Sunday School
Notes
Transcript
Romans 3:21-31
Romans 3:21-31
In the first part of Romans chapter 3, Paul stated that there is no one that is righteous, no not one, and no one seeks God on his own.
We can only seek God, when He draws us, and we can only be found righteous through the shed blood of Jesus Christ.
This morning we are looking in Romans 3:21 and following.
In this set of Scripture, Paul is writing about justification by faith.
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;
At the beginning of this letter to the church at Rome, Paul gives us a them that runs throughout the entire letter.
Paul stated in chapter one verse 16 that he was not ashamed of the gospel because in it is revealed a righteousness from God that is completely dependent upon faith.
After building a case against all people, showing their universal sinfulness and therefore their universal need of salvation, Paul then spelled out the only way for them to be brought into a right standing with God.
From a human standpoint - and by nature people are legalists - the plan was radical.
It excluded anything and everything that people by themselves might do to attain righteousness.
The righteousness God provides has its origin in what God did, not in what people may accomplish.
It is received, not earned.
It depends upon faith, not good activities.
No one will be declared righteous in God’s sight by keeping the law.
Verse 21 introduces God’s answer to our basic delima.
God’s remedy for our lack of righteousness was enacted at a specific time (on the cross).
God’s way of providing righteousness has nothing to do with human performance.
The righteousness of God comes to us through faith in Jesus Christ.
It belongs to all who believe in him.
Many hold that the final clause of verse 22 and all of verse 23 form a parenthesis that explains why the righteousness of God come to all who believe.
For there is no difference; for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.
There is no difference between Jew and Gentile.
Both have sinned and fallen short of God’s glory.
No one can stand before God on the basis of personal merit.
All have sinned and in so doing have fallen short of God’s glorious ideal.
The redemption provided by Christ enables us to be brought back into a personal relationship with God.
Apart from the work of Christ we are unable to effect that restoration.
The righteousness God provides comes as a free gift.
It cannot be purchased or earned.
In either case it would no longer be a gift.
One of fallen humanity’s most difficult tasks is to accept righteousness as a gift.
With every fiber of their moral being, people want to earn God’s favor.
From a human perspective this sounds both reasonable and noble.
The hidden agenda, however, is that it would provide a basis for boasting.
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.
In setting forth His Son as an atoning sacrifice, God demonstrated His justice, and His righteous nature.
There must be an atonement for sin.
Christ on the cross is the sacrifice that satisfies the righteous nature of God and brings salvation to humankind.
The problem of how a holy God can receive into His presence those who by nature are unholy has been solved, through Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross.
The redemptive work of God through His Son Jesus is the most amazing event in the history of the universe.
God brings a just sentence of death upon all, for all have sinned.
He then provides a sinless sacrifice, His only Son, to atone for the unrighteousness of the wayward human race.
From God’s standpoint forgiveness is freely offered.
All that remains is for people to accept that forgiveness.
The obligation is to believe, to trust in the redemptive work of Christ.
The good news is only good to those who receive it.
God offers His righteousness to those who will receive it, not as something to supplement their own good works but as a gift that alone can place them in a right standing with God.
27 Where then is boasting? It is excluded. By what kind of law? Of works? No, but by a law of faith.
28 For we maintain that a man is justified by faith apart from works of the Law.
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.
31 Do we then nullify the Law through faith? May it never be! On the contrary, we establish the Law.
In this final paragraph of chapter 3 Paul takes his readers through a series of rhetorical questions and answers designed to complete his argument for justification by faith.
The first one, if people are set right with God through faith, what room is there for boasting?
In this context boasting should be taken not in the sense of unwarranted self-worship for commendable achievement but as justifiable pride on the part of the Jewish nation for having been chosen by God for a special role in the drama of redemption.
The answer of course, is that faith by its very nature rules out all boasting.
People cannot boast of that which they received through no merit of their own.
Verse 28 states in summary from Paul’s basic premise - by faith we are justified quite apart from keeping the law.
To show the universal scope of this basic truth, Paul asked, is God the God of the Jews only?
He then asks, is He not the God of the Gentiles too?
Since there is only one God, He must be the God for all.
God is one, and His redemptive concern reaches out to all.
All those who God will justify,, both Jew and Gentiles, will be justified in the same way.
Faith and Faith alone, is God’s way of setting people right with Himself.
Finally, Paul asks if the principle of faith robs the law of its rightful role.
Does it nullify the Law?
The answer is, not for a moment.
On the contrary, faith puts the law in its proper place.
The law plays an essential role in the divine plan, but it was never intended to make it possible for a person to earn righteousness.
Faith upholds the law in the sense that it fulfills all the obligations of the law.
It is impossible to keep the law perfectly, to be found righteous through the law, so God provided Jesus as an atoning sacrifice, so that through faith in Jesus Christ, and His sacrifice we can be found righteous before God.
