How To Be Right With God
TEXT: Rom. 3:21-26 "But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets; 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: For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus: Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God; To declare, I say, at this time his righteousness: that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus."
Romans 3:21-28 (New Living Translation)
21. But now God has shown us a different way of being right in his sight-not by obeying the law but by the way promised in the Scriptures long ago.
22. We are made right in God’s sight when we trust in Jesus Christ to take away our sins. And we all can be saved in this same way, no matter who we are or what we have done.
23. For all have sinned; all fall short of God’s glorious standard.
24. Yet now God in his gracious kindness declares us not guilty. He has done this through Christ Jesus, who has freed us by taking away our sins.
25. For God sent Jesus to take the punishment for our sins and to satisfy God’s anger against us. We are made right with God when we believe that Jesus shed his blood, sacrificing his life for us. God was being entirely fair and just when he did not punish those who sinned in former times.
26. And he is entirely fair and just in this present time when he declares sinners to be right in his sight because they believe in Jesus.
27. Can we boast, then, that we have done anything to be accepted by God? No, because our acquittal is not based on our good deeds. It is based on our faith.
28. So we are made right with God through faith and not by obeying the law.
OPENING ILLUS. The scene is a courtroom. It’s packed out on this day. Today the judge will sentence the infamous killer. His heinous crimes have been blasted across the airwaves, and shouted from the newspaper headlines for months. Now the time has come. The jury has declared him “guilty as charged” and has recommended the death penalty.
The judge has declared a recess, while he consults his books, and decides on a sentence. Photographers jockey for the best spot, to get the Pulitzer-Prize winning photograph the moment the sentence is announced. TV crews zoom in on the defendant, sitting silently next to his lawyer, eyes downcast.
The door to the judge’s chamber opens, and a hundred microcassette recorders start rolling. Flashbulbs pop as the judge climbs to his desk.
The gavel comes down and the courtroom is stilled. The judge begins to speak. “Sir, I have reached a decision. A man you never met has volunteered to take your punishment. By the law, the horrible crimes you have committed warrant your death. But since this man made the choice to die in your place, I am offering you the chance to go free.” Gasps of shock. The judge continues. “If you do not wish to go free, then you are allowed to pay for your crimes with your own life. But because of what this man has done for you, you no longer will be forced to pay the penalty for what you have done.”
Imagine if that actually happened in our country. The next day, the newspaper headlines would scream TRAVESTY OF JUSTICE!! KILLER ALLOWED TO GO FREE!!! The talk shows could talk of nothing else. People would cry out against this forgiveness offered FREELY to a murderer. “This man deserved to DIE!” they would cry. And you know. . . they would be right!
The defendant was free. . . just like that?! All he had to do was take the judge’s word. All he had to do was believe that the judge meant what he said. A man had died in his place, and he could walk out a free man.
What would you feel like when you heard the newscasts and saw the headlines? Enraged? Disappointed? Shocked? Probably all of these.
That story is an imperfect illustration of what I want to get across to you. . . I want to show you what I call the “shock value” of the gospel. Go with me back to VERSE 26 of the third chapter of Romans:
“that HE (GOD) MIGHT BE JUST, and the JUSTIFIER of him which believeth in Jesus.”
The reason I used that courtroom story is this: put yourselves in the shoes of a Jew…or maybe we should say the sandals of a Jew!
- You’ve been raised your whole life believing that the Jews are God’s chosen people. . . which is true.
- You’ve been brought up to believe that there are huge advantages to being a Jew. . . which is true.
- You’ve been raised believing that Jews have a huge advantage since they have received the law of God. . . and that is true as well.
- But you’ve been raised believing that strict obedience to the law of God. . . observing the Sabbath, honoring your parents, not killing, not stealing or committing adultery. . . obedience to those laws, and offering the sacrifices instituted by God will save you. And that is NOT true!!
So when a man comes along and says that God is just to condemn the Gentiles, you agree. But then that same man says that the Jews are also guilty before God. . . Ray reminded us Friday of the reactions of the Jews. You are shocked, indignant! How can this man say that?! Why, he’s a Jew himself!! But Paul doesn’t stop with his declaration in verses 22-23 that “there is no difference: For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.”
He makes an absolutely impossible statement in verse 26. In your mind, the idea that God could be just and still justify the Gentiles is out of the question, especially outside of obedience to the Law!! How could God really justify people JUST BECAUSE they believed in Jesus? That is the question looming in the Jewish mind. How can God justify people just for believing in Jesus, and still be a just God at the same time?
Now put yourselves in the sandals of a Gentile.
- You’ve been raised all your life in a wicked society and led to believe that there is no better way to live . . . which is NOT true!
- You’ve been raised where idols abound and believed that they are true gods. . . . . . . .which is NOT true!
- Where you come from, immorality is the norm and you’ve been taught that that there is no other way. . . which is NOT true!
- In your hometown, oppression and stealing is a way of life for both the poor and rich, and it is just accepted as unavoidable . . . which is NOT true!
- You are called Gentile dogs and fuel for the fires of hell by the Jews.
- Now you’ve come into contact with God. You’ve read through Romans chapter 1, and you’ve read there the story of your society. . . a downward spiral, constantly getting worse, abiding under the judgement of God. . . and you realize that it is true!
- Then you come to chapter 3 and verse 26. . . and you read that God can be just and the justifier of anyone that believes in Jesus. WHAT?! How can God possibly be fair and still justify me and people like me? That is the question looming the Gentile mind at this point in Paul’s letter: How can God be just and still justify me?
Now you can go back to being yourself. How does this relate to 20th century people?
- Most of us here were raised in Christian homes, good solid holiness homes.
- We were raised in church for most of our lives.
- We were taught from our very earliest memories the things that God was pleased with and things he was not pleased with.
- But from our very earliest memories, we remember doing the things that we had been taught not to do!
That was even before I can remember! But I already knew the difference between what I should do and what I should not! There is no doubt in our mind that we are included in Paul’s statement in Romans 3:22-23: “For their is no difference: For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.”
Not only do we know that we have sinned, but from the first two chapters, we know how God looks at sin! We read in Romans 2:12, “For as many as have sinned without law shall persish without law: and as many as have sinned in the law shall be judged by the law;” We know that we deserve to be judged and to perish for our sin!
So the question that is looming in all of our minds is the same one that is in the minds of the Gentiles: How can God be just and still justify me?
So we come to the main part of my message this morning -- (THIS HAS ALL BEEN INTRODUCTION!!)
The answer to these questions that have been raised is found in verses 24-25: “Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus: Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, though the forbearance of God.”
My theme: The ONLY reason that God can justify you and still be just at the same time is because of the incredible power of what Jesus has done for us on the cross.
What was really involved? What was really happening when Jesus Christ, the God-man, hung on Calvary’s hill for six hours on that Friday? L.D. Wilcox, in his Profiles in Wesleyan Theology, says there were at least four qualifications that had to be met for their to be a complete atonement for sin.
So let’s make a four point checklist in our minds right now. I always like to make a checklist in my mind or even on paper before I make a trip, just to make sure I’ve got everything I need to make it to where I need to be. Let’s do that right now. Here’s the four qualifications:
1. The holiness of God must be vindicated.
2. The love of God calls for the display of grace and mercy.
3. Man’s free right of choice must be respected.
4. Sin must be met with an adequate power to overcome it.
Now let’s go through these and take inventory, to see if we have what we need.
1. The holiness of God must be vindicated.
The holiness of God called for justice. God could not overlook or excuse sin without a penalty being paid. That penalty called for death. We read in Rom. 6:23 that “the wages of sin is death. . .” God could not let the penalty go unpaid without compromising His holiness, the very essence of who He is.
For humans who are under the displeasure of God, this seems to be a very dark picture, doesn’t it? God’s holiness is calling for justice, and God’s holiness will have to be satisfied. And that means death for you and me!
But I’m glad we don’t have to stay there, let’s go on to:
2. The love of God calls for the display of grace and mercy.
The picture begins to brighten here. I made reference to the verse a moment ago that says, “the wages of sin is death. . .” But the last part of that verse says that “the gift of God is eternal life. . .” God is gracious and loving, and his mercy endures forever! Praise His name!!
Now it might sound like I’m saying that God’s holiness was fighting against his love and mercy and grace. That is not at all the case. It is completely unbiblical to depict God as caught between his holiness and his love and grace, trying to decide which one he will show to us as humans. There is perfect harmony among all the attributes of God, and they actually complement and describe each other.
- God’s love is always holy.
- God’s holiness is always gracious and merciful and loving.
Holiness and love are not opposites with God. But for the sake of consideration, we look at them separately. The holiness of God demanded the penalty be paid, and the goodness of God demanded that grace and love and mercy be shown, even to those who did not deserve it.
Since God’s attributes must all complement each other, we know that the sentence, the solution to the sin problem must be one that satisfies both God’s holiness and goodness! One of God’s attributes does not “win out” over the others!
That is very important!! MANY churches today have a God who is holy in name. But when it gets right down to the bottom line of their teaching, God’s love always wins out over his holiness.
Such a God is not the God we read of in the Bible! They read “God is love,” and forget “Be ye holy, for I the Lord your God am holy!” For God to be truly just, the atonement of Jesus must satisfy BOTH the holiness and the love of God.
3. Man’s free right of choice must be respected.
God is not interested in robots! The atonement cannot be so all-inclusive that is it simply universal, and all are saved, even against their will! Acts 2:21 says, “Whosoever will call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.” The atonement cannot be so limited that only the elect are saved, leaving no choice for those who were not part of the so-called “elect.”
Some might object that the free will of man will leave some unsaved. . .but we must realize that this is not a failure on God’s part! Titus 2:11 says that “The grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared unto all men.” The atonement of Jesus is powerful enough to provide for ALL MEN!
The Bible is much too full of “will” language for the atonement to ignore the will of man. The Bible is too full of “all men” language for the atonement to be limited to a few predestinated ones.
4. Sin must be met with an adequate power to overcome it.
As I watch our society today, I’m struck by what a thorough job Adam did! Adam completely messed up the human race. But as I read through Romans 5, the “much more” language just leaps out at me! Adam did not do a better job than Jesus did!! Adam messed up the human race, but “where sin did abound, grace did MUCH MORE abound!”
After wrestling with this point for a while, I decided to let the Bible speak for itself. What did Jesus Christ provide for us through his atonement? Let’s list some of the benefits. . .
1. Forgiveness of sins - Eph. 1:7 “In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins.”
2. Reconciliation - 2 Cor. 5:19 “God was in Christ reconciling the world unto himself.”
3. Sanctification - Heb. 13:12 “Jesus also, that he might sanctify [cleanse] the people with his own blood, suffered without the gate.”
4. Victory over Satan - Rev. 12:11 “And they overcame him (Satan) by the blood of the lamb.”
5. Clearing your conscience - Heb. 9:14 “How much more shall the blood of Christ. . . purge your conscience from dead words to serve the living God?”
6. Satisfaction of God’s anger - I John 2:2 “He is the propitiation [satisfaction] for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.”
7. Eternal life - John 3:16 “For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish but have everlasting life.”
8. We are brought back to God - I Peter 3:18 “For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust that he might bring us to God. . .”
9. Deliverance from bondage and fear of death - Hebrews. 2:15 “And deliver them who through fear of death, were all their lifetime subject to bondage.”
CONCLUSION: Have we checked off our check list?
-- The atonement satisfied the holiness of God. . . Jesus Christ stepped down and bore the full weight of the affect of sin in his death.
-- The atonement satisfied the love of God. . . because of Jesus’ death, we no longer will be forced to bear the punishment for our sins.
-- The atonement preserved the free will of man. . .Titus 2:11 “The grace of God which bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men.” Acts 2:21 “Whosoever will call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.”
-- The atonement conquered the sin problem forever! Romans 6:6 “Knowing this that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin.”
I come back to my theme: The only reason that God justify you and still be just at the same time is because of the incredible power of what Jesus Christ did for us on the cross.
Our checklist is complete. God really can be just and the justifier of him that believes in Christ Jesus! That means the Jews, that means the Gentiles, and that means YOU!!
One question remains: What will YOU do about it? Will you accept the gifts that Jesus has provided for us in his atonement? We’ve established that God can still be just and justify anyone who believes in Jesus. . . but of course, the believing is up to you!
