Romans 3:21-31
Justification by Faith!
Welcome!
Would you open your Bibles to...
Gal. 3:24 Therefore
the law was our tutor to bring us to
Christ, that we might be justified by
faith.
Pray
Intro
√ Ever done something, or said something that you wish you could take back!
Ex. My dad’s
accident
√ Justification..
…means…
“Just as if I’d never sinned!”
Wow! Ever done something you wish you could go back and undo?!
The truth of Justification is unique to the Christian faith.
Can’t be justified if you’re a….
Muslim
Hindu
Mormon
J.W.
Even some Christian churches!
Because they all rely upon the good works of Man to justify themselves before God.
The problem is that we just can’t do enough good to earn the right to stand before God and declare that we are just in His sight!
√ All of have sinned!
You’ll recall that Paul spent the first 3 chapters of Romans proving beyond a doubt that all people are sinners.
Having done that, he now wants to share the GOOD NEWS as to how sinners can be saved!
The theological term phrase for 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.
It’s is critical to understand what justification is, and how it works, so that you can enjoy the peace of mind that comes from knowing you are saved!
To begin with, justification is an act – not a process.
There are no degrees of justification – all who trust in Jesus as their savior have the same right standing before God.
It’s something God does – not Man.
No one can justify themselves before God – as we’ve already seen we’re all sinners!
Declared righteous – not made righteous.
It’s a legal matter, God the judge declares us righteous by putting the righteousness of Christ on our record in place of our sinfulness.
No one can change that record!
Not sanctification!
We are justified by God the moment we ask Jesus to be our savior.
Sanctification is a life-long process by which God the Holy Spirit works within to make us more like Jesus.
Our sanctification can change daily – our justification never changes!
√ How is it possible that a sinner can be declared justified by faith in Jesus?
That’s what Paul spends the rest of chapter 3 explaining, and then demonstrates by way of illustration in chapter 4.
Ap. The Christian who really understands justification by faith will have a radically different life (read – joy!) than the Christian who is still under the burden of trying to earn God’s love by good works.
Apart from the Law (vs. 21)
Rom. 3:21 But now the righteousness of God apart from the law is revealed, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets,
√ Under the Old Covenant righteousness came by behaving.
But under the Gospel, righteousness comes by believing!
Note that Paul says the “Law and the Prophets” bear witness to the righteousness of God apart from the Law.
Ex. Gen. 3:15 (promise of a savior) & Isa. 53 (the savior).
The point that Paul is making is that from the very beginning God made known to His people that He would provide a righteousness apart from the Law.
The Law itself reveals the righteousness of God, but cannot actually provide it for sinful Man.
Only Jesus could do that!
Ap. We can’t earn a right standing before God by good works or obedience to the Law.
Those who try end up in self deceived pride, or crushed under the weight of sin.
Through faith in Christ (vs. 22)
Rom. 3:22 even the righteousness of God, through faith in Jesus Christ, to all and on all who believe. For there is no difference;
√ Justification comes through faith in Jesus Christ.
That is, a person is declared righteous before God by personal faith in Jesus Christ.
Faith, however, is only as good as it’s object!
Ex. The check
Everyone of us trusts in something, even if it’s only in ourselves.
But the Christian trusts in Christ.
For the righteousness of the Law is a reward for good works. The righteousness of the Gospel is a gift received by faith!
The Christian understands that he can never be good enough to earn a right standing with God, therefore, he trusts in Jesus to declare him justified.
Ap. Our faith in Jesus is secure because God has acknowledged His acceptance of Christ’s work on the Cross by raising Him from the dead.
Faith in anything, or anyone, other than the Jesus of the Bible will not justify anyone before God.
For all men (vs. 22b-23)
Rom. 3:22 even the righteousness of God, through faith in Jesus Christ, to all and on all who believe. For there is no difference;
Rom. 3:23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
√ God gave the Law to the Jewish people – not the Gentiles (the rest of the world).
But the Gospel – the Good News of Salvation by faith in Jesus Christ is given to all people!
Why?
Because all people need to be saved!
As Paul points out there is no difference between Jew and Gentile, they’re all sinners in need of a Savior!
Ap. That’s one of the unique qualities of God’s Way – it’s not exclusive. Salvation is made available to all people regardless of race, color, gender, age, social status, etc.
The Christian Gospel is a message of freedom!
I Tim. 2:3 For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior,
I Tim. 2:4 who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.
Ex. That’s why it has such great appeal in India where the national religion enslaves people.
It constantly amazes me that Westerners go to India and pay good money to become enslaved to some Guru when they can have the true Gospel of Freedom for free right here in America!
I think that one reason that false religions draw people is that so many Christians live so far below the power that God has given them!
By Grace (vs. 24)
Rom. 3:24 being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus,
√ God has two kinds of attributes:
Absolute = Who God is
Relative = how He relates to the world and people
One of God’s absolute attributes is Love.
“God is Love” – I John 4:8
When God relates that love to you and me, it becomes Grace and Mercy.
God in His mercy does not give us what we deserve!
God in His grace gives us what we do not deserve!
The really cool part is that He justified us “freely” (vs. 24) which can also be translated…
“without a cause”
That is, we are
justified without a cause!
The point?
There is no cause in us that would merit the salvation of God! It is all because of God’s Grace!
Ex. Ask a couple why they want to get married.
All the reasons boil down to – I see something that of value in the other person that I want to experience. There’s some value for you in the relationship.
You never find someone who says…
“I really want to marry her because I know that there’s absolutely nothing lovely about her, she’s gonna make my live miserable, and since there is no value in the relationship for me want to spend the rest of my life with her!”
No! You sign that person into a psyche ward!
Ap. But here’s the cool part – that’s the way that God loves us! By His Grace He declares us righteous!
Justification is something God does – not us!
At great cost to God (vs. 24b-25)
Rom. 3:24 being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus,
Rom. 3:25 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,
√ You may have heard is said…
“Salvation is free, but it is not cheap”
Three words will help us understand the price of our salvation:
Propitiation
Blood
Redemption
Propitiation: usually that means to satisfy someone who is angry with you. Usually by means of giving a gift to cover some offence.
But what the Bible means by propitiation is that God’s perfect and Holy Law which was violated by Mankind – is satisfied by Jesus’ Death.
Therefore, God has the “legal” right to freely forgive anyone who comes to Christ.
Redemption: reminds us that we were slaves to sin and Satan. We could not walk away from our old master – rather, we had to be purchased from the power of Satan by the work of Jesus.
Blood: the price for our salvation was that Jesus had to die on a Cross in order to satisfy the Law which we broke so that God could justify lost sinners.
Ex. G. Campbell Morgan and the miner
Ap. It doesn’t cost me anything to be saved, but it cost God the life of His beloved Son!
In perfect justice (vs. 25a-26)
Rom. 3:25 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,
Rom. 3:26 to demonstrate at the present time His righteousness, that He might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.
√ Mercy and judgement
One of the things which people often struggle with is the question…
“How can God be loving and judge sin at the same time?”
Or put another way…
God must be perfectly consistent with Himself. He cannot break His own Law, or violate His own Nature.
So, we know that God is love (1 John 4:8), and that He wants to forgive sinners, but He is also a God of Holiness Who must punish sin!
How can God…
“be just and the justifier” – vs. 26
The answer is 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 at the very same time fully expressed the love of God for sinful Man!
The animal sacrifices of the Old Testament never took away sin; but when Jesus died He paid the price for every sin from Adam and Eve to the last person who will ever sin!
Ap.
To establish the Law (vs. 27-31)
Rom. 3:27 Where is boasting then? It is excluded. By what law? Of works? No, but by the law of faith.
Rom. 3:28 Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith apart from the deeds of the law.
Rom. 3:29 Or is He the God of the Jews only? Is He not also the God of the Gentiles? Yes, of the Gentiles also,
Rom. 3:30 since there is one God who will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through faith.
Rom. 3:31 Do we then make void the law through faith? Certainly not! On the contrary, we establish the law.
√ The Jewish reader
Remember that Paul is concerned with the Jewish reader who would be really struggling (as he did!) with the whole idea that a person can be justified by faith alone.
Therefore, he closes this section by addressing the concerns which the Jewish mind would raise against this Gospel of Grace.
Establishes the Law:
The doctrine of justification by faith is not against the Law, because it establishes the Law!
How?
Because God obeyed His own Law in working out the plan of salvation through His Son.
Ex. Jesus – in His life and death fulfilled every demand of the Law for us.
One way:
Paul points out that there is only one way for people to be saved – both Jews and Gentiles are saved by faith – not works.
No bragging:
Since a person cannot be saved by keeping the Law, then no one can brag about being saved! That ‘s the beauty of justification by faith, vs. by works – no one can brag!
Ex. A swimmer who is saved by a life guard from drowning doesn’t brag because he trusted in the life guard! There wasn’t any other way to be saved!
Ap. We don’t boast in our faith, rather, we boast in the One who saved us!
Close
√ Our sins are covered!
Because he preached salvation by Grace alone, Paul was accused of promoting sin (Rom. 3:5-8), but the accusations was false. Persons who experience the grace of God in forgiveness have no desire to sin; and if they do sin, they confess it to the Lord (I John 1:5-2:1). They are tempted (I Cor. 10:13), and sometimes they fall; but they do not stay down (Ps. 37:23-24).
See Psalm 32 to see what God does for His children.