Justification by Faith
Romans • Sermon • Submitted
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He had proved that all men are sinners; next he was to explain how sinners can be saved.
The theological term for this salvation is justification by faith.
Justification is the act of God whereby He declares the believing sinner righteous in Christ on the basis of the finished work of Christ on the cross.
Each part of this definition is important, so we must consider it carefully.
1: To begin with, justification is an act, not a process.
There are no degrees of justification; each believer has the same right standing before God.
2: Also, justification is something God does, not man.
No sinner can justify himself before God.
3: Most important, justification does not mean that God makes us righteous, but that He declares us righteous.
Justification is a legal matter.
God puts the righteousness of Christ on our record in the place of our own sinfulness.
Do not confuse justification and sanctification.
Sanctification is the process whereby God makes the believer more and more like Christ.
Sanctification may change from day to day.
Justification never changes.
When the sinner trusts Christ, God declares him righteous, and that declaration will never be repealed so long as the sinner remains in Christ.
God looks on us and deals with us as though we had never sinned at all!
But, how can the holy God declare sinners righteous?
Is justification merely a “fictional idea” that has no real foundation?
In this section of Romans, Paul answered these questions in two ways. First, he explained justification by faith (Rom. 3:21–31); then he illustrated justification by faith from the life of Abraham (Rom. 4:1–25).
Justification Explained
Justification Explained
21 But now apart from the Law the righteousness of God has been manifested, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets,
God had revealed His righteousness in many ways before the full revelation of the Gospel:
His Law, His judgments against sin, His appeals through the prophets, His blessing on the obedient.
But in the Gospel, a new kind of righteousness has been revealed; and the characteristics of this righteousness are spelled out in this section.
Apart from the Law
Apart from the Law
21 But now apart from the Law the righteousness of God has been manifested, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets,
Under the Old Testament Law, righteousness came by man behaving; but under the Gospel, righteousness comes by believing.
The Law itself reveals the righteousness of God, because the Law is “holy and just and good” (Rom. 7:12).
The Law could witness to God’s righteousness, but it could not provide it for sinful man.
Only Jesus Christ could do that.
21 “I do not nullify the grace of God, for if righteousness comes through the Law, then Christ died needlessly.”
Through faith in Christ (v. 22a)
Through faith in Christ (v. 22a)
22 even the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all those who believe; for there is no distinction;
Faith is only as good as its object.
All men trust something, if only themselves; but the Christian trusts Christ.
Law righteousness is a reward for works.
Gospel righteousness is a gift through faith.
For all men (vv. 22b–23).
For all men (vv. 22b–23).
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,
God gave His Law to the Jews, not to the Gentiles; but the Good News of salvation through Christ is offered to all men.
All men need to be saved.
There is no difference between the Jew and the Gentile when it comes to condemnation.
God declared all men guilty so that He might offer to all men His free gift of salvation.
By grace (v. 24).
By grace (v. 24).
24 being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus;
8 The one who does not love does not know God, for God is love.
When God relates that love to you and me, it becomes grace and mercy.
God in His mercy does not give us what we do deserve, and God in grace gives us what we do not deserve.
The Greek word translated “freely” is translated in John 15:25 as “without a cause.”
We are justified without a cause!
There is no cause in us that would merit the salvation of God! It is all of grace!
At great cost to God (vv. 24b–25).
At great cost to God (vv. 24b–25).
24 being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus;
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;
Salvation is free, but it is not cheap.
Three words express the price God paid for our salvation: propitiation, redemption, and blood.
“Propitiation” means the satisfying of God’s holy Law, the meeting of its just demands, so that God can freely forgive those who come to Christ.
The word “blood” tells us what the price was.
Jesus had to die on the cross in order to satisfy the Law and justify lost sinners.
The best illustration of this truth is the Jewish Day of Atonement described in Leviticus 16.
Two goats were presented at the altar, and one of them was chosen for a sacrifice.
The goat was slain and its blood taken into the holy of holies and sprinkled on the mercy seat, that golden cover on the ark of the covenant.
This sprinkled blood covered the two tablets of the Law inside the ark. The shed blood met (temporarily) the righteous demands of the holy God.
The priest then put his hands on the head of the other goat and confessed the sins of the people.
Then the goat was taken out into the wilderness and set free to symbolize the carrying away of sins.
12 As far as the east is from the west, So far has He removed our transgressions from us.
In the Old Testament period, the blood of animals could never take away sin; it could only cover it until the time when Jesus would come and purchase a finished salvation.
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;
God had “passed over” the sins that were past (Rom. 3:25, literal translation), knowing that His Son would come and finish the work.
Because of His death and resurrection, there would be “redemption”—a purchasing of the sinner and setting him free.
In perfect justice (vv. 25a–26).
In perfect justice (vv. 25a–26).
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.
God must be perfectly consistent with Himself.
He cannot break His own Law or violate His own nature.
“God is love”, and “God is holy”.
A God of love wants to forgive sinners, but a God of holiness must punish sin and uphold His righteous Law.
How can God be both “just and the justifier”?
The answer is in Jesus Christ.
When Jesus suffered the wrath of God on the cross for the sins of the world, He fully met the demands of God’s Law, and also fully expressed the love of God’s heart.
Conclusion:
Conclusion:
In Romans 4–8, Paul explained how God’s great plan of salvation was in complete harmony with the Old Testament Scriptures.
He began first with the father of the Jewish nation, Abraham.