ROMANS 3:21-31: "BUT NOW... THE GREAT REVERSAL!

 

With Romans 3:21 we have arrived at a great turning point in Paul’s letter to the Romans. This is all part and parcel of a great argument that he has been making in Romans 1:17 where he made this statement: “The gospel is the power of God unto salvation …"for in it the righteousness of God is revealed."  The righteous God has a saving plan for unrighteous people!

From that text onwards, beginning with 1:18, Paul has been labouring to show us that the whole world, Jew and Gentile alike are not righteous in the eyes of God, who is the Creator of every man and woman and child ever born.  The devastating   truth about each one of us is this: "There is no one righteous, no, not one (2:10). No one in their own strength has ever kept God's righteous law. No one that lives or who has ever lived can say: “I am a righteous person. I deserve to be found in the presence of the God who is righteous." Those that think that they deserve heaven have no understanding of the gospel.  We have already seen that no one is righteous in the sight of God. The whole world is unrighteous - whether you come from a part of the world where the Christian faith is dominant, or whether you come from a Muslim, Hindu, Buddhist, Confucian or Atheist background. The Bible declares that the whole world is unrighteous. The whole world suppresses the truth about God. Because of this, "the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth.” (Rom. 1:18f)

This is Paul's final assessment of the general condition of man. It is a devastating assessment. It cannot be of mere academic interest to us. It has direct consequences for ALL, for we are among the ALL that have sinned. We are among the ALL that must give one day an account of ourselves to God (Rom. 14:12). That is indeed bad news for if we all are guilty before God, then   who can save us from His wrath? 

 OUTLINE:

1.      3:21 A great Reversal

2.      3:22-26 A great Redeemer

3.      3:27-31 Three great Results

 1. 3:21 THE GREAT REVERSAL

3:21 "But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law".  Those two little words, “but now“, introduce us to God's great reversal of man's awful predicament. Big doors turn upon small, insignificant hinges! We are going to see now how God has opened a huge door for mankind – a door called Jesus (cf. John 10:7-9) - an insignificant and despised man in the eyes of men. 

Notice firstly that this new door is manifested apart from the law.  Understand this: The OT was rooted in the concept of pleasing God in the keeping of the law. The problem was that no one kept the law. Therefore, people were unfit for God's presence. Unholy men cannot enter the presence of a holy God.

How did the OT deal with that problem? Through blood sacrifices!  

What was the purpose of blood sacrifices? Well, the life of an animal was exchanged for the sinners’ sin.

But can the blood of bulls and goats really be a fair exchange for our sin?  The answer is – NO!  (Hebr. 10:4)

What then? God, in His patience with men commanded this practice as an interim practice and as a foreshadowing of the once for all blood sacrifice of Jesus, the Lamb of God. He was born IN THE FULNESS OF TIME to redeem those born under the law (Gal.4:4). When He offered up Himself on the cross it was once for all (Hebr. 7:27; 9:12,26; 10:10,12,14)

Here we find God's way of saving us, and it is apart from the law.

It spells J-E-S-U-S!

Please note that the OT – the law and the prophets bear witness to it. The OT law was never designed to save. It was designed to show us the utter holiness of God and the utter inability of man to be holy. But God's way of salvation was always via the Messiah! Here He is ...

 2. 3:22-26 THE GREAT REDEEMER

3:22 "...the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. This is the heart of Paul’s gospel. The is God's gospel method of reconciling sinners to Himself. God makes unrighteous people (that is all of us) righteous, through grace (by opening the eyes of the blind) to see and believe all that Jesus is for us.

3:23 "For there is no distinction: for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God...". Again, he repeats what he has said in 3:10-18.  We (the whole world) - all are guilty people. This is so important because this very fact presses upon us the need for the gospel.    And we will not solve this problem by appealing to the law.

3:24 "... and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus...". And so, we are driven back to the gospel again.  How do I get hold of this gospel? Please note that this gospel is graciously received from God as a gift. And a gift is a gift. It is not paid for.  It cannot be worked for. It is freely given.

How? "...through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus..."  The word used here is redemption (another biblical key-word). The biblical imagery of redemption is associated with a market-place where slaves were traded.  Jesus pays the price for slaves standing there in the bondage of sin.  

But how exactly was the price paid? 

3:25a "...whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith.

The key word here is propitiation.  Allow me to prepare the soil of our understanding first.

We have seen in 3:24 that salvation is a free gift. But that does not mean that our redemption costs nothing! God cannot be just and righteous and just sweeping our sins under the carpet! He could never compromise His holy integrity by ignoring our sin.

Our sin actually demands our death (Rom. 6:23). God the Creator would be entirely just to consign us all to hell – the cosmic rubbish dump.  But He doesn't. Thank God for the truth in John 3:16!  Oh, the love of God!

And now, we will learn how it is possible for God to love us without compromising His holiness.

The answer is found in this word, “propitiation” (Gr. Hilasterion; Hebr.kapporet). It refers to the mercy seat found in the holy of holies of the temple. Here blood atonement was made by the High priest, when he sprinkled blood on this mercy seat once a year, on the day of atonement (Yom Kippur). By this act the collective guilt of the nation was atoned for – it was propitiated.  God’s anger was appeased.  His holy wrath was turned away from the nation.  

And so, when you think of the death of Christ, do not only think of the fact that He frees you by His blood from the burden of sin. Think also of the fact that by His death Christ dealt with the anger of God. He propitiated God by the sacrifice of His own blood!

What did it cost? It cost you nothing – but it cost God and His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ everything. Only the perfect, sinless lamb of God could effectively do this. The blood of bulls and goats could never atone for our sins (Hebr.  10:4).

So, on what basis did God forgive the nation of Israel at that time?

3:25 explains: “Because in His divine forbearance he had passed over former sins.”  To those who say that the OT God is not patient and merciful- think again! Did Christ have to die for our sins?  Absolutely.  There was no other way. God, as JUDGE, must be just and punish sin wherever it is. Immediate   judgment is demanded by strict justice. It is only postponed by God’s forbearance and mercy as we have just seen.

3:26 “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".  Jesus death on the cross was an eternal sacrifice. Everyone with saving faith from the beginning of time is covered by the death of Christ. This is demonstrated in Hebrews Ch 11.

The Sacrifice of Christ was THE ONLY WAY a HOLY GOD could both, BE JUST (i.e.  be true to absolute truth and justice) and BE JUSTIFIER of the sinner, who deserves judgment. This is amazing.  Normally you would expect a Judge to exercise just judgement, and that is that. But here we have a Judge who is not only exercises just judgement, but we shall see that He is also the Justifier of the guilty!  Have you ever heard of a Judge like that? 

Let me tell you a story that will illustrate what   is taught here. There was once a very strict and just judge who was faced with a predicament.  The accused that was brought before him on one day was his own son. The son was a poor student. On one occasion he had driven his father's car recklessly and much too fast. The traffic police caught him and fined him. Here is the father-judges problem: How will he deal with this predicament? Will he be lenient on the son? No! As an officer of the law, he must uphold the law. What does he do?  He imposes the fine upon the son, but then, knowing that he has no means to pay such a hefty fine, he goes to the magistrate’s court and pays the fine on behalf of his son. In so doing he upholds the law and at the very same time finds a solution to keep his son out of prison.

In the gospel, God’s justice / His righteousness and His grace / His mercy are all displayed side by side, far from contradicting one another, they complement one another.    

3.  3:27-31 THREE GREAT RESULTS

3:27,28   God's gospel excludes boasting.  God alone gets the glory, and none to man - no boasting in my decision; no boasting in having kept the law; We are justified by faith apart from the works of the law.  By faith, enabled by the gift of His grace I look to Jesus. He saves!  He justifies. He makes me righteous.   

3:29,30 God's gospel is a universal gospel. God is not only the God of the Jews alone, but of the gentiles too. He justifies both by the same means In Christ alone! He   providers salvation for all who will believe in Christ.

3:31 God's gospel puts the law into proper perspective. It is a way that ultimately honors and upholds the law. It does not do away with the law of God. It puts the law in its proper perspective, place and function (see 3:20 again – through the law comes knowledge of sin)