Read: Romans 3:21-31
21 But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it— 22 the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction: 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, 25 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. 26 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. 27 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. 28 For we hold that one is justified by faith apart from works of the law. 29 Or is God the God of Jews only? Is he not the God of Gentiles also? Yes, of Gentiles also, 30 since God is one—who will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through faith. 31 Do we then overthrow the law by this faith? By no means! On the contrary, we uphold the law.
As a young believer I would read through books of the Bible and write down in journals my basic observations and questions. Of course I thought, “Let’s tackle Romans. I can do this!” Spoiler alert, I could not. I did not get far into the book when I gave up and went back to something more simple, like Ezekiel. As I read through the passage for this week, I thought, “No wonder I gave up.” In fact, because of that experience as a young believer, Romans has always scared me a little bit. To be honest, reading through this passage of Romans still scares me a little bit.
There is so much going on in these verses that it can be very overwhelming. Thankfully Jake will help us tackle that on Sunday morning, but for now I want to encourage you that these thick, loaded verses are worth the effort to understand.
Some theologians say that these verses are in fact the heart of the book of Romans, a shift of thought from looking at the failings of the people to the exemplary work of Christ. Within these verses Paul will tackle righteousness, justification, redemption, propitiation, law, and faith. In truth there isn’t much that Paul doesn’t touch in these few verses.
Which of course makes me ask why. Why this fully loaded portion of Romans? Why not ease us into the “but now”(vs. 21)? While I can’t rightly know and answer that question, I also can’t help but wonder if it is because Paul wants the truths he is about to lay out to hit us in the face. Have you ever been safely in your home during a hurricane only to step outside and be hit by the force surrounding you? Your hair whips around; the air feels thick; the rain is pounding; there is a whistle in the air that reminds you of the raw strength of the storm you are experiencing. In some ways I think that is what it is like to read these verses. We have gotten accustomed to the words of Paul and what he is saying to us and about us, and then, wham! He changes direction. Wham! He hits you with the truth of Christ, and the force of it has the power to knock you over.
21 But now apart from the law the righteousness of God has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. 22 This righteousness is given through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe.
From here Paul begins a journey of explaining in great depth and detail the work Christ has done on our behalf and the new creation we become because of this work.
For now I want you and me to be encouraged to dig deep in these verses and think on this phrase “ 22 This righteousness is given through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe.”
Recently Amanda Miller taught in the Women’s ADC on the topic “Can I really be righteous?” She did an amazing job and focused part of her talk on the connection between our righteousness and our union with Christ. In her talk, she commented that if we see righteousness as just a clean slate, then we have lessened the gospel. By doing this we have taken the work of Christ and the righteousness of God and weakened its impact on our lives.
The righteousness that we receive from Christ’s sacrifice is more than a clean slate, a wiping away of what we have done and a promise to not hold our sins against us, because the righteousness that we receive from Christ brings us into a relationship with the trinity. We become united with Christ as part of the family of God. This unity changes our lives. It is a gift that we are given through Christ. It is this gift that changes our very nature. We are no longer enemies of God. We are no longer slaves. We are no longer outcasts. We are no longer standing outside of the camp looking in at a group we are ostracized from. Instead of the ostracized, we are the chosen. Instead of outcasts, we are seated at the feast of the Lamb. Instead of slaves, we are heirs. Instead of enemies, we are family.
The righteousness of Christ has brought us into unity with Christ, and this unity has changed our nature. In many ways I feel this is exactly what Paul will lead us through in the remainder of Romans: our change of nature. We are new creations that are to live differently: to love and seek the Lord in ways the world can not comprehend, to love and care for others in the way that Christ taught us, and to enjoy the fellowship of believers.
This passage marks a shift in Paul’s teachings, and we are wise to keep going and persevere in our study of Romans. I think again about Paul’s journey being delayed by God. For this reason, we have this theologically-rich, dense book, and for that, the church is very thankful. I hope that as we continue in the book of Romans, we find it full of challenge and encouragement as we seek to serve the Lord and bring Him glory.
