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Romans Chapter 7 Justification by Faith Alone

Rev Romans Chapter 7 Justification by Faith Alone The greatest joy anyone can have is the joy of knowing the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ, which we studied in our last two studies when we covered Romans 3:21 to 31. There, we saw, first of all, that the apostle defines the word “gospel” by the term “the righteousness of God.” We should never forget this because Paul means that the gospel is a righteousness that is all of God's doing. He planned it, and He fulfilled it in Jesus Christ. Secondly, this righteousness, Paul says, is made effective in the life of every human being through faith alone. We cannot earn it by our good works. We cannot buy it with money. It is ours only by faith alone. It doesn't matter whether we are rich or poor, educated or uneducated, good sinners or bad sinners, the righteousness of God which qualifies us for heaven is by faith alone. This is why it is called justification by faith; Luther made this great discovery which delivered him from the bondage of legalism (Romans 3:22). In Romans 3:24, Paul explains to us that this righteousness which justifies us is bestowed upon us freely and graciously. We do not deserve it. In fact, we deserve the very opposite but it is a gift to us at no cost. But it is something that cost God a tremendous price, the death of His Son. Finally, in Romans 3:31, Paul shows us that, God, who justifies us, is right; He is legal; He is lawful in doing it in spite of the fact that we are sinners and that this justification is the only way of being saved. The righteousness of God is not only for the Jews but also for the Gentiles. It does not matter who we are because it is the life and death of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, that legally qualifies us for heaven. Hence, justification, Paul concludes in Romans 3:31, establishes the law. Therefore, there is no boasting. It is entirely God's gift to sinful man. In this study, of Romans 4, we will cover the main points. In Romans 4, Paul is defending justification by faith against the threefold opposition that he faced throughout his ministry. This opposition came from the Judaizers, Jewish Christians who followed and dogged his footsteps wherever he went and who opposed his message of salvation by grace alone. We will sum up this threefold opposition and then we will look at it in some detail. (1) The first point is found in Romans 4:1 to 8. It is the opposition concerning works. The Jewish Christians were demanding and insisting that our works are essential for our justification. They meant that God requires us to do good works in order to be saved. Justification, they said, is not by faith alone but by faith plus good works. Paul is meeting this objection by saying that we are justified without works. Justification comes to us only by faith in Jesus Christ. (2) The second point is circumcision. This was something that was very important to the Jews. Today, we do not have circumcision but we do have baptism which Paul, in Colossians 2, equates with circumcision. The Jews were insisting we cannot be saved unless we are circumcised. In fact, in Acts 15, Luke explains to us the history of the Christian church. There he describes the first Jerusalem Council. The fundamental issue in this Council was the demand of the Judaizers that the Gentile believers had to be circumcised in order to be saved. Paul is dealing with this problem in Romans 4:9 to 12. (3) Finally, in Romans 4:13 to 17, Paul is dealing with a third element which is the keeping of the law. The Jewish Christians were saying, “Yes, Jesus does save us but it is not enough for us to believe: we must also keep the law besides good works and circumcision.” They were saying that works are essential for justification and that circumcision is a requirement for salvation. They were insisting that the keeping of the law is necessary to be saved. To all three of these points Paul is saying, “No.” We understand clearly that Paul is not against good works. In fact, he emphasizes this. He is not against circumcision either for he circumcised Timothy. And he definitely is not against the keeping of the law for in Romans 13, he brings up the law as a standard of Christian living. Then, what is Paul against? He is against all three of these things when we use them as a means, as a method of salvation. Remember, here, Paul is not discussing works as the fruit of justification. Here, he is not discussing law-keeping as a standard of Christian living. He is discussing works, circumcision and law-keeping as a contributing factor to our salvation. Paul makes it very clear that we are not justified by faith PLUS works. Yes, we are justified by faith THAT works but never by “plus” works. Remember, the context in which we are discussing Romans 4, is the context of justification and not sanctification. Paul will lay the foundation to sanctification in Romans 6, 7 and 8. He will expound on it in Romans 12, 13, 14 and 15. Since Paul is dealing primarily with the Jewish believers, he uses Abraham as the model of justification by faith because to the Jews, Abraham was more than just a father. He was the example; he was the prototype; he was the one on which they based their religion. So, Paul is taking Abraham as the model just as the Jews did, and he is asking the question in Romans 4:1: “What shall we say then concerning Abraham our father according to the flesh?” The New American Standard Version puts it this way: “What shall we say that Abraham, our forefather according to the flesh, has found?” Let us look at the word “flesh” because that word can be confusing. In our English usage, the word, “flesh” means the soft part of the human body. But Paul is not referring here to Abraham's “flesh” in the English usage sense. To explain what Paul means by the word “flesh,” we will turn to Phillipians 3:3. We Christians are the ones who rejoice in Jesus Christ. We are the ones who are truly circumcised, not in the flesh but in the Spirit. We are the ones who are rejoicing in Christ and have no confidence in the flesh. In verses 4 to 6, Paul explains to the Phillipian believers what he means by the word “flesh” “although I myself might have confidence even in the flesh. If anyone else has a mind to put confidence in the flesh, I far more: circumcised the eighth day, of the nation of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; as to the law, a Pharisee, as to zeal, a persecutor of the church; as to the righteousness which is in the law, found blameless.” (NASV) Obviously, by the word “flesh,” Paul means anything that is true of us. It can be our birth, our lineage, our inheritance, our performance, anything which is true of us by which we are either depending wholly or partially for our right standing before God. The word “flesh” means here, anything that we have attained to either by birth or by performance which we are depending on for our justification. Paul was depending on those things for his justification as a Jew, as a Pharisee. But, if we read Phillipians 3:7 onwards, Paul says that all these things which were a benefit to him according to Judaism, when he discovered Christ, he realized that they were of no value. He gave them up. In fact, he counted them as dung, as rubbish, that he might win Christ, that he might have His righteousness which is by faith and not by the works of the law. So the word “flesh” here refers to anything that is true of us that we are depending on, either wholly or partially, for our right standing before God. Paul is asking the question in Romans 4, “How about Abraham? What did his works or his circumcision, or even his law-keeping contribute towards his salvation?” In Romans 4:1 to 8, Paul is dealing with works. We must be very careful. Paul is not against works as the fruits of salvation. In fact, Abraham had done many good and wonderful works, but the question is, “Did these works contribute towards his justification?” Romans 4:2 says: “For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about; but not before God. For what does the Scripture say? What are the facts according to the Word of God? Then he quotes Genesis 15:6: “Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned (counted) to him as righteousness.” Romans 4:4: “Now to the one who works, his wage is not reckoned as a favor, but as what is due.” For example if a man at the end of the month goes to his employer to collect his salary and he gives him his check saying, “This is a gift,” how will he respond? He will say, “No, this is not a gift. I earned it.” This is what Paul means in Verse 4. Verse 5: “But to the one who does not work, but believes in Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is reckoned as righteousness.” (NASV) Righteousness is by faith, not by works. It is not a wage but it is a gift. Then, in verses 6 to 8, Paul adds another name that was very special to the Jews. “David also speaks about the blessings that we receive whom God reckons righteous apart from works.” Then he quotes Psalms 32: “Blessed are those whose lawless deeds have been forgiven and whose sins have been covered. Blessed is the man whose sin the Lord will not take into account.” Then he adds, “verse 9: “Is this blessing then upon the circumcised, or upon the uncircumcised also (meaning Jews or Gentiles)? For we say, “faith was reckoned to Abraham as righteousness?” (NASV) Just as Abraham is justified by faith, so are we. In verses 9 and 10 he goes on to circumcision: “Is this blessing upon the circumcised or upon the uncircumcised for we see that Abraham was justified by faith. He was reckoned righteous and not by circumcision because he was justified by faith before he was circumcised.” But now there is a problem that Paul is aware of. If Abraham was justified before he was circumcised then the question is, “Why did God give circumcision?” The answer , Paul says, is he received the sign of circumcision, a seal of the righteousness of the faith which he had while uncircumcised that he might be the father of all who believe without being circumcised that righteousness might be reckoned to them. Abraham is the prototype of all those who believe in Jesus Christ. Then why circumcision? It was a sign; it was a seal. To understand this, let us go quickly through the history of Abraham. God came to Abraham when he was 75 years old (Genesis 12:4) and said to him, “Leave your country and your people and go to the land I will give you and I will make of you a great nation.” Abraham believed God even though he had not a single son yet. That faith was reckoned to him for righteousness. But then, eight years went by and no son came. So Abraham's faith began to dwindle. God came to him (Genesis 15) and said, “Why are you doubtful? Why are you fearful?” Abraham said, “Because you have not kept Your promise. It takes nine months for human beings to produce a child. How long does it take You, God? It is eight years now.” Then God took him out, showed him the stars and said, “Abraham, this is how many children you will have. Do you believe Me?” Genesis 15 has the statement that Paul loves to quote: Abraham believed God and “He accounted it to him for righteousness.” (NKJV) (verse 6) Abraham's doubts were removed at that moment. Then two more years went by and Sara came to Abraham. This was ten years after the promise was made to Abraham. Sara said to Abraham, “Yes, God promised a child but I do not think He is capable of giving a child to me. It is ten years now. Why don't you go to Hagar, my slave maid, use her as a surrogate mother and produce a child and help God to keep His promise?” Abraham thought this was a wonderful idea and produced Ishmael. Paul deals with this issue in Galatians 4 to condemn legalism. Abraham brought Ishmael to God and said, “God, You promised a son and I helped you to fulfill the promise. You plus me.” God said nothing to Abraham. Then He waited for another 13 to 14 years; He waited until Abraham and Sara were exhausted and their resources had come to an end for now Sara had passed the age of childbearing. God came to Abraham and said, “Do you still believe in spite of medical science telling you, Impossible, that I can give you a son?” Abraham said, “Yes.” God said, “I will seal that faith. I want no more doubt.” That faith was sealed by the covenant of circumcision. In Deuteronomy and Jeremiah 4, we are told that circumcision is the removal of unbelief. This is why Moses said to the rebellious Jews, “Circumcise your heart and not your flesh.” Circumcision is the removal of unbelief. It is the sign, the seal of righteousness by faith. At 117 years of age, 17 to 20 years after Abraham had Isaac, God tested that faith (Hebrews 11:17 to 19). God said to Abraham, “Take this child and kill him.” God was testing the faith of Abraham. He passed the test because his faith had already been sealed. Circumcision did not justify Abraham; it only sealed something that he already had. In Romans 4:13, Paul discusses the third problem: “For the promise to Abraham or to his descendants that he would be heir of the world was not through the Law, but through the righteousness of faith. For if those who are of the law are heirs, faith is made void and the promise is nullified.” (NASV) God gave Abraham the promise of salvation by faith long before He gave the law, in fact, 430 years later the law was given. In verse 14, Paul continues, saying that righteousness through the law and righteousness through faith are two opposite systems. We cannot marry them. We cannot synthesize these two systems. They are opposites. They contradict each other. In Romans 4:15, Paul adds: “For the Law brings about wrath, but where there is no law, neither is there violation.” (NASV) When God gave the law and the Jews tried to use the law as a method of salvation, they could no longer be saved by faith because the law does not save us by faith. It saves us by performance, by perfect obedience. For this reason, Paul adds in verse 16 that it might be by faith, that it might be guaranteed to us not only to Abraham but the promise was made also to his descendants that he, Abraham, might be the father of all who believe. Abraham was the prototype, not of those who were the blood descendants of him, but those who had the faith of Abraham. Irrespective of whether we are a Jew or Gentile, if we do not have the faith of Abraham, we are not really his children. Paul brings this out clearly both in Romans 9, 10 and 11 and in Galatians. If we have the faith of Abraham, then we are part of spiritual Israel. Now, we will go to the concluding verses which are very important. After defending justification by faith against the threefold opposition to the Judaizers, that is, works, circumcision and the keeping of the law, Paul, in Romans 4:17, and right up to the end of the chapter explains to his readers how faith works. This is an extremely important passage for each one of us. It is important that we understand what Paul is saying in these verses because here he tells us how justification by faith works. How does faith work in our lives? How did it work in Abraham's life? Read what Paul says in Romans 4:18: “Who, contrary to hope, in hope believed, so that he became the father of many nations, according to what was spoken, “So shall your descendants be.” (NKJV) Abraham is the father of all who have faith like him. Then we read in verses 19 and 20: “Not being weak in faith, he did not consider his own body, already dead (that is, unable to produce children through Sara) and the deadness of Sara's womb. He did not waver (or doubt) at the promise of God (that is, after he was circumcised) through unbelief, but was strengthened in faith, giving glory to God.” Verse 21: “And being fully convinced that what He had promised, He was also able to perform.” (NKJV) Faith is taking God at His word, irrespective of what our feelings tell us, of our human rationale, or what the scientific method tells us. Faith is saying “Yes” to God in spite of our environment, in spite of everything else that says, “No.” We cannot use the scientific method when it comes to salvation by faith. The scientific method does not accept anything that is outside of human experience. It rejects everything that is not able to be demonstrated. Therefore, the scientific method rejects miracles. It rejects all supernatural acts. But Paul tells us that Abraham believed God in spite of the fact that doctors told him that it was impossible for Sara to have children at that time. Against hope, he believed. Romans 4:22 says: “And therefore “it was accounted to him for righteousness.” (NKJV) It was not written for his sake alone but also for us. This is the way we must live. Salvation by faith is totally depending on God, totally accepting what God says, irrespective of everything else. This is how faith works! God tells us he created this world in six days. This makes no sense to our rationale. It is a complete contradiction to the scientific method and so the scientists say, “Give us scientific evidence that God created the world in six days. Give us scientific evidence that God did not depend on pre-existing matter to create this world.” We cannot give any scientific proof but God says it in His Word. We believe that Genesis 1 and 2 is history, not a fable. What God says is true. God says to us, “I have justified you in Christ. I have obtained a righteousness that fully qualifies you for heaven, now and in the judgment.” We may not feel it. We may not experience it but that is not how faith works. Faith is taking God at His word. The history of Abraham has been recorded for our benefit. Verse 23 says: “Now not for his sake only was it written, that it was reckoned to him (verse 24) but for our sake also, to whom it will be reckoned, as those who believe in Him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead.” (NASV) The scientists do not believe in the resurrection of the dead. Do we believe, that Jesus actually rose from the dead or do we think that the disciples invented this to cover an embarrassment as some liberal theologians teach? No! God declared that He raised His Son from the dead. This was the greatest proof that God gave that Jesus Christ is God's power over sin because the ultimate power of sin is to put us into the grave. When Jesus conquered death, the death that our sins produced in Him, He conquered it in His resurrection. He proved that His power is greater than sin. Paul ends Romans 4 with these words: “He (Jesus) who was delivered up because of our transgressions.” He was delivered up to the wages of sin on the cross but was resurrected. There is only one way we can be justified before God. It is by faith in Jesus Christ. Our works, important as they may be in witnessing Christ, our law-keeping, important as it may be as the evidence, the fruits of salvation by faith, do not contribute one iota towards our salvation. Justification is by faith alone and nothing else. Let us stand on this platform, of the Reformation.

By: David Kayumba
Category: My Blog

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Romans Chapter 6 The Law and the Gospel

Romans Chapter 6 The Law and the Gospel Having painted a dark, dismal picture of the human race under sin in Romans 1:18 to chapter 3:20, Paul introduced the glorious gospel of Jesus Christ in Romans 3:21 to 31 by two wonderful words, “But now.” “But now,” in spite of our total sinfulness, God has obtained a righteousness for sinful man, both for Jews and Gentiles, that fully qualifies us for heaven, a righteousness that can be ours, by faith alone. In our last study, we looked at Romans 3:20 to 23. Now, in this study, we will turn to the second part of this glorious passage, verses 24 to 31, where we will discover some very important truths concerning the gospel of our Lord, Jesus Christ. In Romans 3:24, Paul tells us three facts concerning the righteousness of God which is now available to us through His Son, Jesus Christ. After reading these verses, we will look at these three wonderful facts. “Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus.” The first truth Paul tells us in this verse is that the righteousness of God justifies us. The word “justified” is a key word in the New Testament. It is a crucial word, therefore, we need to understand what it means. This word “justified” primarily has a legal connotation. It is a term that is used in the courts by the judges. An example is found in the Old Testament, in Deuteronomy 25:1. This is the counsel that God gave through Moses to Israel as He prepared Israel to be a theocracy. The word “theocracy” simply means that God is not only their spiritual leader but also their political leader. Here is the counsel God gave them: “If there is a dispute or a controversy between men and they come to court that the judge may judge them, justifying the righteous and condemning the wicked.” Notice, they come to court. It is a legal matter and, according to the law, the judge justifies those who have obeyed the law and condemns those who had disobeyed. So, the word “justified” like the word “condemns” is a legal term. With this in mind, in Romans 3:24, we read that the righteousness of God justifies us. The word “us” here refers to the believers. This means that the moment we believe in Jesus Christ, and accept Him by faith, God looks at us as if we were righteous. God declares us righteous. Now, you may say, “But I do not feel righteous, plus I am not righteous.” This is a fact which cannot be denied. But God declares us believers righteous, not because of our performance or not because we feel righteous, but because of His righteousness. It is the righteousness of God that justifies us. This is something tremendous. Remember Romans 3:19 where Paul told us that, according to the law, the whole world stands guilty before God. This means that the law of God condemns every one of us. But now, the moment we believe in Jesus Christ, the righteousness of God, which He obtained for all men in Jesus Christ, has been made effective and the believer stands justified by faith. Next, notice that the word “justified,” in Romans 3:24, is in the present tense. Paul says, “Being justified.” By this he means that not at some future date but the moment we believe, we come under the umbrella of justification by faith. In John 5:24, Jesus, addressing His disciples, said: “Most assuredly (Verily, verily KJV) I say to you, He who hears My word and believes in him who sent Me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life (or, in other words, from condemnation to justification).” Yes, in ourselves, we stand condemned to death but in Christ, we have passed from condemnation to justification. This is the glorious message of justification by faith. The moment we believe, the righteousness of Christ becomes effective to us. We have passed from death to life, from condemnation to justification. Secondly, in Romans 3:24, notice that this justification comes to us freely: “Being justified freely.” This means that it comes to us without cost. Isaiah says: it is without money and without price. (Isaiah 55:1 It is a free gift but it is more than a free gift! For Paul tells us: “Being justified freely by his grace.” What does he mean by the phrase “by his grace”? The word “grace” gives a very definite definition to the word “free.” Most Christians look at grace as “unmerited or undeserved favor” and that is true. But grace is more than an undeserved favor. When we give our children gifts on special occasions, that is unmerited favor but it is not grace. A pastor gives a fictious example of grace. “My neighbor has gone to keep an appointment. I am aware of this and so I come to his house. I beat up his wife, smash his furniture and leave her there bruised and bleeding. He comes later on and finds his wife on the floor all beaten up and bleeding. He finds his furniture all smashed up and says to his wife, “What happened, did an earthquake strike our house?” His wife whispers to him in pain, “That neighbor did it.” Then my neighbor rushes from his house and comes to my house. I see him coming and I say to myself, “He has come to get revenge.” His arm is behind his back and I imagine he is carrying a gun. I say to myself, “Shall I run or shall I stand up like a man?” I decide to stand up like a man and try to disarm him before he shoots me. As he arrives at my door, I open it and instead of shooting me he says, with deep concern and love, “Why did you do this? I am your friend?” There, from behind his back, what I thought was a gun, is a check for $1,000. He says to me, “Friend, this is a gift to you in spite of what you did to my wife and to my furniture.” This is grace! We see those who crucified Jesus. We see those who are spitting at Him. But Jesus says, at the cross, “Father, forgive them.” This is grace! Grace is not only doing a good favor that is not deserved. Grace is doing a special favor to an enemy, to somebody who hates someone. When we come to Romans 5:10, we will read there that, while we were still enemies of God, we were reconciled to God by the death of His Son. This is grace! It is for this reason that the gospel is unconditional good news. God does not come to us and say, “You need to straighten your life first. Show Me evidence that you are trying to save yourself or trying to be good, then I will justify you.” NO!! God justifies us freely by His grace. But now, we will go to a third point which is extremely important. We read in Romans 3:24 that we are not only justified freely and graciously but that this justification is through the redemption that is in Christ. It is here where redemption and creation part company. The New Testament clearly declares to us that it is Jesus who is the Creator of this world. He spoke and it happened. Jesus did not have to depend on preexisting matter as stated in Hebrews 11:3. We believe that the worlds were created without any preexisting matter for God's breath is energy, He spoke and it happened. But God could not redeem us by simply speaking. God could not come to us and say, “Yes, I know you have rebelled against Me. I know you are enemies but I love you in spite of your rebellious attitude towards Me. I love you unconditionally and since I am sovereign, I will forgive your sins by excusing them.” God cannot do this, dear friends because the God we worship is also a holy God. He is a just God. So, even though He loves us unconditionally, He could not redeem us, He could not justify us by bypassing His law. His law tells us, as we find in Ezekiel 18:20, the soul that sins, it must die. But the same law says, without shedding of blood, there can be no remission of sins (Hebrews 9:22). When a policeman, for example, forgives us for speeding, what he may be doing is a good thing but he is doing an unjust thing for he doesn't volunteer to pay for the tickets that we deserve. But God cannot forgive us by simply excusing our sins as the policeman does. For God is a just God. Yes, His justification is free, it is gracious to us but it is extremely costly to God for we are told that we are justified through the redemption that is in Christ. If God were to give us a million dollars, wonderful as that may be, it would cost Him nothing for God can speak and turn stones into gold. But He cannot justify us by simply speaking. This needs to be stressed because there are some liberal theologians who teach that God did not have to send His Son and that Jesus did not have to die on the cross in order to forgive us. God is sovereign; He is love; He can forgive us by bypassing His law. They call it the moral influence theory. They say that Jesus died only to influence us but He really did not have to die to save us. This is NOT the teaching of the New Testament. Since the apostles died, the Christian church has come up with many theories about the atonement. We have the satisfaction theory, the ransom theory, and the moral influence theory. Each of these theories claims to have the correct understanding of the atonement. But the atonement is too big an event to lock it up into one theory. It is too big for just one theory to explain the fullness of the cross. We will spend eternity wrestling with the atonement. Each of these theories has an aspect of truth. They become wrong, they become heresy when they deny the others. The moral influence theory is a heresy, not because of what it teaches, but what it denies, the legal framework of the atonement. God's love and justice both met at the cross. It was at the cross that God's love was demonstrated. But, likewise, at the cross, God became legal in justifying the ungodly. This is what Paul brings out in Romans 3:25 to 26: “Whom God displayed publicly as a propitiation in his blood through faith. This was to demonstrate his righteousness because in the forbearance of God, he passed over the sins previously committed for the demonstration I say of his righteousness at the present time that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.” (New American Standard Version). These two verses are difficult ones. But Paul says, in Romans 3:24, that we were justified freely through his grace, through the redemption that is in Jesus Christ. Now, in Romans 3:25 to 27, we are told that this justification, which is freely and graciously bestowed upon us, also is a propitiation. This word is rather difficult because in the pagan culture, it was used when people offered a sacrifice to their gods to appease the anger of the god. But in Christianity, in the New Testament, the word “propitiation” is not used in that sense for in the New Testament, we discover that it is not we who offer up a sacrifice to appease an angry God. But we read that God was in Christ reconciling the world unto Himself. In the gospel, it was not man who offers the sacrifice. It is God Himself who offered Himself as a sacrifice in the person of Jesus Christ. In the Old Testament, the word “propitiation” is used to refer to the mercy seat that was placed on top of the ark of the covenant. In Leviticus 16:15 to 16 and in Hebrews 9:5, we find that this word simply means a mercy seat that covers the condemnation of the law that was placed in the ark of the covenant. This brings us to the next point which is the word “blood.” It is through the blood of Christ that Christ is our propitiation. In other words, it is through the blood of Christ that our sins were expiated or canceled or taken away. What does the New Testament mean by the word “blood”? It does not refer to the literal blood of Jesus that ran through His veins. That blood could not justify you and me. The word “blood” in the New Testament was used on the basis of the Old Testament. In the Old Testament, the word “blood” referred to life. It symbolized life. Shed blood refers to life that is laid down in death. In Leviticus 17:11, we read: “For the life of the flesh is in the blood and I have given it to you......to make an atonement for your sins.” (NKJV) So the shed blood means life that is laid down in death for the remission of sins. This is what Jesus did on the cross. When He introduced the Last Supper, He took the cup and said, “This is My blood. “ This is My life which is shed for the remission of sins, which is laid down in death for the remission of sins because the law demands death for sin. The wages of sin is death. Now let us look at Romans 3 and the second half of this passage and we will notice that Paul says that the blood of Christ overlooks the sins that were previously committed. This is how the New American Standard Version puts this passage: He says to us that in the past, out of forbearance, God passed over the sins that were previously committed. Paul is not talking here of the past sins of the believer. The New Testament tells us clearly and also the Old Testament that there were men in the Old Testament who were forgiven by God. Noah was forgiven by God, Abraham was forgiven by God, also Moses was but the problem is, “Was that forgiving done legally?” The answer is, “No.” God forgave them out of forbearance, out of kindness because the blood of bulls and goats, as brought out in Hebrews 9 and 10, could not forgive men of sin. But God forgave them out of patience, out of kindness. But since the cross, God has a legal right to forgive men because the blood of Christ actually met the wages of sin on behalf of mankind. We read in Romans 3:26, that God's sacrifice through Jesus Christ demonstrated at the present time His justice so that he is both just and the justifier of those who believe in Jesus Christ. In Romans 3:27, Paul reminds the believer there is no boasting in justification by faith. It is excluded, says Paul, on the principle of faith. Now Paul does say, in 1 Corinthians 1:31, that Christians do boast but there he talks about boasting in Christ, in what Christ has done for us. But here, in Romans 3:27, there is no human boasting because salvation is entirely a gift through the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ received by faith. Therefore, he concludes in Romans 3:28, for we maintain that a man is justified by faith apart from the works of the law. We need to pause here because there are many who have misunderstood the phrase “works of the law.” There was no Greek word, in the New Testament times, that was equivalent to our English word, “Legalism.” This is using the law as a method of salvation. So whenever we come across the phrase, especially in the Pauline writings, “works of the law” Paul is using that to refer to legalism, using the law as a method or a means of salvation. Here Paul tells us that justification by faith is entirely a righteousness that comes from God with no contribution from us. Our law-keeping does not contribute in any way towards our salvation. This, he says, in Romans 3:29,30 applies to both the Jews and the Gentiles. Then he concludes, in verse 31, with a very important question that we must understand. “Do we then nullify the law through faith?” The answer is, “May it never be,” or as the KJV says, “God forbid. On the contrary, we justify the law.” Romans 3:31 has brought confusion to some Christians, which comes because of the word “faith.” Normally, we use the word “faith” to refer to the believer's response to the gospel but here the word “faith” is preceded in the original, by the definite article “the.” The question Paul actually asked is: “Do we make void or do we nullify the law through THE faith.” Here the word “faith” does not refer to the believer's faith but to the doctrine of justification by faith which Paul has just expounded. Paul told us, in Romans 3:28, that we are justified by faith apart from our deeds of the law. Now, Paul is asking a question because he is aware that some of the believers in Rome, especially the Jewish believers, will accuse him of undermining the law or undermining justification by faith in terms of the legal aspect of the law. Paul says, “Does this doctrine of justification by faith bypass the law, do away with the law or nullify the law?” The answer is, “It is unthinkable. God forbid. It can never be so.” Why? Because God is a just God. On the contrary, we establish the law. By this, Paul does not mean that our performance establishes the law because our performance can never establish the law. Why not? Because the law demands two things from every sinner, perfect obedience and perfect justice. None of us can do that. The doctrine of justification by faith establishes the law. How does it do this? We shall see in detail how this is done in Romans 5. Let us summarize. First, God had to qualify Jesus to be our Savior. He did this by uniting Jesus to the human race He came to redeem at the incarnation. At the incarnation, God and humanity became one. They were joined together and that, of course, is the mystery of the incarnation. This did not save us but it qualified Jesus to be our Savior, our Substitute, our Representative. Then, Jesus, by His perfect life, met all the positive demands of the law on behalf of the fallen human race. Having obtained this perfect obedience, He went to the cross and met the justice of the law. Thus by His doing, which met the positive demands of the law and by His dying which met the justice of the law, Jesus became our righteousness, the righteousness of God. This righteousness fully satisfied the law, both in terms of its positive demands as well as in terms of its justice. Therefore, a believer stands perfectly righteous, perfectly just ,before the law of God in Jesus Christ. This is the glorious gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. Anyone would be foolish to reject this message. We can accept this gospel by faith that we may stand justified before God through faith alone in Jesus Christ.

By: David Kayumba
Category: My Blog

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Romans Chapter 5 The Gospel Introduced

Romans Chapter 5 The Gospel Introduced The great apostle Paul, in Romans 3:21 onwards, proclaims the unconditional good news of salvation. We have been studying Paul's explanation of the universal sin problem. Paul began in Romans 1:18 where he tells us that the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men. He then explains the Gentile worlds problem of being ungodly, not wanting to retain God in their minds and wanting to live without God. The result, of course, is a life of sin. Then, in Romans 2:1 to chapter 3:8, Paul turns his attention to the Jews, telling his fellow Jews that they are no better than the Gentiles. In Romans 3:9 to 20, he says that, ultimately, there is no difference whether we are Jews or Gentiles. It does not matter whether we have an explicit knowledge of the law or an implicit knowledge of the law because both Jews and Gentiles are under sin. In verse 9, he says: “What then? are we Jews better than they (the Gentiles)?” (KJV) The answer is, “No,” for he has proven that both Jews and Gentiles are under sin. There is none righteous. There is none that does good. He concludes, in verses 19 and 20, that the whole world stands guilty, condemned before God under His law. Therefore, by the works of the law, no flesh will be justified. All the law can do is convince us, show us, that we are sinners. After laying this foundation, after painting this dark, dismal, hopeless picture of mankind, Paul introduces the gospel in Romans 3:21 with these words: “But now the righteousness of God apart from the law is revealed, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets.” The only way we can make it to heaven and attain to righteousness, is by faith in the righteousness obtained for us by God in Jesus Christ. In Galatians 3:17 to 26, Paul asks the Galatians, who had accepted a perverted Gospel, “Why did God give the law 430 years after He promised salvation to Abraham and his seed as a gift?” He gave it, not as an added requirement for salvation, but that man's confidence in himself may be totally destroyed. He mentions, in Philippians 3:3, that a Christian is a person who rejoices in Christ and has no confidence in the flesh, that is, in his own human nature. Now that Paul has destroyed all confidence in ourselves, he introduces the gospel, this wonderful plan of salvation fulfilled in Jesus Christ, in Romans 3:21 to 31. Without question, these ten verses are very crucial because Paul reveals, in a nutshell, the plan of salvation. He tells how mankind is saved and how this salvation can become effective in our lives. We will divide this passage into two sections. In this study, we will cover verses 21 to 23. Then in the next study, we will conclude the rest of the passage. Notice that Paul introduces the gospel with two very important words, “But now,” in Romans 3:21 to 23, words that we sometimes tend to gloss over. These two words, “But now,” (KJV) are tremendous. We need to understand what they mean. There are at least three reasons why these two words are important. 1. These two words “But now,” are used by Paul as an introduction to the gospel in contrast to the dark, dismal, hopeless picture he had painted about us, the human race, under sin, in the previous passages. After he has allowed the law to show us that we are sinners, he introduces the gospel with these wonderful words. He says, “Do not be discouraged. “But now” I have some good news which is the righteousness of God.” After the law has shut us in the prison cell of death row with no escape, Paul says, “There is a righteousness that is available to you so that you may be set free.” 2. Secondly, these two words “But now” come to us as a time factor. Paul wrote Romans a few years after the birth, life, death, resurrection, and ascension of Christ. To understand what “time factor” means, notice, in Romans 1:1, how Paul introduces himself and his epistle. “Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated unto the gospel of God.” (KJV) Then, in verse 2, he makes this statement: “Which (that is, the gospel) He promised before through His prophets in the Holy Scriptures.” Salvation is not an afterthought. God promised salvation to the human race the moment Adam sinned. It was a promise He repeated to Noah, Abraham, all the patriarchs of the Old Testament and all the people of the Old Testament. Paul makes it very clear in Galatians and Romans that Abraham was saved by a promise. But now, it is no longer a promise but it is manifested. Paul says, in Romans 3:21, “But now the righteousness of God apart from the law is manifested (or is revealed).” Notice that the past tense is used. Christ makes the difference when it comes to dividing time between B.C. and A.D. This time factor is not only to be applied in terms of the historical Christ but also in terms of each believer because every believer can divide his or her life into two periods, B.C. and A.D. Before Christ, we stood condemned under God's law. There was no hope, peace or assurance. We lived in fear, and insecurity. “But now,” that we have accepted Christ, we are no longer living in that time period. We are living in the A.D. period. Christ has now become our Righteousness. He is our Surety, our Substitute, our Hope, our Peace, and our Salvation. 3. Finally, these two words “But now” are extremely important to us as Christians as a tool, a weapon, against the fiery darts of the devil. For example: Supposing the devil comes to a Christian, a believer, and by a powerful temptation causes him to fall. The he comes to him and tells him in his conscience, “You don't deserve salvation. You are not good enough.” What should he do? Does he remain lying down, defeated or does he stand up and say, “Yes, Satan. I am a sinner. I am not good enough to be saved. I don't feel righteous. I have let Christ down “but now,” it is the righteousness of God that justifies me.” Justification by faith is the most powerful weapon against the fiery darts of Satan. But more than that, justification by faith is the only way to victorious living. It is no use trying to make ourselves righteous or trying to go to heaven by our own good works. This is because we are, as we saw, slaves to sin and a sinner cannot produce righteousness apart from the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. So, the gospel comes to us as a weapon against the fiery darts of Satan. Having dealt with the words, “But now,” let us return to Romans 3:21 and finish the statement found there. “But now the righteousness of God.” The righteousness of God was planned by God; it was promised by God; it was fulfilled by God; it is all of God. Before Adam was even created, God already chose us to be His children, to be righteous in His Son, from the foundation of the world (Ephesians 1:4). In Revelation, Jesus is called the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world. God, in His foreknowledge, knew that Adam would sin. He knew that our first parents would fail in fulfilling the command that God gave them. So, when Adam sinned and God came to visit him, Adam and Eve thought that God was coming to punish them, to execute judgment. No, God did not come to punish Adam and Eve. He came to give them a promise and He repeated this promise to Noah, to Abraham and to all those living in the Old Testament times. God fulfilled the promise in Jesus Christ so that no longer is salvation a promise. It is a reality. It is the righteousness of God which He planned but now fulfilled in Jesus Christ. Listen to Paul: “But now the righteousness of God apart from the law is manifested.” Now we will go to the third statement found in verse 21, the phrase, “apart from the law.” We need to study this phrase because there are many Christians who have failed to understand the significance of it. They believe that, from Moses to Christ, God had placed mankind, especially the Jews, under the law and the law became a method of salvation. This is a theology that divides the Bible into dispensations. It teaches that God dealt with the human race in different ways in different periods of time. But this theology denies a fundamental truth-the unity of the Bible. As we read all of the Bible, we find that God does not have different ways of salvation. There is only one way man is saved whether living in the Old Testament times or in New Testament times. From Adam to the last human being, there is only one way that God saves mankind. It is by grace; it is by faith in the righteousness of God obtained for us in Jesus Christ. Whatever interpretation we give to this phrase, “apart from the law” it must never contradict verse 31 for Paul never contradicts himself. Romans 3:31 says: “Do we then make void the law?” Paul asks, “Do we do away with the law through this preaching of the doctrine of justification by faith?” The answer is a very strong, “No.” The KJV says, “God forbid.” It is unthinkable. On the contrary, the doctrine of justification by faith establishes the law as we will see in the next study. There are two statements that will help us understand the meaning of “apart from the law.” The first is found in Romans 3:20. We need to realize that the statement “apart from the law” made in verse 21 is written in the context of verse 20 where Paul says, “Therefore by the deeds of the law no flesh will be justified in his sight.” (NKJV) The righteousness of God that saves us is entirely from God and we human beings have made no contribution, in terms of our law-keeping, towards that righteousness. The second statement is found in Romans 3:28 where Paul concludes his definition of the gospel. He says in verse 28: “Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith apart from the deeds of the law.” (NKJV) The righteousness that saves us comes from God and is offered to man entirely as a free gift. It is a heavenly garment without a single thread of human devising. Romans 3:24 explains the phrase, “being justified freely.” The word “freely” means without any contribution on our part. But more than that, not only freely but it is by grace. Read again verse 24: “Being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.” We will study this in more detail in the next chapter but here we see that the phrase, “apart from the law,” means that the righteousness of God that saves us is entirely a free gift. We ask, “How can we have this righteousness? What must we do that this righteousness of God may become ours? Do we need to go on a pilgrimage to the Holy Land?” Do we have to pay money? How do we receive this righteousness?” The answers are found in Romans 3:22: “Even the righteousness of God which is through faith in Jesus Christ to all and on all who believe. For there is no difference.” (NKJV) Here Paul is saying that this righteousness of God becomes ours through faith alone. There are many Christians who have misunderstood and misused the word “faith.” So we will pause here to explain what the New Testament means by “faith.” There are three basic requirements, three elements that make up genuine New Testament faith. 1. The first, which is a prerequisite for genuine faith, is a knowledge of the gospel. In Romans 10:17, Paul said faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of Christ preached. Jesus said in John 8:32: “You shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” (NKJV) The knowledge of the gospel does not come through our rationale or through investigation or through the scientific method. It comes by the preaching of the Word, by the preaching of the gospel by Christians. Romans 10:15 says: “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the gospel of peace, who bring glad tidings of good things.” Jesus, before He left, having finished our redemption in His holy history, gave the disciples a great commission. We find this in Mark 16:15, 16. He said to them: “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.” (NKJV) In Matthew 24:14, Jesus, prophesying about His Second Coming, says, “This gospel of the kingdom shall be preached to every nation, kindred, tongue and people and then the end will come.” God will not bring this sin-cursed world to an end nor will God send His Son a second time until the world has had a chance to hear and witness the gospel preached. 2. This brings us to point number two. Point number one is that we must know the truth about the gospel. Point number two is that we must believe this gospel. The word “faith” and the word “belief,” in the original text, come from the same root word. This may sound easy but when we analyze what belief is, it is not that easy because to believe the gospel is to believe God's Word against our own rationale, against our own way of thinking. Let us say a married woman is passed the age of childbearing. But the doctors have given the verdict that she cannot have any more children. But God tells her, “Next year you are going to have a son.” Abraham and Sarah faced the same situation when Abraham was ninety-nine years old and God told him that he was going to have a son. His wife, Sarah had passed the age of childbearing. The doctors had already told him, “Impossible.” But against all hope, Abraham believed ( Romans 4:17). We have to believe even though what God tells us is impossible or makes no sense to us.A Pastor tells the following story: “In 1961, I worked during my summer vacation in a town in Sweden which was 150 miles north of the Arctic circle. For six weeks, the sun never went below the horizon. It was called the land of the midnight sun. The first night I was there, I waited till midnight to see how low the sun would go. Then I photographed the sun with my watch in the foreground. A few years later, I showed this slide to some Africans living on the equator where the sun sets at approximately 6:30 all the year round. One elderly man came to me and said, “Who are you fooling? I know what you did. You changed your watch to twelve o'clock and then photographed the sun at five o'clock in the evening and you are telling us that it was midnight.” If I had the money, I would have taken him to the town in Sweden and shown him for himself and then he would have said he believed.” Remember Thomas. He would not believe that Jesus rose from the dead until he actually saw and felt Jesus Christ, and put his finger in the nail print. Jesus said to him, “Thomas, because you have seen Me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” God tells us that we stand righteous in Christ. But do we believe what God is telling us? 3. Now, there is a third requirement in genuine faith, a requirement that many Christians tend to ignore. This is obedience. Turn to Romans 1 where Paul introduces himself and his message. After introducing Jesus Christ as the Son of man, the seed of David and the Son of God, he says that God called him unto the obedience of faith. This word “obedience” in Romans 1:5 defines what faith is. In Romans 6:17, referring to the Roman Christians, he makes this statement: “But God be thanked that though you were the slaves of sin, yet you obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine to which you were delivered.” (NKJV) In Romans 10:16, addressing the nation of the Jews who had turned their backs to the gospel, Paul said that the reason they will be lost is not because God did not keep His promise but because they did not obey the gospel. All through Paul's writings, we will find this phrase. Faith is obeying the gospel. But what does it mean to obey the gospel? Is it the same as obeying the law? The answer is, “No.” To obey the law we have to do something. The gospel is not coming to us with “do this” or “don't do that.” The gospel is coming to us with the truth as it is in Jesus Christ. To obey the gospel means to surrender our wills to God, to the truth as it is in Christ because, in Christ as we will see later in our study of Romans 5, God rewrote our history. God put us into Christ in the incarnation and rewrote man's history. In this history we stand perfect and in this history, not only did we live a perfect life, but, in Christ, we died the wages of sin. Paul tells us in 2 Corinthians 5:14 that, when Christ died, all men died in Him. Obeying the gospel is accepting the death of Christ as our death. Obeying the gospel is saying as in Galatians 2:20, “I am crucified with Christ. Yet I am living. No, it is no longer that I am living but it is Christ who lives in me and the life that I now live, I live by faith, by a faith obedience to the Son of God who loved me and gave Himself for me.” When we have understood the true meaning of faith, that it is more than simply a mental assent to truth, there will be no more cheap grace in the Christian church. When we obey the gospel, we will live under the formula of “Not I, but Christ.” God's righteousness is made effective in our lives by faith alone. In Romans 10:12, Paul adds that “there is no distinction between Jew and Greek”. (NKJV) This is because all have sinned plus all are coming short of the glory of God. Paul is making two statements, one in the past tense and one in the present continuous tense. “All have sinned.” Now, the word “sinned” is “missing the mark” and the mark is the glory of God. Paul is saying that all sinned in the past plus all are sinning in the present continuous tense. Paul will explain this in Romans 5. All sinned in Adam and this is our inheritance. But besides Adam's sin which condemns us, we have our personal sins which are continual. So whether we look at our inheritance or our performance, there is no difference between Jew and Gentile. We have no right to heaven in terms of our performance, in terms of our personal standing before God or in terms of our heritage. There is no difference, therefore God has only one way of saving Jew and Gentile and this is through the righteousness of Christ. Paul says in Romans 3:22,23: “For there is no difference for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” (NKJV) Our hope is built on nothing less than Jesus Christ and His righteousness. When we accept this righteousness by faith, we have passed from death to life as Jesus declares in John 5:24. It is extremely important that we understand what Paul is saying in this wonderful message of the gospel. Having been silenced by the law, we will accept the gift of God by faith so that we may know that heaven is ours, not because of our performance, but because of the righteousness of God which He obtained for us in Jesus Christ.

By: David Kayumba
Category: My Blog

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