Romans 3:21-31

• 21 But now a righteousness from God, apart from law, has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify.
• 22 This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference,
• 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
• 24 and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.
• 25 God presented him as a sacrifice of atonement, through faith in his blood. He did this to demonstrate his justice, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished-
• 26 he did it to demonstrate his justice at the present time, so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus.
• 27 Where, then, is boasting? It is excluded. On what principle? On that of observing the law? No, but on that of faith.
• 28 For we maintain that a man is justified by faith apart from observing the law.
• 29 Is God the God of Jews only? Is he not the God of Gentiles too? Yes, of Gentiles too,
• 30 since there is only one God, who will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through that same faith.
• 31 Do we, then, nullify the law by this faith? Not at all! Rather, we uphold the law.

Introduction: Paul has spent most of the beginning of the Book of Romans hammering us with the sinfulness of mankind. Paul builds his theology on a solid understanding of sin. You cannot truly appreciate salvation until you first realize that you are indeed a lost sinner, under the wrath of God, and that you cannot save yourself. Now that Paul has laid that solid foundation, he moves on the explaining salvation.

He answers this question: If I am so completely unrighteous in God's eyes, how can I become righteous? How can I be right with God? Answer: You must have the "righteousness of God." That is: the righteousness that comes from God, the righteousness that God supplies for you. How can we get this righteousness?

Paul gives us eight facts about the righteousness of God....

I. The Righteousness of God is not gained by trying to keep the Law (Ro 3:21, 31).

Paul is merely repeating what he has proved in the many verses leading up to this point. Both Jew and Gentile are sinners. We are lost. We are in a condition of rebellion. We do not understand spiritual truth. We will not seek God of our own volition. We are running away from Him, not toward Him. We are under the wrath of God, unless God graciously does something to save us. If we try to keep God's Law, we are merely confronted with the fact that WE CAN'T DO IT. The Law shows us our sinfulness, and drives us to Christ our Savior.

Illustration: Picture all the inhabitants of Hawaii standing on the beach in Hawaii, attempting to jump to Los Angeles. Some would jump further than others. But no one would come any where near Los Angeles. That's the way it is with mankind trying to get to Heaven by keeping the Law. Some may try harder than others, but everyone fails miserably.

II. The Righteousness of God comes through Faith (Ro 3:22).

Faith and works go hand in hand. But salvation is given to those who have faith. Faith results in works. Doing good works is not the method of salvation. Works as a method of salvation is "Phariseeism." Works as a method of salvation means RELIANCE on religious ceremonies. Works salvation means thinking you can influence God to forgive you because you were baptized, or attended worship regularly, or built houses for Habitat, or took meals to Channels of Love AIDS victims, or gave money or time to AAA Women's Services. Salvation cannot be BOUGHT with deeds.

Faith is putting your trust for salvation in Jesus Christ, and His blood, and not in your own goodness or attempts to satisfy God. Salvation is by faith, not by works.

• 1 ¶ After this, the word of the LORD came to Abram in a vision: "Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your very great reward."
• 2 ¶ But Abram said, "O Sovereign LORD, what can you give me since I remain childless and the one who will inherit my estate is Eliezer of Damascus?"
• 3 And Abram said, "You have given me no children; so a servant in my household will be my heir."
• 4 Then the word of the LORD came to him: "This man will not be your heir, but a son coming from your own body will be your heir."
• 5 He took him outside and said, "Look up at the heavens and count the stars—if indeed you can count them." Then he said to him, "So shall your offspring be."
• 6 Abram believed the LORD, and he credited it to him as righteousness.
  (Genesis 15:1-6)

• 17 By faith Abraham, when God tested him, offered Isaac as a sacrifice. He who had received the promises was about to sacrifice his one and only son,
• 18 even though God had said to him, "It is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned."
• 19 Abraham reasoned that God could raise the dead, and figuratively speaking, he did receive Isaac back from death.
  (Hebrews 11:17-19)

• 51 ¶ I tell you the truth, if anyone keeps my word, he will never see death."
• 52 At this the Jews exclaimed, "Now we know that you are demon-possessed! Abraham died and so did the prophets, yet you say that if anyone keeps your word, he will never taste death.
• 53 Are you greater than our father Abraham? He died, and so did the prophets. Who do you think you are?"
• 54 Jesus replied, "If I glorify myself, my glory means nothing. My Father, whom you claim as your God, is the one who glorifies me.
• 55 Though you do not know him, I know him. If I said I did not, I would be a liar like you, but I do know him and keep his word.
• 56 Your father Abraham rejoiced at the thought of seeing my day; he saw it and was glad."
  (John 8:51-56)

III. The Righteousness of God is grounded in the Blood of Jesus Christ (Ro 3:25).

The entire Old Testament was given by God to illustrate the vital importance of the atoning blood of the Sacrifice. It began with Adam and Eve, and God making clothing for them, of animal skins. It continued with Cain and Abel, and God rejecting an offering of vegetables, and receiving the offering of a lamb. Abraham offered a lamb to God instead of his Son Isaac. The Passover lamb had to be slain, and its blood put on the door posts, to save the Israelites in Egypt from the angel of death. The Israelites brought animal sacrifices to the temple for a thousand years. Over and over the blood was shed. Why? It all looked forward to what John the Baptist announced: "Behold the Lamb of God, that takes away the sin of the world." We must never forget the blood of Jesus. Any religion which removes the blood of Jesus it not from God.

IV. The Righteousness of God is a free gift of God's Grace (Ro 3:24).

Mercy and Grace are sometimes confused. Mercy means forgiveness. Grace means going beyond forgiveness and giving something more than that. Suppose a thief breaks into my house and steals my money. And suppose the police catch him and bring him back to me with the money. If I forgive him, I won't press charges. But if I am gracious to him, I will GIVE HIM THE MONEY, as well as my forgiveness.

That's what God does for you and me in salvation. He forgives us our sins. But He goes beyond forgiveness, and makes us his adopted heirs, his children, joint-heirs with Jesus, His only begotten Son. "Where sin abounded, grace did much more abound."

V. The Righteousness of God is one of the Benefits of Redemption (Ro 3:24)

To be Redeemed is to be BOUGHT. We have been bought with a price. Not with silver or gold, or US currency, or whatever, but with the precious blood of Jesus. If God has bought me, then God owns me. I am no longer owned, or bound by sin and the Devil. I have been set free from sin and Satan. But I have a new owner, God. I am now the bought servant of the Lord Jesus Christ, as Paul always identifies himself. But when Jesus buys a slave, Jesus sets that slave free. He calls us His friends, and not His servants. And yet He is our Lord, and Master, and we are glad to belong to Him.

VI. The Righteousness of God in us satisfies the Justice of God (Ro 3:25-26).

Sometimes people are offended at the death of Jesus for our sins. They say: "Why can't God just say 'I forgive you all,' and be done with it?" It is possible to answer this question, but only if we have some humility and faith, and are willing to receive what the Bible says as God's truth.

The Bible says that "The wages of sin is death." And, "the soul that sinneth, it shall die." God warned Adam and Eve about the forbidden fruit in the Garden of Eden. "The day you eat of it, you shall surely die." When Adam and Eve ate the fruit, the died spiritually instantaneously (and the process of bodily death began). They were instantaneously separated from God, and hid from God in the woods. The relationship was broken. Their sin had raised a huge barrier between them and God.

The reason God can't just say "I forgive you," and sweep the sin under the rug, is that SIN KILLS. God does not want to merely say empty words to you and me. He wants to do more than merely SAY "I forgive you." He wants to bring us back to life again. He wants to undo the penalty of sin.

We must trust God about this. We are not qualified to speak. In order to undo the death of mankind, it was necessary for God Himself to die. As CS Lewis wrote in his Narnia tales, this is the "deeper magic from before the dawn of time," known only to God Himself. In the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus, God in the Flesh, the Son of God, asked the Father, "Is this the only way?" And the answer came back: YES. And so Jesus replied, "Not my will, but thine be done."

So, because of the death of Jesus, God is justified. His justice is verified and guaranteed. He is able to save us through His own death, in the second person of the Godhead, on Calvary's cross. Let us bow in reverence and worship Him, for He is almighty in His power, infinite in His love, and awesome in His understanding.

VII. The Righteousness of God results in the Justification of the Believer (Ro 3:26-28).

The be JUSTIFIED means to be declared righteous. Suppose somehow Bernie Madoff came to trial, and the jury and judge came back with a verdict: "NOT GUILTY." Well, he IS guilty! But, the court has declared him not guilty. He has been JUSTIFIED: declared righteous by the court.

That's what God does for you and me. WE ARE GUILTY. But God declares us NOT GUILTY, based on the death of Jesus, and the forgiveness and redemption we have in Him.

VIII. The Righteousness of God in Jesus Christ is for both Jew and Gentile (Ro 3:29-30).

There are not many ways to God. There are not many religions that are OK, and will take people to Heaven. There are not even just TWO ways to God. Some hyper-dispensationalist preachers today say that Christians do not need to evangelize the Jews, because they already have a covenant with God, and if they live up to their covenant, they will have eternal life. That's a lie. Jesus is the Messiah God sent to the Jews. There is no other name given among men under Heaven whereby a man must be saved, than the name of Jesus Christ. Peter and Paul evangelized the Jews of the first century, and multitudes became believers in Jesus Christ, and so Christianity began. Jesus said: "I am the way, the truth and the life. No man comes to the Father but by Me." Salvation through Jesus Christ is the only way, for either Jew or Gentile.

Conclusion: Thus we have eight facts about the Righteousness of God. Let's summarize them again:

• I. We can't get the Righteousness of God by trying to keep the Law (Ro 3:21, 31).
• II. The Righteousness of God comes through Faith (Ro 3:22).
• III. The Righteousness of God is grounded in the Blood of Jesus Christ (Ro 3:25).
• IV. The Righteousness of God is a free gift of God's Grace (Ro 3:24).
• V. The gift of the Righteousness of God is one of the results of Redemption (Ro 3:24)
• VI. The Righteousness of God in us satisfies the Justice of God (Ro 3:25-26).
• VII. The Righteousness of God results in the Justification of the Believer (Ro 3:26-28).
• VIII. The Righteousness of God in Jesus Christ is for both Jew and Gentile (Ro 3:29-30).