20241103 Romans 3:21-26 The Heart of Romans

Welcome to Vertical Church

Acts 2:42 (LSB)

And they were continually devoting themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to the prayers.

As a church we seek to uphold the values of the NT church as seen in Acts 2:42 -

We are Trinitarian - while God is one in essence, He is three in person: God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit

We believe in the sovereignty of God - sovereign over all creation, sovereign over the affairs of men, sovereign over salvation

We believe in the authority of the Bible - Scripture alone is the Word of God

We are Biblical in our theology - we are a bible teaching church

We believe that the Church is not a building or a denomination but a people - those who are truly in Christ and embrace the truths that were embraced and confessed by the New Testament Church, the apostolic church.

We are evangelical - we believe that we are saved by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone.

We are a Vertical Church - we believe that all true worship and living is Vertical, God directed and for the glory of God alone.

Scripture Alone, Grace Alone, Faith Alone, Christ Alone, For the glory of God alone - join us on Sundays

Call to Worship - Psalm 143:1-2, 10-11

Psalm 143:1–2 LSB

1 O Yahweh, hear my prayer, Give ear to my supplications! Answer me in Your faithfulness, in Your righteousness! 2 And do not enter into judgment with Your slave, For no one living is righteous in Your sight.

Psalm 143:10–11 LSB

10 Teach me to do Your will, For You are my God; Let Your good Spirit lead me on level ground. 11 For the sake of Your name, O Yahweh, revive me. In Your righteousness bring my soul out of distress.

Scripture Reading - Romans 3:21-26

Romans 3:21–26 LSB

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, for a demonstration of His righteousness, because in the forbearance of God He passed over the sins previously committed; 26 for the demonstration of His righteousness at the present time, so that He would be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.

Introduction:

Most commentaries on the Bible begin with chapter one verse one. When Martyn Lloyd Jones wrote his commentary on Romans he began with Romans 3:21-26. This passage is the heart of the Gospel of Romans.

This passage ends the theme of Condemnation and the wrath of God and begins the glorious theme of Justification by faith alone.

Romans (Justification)

Martin Luther insisted that justification by faith alone is the article upon which the church stands or falls, and if the church does not get this right, the church ceases to be an authentic church. If the church denies or obscures the doctrine of justification by faith alone, it is no longer a Christian body. To Luther’s sentiment John Calvin added that the doctrine of justification is the hinge by which everything else turns. J. I. Packer used another metaphor. He said that the doctrine of justification by faith alone is the Atlas that carries the whole of the Christian faith on its shoulders. RC Sproul writes, If justification by faith alone stumbles, the whole Christian faith comes crashing to the ground.

And since there is this major transition, let’s begin with verses 20 and 21

(1) The Gospel of justification by faith alone was given by God alone

Romans 3:20–22 LSB

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. 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;

Psalm 143:2 LSB

2 And do not enter into judgment with Your slave, For no one living is righteous in Your sight.

But now - What we could not do in our flesh, the lord has done through His grace

Apart from the Law - Paul makes clear once again that while the Law is good, we are not saved through external acts, we are not able to produce a righteousness that is perfectly holy through external, outward obedience

the righteousness of God

Romans 1:17 LSB

17 For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, “But the righteous will live by faith.”

Righteousness, what does it mean to be righteous - a simple definition, Doing what is right in the sight of God and being right in the sight of God

of God - It is a righteousness that is given by God, only God can produce spiritual life from dead sinners, only God can make righteous those who are unrighteous

Apart from the Law - first, the Law revealed an unobtainable righteousness but Paul is now referring to a righteousness that is by faith, a faith given by the Holy Spirit

Has been manifested - has been revealed - salvation has always been through the regenerating work of the Spirit who gives the believer faith, spiritual life and then the ability to obey. But that’s the what. The how - through the Holy Spirit and the why - the finished work of Jesus Christ was not revealed until the New Testament

This is why he writes, Witnessed by the Law and the Prophets - the gospel of justification by faith alone through the Suffering servant Messiah is all through the OT but it was, as Augustine said, concealed and as Paul says, it was a mystery, but now it has been fully revealed through the coming, death, burial, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus

there is no distinction - those who have lived in external obedience to the Law their entire life and those who live good lives, pagan lives, wicked lives. To as many as received Him he gave the right to become children of God

To summarize - you cannot become righteous through keeping the 10 commandments or any good deeds. Only Christ can give you His righteousness through the Holy Spirit who gives us the ability to come to Jesus through faith

(2) Why do we need the righteousness of God?

Romans 3:23 LSB

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

This verse has been memorized and preached on almost more than John 3:16 - for God so loved the world

But when it’s preached there’s usually a biased focus - the preacher wants you to know that you have ________ sinned

And it’s true, all have sinned

But I believe in the context of the passage that there is a more important emphasis - and that is why you need the righteousness of God

And for this we look at the second part of the verse

We have fallen short of the glory of God

We are not sinners because we sin, we sin because we are sinners

And because we are sinners, no matter how hard we try, no matter how well we keep the Law, no matter how sincere we are, we will always fall short of God’s perfect and holy nature.

As verse 20 says based on Ps 143, there is no one living who is righteous in God’s sight

We have no internal righteousness and no internal ability to become righteous. We need external righteousness.

And this leads us to our final point

(3) God the Father as judge decrees, Jesus pays the penalty, the Holy Spirit releases, the believer is set free

Romans 3:24–26 LSB

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, for a demonstration of His righteousness, because in the forbearance of God He passed over the sins previously committed; 26 for the demonstration of His righteousness at the present time, so that He would be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.

Your in court and you are guilty. The sentence has been given. How can you go free?

The judge declares you guilty, another person pays the price, the bailiff releases you from your bondage, the judge declares you free to go.

In this way justice is served, the cost of your freedom has been paid, you are no longer under the burden of your guilt

This is how your salvation is described in verses 24-26

The word justified is used in verses 24 and 26

We need to be clear as to what the word justification means and what the doctrine is all about.

Let me explain what justification does not mean. When we are justified in the sight of God, it is not an act of divine pardon. In justification, God does not pardon the sinner. When a governor or president exercises executive clemency and pardons a convicted criminal, he more or less forgives the criminal of his crime and sets him free. Certainly justification involves forgiveness, as I hope we will see at some point, but let us not confuse the act of divine justification with an act of pardon.

In justification God makes a legal declaration, what we call a forensic declaration.

Forensics has to do with judicial judgment or declaration.

The New Testament shows us that in the act of justification God makes a judicial declaration about a person’s status before he makes his judgment.

Again, what happens in justification is not a pardon; it is an act whereby God declares a person to be just.

Justification is that act by which God judicially declares a person to be righteous in his sight.

Here’s a diagram:

In summary: You cannot earn your way to heaven. Through the substitutionary death of Jesus, God the Father declares you innocent, not by pretending you aren’t guilty but because Jesus took you r place, Jesus took the punishment in your place, Jesus paid the penalty that you could not pay, and Jesus in addition to taking your sin upon himself, gave you His perfect righteousness, a righteousness that is from God and is by faith from first to last

In this way God is just. He has not turned a blind eye to your sin. And he is also the justifier. He provided the price of your redemption through the death of Jesus. Have you received this gift of grace by faith? Come to Jesus.

Now may the God who did not even hold back His very own Son but handed Him over for us all, provide you with every good thing you need in order to do His will and do in you what pleases Him. Amen.