“Romans 3:21-31”

Saturday, February 17, 2018

"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; for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 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. 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, so that He would be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.

"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, 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."

---End of Scripture verses---

Okay so now for the good news… The Apostle Paul used the better part of the first three chapters of his letter to the Romans to tell us that everybody is doomed! It doesn’t matter if you are a Jew or a Gentile, all are “under sin” (Romans 3:9, 19), and “worthy of death” (Romans 1:32). All that law can do is convict you, condemn you, not rescue you. Unless, of course, you keep God’s law perfectly, which no one has done but Jesus. So what is a person to do?!

Well, thanks be to God, Christ has satisfied the law’s requirement that sinners must be punished BY keeping God’s law perfectly FOR us and dying for us! All people can be “justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus” (Romans 3:24), by “faith in Jesus Christ” (3:22). To “justify” means to “declare righteous”.

“Justification is a legal or judicial term; it has to do with one’s relation to the law. It is best understood as the declaration made by a judge once his final decision as to guilt or innocence has been made. When he justifies a defendant, the judge declares that he is in a right standing with the law. Some say it is equivalent to the judge declaring the defendant ‘not guilty’; I prefer to say it means that the judge declares, ‘No penalty for you!’” (Jack Cottrell—Commentary on Romans)

This righteous declaration is granted to all people (whether Jew or Greek) as a gift of God’s grace when they choose to follow Jesus in humble, obedient faith. The word “redemption” bears the concept of paying the price to set someone free from bondage or slavery. What was the price that was paid to set us free from the bondage of sin? “Knowing that you were not redeemed with perishable things like silver or gold from your futile way of life inherited from your forefathers, but with precious blood, as of a lamb unblemished and spotless, the blood of Christ.” (1 Peter 1:18-19)

The blood that Jesus shed for the salvation of all mankind is called a “propitiation” in verse 25. This is a tough word to define, but it conveys the idea of “satisfaction” or “appeasement”. The corresponding Old Testament word is “covering” and is used for the “mercy seat” of the arc of the covenant. That was the object on which the sacrificial blood of atonement was sprinkled in the most holy place of the tabernacle or temple for the sins of the nation of Israel.

Jesus satisfied or appeased God’s wrath for our sinfulness when, after He lived a perfect, sinless life, He willingly sacrificed His own life in place of our lives, and intercepted the punishment that was due us. Christ’s propitiatory sacrifice was also an appeasement of God’s wrath for “the sins previously committed” by all His FAITHFUL children who lived under any previous covenant prior to Christ’s atoning sacrifice. What an awesome God we serve! What an amazing Savior we have!

Please read Romans 4:1-12 for tomorrow.

Have a great day!

- Louie Taylor

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