Romans

Wednesday, 20 March 2013

Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith apart from the deeds of the law. Romans 3:28

“Therefore.” Based on what precedes this statement, Paul will now make an absolute and exclusive claim. It is a tenet which defines true Christianity and separates it from all other religions. It is also a point of separation between the true faith and that which is heretical. Paul couldn’t be clearer in what he is saying. Our justification comes from faith in the merits of Christ Jesus alone. No deeds of the law (note that “law” has no definite article in the Greek, thus it says “deeds of law”) have any part in our justification. We are justified and declared righteous by faith in Christ and by faith in Christ alone.

Martin Luther called this tenet of justification by faith the point upon which the church either stood or fell – and he was right. Any denomination or person who proclaims anything other than this tenet is not a Christian entity because it is a foundational principle of the work of Christ. Only He was born sinless and lived the law perfectly. In contrast, we have both inherited sin and have added further sins to our account before God. Therefore, to claim that we somehow participate in our justification would call into question the righteousness of God and malign His holiness.

To deny justification by faith alone would be comparable to denying that Jesus was born of a virgin or that the Bible wasn’t divinely inspired. Either tenet being false would negate the truth of the Christian faith. The same is true with this one. It is this concept above all others which caused the final break from the Roman Catholic Church during the Protestant reformation.

Life application: What does your denomination teach about justification by faith alone? What does your preacher believe concerning this tenet? Go find out and if they differ from Paul’s words in today’s verse, then you need to find another place to worship. This is serious stuff.

Glorious Almighty God, how I thank You for sending Jesus to redeem me from the power of sin, to justify me apart from deeds of the law, and to reconcile me to You. Where I have failed and fallen short, You have forgiven me. I stand amazed at the grace and the mercy You have lavished up me, even me. Thank You O God. Amen.

Tuesday, 19 March 2013

Where is boasting then? It is excluded. By what law? Of works? No, but by the law of faith.Romans 3:27

Continuing on with his humbling line of thought, Paul shows us the greatness of God – both innate greatness and that which He bestows upon us. He asks, “Where is boasting then?” The term he uses (he kauchesis) indicates glorying in something or reveling in something. It is equated with “See what I have done!” Paul wants us to think it through. What will we glory in when we come before the Lord? This Greek term can be used in a negative way – achievements to glory in self, or in a positive way – gratitude for His work and thus glorying in the Lord.

So, where is our boasting? Paul says, “It is excluded.” There can be no merit when something is accomplished by faith in something else or someone else’s work. In fact, to make a personal boast in oneself when they haven’t done anything would be the epitome of stupidity and arrogance. All boasting is excluded and to make sure we comprehend the reason we are given two more questions to ponder – “By what law? Of works?”

The idea of “law” here is one of economy. The Jew was under the economy of the Mosaic law. The gentile was under the economy of natural law. Is the Jew able to boast before God based on fulfilling the deeds of the Law of Moses? No. Paul has shown that the law only brought further condemnation. How can someone boast in salvation from something that condemned them? And the same is true with the natural law of the gentile. Can a philanthropist stand before God and say, “See what I did. You owe me big time.”? No. All are bound under sin – both inherited and those committed in the body against the law.

Boasting isn’t excluded by works. It is excluded by the law of faith. This law, or economy, says that in order to please God we must have faith in what God has done. If God has accomplished all the works, then how can we boast of having done anything at all? It is ludicrous to think that we somehow merit any favor in our salvation.

1) Jesus came from God.
2) Jesus was born without sin.
3) Jesus fulfilled the law that no one else could fulfill.
4) Jesus was crucified for our sins.
5) Jesus was raised for our justification.
6) Jesus will return for us and through Him we will be glorified.

Therefore –

8) To God be the glory.

Let our boasting not be in self but in the Lord. As Paul quotes in 1 Corinthians 1:30, 31 –

“But of Him you are in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God—and righteousness and sanctification and redemption— that, as it is written, “He who glories, let him glory in the Lord.”

Life application: When we came before the Lord, it was as poor beggars who had nothing to offer. And yet He crowns us with eternal splendor and glory – a gift fitting the highest noble or the greatest king. This is grace; this is God’s unmerited favor to those who, by faith, reach out to Him. Make it your goal today to truly boast in the Lord and put aside any thought of having merited His favor.

Heavenly Father, it is hard to fathom the depths of Your grace. The favor You lavish upon us is undeserved. From our very breath and the food we eat to the eternal life You have promised us through Jesus – and everything in between – all of it is from Your open hand and truly none of it is deserved. How can we boast in anything when it all came from You? Help us to remember this and to glory in You alone. Amen.

Monday, 18 March 2013

…to demonstrate at the present time His righteousness, that He might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus. Romans 3:26

As a demonstration of what has occurred in and through Jesus Christ, Paul says “At the present time.” This is the Greek en to nun kairo and it establishes a link to what was said in the previous verse – “God had passed over the sins that were previously committed.” The type of time Paul is speaking of is an on-going movement of time, such the running of a watch as it clicks forward.

As time progressed, God often passed over the sins of the people without bringing judgment on them. This doesn’t mean that God “overlooked” them, but that judgment was merely withheld. All sin will be judged, but out of His mercy, and looking forward to the cross, He stayed His hand of judgment. During this time, as noted in the previous verse, God either didn’t fully punish sin in men or He withheld punishment through an impermanent system of offerings. This was enacted through the nation of Israel as a temporary system of atonement.

Being temporary in nature they only looked forward to something far better. This is the propitiation mentioned in verse 25; it is the shed blood of Jesus. Christ’s offering “at the present time” demonstrates God’s righteousness – looking back on those of the past and forward from the time of Calvary.

This demonstration of His righteousness is that “He might be Just…” What Paul is saying here isn’t speaking of His benevolence, but rather that the integrity of His nature is in no way violated. He remains Just though the sacrifice of Jesus; nothing is morally compromised. This is the very heart of the gospel. God’s perfect character is maintained and yet fallen man is reconciled to Him in the process. It is the highest point of the turning of the universe and to which nothing in the continuum of time could ever compare.

The integrity of the law is maintained through Jesus because He fulfilled the law. Further, because the law already gave the precedent in the doctrine of substitution – an innocent animal in place of man’s sin – the doctrine may satisfactorily continue on and be complete in the more perfect sacrifice of Jesus. All of the moral character of God is seen on display in this great act. Nothing is compromised, nothing is overlooked, and what occurred displays the absolute perfection of God’s plan and the infinite wisdom He possesses.

And not only is He Just in this action, but He is also the “Justifier” in what occurs as well. The One who retains His moral integrity through the giving of Jesus, is also the One who has accomplished all things through Him. Apart from Him, there can be no justification and thus Jesus’ words in John 14:6 can be more clearly understood –

“I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.”

No other avenue is available to be restored to the Father because no other avenue can maintain His integrity. Thus what Jesus said about the narrow gate and the wide gate in Matthew 7:13 is easily seen to be true. Jesus is that gate and apart from Him there is only a wide highway to the narrow confines of hell. But through Him is the avenue to the splendid and wide expanse of heaven’s glory. All of the majestic wonder of this paradise is available in only one way – to “the one who has faith in Jesus.”

The gospel is so simple that people miss it time and time again. They trip over the stumbling block. The words of Paul today show the demarcation line. On one side are those who attempt to be justified on their own merits, and on the other are those who depend on faith alone in the works of Christ Jesus for their salvation. There is nothing we can add to it and there is nothing that can be subtracted from it. At one moment in the history of man, God did what was otherwise impossible and He reconciled us to Himself.

Life Application: God asks for faith in what He has done. Nothing else can satisfy our sin-debt because nothing else can meet His perfect moral standard. Take time today to reflect on the cross of Jesus. Understand that it alone is God’s provision for your soul. Let him who boasts, boast in the Lord and in the glory of His cross.

Oh God, I look at the splendor of Your creation and I marvel at its beauty. And yet the creation can never meet the splendor of the Creator. How infinitely beautiful You are. I long to gaze upon Your glory for all eternity, and I know that I can because of the work of Jesus. Thank You O God… thank You for Jesus. Amen.

Sunday, 17 March 2013

…whom God set forth as a propitiation by His blood, through faith, to demonstrate His righteousness, because in His forbearance God had passed over the sins that were previously committed, Romans 3:25

Continuing from the previous verse, Paul says that “…the redemption that is in Christ Jesus whom God set forth.” This term in Greek is proetheto and signifies a public display of some sort. In the case of Jesus, it was the cross of Calvary where He was exposed to public humiliation and death. This wasn’t done in a back alley where no one could witness it, but it was done in the public setting of the people of the law, the temple of God, and in the presence of the angels who ministered to Him. God set forth His own Son for all to see and understand the action for what it was – “a propitiation by His blood.”

The term “propitiation” is of immense importance here. It is the Greek word hilasterion. It is a sin-offering or a “covering” of sin by the blood which is shed. Its purpose is to bring together parties at odds with each other and to restore a favorable relationship; to make things propitious again. This word is used only one other time in the New Testament, in Hebrews 9:5 where it is translated as “mercy seat” –

“…and above it were the cherubim of glory overshadowing the mercy seat. Of these things we cannot now speak in detail.”

It is the same word which is used in the Greek translation of the Old Testament in Exodus 25:17 (and elsewhere) when describing the Hebrew word kapporeth, or “mercy seat.” The mercy seat is where the covering of blood was applied to the Ark of the Covenant on the Day of Atonement and which restored felicity between God and His people for another year. But the Day of Atonement, like all of the Bible, required something more than rote ritual. It required faith that it would accomplish what was intended. As a demonstration of that faith, the people were told to fast and confess.

Likewise, the propitiation God offers through Jesus’ shed blood is “through faith.” It is through faith in what God has done in this final sacrifice of which the temple sacrifices only prefigured. Jesus’ life was given “to demonstrate His righteousness.” This phase is pointing directly to the voluntary giving of His life as the means of obtaining this propitiation. In this offering, the sins of the people are removed from them and they are also removed from God’s presence. It is as if they never occurred. Complete and total restoration is accomplished through the cross of Jesus.

Now that the sin has been removed, the ungodliness of the sinner is remembered no more and God’s wrath at the sin has been appeased in His punishment and death. The blood of Jesus accomplishes all of this; it is a suitable offering for the sins of the world. Because of this, Paul continues on by stating that “in His forbearance God had passed over the sins that were previously committed.”

What this means is that the sins prior to the cross are dealt with in the cross as well as those are that look back on it. Before Jesus’ offering, God would punish sin in sinful man in various ways – at the Flood of Noah, for example. However, He didn’t fully punish sin because if He had, then all humanity would have been destroyed. Instead, God “passed over the sins” and enacted a temporary system of offerings through the nation of Israel to temporarily atone for their transgressions.

This system, the rituals in it, the items used in the rituals, every detail of them actually prefigures Jesus. The entire picture of the Old Testament comes into focus when looked at through the lens of who Jesus is and what He accomplished. It cannot properly be understood apart from Him.

Life application: As you read the Old Testament, it may seem unnecessary and outdated. But every word and every detail is noted and has been selected specifically to show us the majesty of what God has done in and through the Person of Jesus. The New Testament does not stand alone and it must be evaluated based on what previously occurred. Take time to read and absorb the Old Testament so that you can properly grasp the significance of the New.

Lord God, what happened at the cross of Calvary was done in a public display of Your anger at our sin and how You deal with it. When I see sin’s consequences so revealed, it makes me understand the magnitude of what You did through Jesus. Without Him, there would be no hope, but through Him I know there is complete restoration and that all my sins are washed away. Thank You for Jesus. Amen.

Saturday, 16 March 2013

…being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus,… Romans 3:24

This thought ties directly back to verse 22. “The righteousness of God” is bestowed upon all who believe – both Jew and Gentile who alike are under the penalty of sin. Now, because of the grace of Jesus Christ, we are “justified freely.” We, in other words, are treated as if we had kept the law and were perfectly righteous even though this isn’t the case at all. Such is the nature of grace – it is unmerited favor granted to those who demonstrate mere faith in the work of Jesus.

Because it is by grace, we merit no favor at all in the decision; it has come “freely.” The word here is the Greek dorean and it carries the intent of standing in opposition to anything which was purchased or earned through work or industry. No claim of personal effort can be made to that which was granted.  Rather, all the honor and all of the gratitude is to be given to the One who bestows the grace – “To God be the glory.” He has done it all for those who could do none of it. As the psalmist says, so we must say –

Not unto us, O Lord, not unto us, But to Your name give glory, Because of Your mercy, Because of Your truth. (115:1)

We now stand justified and free from sin’s penalty “through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.” The term “through the redemption” comes from a root word which indicates the price paid to redeem a prisoner of war. It signifies liberty from captivity, bondage, or imprisonment. We are born into sin and we are prisoners of sin, held in bondage by its power and are kept by the master of sin, the devil. This is confirmed by the devil’s words to Jesus in Luke 4 where he stated that “All this authority I will give You, and their glory; for this has been delivered to me, and I give it to whomever I wish.” Sin is a firm bond and the devil is a cruel taskmaster. However, Jesus’ mission was to destroy this power. John notes this as the principle reason for His coming –

“He who sins is of the devil, for the devil has sinned from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil.” 1 John 3:8

Jesus prevailed where Adam failed. What the devil gained through Adam’s disobedience, Jesus regained through His obedience. What God asks is that we simply believe this message, receive His gift, and place our trust in what Jesus has done for us. This is the “redemption that is in Christ Jesus.” This is the marvel of what God has done for us. In Him there is absolute victory and complete reconciliation with God the Father.

Life application: Do you often feel defeated by sin’s power? Jesus Christ has defeated the devil and broken the bonds which held us. We are now free from the power of sin, protected from the penalty of sin, and someday we shall be taken from the presence of sin – all because of Jesus. Take time to reflect on what He has done and then put your thoughts into action by standing on the freedom for which Christ has set you free!

Dear Lord, I look to what You have done through Jesus and I am humbled by it. Through Him, You have cancelled sin’s penalty; through Him, You have defeated sin’s power; and through Him, some day I shall be removed from sin’s presence. I have complete victory through the work of Jesus and the devil has no power or claim upon me. Hallelujah and Amen.