Moving day

Reading through Romans-Free Redemption

"For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus"

Being justified: Paul develops his teaching about salvation around three themes.

- Justification: an image from the court of law

- Redemption (an image from the slave market)

- Propitiation (an image from the world of religion, appeasing God through sacrifice)

Justification solves the problem of man's guilt before a righteous Judge.

Redemption solves the problem of man's slavery to sin, the world, and the devil.

Propitiation solves the problem of offending God our Creator.

Even as all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God is universal, so is the offer of being justified freely by His grace. It is open to everyone who will believe.

Morris, quoting Moule: "The harlot, the liar, the murderer, are short of it; but so are you. Perhaps they stand at the bottom of a mine, and you on the crest of an Alp; but you are as little able to touch the stars as they." Everyone falls short, but everyone can be justified freely by His grace.

How do we fall short of the glory of God? It's impossible to describe every way, but here are some important ways man falls short of the glory of God.

We fail to give God the glory due Him, in our words, thoughts and actions.

We fail to qualify for, and thereby reject, the glory and reward that God gives faithful servants.

Justified freely by His grace: Being in such a sinful state, the only way we can be justified is to be justified freely. We can't purchase it with out good works at all. If it isn't made free to us, we can't have it all. So we are justified freely by His grace - His unmerited favor, given to us without regard to what we deserve. It is a giving motivated purely by the giver, and motivated by nothing in the one who receives.

Freely is the Greek word dorean. The way this word is used in other New Testament passages helps us understand the word. Matthew 10:8 (Freely you have received, freely give) and Revelation 22:17 (And whoever desires, let him take the water of life freely) show that the word means truly free, not just "cheap" or "discounted." 

Through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus: Again, Paul's gospel centers squarely in Christ Jesus. Salvation is possible because of theredemption found in Him. God cannot give us His righteousness apart from Jesus Christ.

Redemption has the idea of buying back something, and involves cost. However, God pays the cost and so we are justified freely.

The word redemption had its origin in the release of prisoners of war on payment of a price and was know as the "ransom." As time went on, it was extended to include the freeing of slaves, again by the payment of a price.

The idea of redemption means that Jesus bought us, therefore we belong to Him. Paul expressed this thought in another letter: For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God's. (1 Corinthians 6:20)

Reading through Romans-Righteousness through Faith

"Even the righteousness of God, through faith in Jesus Christ, to all and on all who believe. For there is no difference;"

To all and on all who believe: In Romans 3:21, Paul told us how this righteousness does not come. It does not come through the deeds of the law, it isapart from the law. Now Paul tells us how this saving righteousness does come. It is through faith in Jesus Christ to all and on all who believe.

Through faith in Jesus Christ: The righteousness of God is not ours by faith; it is ours through faith. We do not earn righteousness by our faith. We receive righteousness through faith in Jesus Christ.

Through faith "points to the fact that faith is not a merit, earning salvation. It is no more than the means through which the gift is given." (Morris)

"But faith is not 'trusting' or 'expecting' God to do something, but relying on His testimony concerning the person of Christ as His Son, and the work of Christ for us on the cross … After saving faith, the life of trust begins … trust is always looking forward to what God will do; but faith sees that what God says has been done, and believes God's Word, having the conviction that it is true, and true for ourselves." (Newell)

For the there is no difference: There is no other way to obtain this righteousness. This righteousness is not earned through obedience to the law; it is a received righteousness, gained through faith in Jesus Christ.

"There is a little book entitled, Every man his own lawyer. Well, nowadays, according to some people, it seems as if every man is to be his own saviour; but if I had, say; a dozen gospels, and I had to sort them out, and give the right gospel to the right man, what a fix I should be in! I believe that, oftentimes, I should be giving your gospel to someone else, and someone else's gospel to you; and what a muddle it would all be! But now we have one universal cure … The blood and righteousness of Jesus Christ will save every man who trusts him, for 'there is no difference.'" (Spurgeon)

Reading Through Romans-But now...

"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.

But now the righteousness of God apart from the law is revealed, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets"

But now provides the most glorious transition from the judgment of Romans 3:20 to the justification of Romans 3:21.

But now speaks of the newness of God's work in Jesus Christ - it really is a New Covenant. Being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets reminds us that there is still continuity with God's work in former times.

Apart from the law: The law cannot save us, but God revealed a righteousness that would save us, apart from the law. This is the essence of God's plan of salvation in Jesus Christ: it is a salvation that is offered apart from the law, apart from our own earning and deserving, apart from our own merits.

Being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets: This righteousness is not a novelty. Paul didn't "invent" it. It was predicted long ago, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets. The Old Testament said this righteousness was coming.

Apart from the law: It isn't that the righteousness of God is revealed apart from the Old Testament, but that it is revealed apart from the principle of law. It is apart from a legal relationship to God, based on the idea of earning and deserving merit before Him.

God's righteousness is not offered to us as something to take up the slack between our ability to keep the law and God's perfect standard. It is not given to supplement our own righteousness, it is given completely apart from our own attempted righteousness.

THANK YOU DEAR LORD!  For clearly showing me that I cannot determine my own righteousness and then offering righteousness apart from it!!!  All glory be to GOD!

Reading through Romans-The Law Convicts us of Sin

"Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God. Therefore by the deeds of the law no flesh will be justified in His sight, for by the law is the knowledge of sin."

Whatever the law says: Paul points out that this horrific description of man's utter sinfulness come to us in the law; and it is intended for those under the law, to silence every critic and to demonstrate the universal guilt of mankind - that all the world may become guilty before God.

It says to those who are under the law: If God speaks this way to those who had the law, and attempted to do the law, it is evident that by the deeds of the law no flesh will be justified in His sight.

Therefore by the deeds of the law no flesh will be justified in His sight: The law cannot save us. The law can't justify anyone. It is useful in giving us the knowledge of sin, but it cannot save us.

Since the time of Adam and Eve, people have tried to justify themselves by the deeds of the law. In the Garden of Eden Adam tried to make himself presentable to God by making coverings out of fig leaves - and he failed. 

This means that even if we could now begin to perfectly keep the law of God it could not make up for past disobedience, or remove present guilt.

This means that keeping law is NOT God's way of salvation or of blessing under the New Covenant.

For by the law is the knowledge of sin: The law sets a standard of righteousness, but because we sin, the law can never tell us that we are righteous. It tells us that we are sinners. According to the law, we are guilty.

Reading through Romans-Guilty Before God

"What then? Are we Jews any better off?2 No, not at all. For we have already charged that all, both Jews and Greeks, are under sin,"

Are we better than they? Not at all: Since Paul was Jewish by birth and heritage (Philippians 3:4-6), when we says "we" he means "we Jews." The point is that by nature, the Jewish person is no more right with God than the pagan or the moralist. Paul has demonstrated that the pagan, the moralist and the Jew are all under sin and therefore, under condemnation.

“None is righteous, no, not one;" 

There is none righteous, no, not one: When God finds none righteous, it is because there are none. It isn't as if there were some and God couldn't see them. There has never been a truly righteous man apart from Jesus Christ. "Even Adam was not righteous: he was innocent - not knowing good and evil."

"11  no one understands; no one seeks for God."

There is none who seeks after God: We deceive ourselves into thinking that man, on his own, really does seek after God. Don't all the religion and rituals and practices from the beginning of time demonstrate that man seeks after God? Not at all. If man initiates the search then he doesn't seek the true God, the God of the Bible. Instead he seeks an idol that he makes himself.

"12  All have turned aside; together they have become unprofitable; no one does good, not even one.”"

They have together become unprofitable: The word unprofitable has the idea of rotten fruit. It speaks of something that was permanently bad and therefore useless.

Paul calls virtually every part of man's body into guilt: throat,tongue,lips,mouth,feet,eyes are all shown to be filled with sin and rebellion against God.

13  “Their throat is an open grave; they use their tongues to deceive. The venom of asps is under their lips.

14  Their mouth is full of curses and bitterness.

15  Their feet are swift to shed blood;

16  in their paths are ruin and misery,

17  and the way of peace they have not known.

18  “There is no fear of God before their eyes.”

There is no fear of God before their eyes: This summarizes the entire thought. Every sin and rebellion against God happens because we do not have a proper respect for Him. Wherever there is sin, there is no fear of God.

Dear God, I have rebelled against you and every part of my body has sinned against you.  I stand guilty before you.

Reading through Romans-Do evil to glorify God?

"6 "By no means! For then how could God judge the world? 7 But if through my lie God's truth abounds to his glory, why am I still being condemned as a sinner? 8 And why not do evil that good may come?—as some people slanderously charge us with saying. Their condemnation is just."

Paul agrees that manipulating the nature of God's righteousness to our benefit is the height of sinfulness.

"Twisting the glorious free gift of God in Jesus into a supposed license to sin is perhaps the summit of man's depravity. It takes the most beautiful gift of God and perverts it and mocks it. This twisting is so sinful Paul saves it for last, because it is beyond the depravity of the pagan (Romans 1:24-32) and beyond the hypocrisy of the moralist (Romans 2:1-5)."

Oh Dear Lord, I pray Psalm 97:10 over my life this day:

"Let me who love the LORD hate evil, for he guards the lives of his faithful ones and delivers them from the hand of the wicked."