Up to this point in the book of Romans, we have seen how every human being stands condemned before God. The picture has been painted of a humanity that is utterly and totally without any hope. All of us stand before God guilty as charged. And there is absolutely nothing that any of us can do about it.
But that is not the final word. If it were left at that, we would have no choice but to live in despair, without any hope for deliverance. Thank God that He provides a turning point.
This turning point is symbolized by the first two words of verse 21 - But now. The contrast is between "then" and "now." It is a great transition. Then we were lost in sin, but now something has changed. Knowing the truth that follows will change our lives. We will be able to say, like the blind man who had been healed by Jesus, "One thing I know. I was blind but now I see!"
The Gravity of Sin
21 But now apart from the Law the righteousness of God has been manifested, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets, 22 even the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all those who believe; for there is no distinction; 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, (Romans 3:21-23)
Humanity stands condemned before God, but now something has happened that may change the verdict. God has intervened. He has taken action. Paul tells us that the righteousness from God, apart from law, has been made known. And what is this righteousness? It is the righteousness from God which comes through faith in Jesus Christ. It is not our righteousness. It is God's righteousness. It is the righteousness which comes by believing in Jesus Christ alone.
What is in view here is our salvation. God is revealing how He saves us. He is revealing how we are made right with Him. We call this justification. It is how we are made righteous before God.
The first important principle we need to see is that justification is predicated on the gravity of sin. The case that Paul has been building in the previous chapters of Romans is stated again very succinctly in verse 23: For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. This is our position. And it is precisely because we are in this predicament that God must act. If God does not act, then we have no hope.
Because of the gravity of our sin, which we call human depravity, there is absolutely nothing that we can do to save ourselves. Try as we might to be righteous, our righteousness is never enough. The best we can do to be righteous is compared by Isaiah to filthy rags. If R stands for the righteousness that we must achieve to be pleasing to God, then all the righteous deeds we could ever do would always add up to -R. The reason it always adds up to -R is because righteousness means that there can be no unrighteousness mixed in. No unrighteous deed, thought, action or inaction can be included. God's standard for righteousness means perfect righteousness. And none of us attain that righteousness.
So God provides a righteousness that is quite apart from anything we can do. It is the righteousness from God that is in view here. It is the righteousness that is provided by Him to us as we believe through faith in Jesus Christ. It is not our righteousness. It is God's righteousness which is made available to us through Jesus Christ.
And it is all predicated on the depth and gravity of our sin. Because of our sin God had to act. And because of his love for us, He did act.
The Greatness of Sacrifice
24 being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus; 25 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; 26 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. (Romans 3:24-26)
The second principle we need to understand is that justification is possible because of the greatness of the sacrifice of Christ. The Apostle Paul says that we are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. This is God's gift of salvation to us. And how did it come? It came as God presented him as a sacrifice of atonement, through faith in his blood. This is the basis for our justification. This is the basis for our salvation. Knowing this truth can liberate us.
Paul calls this a sacrifice of atonement. You see, it is only through the atoning sacrifice of Christ that our sins can be forgiven.
Because of our sin, we have offended a Holy God. We have disobeyed Him, and violated His law. Our lives have been corrupted by sin. Could God just ignore that? No! To do so would be to make Him unjust. The penalty for our sins had to be paid.
God had held off judging our sin because of His mercy. Paul says that because of his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished. Then God sent His Son Jesus Christ to pay the penalty for our sins. He died on the Cross in our place. He bore our sins and the penalty for our sins there. He offered the greatest sacrifice anyone could offer. He laid down His very life for us.
And because of that great sacrifice, God would demonstrate his justice at the present time, so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus. Because of God's love for us, His justice is upheld by the sacrifice of Christ. The price for the penalty of our sin is paid in Christ. Now God is able to freely justify those who believe in Jesus. Our justification is made possible by the greatness of Christ's sacrifice. We are not justified by our own works, they are not enough. We are only justified because of the death of Christ on our behalf. We are only justified as we trust in Christ alone for our salvation.
The Glorification of Self
27 Where then is boasting? It is excluded. By what kind of law? Of works? No, but by a law of faith. 28 For we maintain that a man is justified by faith apart from works of the Law. 29 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. 31 Do we then nullify the Law through faith? May it never be! On the contrary, we establish the Law. (Romans 3:27-31)
The final major principle we should understand from our text is that justification precludes the glorification of self. Since our salvation depends upon God and God alone, We have no room to glorify ourselves. We are not saved because we are good, or because we have done righteous works, but because God has intervened on our behalf out of His mercy.
Where, then, is boasting?, asks Paul. It is excluded, he goes on to say. In other words, how can anyone boast of his salvation if he had nothing to do with it? You see, the principle on which boasting is excluded is not that of observing the law. All of our attempts to keep the law have ended in failure. The principle by which we were saved is that of faith. We must understand that our salvation comes as we are justified by faith apart from observing the law.
It doesn't matter who you are. It doesn't matter whether you are a Jew or Gentile. God is not a God of only some people. Since there is only one God, He will justify everyone by faith. The only way a person can experience salvation is by faith. It can never be earned by works of the law. Not that there is anything wrong with the law. The law is still God's standard for righteousness. Paul goes on to say that God is not attempting to nullify the law by this faith. God's purpose is to uphold the law. And by the death of Jesus Christ in payment for our sin, He does just that.
So we have seen that in the midst of our hopeless sinful condition, God has acted to intervene. The then has been changed to a now. God's righteousness has been revealed through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. And that righteousness has been made available to us by faith. We can't take credit for it - there is no room for boasting in ourselves. Our boast now is in what God has done through Christ on our behalf.
This is not only a turning point in the book of Romans, this can be a turning point in your life, if it is properly understood. It can be a turning point in the lives of people you meet, if you share this good news. What was then does not have to be now. Because of His death on the Cross for us, Christ can set us free.
23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus;
