Romans 3:21-31

Mission and Vision

Outfitting the Body to Rescue the Searching

We want to be a church that makes disciples who make disciples, who make disciples.

Recap

As we continue through the book of Romans, last week we spent some time being confronted with the fact that as human beings, we are incapable of seeking God on our own. There is no righteousness in us. Not one single human that has ever been found righteous other than Jesus Himself. Every part of us seeks evil when we are left to our own devices. Last week we were faced with the fact that:

Romans 3:19–20 ESV

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.

The law holds us accountable to God. When we reflect on what it means to try and uphold the law we will be found lacking but that’s not just because we are lacking. The law in and of its self doesn’t justify us before God, it merely gives us knowledge of what is sin.

This is all part of Paul’s letter to the Romans, that sounds more like a court case than a warm fuzzy feel good letter. In fact, that’s almost exactly what it is. We’ve been found guilty. All of us! We are not good by nature, not even in our attempts to be good are we good enough. Not even in our religion do we find God’s righteous standard met. It’s only by His grace through faith that we are offered the opportunity to become a child of God. To be found righteous!

Thankfully, in verse 21 of chapter 3 there is a turn around. A transition.

Let’s dive in!

Righteousness Manifested

Romans 3:21–22 ESV

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:

Those words, “but now” are beautiful words to us! When the words we’ve read up to this point only point to wrath and combination, BUT NOW! Even when we’ve tried to be a good person, maybe even followed the letter of GOd’s law and failed. BUT NOW!

But now what? The Righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law. Apart from the Law. Separate from the law, because the law can not save us. The righteousness of God has been manifested, or to be rendered apparent, revealed. God made a way for us to receive His righteousness apart from the law but, what’s interesting here is that the Law and the Prophets both bore witness to it. To the righteousness of God and the fact that God intended all along to make a way for us to receive His righteousness, and that’s through His everlasting covenant starting with Israel.

Isaiah 55:3 ESV

3 Incline your ear, and come to me; hear, that your soul may live; and I will make with you an everlasting covenant, my steadfast, sure love for David.

Jeremiah 32:40 ESV

40 I will make with them an everlasting covenant, that I will not turn away from doing good to them. And I will put the fear of me in their hearts, that they may not turn from me.

You might be saying, okay, but where does the Law bear witness to this righteousness apart from the Law. We will get to that in a minute, lets get back to this righteousness from God.

Let’s just make this clear. God’s righteousness is not offered to us as something to take up the slack between our ability to keep the law and God’s perfect standard. It is not given to supplement our own righteousness, it is given completely apart from our own attempted righteousness.

It isn’t that the righteousness of God is revealed apart from the Old Testament, but that it is revealed apart from the principle of law. It is apart from a legal relationship to God, based on the idea of earning and deserving merit before Him.

Here’s the good news.

Verse 22 says that this, the righteousness of God is through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe! We do not gain God’s righteousness by having enough faith. We don’t receive it by faith but through faith. We receive faith as a gift, it’s not something we conjure up or develop. It is a gift.

“But faith is not ‘trusting’ or ‘expecting’ God to do something, but relying on His testimony concerning the person of Christ as His Son, and the work of Christ for us on the cross... After saving faith, the life of trust begins... trust is always looking forward to what God will do; but faith sees that what God says has been done, and believes God’s Word, having the conviction that it is true, and true for ourselves.” (Newell)

Justified by Grace

Romans 3:23–25 ESV

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.

Verse 23 is the second verse on our Romans Road book mark. For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.

“The harlot, the liar, the murderer, are short of it; but so are you. Perhaps they stand at the bottom of a mine, and you on the crest of an Alp; but you are as little able to touch the stars as they.” (Moule)

Insert into that statement any title or label you wish, from the worst sin we think could possibly be committed to the highest human standard imaginable and we all fall short!

4 Ways we fall short

We fail to give God the glory due Him, in our words, thoughts and actions.

We fail to qualify for, and thereby reject the glory and reward that God gives faithful servants.

We fail to properly reflect God’s glory by refusing to be conformed into His image.

We fail to obtain the final glory God will bestow on His people at the end of all history.

The universal statement that we all fall short of GOd’s glory is followed up with the universal offer of a gift freely given. That gift that is freely given is by His grace, by His unmerited favor. We don’t deserve it. It is a giving motivated purely by the giver, and motivated by nothing in the one who receives. We are now justified by His grace as a gift through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus. That’s amazing news!

There are three words here that I want to spend some time unpacking.

Justified or justification - It brings with it an image of a court room.

Redemption - It brings with it an image of a slave market.

Propitiation - In the world of religion, appeasing God through Sacrifice.

These three words will be used all through out this book by Paul as he teaches us about salvation.

Redemption: This has the idea of buying back something, and involves cost. However, God pays the cost and so we are justified freely. The idea of redemption means that Jesus bought us; therefore, we belong to Him.

1 Corinthians 6:20 ESV

20 for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.

We have been ransomed by the payment that Jesus Christ made on the Cross. We are slaves that have been freed from our bondage of slavery. This redemption came through the work of Jesus Christ whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood to be received by faith.

Propitiation - “The word in its classical form was used of the act of appeasing the Greek gods by a sacrifice... in other words, the sacrifice was offered to buy off the anger of the god.”

Jesus, by His death (by His blood) was a propitiation (substitute sacrifice) for us. As He was judged in our place, the Father could demonstrate His righteousness in judgment against sin, appeasing the law of sin, while sparing those who deserved the judgment.

The ancient Greek word for propitiation (hilasterion) is also used in the Septuagint for the mercy seat, the lid covering the Ark of the Covenant, upon which sacrificial blood was sprinkled as an atonement for sin. While it might be said that this passage means “Jesus is our mercy seat,” it probably has the more straightforward idea of propitiation — a substitute sacrifice.

At the same time, the “mercy seat” idea should not be neglected as an illustration of propitiation. Inside the Ark of the Covenant was the evidence of man’s great sin: the tablets of law; the manna received ungratefully; the budded rod of Aaron, showing man’s rejection of God’s leadership. Up over the Ark of the Covenant were the symbols of the holy presence of the enthroned God in the beautiful gold cherubim. In between the two stood the mercy seat, and as sacrificial blood was sprinkled on the mercy seat on the Day of Atonement (Leviticus 16), God’s wrath was averted because a substitute had been slain on behalf of sinners coming by faith. We really can say that Jesus is our “mercy seat,” standing between guilty sinners and the holiness of God. (Guzik)

This last part of 25, “This was to show God’s righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins.” This refers to the sins of those faithful followers that came before Jesus substitutionary sacrifice. For those who came in faith and followed the law, their faith was counted to them as righteousness. In other words God in his forbearance or self-restraint, passed over, or letting them pass or tolerating those sins of past saints, not judging them at that time, but granted them His righteousness as a result of their faith.

Romans 3:26 ESV

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.

God passed over the sins of the Old Testament saints, yes in His forbearance but also that he might display that he is just. It would not be just for God to disqualify someone who came to Him in faith just because the Messiah hadn’t come yet. Hebrews 11 is filled with examples of those who had their faith counted to them as righteousness. At the same time, God is not only Just, but he is also the justifier.

It’s easy to see how someone could be only just — simply send every guilty sinner to hell, as a just judge would do. It’s easy to see how someone could only be the justifier — simply tell every guilty sinner, “I declare a pardon. You are all declared ‘not guilty.’” Only God could find a way to be both just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.

“Here we learn that God designed to give the most evident displays of both his justice and mercy. Of his justice, in requiring a sacrifice, and absolutely refusing to give salvation to a lost world in any other way; and of his mercy, in providing THE sacrifice which his justice required.” (Clarke)

Justified to Uphold

Romans 3:27–31 ESV

27 Then what becomes of our boasting? It is excluded. By what kind of law? By a law of works? No, but by the law of faith. 28 For we hold that one 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 God is one—who will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through faith. 31 Do we then overthrow the law by this faith? By no means! On the contrary, we uphold the law.

If we’ve learned nothing else by now, hopefully we have learned that we bring nothing to the table. We can do nothing to earn righteousness. We can do nothing to bridge the gap between us and God. The canyon is far too wide. Immeasurable actually! So how could we possibly have anything to boast about? It has no place in our faith. No place in our lives as a follower of Christ!

By the law of faith: No room for boasting! This is why the natural man hates being justified freely by His grace. Grace absolutely refuses to recognize his/man’s (imagined) merits and gives no place to his pride whatsoever.

Here is the conclusion. Mankind is justified through faith through Jesus Christ apart from the works of the law. God is the God of Jews and Gentiles since God is one who will justify both the circumcised and the uncircumcised.

Not only is this righteousness available to both Jew and Gentile, it is also received the same way by both Jew and Gentile. Since one God justifies both Jew and Gentile, He justifies them in the same way: by faith... through faith. The words By and Through are seen by most scholars as being used interchangeably by Paul.

The last verse there, Paul makes it clear that we aren’t overthrowing the law by faith we are upholding it by our faith.

Jesus talked about this before the sermon on the mount!

Matthew 5:17–18 ESV

17 “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. 18 For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished.

When we come to faith in Jesus Christ we uphold the law. That word for Uphold means to stand, establish, abide.

In our home Johanna has a side table by our couch. I really don’t like the table. It’s not that the design is bad or ugly. It wobbles when I set my coffee on it. I don’t want to spill my coffee. The other day I took everything off of the table and tried to determine what was causing it to wobble. Was it that one leg was longer than the others? Did it have one of those pads on it while the others didn’t. What I found was that not only do I have an issue with the length of the legs, but my floor, which is rough sawn fir isn’t exactly even either. All of those things combined causes the surface of the table to be unpredictable because it wobbles.

Jesus Christ is our level foundation. It is in him and through him that the law is fulfilled. It is through Him that the legs of our righteousness are even, strong, and able to be secure to stand. The legs of justification, redemption, and propitiation. Jesus Christ had to come because of what the Law points out. We are sinners. God is one and He does not change. The law reflects the character of God He can not abandon or nullify it because it points to Him. He must uphold it. He completely upheld it when He fulfilled it. When we arrive at faith we arrive at the thing that “causes to stand” or “establishes” the law. It’s not about the “WE” that upholds or establishes, but we are the participants in it that are upheld! We are the coffee cup that sits on top of the three legged table. A table that doesn’t wobble, but stands more secure than any other table there is!

That is the good news of the gospel. That our security and righteousness rests in him and what he did on the cross. Not by us or anything that we not do because anything that we would do fall short.

Prayer

God You are.

God I need You because.

God I thank You for.

God I need to see You move in.