[Romans Study 8-1]
Justified Freely By His Grace Through The Redemption In Jesus Christ [Romans 3:9-26]
9 What shall we conclude then? Are we any better? Not at all! We have already made the charge that Jews and Gentiles alike are all under sin. 10 As it is written: “There is no one righteous, not even one; 11 there is no one who understands, no one who seeks God. 12 All have turned away, they have together become worthless; there is no one who does good, not even one.” 13 “Their throats are open graves; their tongues practice deceit.” “The poison of vipers is on their lips.” 14 “Their mouths are full of cursing and bitterness.” 15 “Their feet are swift to shed blood; 16 ruin and misery mark their ways, 17 and the way of peace they do not know.” 18 “There is no fear of God before their eyes.”
No One Is Righteous
Can you summarize human nature? Paul gives his answer to this question in this passage. When humans are separated from God, they are full of sin without exception. They are in one word, the lump of sin.
In the beginning, God created humans in His own image. (Genesis 1:27; 5:1; James 3:9) They are precious to God and cannot be exchanged with anything else. But at the same time humans are sinful beings. The Bible tells us about the two contrasting sides very clearly.
“There is no one righteous, not even one.”(3:10) Paul pointed out the evil human nature ever so sharply. For him, however, the evil of human nature was not a reason to despair, but it was a challenge to have hope. Despite the greatness of man’s sins, Jesus Christ is a great Savior. He was confident that what Christ had done for him He could do for any man. Therefore, Paul was never cynical about human nature, but in the latter part of the Chapter three from verse 21, he introduces a way to overcome that nature:, a bright light in Christ Jesus.
Law Makes Man Aware Of Sin
19 Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be silenced and the whole world held accountable to God. 20 Therefore no one will be declared righteous in his sight by observing the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of sin.
Till now Paul has argued that humans, whether Jews or Gentiles, are sinners. How then, can we become righteous before God? The Jews said it could be done by keeping the law given by God, but Paul refutes this. Paul, a Pharisee of Pharisees who was completely dedicated to keeping the law now confessed that if anyone says that he has kept all the law, he is a hypocrite. His very experience tells him that it is impossible to stand perfectly flawless before God in keeping the law. It is his honest confession. Man has to carry his huge load of sin to carry but with the addition of the law added an extra burden. In Galatians 3:13, Paul even refers to the law as a curse.
What then is the use of the law? The use of the law is to make man aware of sin. It is only when man knows what he ought to do that he can realize he is not doing it. It is only when a man knows the law and tries to satisfy it that he realizes he can never satisfy it. The law is designed to show a man his own sinful nature, and that is its merit and the reason why God gave it to man. But the law has a fatal limit that it can never liberate man from his sin. It neither saves him, nor makes, him righteous.
The New Law of Faith and of Love: The Gospel Of Grace
Is there no way, then, for a man to stand before God? With man it is impossible. But with God, in His love and mercy, a man can be made righteous though he is a sinner. In this Epistle Paul tells us the way that we can be made righteous even though we are sinners. We gain salvation by grace through faith. By believing in God’s grace, we are saved! The way to God is not the way of law, but it is the way of grace. It is not the way of works, it is the way of faith. This is the new law; the law of faith and of love.
Man’s groaning in sin can be a depressing sight, but without understanding it, we could not fully appreciate the bright light of the good news, the gospel of grace.
It is through this gospel that we can be liberated from our sin, and this is what Paul proclaims to us from verse 21. Romans 3:21-30 gives us the us essential teachings about the gospel.
21 But now a righteousness from God, apart from law, has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. 22 This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference, 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.
Righteousness Through Faith
“But now”– Paul begins this passage with this phrase, marking a critical turning point in his discourse, one of glad tidings, and a sign of mighty hope given to men. To all men hopelessly destined for the wrath of God a door to life has been opened, and the brightest of lights have appeared in the darkness. This is the righteousness of God; it is the gospel, the great gospel of grace!
The gospel was not something created by Paul or even something new from God but it was the fulfillment of the Law and the Prophets that the Jews knew so much about. It had been part of God’s plan all along and it had finally been made known through Christ’s death and resurrection.
In His mercy God came to us. He lowered Himself, endlessly loves us, and gives all He created for us. But men deserted this God. The first man, Adam, who was ungrateful for all that God had given, left God and the fall of man followed. The fall is abandoning the love of God that was given to man freely. Despite this wickedness, God does not leave sinful man alone and does not ask for their sin but accepts it and covers it with grace. This grace is not something conditional. Believing in this grace and accepting it is the faith that Paul wanted to testify.
“Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me.” (Revelation 3:20) The Lord is knocking on the door of my heart, and all I need to do is open up that door and invite Him into my life.
In His Love
“Acquitting the guilty and condemning the innocent—the LORD detests them both.” (Proverbs 17:15); “Have nothing to do with a false charge and do not put an innocent or honest person to death, for I will not acquit the guilty.” (Exodus 23:7) God’s word says very clearly that God does not justify the wicked but Paul says that that is precisely what God does. Here we see a God whose love is even greater than His justice.
But how can I know that God is like that? I can know because Jesus said so. Jesus came to tell us that God loves us, despite how bad we are. He came to tell us that although we are sinners, we are still dear to God. When we discover and believe that, it changes our whole relationship with God. We are conscious of our sin, but we are no longer in terror. We are no longer estranged, but instead penitent and broken hearted we come to God, like a sorry child coming to his mother, and when God receives us, we know that He is God who is Himself love. That is the meaning of justification by faith in Jesus Christ. It means that we are in a right relationship with God, because we believe with all our hearts that what Jesus told us about God is true. We are no longer strangers terrorized by an angry God. We are children, although erring children, but trusting in their Father’s love and forgiveness. We could never have known this if Jesus had not come to tell us so.
Republished with permission from Dr. Christy Tran, the author of “The Epistle to the Romans: Paul’s Love Letter from God.”
