Series: The Line in the Sand
Message Title: The Thin Red Line
Scripture: Romans 3:22-24
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.
As we mentioned last week, at this very point that we have arrived in Romans, we are very aware that the Law has had its say concerning the life and destiny of any human being. The conditions, unchangeable and unalterable as they are, have been set forth. The Law, above all else, says that to be a sinner is to be a transgressor of the Law.
Romans 10:5 Moses describes in this way the righteousness that is by the law: "The man who does these things will live by them."
There is no way around it, the Law has announced the just sentence of death and having spoken, it stands silent before the sinner who is now silenced forever. What is there to do? Well, the Law has no warrant or cause to do anything for the sinner. The Law cannot relieve his fears, his needs, or his cares. The Law cannot relieve his grief nor can it pay his debt to God. The law is unable to do anything other than cry out to the sinner: “Thou shalt not sin,” and, “The wages of sin is death.” The job of the Law, education and conviction, is complete.
Man is a sinner, morally guilty and in urgent need of justification, in urgent need of a reversal of the inevitable sentence, and in urgent need of satisfactory settlement with the offended—and eternal—Law of God.
Jesus came not to reverse the sentence but to offer a more than satisfactory settlement, a more than suitable payment to the offended—and eternal—Law of God. Jesus was the fulfillment of the Law. It says in Romans 3:22:
22 This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference,
A possible better rendering of this is found in the King James Version. There it says,
22 Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference:
In these words we see that God’s righteousness is therefore provided unto all men. And, yet the righteousness of God does not come to one who simply has faith in God, but to those who by faith claim the name of Jesus Christ. Saving faith in Christ is a necessary part of the righteousness God provides.
Acts 4:12
12 Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved.
William Cunningham, a Scottish preacher in the 1800’s, wrote: “Under law God required righteousness from man. Under grace, He gives righteousness to man. The righteousness of God is that righteousness which God’s righteousness requires Him to require.”
How is it possible to please the Sovereign God? How is it possible to obtain that level of righteousness that is God’s Righteousness (nothing less) , which God’s righteousness requires?
Romans 3:22
which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe:
As we said, the only righteousness that is acceptable to God is God’s righteousness. Impossible to get on our own, it’s available to all. God’s righteousness is provided unto all men. It is available to everyone that has, is, and will walk the earth. Because of it’s availability, we are therefore enlisted by Jesus to go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. However, even though this righteousness is provided unto all, it is nevertheless applied upon only those who believe in Jesus Christ as Savior. Only those who believe in the name of Jesus Christ and His finished work of the cross will have righteousness credited unto them.
This is the only conditional element of the gospel. This righteousness is placed upon us as a cloak when, by faith, we receive Jesus Christ as Savior. Righteousness is from God, through Jesus Christ, to all who receive Him by faith.
for there is no difference. 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
There is one other place in Romans where the statement for there is no difference. It is found in Romans Chapter 10.
Romans 10:12
For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile--the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him,
In Romans 10, as in Romans 3, it is statement concerning need or necessitation. Both Jew and Gentile alike, in Romans 10, require the same need, that is the divine provision of the Lord.
In Romans 3, there is no difference between the need of the Jew and the Gentile, which is explained in the expression, for all have sinned. But just as there is no difference in human need likewise there is no difference in need for the divine provision of the Lord.
for there is no difference. 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
For all have sinned is a brief, all encompassing, concise and frank summation of humankind. Yet, Paul goes even further and says, and fall short of the glory of God. Both Jew and Gentile are included in this all encompassing statement of blame. Both Jew and Gentile have fallen short of the glory of God.
What is the glory of God? Well, walking through the Old Testament, we are able to see frequent references to the Glory of God appearing in the pillar of the cloud leading Israel out of Egypt; at the tabernacle of the congregation at Kadesh; at the temple of Solomon; at the Mount of Olives at Jerusalem (mentioned in Ezekiel). Now, the glory of God rests in the person of Jesus Christ.
John 1:14,
The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.
And, in Hebrews 1:3a,
The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word.
The Bible says that the knowledge of the glory of God is said to be in the face of Jesus Christ,
2 Corinthians 4:6
For God, who said, "Let light shine out of darkness," made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ.
So here, in Romans 3:23, when Paul says that we have come short of the glory of God he means that we do not measure up to the sinlessness of Jesus Christ. The Law served as God’s standard of righteousness until the coming of Christ.
Galatians 3:19
What, then, was the purpose of the law? It was added because of transgressions until the Seed to whom the promise referred had come. The law was put into effect through angels by a mediator.
But when the Lord Jesus was made a curse for us, He redeemed us, He purchased us from the curse of the Law.
Romans 10:4
Christ is the end of the law so that there may be righteousness for everyone who believes.
Thus, the standard of God’s holiness today is not the Old Testament law but the person of Jesus Christ.
Let’s recap what we’ve learned so far by reading a portion of Romans 7:
Romans 7
4 So, my brothers, you also died to the law through the body of Christ, that you might belong to another, to him who was raised from the dead, in order that we might bear fruit to God. 5 For when we were controlled by the sinful nature, the sinful passions aroused by the law were at work in our bodies, so that we bore fruit for death. 6 But now, by dying to what once bound us, we have been released from the law so that we serve in the new way of the Spirit, and not in the old way of the written code. 7 What shall we say, then? Is the law sin? Certainly not! Indeed I would not have known what sin was except through the law. For I would not have known what coveting really was if the law had not said, "Do not covet."
Now for verse 24,
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.
In verse 24, Paul presents three observations. He says that the righteous man is
(1) Justified freely,
(2) Justification is by grace
(3) Justification is provided through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.
First, let’s understand what justification is. Many people will tell that justification simply means just as if you never sinned. Sadly, this falls far short of the true meaning of justification. You see, 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. Justification is an act, not a process. There are no degrees of justification; each believer has the same right standing before God. Also justification is something God does, not man. Most important, justification does not mean that God makes us righteous, but that He declares us righteous. Justification is a legal matter.
Being justified freely means being justified without any prior conditions being met. Not only is our justification without prior conditions being met but, on the other hand, it is graciously given. We don’t merit justification. We don’t deserve justification.
As a side note, the words justified freely were almost the undoing of John Bunyan, the author of Pilgrim’s Progress.
He realized that he was such a great sinner with no righteousness of his own, and said, “When God showed me John Bunyan as God saw John Bunyan, I no longer confessed I was a sinner, but I confessed that I was sin from the crown of my head to the sole of my feet. I was full of sin.”
Bunyan struggled with the problem of how he could stand in God’s presence even with his sins forgiven. Where could he gain such a standing before God? And so, walking through the cornfields one night, as he wrestled with this problem, the words of Paul (who, by the way, called himself the chief of sinners) came to him, and his burden was lifted from his shoulders. That word from Paul to Bunyan, and to us, is found in Philippians 3:8b-9,
Philippians 3
8b …that I may gain Christ 9 and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ--the righteousness that comes from God and is by faith.
by his grace
This is the way that God saves us. This is the fountain from which flows down the living waters of God in this age of grace. And because of what God has done—sending His Son to die—God is able to save by grace.
Paul says, in Ephesians 2
Ephesians 2
4 But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, 5 made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions--it is by grace you have been saved. 6 And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus,
Because of what was willingly accomplished on the Cross, a Holy God is able to freely reach down to meet your needs, but it is only available in Christ Jesus. He alone could and did pay the price. The apostle Peter puts it very well
Acts 4:12
12 Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved.
As we said, that salvation found in Acts, chapter four was accomplished at a price.
through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.
The word redemption signifies a buying back. And, since that is so, redemption must be accomplished by the payment of a price. The price of our redemption was the blood Jesus. The price of our redemption was the life of Jesus Christ.
Therefore, we are justified in the sight God when the righteousness of Christ is placed upon us by the grace of God, freely and without cause. Only then God views us as ransomed by the blood of Christ.
Let me reiterate, the righteousness of God is available to all. But, it only comes upon those that have personally placed their faith in the name of Jesus Christ. That is considered a personal relationship, a personal confession of faith.
Once that happens, we are able to stand in God’s presence with the cloak of Righteousness about us that was bought and paid for through the lifeblood of Jesus Christ.
Summary:
Hebrews 12
18 You have not come to a mountain that can be touched and that is burning with fire; to darkness, gloom and storm; 19 to a trumpet blast or to such a voice speaking words that those who heard it begged that no further word be spoken to them,
From the Heavens, God said,
Matthew 17:5b
"This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased. Listen to him!"
Romans 13
14 …clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not think about how to gratify the desires of the sinful nature.
Romans 1:
16 [Be] not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile. 17 For in the gospel a righteousness from God is revealed, a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: "The righteous will live by faith."
It is The Thin Red Line of the shed blood of Jesus Christ is the starting point of my and your Christianity. Never forget that The Thin Red Line of the shed blood of Jesus Christ is where redemption, grace, righteousness, justification, and faith have their start and allows you the standing that you now enjoy with the creator of the universe.
