TEXT
'But now the righteousness of God apart from the law is revealed, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets' (Romans 3:21)
- Paul finally gets to the part I'm sure he's been wanting to get to all along - the Righteousness of God. And he immediately makes it clear that it is apart from the law, which he indicated before.
- He also adds that this righteousness has been witnessed, or predicted by the Law and the Prophets (the Old Testament). This has been God's plan all along!
'even the righteousness of God, through faith in Jesus Christ, to all and on all who believe. For there is no difference;'(Romans 3:22)
- The righteousness that we can have is of God, not ourselves. It is in fact HIS righteousness that we are permitted to have.
- It is revealed to us through faith in Jesus Christ - that is, all we have to do is believe in Jesus!
- For there is no difference - this continues into the next verse. The 'for' comes from the 'all who believe' phrase. That is, faith in Jesus reveals God's righteousness to everyone, since everyone is the same under sin, so that everyone has the same opportunity for His righteousness.
'for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God' (Romans 3:23)
- one of the most famous verses in the Bible - it changes the focus from the sins we do to who we are - people who cannot attain to the perfect glory of God. It sets it in stone that we can never by our own means attain that glory, since God is God. We must therefore accept His righteousness.
'being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus,' (Romans 3:24)
- justification (being declared righteous, as in a court of law) is free by His grace. It is all from God - it is only by His love and giving what we don't deserve. It is a free gift.
- redemption is the buying of slaves and setting them free. Jesus payed for us with His blood and then set us free from sin.
'whom God set forth as a propitiation by His blood, through faith, to demonstrate His righteousness, because in His forbearance God had passed over the sins that were previously committed,' (Romans 3:25)
- Jesus' blood was the propitiation for our sins. This idea comes from the Old Testament, where the sacrifices covered the sins of the Israelites if God accepted it. In fact, it was the blood of the animal that was the 'propitiation', which means that it satisfied or appeased God. Jesus was the ultimate Lamb of God, the ultimate sacrifice, the ultimate propitiation.
- through faith we can receive this propitiation.
- Jesus' propitiation for our sins demonstrated God's righteousness. This implies that God was acting righteously (and not only lovingly) when He sent His son. This is because previously, God had passed over the sins of His people (through the animal sacrifices), while looking forward to the lasting sacrifice of Jesus. He would not have been righteous to pass over their sins without providing the real sacrifice of Jesus.
'to demonstrate at the present time His righteousness, that He might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.' (Romans 3:26)
- only one who is just can be a justifier. And it is only through our trust in Him that we can be justified by Him who is just!
SUMMARY
Paul, after arguing that everyone is in the same condition under sin, with nothing special about anyone to save them or qualities to make God pick them for salvation (remember he is talking mainly to Christians), finally reveals that we need God's own righteousness, which He freely gives us if we believe and trust in Him. He further affirms that God was acting righteously by sending His son, and confirms that salvation in the Old Testament was likewise through the propitiatory blood of Jesus.
WHAT DO I LEARN?
I am just in awe of the awesome and beautiful long term plan of God for redemption of a hopelessly lost race.
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