The benefits of justification, Romans 5:1-5

The apostle Paul has shown us so far in this epistle that all men are sinners before God.  To use legal jargon, all have been brought up on charges before God.  And all of mankind stand condemned because of our sin against God.  There is none righteous, not even one.  And according to God’s law, we are all given the penalty of death.  

Paul says the only people that escape this penalty are those who are made righteous by faith in God’s word, of which Abraham is given as a prime example. AS evidence that the righteous shall live and not die as a result of the penalty, Paul quotes from Hab 2:4 which says, "But the righteous will live by his faith.” Paul made it clear that Abraham was declared righteous by faith in what God had promised, and not by keeping the law, nor by his own merit. 

So as Paul summarizes in vs 22,  “Therefore IT (faith) WAS ALSO CREDITED TO HIM AS RIGHTEOUSNESS.  Now not for his sake only was it written that it was credited to him, but for our sake also, to whom it will be credited, as those who believe in Him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead,  [He] who was delivered over because of our transgressions, and was raised because of our justification.

So we see that Abraham was actually justified by faith in the promise of God that One would come from his seed who would by His death become the sacrifice by which we are justified.  And so, Paul says, this is applicable to us as well, because as Abraham was justified by looking forward to what Christ would do, so we are justified by looking back in faith at what Jesus Christ did on the cross as our substitute, who was raised from the dead resulting in the justification of those who believe in Him.

So having set forth the necessity of justification (because we are all sinners under the wrath of God), and the means by which we are justified (which is by faith in Christ) now in chapter 5 Paul sets forth the benefits of justification. And the first benefit that he gives is that we who have been justified have peace with God. 

Peace as used here indicates reconciliation with God through the death of Christ.  Reconciliation is the removal of the wrath of God and the restoration of favor with God. Peace then means the absence or removal of hostility. As sinners, we are at enmity with God, and we were by nature hostile to the things of God. Col 1:19-22 says, “For it was the [Father's] good pleasure for all the fullness to dwell in [Christ],  and through Him to reconcile all things to Himself, having made peace through the blood of His cross; through Him, [I say,] whether things on earth or things in heaven.  And although you were formerly alienated and hostile in mind, [engaged] in evil deeds,  yet He has now reconciled you in His fleshly body through death, in order to present you before Him holy and blameless and beyond reproach.” 

So having been justified, we are at peace with God, because our offense was nailed to the cross with Jesus.  We are transferred from the dominion of darkness to the kingdom of God by faith in what Christ accomplished on our behalf.

Let me clarify this benefit of peace though.  Only when we first have peace WITH God can we have the peace OF God. There is a peace that God promises to those who are His, that is based on the fact that we have been forgiven, we have been transferred into his kingdom, adopted as the children of God,  and as such we have been promised that nothing can separate us from the love of God, neither life, nor death, nor anything.  So peace is a double blessing that we receive in justification. 

That is what Paul is speaking of when he says in vs 1 and 2, “Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,  through whom also we have obtained our introduction by faith into this grace in which we stand.”  1 Peter 3:18 speaks of this doctrine of substitutionary atonement whereby we can be reconciled to God. “For Christ also died for sins once for all, [the] just for [the] unjust, so that He might bring us to God.”

So though the blood of Jesus Christ we are brought near to God, so that we might stand before Him, no longer condemned, but justified, having gained access by faith so that we might stand in His presence by grace, at peace with God. That’s the second benefit of our justification, we stand in grace. 

This benefit of grace is such an important doctrine that I feel I must deal with it more thoroughly, rather than gloss over it and go on.  And to more fully express it I would remind you of the legal scenario that I started out with.  That we have been brought up on charges before God and found guilty and the penalty is death. 

But let’s think about that in an earthly setting for a moment. Imagine that you are brought up before the court as a person found guilty of the worst type of criminal activity; premeditated murder.  And the court finds you guilty. The judge announces that the punishment prescribed by the law is death.  But then rather than the judge sentencing you to death in the electric chair as you deserve, he announces that he will offer himself as your substitute and take your place in death.  And because he does so, he declares you justified before the law - but it’s evident that it’s not because of any merit of your own, but because of the merit of the judge.

So you walk out of that courtroom a free man, not on the basis of your own rightness, but on the basis of grace.  On the basis of the gift of justification.  Grace is the basis of your justification.  Faith is the means of your justification, believing in who Jesus is, and what He has done. He died on the cross in our place. Justified by faith then is a legal decree by which we are are given a right standing before God. And we stand in grace.  Grace means gift, so this legal standing is given to us by what Jesus did on the cross.  And by faith we enter into that legal standing.  We cannot earn it, we do not deserve it, but by faith we can appropriate it.  As Eph. 2:8-9 says, “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: [it is] the gift of God:  Not of works, lest any man should boast.”

So on the basis of grace, Paul says, because we do not deserve it, “we exult in the hope of the glory of God.” Hope is another blessing of our justification.  Because we are justified we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God.  And what that simply means is that we have no reason to boast, as if we did something to deserve justification.  But rather we boast or exult in the hope of the glory of God.  Notice, he doesn’t say “we boast in the glory of God,” but “we boast in the hope of the glory of God.” That means we boast in what God has promised in regards to the future glory that will be revealed to us when Christ comes again.  As Paul told Titus, in Titus 2:13, “looking for the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Christ Jesus.” So the blessed hope is the appearing of Jesus Christ.  It is a sure hope, it is faith in that hope, that we boast in, that we rejoice in. 

It should not be difficult for us to rejoice or boast in the coming glory of the Lord, should it? After all, we also will be glorified when Christ is glorified at the end of the age, when all the world is made subject to Him. We will share in that glory.  But here comes a more difficult thing - Paul says we are to boast, or rejoice in our sufferings while on this earth.  Notice vs 3, “And not only this, but we also exult in our tribulations.” Another translation of that word tribulations is sufferings. So the next benefit of our justification is that we boast or rejoice in tribulation.

The word tribulations covers a lot of territory.  Some would like this to only be applied to persecution.  But persecution for our faith is only one element of tribulations.  It also can mean affliction, suffering, anguish, burden, or stress.  I would suggest that tribulation is a part of life as we live in a fallen world.  It may take the form of sickness, or anguish, loss of a loved one, stress from work or the stress of life.  I would go so far as to say that this Corona virus is a tribulation. Some are dealing with it more than others.  

In John 16:;33 Jesus said, “in this world you will have tribulation, but take courage for I have overcome the world.” Tribulation then is a universal facet of life. Paul talked about a weakness or infirmity in his flesh, which some think was a disease in his eyes.  He called it a “thorn in his flesh.” Paul said he asked the Lord three times to take it from him, but God said to him according to 2Cor. 12:9  “'My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.’ Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me.”  

Notice there that Paul uses that word again, “boast”.  He boasted in his tribulation.  He rejoiced in his tribulation because God’s power would be magnified through it.  It’s important to notice that God would be magnified not by healing him, but by enabling him to go through it, and as he went through it, he was a testimony to the power of God that was in him.  

And while we are in that passage, notice the next verse, “Therefore I am well content with weaknesses, with insults, with distresses, with persecutions, with difficulties, for Christ's sake; for when I am weak, then I am strong.” (2Cor.12:10) Notice how Paul defines weaknesses; as insults, distresses, persecutions, and difficulties.  That’s similar to the list I gave for tribulation a minute ago.  But Paul makes an important distinction, which I think is the reason that he is able to boast in these things.  And that distinction is he say these weaknesses are for Christ’s sake. In other words, Christ used these infirmities, these distresses, these persecutions to show forth His power.  Paul spoke in another place that even when he was in chains in prison, he considered it as being a prisoner of Christ. So whatever tribulation he endured, he could even rejoice in it for the sake of sharing in Christ’s sufferings so that the power of God might be manifested.

The point is clear that all men are going through tribulation on this earth, sooner or later, perhaps often, as long as you are in the flesh.  The difference is that for a Christian, we do not go through it alone and without achieving a higher purpose.  Christ lives in me and evidences Himself in my sufferings, so that I may manifest the power of Christ in me.

That’s what Romans 8:28 says. It’s a verse that is often misquoted, and seldom understood. It says “And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to [His] purpose.”  God isn’t promising to make everything work out so that no one gets sick, or no one dies, or nothing bad happens.  But God is promising to glorify Himself in whatever circumstances we go through, through those who are called to be His children, who love God and are called to live for God. That is the purpose for which we are called, to glorify God in our body, by life or by death.

We talked extensively last week in our study of the previous passage about the necessity to make sure that our faith is founded on the word of God, on the promises of God.  And it’s important to understand that God has not promised that we will never get sick, or that we will never have financial problems, or that we will never have sorrow.  But God has promised to never leave us or forsake us, to go through the fiery trials with us, and to refine us, and bring us out as gold.  That we might be ambassadors for the power of God which is in us.  God has promised to one day raise us from the dead, to live forever with the Lord and share in  the glory of the Lord.  God has promised to use suffering in this earth, so that we might be glorified in the new heavens and new earth.

Listen to how these promises of suffering and the glory to follow are explained in Romans 8:16 “The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, heirs also, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with [Him] so that we may also be glorified with [Him.] For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us.”

So back to our text in vs 3, Paul said, “we also exult or rejoice in our tribulations, knowing that tribulation brings about perseverance; and perseverance, proven character; and proven character, hope; and hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us.”

Notice then this chain of blessings that come as a result of our justification, of which the product is sanctification.  Sufferings, in whatever form they come, reveal our weakness while at the same time reveal God’s power.  And when the Christian realizes he is weak, then he is forced to turn to God for strength, and thus his faith is strengthened.  So suffering, Paul says, brings about perseverance.  

Perseverance is the strength to persistently bear up under trials.  Perseverance is not giving up, continuing to trust in the Lord even though you recognize that you are too weak to go through it on your own.  It’s a commitment.  Perseverance is faith plus commitment.  Not quitting. It’s not a passive quality, but a persistent quality of faith.  In Rev. 2:25, Jesus refers to it as holding fast to your faith.  A few verses earlier in vs10, Jesus says to be faithful even to death. That’s perseverance. 

Then Paul says, perseverance produces proven character.  I came up with an definition of character that I thought was pretty good, if I do say so myself. “Character is the mettle (pun intended)(spirit, fortitude, strength of character, moral fiber, steel, determination, resolve, resolution, backbone, grit, courage) that is produced in the fire of trials.”  So to have your character proven is to endure trials which reveal that you have passed the test to which you were subjected, whatever that might be.

Bob Jones Sr. once said “The test of your character is what it takes to stop you.”  And in Zech. 13:9 God speaks of these tests saying, “I will refine them like silver and test them like gold.”  As the refining fire of the goldsmith purifies the gold of impurities it also makes it more valuable.  So also the perseverance of the believer in trials purifies them, producing proven character.  Or producing tested, evident, character.

Now for that person who passes the test by the power of God working in him, it cannot help but strengthen their hope.  After all, if God just showed Himself faithful in my test, then I can go through more trials with a greater hope, knowing that what God has done in the past can be done in the future. So proven character, Paul says, produces hope. 

Vs5,  “and hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us.”  Notice how Paul has transitioned from faith in vs 1 to hope vs 4, and now to love in vs 5.  Faith, hope, love, the trifecta of our religion.

It’s impossible to be a Christian without faith.  We have established that already, and fully. But there are people without hope.  I think hopelessness is one of the primary maladies of the world.  The fundamental problem in the world is sin, but sin produces a lack of hope. And that lack of hope is the symptom of a sick world.  

There are also people  who have a false hope. They may hope in the things of this world, or they may hope in false religion. Ultimately, both those who have no hope and those who have a false hope find heartache and disappointment.  But Paul says that there is a hope that does not disappoint.  That hope which does not disappoint is anchored in Jesus Christ.  Jesus is the hope of the world.

Heb 6:19-20 says, “This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, a [hope] both sure and steadfast and one which enters within the veil,  where Jesus has entered as a forerunner for us, having become a high priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek.”  Jesus who came to earth in a visible form of a man, who died on the cross, was raised from the dead and rose into heaven in the sight of 500 witnesses.  This same risen Jesus is the basis for the hope that we have, that He is alive and seated at the Father’s right hand, where He forever lives to make intercession for His people and who has promised to come again that we might be with Him forever. So because He lives, we know that we will live with Him.

Our hope is anchored in God’s love that was expressed by offering Jesus to take our place on the cross. God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him, should not perish but have everlasting life. (John 3:16)

Paul isn’t saying that God’s love is given out sparingly.  But he says it is “poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit given to us.”  God lavished His love upon us, not sparing anything that we needed to be fully reconciled to Him.  

Notice, he says God’s love has been poured out within our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us.”   That goes back full circle to this state of grace by which we stand that we talked about earlier.  God granted us justification as a gift because He loved us and had compassion on us. But that is not the full extent of this state of grace.  God also granted us  adoption that we might be the children of God.  We are not just forgiven at the court, but we are also granted sonship to the Judge.  As sinners, at enmity with God, we are justified, then we are adopted, and because we are adopted we are given the life of God, even eternal life.  And then wonder of wonders, we are given the gift of the Holy Spirit to live in us.  God Himself dwells in us!  What a tremendous gift that is.  That explains why John could say, John 1:16 “For of His fullness we have all received, and grace upon grace."

And even that is not all the grace that is ours, for God has promised that we will be granted to sit on thrones with Christ and reign over the world with Him.  That we will be co heirs with Christ.  That boggles the mind.  What blessings are in store for us we cannot imagine - all because of our justification by faith in what Jesus did on the cross for us.  So I pray you know the peace of God because Christ has made peace with God on your behalf.  And then let us persevere in faith in the midst of trials, that the endurance of our faith produces proven character, and a hope that does not disappoint as we go through the tribulations here on this earth.  They cannot compare to the glory which is set before us as promised by God. 

Faith in the promises of God, Romans 4:13-25

Some of you may be aware that many years ago I used to be an antique dealer and appraiser who specialized in Native American antiques.  I looked for things like clothing or weaponry that was from the late 19th century and baskets and textiles. One of the things I learned about from that period was a very rare artifact called a Ghost Dance shirt.  It was made in the 1890’s, and rather than being made from the usual buckskin, it was made from muslin and usually painted with symbols of stars and birds. 

The significance of this shirt is that it came from a  period when the Indians had been restricted to reservations, and their tribes had been decimated by disease like typhoid fever.  One of the leaders of the Paiute tribe named Wovoka had become sick and he started having visions in which he was translated to heaven and shown visions by God of his people returning to the old ways and living together again in love and peace.  Wovoka claimed that God also said that Jesus would be reincarnated on earth in 1892, that the people must work, not steal or lie, and that they must not engage in the old practices of war or the traditional self-mutilation practices connected with mourning the dead. God said that if his people abided by these rules, they would be united with their friends and family in the other world, and in God's presence, there would be no sickness, disease, or old age.

Wavoka began to teach many different tribes the doctrines that he had seen in the vision and it quickly spread among most of the Plains Indian tribes. A belief that emerged from this religion was that if they wore a sacred shirt which they made from muslin and painted with certain celestial symbols,  it would make them impervious to rifle bullets.  The soldiers would not be able to kill them, but they would be protected by the power of God.  

Unfortunately, this belief culminated in a disastrous loss of life now known as the Massacre at Wounded Knee.  I don’t have time to go into all the details of the battle this morning, but suffice it to say that the soldiers at the forts became frightened by this renewed religious zeal on the part of the Indians, and that fear soon led to a battle between the soldiers and the Indians, in which 25 soldiers died, and 153 Lakota Indians were killed, many of them women and children.  It became obvious that their faith in the power of the Ghost Dance shirt was ill founded.  The sacred shirt did not have the protective power over death that the Native Americans had believed it would have.

I bring up that story today in order to emphasize the importance of having a sure foundation for faith.  Especially in light of the situation throughout the world right now with the corona virus, it is more important than ever to be certain of our faith, and that our faith rests not on visions, nor feelings, nor on a word of knowledge,  nor on the strength, or size or zeal of our faith, but on the promises of God. 

As the internet has gone wild with people making assumptions, naming and claiming healing, claiming a word from God, all with the goal of removing the fear of getting sick from the virus.  As I have heard people say things, or read people’s posts on the internet over the last couple of weeks I have often been reminded of this story, and the futility of the power of faith if it is not founded upon the word of God.  That is why here at the Beach Fellowship we emphasize  the importance of the sufficiency and authority of scripture.  We believe it is the inspired word of God. 

If you think about that phrase “word of God” for a moment, we might ask, what does that really mean?  Well, let me ask you, if you were to say to someone, “I give you my word,” what do you mean by that?  I would think your answer would be that I am making a promise. A guarantee. We’ve all heard the phrase, my word is my bond. Paul has instructed us in Romans that the righteous shall live by faith,  which means they believe  the word of God. Genesis 15:6 says Abraham believed God. Not beloved in God, but Abraham believed God’s promise.  And the scripture says His word will not fail; that the word of God endures forever. Paul says in 2 Timothy 2:13 that God cannot deny Himself.  Paul says in Romans 11:29 that the the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable.  So faith is believing the word of God.

You will remember that in our last couple of messages we showed that faith has it’s foundation in the scriptures.  Paul quotes from Genesis 15 and Psalm 32 as scriptural evidence for faith. So scripture is the word of God in which we have faith. Any so called faith outside of the word of God is unfounded.   The sure foundation for our faith is the word of God, the promise of God.

Now that is really the main point that Paul introduces here in this passage before us today. He introduces a new word that up to now he has not used in this epistle.  And that word is promise. Up to this point, Paul has spoken repeatedly of the necessity of faith, that faith is the only means by which a man is righteous before God.  But now he introduces this idea of a  promise, that we might know specifically what we are to have faith in.   Faith here is not meant as an entity that stands alone; faith is not believing in something really fervently,  but faith rests upon specific promises from God.  So notice that in this passage Paul uses the word promise several times, in vs 13, 14, 16, 20, and 21. What he is saying is that Abraham was justified because he believed in the promise of God.

Now let’s look at vs 13 and see how this is presented. Vs13 “For the promise to Abraham or to his descendants that he would be heir of the world was not through the Law, but through the righteousness of faith.  For if those who are of the Law are heirs, faith is made void and the promise is nullified;  for the Law brings about wrath, but where there is no law, there also is no violation.”

Notice the word promise in vs13. The promise, Paul says is that Abraham and his descendants would be heir of the world.  It was a promise not based works or merit of Abraham, but on the power of God.  So through faith in God’s promise he would obtain or inherit the world.  Now what is meant by an “heir of the world?”  Well,  in a simple sense, it means that ultimately, as the New Testament explains, you will be a joint heir with Christ and you will inherit everything that is Christ’s. That’s the New Testament view of it. We who come to God by faith, we who believe the promise of salvation, will inherit everything. 

But let’s look specifically at God’s promise to Abraham. God’s promise to Abraham was one that was progressive in revelation.  God expanded upon His promise to him in each subsequent time that He spoke to Abraham.  And if you look at the scripture, you will see that there were three components to this promise.  First there was the promise of the land of Canaan. This promise was spelled out in Genesis chapter 12, 13, 15, and 17.  And I would suggest that the land of Canaan was but a deposit on the full promise to be heir of the world as spoken of in our passage in vs 13.

Secondly, God promised that Abraham’s seed would be as numerous as the dust of the earth. That promise is found in Gen. 13, 15, and 18.  The third component of God’s promise is that from Abraham’s seed all the families of the earth will  be blessed, which is found in Gen 18 and 26.   Paul expanded on that promise in Galatians 3:16 saying, that the scripture says it is not through Abraham’s “seeds,” plural, that the world might be blessed, but “to your seed,” singular.  And that seed, explained Paul, is Christ. So way back in Genesis, in God’s promise to Abraham He was speaking of the coming of Jesus Christ, through whom all the world might be blessed.

So keeping that in mind, as we look at this passage that Abraham or his seed would be heir of the world, we understand that all who by faith are children of Abraham actually are heirs of the world.  We inherit the world.  1 Cor. 3:21 says, “All things are yours.” Abraham, as well as those who are his seed, who have received righteousness by faith, are heirs of the world.  We will rule the world with Christ and in fact, are rulers now. As Peter said, we are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, the people of God, heirs of the world.  Jesus promised the church at Thyatira in Rev. 2:26-27  'He who overcomes, and he who keeps My deeds until the end, TO HIM I WILL GIVE AUTHORITY OVER THE NATIONS;  AND HE SHALL RULE THEM WITH A ROD OF IRON, AS THE VESSELS OF THE POTTER ARE BROKEN TO PIECES, as I also have received [authority] from My Father.”

Then Paul reminds us again in vs 14, we are heirs not on the basis of works or merit, but on the basis of faith.  If you are hoping to gain the inheritance by keeping the law, then the promise is made worthless.  The law was only intended to show us we were sinners, under the wrath of God.  But the promise to be an heir of the world comes by faith.

And Paul states that the promise is by faith in vs 16, saying, “For this reason [it is] by faith, in order that [it may be] in accordance with grace, so that the promise will be guaranteed to all the descendants, not only to those who are of the Law, but also to those who are of the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all,  (as it is written, "A FATHER OF MANY NATIONS HAVE I MADE YOU") in the presence of Him whom he believed, [even] God, who gives life to the dead and calls into being that which does not exist.”

The point Paul is making is that the reason that salvation comes by faith is that it might be a matter of grace.  Grace is a gift, God’s unmerited favor.  It’s not of works, otherwise we could never obtain this promise because we could never produce perfect obedience to the law.  But instead, God has provided it as a gift that it might be fully assured to all who believe.

Notice also that Paul says that this promise is guaranteed to all of Abraham’s descedents, not just to those who were under the law, that is the Jews, but also to those who are of the faith of Abraham.  And that means that the promise is guaranteed to us who live today.  Galatians 3:29 says there is no Jew or Greek, male of female, slave or free, but “if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham's descendants, heirs according to promise.”

So then all who are of the faith of Abraham are the descendants of Abraham.  Thus Paul quotes Genesis 17:5 which says “a Father of many nations have I made you.” Back in vs 11 he is called the “father of all who believe.”  Paul wants to reinforce the fact that God is not a distinguisher of persons according to race or nationality or pedigree, but His grace is given to only one group; that is believers, those of the same faith as Abraham.

Paul further describes the object of Abraham’s faith as “God who gives life to the dead.” You will remember that God supernaturally gave Abraham the power to have children, and He supernaturally gave Sarah the ability to conceive.  Abraham was 100 years old. HIs body was as good as dead. And yet God gave him the ability to produce a son. Then there was another instance when Abraham considered that God was able to give life to the dead and that is described in Heb. 11:17-19.  “By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises was offering up his only begotten [son;] [it was he] to whom it was said, "IN ISAAC YOUR DESCENDANTS SHALL BE CALLED."  He considered that God is able to raise [people] even from the dead, from which he also received him back as a type.” Abraham was willing to sacrifice his son, because he believed that God would keep His promise to bring forth a multitude from Isaac, and therefore God would have to raise Isaac from the dead.  And as Hebrews said, the type which Isaac symbolized of course was Christ, who though He died, was raised again from the dead.

And folks, this is our hope, the promise for us, that though in this body we die, we will be raised again to live forever with God in a new body.  Our hope is that even in death God is able to give life to the dead, and we will triumph over this world, we will be raised again in a new body, in a new world, in which we will rule and reign with Christ.  That is the fulfillment of  the promise that we will be heirs of the world.

But even though in the flesh we may die, we will not die in our spirit.  Jesus said, “whosoever believes in Me shall never die, believe thou this?” To be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord.  Jesus said concerning life after death in Matt. 22:32 “'I AM THE GOD OF ABRAHAM, AND THE GOD OF ISAAC, AND THE GOD OF JACOB'? He is not the God of the dead but of the living.”  Though we die in the flesh, we live in the spirit with the Lord in Paradise, and then at the resurrection, we will receive a new glorified body, in which there will be no sickness or death, and which will reign with the Lord in a new heaven and a new earth.  That is the inheritance that Abraham was promised and which we are promised.

Paul adds another distinction about this faith in God.  And that is stated as “who calls into being that which does not exist.”  Paul looks back all the way to creation and reminds us that God did not need to have something to work with.  He did not need evolution to help Him create the world. He called it into existence by the word of His mouth. God spoke and the world was made by His word. He made something from nothing.  And that fact of God’s power assures us that what God declares He is able to perform.  He doesn’t need our help.  God is able to save, and only God is able to save. 

What a tremendous hope we have as believers.  We that believe the word of God can believe in  a magnificent promise, a promise that gives us hope in a world that would otherwise be hopeless.  Abraham had that hope.  And that hope inspired his faith.  Look at vs 18. “In hope against hope he believed, so that he might become a father of many nations according to that which had been spoken, "SO SHALL YOUR DESCENDANTS BE."  Without becoming weak in faith he contemplated his own body, now as good as dead since he was about a hundred years old, and the deadness of Sarah's womb;  yet, with respect to the promise of God, he did not waver in unbelief but grew strong in faith, giving glory to God,  and being fully assured that what God had promised, He was able also to perform.  Therefore IT WAS ALSO CREDITED TO HIM AS RIGHTEOUSNESS.”

Hope simply means the expectation of something desirable.  That hope for Abraham was the promise God made that he would have a son.  God told him in Gen. 17:5 "No longer shall your name be called Abram,(exalted father)  But your name shall be Abraham (father of a multitude); For I have made you the father of a multitude of nations.”  How Abraham must have felt when someone asked him his name.  After all, he had no son.  

And then, to make it worse, God’s promise of a son didn’t come immediately.  God waited until Abraham’s body was as good as dead, 100 years old.  I can assure you, now that I’ve reached the ripe age of 61, that I can sense my body is quickly becoming “as good as dead.”  I can’t imagine what 40 more years would feel like.  God wanted to be sure that His grace would not the product of Abraham’s effort.  But notice, against all hope, Abraham in hope, believed.  That is the faith that God desires.  Believing in HIs word, believing in HIs promise, against all reason, against all science, against all the world might say. Abraham did not waver in unbelief. 

Now that is tremendous faith, but I hope that you do not despair thinking that it is unattainable faith. It may be a struggle to have this kind of faith. But the scripture says faith is also a gift of God. God will strengthen your faith as you trust in Him. God’s word reassures our faith. And the Spirit of Christ working in us will help us in our times of doubt if we will turn to Him for assurance.

This promise of God is meant not just for Abraham, but for all in every age who would believe God.  Paul says in closing, in vs 23 that “Not for his sake only was it written that it was credited to him,  but for our sake also, to whom it will be credited, as those who believe in Him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead,  [He] who was delivered over because of our transgressions, and was raised because of our justification.” 

Paul says that this was not just written for Abraham’s sake, but also for our sake.  And he is speaking not only of his age but for our age, in the 21st century.  We are able to receive the credit of righteousness to our account just as Abraham was.  And we are able to receive it in the same way that Abraham received it - by faith in the promise of God.  As Peter said, we have the promise of God made more sure because though Abraham received salvation by a type, we have received salvation because we have seen the fulfillment of the type in Jesus Christ.  Abraham saw the lamb that God provided in order to be the substitute for Isaac, but we see Jesus, who became the sin substitute for us, so that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him.  

We have faith in Jesus, who was raised from the dead, who was delivered up to death for our sins, and was raised from the dead for our justification that we might be declared righteous before God.  Not on the basis of our works or merit, but on the basis of faith in what He did.

Abraham had faith in only a promise. We have faith in the fulfillment of that promise in Jesus Christ.  He is the Seed which is the heir of the world, He is the Seed through which all the nations of the world shall be blessed, and He is the Seed by which will come a multitude which are the children of God.  

I hope that you have received this gift of faith that Abraham received.  I pray that you know the joy of knowing that you are justified in the sight of God, that you are an heir of the world, and a co heir with Christ.  You can have this life of blessedness if you simply trust in His word, if you believe in Christ as your Savior and Lord. 

In this time of uncertainty and fear, in this time of anxiety about sickness and death, it is reassuring to remember that God’s promises are sure and cannot fail.  He is able to give life to that which is dead.  He is able to call into being that which is not.  He that lives and believes in Christ will never die.  Do you believe this?

Paul says in Rom 10:8-11 But what does [the scripture] say? "THE WORD IS NEAR YOU, IN YOUR MOUTH AND IN YOUR HEART"--that is, the word of faith which we are preaching,  that if you confess with your mouth Jesus [as] Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved;  for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation.  For the Scripture says, "WHOEVER BELIEVES IN HIM WILL NOT BE DISAPPOINTED."

Abraham, the illustration of faith, Romans 4:1-12

In preaching classes, they teach you that illustrations are essential to a good sermon.  I tend not to use them as much as many other pastors do.  Last week I used one regarding the great chasm between man and God, and I think I can say confidently that it was not a good illustration.  I find that the best illustrations for a sermon come from the Bible itself. And in Paul’s message on Romans we come now to an illustration from the life of Abraham.  You might say that Abraham is the best personal illustration of the righteousness which comes from God on the basis of faith and I think we will see that as it is presented in this passage.

Now Paul has already established in Romans 1:17 that the righteous man shall live by faith, which is a quote from Habakkuk 2:4. Then Paul thoroughly evidenced that there is no one who is righteous on the basis of his own merit, not even one person. And finally, in our last passage we studied, Paul showed that there is a righteousness which comes from God, apart from the works of the law or our human merit, which was spoken of in the Old Testament scriptures, and it is available to all men through faith in Jesus Christ.

Now to illustrate this faith that results in righteousness from God, Paul presents the faith of Abraham.  And you should understand some things regarding Paul’s decision to chose Abraham as the illustration of saving faith.  Abraham, of course, was considered the father of the Jews.  And we would agree with that. But the Jews went much further in their adulation of Abraham than what we believe.  They taught that God chose Abraham to be the father of their nation because God found him righteous above any other man on the earth. They taught that he began to serve God at the age of three, and that his righteousness was completed by his circumcision and his fulfillment of the law by anticipation.  They taught that though the law had not yet been given, Abraham anticipated it, and kept it and therefore because of his righteousness, he was deemed worthy of God’s favor.  So for anyone who was either Jewish or knowledgeable of Judaism, Paul choosing Abraham as an illustration of righteousness would have been very significant, because they held that Abraham was righteous, and therefore selected by God, the very opposite of what Paul was arguing.

And it’s apparent that the church at Rome probably had a large number of converted Jews in attendance, especially in light of the fact that Paul uses the title regarding Abraham as “our forefather according to the flesh.” The Jews would have agreed with that as they saw him as their forefather. However, it should be noted that God promised to make Abraham a father of many nations, which included his offspring that became the Ishmaelites and Edomites, so in a sense he is the father of both Jews and Gentiles.  And as we progress in this passage we will see that Paul considers Abraham to be the forefather of all who have faith.

So Paul says in effect that given the divine blessings upon  Abraham, what can we learn from the life of Abraham about how to be righteous before God?

And Paul begins to answer that question in vs2 saying that “if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about.” However, previously in chap.3 vs 27 Paul said boasting was excluded, because God justifies on the basis of faith and not because of works.  But as I pointed out a moment ago, the Jews believed that Abraham was righteous on the basis of his merit, particularly by keeping the law of circumcision. 

But notice how Paul phrases it, “If Abraham was justified by works, then he has something to boast about, but not before God.” In other words, from God’s point of view Abraham had no reason to boast in his own merit.  As the author of Hebrews indicates, Abraham was called by God’s sovereign grace even while he was living in Ur of the Chaldees, among a pagan people. It was Abraham’s faith, not his works, which was the thing which God rewarded.  Listen how Hebrews summarizes Abraham’s life. Heb. 11:6, 8-12, 17-19 “And without faith it is impossible to please [Him,] for he who comes to God must believe that He is and [that] He is a rewarder of those who seek Him. ... 8 By faith Abraham, when he was called, obeyed by going out to a place which he was to receive for an inheritance; and he went out, not knowing where he was going.  By faith he lived as an alien in the land of promise, as in a foreign [land,] dwelling in tents with Isaac and Jacob, fellow heirs of the same promise;  for he was looking for the city which has foundations, whose architect and builder is God. By faith even Sarah herself received ability to conceive, even beyond the proper time of life, since she considered Him faithful who had promised. Therefore there was born even of one man, and him as good as dead at that, [as many descendants] AS THE STARS OF HEAVEN IN NUMBER, AND INNUMERABLE AS THE SAND WHICH IS BY THE SEASHORE. ... 17 By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises was offering up his only begotten [son;]  [it was he] to whom it was said, "IN ISAAC YOUR DESCENDANTS SHALL BE CALLED."  He considered that God is able to raise [people] even from the dead, from which he also received him back as a type.”

Now back in our passage in Romans Paul goes again to the Old Testament scriptures for validation to his argument that Abraham was righteous by faith.  And ironically, he goes to the very one his Jewish opponents might have also claimed.  The scripture he references is found in Genesis 15:6.  Paul says in vs3, “For what does the Scripture say? ‘ABRAHAM BELIEVED GOD, AND IT WAS CREDITED TO HIM AS RIGHTEOUSNESS.’”

The principle of saving faith in this verse is so important that it is repeated in a couple of other epistles, namely, Galatians 3:6 and James 2:23. And so I would like to examine this statement thoroughly. First of all, please notice that Paul says Abraham believed God, not that he believed in God. Abraham was not justified on the basis of believing in God’s existence, but by believing God.  Look at the context of Gen. 15:6 and it’s apparent that Abraham had already exhibited that he believed in God.  He had followed God’s command to leave Haran and go to a country that God would show him.  The context of Genesis 15:6 shows that God is making specific promises of a son who would come from Abraham’s body.  And so in regards to God’s  promises Abraham believed God.

And I think that is an important distinction. Because James 2:19 says the devil’s believe in God, and tremble. So merely believing in the existence of God does not save, it is believing in His word.

The other important thing we need to understand is the principle of reckoning, or credited, or accounted, depending upon your translation.  What this means is that God counted as righteousness what Abraham appropriated by faith, which was the righteousness of Christ. The Lord reckoned, or credited this unrighteous man, Abraham, to be righteous, even though he was not.The Lord was able to do this without himself being unjust, because of the certainty that Messiah would come and voluntarily sacrifice himself for all those who would have faith in Him. He would be Abraham’s substitute, paying the penalty for Abraham’s sin, and transferring His righteousness to Abraham in exchange.

This great exchange is spoken of in 2 Cor. 5:21 which says, “God made Jesus, who knew no sin, to be sin for us, that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him.”  So we see that it’s not a degree of righteousness which has to be added to, and added to, in hopes of obtaining enough righteousness to please God, but it’s the full measure of God’s righteousness which is applied to our account.  But our justification is not God making us perfectly righteous, but counting us as perfectly righteous. And after we are counted righteous, then God begins making us truly righteous, culminating at our resurrection.

So in other words, God put to Abraham’s account, placed on deposit for him, credited to him, righteousness... Abraham possessed righteousness in the same way as a person would possess a sum of money placed in his account in a bank.  Furthermore, we should understand that righteousness is  more than the absence of evil and guilt. It is a positive good, meaning that God does not only declare us innocent, but righteous.

And Paul makes sure that we understand it is credited to us on the basis of faith, not works or merit. He says in vs 4 “Now to the one who works, his wage is not credited as a favor, but as what is due.  But to the one who does not work, but believes in Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is credited as righteousness.”

The word translated as favor in my version is the Greek word “grace”.  You may remember we talked about grace last week and described it as unmerited favor. The point is, if you work, you expect a paycheck for your labor.  But if you don’t work, then what God gives you is grace, unmerited favor, which is credited to you as righteousness.  A lot of people today get their paychecks by direct deposit into their bank account.  But God gives us a divine deposit of righteousness, for which we do not work, for it is a gift of God deposited in our account.

The Greek word charis was used in those days by secular authors, usually referring to a spontaneous gift or favor given to a friend.  But in the New Testament, charis takes on a new dimension, in that God is not giving grace to his friends, but to his enemies.  And Paul echoes that in the use of the description of the recipient of grace being the ungodly.  He says, "But to the one who does not work, but believes in Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is reckoned as righteousness.”   As the Jews thought concerning Abraham, they might expect God would only justify a godly man, but because of what Jesus did on the cross, God can justify the ungodly. Jesus came to save sinners.  No one is godly on the basis of their own merit.

Imagine having a large sum of money, and you spent it foolishly.  You wasted it on every luxury and trivial thing until you had none left.  And furthermore, you then went into debt for much more besides until you were way over your head in debt and absolutely broke, with no hope of paying it back.  And then imagine someone wiping out your debt, paying it in full, and then depositing an immense sum into your bank account.  That is what God has done for us.  Not on the basis of whether we deserved it or not, but on the basis of His mercy and grace.

So from start to finish, right standing with God is a gift of God.  And it is appropriated by faith in Jesus Christ. Therefore all the glory for our salvation belongs to God. There is no room for boasting in human works or merit.

Now to this illustration of Abraham, Paul adds another well known Old Testament figure, and that is of David.  All of us I’m sure are aware that though David was called a man after God’s own heart, and he achieved great things for the Lord, yet he was a man who fell into grevious sin. And so no one could make the claim like they did with Abraham that it was David’s inherent righteousness that gave him a right standing before God.  

But Paul emphasizes David’s righteousness  in vs6, saying, “just as David also speaks of the blessing on the man to whom God credits righteousness apart from works.”  And then he quotes David from Psalm 32:1,2, saying, “BLESSED ARE THOSE WHOSE LAWLESS DEEDS HAVE BEEN FORGIVEN, AND WHOSE SINS HAVE BEEN COVERED. BLESSED IS THE MAN WHOSE SIN THE LORD WILL NOT TAKE INTO ACCOUNT.”

David is joyful because he knows that his sins are forgiven. But he also indicates the same blessing is available for all those who partake of God’s grace.  David knew the blessedness of the man to whom God credits righteousness apart from works.  

Some commentators believe that Paul, who studied under Gamaliel is using a method of interpretation called “analogy” favored by the school of Hallel, which basically said that an earlier interpretation of a word connects to a later use of the same word, so that you may interpret the later usage by the older usage.  I have often referred to a similar method of hermeneutics which is called the principle of first mention.  For instance, if you want to know what Romans 12:1 means when it refers to worship, then go to the earliest use of that word and it will help you to understand the later usage.  In that example, the first use of worship is found in Genesis 22:5 when Abraham is taking Isaac his son to be offered as a sacrifice in obedience to God, and Abraham says to the men with him,  “Stay here with the donkey, and I and the lad will go over there; and we will worship and return to you.”  So by that hermeneutic we learn that worship involves sacrifice.

The similar point  that commentators are making in regards to our passage in Romans is that the use of “reckon” in the verse concerning Abraham, instructs us in the meaning of the word “reckons” in the quote from David in vs8.  He is showing a connection. The phrase rendered “take into account” is the same word “logizomai” which is translated “reckoned” in Genesis 15:6. Therefore, what David is saying by means of the correct interpretation of that word, is that God credits or reckons righteousness apart from the law.  

David speaks of the blessedness, not of the one who is justified through works, but of the sinner who is cleansed through imputation. The emphasis is on what God places upon us  (which is the righteousness of Jesus), not on what we do for God.  Paul will go on to elaborate on the point of our unworthiness in the next chapter, saying, Rom 5:6-9 “For while we were still helpless, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. For one will hardly die for a righteous man; though perhaps for the good man someone would dare even to die.  But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.  Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from the wrath [of God] through Him.”

Having confirmed the justification that comes from God through grace and not from works by the passage from David,  Paul goes back to the example of Abraham to make another correlating, important point. He says, Abraham was counted righteous before he was circumcised; therefore he was not counted righteous because he was circumcised.

Let’s read the text in vs9 "Is this blessing then on the circumcised, or on the uncircumcised also? For we say, ‘FAITH WAS CREDITED TO ABRAHAM AS RIGHTEOUSNESS.’  How then was it credited? While he was circumcised, or uncircumcised? Not while circumcised, but while uncircumcised;  and he received the sign of circumcision, a seal of the righteousness of the faith which he had while uncircumcised, so that he might be the father of all who believe without being circumcised, that righteousness might be credited to them,  and the father of circumcision to those who not only are of the circumcision, but who also follow in the steps of the faith of our father Abraham which he had while uncircumcised.”

The point Paul wants to make is the blessing of righteousness is all the more significant because Abraham could not have earned it.  And another tremendous aspect of the blessing is that it is not only given to the Jews, but to the Gentiles as well, even to all who believe.

Now the standard Jewish belief was that God’s blessing came only to the circumcised.  Even as the first church was being formed, there were some who came from Jerusalem to the Gentile churches and tried to get them to become circumcised, saying that they could not be saved without adding certain laws to their faith.  So Paul wants to put that false doctrine to bed.  And he does so in a masterful way by showing that Abraham was declared righteous and credited with righteousness before he was circumcised.  In fact, it was at least 14 years after Gen.15:6, Abraham being then 99 years old and Ishmael was 13 years old when he and Ishmael were circumcised according to the command of God.  When God credited him with righteousness in Gen.15:6 Ishmael had not even been conceived.  And so Paul is able to show chronologically that righteousness is not based on the works of the law because Abraham was uncircumcised at that time.

It’s also important for application to us that we notice that Paul refers to “the sign of circumcision.” A sign indicates a later reality.  Thus in the cutting away of the flesh in circumcision it typifies the excision of the guilt and corruption of sin, which is a picture of justification and sanctification.

Paul also referred to circumcision as a seal. To Abraham it was the mark or seal of a guarantee that God would keep His promise. Sins and seals can be very helpful in our faith. But it’s also possible to over emphasize them. In the old dispensation there was the rites of circumcision and the Passover.  And in the new dispensation there is the rites of baptism and the Lord’s Supper.  But those rites to do bring about justification, but are merely signs pointing to it.  They are a great educational value to our faith, and a great way of reminding us and testifying of what God has done.  But they are not the means of justification, only the signs of it.  So never should they be overrated and given the promise of removing sin.  They merely are outward signs of an inward transformation.

So Paul makes an important point by the fact that circumcision does not justify anyone.  They are justified by faith alone, through grace alone.  And by extension we need to understand that observing signs and seals does not impart righteousness. In fact, Abraham, the father of all those who believe, was declared righteous while he was still uncircumcised. Therefore, how could anyone then say (as some did in Paul’s day) that Gentiles must be circumcised before God would declare them righteous? Or how could anyone say that without baptism no one can be saved as certain churches today teach? 

The Jews of Paul’s day thought circumcision meant they were the true descendants of Abraham. But Paul insists that to have Abraham as your father, you must walk in the steps of the faith that Abraham walked in. Look at vs 12, “and the father of circumcision to those who not only are of the circumcision, but who also follow in the steps of the faith of our father Abraham which he had while uncircumcised.”

As Paul stated in Gal. 3:7 “Therefore, be sure that it is those who are of faith who are sons of Abraham.” That directly corresponds to the statement in chapter 2, vs 28, where Paul said, “For he is not a Jew who is one outwardly, nor is circumcision that which is outward in the flesh. But he is a Jew who is one inwardly; and circumcision is that which is of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the letter; and his praise is not from men, but from God.”

It is faith, then, not a ritual, that saves. It is faith, not ritual, that makes people right with God. And it started with Abraham in the sense that he’s the father of the faith. So we can share the faith of Abraham, whether circumcised or uncircumcised, whether you’re a Jew or a Gentile. Faith is the operative principle of salvation, and Abraham is the model of salvation by faith apart from any ritual. There are no rituals or observing of signs or sacraments that can save, only by faith, through grace.

I pray that you have appropriated by faith in Christ the righteousness of God that you may be counted as righteous in the sight of God.  It is a gift of God, not of works, lest any man should boast.  It has been paid for by Jesus Christ.  Simply believe in Him as your Lord and Savior and you will be justified, credited with the righteousness of God, that you may become sons and daughters of God, an co heirs with Christ, guaranteed the blessing of God. 

The Righteousness of God, Romans 3:21 - 31

The thesis of Paul’s message in Romans is found in Romans 1:16-17.  He says there, “For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For in it [the] righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, "BUT THE RIGHTEOUS [man] SHALL LIVE BY FAITH.”

This message is the gospel, the good news, that the righteousness of God has been manifested to man on the basis of faith.  Paul gives us in that statement a synopsis of the gospel. God is righteous, and in order to have life from God we must be righteous as He is righteous, and that righteousness is accomplished by faith. But then almost ironically, he spends the next 2 1/2 chapters talking about the fact that all men have failed to measure up to that standard of God’s righteousness, and that all men are sinners, and thereby condemned to death.  Rather than focusing on the good news, Paul first focuses our attention on the bad news.  All men are under the judgment of God because of their sinful nature and their unrighteousness.

But in the passage which we are looking at today, having shown that all men are unrighteous, Paul presents a series of principles of righteousness which by believing we become righteous in the sight of God.  And he starts by defining the righteousness that God requires by the law. He has already shown that all men - the pagan, the moral man, and even the religious man - are sinners under the condemnation of God’s judgment. So in vs 19, Paul presents the principle of righteousness defined. “Now we know that whatever the Law says, it speaks to those who are under the Law, so that every mouth may be closed and all the world may become accountable to God.” Paul says the law defines righteousness, God’s standard, and all men are held accountable to that standard.

This condition of man’s sinfulness and hopelessness is described in Isaiah as the whole world being in darkness. In Isaiah 59:9 it says, “Therefore justice is far from us, And righteousness does not overtake us; We hope for light, but behold, darkness, For brightness, but we walk in gloom. In vs2 Isaiah said,  “But your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, And your sins have hidden [His] face from you so that He does not hear.”

So our sins mean that righteousness has been denied to us on the basis of keeping the law.  Paul says in vs 20, “because by the works of the Law no flesh will be justified in His sight; for through the Law [comes] the knowledge of sin.”  The second principle then is righteousness denied. Righteousness has been denied because of our sin against God’s law.  We cannot attain to His standard of perfect righteousness. And so we are all denied the righteousness that God requires, and condemned to the penalty of sin, which is death. Notice the phrase, no one is justified in His sight, because of their sin as attested by the law.

But as Isaiah prophesied, God’s hand is not so short that it cannot save. Isa.59:15, “Now the LORD saw, And it was displeasing in His sight that there was no justice. And He saw that there was no man, And was astonished that there was no one to intercede; Then His own arm brought salvation to Him, And His righteousness upheld Him. He put on righteousness like a breastplate, And a helmet of salvation on His head; And He put on garments of vengeance for clothing And wrapped Himself with zeal as a mantle.”

Then in Isaiah chapter 60, the light shines forth in the darkness of man’s despair and depravity. 60 vs 1, "Arise, shine; for your light has come, And the glory of the LORD has risen upon you. For behold, darkness will cover the earth And deep darkness the peoples; But the LORD will rise upon you And His glory will appear upon you.”

This ray of hope in a dark world, this radiance of the Son of Righteousness that appears, comes not from below, not from the world, not from man’s efforts,  but from above, a righteousness from God which is revealed to a world in darkness. So in vs21 we see the principle of righteousness manifested.  Vs21 “But now apart from the Law [the] righteousness of God has been manifested, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets.”

Notice, that though the law defined righteousness, this righteousness which comes from God comes apart from the law.  That is, it is not attained by keeping the law.  We have already seen that if we could not keep the law. The law condemned us as unrighteous.  So righteousness comes apart from man’s efforts.  God comes to the rescue. God accomplishes what man could never do.  His own arm, or God’s own efforts, brought about salvation.

Another point that is made in that verse which is important is that this righteousness which comes from God was attested by the scriptures.  Paul is speaking of the Old Testament scriptures, which were referred to by the Jews as the Law and the Prophets.  What Paul is saying is that even in the law, the Old Testament scriptures, it was revealed that righteousness comes through faith. Now we have already seen that evident in Romans 1:17, which says, “THE RIGHTEOUS man SHALL LIVE BY FAITH.”  That is a quote from Hab.2:4.  It’s also referred to in Genesis 15:6 which says “Then [Abraham] believed in the LORD; and He reckoned it to him as righteousness.” It’s also found in Psalm 32:1,2. “How blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, Whose sin is covered! How blessed is the man to whom the LORD does not impute iniquity, And in whose spirit there is no deceit!”  So, in the law and the prophets righteousness is manifested, from God, apart from the law.

But though righteousness comes from God apart from keeping the law, righteousness must be received. This principle of righteousness is shown in vs22. “Even [the] righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all those who believe; for there is no distinction.”  This righteousness of God apart from the law must be received through faith in Jesus Christ. We receive righteousness through faith in what Christ did on our behalf.  All those who believe in Christ’s righteousness are given the righteousness of God.  Now faith, Paul says,  is believing, but it’s much more than just believing in Jesus’s existence.  It is believing in who He is, and what He accomplished, and what He promises to do.  Faith is believing and then putting that belief into practice.  Acting on that belief in who Christ is, and what He has done, and what He promises to do.

2 Cor. 5:21 says. “God made Jesus, who knew no sin, to become sin for us, that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him.” So faith is believing that transaction of our sins to Christ and God’s righteousness to us was accomplished for us by Christ. And Paul adds, there is no distinction. Or there is no exceptions, everyone must appropriate God’s righteousness.  No one comes to God on his own merit or by his works.  No one comes on the basis of his nationality or race or religion. They must come by faith in Christ in order to appropriate the righteousness of God.

On the basis of our own merit, Paul says all fall short of the glory of God. Vs23 “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” In this verse we see the principle of righteousness defaulted.  On the basis of man’s efforts, or man’s nationality, they have defaulted in meeting that righteous standard which God requires.  Sin in the Greek language is hamartanō, which means to miss the mark.  It’s a reference to shooting an arrow, in which one misses the target.

But here Paul uses another analogy; that of falling short.  It’s as if he is saying that between us and God there is a great chasm, which no one can leap and everyone falls short.  The other day as I was flying out to LA for the pastor’s conference, I started thinking about this verse.  And I began to imagine a fictitious scenario as an illustration of how we all fall short of the glory of God.  I began to imagine a scenario in which all our church were lined up on a high cliff overlooking this great chasm between us and God. And as I began to imagine various people in this congregation trying to jump this chasm I started laughing out loud, and I think other passengers were starting to get worried that I was losing it or something. For instance,  I thought of Bill, and how we might think that he looks fit, he seems athletic, a team captain kind of guy, and if anyone could jump that chasm then I guess Bill could. And I imagined all of us lined up on this cliff overlooking this giant chasm between us and God and cheering Bill on.  So he flashes a smile, walks back 25 yards, and then takes off running for the cliff to the sounds of our cheers.  And in my mind’s eye, Bill makes a grand effort, and he manages to fly really far through the sky, but he falls far short of the other side and he’s gone.  Very sad. He really looked like he could do it.

Then I imagined we called up Nick.  After all, he was the goat herder.  Nick though didn’t seem too confident.  He complained about his back not being right.  But we pressed upon him, and finally Nick took a running start and he sailed through the air as we cheered him on. Maybe it was the bad back, I don’t know.  But he didn’t get as far as Bill got.  He too crashed and burned.

Then just when it seemed like all hope was lost, Lou showed up.  I didn’t have a lot of hope for old Lou, seeing he was kinda short, but then I figured, well, at least he is enthusiastic.  Lou was all excited about an idea he had.  He had cut down a really long bamboo pole.  He said “Pastor, I”m going to pole vault that thing.”  Well, it was a good idea, but though Lou got really high, he didn’t get very far.  Poor Lou.

Now, I am being silly. I hope I’m not being sacrilegious. And I probably managed to hurt at least 3 people’s feelings.  That’s why I don’t normally use illustrations.  But I hope you at least get the picture. All of us have sinned and fallen short.  No distinctions.  Even the best of us fall far short. Even our best efforts fall short of God’s glory.  It’s hopeless in our own efforts to attain to the standard of righteousness.

But it’s interesting to notice the flow here in these verses. Paul was just talking about the righteousness which comes from God by faith, and then he mentions believing in Christ, and then for some reason he goes back to this idea of man’s sin. You would think that he has already exhausted that subject.  Why bring up man’s sin again now that the conversation has moved on to the principle of faith? And I believe the answer is that there are two aspects of faith.  One is believing, the other is repentance.  And so when Paul tells us in vs 23 that all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God it is to emphasize the need for repentance, a confession of our sin, a desire to be forgiven, a desire to be freed from sin.  Repentance is a necessary part of what it means to have faith.  And so I think that is why the text flows as it does in vs 22 and 23.  Faith is believing and repentance which appropriates the righteousness of God.

The next principle builds on that by saying that though righteousness is defaulted on our part, it is nevertheless granted by God as a gift of grace.  I call this principle,  righteousness declared.  That is what happens when God justifies us.  He declares us as righteous by the transference of Christ’s righteousness to us, and our sin being transferred to him.  Let’s see how Paul phrases this principle of righteousness declared. Vs24, “being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus.”

In response to our faith in the atoning work of Christ on our behalf, God looks at us and declares us to be righteous, just as if we never sinned.  That’s what justified means.  God declares us righteous on the basis of what Christ did on our behalf.  It’s not something that we earn, or merit, as we said earlier, but because of what Christ did.  Therefore, it is called grace, “charis”, which means a gift. Grace is unmerited favor.  So justification is a gift from God.

But notice, that though it costs us nothing, yet justification does cost something. God doesn’t just declare us righteous because He decided to forget about our sin and the payment that was due. God did not stop counting sins,  He just counted them against Christ.  Paul says we are justified by grace through the redemption which is in Christ.

Now what is redemption?  It’s buying something back in exchange for payment.  My mother, and probably yours as well, used to collect S and H Green Stamps.  In those days, every time you bought groceries at the grocery store they would give you some S and H Green Stamps according to how much you bought.  And when you collected enough stamps to fill up a book, you could take the book to the store and get a frying pan or something like that. That was called redemption.  You paid for them, and eventually you cashed them in for the object that you wanted.

Jesus paid the price for sin.  He died the death that we were supposed to die.  He suffered the punishment in full for our sin. Gal 3:13 says, “Christ redeemed us from the curse of the Law, having become a curse for us.”  Listen, sin has a price.  Romans 6:23 says, “the wages of sin is death…”  Jesus paid the price of death for us that we might be set free.  That’s redemption.

But there is another principle that is closely aligned with that redemption, and that is the principle of righteousness satisfied.  That principle is found in vs 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.”  This is the principle; that the justice of God demanded a penalty for sin which is death.  God in His justice accepted the payment for my penalty by Jesus dying in my place. That’s what is meant by a propitiation in His blood. Propitiation means appeasement.  It means God’s judgment was satisfied. Our debt was paid in full by the death of Jesus Christ.  He shed His blood, He died in my place, and God’s justice was satisfied.

The next principle of righteousness that Paul presents here is that of righteousness demonstrated. This is such an important principle that it is repeated twice, both in vs 25 and 26.  Let’s read them again: [Paul is speaking of Jesus] “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;  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.”

Now there are two time frames that are indicated there.  First, there is the time before Christ’s crucifixion.  In the forbearance of God He passed over the sins previously committed.  I have learned about forbearance in regards to paying back student loans.  If for whatever reason you are unable to pay what you owe, you can apply for a forbearance.  That’s not debt forgiveness, it’s putting off what you have to pay until a more appropriate time. You still owe it, just don’t have to pay it now. And that is what happened under the old covenant.  The blood of bulls and goats were not able to take away sins.  They were merely an acknowledgement of the person’s sin, and an agreement that the penalty for their sin would be paid at a later date.  So they were looking forward through their sacrifice to the One who would be the Lamb of God, slain for the sins of the world. They still were declared righteous by faith.  Faith in what was promised to come, the Messiah, who would be the Savior of the world by His final sacrifice for sin.

The second time period in the demonstration of God’s righteousness was after the cross, when those who were declared righteous by faith looked back to the death of Christ on the cross.   In both cases, in both the old and new covenant, Paul says they were justified by faith in Christ.  And that is important to understand, because that illustrates that no Jew was ever saved by keeping the law.  He was saved by faith.  And as we look at chapter 4 next week, we are going to see Abraham, the old covenant patriarch, the father of the Jewish nation,  as an illustration of saving faith.

So Paul has presented this series of principles of righteousness as essential to our salvation. But in the greater context of his message, he is still delineating the difference between Jews and Gentiles in regards to salvation.  And so he comes back to that argument that there is no distinction on the part of God towards the Jew’s requirements as contrasted with the Gentile.  The Jews had been entrusted with the law, with the scriptures, and the promises. And so there was some advantage in that they had the word of God to lead them to salvation.  Paul made that argument back in the beginning of the chapter.  But greater responsibility means a greater culpability.  They still had to be saved through faith, not by keeping the law.  And so Paul summarizes that principle of justification by faith, in the closing verses of chapter 3, saying, “Where then is boasting? (speaking of the Jew’s boast in the law)  It is excluded. By what kind of law? Of works? No, but by a law of faith.  For we maintain that a man is justified by faith apart from works of the Law.  Or is God [the God] of Jews only? Is He not [the God] of Gentiles also? Yes, of Gentiles also,  since indeed God who will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through faith is one. Do we then nullify the Law through faith? May it never be! On the contrary, we establish the Law.”

As Paul says in Gal. 3:24 “Therefore the Law has become our tutor [to lead us] to Christ, so that we may be justified by faith.”  The world is under the condemnation of the law.  Sin and righteousness is revealed through the law.  The law teaches us the character of God.  The law requires a penalty.  But thank God we do not attain righteousness through keeping the law.  But we attain righteousness as a gift from God through faith in the righteous sacrifice of Jesus Christ.

I pray that you have accepted the tremendous gift of righteousness that was provided for you by the death of Jesus Christ.  I pray that no one makes the mistake of thinking that he will be accepted by God on the basis of how good of a person he thinks he may be, or what good work that he has done.  There is no other way to be justified before God, but by faith in what Jesus Christ has done for us.  Repent of the fact that you are a sinner, and trust in Him as your Lord and Savior, and receive the gift of righteousness that gives us eternal life.