Romans 3:21-31 The Gospel - Gods righteousness imputed through faith

Theological Proposition/Focus: In Romans 3:21-31, Paul emphasizes that righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe, independent of the law. Salvation is by faith alone in Christ alone, freeing us from the works of the law and granting us God's righteousness that we could never earn.

Christ Focus: This passage presents Christ as the fulfillment of the law and the ultimate sacrifice for sin, highlighting that through Him, believers receive the righteousness of God. The overarching story of Scripture reveals Christ as the cornerstone of redemption, illustrating how God's plan has always been to impute righteousness through faith, culminating in the work of Christ.

Homiletical Proposition/Application: This passage teaches believers that their standing before God is not based on their own works or adherence to the law but solely on their faith in Christ. It encourages Christians to rest in Christ's righteousness, alleviating the burden of guilt and performance while inviting those outside the faith to embrace the grace that is offered freely.

Introduction

Image: Waiting for the big moment: I struggle to wait to let Emily unwrap her presents

I love birthdays and Christmas because I love trying to figure out a good present for Emily. However, I also struggle because once I have bought the present, I always want to give it to her early. In my mind, I think, "I have already spent the money, and I believe she is going to enjoy this, so why am I waiting?" You may or may not feel the same struggle, but I will tell you that for me, the struggle is real.

In the book of Romans, Paul presents the Gospel, but he does so by carefully constructing an argument. Paul's argument begins with the bad news: sin. He patiently waits until exactly the right time to fully put forward the good news, and now finally, as we dig into Romans 3:21-31, Paul lets us unwrap the ultimate gift: God's righteousness imputed through faith.

Preview: The Gospel is the good news, a declaration of grace made possible by the atonement of Christ, the truth that Jesus saves.

Let's take some time and read through Romans 3:21-31.

Body

The Gospel's Good News — The good news of the Gospel is that God's righteousness does not come through the Law (21-22).

The phrase "but now" that begins verse 21 is incredibly important. This phrase signals a change in tone, argument, and really everything. The bad news is that we are all sinners, and the bad news is that God is an impartial judge to whom we are accountable. But now, hope is not lost.

God's righteousness is revealed apart from the law, as Paul declares in this passage. It is essential to understand that all have sinned and fall short of God's glory, which underscores humanity's universal need for salvation. This point captures the big idea that righteousness from God is accessible through faith for everyone, regardless of their adherence to the law, emphasizing the inclusive nature of the Gospel.

God's righteousness is made known apart from the Law (21).

Most of us seem to have some form of legalism baked into us.

There seems to be, baked into each of us, a bent toward legalism. That doesn't necessarily look the same for each of us, but in essence, there seems to be baked into each one of us this fundamental idea that if I can just follow the rules in X, then I will be a good person. Really, it is true. I have lost track of the number of Christians who will say something like "John is a good person" or "my friend Janet really is a good person." I have to bite my tongue because what I really want to say in response is, "No, John really isn't a good person; really, any good you see in John is the result of God pouring out His grace." So, you see, it seems like baked into each of us is this idea, maybe I should even call it a desire, for legalism to be the answer. We want to be able to rely on ourselves for salvation, and what that often looks like is relying on our own attempts to be good.

The thing, the key, is that, as Paul has already argued, only God is righteous, and now he argues that God's righteousness is made known apart from the law. If you go searching the law to find the key to being righteous, you are going to be disappointed.

Image: Shopping in the wrong store: clothing stores don't carry airplane parts. If you go looking for your righteousness in the Law you will be disappointed.

Emily enjoys shopping for clothes, but I have to tell you, none of the stores that she enjoys shopping at carry airplane parts. It is really frustrating; I look and look and look and can't find airplane parts. You see, I am looking in all the wrong places. The message Paul has argued is that the law does not contain any righteousness for you and me; actually, what the law contains for you and me is condemnation. We need righteousness, but if we are shopping in the law, we are going to be very disappointed with what we find.

Yet how often do we shop in the law for righteousness? We want to justify ourselves, and so we go looking through the law.

The reality is that God's righteousness is what we each desperately need, and Paul begins verse 21 with an incredible statement: God's righteousness is made known outside of the law!

This may seem radical, but in fact, it should come as no surprise to us because the very law and prophets proclaim this. Think about it: Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness (Genesis 15:6). So what the law does is reveal our just condemnation and the availability of God's righteousness outside of the law. To go back to my shopping metaphor, the law is like a clothing store that has a section for people like me who are not concerned with clothes; in this section, there are no tools, parts, or anything that I can buy, but there are directions to a nearby store that has everything I could ever need. The law does not offer me righteousness, but it does tell me where I can get it.

God's righteousness is made available to all who believe (22).

Verse 22 is really an amazing verse. Verse 21 sets us up by telling us that God's righteousness is made known apart from the law. Now Paul takes it to a whole new level in verse 22.

You will have to forgive me on this, but we are going to need to get into the weeds pretty deep here in verse 22. First, I want you to note that the main topic of verse 22 is how one receives the righteousness of God. Verse 21 clearly told us that God's righteousness is known apart from the law. The word we translate as know is not the usual "ginosko," but rather "πεφανέρωται," which has to do with revealing, disclosing, or displaying. Verse 22 tackles how that revealed righteousness is now given. The conclusion of the verse tells us that it is given to all who believe, regardless of their heritage. So now for the hard part, the middle of the verse.

The Greek phrase "διά πίστεως Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ" is translated in the NIV as "through faith in Jesus Christ," as well as in most other major translations. What has happened in the last 30-50 years is that Greek grammarians have begun to debate the translation of the phrase. To get into the weeds a little, the question that is being asked is whether "Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ" is an objective genitive or a subjective genitive. Scholars have presented statistical and grammatical arguments, and the reality is that either option is possible, but does it matter? The NIV translation "faith in Jesus Christ" takes an objective genitive approach. A subjective genitive translation would be something like "This righteousness is given through the faith of Jesus Christ." Does it matter? Only on a small level. Either way, God's righteousness is made available to all who believe, and that truth is clear either way. We could get into the weeds to ask if it was the faithfulness of Jesus that opened up the righteousness of God; on one level, that makes sense. We were not able to be faithful to the law, but Christ was able to do so; but again, we are getting into the weeds. What I want us to remember is that there is some debate on this passage, but what we need to know is that God's righteousness is given to those who believe! That is the key.

MTR: Check your dependence; are you fully depending on Christ for your righteousness?

What does this look like? Like I said, we all have a bent toward legalism. So, next time you are tempted to say so and so is a good person take a step back and ask yourself, does this mean I think I am good person because of something I did? If so, you need to check your dependence.

The Gospel's Simplicity — When properly discussed, sin always comes with the declaration of grace (23-24).

The theological definition of simplicity is "not being made up of parts or unable to be divided." In this sense, the Gospel is simple in that we cannot have one part without the other. We should not talk of sin without talking of grace, and we should not talk about grace without talking about sin.

The message of sin is inseparable from the Gospel (23).

Paul's statement in verse 23 is profound: all have sinned. This sin leads to another reality: all have fallen short of the glory of God. But there is even more.

The glory of God deserves some of our attention.

Glory describes the state of both Jesus and God the Father.

• 1 Corinthians 2:8 "None of the rulers of this age understood it, for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory."

• Ephesians 1:17 "I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better."

But glory does more; it describes the state to which believers are headed.

• Romans 5:2 "through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we boast in the hope of the glory of God."

• 2 Thessalonians 2:14 "He called you to this through our gospel, that you might share in the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ."

• 2 Corinthians 4:17 "For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all."

So when we talk about falling short of the glory of God, I think we should be thinking something along the lines of failing to image the one in whose image we were created. Remember in Genesis 1:27 God created mankind in his own image. We are supposed to reflect the glory of God, and in our sin, we fall short of our purpose.

This message of having fallen short is inseparable from the Gospel. We must know our need before we can even hope to comprehend the solution.

Sometimes, verse divisions cause us problems. When we divide we sometimes miss the simplicity, or unity if you will, of the Gospel.

The message of Grace is inseparable from the Gospel (24).

Significantly, verse 24 is a simple continuation of the second half of verse 22. Specifically, what I mean here is that we might say, "There is no difference" (verse 22), "for all are justified freely." This fits the grammar of the Greek and really helps us to understand Paul's argument.

What does it mean to be justified? Justification is the formal act whereby God declares one who is unrighteous to be righteous. That is, justification is a judicial or legal act that God takes to declare someone to be right in His sight.

In Rome at this time, money could solve a lot of problems.

• Think about it. In Acts 22:28, we learn that Roman citizenship could be purchased.
• In Acts 24:26, Governor Felix holds Paul under arrest, hoping that some sort of bribe will be paid so he can free Paul.

How can such an incredible offer be made? The answer is through the redemption that came by Jesus Christ.

The word for redemption ("ἀπολυτρώσεως") here is another word that we can spend some time looking at. Origen of Alexandria (c. 185-254 AD) was an influential early Christian theologian, scholar, and philosopher who would have been a native Greek speaker, and he wrote that the word meant "that which is given to enemies for those whom they are keeping in captivity, in order that they might restore them to their original freedom."

The picture here is really amazing. We were slaves to sin and unable to find our own righteousness in the law. However, God freely declared us righteous, paying what was owed through the work of Jesus Christ.

In the midst of our discussion of soteriology, we need the reminder: the message of sin and justification go hand in hand; each comes together to form the Gospel. The Gospel is simple in that without either of these, it simply does not make sense.

MTR: Check your perspective; are you subscribing to the full simplicity of the Gospel?

What do I mean? Do you equally value the message of both sin and justification?

The Gospel's Mechanism — The Gospel operates through the atoning sacrifice of Christ (25-26).

Believers are justified by God's grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus. This passage beautifully unfolds the concept of Christ as the atonement for human sin, reflecting His role as the centerpiece of God's plan for redemption. It highlights God's justice and love, as He presents Christ to satisfy divine justice while offering grace. This reveals the culmination of the Gospel message: it's by faith in Christ alone that believers obtain righteousness.

Christ's sacrifice established the ultimate mercy seat (25a).

The word that the NIV translates as "sacrifice of atonement" is the Greek word "ἱλαστήριον." This word has been variously translated in different versions as propitiation and also expiation, and theologians like to debate the "how did Christ's death exactly deal with human sin?" question. I am not going to answer that question for you today, and I am going to go so far as to say, "I don't really fully know, and I am okay with that."

• Propitiation - Satisfying God's wrath.

• Expiation - Removing sin and guilt.

• Atonement - The overall process of reconciliation between God and humanity.

Some theological perspectives emphasize different aspects, but in Christian teaching, the sacrifice of Jesus is often seen as achieving all three: propitiating God's wrath, expiating sin, and accomplishing atonement. What I really care about is that it does, and that it has implications for my life today.

So, instead of using the words propitiation, expiation, or even sacrifice of atonement, let me offer a different neutral term: "God presented Christ as the mercy seat."

Frank Thielman makes a reasonable argument based on Greek vocabulary that the word "ἱλαστήριον" should be thought of as "the place where, or instrument through which, forgiveness, atonement, or propitiation happens." In the Old Testament, the top cover of the ark was called the mercy seat, and it was the place where God met with Moses to communicate His commandments and covenants with the people, as in Exodus 25:22. It was the mercy seat where Aaron sprinkled the blood on the Day of Atonement, reconciling the gulf between God and His people.

Christ's sacrifice paid for all past sins (25b).

In the second half of verse 25, we dig deeper and see that the sacrifice of Christ paid for past sins that had previously gone unpunished.

Let me give us an example. The Bible tells us that Abraham was justified by faith in Genesis 15:6. So we have this man, Abraham, who was a sinner. How do we know he was a sinner? Because all have sinned. This man, Abraham, believed God, and so God credited him with righteousness. But is that just? Doesn't sin need to be punished if justice is to be served?

Here is the reality: Christ's death paid the punishment for sins in the past.

You see, salvation has always been by faith.

The Old Testament sacrifices themselves never paid for sins (Hebrews 10:4); they instead were a shadow of what was to come (Hebrews 10:1), demonstrating the faith of individuals who trusted God. So the sins of the past needed payment, and Christ's sacrifice made that payment.

Christ's sacrifice pays for all present sins (26).

In verse 26, we see that all this soteriology we have been discussing is relevant for the present time as well. Christ's sacrifice not only paid for past sins but it pays for the present sins. It is significant to note that Romans was written more than 20 years after the death and resurrection of Christ. The present payment discussed here is available to us today because it was available after the event.

MTR: Check your status; are you resting in Christ's righteousness?

Maybe you need to use a hashtag: #restinginChrist

The Gospel's Unity — The Gospel brings everything together in a nicely packaged truth: Jesus saves (27-31).

God is not only the God of the Jews but also of the Gentiles. This affirms that salvation through faith in Christ transcends cultural and religious boundaries, providing God's righteousness to all. Upholding the law through faith unites believers in Christ, reinforcing the truth that the message of salvation is indeed for everyone, fulfilling God's promise to bless all nations.

The works of the Law are not a means to salvation (27-28).

In verses 27-31, Paul anticipates five questions that could arise. The first two questions are:

• Does this mean that I shouldn't boast in my ability to obey the Law?

• Paul's answer is: yes, it sure does.

• Why would this be the case?

• Paul's answer is that the reason this is the case is because salvation, the thing that really matters, does not come by obedience to the Law but by faith.

Really, Paul is just recapping one more time: the works of the Law are not a means to salvation.

Salvation by faith is the great unifier (29-31).

Paul's final question is a doozy. Does this mean that we have made the Law irrelevant?

Based on the arguments we have discussed, should we just go and do whatever we want? Paul's answer is no, and then he says something interesting: the one who has faith in Christ upholds the Law.

Here is something I want to say here. Paul does not explain the details, but we have the rest of Scripture. We know that when a person accepts Jesus as Savior, they are indwelt by the Holy Spirit and begin the process of sanctification.

Later in Romans, we will get more into sanctification, but for now, consider this: salvation results in the indwelling work of the Holy Spirit, and that work results in a desire for the things of God. People find themselves no longer slaves to sin.

Here is the thing: we will still sin, but a saved individual is going to, on average, follow God more than an unsaved individual. Salvation by faith does not nullify the law; rather, salvation by faith upholds the law by empowering people to live righteously before God.