Unashamed of the Gospel: A Perfect Righteousness
Romans 3:21-31
Turn to Romans 3. Last week, we spoke about the condition of all people (vs 9-20) that determined man’s total depravity, that outside of Christ, there is no goodness in us. Now, we are not all the same, for some are not as bad as they could be, but that is not Paul’s point. I remember talking to an unbeliever once, and he told me he was a decent guy. So, I asked him, compared to who? So, we went on to talk about man’s sin for about thirty minutes, and I really liked him. As he left, I said to him, “You are awesome.” And he said to me, compared to who? The Apostle Paul has been arguing that Christ’s righteousness is applied to us when we place our faith in Christ’s work on the cross, and part of his argument is that Abraham was declared righteous before his circumcision. In other words, he was declared righteous because of his faith. So, man has this grave problem that can only be solved by God. Look at the beginning (vs 21), “But now.” Paul has established our predicament. That, when each of us stands before God someday, we stand alone. And the Bible teaches that we will have no excuses for our actions, thoughts, or motives. And yet it is not the end of the story, for we have already learned from Paul back in Romans 1 that there is salvation. And it comes from Christ alone, and it will be further explained to us here with these words, “but now.”
- Righteousness Apart from the Law (vs 21)
“But now apart from the Law the righteousness of God has been manifested, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets.”
Romans 3:21 (LSB)
And this verse flows from:
“Now we know that whatever the Law says, it speaks to those who are in the Law, so that every mouth may be shut and all the world may become accountable to God; because by the works of the Law no flesh will be justified in His sight, for through the Law comes the knowledge of sin.”
Romans 3:19-20 (LSB)
As no one can attain salvation through self-effort. Yet even within the church, we are still dealing with the same issue today. Yet the Law reflects perfection, as the Law determines God’s standard. And from the Law we learn much of God’s character and His righteousness, and from it we realize our great shortcoming and sin. However, it cannot provide salvation for us; therefore, God had to provide another way for us to be saved. True, the Law shows us God’s righteousness, yet there is no way we can obtain that righteousness by our obedience to the Law. Yet the shortcoming is not the fault of the Law. The shortcoming is within us, and the reason God had to provide another way was that we still had to obtain righteousness to be saved, yet it could not be obtained through the Law. We need to understand that if you and I want to be saved and have eternal life, God’s standard is perfect obedience to His Law, which we could not do. That has been the whole point of Romans 1:18-3:20, proving that everyone falls short. But it is the obedience of the Law that gains us salvation, in other words, a perfect righteousness. And what God has provided is a perfect righteousness that Paul teaches that is apart from the Law, and it is gained through faith.
And that term (vs 21) “it has been manifested, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets,” means that though the gospel has been revealed in the New Testament, its true revelation was really shown in the Old Testament. Stating such things as Abraham believed, and it was credited to him as righteousness. In fact, Abraham never had the Law, for he lived before the Law, neither did Enoch, Methusaleh, or Noah. So, even in the Old Testament, it was also part of God’s plan all along. It had to be, and that is a righteousness apart from the Law.
- Righteousness Completely by Faith (vs 22a)
Verse 22, “even the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all those who believe.” I noticed the use of the word “all” in the book of Romans thus far, as Paul uses it a lot. Paul was thankful for all who had faith (1:8). The wrath of God was against all ungodliness and unrighteousness (1:18). Man is filled with all unrighteousness (1:29). All who have sinned without the Law (2:12). Both Jews and Greeks are all under sin (3:9). All have turned aside (3:12). All the world is accountable before God (3:19). And here the righteousness of God is for all those who believe. The truth here is that the righteousness of God is available through faith in Christ. Again, this is an important truth that we need to teach and believe ourselves, the need for God’s righteousness. For if we do not emphasize the need for God’s righteousness in salvation, we will always try to attempt to gain it by our own obedience and overemphasize our righteousness, which does not qualify. And notice that this righteousness comes through faith in Jesus Christ, for it must be a faith in God. But even more than that, a faith specifically through His Son, Jesus Christ. One of my Moody Bible Institute teachers used to say:
“Strictly speaking, it is not even faith in Christ that saves, but Christ who saves through faith.”
Moody Bible Institute
In other words, it is not something magical about the faith. But it is all about the power within whom we place our faith. Why is that important? Well, because the emphasis is on the power of God, not the faith of man. And faith is not a simple, well, I believe. I mean, James debunks that argument by saying that even the demons believe. No, faith is something we believe in our minds. We intellectually believe that Jesus came, died, and rose again. We intellectually believe the complete story of God’s Word, all that God has revealed to us. But faith also grabs hold of our hearts. It would be hard to say that I believe without emotionally believing, wouldn’t it? For when we truly understand what God has done for us, our emotions follow that truth. When we picture the publican who beat his chest in shame before God, the assumption in that story by Christ displays a heart of repentance and a heart belief. I trust we do not sing, this is my story, this is my song, praising my Saviour all the day long, without a heartfelt emotion.
And of course, faith must include our actions and life. I mean, this is the book of James, when he describes a faith that strives and works. And we have stated many times, as Paul teaches, that works of the Law do not save, but our joyful effort for Christ is evidence of a changed believing heart. Now some may be drawn to Christ in a greater way through their minds. Others, it might be shown through their heart. But all three, including actions, must be manifested. Because this is what true faith is. It grips not only all those who believe, but also grips “all of us,” i.e. our entire being longs for Christ and His righteousness, a righteousness that is completely by faith. So, do not try to earn this salvation, for you cannot. God has offered a gift to you, so do not think you can pay for it, for it is a righteousness completely by faith
- Righteousness Needed for Future Glory (vs 22b-23)
“[F]or there is no distinction; for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”
Romans 3:22b-23 (LSB)
The Bible is clear that regarding sin, we are all in the same boat, as there is no distinction among us. All men and women, however perceived by others in this world, all of us fall short. And this never changes, as the idea here is that we will keep on falling short. And what we are falling short of is the “glory of God.” See, there was a major loss for mankind when Adam and Eve sinned, for we have lost whatever it means to lose “the glory of God.” And what we need to understand here, along with our need for the righteousness of God, is that part of the work of salvation is a restoration of that former glory that we have never really known in its fullness, unlike Adam. Yet we need to be encouraged, Christian, that God is not restoring you to merely something better than you are now, but that He is restoring you to perfection and to the image in which Adam was originally created.
This is why it is so silly to speak of things that we will enjoy in heaven, such as being a great golfer or having a great garden, as the Bible is teaching us this; do you not realize that you have come short of the glory of God? But part of your salvation is the restoration of that glory. In other words, can you even imagine what we will be like? The Apostle John said that we will be like Christ. Imagine that—you and me! That we will be changed into something that is abundantly beyond what we could ever ask or think. Hard to know if we will even recognize each other after experiencing such a glorious transformation. We might even get along with each other! In 1 Corinthians 2:7, Paul spoke about a glory that we were destined for, before time began. And 2 Thessalonians 2:12 he says:
“[S]o that you would walk in a manner worthy of the God who calls you into His own kingdom and glory.”
1 Thessalonians 2:12 (LSB)
And in 2 Corinthians 3:18, Paul spoke of us being transformed even now from one degree of glory to another, until we reach our ultimate state, along with all of creation, as Paul wrote:
“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. For the anxious longing of the creation eagerly waits for the revealing of the sons of God [notice here that even creation is waiting to applaud us when it sees us]. For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself also will be set free from its slavery to corruption into the freedom of the glory of the children of God.”
Romans 8:18-21 (LSB)
Sitting in a lawn chair in heaven, sipping iced tea? Common! We have been created for the glory of God, and that will be fully known when our earthly bodies are changed into spiritual bodies, incorruptible bodies. Bodies (1 Cor 15) that are sown in dishonour but raised now in glory. Bodies that are sown in weakness, in other words, weaklings like me, will be raised in power. Don’t ever speak in a way that portrays yourself as some insignificant nobody in heaven, sitting in your own little corner, in your own little chair. Because when we do, we vastly underestimate the work and power and love of a Creator God, who has already determined what He will do in us in eternity. This is why Paul wrote (Rom 5:2) that we boast in the hope of the glory of God. And the Apostle John wrote that it has not yet been revealed what we will be. Yes, it is a righteousness needed for future glory.
- Righteousness Given by Grace Alone (vs 24)
“[B]eing justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus.”
Romans 3:24 (LSB)
A gift, the grace of God. So that we are justified, declared righteous. An act of God where He determines the sinner to be righteous. We must understand that this is not a magical thing, but it is a true transaction based upon the righteousness of Christ. Sometimes we define the term “justification” as “just as if I had not sinned.” But this is only partially true, for it also means that the justified believer has also acted righteously. As it is not only the absence of sin, but it is also the addition of righteousness. Because righteousness not only means that I did not sin, but it also means that in every situation, I did what was right. James teaches this (James 4:17), “to one who knows to do the right thing and does not do it, to him it is sin.” See, righteousness goes way beyond not lying, or not murdering, or not coveting; righteousness also includes the action of doing what is right.
The Bible doesn’t command “don’t do to others what you would not want them to do unto you.” In other words, don’t spit on your neighbour, as we can keep that command. Don’t kill him. Don’t worry, Lord, I won’t. And true, Jesus made that command even more difficult by saying don’t even hate him. Okay, I think I can do that. I’ll try. By the way, I have very good neighbours. But righteousness goes further than that. For righteousness says, do unto others as you would have them do unto you. Well, where is that boundary? What does that entail? That is sort of a wide-open door, isn’t it? But that is how Jesus lived, as He not only obeyed the “thou shalt nots,” but He obeyed the “thou shalts,” as He obeyed the wide-open doors of righteousness.
We could have called this section a complete righteousness given by grace alone. Could you and I ever attain such a life? Could we ever come close to the complete righteousness of Christ? We know the answer to that question. And therefore, we must agree that this has to be by grace alone; this must be an undeserved gift. And notice it says there, “through the redemption which is in Jesus Christ.” That word means that a price has been paid. In other words, there was a debt that was owed to God, and Christ, through His death, paid that debt for all who would believe. As we cannot focus only on the fact that we were delivered from sin, but we were delivered from sin because Christ was willing to pay a price, death on a cross. None of what we have received is deserved, and therefore it is all entirely by grace, the full amount, paid.
We were celebrating a few birthdays the other day, and sometimes we will give our grandkids a gift card or money, and I had some money set aside for three birthdays. Now, when we give money, we give more to our children than we do to each of our grandkids. And when our granddaughter Claire opened her card, our daughter Mel’s money was in it, plus Claire’s. And I grabbed it and quickly said, “Whoops, Claire, that is not all yours!” I think Claire thought that Nana and Papa had gotten really generous all of a sudden. See, some envelopes have some money in them. Some envelopes have a little more. But not with our salvation. For redemption means that the complete cost has been fully paid, a complete righteousness given by grace alone.
- Righteousness for which God is Satisfied (vs 25-26)
“Whom God displayed publicly as a propitiation in His blood through faith, for a demonstration of His righteousness, because in the forbearance of God He passed over the sins previously committed; for the demonstration of His righteousness at the present time, so that He would be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.”
Romans 3:25-26 (LSB)
What is of great importance here is that what God has done is just and fair, for what God could not do in this whole matter of man’s sin is ignore it. For if God ignored our sin, it would prove that God was not just. But through the death of Christ, God becomes the Justifier as well as being just. Alan Johnson wrote:
“The important question here is whether grace is purely arbitrary, or whether it rests in some decisive judicial act of God that allows Him to maintain His holy standard and yet to acquit and deliver sinners.”
Alan Johnson
And the punishment placed upon Christ must have been equivalent to the punishment that was due to the sinner; otherwise, God’s righteous demands have not been met or have not been satisfied. That word “propitiation” means that the righteous demands of a holy God were satisfied, and therefore, removing us from the wrath of God that we deserved. For we need to understand that sin is not merely a personal issue. We know this because sometimes we sin against someone else and we hurt them. But even when our sin is in a sense personal, that it does not seemingly affect anyone else, it always offends God, as sin is always against God. So, anytime we sin—anytime a sin has been committed—God is offended. And therefore, God’s wrath is engaged against that sin, and therefore His wrath must be satisfied. And what becomes the satisfaction of God? The death of His Son, Jesus Christ. Isaiah 53, the Lord was pleased to crush Him, putting Christ to death. And we sometimes cringe at that verse. But the meaning is that God had pleasure in or had delight in. Not signifying a delight in the sense of how we would think of being happy, but it was a delight to the Father that the death of Christ was completely sufficient to cover the sin of all those who would believe.
Do you understand that? The pleasure with God the Father over the death of His Son was that His wrath was fully appeased or satisfied, so that He could extend forgiveness for all who would believe. This doctrine has been greatly attacked because it reflects so much on the wrath of God, as if God throws some kind of temper tantrum when we sin. But no, it is part of His holiness and righteousness that He is offended by sin. Therefore, His wrath is displayed against it. Man has sinned; therefore, there is a need for God to be satisfied. Otherwise, His wrath is directed at the sinner. But because of the death of His Son, God’s wrath was directed toward Christ. And this satisfaction of God in the death of His Son was done by Christ, as He went to the cross willingly. And it was done in the full view of mankind. Those at the cross who saw Christ die literally saw the wrath of God against His Son. And again (vs 25) in the forbearance of God, He passed over the sins previously committed. This forbearance of God or the long-suffering of God, in other words, His willingness to withhold His wrath until the death of Christ, but it ultimately had to be dealt with. Wayne Grudem wrote:
“If God did not punish sin, he would not be a righteous God, and there would be no ultimate justice in the universe. There is an eternal, unchanging requirement in the holiness and justice of God that sin be paid for.”
Wayne Grudem
Well, how does our passage end?
“Where then is boasting? 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 that faith, is one. Do we then abolish the Law through faith? May it never be! On the contrary, we establish the Law. ”
Romans 3:27-31 (LSB)
Why does Paul say after all this that he has been teaching, “Do we abolish the Law?” In closing, I wish to give some introductory comments here, as we will be dealing with this topic for a while. And I believe it is important that we get this straight in our minds as we approach the coming weeks, our understanding of the Law. And I will not say everything this morning, but I wish to simply lay down some groundwork to prepare for Paul’s teaching, as I want to at least deal with this in a small way, as Paul has introduced this in the passage.
The Law given to Moses included what some have called the Civil Law, or Judicial Law. Laws that governed Israel as a nation, such as rules for property, farming, and community life. Yet the present-day church quickly dismisses these as laws that were only relevant to Old Testament Israel, and we may agree with that. The Law given to Moses also included many ceremonies, as some have called the Ceremonial Law. Regulations regarding rituals, sacrifices, dietary restrictions, and temple worship. And this would likely include the celebration of certain feasts and days. And the church has generally considered these fulfilled by Christ, and therefore not binding on New Testament believers either. But the Law given to Moses also included what is sometimes called the Moral Law, often summarized by the Ten Commandments, which are considered to reflect God’s eternal character and are generally seen as still applicable.
Yet others have said to break up the Old Testament this way into three groups: civil, ceremonial, and moral, is merely a man-made interpretation. So, some would teach that it is either an all-or-nothing approach to the Law. In other words, all of it is applicable today for the Christian, or none of it is applicable today for the Christian. Yet what we need to understand here when we consider such a topic is the many ways in which Paul describes the Law, and I would suggest how Paul is describing all the Law, including the civil law (the land laws, community laws), the ceremonial law (the sacrifices, feasts), and the moral law (the 10 Commandments).
So, we will look briefly at how Paul describes it, and then consider his statement (vs 31), that we do not abolish the Law through faith. So, let’s first look at Paul’s description of the Law, those who have the Law or not will perish, as that truth has been taught throughout the book of Romans thus far. Romans 32:13, it is not the hearers of the Law that are justified, but the doers of the Law. And of course, Jesus taught that if a person breaks even one part of the Law, he breaks all of the Law. So, Romans 3:19, because of the Law, every mouth will be shut. Romans 3:20, that through the Law no man or woman is justified. Therefore, Romans 8:3, the Law condemns the sinner.
Paul will also go on to teach that we are not under the Law (Rom 6:14) but under grace, for the Law (Rom 8:3) was weak in that it could not save, and the Law could not justify. In fact, if our righteousness could come through the Law (Gal 2:21), Paul says that Christ died needlessly. And the hammer comes in (Gal 3:10) that anyone who does not abide by the Law is under a curse. Why? Romans 7:10, the Law brings death, and 2 Corinthians 3:6, the letter kills. Therefore, the one who is under the Law is not justified; he is under a curse and is spiritually dead. Therefore, the Law condemns the sinner, the Law places the sinner under a curse, and the Law brings to the sinner spiritual death. Paul wrote (Gal 3:19), “Why the Law then? It was added because of trespasses.”
And this is the purpose of our verse (Rom 3:31). Do we abolish the Law? No, for it is God’s holy Law and has a massive role in the declaration of the sinner’s condemnation, therefore, the teaching of the Law is necessary to bring someone to salvation. Because without the Law there is no condemnation, for the Law is what God uses to condemn us. Romans 4:15, where there is no law, there is no transgression. Well, we might ask about the Gentile who has no law. Well, God has already said that the one who does not have the Law has a law of God written on their hearts—their conscience—which also condemns man. Therefore, we uphold the Law, acknowledging its condemning function, and that the Law was fulfilled by Christ. But also understanding that the OT also teaches justification by faith.
So, what is Paul teaching here for the Christian? Well, we learned a few weeks ago that Paul was teaching that men and women are saved by faith, not by works. And the proof that this was Paul’s clear message was that Paul’s opposition heard it in the same way. Don’t forget what we said a few weeks ago, “Because the gospel is due to grace alone, apart from works, it will be questioned.” And that statement came from (Rom 3:8), “Let us do evil that good may come.” This opposition came to Paul because they were questioning Paul’s teaching that salvation is apart from works of the Law, and that kind of teaching would be appalling to the Jew. But it also gets questioned by us today. In other words, when Paul taught that salvation is apart from the Law, the response was, “Hey, Paul, why don’t we then just do evil?” Now, if Paul were teaching here that salvation placed the believer under some kind of moral Law, the question would not have been brought up. Later in (Rom 6) a similar question was asked again:
“What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin so that grace may increase?”
Roman 6:1 (LSB)
If Paul was attaching some kind of law to grace and faith, that question would not have been asked by his opponents. So, as we move forward in the coming weeks, we need to keep these truths in mind. And so, as we close, let me leave you with this, as I do not want you to go home asking the same question, “Shall we continue in sin so that grace may abound?” For notice Paul’s response.
“May it never be! How shall we who died to sin still live in it?”
Romans 6:2 (LSB)
Listen, you and I have died to sin, as Christ took our sin upon Himself and died. Do you get that? Your sin is gone, and we died with Christ. How did Paul begin this whole book? Romans 1:1, Paul said he was a slave of Jesus Christ. Folks, our freedom, our life comes through Christ and being His slave, apart from the Law, for we are not under the Law. Do you want to be under the Law? Then you are under a curse. You want to say you are under the Ten Commandments? Well, you should have been at church yesterday. And by the way, were you obedient to every command this week? Because even if you had one evil thought, the Bible says you are dead spiritually. Yet, the Christian is a slave of Christ, our only way to true freedom. And being a slave of Christ goes way beyond the Law. How does the true Christian live? He strives to be like Christ, or as we read this week in our church read (1 Cor 1:11), he strives to imitate Paul, as Paul strives to be like Christ. The Christian strives for the fruits of the Spirit:
“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such things there is no law.”
Galatians 5:22-23 (LSB)
For when a person comes to Christ in faith, that person follows Christ as His Lord and Saviour. The believer becomes the Lord’s slave willingly, and therefore, he is not under the Law. Let’s pray. The Apostle Paul wrote, “But now we have been released from the Law, having died to that by which we were constrained, so that we serve in newness of the Spirit and not in oldness of the letter.” No more constrained. In other words, faith goes “way beyond the letter.” Lord, there is a danger of being so close to the saving gospel and yet stumbling over the human desire to be approved by our works, for in the human mind, undeserved grace is hard to accept. So, Lord, I pray this morning that You might open the eyes of those who feel the duty of the Christian to climb such a high mountain, a mountain that You have already climbed on our behalf. For we still have so far to go, for You are making the believer into something that we cannot even imagine. And just as it would be foolish of us to think that we could ever transform our bodies into the image of Jesus Christ, so too, it would be foolish to think that we could ever gain favour outside of receiving Your righteousness. So that our obedience is not by the letter, but it is a rejoicing as a loving son or loving daughter, who rejoices in the goodness of a wonderful Father. Might this be true of all who claim Christ as Lord. And all God’s people said, amen.