put Christ's righteousness on our account.

In Romans 4:6-8, Paul used David as a witness, quoting from one of David's psalms of confession after his terrible sin with Bathsheba (Is, 3211-2). David made two incredible statements:

(1) God forgives sins and imputes righteousness apart from works;

(2) God does not impute our sins.

In other words, once we are justified, our record contains Christ's perfect righteousness and can never again contain our sins; Christians do sin, and these sins need to be forgiven if we are to have fellowship with God (1 John 1:5-7), but these sins are not held against us.

God does keep a record of our good works so that He might reward us when Jesus comes, but He is not keeping a record of our sins,

(2) He was justified by grace, not law (vv. 9-17).

As we have seen, the Jews gloried in circumcision and the law. If a Jew were to become righteous before God, he would have to be circumcised and obey the law. Paul had already made it clear in Romans 2112-29 that there must be an inward obedience to the law and a "circumcision of the heart," Mere external clearances can never save the lost sinner. Still, Abraham was declared righteous when he was in a state of uncircumcision. From the Jewish point of view, Abraham was Gentile; Abraham was ninety-nine years old when he was circumcised (Gen, 17:23-21).

The conclusion is obvious: Circumcision had nothing to do with his justification.

Then why was circumcision given? It was a sign and a seal (Rom. 4:11).

As a sign, it was evidence that he belonged to God and believed His promise.

As a seal, it reminded him that God had given the promise and would keep it.

Believers today are sealed by the Holy Spirit of God (Eph. 1:13-14).

They have also experienced a spiritual circumcision in the heart (Col. 2:10-12), not just a minor physical operation, but the putting off of the old nature through the death and resurrection of Christ.

Circumcision did not add to Abraham's salvation; it merely attested to it. Just as baptism for a believer does not wash away sins, it’s a declaration that they are already washed away and the believer was raised to the newness of life.

But Abraham was also justified before the law was given, and this fact Paul discusses in Romans 4:13-17.

The key word here is "promise." Abraham was justified by believing God's promise, not by obeying God's law, for God's law through Moses had not yet been given.

The promise to Abraham was given purely through God's grace. Abraham did not earn it or merit it. So today, God justifies the ungodly because they believe His gracious promise, not because they obey His law. The law was not given to save people but to show them they need to be saved (Rom. 4:15).

The fact that Abraham was justified by grace and not law proves that salvation is for all. Abraham is the father of all believers, Jews and Gentiles (Rom. 4:16; Gal. 3:7, 29).

Instead of complaining because Abraham was not saved by law, the Jew ought to rejoice that God's salvation is available to all men and that Abraham has a spiritual family (all true believers) and a physical family (the nation of Israel). Paul saw this as a fulfillment of Genesis 17:5: "A father of many nations have I made thee."

(3) He was justified by resurrection power, not human effort (vv. 18-25).

These verses expand on one phrase in Romans 4:17: “Who quickeneth the dead?” Paul saw the rejuvenation of Abraham’s body as a picture of resurrection from the dead and related it to the resurrection of Christ.

One reason God delayed sending Abraham and Sarah a son was to permit all their natural strength to decline and disappear.

It was unthinkable that a man ninety-nine years old could beget a child in the womb of his wife who was eighty-nine years old! From a reproductive point of view, both of them were dead.

But Abraham did not walk by sight; he walked by faith.

What God promises, He performs. All we need to do is believe. Abraham’s initial faith in God, as recorded in Genesis 15, did not diminish in the following years. Genesis 17—18 describes Abraham as “strong in faith.” This faith strengthened him to beget a son in his old age.

The application to salvation is precise: God must wait until the sinner is "dead" and unable to help himself before He can release His saving power.

As long as the lost sinner thinks he is strong enough to do anything to please God, he cannot be saved by grace. It was when Abraham admitted that he was "dead" that God's power went to work in his body. It is when the lost sinner confesses that he is spiritually dead and unable to help himself that God can save him.

The gospel is "the power of God unto salvation" (Rom. 1:16) because of the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. Romans 4:24 and Romans 10:9-10 parallel each other.

Jesus Christ was "delivered up to die on account of our offenses, and was raised because of our justification" (Rom. 4:25, literal translation).

His resurrection proves that God accepted His Son’s sacrifice and that sinners can now be justified without God violating His law or contradicting His nature.

The key, of course, is "if we believe" (Rom. 4:24). There are over sixty references to faith or unbelief in Romans. God's saving power is experienced by those who believe in Christ (Rom. 1:16). His righteousness is given to those who believe (Rom. 3:22); we are justified by faith (Rom. Sil). The object of our faith is Jesus Christ, who died for us and rose again.

All of these facts make Abraham's faith that much more wonderful.

He did not have a Bible to read; he had only the simple promise of God.

He was almost alone as a believer, surrounded by heathen unbelievers. He could not look back at a long record of faith; he was helping to write that record. Yet Abraham believed in God.

People today have a complete Bible to read and study. They have a church fellowship and can look back at centuries of faith as recorded in church history and the Bible. Yet many refuse to believe!

"How were people saved in Old Testament times? “By keeping the law."

"My Bible says that by the deeds of the law shall no flesh be justified."

"They were saved by bringing sacrifices to God."

"My Bible says that the blood of bulls and goats cannot take away sin."

Old Testament Saints were saved by the same way people are saved today! Twenty-one times in Hebrews 11, you find the exact words "by faith."

If you are a Jew, you are a child of Abraham physically, but are you a child of Abraham spiritually?

Abraham is the father of all who believe on Jesus Christ and are justified by faith. If you are a Gentile, you can never be a natural descendant of Abraham, but you can be one of his spiritual descendants.

Abraham "believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness."