July 6, 2025 - The Righteousness We Need
Notes
Transcript
So 25 weeks ago...
We started with chapter 1, verse 1, of this book of Romans...
...and Paul has covered much since then.
He's spent his time so far, getting all of mankind on a level playing field...
...both Jew and Greek.
And we and our world would do well to hold onto this reality...
What the world tries to tell us is that the human will is alive and strong.
That we should:
strive to achieve
be empowered by our own abilities
be courageous in the face of opportunity
do more
live for the moment
be strong
that humanity is good.
Completely contrary to what God has been saying thru Paul for the last 2.5 chapters of Romans...
Paul wanting all mankind to understand that all are under sin...
...and Paul has shown them in his writing so far: 3 warning signs given to us by God to wake us up to this reality!
Chapter 1: Warning Sign of Nature
20 For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse.
All of nature if flashing before us - GOD IS REAL - GOD IS JUST - GOD WILL JUDGE
Chapter 2: Warning Sign of Conscience
15 They show that the work of the law is written on their hearts, while their conscience also bears witness, and their conflicting thoughts accuse or even excuse them
And now in chapter 3: Warning Sign of Israel
19 Now we know that whatever the law says it speaks to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be stopped, and the whole world may be held accountable to God.
20 For by works of the law no human being will be justified in his sight, since through the law comes knowledge of sin.
Paul's saying - If anyone was going to be justified by works of the Law, it was the Jewish Nation...
...those who had received the oracles of God. (His Word)
And yet Paul is saying - No, they will not be justified by works of the Law.
Why, because through the Law comes the knowledge of sin.
We talked about what that meant:
Night Vision Goggles
Because everywhere the Law meets an unregenerate heart (without the Spirit), it awakens resistance not faith.
It brings out sin.
The Law doesn't overcome sin, it reveals sin.
It makes sin known.
3 Warnings from God to us in the first 2.5 chapters of Romans:
Warning sign of nature
Warning sign of conscience
Warning sign of Israel (if they can't be justified by works of the Law, nobody can - All mouths will be stopped)
The point of these Warning Signs is - Get right with God now, because NO ONE will make a case against Him in the Last Day.
And these warnings speak to us today! (warning signs...)
And so Paul here has done the work of getting the nations on their knees...
He wants the nations to feel the weight of sin...
SO that they can now receive the Good News...
verse 21:
21 But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it—
22 the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction:
23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
24 and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus,
25 whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God’s righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins.
26 It was to show his righteousness at the present time, so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.
**When I was growing up....hearing bad news...."but"
If you're at the doctor, and you're hearing bad news, and it's piling on...
...you're just waiting for the "but"
Because there's gonna be good news that follows that "but"
The Jewish Nation, the gentile readers of Paul here have been hearing the bad news for some time now...
All of their preconceived notions about how judgment was going to play out...
...all of their thoughts about their standing before God being torn down by Paul...
They're just waiting - "is their a but coming??"
Is there any good news coming?
And Paul in verse 21, gives them what they'd been hoping for...
21 But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it—
Hope realized!
But is THIS hope - a hope reserved for only a few?
Last week, we saw Paul bring the whole world together as being accountable to God.
How did he do it?
He used one specific group of people to render judgment on the rest of the world.
He used the Jewish Nation, to bring the whole world under the umbrella of accountability to God.
And the Law was the instrument.
We had the Law of God, that spoke only to those under the Law (Jewish Nation)...
And since the Jewish Nation couldn't find justification before God on the basis of works of the Law...
That meant that the entire world would not find justification by works, and therefore...
...become accountable to God.
And so where is the Good News found?
verse 21:
But now the righteousness of God has been manifested 'apart from the law',
SLIDE: The Righteousness We Need: Apart From the Law
The Righteousness We Need
The Righteousness We Need
Don’t just FLY PAST THIS!
What does this mean?
The GOODNESS that we need to get to God -
That GOODNESS - is found - OUTSIDE of the LAW!
Outside of my good deeds
Outside of my attempts at doing good - at being good
Outside of my donations to the poor
Outside of my bible reading
Remember, when the Law meets an unregenerate heart...it awakens resistance, NOT FAITH.
And so, and unsaved person, trying to get to God and heaven by keeping the Law (being good)...
...will actually, in that process, resist God...
Well, we know that faith alone in Christ is what saves us...
Therefore, this person will not find salvation.
Paul is saying - Justification is found apart from the Law, and it has always been so.
back to verse 21:
21 But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it—
Justification, which is the act of salvation, has always been on the basis of faith.
This is what is meant when Paul says - although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it [the manifested righteousness of God]
“That faith is the way of salvation”, is the same way of salvation that was proclaimed to Abraham, Moses, David, Jeremiah, and Isaiah.
This isn't something new now.
Paul's going to reference Abraham later in chapter 4 as having received the promise BY FAITH, and not by the Law.
this is nothing new...
It's always been by faith.
So if we take a couple steps back =
**SLIDE 1
Verses 19-20 of last week showed us the Law...
In and of itself it is 100% pure...
Because it is...
It promotes the knowledge of sin
It makes you accountable to God (the whole world)
It shuts mouths (every mouth)
It contains no justification...cannot save (Jew or Gentile)
And then...
Now we have verses 21-22
*SLIDE 2
Apart from the law, we have God's own righteousness...
Available only through faith in Jesus Christ...
Available to ALL - Jew and Gentile...
How is that possible...??
The end of verse 22:
21 But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it—
22 the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction:
SLIDE: The Righteousness We Need: Through Faith In Christ for All
The Righteousness We Need
The Righteousness We Need
How is it - FOR ALL who believe?
22 the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction:
No distinction between Jew and Gentile...
And Paul's reference to Abraham later in chapter 4 will show that there never was a distinction...
That God’s plan all along has been - - WHAT?
SLIDE:
God’s plan all along has been that this message would bless ALL NATIONS through Israel's proclamation of it.
All have the ability to obtain the righteousness of God, apart from the Law, through faith in Jesus Christ...all who believe.
This is the heart of - Justification by faith alone.
Now, some people believe that the ACT of BELIEVING is what earns us a place in the Kingdom.
That's not what Paul means here by Justification by faith.
Maybe a more accurate way of saying it is - Justification is by Christ alone.
His righteousness justifies us.
It's His merit that provides a place for us in the kingdom of God.
Faith links us to Him...to what we need.
So that when God looks at us, He see Christ's righteousness.
Listen, there are going to be millions of people who will stand before God in judgment, having had faith in God.
But yet they didn't have faith in Christ.
It's only thru faith in Jesus that we stand righteous before God.
I'm going to say it -
SLIDE:
Faith alone doesn't save you!
LISTEN - - Until you clarify where your faith rests, faith alone doesn't save you.
We all have faith in something.
Either your faith is in what you need (Jesus Christ) - resulting in salvation...
OR, your faith is in something else - resulting in damnation.
And so faith alone ONLY saves when that faith is in Jesus Christ...
...because Jesus Christ justifies...
**Class - Book Critique on Reformation..."Reformation Thought"
And when you look at the Reformation of the 16th century, you see that a main thrust of the Reformation was Martin Luther's proclamation of Justification by faith alone.
And many people were afraid of this concept...
They felt that Luther was teaching that all one had to do was have a casual, cavalier belief in Jesus...
...but then could live any kind of life of wickedness that they desired.
For that reason, Luther had to define what saving faith was.
Now, his proclamation of Justification by faith alone, flew in the face of Roman Catholicism.
Some people think that Protestants (us) trust in Christ for their redemption...
While Roman Catholics trust completely in themselves and in their own good deeds.
This isn't true.
The Roman Catholic Church does not teach and has never taught that people are justified on the basis of their own good works without any need of the redemptive work of Christ.
What Roman Catholicism rejects is the concept of FAITH ALONE.
Roman Catholicism believes that justification can happen in 2 ways...
I’ll just read thru this....
In the first instance, justification occurs through the instrument of WATER baptism...
when the grace of justification is infused into the soul of the child.
The child is then regarded as being in a state of grace for as long as he keeps himself pure from mortal sin,
a sin so grievous that it has the ability to destroy the grace of justification.
If a person commits a mortal sin, however, there is a second way by which that person can be justified.
The Roman Catholic Council of Trent in the sixteenth century described the sacrament of penance as the second way of justification for those who had made shipwreck of their souls.
First, a penitent person must make a confession of his sins to the priest. Then the priest pronounces absolution.
the penitent sinner was then required to do works of satisfaction
Which would then make that person worthy of being justified again...
So this person must have faith in Jesus Christ, but he also must produce real righteousness within himself in order to be justified.
And so the Roman Catholic view on Justification was - FAITH PLUS WORKS...
But clearly Paul taught - Faith Alone!
Where Roman Catholicism, and every other religion for that matter, wants to place the means of justification into the hands of man...
Christianity teaches that the means of justification is found in the hands of Christ...in His work.
Listen to how Paul tries to make this point:
22 the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction:
23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
24 and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus,
Let's stop in verse 24 - so what do we have here?
That all men are justified by what???
God's grace: what is grace - it's UNDESERVED favor...
And who's making that choice - God is.
what's next - As a gift...
So God choosing to give Justification...FREELY, as a gift....
God dispensing Justification, as a gift, FREELY given, THROUGH the redemption found in Jesus,
verse 25:
25 whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God’s righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins.
... whom GOD put forward as a propitiation...
Do you hear all the descriptive elements here that place Justification in God's hands...
verse 23 -
23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
This is Paul removing the means of salvation from the hands of man...
verse 24:
24 and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus,
By His grace...
As a gift...He freely gives...
Through His Son Jesus
verse 25:
25 whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith...
Whom God put forward...
This is His working....to justify us, choosing us...to receive this gift.
And understanding that this is God's choosing....His work of dispensing Justification to whom He pleases...
The question that arises is....why?
What was the problem that God was trying to fix, in putting forward His Son Jesus as a sacrifice?
The world has always, and will always view Scripture with mankind at the center...(starting point)
And if what the world sees in Scripture doesn't line up with mankind being the center of the universe...
...then what is found in Scripture is either twisted or ignored,
...so that mankind can remain at the center.
And that has implications on how the world responds to biblical things...
Does the world wrestle with the fact that God is good to sinners?
That God let the sun rise on the wicked cities across this country?
That God allows wicked sinners to breathe air, and live lives, and win the lottery, and find 'success' in life?
Does the world think - wow, it's weird that God let's me live, because quite frankly, I can't stand Him?
No, the world doesn't even consider this - WHY?
Because mankind is at the center of their universe....it all starts with 'man'.
Man, in his own mind, has rights, and if God infringes on those rights, well then he's just mean.
The world doesn't ponder - Why is God so good to me a sinner???
Everyone instead complains about how God is so mean to us...when bad things happen
Not that He is gracious and UNJUST in forgiving us.
15 He who justifies the wicked and he who condemns the righteous are both alike an abomination to the Lord.
Think back to David:
Here's the question - How did God simply forgive David of his sins, prior to Jesus coming to earth?
Remember?
David - that adulterous, murderer...
Nathan comes to David and tells him a story about a guy with some sheep...
...David ends up indicting himself, and then he says:
"I have sinned against the Lord"
What's Nathan's response?
13 David said to Nathan, “I have sinned against the Lord.” And Nathan said to David, “The Lord also has put away your sin; you shall not die.
So God here justifies the ungodly.
**A guy comes walks in this building right now...
...goes to all the classrooms and kills all our kids, and then leaves.
Police catch him...
...take him to court, and the judge says - Hey, you promise not to do it again?...No?...
...Ok, you're free to go.
We would all say - NO WAY!!
We just read it, the book of Proverbs calls it an abomination to justify the ungodly...
So do you see the problem that God had, prior to Jesus Christ going to the cross?
What does Romans 3:25 say?
25 whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God’s righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins.
He had passed over David's sins...
David's adultery...
David's murder of Uriah...
And so to solve the problem of compromising His justice in forgiving sinners like David, God Killed His own Son.
HE executed HIS OWN SON!
When David tramples God's name in the dirt, with adultery and murder, and God comes along and says - "I forgive you..you may still be King"...
All the universe cries NO, until they see 1000 years later God saying...
..."This is how seriously I take my forgiveness of David...I slay My Son in his place."
And so David's justification....OUR justification...
All of it - resting on the person of Jesus Christ.
God would have been absolutely just if He had decided to slay us...to vindicate His righteousness.
Instead, He slayed His Son to vindicate His righteousness
And as verse 26 says -
26 It was to show his righteousness at the present time, so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.
It all comes through Jesus.
In modern translations of the Bible, there are section headings...
...and the section headings are as follows in some of the versions:
SLIDE:
ESV - The Righteousness of God Through Faith
NASB - Justification By Faith
HCSB - God's Righteousness Through Faith
NKJV - God's Righteousness Through Faith
Lexham English Bible - Righteousness Through Faith Revealed
These headings aren't wrong...
But it's Faith IN CHRIST that justifies...not faith in general.
In Christ...justification is found.
Our assurance is NOT found in our worth...
But in the worth of the Righteousness of God, SO VALUABLE...
That it was vindicated in the death of the Son of God - Jesus Christ.
And it's thru faith in HIM alone that we receive God's righteousness, and are counted as His.
Let's Pray...
