Romans 3:21-31

“How Can a Person Be Justified Before God?”

Romans 3:21-31 (Message #8)

March 6, 2016 (Sligo, Ireland)

INTRODUCTION:

From the beginning of Romans up through verse 20 of chapter 3 Paul has been making the case for the absolute unrighteousness of men, regardless of whether they be Law-keeping Jews or heathen Gentiles. All are guilty before God in the same way and to the same degree, and are equally in need of a Saviour. He has been seeking to prove and explain that all men, Jews and Gentiles alike, are under the same condemnation. ILLUSTRATION: There are two herds of steers, Angus and Herefords, from two different ranches. But at the railhead both groups are herded together onto the same train, headed for the same slaughterhouse. So does one group have an advantage over the other? Paul would say, “No, because the same future awaits them.”

Paul has been talking nonstop about the coming judgement of God on sinners. Until now in Romans there has been no grace, no good news, no glad tidings—just the plain unvarnished truth that “all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God” and are thus under the same indictment, awaiting the same sentence of death.

But today, praise God, we turn a corner! Today starting here in Romans 3:21 Paul introduces the marvelous, matchless, amazing grace of God.  

TRANSITION:

Before we get into the text, in your study of Romans you will quickly notice that Paul uses a wide vocabulary to describe the work of salvation. He uses various terms, each one highlighting a different truth about how God manages to reconcile sinners to Himself through the blood of Jesus. We will be using these words throughout our study of this book and I’ll try to define them as we go but I also have a handout with their definitions. If you would like one you can pick up a copy after the service or get it off of my website.  

Obviously, these terms are interrelated but they all point to different aspects of the problem of joining sinful people to a Holy God without compromising God’s holiness. The word Paul uses the most is JUSTIFICATION, for it essentially encompasses all the other terms. Romans chapters 3-5 especially focuses on this concept, while chapters 6-8 focus on SANCTIFICATION, the process of believers becoming Christ-like in every area of life.

There are three truths that I want us to see this morning from out text in verses 21-31:

• We are Justified by Grace = Grace is the Source 
• We are Justified through Faith = Faith is the Channel 
• We are Justified by means of Blood = Christ’s Blood is the Price 

MAIN BODY:

Verse 21: “But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the Law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it—“

• “But now…” I love the first two words of this verse: “BUT NOW!” Finally, we get a bit of sunshine and the smell of fresh air! Paul says,
• I’ve told you the bad news…BUT NOW for the Good News!
• I’ve told you about the wrath of God…BUT NOW I want to tell you about the mercy of God.
• I’ve told you about the judgement of God…BUT NOW let me tell you about the amazing grace of God.
• I’ve told you about the problem…BUT NOW I want to tell you about the solution that God has provided in Jesus.
• “…the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the Law…”  The righteousness of God was clearly revealed in the Law. No one disagreed with that. The sticking point for Paul’s Jewish friends was that the Law also made manifest the unrighteousness of men, including the Jews. Up until now Paul has been using the Scriptures to prove his point that the Law can save no one. It can condemn but it is powerless to save, regardless of how well a person keeps it. The best it can do is to reveal sin and righteousness. It cannot make anyone righteous. So now Paul is going to show how God reveals His righteousness apart from the Law.  
• “…although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it—” Paul is saying that the Scriptures support this truth, that God’s righteousness is made manifest outside of the Law. This phrase, “the Law and the Prophets” is a Hebraism that means all of Scripture. Another clear example of its use is found in Luke 24:27 when Jesus revealed Himself to the two disciples on the road to Emmaus: “Then beginning with Moses and with all the Prophets, He explained to them the things concerning Himself in all the Scriptures.” 

Verses 22-23: “…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”

• “…the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe.”  Faith in Jesus Christ is the prerequisite for receiving the righteousness of God. Righteousness is reserved for those who have placed their faith and trust in Him. When that happens, the righteousness of God is imputed to their account. But pay attention to the language. Sinners are saved “by grace through faith.” They are not saved “by faith.” If that were true then it would just come down to a question of who has more faith. You see, it’s not the quantity of your faith that saves you, but rather, the object of your faith. A person can have boatloads of faith in Mary or Buddha and not be saved. Another person can have a weak, timid faith in Jesus and go to Heaven.  

·         “For there is no distinction…”  Again, regardless of whether you used to be a Law-keeping Jew or an idolatrous Gentile, if you have put your faith in Christ then God will clothe you both with the same righteousness. There is no distinction. God doesn’t play favorites. 

• “…for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”  The most common Greek verb for sinning used in the NT is hamartáno (ἁμαρτάνω), which means “to miss the mark.” Picture an arrow falling short of its target. In this case the target is total righteousness, absolute perfection. Humans simply cannot hit that target, no matter how hard we try. Our best efforts always…    
• “…fall short of the glory of God.”  Not only do we fall short of the goal of being godly, but we fall short of the glory that God intended us to have as the crown of His creation (see Psalm 8). He made us in His likeness and image with the intention that we would be to the praise of His glory, that we would be a perfect reflection of Him. But “the Fall” was a fall from that position. However, now as people who are redeemed and made new we have the potential to truly bring Him glory.

Verse 24: “…and [we] are justified by His grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus,” 

• “…and are justified by His grace as a gift…”  This phrase harks back, of course, to “all those who believe” in verse 22. Those who believe in the Lord Jesus Christ are justified by His grace and are given His righteousness, and all of this is a gift from God. Paul uses the word “justified” 27 times in the NT, nearly all of them in Romans and Galatians. The word describes what occurs when a sinner believes in Christ as his Saviour. From the negative perspective, God declares the person to be “not guilty.” From the positive side, God declares him to be “righteous.” God cancels the guilt of the person’s sin and credits him with righteousness [imputation]. I think this whole thing is totally amazing! God’s grace is amazing! His gift of righteousness is amazing!
• “…through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.”  How does justification happen? It happens through the redemption that is in Jesus! He is our Redeemer! “Redemption” is a word taken from the slave market—it refers to a person’s release from slavery by the paying of a ransom. Paul uses this word to refer to our release from guilt with its liability for judgement, and to our deliverance from slavery to sin, because Jesus in His death paid the ransom for us on the Cross. Like the old hymn says, “Jesus paid it all, all to Him I owe.”

Verse 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 by His blood, to be received by faith.”  Some of your Bibles say, “…whom God displayed publicly.” Paul’s point is that the work of redemption was not hidden away out of sight. Jesus died in public. He hung on that Cross for everyone to see. Publicly He prayed that their sin would not be laid to their account. Publicly he declared that His work of redemption was “finished.”
• “…as a propitiation by His blood”  A propitiation is an atoning sacrifice. Through Christ’s blood shed on the Cross God’s wrath has been satisfied so now we can be restored into fellowship and favor with God.
• “…to be received by faith.”  Here it is again—faith is the channel through which everything comes. By faith we reach out and accept God’s gracious gifts of forgiveness, righteousness, restoration, and redemption. It all comes “by grace through faith.”
• “This was to show God’s righteousness, because in His divine forbearance He had passed over former sins.”  This part of verse 25 really goes with verse 26. Paul is referring to the fact that the sins of the OT Jews, punished symbolically in the animal sacrifices of the OT period, would be finally and completely dealt with in the perfect sacrifice of Christ on the Cross. Those thousands of animal sacrifices didn’t really forgive anybody’s sins. They just covered the sins over and temporarily satisfied God’s righteousness until a day in the future when those sins could be atoned for. They merely pointed forward to the day when the Lamb of God would take away the sins of the world.    

Verse 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 was to show His righteousness at the present time” So why did God choose to do it this way? Paul says He did it so that He could manifest His righteousness now, in our day. God always operates on His own timetable. He answers to no man. All we can say is that God has been working out His plan of redemption since the foundation of the world. Long before any of us ever sinned God knew that we would rebel and go off the reservation and that we would need a Saviour. That’s when He set His redemptive plan in motion.
• “…so that He might be just, and the Justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.”  God did all this in a way that did not compromise His character. Because He is Just He had to act justly. In other words, He had to deal with our sin rather than just sweep it under the rug. His justice demands it. At the same time, He is the active agent in the process, the Justifier. He is the One who declares the repentant sinner “not guilty.” He is the One who bestows His own righteousness on the one who places his/her faith in Jesus. 

Verse 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.”   

• “Then what becomes of our boasting? It is excluded.”  There is simply no room left for bragging and boasting. The sinner cannot save himself. His good works contribute nothing toward his salvation. He is helpless and spiritually bankrupt before a Holy God. 
• “By what kind of law? By a law of works? No, but by the Law of Faith.” So does salvation come through keeping the Law of Moses? No! Then does it come through some kind of law of good works? No, again! Works can save no one, ever. However, faith in Jesus Christ still can, will, and does save sinners to the uttermost.

Verse 28: “For we hold that one is justified by faith apart from works of the Law.”    

• Here Paul restates the fact that sinners are saved by grace through faith in Christ. There’s no other way. Faith is the vehicle by which justification comes to the sinner. Good works contribute nothing. Religious sincerity contributes nothing. Keeping the Law contributes nothing.
• When Martin Luther translated this verse he added a word: “For we hold that one is justified by faith alone, apart from works of the Law.” Although the word “alone” is not in the Greek text, it accurately reflects the meaning here.

Verse 29: “Or is God the God of Jews only? Is He not the God of Gentiles also? Yes, of Gentiles also,”   

• “Or is God the God of Jews only?”  The obvious answer is “NO!” God is the God of all, in every time and in every place. Paul asks this, though, because the Jews were the only ones who had the Law. If salvation comes through keeping the Law then the Gentiles are out of luck!
• “Is He not the God of Gentiles also? Yes, of Gentiles also,” Again, the answer is obvious. He is the God of the Gentiles, too.

Verse 30: “…since God is One—who will justify the circumcised [Jews] by faith and the uncircumcised [Gentiles] through faith.”   

• God is not divided, with part of Him as the God of the Jews and the other half as the God of the Gentiles. He is ONE! This the first article of faith of Judaism: “Hear, O Israel! The LORD is our God, the LORD is One!” (Deut. 6:4) Since God is One, Paul argues that there is only one way of salvation for both Jews and Gentiles, and that way is through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.

Verse 31: “Do we then overthrow the Law by this faith? By no means! On the contrary, we uphold the Law.”   

• So is the OT Law made to be of no importance by this faith that we’ve been discussing? Of course not! Jesus Himself said that the Scriptures would never pass away. The Law given through Moses, along with the rest of Scripture continues to be true and to be a wonderful revelation of our awesome, all-powerful, and absolutely holy God.

CONCLUSION:

3 Essential Elements of Justification:

1. FORGIVENESS = This comes through a verdict of acquittal, excluding all possibility of condemnation (cf. Rom. 8:1). The sinner receives total forgiveness of sins, past, present, and future. But we are more than just pardoned criminals… 
2.  INNOCENCE = We are judicially declared innocent, restoring us at least to the position of Adam before he sinned in the Garden. One way to remember “justification” is, “just-as-if-I’d-never-sinned.” 
3.  RIGHTEOUSNESS = Christ’s righteousness is imputed to us; it is placed to our account. [Just-as-if-I’d never sinned + Just-as-if-I’d lived as Jesus lived]. Justification both erases our sin with its condemnation, and adds to our account the greatest possible righteousness, the righteous of Christ.

• Justification requires a Judge, because we can’t do it for ourselves.
• Justification requires a Judgement, a perfect external arbiter. 
•  Justification requires a Judicial Decree, an official statement declaring the situation to be so. 
•  Justification comes as a Gift, by Grace. It is free, but it’s not cheap! 
•  Justification must be received as a Gift, through faith in the Giver. 

FEEDBACK:

            Any comments, questions, or observations about what I’ve presented?