WWUTT 126 Justified By Grace As a Gift (Romans 3:21-26)

For there is no distinction, for all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God, and are justified by His grace as a gift through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, when we understand the text.

Many of the Bible stories and verses we think we know, we don't. When we understand the text, as an online ministry committed to teaching sound doctrine and exposing the faulty, visit our website at www .utt .com.

Now here's our host, Pastor Gabe Hughes.

Romans 1:1-17 as the Greeting and Thesis of the Letter

Thank you, Becky. Here's where we have come up to this point in our study of the Book of Romans. Chapter 1, verses 1 through 17 is greeting. This is Paul's introduction to this church that he is writing to in the capital city of the world.

They've only been around for a couple of decades, but they have experienced some intense persecutions. Some of the members of this church have even been put to the sword because they proclaimed Christ as Lord instead of Caesar as Lord.

Claudius, in an attempt to get rid of these proselytizers, he expelled the Jews from the city. Turned out to be the wrong group of people that he was after. The Gentile Christians grew as a result. Then after Claudius died and Nero became emperor, the Jews came back to Rome to a church that was all Gentiles, Gentile Christians at this point.

So there arose some disagreements between Jewish Christians and Gentile Christians about certain messianic theology. So Paul is writing to this church to clear up some of those disagreements, but mostly he just means to encourage this church.

He wants to come and visit this church so that he can encourage them and they would encourage him also. The things that they have been through, the persecutions that they have endured, their testimony has gone out to the entire world and more have become Christians because of what they've heard about the church in Rome going through.

So they have not yet had an apostle come and visit them. Paul wants to be the one to come and visit them. But there are some other things that have been going on, including planning churches that he himself has been doing in other reaches of the Roman Empire.

And because the spirit of the Lord has him doing that, he's not yet been able to come to Rome, but he means to. And he is confident that God is going to lead him there eventually. So Romans chapter one verses one through 17 is that greeting.

Verse 16 is where we get to the thesis statement of the letter. For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes. What is the subject of the book of Romans about?

I think I put that out on Twitter at one point and somebody said salvation is the subject. Well, yeah, that's true. But there's a doctrine that is more in the discussion here than anything else that we're talking about theologically.

It is the doctrine of justification. That is the subject of the book of Romans. And that's going to come out a little bit more in the section that we're going to be looking at today. Romans chapter three verses 21 through 31 is primarily what we want to read.

But first, let me continue with this review of everything we've looked at so far. Romans chapter one verses 18 through chapter two, verse 16 is Paul's indictment as to how all Gentiles are fallen and are under the wrath of God for the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men.

He says in verse 18, chapter one, verse 18, and then going through all the list of sins that they have committed, all the ways that they stand condemned before a holy God. But lest any of the Jews be listening to this and shouting their amens, yes, all Gentiles stand condemned.

Then he gets to verse 17 and talks about how even the Jews stand condemned because they had been given the law of God and didn't follow it. The Gentiles were a law unto themselves. They couldn't follow that.

The Jews couldn't follow the law as was given to them by God. So nobody is innocent before a holy God. Nobody can stand before God and proclaim their own goodness. No one does good and no one is righteous.

And in case Paul hasn't made his case clear, then we get to chapter three verses 10 through 18 and he just lays it out. None is righteous, not one. No one understands. No one seeks for God. All have turned aside together.

They have become worthless. No one does good, not even one person in verses 19 and 20. We see what the purpose of the law is for to stop every mouth from being able to proclaim their own righteousness and giving knowledge of sin.

Justification by Grace Through Faith in Christ

Now we've come to verse 21 and here's where we see the doctrine of justification laid out. But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the law and the prophets bear witness to it.

The righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe for there is no distinction for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God and are justified by his grace as a gift through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood to be received by faith.

This was to show God's righteousness because in his divine forbearance, he had passed over former sins. It was to show his righteousness at the present time so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.

Then what becomes of our boasting? It is excluded by what kind of law? By a law of works? No, but by the law of faith. For we know that one 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 God is one who will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through faith. Do we then overthrow the law by this faith? By no means.

On the contrary, we uphold the law. So let's go back to verse 21 here. But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law. And of course, that righteousness we're talking about being through Jesus Christ.

It has been manifested apart from the law, although the law and the prophets bear witness to it. Capital L, capital P, law and prophets. Law, capital L, is the books of Moses, Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy.

Prophets, capital P, is every book of the Old Testament that comes after that. Joshua through Malachi. You'll notice that we see the word law appear before that and it's a lowercase L. Likely we're talking about the Decalogue, which is the Ten Commandments.

Most of the time when you see the word law and it's a lowercase L like that, that's what it is that we're referring to. But you really have to look at the context because law can be used in multiple different ways.

Notice that we have a law of faith that is also discussed here. We have a law of works, okay? So you just need to look at the context to see what kind of law we're talking about. The same thing goes with Israel.

When we see Israel appear in the New Testament, it doesn't always mean ethnic Israel. Sometimes it means true Israel, those who are in Christ Jesus, who were called Israel. So you just need to look at the context and know what kind of law we're talking about.

The righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the law and the prophets bear witness to it. The righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.

Again, Paul lays his case out that everyone stands condemned before God. No one can declare their own righteousness before God, verse 24, but they are justified by his grace as a gift through the redemption that is in Jesus Christ, whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood to be received by faith.

Don't be scared of these big Bible words here. Justified is a legal term that simply means to declare innocent. So because of the blood of Christ, his atoning sacrifice on the cross, if his blood is upon us, all those who follow Jesus, we are declared innocent before God.

We talked about justification early on when we started our study of the book of Romans, when we talked about the subject of the book of Romans. To be justified means it's justified, never done it, but it's also justified, done it.

Okay? You can't just say it's justified, never done it because the reality is you did do it. We don't forget our sin. We are conscious of what it is that we had done and the errors that we committed so that we are able to rejoice in God of having been rescued from that sin.

Also, so that we don't repeat that sin and it becomes a testimony that we can share with somebody else. I once was this through Christ. I have been made into this. So it's justified, never done it, but it's also justified, done it.

The reality is we have sinned and we needed a propitiation for that sin. What does propitiation mean? It means that the wrath of God has been satisfied. The payment has been paid. We are now declared innocent before God.

And all those who are in Christ Jesus, God put him forward as an atonement for our sacrifice by his blood to be received by faith. This was to show God's righteousness, not ours, not to proclaim ours, but that God's righteousness would be clearly seen because in his divine forbearance, meaning he had overlooked our sin, he had passed over former sins.

It was to show his righteousness at the present time so that he might be just and the justifier of one who has faith in Jesus. God does not compromise. He is both just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus Christ.

Closing Prayer and Sign-Off

God, we thank you so much for the witness that has been given to us through Jesus Christ, your son, that we can read about in these scriptures and we can know the gospel message that is to be received by faith so that we might be justified in your eyes.

Teach us more about what this means. Keep us meditating on this even as we go throughout our day. We pray these things in Jesus' name, amen.

This is the protection of First Southern Baptist Church in Junction City, Kansas. Find us on the web at www .utt .com.