Daily Bread 2011 - Romans 3
Righteousness Through Faith
21 But now apart from the law the righteousness of God has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. 22 This righteousness is given through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference between Jew and Gentile, 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. 25 God presented Christ as a sacrifice of atonement, through the shedding of his blood—to be received by faith. He did this to demonstrate his righteousness, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished— 26 he did it to demonstrate his righteousness at the present time, so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus. 27 Where, then, is boasting? It is excluded. Because of what law? The law that requires works? No, because of the law that requires faith. 28 For we maintain that a person is justified by faith apart from the works of the law. 29 Or is God the God of Jews only? Is he not the God of Gentiles too? Yes, of Gentiles too, 30 since there is only one God, who will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through that same faith. 31 Do we, then, nullify the law by this faith? Not at all! Rather, we uphold the law.
What Does This Mean?
This section of teaching in Romans 3 is a famous body of teaching that was resurrected by Martin Luther in 16th century, as he fought the “works righteousness” that prevailed in the Catholic church of his day. Importantly Paul teaches the righteousness of God does not come from the Law, but from God himself and is a gift given to us. The word “righteousness” means “right standing, or just relationship with God”. Righteousness is a gift given to us by God through faith in Jesus Christ, for in Jesus Christ God reveals a righteousness that is by faith not by works.
Meaning you can’t earn the kind of righteousness that God desires/demands, you can only receive it by faith. Why? Because of Romans 3:23! We have all sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. We are all unrighteousness, because if we are guilty of one point of the Law we are guilty of the whole thing. Meaning once we are unrighteousness, we will need someone outside of us to make us righteous and that is what Jesus came bring. With this logic there is no difference between Jew and Gentile because we have all sinned (better definition: missed the mark), and fall short of God’s glory (standard is perfection). Yet, God was happy to provide a way to become right with Him by faith, or trust in the promise of the Savior.
What Does This Mean For Us?
Verse 31 gives us an excellent application of the process of receiving God’s righteousness through Christ by faith. It says, “Does this mean that the Law is overturned or nullified?” “By no means! We uphold the Law through faith!” What does this mean? It means now that we have been given a righteousness by faith through Jesus; we no longer are condemned by our unrighteousness. We have been set free from the requirements of the Law, and are free to live according to the Law by the Spirit God has given us. Therefore, we live out the Law (God’s commands through the leading of the Spirit) in our lives because of who we are in Christ, not in order to try to gain righteousness or right standing with God by human striving.
This may seem esoteric to some, but it really is at the heart of what Christians believe. And, in fact, if we get this one wrong the whole foundation is cracked from the core. The key thing is that this justification by grace through faith is for all people, because all have sinned. There is no separation of good people and bad people. We all fall short. We all need a Savior. That is the inclusivity of the Christian gospel. It is not for any race, tribe or religion it is for all people.
Once we admit we need a Savior we can receive the free gift of righteousness through Christ, the only truly Righteous One who ever lived.
Heavenly Father, we thank you that you have provided us with a righteousness that comes from you and you have given us this gift through faith by Your grace and love for us in Your Son. Help us to receive this gift so that we can live out the call you have on our lives by faith and having the Law written on our hearts by Your Spirit. Amen.
Note: If you feel like you have never received this gift and feel like you can never do enough to please God and always feel guilty and that you feel short. Repent of this way of thinking and believe that Jesus came to give you a righteousness because of God’s love for you and the whole world. It is a free gift God has given you to be received by faith or trust in this amazing Promise God has given us! If you want to talk more with me or pray about this I would be happy to do this with you. There is nothing any more important in the world than getting this one straight!!
Grace and Peace, PM
21 But now apart from the law the righteousness of God has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. 22 This righteousness is given through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference between Jew and Gentile, 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. 25 God presented Christ as a sacrifice of atonement, through the shedding of his blood—to be received by faith. He did this to demonstrate his righteousness, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished— 26 he did it to demonstrate his righteousness at the present time, so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus. 27 Where, then, is boasting? It is excluded. Because of what law? The law that requires works? No, because of the law that requires faith. 28 For we maintain that a person is justified by faith apart from the works of the law. 29 Or is God the God of Jews only? Is he not the God of Gentiles too? Yes, of Gentiles too, 30 since there is only one God, who will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through that same faith. 31 Do we, then, nullify the law by this faith? Not at all! Rather, we uphold the law.
What Does This Mean?
This section of teaching in Romans 3 is a famous body of teaching that was resurrected by Martin Luther in 16th century, as he fought the “works righteousness” that prevailed in the Catholic church of his day. Importantly Paul teaches the righteousness of God does not come from the Law, but from God himself and is a gift given to us. The word “righteousness” means “right standing, or just relationship with God”. Righteousness is a gift given to us by God through faith in Jesus Christ, for in Jesus Christ God reveals a righteousness that is by faith not by works.
Meaning you can’t earn the kind of righteousness that God desires/demands, you can only receive it by faith. Why? Because of Romans 3:23! We have all sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. We are all unrighteousness, because if we are guilty of one point of the Law we are guilty of the whole thing. Meaning once we are unrighteousness, we will need someone outside of us to make us righteous and that is what Jesus came bring. With this logic there is no difference between Jew and Gentile because we have all sinned (better definition: missed the mark), and fall short of God’s glory (standard is perfection). Yet, God was happy to provide a way to become right with Him by faith, or trust in the promise of the Savior.
What Does This Mean For Us?
Verse 31 gives us an excellent application of the process of receiving God’s righteousness through Christ by faith. It says, “Does this mean that the Law is overturned or nullified?” “By no means! We uphold the Law through faith!” What does this mean? It means now that we have been given a righteousness by faith through Jesus; we no longer are condemned by our unrighteousness. We have been set free from the requirements of the Law, and are free to live according to the Law by the Spirit God has given us. Therefore, we live out the Law (God’s commands through the leading of the Spirit) in our lives because of who we are in Christ, not in order to try to gain righteousness or right standing with God by human striving.
This may seem esoteric to some, but it really is at the heart of what Christians believe. And, in fact, if we get this one wrong the whole foundation is cracked from the core. The key thing is that this justification by grace through faith is for all people, because all have sinned. There is no separation of good people and bad people. We all fall short. We all need a Savior. That is the inclusivity of the Christian gospel. It is not for any race, tribe or religion it is for all people.
Once we admit we need a Savior we can receive the free gift of righteousness through Christ, the only truly Righteous One who ever lived.
Heavenly Father, we thank you that you have provided us with a righteousness that comes from you and you have given us this gift through faith by Your grace and love for us in Your Son. Help us to receive this gift so that we can live out the call you have on our lives by faith and having the Law written on our hearts by Your Spirit. Amen.
Note: If you feel like you have never received this gift and feel like you can never do enough to please God and always feel guilty and that you feel short. Repent of this way of thinking and believe that Jesus came to give you a righteousness because of God’s love for you and the whole world. It is a free gift God has given you to be received by faith or trust in this amazing Promise God has given us! If you want to talk more with me or pray about this I would be happy to do this with you. There is nothing any more important in the world than getting this one straight!!
Grace and Peace, PM
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