GOD’S RIGHTEOUSNESS IN OUR SALVATION
Romans 3:21-31
I
remember once flying through a thunderstorm.
The winds and the rains buffeted the plane and the lightning flashed and
the thunder roared. But then, there was
a break in the clouds and the sun broke through. What a dramatic change! That is what happens in this chapter. For the past three chapters, we have heard
the thundering of God’s condemnation against sinful men. But now, the SON breaks through.
|
Romans 1:17 - 3:20 |
Romans 3:21-31 |
|
God has brought all of
mankind into the courtroom and passed the divine verdict that all men are
guilty before God. |
Begins with the words “But
now” to introduce how God has carried out the verdict in Christ to bring
salvation to men. |
|
A groan of despair. |
A sigh of relief. |
|
Dark picture of men in
their sins. |
Bright light of God’s
salvation. |
|
A revelation of the wrath
of God against all unrighteousness. |
A presentation of the
righteousness of God which is available for men. |
|
Establishes the need for
righteousness. |
Provides that
righteousness. |
Where
do you go to find the revelation of the righteousness of God? Where is God’s righteousness manifested? In the LAW!
The Law is a standard which reveals the righteousness of God. But God’s righteousness has also been
revealed in another way. It has been
revealed THROUGH FAITH.
RIGHTEOUSNESS
REVEALED
"But
now apart from the Law the righteousness of God has been manifested, being
witnessed by the Law and the Prophets, even the righteousness of God through
faith in Jesus Christ for all those who believe; for there is no
distinction" (Romans 3:21-22).
Notice
how verse 21 begins. It begins with a
conjunction of contrast. It begins with “BUT.” This is in contrast with the fact that no
flesh can be declared to be righteous by the works of the Law (3:20).
|
No flesh can be declared to
be righteous by the works of the Law |
(But) |
Apart from Law God’s
righteousness has been manifested. |
Verses
19-20 tell us what the Law could not do.
It could not declare you to be righteous. Verse 21 goes on to say that you HAVE been
declared righteous - but it was not by the law's doing.
You
see, the law was a manifestation of the righteousness of God. If you want to know about God's standard of
righteousness, then look at the law. But
now, that righteousness has been revealed in a new form. It has been revealed as it comes through
faith.
Here
is the principle. Justification does not
come through our own OBEDIENCE. It could
if there were anyone who had been obedient.
But Paul has just spent three chapters showing to us that no one is
obedient. Justification does not come
through obedience. Justification can
only take place if it is on the basis of God’s righteousness. Even forgiveness of sins cannot save
you. Only righteousness can save you.
Paul
destroys false concepts of righteousness in this chapter. What is righteousness? It is the state of being right. God is righteous. Man is just the opposite. And thus, man has no righteousness which
could save him. His own works cannot save
him and the Law cannot save him since it is the business of the Law to condemn
rather than to save.
A
Middle Eastern man was eating pears in his home. He picked up a pear and saw a worm hole in it
and threw it away. He picked up another
pear and saw that it also had a hole. It
happened with a third and a fourth pear.
Then he blew out the light and continued eating. The Law is the light to tell us where the
holes are.
But
now apart from the Law the righteousness of God has been manifested (Romans 3:21a).
The
righteousness which has now come is divorced from the Law of God. But it is not contrary to that Law. Indeed, the Law and the Prophets foreshadowed
and foretold of a righteousness which would come apart from a Law-works
relationship.
"You
search the Scriptures, because you think that in them you have eternal life;
and it is these that bear witness of Me" (John 5:39).
God
manifested a righteousness. Verse 22
describes to us what kind of righteousness this is. It is a righteousness which comes "through
faith in Jesus Christ." [1]
This
is the MEANS by which that righteousness is attained and appropriated. It is not that faith has merit. It is rather the merit of the OBJECT of our
faith that brings this righteousness.
Why
is this important? It is because God
cannot accept an unrighteous man. You
need the righteousness of God to be accepted by God.
The
good news is that this righteousness is offered "to all those who
believe" (3:22). The offer of
salvation is to ALL men. This is
significant because ALL have sinned.
RIGHTEOUSNESS
REQUIRED
"For
all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23).
The
previous verse shows that there is no distinction between how men are declared
to be righteous. Now we see that the
reason for this lack of distinction in salvation is because there is also no
distinction between men in their standing in sin. This standing in sin is both past and
present.
1. “All have sinned” points to the past.
The aorist tense is used. It points to all of the sins of the human
race and labels all under sin.
We have all sinned.
We have all gone contrary to the will of God. What is sin?
The Westminster Catechism defines sin as “any lack of conformity to
or transgression of the law of God.”
2. “All... fall short of the glory of God” is an
indication of our present status.
This time the tense is in the present. It is not merely that we have sinned in the
past. We continue to sin in the present.
Notice that this is another good definition of what
sin is. It is falling short of the glory
of God. The picture is of an archer who
shoots an arrow, aiming at the bull’s eye.
But the arrow falls short, missing the mark to which it was
intended. Sin is like that. Sin is missing the mark of what God has demanded.
These two definitions are in parallel. They are saying the same thing.
|
Sin |
= |
Falling short of the Glory
of God |
The mark is perfection. And no one has been perfect. Our tendency is to look only upon relative
righteousness. It is as though we decided
to have an Olympic event to see who could jump across the
God is perfectly righteous. God demands perfect righteousness. The good news is that freely gives that which
He demands.
RIGHTEOUSNESS
GIVEN
"...being
justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ
Jesus; whom God displayed publicly as a propitiation in His blood through
faith." Romans 3:24-25a).
Paul
begins this section by saying that we were justified. We’ll speak of what that means in a moment,
but before we do, I want you to note the order in which these are presented.
(1) Being Justified...
(2) As a Gift by His Grace.
(3) Through the Redemption in Christ.
(4) Who was Displayed as a Propitiation.
Are
these given in the order in which they take place? NO!!!!
These are the REVERSE order in which they take place. Paul is starting with justification and going
backwards to see what brought about justification and what brought about that
thing that brought about justification and what was before that.
|
Justification |
Presupposes that we were
previously... |
Condemned |
|
Grace |
Without merit |
|
|
Redemption |
Enslaved |
|
|
Propitiation |
Deserving of wrath |
1. Justified.
What does it mean to be “justified”? If we were to listen to the Roman Catholic
Church, we would think that it describes an “infusion of righteousness” - that
God saves you and makes you righteous so that you are now acceptable before
God.
But this is not what justification is at all. To be justified means that one is “declared
to be righteous.” This is seen in Luke
7:29 where Jesus is preaching and we read that...
"And
when all the people and the tax-gatherers heard this, the ACKNOWLEDGED GOD'S
JUSTICE, having been baptized with the baptism of John" (Luke 7:29).
The phrase translated “acknowledged God's justice”
is literally, “they JUSTIFIED God.”
Now, this certainly does not mean that they infused God with
righteousness. There is nothing that
they could do to make God more righteous than He already is. They did not MAKE God more righteous. They merely declared that He already WAS
righteous. And that is what God has done
with us. He has declared us to be
righteous.
Alfred Dryfus was a Jewish soldier in the army of
The friends of Dryfus were unsatisfied with the trial
and, because of their protests, a second trial was granted in 1899. Dryfus was again found guilty. This time, the public dissatisfaction with
the trial caused such an outcry that the president of
However, the stigma of being a traitor still rested
upon Dryfus and in 1906 a third trial was held in which Dryfus was completely
vindicated. He was declared to be
righteous in the eyes of the law. He was
reinstated in the French military, promoted to the rank of major, and awarded
the French Legion of Honor. This
illustrates the difference between a pardon and justification.
|
Pardon |
Justification |
|
Says that you are guilty
but suspends the penalty of that guilt. |
Declares you to be
righteous and without guilt |
God does not merely pardon. He justifies.
This brings up another question.
How can God do this? How can He
declare me to be righteous when I am not righteous? It is a gift of His grace.
2. A Gift by His Grace.
Justification is the outgrowth of GRACE. What is grace? Grace is the unmerited favor of God. It is a gift which you have neither earned
nor deserved.
Think of this!
You were declared to be righteous apart from any merit of righteousness
that was in you. You didn’t earn your
justification. You didn’t deserve
it. It is a GIFT.
3. Through the Redemption.
The gift of God involved a purchase. This is seen in this word “redemption.” This isn’t a word we use a lot today. But I can remember a time when Publics
Grocery Stores used to give out green stamps.
You would collect these stamps until you had a certain amount and then
you would go to a special store and you would REDEEM certain items - you would
PURCHASE them with the stamps.
Who has been purchased in this passage? WE have!
This is the language of a slave market.
Slavery was common in the ancient world.
A slave had few rights. And he
had no hope of freedom UNLESS someone were to purchase him and then set him
free.
That is what this describes. You see, there are several possible words
which could have been used to describe redemption.
a. Paul could have used agorazo. This would describe the act of purchasing a
slave in the agora - in the marketplace.
b. He could have used exagorazo. This would have taken us one step further and
described the act of purchasing the slave and taking him OUT of the
marketplace.
Instead, Paul uses the compound word apolutrosis
- to not only purchase the slave and take him out of the marketplace, but then
to set him free from his slavery.
This is the language of liberation! It is popular to speak of liberation theology
today, but THIS is true liberation theology!
We have been set free from our enslavement to sin.
4. Displayed as a Propitiation.
This is another word that is hardly ever used
today. What is a “propitiation?” It is a “satisfaction.” An “appeasement.” The offering of a sacrifice which satisfies
and appeases the wrath of an angry God.
The Greek word is hilasterion. It is used to describe the Mercy Seat — the
top of the Ark of the Covenant. This was
the seat of God. It served as the throne
of God within the
In the ancient world, when one thought that he had
committed some offense against one of the deities, he would go and offer a
sacrifice of appeasement. By doing so,
he would try to assuage the anger and the wrath of that deity. Thus, propitiation refers to satisfying the
wrath of one who has been offended.
Your sin has offended God. It makes you deserving of the anger and the
wrath of God. That is the bad news. The good news is that Jesus was the
satisfaction. He satisfied the righteous
judgment of God.
On the wall of the
If God is to be a just God, then He cannot simply
forgive sin. It must be judged. Our sin was judged at the cross.
|
Means |
Death of Christ |
|
Place |
The Cross |
|
Result |
The Remission of Sins |
In the Old Testament, the sheep died for the
shepherd. In the New Testament, the
Shepherd died for the sheep.
Remember that we asked the question: “How can God
declare you to be righteous when you are not righteous?” Here is the answer. He does it by having judged your sin in
Christ. You were found guilty. Your sin was judged. You were sentenced to death. And the sentence was carried out. Except that it was carried out upon a
substitute - Jesus bore the sentence of your penalty. As a result, Jesus was credited with your
sins. And you have been credited with
His righteousness.
5. Through Faith.
What must you do to enter into this
justification? Is there some measure of
goodness which you must perform? Is
there some meritorious level to which you must attain? No!!!
It is through FAITH.
a. Faith is born out of need.
It is only when you have seen your need for a Savior
that you will be ready to believe in Jesus Christ as being that Lord and
Savior. This is why Paul has gone to
such great lengths to portray man in his hopeless condition. He wants to show the need.
b. This faith is in Christ.
Everyone has faith.
An atheist has faith that there is no God. An agnostic has faith. A skeptic has faith. Such faiths are powerless to save. It is the object of that faith which is so
important. There are people who have
faith in all sorts of things:
m Faith in a
church or denomination
m Faith in
Baptism
m Faith in
church membership or church attendance
m Faith in good
works
m Faith in faith
None of these is a saving faith because none of these
is in a correct object. Saving faith is
in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, depending upon His work upon the cross on
our behalf.
RIGHTEOUSNESS
RECIPROCATED
This
was to demonstrate His righteousness, because in the forbearance of God He
passed over the sins previously committed; for the demonstration, I say, of His
righteousness at the present time, that He might be just and the justifier of
the one who has faith in Jesus. (Romans 3:25b-26).
Notice
what Paul says here. The point of our
salvation was NOT for US. It was for
HIM. It was to demonstrate HIS
righteousness. Why? Because it shows that He was righteous, even
though He passed over past sins.
...in
the forbearance of God He passed over the sins previously committed (Romans
3:25).
In
the days and years and centuries before the cross, God forgave sins. Forgiveness didn't start at the cross, it
started at the garden of Eden.
This
brings us to a question. How could God
forgive sin in the Old Testament and still be righteous? It cannot be that He merely allowed sin to go
unpunished. You wouldn’t think much of a
judge who had a vicious criminal brought before him and who said, “Oh, that's
okay. I want to be a loving and kinder
judge so that you will like me, Mr Criminal.
I'm going to let you go so that you can go commit some more
crimes.” What would we think of such a
judge? We would say that he is
unrighteous!
In
the same way, how shall God escape the charge that He is unrighteous if He
permitted (and still permits) sinners to go unpunished? Why didn't God destroy Adam and Eve in the
Garden? “Crunch”....BOOM!!!! The answer is because God had planned the
cross.
The
cross justifies the righteousness of God.
It is at the cross that God is seen to be righteous in not judging men
immediately when they sinned.
An
animal sacrifice could not pay for sins.
God merely allowed them to serve as a spiritual IOU until the coming of
Christ. From this standpoint, God did
not seem to be righteous when He allowed animal sacrifices to atone for
sins. But He is vindicated and seen to
be righteous by the cross.
Our
salvation demonstrates the righteousness of God. He is both righteous and the One who declares
others to be righteous. He is "just
and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus" (Romans 3:26).
RIGHTEOUSNESS'S
RESULTS
Where
then is boasting? It is excluded. By what kind of law? Of works?
No, but by a law of faith.
For
we maintain that a man is justified by faith apart from works of the Law.
Or is
God the God of Jews only? Is He not the
God of Gentiles also? Yes, of Gentiles
also, 30 since indeed God who will justify the circumcised by
faith and the uncircumcised through faith is one.
Do we
then nullify the Law through faith? May
it never be! On the contrary, we
establish the Law. (Romans 3:27-31).
What
are the results of our being declared righteous through faith? There are several...
1. Boasting is Excluded.
Where
then is boasting? It is excluded. By what kind of law? Of works?
No, but by a law of faith. (Romans 3:27).
Works are compatible to boasting. When you have worked long and hard, you can
stand back and say, “Look at what I accomplished!!!!”
Faith is opposed to boasting. It is merely the open hand of a beggar. That is why we as Christians ought never to
be proud. We are merely beggars telling
other beggars where to find bread.
We cannot even boast that we were smart enough to
choose God and to believe in Him, for the Scriptures make it quite clear that
even my faith is a gift from God.
There is no occasion for boasting in the plan of
God. It was by God’s grace that our
salvation was provided. It was by
Christ’s blood that it was purchased. It
is by a faith which God give to me that it is appropriated.
2. Works are also Excluded.
For
we maintain that a man is justified by faith apart from works of the Law.
(Romans 3:28).
The opposite of faith is work. Paul has shown that it is impossible to be
justified by works of the Law. You can’t
be good enough for long enough. And the
Law wasn’t designed to justify anyone.
The Law can only condemn.
3. Gentiles are not Excluded.
Or is
God the God of Jews only? Is He not the
God of Gentiles also? Yes, of Gentiles
also, 30 since indeed God who will justify the circumcised by
faith and the uncircumcised through faith is one. Romans 3:29-30).
Under the Law, who were the chosen people of God? The Jews were! The children of Abraham! God is called, “the God of Abraham, of Isaac
and of Jacob.” He is never called, “the
God of the Assyrians” or “the God of the Romans.”
The Jews were the recipients of the Law of God. To them were entrusted the oracles of God
(3:2). And if righteousness is only by
the keeping of the Law, then it is only for the Jews. But salvation is for more than just the
Jew. God is not only the God of the Jew,
but He is also the God of the Gentile.
4. God is One in His Program.
...since
indeed God who will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised
through faith is one. (Romans 3:30).
God doesn’t have one way of salvation for Jews and
another for Gentiles. He doesn’t have one way of salvation in the Old Testament
and another way of salvation in the New Testament (We’ll talk more of this in
the next chapter).
5. The Law is Established.
Do we
then nullify the Law through faith? May
it never be! On the contrary, we
establish the Law. (Romans 3:31).
Justification does not do away with the Law. It doesn’t nullify the Law. It does not cause one of the least of these
commandments to pass away. To the
contrary. It establishes the Law.
The Law demands DEATH to the sinner. Justification through faith answers to this
demand in the affirmative. The Law says,
“Give me death!” Justification answers,
“YES!!! The penalty of death has been
paid on the cross!”
Don’t miss this!
God didn’t merely pardon your sins.
He executed you for them. But He
did so in the person of Jesus Christ who took your place and died the death you
deserved.
Return to Stevenson Bible Study Page
[1] There are some who have wished to translate
this as a subjective genitive to speak of “the faith OF Jesus Christ.” A.T. Robertson supports rendering it as an
objective genitive(“the faith IN Jesus Christ”) by pointing similar objective
genitives in Galatians 2:16 and Colossians 2:5 that clarify by adding a
preposition.