God’s Grace, Not Works
Romans • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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Paul just finished explaining that with God, there is no partiality.
The one without the law will die without it, and the one with the Law will be judged by it.
Whether you have the Law or not, whether you are Jew or Greek, you will be judged.
This then leads him into his next point:
1 Then what advantage has the Jew? Or what is the benefit of circumcision?
2 Great in every respect. First of all, that they were entrusted with the oracles of God.
3 What then? If some did not believe, their unbelief will not nullify the faithfulness of God, will it?
4 May it never be! Rather, let God be found true, though every man be found a liar, as it is written, “That You may be justified in Your words, And prevail when You are judged.”
5 But if our unrighteousness demonstrates the righteousness of God, what shall we say? The God who inflicts wrath is not unrighteous, is He? (I am speaking in human terms.)
6 May it never be! For otherwise, how will God judge the world?
7 But if through my lie the truth of God abounded to His glory, why am I also still being judged as a sinner?
8 And why not say (as we are slanderously reported and as some claim that we say), “Let us do evil that good may come”? Their condemnation is just.
Romans 3 (NASB95)
1 Then what advantage has the Jew? Or what is the benefit of circumcision?
This is a great question. What advantage does the Jew have? Why even bother with the Law?
These things appear to have no benefit at all. But look what Paul says:
2 Great in every respect. First of all, that they were entrusted with the oracles of God.
Great in EVERY respect:
Back when Paul wrote this, they may have had serious doubts about being Jewish. They had been driven out of Rome for a time as we had seen in Acts 18:2
2 And he found a Jew named Aquila, a native of Pontus, having recently come from Italy with his wife Priscilla, because Claudius had commanded all the Jews to leave Rome. He came to them,
The Romans were their overlords and they had no king of their own. They felt like being a Jew had no benefit.
Some may feel that way today, with Anti-Semitism at an all time high since the holocaust, Israel being condemned by the UN constantly and being blamed for terrorist attacks that are happening to them. What is the point of being a Jew??
Well, great in every respect.
First, look at how blessed they are today.
They have taken a waste land once thought of as useless, and has been transformed into a technologically advanced country with a high quality university education.
They have a very advanced military and weapons and one of the most powerful air forces and intelligence in the world.
Out of all the Noble Peace Prizes given out since the early 20th century, Jews have won 22% of those awards, yet only .2% of the world population is Jewish. That is incredible.
Other than the cast of Seinfeld, many celebrities are actually Jewish:
Harrison Ford
Dustin Hoffman
Natalie Portman
Scarlett Johanson
Steven Spielberg
Bob Dylan
Paul Newman
Robert Downey Jr.
Albert Einstein
It is an amazing thing to see how blessed the Jewish people truly are.
And not only all these things and more, but Paul says that they were entrusted with the oracles of God
Look what God says in Exodus 19:3-6
3 Moses went up to God, and the Lord called to him from the mountain, saying, “Thus you shall say to the house of Jacob and tell the sons of Israel:
4 ‘You yourselves have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles’ wings, and brought you to Myself.
5 ‘Now then, if you will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant, then you shall be My own possession among all the peoples, for all the earth is Mine;
6 and you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.’ These are the words that you shall speak to the sons of Israel.”
Israel was entrusted as God’s chosen people, to be an example to the world. They were to reap the benefits of this, that the nations would fear them and because of them fear the Lord. As Jesus tells them in Matthew 5:14
Matthew 5:14 (NASB95)
14 “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden;
They would have no want, no need, live in peace and security, if only they believed God.
They were the nation that knew God. Imagine being born without God, without ever knowing Him. Your whole life was lived to persecute these Jews and live against their God, only to find out once you died, He was actually the only true God?? What an advantage the Jew had. They had the oracles of God, it was through them that God would make Himself known.
We can feel this way growing up in the church too
There seems to be no advantage growing up in the church vs. not growing up in it. It just seems that when we grow up in the church, we miss out on the “fun” of the world
Its a question I struggled with for a long time, until one night, at camp, the Lord changed my mind.
He said “Serve me, or serve the world, but you choose.”
It dawned on me one time… “My testimony isn’t about my failure and how the Lord saved me from it, my testimony is a display of God’s faithfulness. Even though I’m like everyone else and enticed by the world and its pleasures, I have yet to find any peace outside of Jesus Christ. I have no reason to look anywhere else, because He has been found to be true and faithful.
So growing up in the church has proven to be great in every respect. Why? Because it is through His church that Jesus has displayed Himself to the world. It is through us that God has chosen to display His wonderful grace and love to the world through His Son Jesus Christ. Don’t despise it, for those of us who have grown up in it and have remained are not only an encouragement for those here in the church, but for the world to see God’s faithfulness through us.
3 What then? If some did not believe, their unbelief will not nullify the faithfulness of God, will it?
4 May it never be! Rather, let God be found true, though every man be found a liar, as it is written, “That You may be justified in Your words, And prevail when You are judged.”
These are some of the most powerful verses in the whole Bible.
First, it shatters any hope that one may have in replacement theology, or believing that the church has replaced Israel.
It is fair to say that the Jewish people have been a people of unbelief.
In 2015, a survey conducted showed that 65% of those living in Israel do not believe in God at all.
In America, 52% of Jews say they do not believe in God, and only 16% of Jews in America go to synagogue or church.
This is a far cry from a people who are suppose to be representing God to the World.
But does their unbelief nullify the faithfulness of God?? Absolutely not!!!
Just as Paul would say in 2 Timothy 2:13
13 If we are faithless, He remains faithful, for He cannot deny Himself.
This is why I can never believe in a doctrine that teaches that God is done with the Jews, because if God could break His promise to the Jews, He could certainly break it with us, and no longer is He faithful, but temperamental and irritable. But God is neither of those, He is faithful, and as Paul says here in Romans 3:4, let God be found true!!!
BUT… Let every man be found a liar.
This goes along with the debate that men are not inherently good, but rather, they are liars
This shatters many world views, as many will argue that we are basically good and only society, government and religion have turned us bad. Not only those in the world believe this, but christians are starting to follow suit on these beliefs as well.
The danger?? If man is basically good, then all of his impulses must be good as well. So when a man has feelings for another man, or a woman feels like she should be a male, or this person feels like another persons spouse is their soulmate, if we are good, then shouldn’t these natural impulses also be good, and the only reason we are told they are bad is because of how men have perverted these things through man made establishments. Shouldn’t “LOVE ALWAYS WINS” be our goal??
No longer is there a need for repentance, but only acceptance. No longer is there a need for redemption, but only tolerance. No longer is there a need for salvation, but only unification
Paul is clear here, let every man be found a liar
Since we are also in an election year, lets talk politics for a second.
This statement is true for every single politician. Whether you are Democrat or Republican, whether you say it nicely or abruptly, whether you are a man or a woman, every single one of them is a liar. None of our candidates are exempt from this. You may like one personality over the other, but know this, they are all people, and all are liars. Not one of them is Jesus, so the reality is, when you vote, you will be voting for the lesser of two evils.
So when you vote, you can’t vote for a person because of how wonderful they are, you need to vote for policies that promote righteousness. And if you aren’t sure what those are, let me quickly give you some thoughts from me:
Who supports Israel. God says to Abraham in Genesis 12:2-3
2 And I will make you a great nation, And I will bless you, And make your name great; And so you shall be a blessing;
3 And I will bless those who bless you, And the one who curses you I will curse. And in you all the families of the earth will be blessed.”
This is very important to me, because it is important to the Lord. I believe that our nation has not been judged yet because of this.
Also, a person’s stance on Abortion is very important to me. I am unapologetically Pro-Life and who I vote for will be a person who most closely represents that.
I am against worldy philosophical policies of DEI and anything that promotes the LGBTQ and the confusion and perversion of our children in schools and in sports.
I am against treating foreigners like little pawns for your political advantage. The way our government is letting people into our country without any proper process or plan of how to handle them is not compassion nor loving, it is evil and a burden placed on both the citizens and those who are seeking a better life for themselves.
But know this, every man is a liar, and all these things are not going to be solved by any man, it will finally be dealt with righteously when our God and King, Jesus Christ comes to rule and reign.
Let God be found true, though everyman be found a liar.
5 But if our unrighteousness demonstrates the righteousness of God, what shall we say? The God who inflicts wrath is not unrighteous, is He? (I am speaking in human terms.)
6 May it never be! For otherwise, how will God judge the world?
If God’s righteousness is more clearly seen through our unrighteousness, then why is God bringing wrath on us? The question Paul is asking, is God just for doing that?
Many people still have this question today, if God allows evil, how can we be judged for that. But know this, its because of our sin and our choice to partake in it that God’s wrath is coming upon us, and He is right and just for doing so.
7 But if through my lie the truth of God abounded to His glory, why am I also still being judged as a sinner?
8 And why not say (as we are slanderously reported and as some claim that we say), “Let us do evil that good may come”? Their condemnation is just.
Why are we still being judged if good things come from our sin?
People look at the results, and they think that this is their licenses to do things the way they want. I mean, God is getting glory anyway, so why not just continue. This is the problem, people chase after the results rather than obedience to the Lord.
Look at it like this… Do the ends justify the means?
Did God excuse Pharaoh when he refused to let Israel go?
Was Babylon let off the hook when they took Israel into captivity?
Was Judas excused because He carried on the will of the Father?
Evil will never justify disobedience to God, no matter the results.
Here is one that I have seen specifically in my generation: Disciplining our children.
Many parents will argue that spanking a child is abuse and doing more harm than actual good. In fact, many parents have gone toward this idea of what they call “Gently led parenting”
This is very prevalent within the church, not just the world. Many christian parents still refuse to spank their children because of what the world has taught them about parenting.
The Bible says a lot about this, especially in Proverbs
24 He who withholds his rod hates his son, But he who loves him disciplines him diligently.
18 Discipline your son while there is hope, And do not desire his death.
15 Foolishness is bound up in the heart of a child; The rod of discipline will remove it far from him.
13 Do not hold back discipline from the child, Although you strike him with the rod, he will not die.
14 You shall strike him with the rod And rescue his soul from Sheol.
15 The rod and reproof give wisdom, But a child who gets his own way brings shame to his mother.
This is pretty conclusive in my opinion.
Now it doesn’t take a rocket scientist nor some special social worker to figure out that these younger generations are suffering and becoming worse, not better. Suicide is way up, drug use is way up, families are more broken than ever, and young people have less and less purpose than ever before.
Now the results are clear, but lets pretend that they weren’t. My challenge for parents always is, are you going to be obedient to the Lord and what He says about disciplining our children, or are we going to continue down an evil path promoted by the world.
But wait, I didn’t spank my child and they turned out great?? Or maybe your saying I spanked my children and they still turned out rebellious and horrible.
Here is the thing… we need to be obedient to the Lord. The results and outcomes are in the Lord’s hands, you just need to be obedient to the Lord and take confidence that you were obedient to Him.
9 What then? Are we better than they? Not at all; for we have already charged that both Jews and Greeks are all under sin;
Just because the Jew had the privilege of the oracles of God, it does not mean they have any advantage over the gentiles. Why??
Because we are all under sin.
Just look at what Paul says in these following verses:
It is a condemning list of all who are under sin
Remembering, those who are under the law and those who aren’t all have the same heart, a deceptively sick heart. Just as Jeremiah reminds us in Jeremiah 17:9
9 “The heart is more deceitful than all else And is desperately sick; Who can understand it?
10 as it is written, “There is none righteous, not even one;
Paul says “As it is written”
You see, God knows us… even better than we know ourselves. In fact, we read in John 2:24-25
24 But Jesus, on His part, was not entrusting Himself to them, for He knew all men,
25 and because He did not need anyone to testify concerning man, for He Himself knew what was in man.
So as Paul is going through this list of Old Testament passages, it is God’s insight into man.
“There is none righteous, not even one”
This word “righteous” is “dikaios” (Dee-Kay-Os), which means “to be in right relationship with someone”
With or without the law, no one is in a right relationship with God
11 There is none who understands, There is none who seeks for God;
I wish I could claim understanding, but I can’t!! Because none understands and there is none who seeks for God.
“There is none who seeks for God”
The reality is that we did not come to God seeking Him, its not that we found Him because we were looking. The beauty of the gospel is that God sought after us, seeking for a restoration with us.
1 John 4:10 says
10 In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.
Then we read in Isaiah
Isaiah 64:7 (NASB95)
7 There is no one who calls on Your name, Who arouses himself to take hold of You…
WE never initiated anything with God, He not only did all the work, He was the One that started it
12 All have turned aside, together they have become useless; There is none who does good, There is not even one.”
Even the best of us cannot claim to doing any good. We are useless. That is a humbling reality
13 “Their throat is an open grave, With their tongues they keep deceiving,” “The poison of asps is under their lips”;
14 “Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness”;
We read in James 3:2
2 For we all stumble in many ways. If anyone does not stumble in what he says, he is a perfect man, able to bridle the whole body as well.
Then we read a little later in James 3:8
8 But no one can tame the tongue; it is a restless evil and full of deadly poison.
The tongue is a restless evil. We deceive, we gossip, we lie, we tear down… It truly is an open grave.
15 “Their feet are swift to shed blood,
16 Destruction and misery are in their paths,
17 And the path of peace they have not known.”
Violence, destruction, and misery have become our defaults
Even in standing up for what seems to be a just cause, we see all these traits coming out, even today.
“The path of peace they have not known”
Jesus says in Matthew 5:9
9 “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.
The problem is, man does not know the way to peace. We try so hard, but it always falls short
18 “There is no fear of God before their eyes.”
Proverbs 9:10 says
10 The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, And the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.
We have no wisdom, because we have not feared the Lord
We don’t fear the Lord, so we make little of our sin.
How can people be so evil, so depraved, so careless in what they do? Because there is no fear of the Lord.
This is why people can walk into a school and shoot it up. This is why a woman can go to parties, get pregnant and have 20 abortions. This is why a professional football player can have 10 children with 9 different women while being married. Because there is no fear of God in their eyes.
19 Now we know that whatever the Law says, it speaks to those who are under the Law, so that every mouth may be closed and all the world may become accountable to God;
20 because by the works of the Law no flesh will be justified in His sight; for through the Law comes the knowledge of sin.
The one thing that the law does, it shows us we cannot be justified in His sight.
Take a look at Galatians 3:19-24
19 Why the Law then? It was added because of transgressions, having been ordained through angels by the agency of a mediator, until the seed would come to whom the promise had been made.
20 Now a mediator is not for one party only; whereas God is only one.
21 Is the Law then contrary to the promises of God? May it never be! For if a law had been given which was able to impart life, then righteousness would indeed have been based on law.
22 But the Scripture has shut up everyone under sin, so that the promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe.
23 But before faith came, we were kept in custody under the law, being shut up to the faith which was later to be revealed.
24 Therefore the Law has become our tutor to lead us to Christ, so that we may be justified by faith.
The Law could never impart life, it could only expose our sin. Paul is saying that because of this Law, not only are the Jews held accountable to God, but the whole world.
21 But now apart from the Law the righteousness of God has been manifested, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets,
22 even the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all those who believe; for there is no distinction;
23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
24 being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus;
25 whom God displayed publicly as a propitiation in His blood through faith. This was to demonstrate His righteousness, because in the forbearance of God He passed over the sins previously committed;
26 for the demonstration, I say, of His righteousness at the present time, so that He would be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.
This is a powerful statement, of the gospel of Jesus.
I want you to notice what Paul is saying here… 3 things bear witness to the righteousness of God:
The Law
The prophets
The righteousness of God through faith in Jesus
This is the gospel… no man is righteous by the law, all have sinned and fallen short of God’s glory.
But God demonstrated His own righteousness, He demonstrated the only way that we can be right before Him, and that was through faith in Jesus.
And by faith in Jesus, God demonstrates that He not only justifies those who believe, but that He is just in doing so.
Why is He just in this? Because Paul has already shown that the Law cannot bring righteousness, and if it can’t, then the only just thing is that God Himself provides the way that we can be righteous before Him!!!
Isn’t it wonderful!!!
27 Where then is boasting? It is excluded. By what kind of law? Of works? No, but by a law of faith.
We have nothing to boast about, because the law of works isn’t possible, but the law of faith, to just simply believe, that we couldn’t do anything and He did it all for us. We can’t boast, because we did nothing to earn it.
28 For we maintain that a man is justified by faith apart from works of the Law.
Again, God’s work, not ours.
29 Or is God the God of Jews only? Is He not the God of Gentiles also? Yes, of Gentiles also,
30 since indeed God who will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through faith is one.
God is the God of the Jews and the Greeks, and it is faith, not works, that establishes that fact.
31 Do we then nullify the Law through faith? May it never be! On the contrary, we establish the Law.
How does faith establish the Law?
Well, we know from 1 Timothy 1:8 that Paul says
8 But we know that the Law is good, if one uses it lawfully,
Know this, that God does not create things arbitrarily. He didn’t do this with the Law either, He created it so that His people would know how to worship Him and conduct themselves as the people of God.
But the goodness of the Law doesn’t lie in the works of the Law, goodness is in the One who created it.
When we put our faith in Jesus Christ, we establish the fact that God is good and we are not. Through our faith, God demonstrates that the works of the Law could not bring the righteousness we all so desperately want and need, but is only found in Him. And it is faith in Christ that establishes that the Law bears witness to this, thus, establishing the Law. That the Law was our tutor, and it has taught us that we are not justified by the works of the Law, but rather, the Work of Christ.
