Romans 3:21-26 "God's Righteousness Revealed in Justification"

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Let’s continue now in our Romans study. Please open your Bibles to Romans 3. Romans 3:21-26 today.

We just finished a 5 week study on God’s wrath and righteous judgment being revealed against all mankind…

Paul wrote in V9, “For we have previously charged both Jews and Greeks that they are all under sin. 10 As it is written: “There is none righteous, no, not one.”

That included the moral degraded person in Romans 1, the moral person in Romans 2, and religious Jews in Romans 2-3…

Paul built an ironclad legal case against ALL mankind that NO ONE is right before God by their own good works.

He wrote, “There is none who does good, no, not one.”

And the evidence of mankind’s sinfulness was so thorough that ‘every mouth would be stopped’…

The pile of evidence was conclusive… that God’s law of conscience and His written law was broken…

Thus the defendant has nothing to say… they have no excuse.

The courtroom scene is a helpful human example…

But, the illustration falls short… because the actual heavenly scene is before Almighty God…

Making the sentence eternally permanent… and making justification that much more sweet.

Paul concluded his closing argument… writing in V20 “Therefore by the deeds of the law no flesh will be justified in His sight, for by the law is the knowledge of sin.”

The law is the straightest of lines… and when our lives are placed next to it… we realized just how crooked we are.

And, thus… we need a Savior. We cannot save ourselves.

The stage is now set… for Paul to preach the Good News of Salvation through faith in Jesus Christ.

In vv 21-26, we now come to the heart of Paul’s letter to the Romans…

A very important passage we have before us today…

One Bible scholar said if there were six verses in the entire Bible that he would memorize, it would be Rom 3:21-26.

And, if you memorize those verses by next week… let me know… and we’ll have free coffee for you… we’ll even throw in a free lunch.

Many scholars see this as the central passage to not only to the Gospel Message… but also to the Epistle of Romans… the New Testament… and the Bible as a whole.

Because in this passage today… Paul answers the question… how can a holy God can justify unholy sinners and remain holy in doing so?

What a blessing we have before us today in God’s word… as we begin looking at this good news section of Romans… in a message titled, “God’s Righteousness Revealed Through Faith.”

Let’s Pray!

In reverence for God’s word, please stand as I read our passage today.

Rom 3:21-26 “But now the righteousness of God apart from the law is revealed, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets, 22 even the righteousness of God, through faith in Jesus Christ, to all and on all who believe. For there is no difference; 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, 25 whom God set forth as a propitiation by His blood, through faith, to demonstrate His righteousness, because in His forbearance God had passed over the sins that were previously committed, 26 to demonstrate at the present time His righteousness, that He might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.”

Praise God for His word. Please be seated.

What a powerhouse passage of theological terms…

Righteousness… Justification… propitiation… redemption…

Four key theological terms all right here in just three verses… that every Christian should know.

Add to it, “faith, grace, and forbearance.”

What a rich passage!

Colleges offer semester long courses on any one of these concepts…

Theologians have written books and lengthy dissertations on these terms.

Thus today will be a ‘fly-by’ at best, but you can easily do a ‘deep-dive’ on any one of these topics.

After Paul’s concluding words in V20 that no one will be justified in the sight of God by attempting to do what the law commands…

And as the Law has spoken… and mankind realizes they don’t measure up…

… as the weight of condemnation is realized and penetrates the heart…

… every mouth is silenced…

But then that silence is broken… as Paul, through inspiration of the Spirit… writes the most wonderful words in V21 “But now...”

Two words worth underlining or circling in your Bible… two words that mark a transition in thought…

One scholar wrote, “The words "but now" that begin this verse may be two of the most important words in all of the Bible.”

Because… these words stand as a sharp contrast to what we previously read regarding condemnation…

And they provide the needed hope… that there is something more powerful than all our sin…

There is something more powerful than the condemnation we deserve.

These words begin the most powerful of paragraphs spotlighting the glorious HOPE found through faith in Jesus Christ… and how through faith alone… we stand justified before God.

Just imagine if Paul had ended this epistle to the Romans at Chapter 3 verse 20… if all he wrote about was the condemnation and wrath that God would be just to pour out…

We’d walk away thinking, “We’re without hope… we’re destined for destruction… we’re altogether doomed.”

But, Paul did not end with condemnation… we figuratively turn the page and read the glorious words…

“But now the righteousness of God apart from the law is revealed, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets...”

With these words we behold a ‘righteousness of God’… a settled way of grace that is holy and benevolent… that leads to God’s acceptance eternally… which is attested by the Law and the Prophets.

Since the law cannot save us… since the law only informs us of God’s standards… and since we cannot keep the law…

God has revealed… or shown us a way to be right with Him… without keeping the requirements of the law…

This points to the New Covenant of Grace.

For a Jew reading this… who all their life struggled to keep the law… you can imagine how freeing and how revolutionary this was…

Because who can keep the law? No one can.

I know this because even last Sunday… I set up a parking lot camera… and half of you exited the parking lot passing right by the “Do Not Enter” sign.

I even preached about the “Do Not Enter” sign, but did anyone listen?

I really didn’t set up a camera… we’re not creepy.

Paul also writes that God’s righteousness revealed apart from the law was spoken of long ago…

This was not an idea manufactured by Paul. It was foretold. “… being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets...”

The ‘Law and the Prophets’ in summation is the entirety of OT Scripture.

The Law is the first five books of the OT… and the Prophets is a general term for all the other OT books.

Jesus made a similar reference in Matt 5:17, “Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill.”

I counted 11 NT references to the “Law and the Prophets.”

In Luke 24:44 Jesus said, “… all things must be fulfilled which were written in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms concerning Me.”

Just providing one more level of distinction… but all of these verses speak about the entirety of the OT…

Which testify of Jesus…

It always disheartens me when I think of Pastors, like Andy Stanley… who influence tens of thousands of people… and declared they “unhitched” from the OT. I can’t get over that.

It disheartens me how so-called Christians have become so causal and even irreverent towards God’s word.

I was reminded of one such time from Feb 2024… as I was watching a video from Answers in Genesis and they showed a clip of the founding Pastor and a female Pastor… of Crossroads MegaChurch in Cincinnati… punting a Bible like a football… for their “Superbowl themed Series.”

Do you remember that from earlier this year?

“Church should be fun” they replied.

I’d love to be a fly on the wall when they explain that one to God.

The Law and the Prophets… the OT is amazing… and rich…

There were very real and relevant messages for Ancient Israel from God to them…

And, very real and relevant messages that stretch beyond them and are relevant for us today…

Primarily because the entirety of the OT pointed to Salvation in a Messiah who was to come…

Jesus said in John 5:39 “You search the Scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life; and these are they which testify of Me.”

When you read the OT there are types or shadows… the sacrificial system required the shedding of blood for atonement… all pointing towards Jesus’ sacrifice…

In the NT John the Baptist declared, “Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!” (John 1:29)…

But unlike OT sacrifices which only covered sins, Jesus’ sacrifice was “once for all” (Heb 7:27, 9:12, 10:10).

There were direct prophecies that testified this righteousness was coming.

Isa 51:5 “My righteousness is near, My salvation has gone forth...”

Isa 56:1 “Thus says the LORD: “Keep justice, and do righteousness, For My salvation is about to come, And My righteousness to be revealed.”

In those passages there was a very real and near fulfillment to ancient Israel… they would be saved from captivity.

… and a far and future fulfillment for all people… all through faith in Messiah can be saved from captivity.

And as Paul wrote in V21 of Romans 3… the OT testified… was a witness to the righteousness of God apart from the law.

Paul had the privilege to write about this freedom we find… this salvation freely given… separate from the law… through faith in Jesus Christ.

Which is what we read in V22 “… even the righteousness of God, through faith in Jesus Christ, to all and on all who believe.”

Righteousness has been mentioned two times in the past two verses, so let’s take a moment to understand this very important concept…

Merriam-Webster’s defines “righteous” as “acting in accord with divine or moral law: free from guilt or sin” (Definition 1); Definition 2: “morally right or justifiable.”

So, they focus upon “acting” or a “behavior” that is morally right as measured up to a divine or moral law.

The Bible’s definition of ‘righteous” from the Hebrew word sad-diq / tsaddiq is “blameless; just; lawful, upright, innocent; in accordance with God’s standard.”

God’s law was set long ago as the measure to which human lives must measure up… to achieve self-righteousness.

And, to be blameless demands perfection… all the time… every day… in every behavior, attitude, word, and attribute… which is impossible.

Only Jesus kept the law perfectly.

Even his mother, Mary… blessed among women… she had to look to her own Son to be saved.

There are beautiful OT images of God’s law… God’s word… being set as the plumb line by which He measures human righteousness.

I have a slide of a plumb line portraying a man using a plumb line in the construction of a wall.

The plumb line is a cord with a weight at the end (called a plumb bob or a plummet) and is used to determine uprightness or verticalness.

The prophet Amos was given a vision… which we read in Amos 7:7–9 “Behold, the Lord stood on a wall made with a plumb line, with a plumb line in His hand. 8 And the Lord said to me, “Amos, what do you see?” And I said, “A plumb line.” Then the Lord said: “Behold, I am setting a plumb line In the midst of My people Israel; I will not pass by them anymore. 9 The high places of Isaac shall be desolate, And the sanctuaries of Israel shall be laid waste. I will rise with the sword against the house of Jeroboam.”

Israel had been given the standard of the Mosaic Law… they had the righteous standard of God…

They had been built “true to plumb”, but now were out of line and would be torn down.

In Isa 28:16-17, this illustration was used… “Behold, I lay in Zion a stone for a foundation, A tried stone, a precious cornerstone, a sure foundation; Whoever believes will not act hastily. [a very familiar verse pointing to Jesus Christ and quoted later in Rom 9 & 10… and then this less familiar verse immediately following… ] V17 Also I will make justice the measuring line, And righteousness the plummet; The hail will sweep away the refuge of lies, And the waters will overflow the hiding place.”

Even way back when Isaiah prophesied around 700 B.C. … Israel was called to believe… to have faith in the cornerstone, the Messiah…

And His standards of justice and righteousness would be used as the plumb line.

And judgment would fall (pictured as hail and waters) upon any refuge of lies… every object of false trust.

One would never be righteous before God by any other means besides belief in the Chief Cornerstone… who we know as Jesus Christ (which Eph 2:20 beautifully pictures).

Since Adam… it’s been impossible for any one of us to be perfectly upright… if the plumb line were placed against any one of our lives… the crookedness is exposed. That’s the bad news.

The good news is what we’ve read in our Romans passage thus far… that the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ is available to everyone who believes.

And, as we have faith in Jesus Christ… we are cleansed of our sin.

2 Cor 5:21 declares “For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.”

This is the great exchange… on the cross the sins of the world were placed on Jesus Christ…

One scholar wrote, “On the cross, Jesus was treated as if He were a sinner, though He was perfectly holy and pure, and we are treated as if we were righteous, though we are defiled and depraved.”

Though sinless… He died on the cross paying the penalty for our sins… and on our account His perfect righteousness was placed… for all who come to Him in faith.

And, what is faith? By definition it’s belief, but what does true faith look like?

True faith is not an empty profession or an alter call simply stirred by emotion…

Christian Faith is not just an intellectual understanding or knowledge of who Jesus is…

James wrote “Even the demons believe- and tremble!”

That’s not saving faith.

Saving faith is true belief in one’s heart that Jesus was crucified, died, and rose again to satisfy God’s wrath on sin… and for the forgiveness of our sin.

True faith is observable in the days and years following our first moment of belief…

Observable by fruit in our lives… we should be in process of looking more like Jesus and less like the world. We’ll come back to that when we enter the Sanctification portion of Romans

So much of the world does NOT place faith in Jesus Christ… and they will never be declared righteous.

As I was preparing this message… I started to think… “What does the world place their faith in?”

And, I attempted to find a humanly example of something we can complete trust… that will not fail us… I found no answer… not for this life… and certainly not for eternity.

I consulted Google and asked “what do we trust most in life?”

And here’s what I got from Google’s pulled resources… this is a worldly perspective… “Depending on individual beliefs… people often tend to trust themselves, their close family members, or a higher power (like a God)… the most in life… as these entities are perceived as the most reliable and consistent sources of support and truth in their lives.”

That response made sense to me from a worldly perspective…

The world trusts themselves first… family second… and a higher power… any god of your choosing third.

But all of these can fail us… we can’t trust ourselves or our families because physical health fails in time… we can’t trust our resources because even a shift in the stock market or housing market… or a major life crisis can deplete finances… and so often money becomes a higher power for many, but it is so demanding… it becomes the idolatrous god they serve.

Power shifts… fame fades… new toys lose their sparkle… time can be cruel… joy and contentment are elusive.

Even in you were the richest, healthiest person, with the most stable family… with much to give thanks for… these are powerless after life… they do not stretch into the eternal.

So many people trust that if they are a good person… and live a good life… they will earn their place in heaven.

But, that’s not the kind of righteousness that God requires… that’s self righteousness… and misplaced faith in the creation rather than the Creator.

True Christian faith is placed only in Jesus Christ. And He will not fail.

For the Christian, when we exit this life… we will be able to stand before God… and He will see not our sin… He will only see the holy righteousness of our Lord Jesus.

Through faith, the Bible teaches that the righteousness of Christ is attributed to believers… making the justified before God despite their own sinfulness.

And, this is called “imputed righteousness”… which Paul addresses clearly in Rom 4.

First describing how Abraham was not justified by God because of his works, but “Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.” (Rom 4:3)

A few verses later Paul writes in Rom 4:5-6 “But to him who does not work but believes on Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is accounted for righteousness, 6 just as David also describes the blessedness of the man to whom God imputes righteousness apart from works...”

Two OT examples… Abraham and David… they were not right with God because of their good work in keeping the law… they were justified because they believed, because they had faith in God.

Four times in these verses, Paul used the Gk word lo-id´-zo-mai logizomai…

In English we read it as “accounted” in V3 & 5… “counted” in V4… “imputed” in V6… it’s all the same Gk word.

It’s an accounting term meaning “to take an inventory; to credit; to count.”

When we place our faith in Jesus… something happens in the great heavenly record books…

Some accounting angel… wearing a pocket protector and glasses… goes over and grabs our file…

And, in that file is every sinful unrighteous deed we have ever committed.

All the evidence that is stacked against up proving we are guilty and deserving of condemnation.

BUT, because of our faith in Jesus… it’s not that the folder is stamped “not guilty”… or “case closed”…

Probably the best human legal example would be our record is “expunged.”

To expunge is to “erase or remove completely.”

Because when Jesus cried our from the cross… “It is finished”… “Tetelestai” in Gk meaning “Paid in full.”

Sin was conquered… and our debt is paid in full through faith in him.

And, this may be difficult to grasp human to human because when someone sins against us… we may be able to forgive the person… but how do we forget?

But how do we remove the memory of what they did completely?

We may be able to move on, but the memory remains in some file in the back of our mind.

We may extend forgiveness and the relationship may heal…

But how do we expunge the record? I’m not sure it’s possible.

So often when couple fight… they not only get hysterical… they also get historical…

Pulling out those old files.

God is different. When God declares us as righteous… He not only forgives, but divinely… He remembers our sin no more.

Isaiah 43:25 “I, even I, am He who blots out your transgressions for My own sake; And I will not remember your sins.”

God has always extended this gracious offer of forgiveness… to wipe the slate clean…

“Blotted out” is an account-book image… where when a debt is paid… the charge is cancelled or blotted out.

And, He does it for His sake. So forever He will relate to the sinner with no recollection of their sin… only the righteousness of His Son.

Jer 31:34 also carries this idea… “and their sin I will remember no more”

As does Heb 8:12 “their lawless deeds I will remember no more.”

True in the Old Covenant and in the New Covenant.

And yet… there may be moments in our lives when we feel condemnation, shame or guilt… maybe a little voice in our head… telling us how horrible we are for what we did in the past…

That’s not God… He holds no record of past sin.

That’s most likely the flesh… or as Pastor Joe Focht likes to say, “some buck tooth demon private liar.”

You need to remind yourself in those moments that Jesus paid for all your sins already… you’re declared right before God.

Ps 103: 12 “As far as the east is from the west, So far has He removed our transgressions from us.”

One Commentator wrote, Just as “east is east, and west is west, and never the twain shall meet,” [quoting Kipling], so the believer and his sins will never meet. Those sins have been put out of God’s sight forever by a miracle of love.”

Isa 1:18 “Come now, and let us reason together,” Says the LORD, “Though your sins are like scarlet, They shall be as white as snow; Though they are red like crimson, They shall be as wool.”

God calls for his people to reason together in a legal sense… and to be vindicated.

Once our record was stained and tarnished, but purified through faith in Jesus.

William MacDonald wrote, “Divine reasoning, accepted by faith, teaches that there is cleansing from sin, that this cleansing is totally apart from human merit or effort, and that it is only through the redemption which the Lord Jesus accomplished by the shedding of His blood on the cross. Who can know the throngs who have answered the invitation of Isaiah 1:18? And it is still sounding out!”

We need the righteousness of Christ imputed to us because we have no righteousness of our own.

By nature we are sinful… By deed we fall short… we cannot place ourselves in right standing with God.

The holiness of Christ’s righteousness must be imputed or credited to our account…

And, the really good news is His imputed righteousness is a free gift of God… obtained through faith in Jesus Christ as the One who can save.

It’s available, as Paul wrote in V22 “to all and on all who believe.”

For all you pagan sinners in Romans 1… full of all kinds of worldly degradation… you’re record can be clean through faith in Jesus Christ.

For all you self-righteous moralist in Rom 2… you’re morality doesn’t hold a candle to God’s perfect standard…

You’re record too… can be clean through faith in Jesus Christ.

And all you ultra religious people in Rom 2-3… you’re good works and rote religion does not save…

But through a real relationship with Jesus Christ… you’re record can be clean through faith in Jesus Christ.

God impartially offers forgiveness to the entire godless world…

Because as God looks down upon mankind… we all fall short of the perfection of heaven…

At the end of V22 and continuing into V23, Paul writes, “For there is no difference; 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God...”

Famous verse… very understandable…

From Adam to today… whether you are a Jew or a Gentile… no matter your social status or your good works… we all fall short of God’s glorious standard.

As the Psalmist wrote in Ps 53:2-3 “God looks down from heaven upon the children of men, To see if there are any who understand, who seek God. Every one of them has turned aside; They have together become corrupt; There is none who does good, No, not one.”

The words “fall short” in Rom 3:23 are written in the present tense which stresses continuing action.

You could translate this as “keep on falling short.”

None of us achieve sinless perfectionism… we keep on falling short…

And yet God loves us… He loves us despite us… He loved us when we were enemies of God…

It’s amazing grace. In John 1:16-17 John wrote, “And of His fullness we have all received, and grace for grace. 17 For the law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.”

Grace for grace… lit. “grace in place of grace”… which comes to Christians like waves come to the shore… one after another after another.

And so is the Christian life… we are the recipients of grace… followed by grace… followed by grace…

Which is evident in this next powerhouse verse Rom 3:24 “… being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus...”

Justification and Redemption are two more theological terms that every Christian should understand.

Justification is a legal term. Simply it means “to declare righteous; to render right, just, or innocent.”

More technically: “Justification is a forensic declaration of righteousness as a result of God’s imputing to believers Christ’s righteousness, provided by God’s grace and appropriated through faith.”

Justified in V24 is written in the present tense and could be rendered… “keep on being declared righteous,” meaning each person as he believes is justified.

God has and will continue to justify… until Jesus returns. He has no shortage of grace to give.

And, He justifies freely… note the word “freely” in V24…

Freely means just what it sounds “as a gift; without any cost.”

And Salvation has to be free… because who could pay off the mountain of debt on our account because of sin?

And even if you had unlimited resources… no temporal payment of money or works can be accepted in the eternal realm.

It’s the wrong currency. God demands a perfect sinless blood sacrifice… which He provided through Jesus.

If our works were acceptable… we would boast that we were good enough to be saved.

Eph 2:8 declares “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, 9 not of works, lest anyone should boast.”

Salvation… Justification… it is not of works… it’s the free gift of God… otherwise mankind would take credit… robbing Jesus of the glory and praise He deserves… and they would boast…

They would be pridefully pat themselves on the back.

But since salvation cannot be achieved by our own efforts… all boasting can only be in the Lord.

As Jer 9:23-24 declare, “Thus says the LORD: “Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, Let not the mighty man glory in his might, Nor let the rich man glory in his riches; But let him who glories glory in this, That he understands and knows Me, That I am the LORD, exercising lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness in the earth. For in these I delight,” says the LORD.”

Justification falls under the umbrella of our Salvation experience…

Salvation is past, present and future: Justification… Sanctification… and Glorification.

When we place our faith in Jesus Christ… God justifies us… He forgives our sins and declares us as righteous.

He imputes Christ’s righteousness to our account.

If you are a saved believer… this is what happened that moment in the past when you placed your faith in Jesus Christ.

God judicially accepted you… declared you “not guilty”… placed Jesus’ righteousness upon your account… expunged your record so to say… and in grace… He even adopted you into His family (which is grace upon grace).

It’s a gift that’s almost too much to handle… too big to accept…

But this is God’s love for you… and for me… and for all who would call on the name of Jesus.

Which is pictured also in V24 through faith we are “justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus...”

We were freely declared right through… on the basis of the redemption which is in Christ (“the Anointed One”… “The Messiah”) Jesus.

Redemption… one of our key theological terms today means “to release on payment of a ransom; deliverance procured by the payment of a ransom.”

When we think of ransom payments… we think of terrorists who have abducted someone and now demand money for their release.

Merriam-Websters definition is “a consideration paid or demanded for the release of someone or something from captivity.”

The picture is not wrong. Some of you can relate to the idea of being in captivity more than others.

Some of you, including me, were so enslaved to a substance or vice or sin that brought you to your knees.

It said “jump”… you said “how high?”

When you woke… it was the first thing you thought about.

You served it with your time… and money…

John Wimber is credited with saying, "Show me where you spend your time, money and energy and I'll tell you what you worship."

Our former worship was misdirected towards a cruel slave master and we were enslaved.

And we needed a redeemer…

In the Book of Ruth, Boaz was a Kinsman-Redeemer to Naomi and Ruth.

He was a relative that had the right of redemption over a deceased relative's household.

Lev 25 describes The Law of the Kinsman-Redeemer.

Boaz paid the price that Naomi could not… and a legal transaction was finalized… the lands were restored…

Ruth became his wife… and Naomi would be cared for in her old age…

Of Boaz it was prayed in Ruth 4 “… may his name be famous in Israel! 15 And may he be to you a restorer of life and a nourisher of your old age...”

And Boaz serves as a type of Christ…

Jesus Christ who became mankind’s Kinsman-Redeemer… who made things right before the Father for all who trust in Him.

As much as we were dead in our trespasses… as much as we were a slave to sin… Jesus stepped in as our Redeemer…

But, He did not redeem us with money. He paid our ransom with His blood.

Eph 1:7 “In Him [Jesus] we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace.”

And, there are several other verses that share a very similar idea about Jesus redeeming us… with a payment of blood… which forgave our sins… of course through faith. (Col 1:14 & Heb 9:12 especially).

In the natural realm… redemption was made possible through a financial payment.

A slave could be set free through money.

Naomi’s property was purchased financially.

But in the spiritually realm… no amount of money can redeem a sinner.

A sinner can only be set free by a perfect sinless sacrifice… only by the blood payment that Jesus Christ made once for all on the cross.

Jesus once said in John 8:34-36 “Most assuredly, I say to you, whoever commits sin is a slave of sin. 35 And a slave does not abide in the house forever, but a son abides forever. 36 Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed.”

And, don’t lose sight of this… there was a tremendous price that Jesus paid… therefore our lives should reflect an appreciation and worship toward Him.

1 Cor 6:20 reminds us, “For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s.”

And, then after writing about justification, and redemption… Paul now introduces our next theological term… propitiation.

V25 still speaking about Jesus, “… whom God set forth as a propitiation by His blood, through faith, to demonstrate His righteousness, because in His forbearance God had passed over the sins that were previously committed...”

I appreciate how Pastor David Guzik takes a moment to pause and reflect on all Paul has written in vv 24-25 in light of salvation…

Guzik wrote, “Paul develops his teaching about salvation around three themes.

Justification is an image from the court of law (solving the problem of man’s guilt before a righteous Judge);

Redemption is an image from the slave market (solving the problem of man’s slavery to sin);

Propitiation is an image from the world of religion, appeasing God through sacrifice (solving the problem of offending our Creator).”

By definition, Propitiation means “mercy seat” which was the covering of the ark of the covenant.

In the OT, on the Day of Atonement, the High Priest entered the Holy of Holies and sprinkled the blood of animals sacrificed for the atonement of the sins of God’s people on the Mercy Seat.

The point conveyed by this imagery is that it is only through the offering of blood that the condemnation of the Law could be taken away.

And, very much propitiation carries the idea of God’s wrath being satisfied through the offering of the blood sacrifice.

Sin is so bad… that God set forth a standard that the only way to propitiate or satisfy His wrath on sin… was through the shedding of blood.

In the OT, sin was covered with the blood of bulls and goats…

But, in the NT, Christ Himself shed His sinless blood… not as a covering, but once for all… and He is designated as our propitiation.

1 John 4:10 declares, “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.”

Jesus is the mercy seat for our sins.

Now… circling back to V25 in Romans…

God the Father set forth (meaning “to display publicly”) Jesus as the propitiation… as the sacrifice for sin.

Through Jesus’ shed blood and death, the penalty for sin has been paid… and God has been satisfied or propitiated.

And mankind is made right with God when they place their faith in Jesus Christ and His shed blood.

And, this tremendous sacrifice… not just a Father giving His Son, but God coming into His creation… humbling Himself to die for His creation…

This demonstrates that God is a righteous judge… in delaying wrath (the idea of forbearance in V25)… against all the sins commited prior to the cross.

In the OT, God passed over the sins of OT saints… but at the cross the sins were no longer passed over, but paid for.

Which was the greatest sacrifice ever paid.

Wrapping up…V26 “...to demonstrate at the present time His righteousness, that He might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.”

God could have been just ONLY… and poured out His wrath on all mankind… but at the cost of love, mercy and grace.

God could have been the justifier and forgiven all of mankind… but at the cost of His holiness, righteousness and justice.

This was the divine dilemma.

But God found a solution… (worship team please come)

God found a way to be both just (“righteous”) and the justifier (“the One who declares righteous”)…

Through the perfect sinless sacrifice of Jesus Christ… God’s incarnate Son…

… God demonstrated He is holy and just (because sin was ‘paid for’ at the Cross)…

… which satisfied His righteous demands against sinful people…

… and demonstrated His love, mercy and grace to offer sinful mankind justification through faith in Jesus…

… which restored their relationship to Him.

And, in this and through Jesus… the divine dilemma was solved.

Praise be to the Lord! Let’s pray!

Well, if you didn’t get your theological appetite satisfied after those six verses…

… then please see the nurse in the back… to check you pulse to make sure you’re alive.

What can we say after reading those six verses but praise be to the Lord Jesus Christ!

Our prayer team will be available during this final song if you have prayer needs.

And as you enter the world this week… go and reflect ALL that he’s done for you.