Romans 3.21-31

Intro

Series - Studies On The Book Of Romans

This part - Romans 3.21-31

Romans 3:21–23 NKJV

21 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,

God’s righteousness through faith is revealed

Romans 3:21 NKJV

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

previously - righteousness by the law

It is apart from the law

law - the covenant of law given to Israel at Mt. Sinai

it is witnessed by the Law and the Prophets

the Scripture, or the Old Testament

witnessed - testified by the Scripture

John 5:46 NKJV

46 For if you believed Moses, you would believe Me; for he wrote about Me.

John 5:39 NKJV

39 You search the Scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life; and these are they which testify of Me.

Romans 3:22 NKJV

22 even the righteousness of God, through faith in Jesus Christ, to all and on all who believe. For there is no difference;

it is through faith in Christ Jesus

Romans 3:23–24 NKJV

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,

it is the one solution for all humanity

all have sinned and all fall short of God’s glory

now, all can be justified freely by His grace

John 14:6 NKJV

6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.

it is based on the redemptive work of Christ

redemption - grk apolytrosis, full redemption

from grk lytron,ransom

Christ’s death was the payment for the sins of the whole humanity before God

Christ’s death was the satisfaction of the righteous requirement of the law

Romans 3:25 NKJV

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,

propitiation - grk. hilasterion, mercy seat

Leviticus 16:2–3 NKJV

2 and the Lord said to Moses: “Tell Aaron your brother not to come at just any time into the Holy Place inside the veil, before the mercy seat which is on the ark, lest he die; for I will appear in the cloud above the mercy seat. 3 “Thus Aaron shall come into the Holy Place: with the blood of a young bull as a sin offering, and of a ram as a burnt offering.

Leviticus 16:14–16 NKJV

14 He shall take some of the blood of the bull and sprinkle it with his finger on the mercy seat on the east side; and before the mercy seat he shall sprinkle some of the blood with his finger seven times. 15 “Then he shall kill the goat of the sin offering, which is for the people, bring its blood inside the veil, do with that blood as he did with the blood of the bull, and sprinkle it on the mercy seat and before the mercy seat. 16 So he shall make atonement for the Holy Place, because of the uncleanness of the children of Israel, and because of their transgressions, for all their sins; and so he shall do for the tabernacle of meeting which remains among them in the midst of their uncleanness.

Romans 8:3–4 NKJV

3 For what the law could not do in that it was weak through the flesh, God did by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, on account of sin: He condemned sin in the flesh, 4 that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.

Hebrews 9:24–26 NKJV

24 For Christ has not entered the holy places made with hands, which are copies of the true, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us; 25 not that He should offer Himself often, as the high priest enters the Most Holy Place every year with blood of another— 26 He then would have had to suffer often since the foundation of the world; but now, once at the end of the ages, He has appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself.

How God’s righteousness is revealed...

the righteous reqiurement of the law was fulfilled in the death of Christ

God is free to pass over the sins of the believer

Romans 3:25–26 NKJV

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.

The law of faith versus the law of works

Romans 3:27–28 NKJV

27 Where is boasting then? It is excluded. By what law? Of works? No, but by the law of faith. 28 Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith apart from the deeds of the law.

the law of work says - a person is declared righteous because he does the works required by the law

the law of faith says - a person is declared righteous because he believes that Christ has fulfilled th righteous requirement of the law through His death.

the disadvantages of the law of works -

a person is righteous for as long as he does the works required by the law

Ezekiel 18:24 NKJV

24 “But when a righteous man turns away from his righteousness and commits iniquity, and does according to all the abominations that the wicked man does, shall he live? All the righteousness which he has done shall not be remembered; because of the unfaithfulness of which he is guilty and the sin which he has committed, because of them he shall die.

a person can do the works of the law even without actually believing in it

Romans 9:31–32 NKJV

31 but Israel, pursuing the law of righteousness, has not attained to the law of righteousness. 32 Why? Because they did not seek it by faith, but as it were, by the works of the law. For they stumbled at that stumbling stone.

a person can do the works of the law, and transgress the law in his heart

Matthew 5:27–28 NKJV

27 “You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ 28 But I say to you that whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart.

the Advantages of the law of faith -

a person who believes (in the work of Christ) does not depend on his own ability or capacity to fulfill the requirements of the law, but in the finished work of Christ whose work has fully satisfied the righteousness of God. This is what it means to be JUSTIFIED.

a person who believes (in the work of Christ) receives the gift of the Holy Spirit so that power of the blood, that forgave our past, can be applied to his life in order to CLEANSE his whole being, body soul and spirit. This is what it means by being SANCTIFIED.

Romans 3:29–31 NKJV

29 Or is He the God of the Jews only? Is He not also the God of the Gentiles? Yes, of the Gentiles also, 30 since there is one God who will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through faith. 31 Do we then make void the law through faith? Certainly not! On the contrary, we establish the law.

The gospel Christ treats everyone in the same way -

everyone is a sinner and worthy of judgment aapart from Christ

everyone who truly believes in Christ is justified before God.

The gospel actually establishes the law -

that it is necessary, so that man may know what it means to be a sinner in the eyes of God

that it is necessary to demonstrate the righteousness of God.

Conclusion

Those who hold on to righteousness by the deeds of the law are truly justified.

Those who hold on to righteousness by faith are the one who are truly justified before God.

A sinner can only be declared righteous by a Righteous God.

apart from the righteousness of God revealed in the law, we would have not known what it means to be sinner.

apart from the righteousness of God that was revealed in Christ, we will never know what it means to be justified.