|
|
ROMANS 3:21-31
I) INTRODUCTION:
The Law is the standard of God's perfect righteousness which man must have in order to be with God forever. This is impossible for man to attain. The grace gift to all believers of perfect righteousness therefore comes throug our Lord Jesus Christ by a moment of faith alone in Him alone.
The Law is a picture of the absolute righteousness of our Lord Jesus Christ. Only He among all men could and did keep the Law perfectly and in conjunction with His sacrificial death provide the only way for mankind to be reconciled to God. The Law is a picture of what Scripture foretold was the Savior to come - of the standard of absolute perfection which a man must never fail to live by, which our Lord in fact demonstrated in His life. Now that Christ has come, it is His life and death on the cross that has superseded, i.e., HAS TAKEN THE PLACE OF - the Law. He Himself has fulfilled it on our behalf because no individual except the Lord Jesus Christ could perfectly keep the Law and then take upon Himself the penalty for the world's sins, (1 Jn 2:2).
Let's review a passage which supports the statement that the only way to righteousness is through faith alone in Christ alone:
@@@reconciliation
(v. 21) "But now a righteousness from God, apart from law, has been made known, to which the Law and Prophets testify.
(v. 22) This righteousness from God, apart from law, has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify."
["a righteousness from God = an absolutely perfect righteousness which comes from God - which is to be received by man. Compare the following passages which further define the specific meaning of the word "righteousness" as it appears in the context of Ro 3:21:
[Phil 3:8-9]:
(v. 8) "What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ
(v. 9) and be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from ...[keeping] law, but that which is through faith in Christ - the righteousness that comes from God and is by faith."[NOT BY HUMAN DOING]
["that comes from law" = "ten ek nomou" =
"which[is] of law
The word law here has no definite article thereby signifying not just the Mosaic Law but any system of rules to live by.
"not having a righteousness of my own that comes from law" = not having a righteousness which comes out of human doing like keeping some system of laws. This kind of human good righteousness falls short of the standard required for eternal life which is to be as good as Jesus Christ:
[Compare Gal 2:16]:
"Know that a man is not justified by observing law, but by faith in Jesus Christ. So we, too, have put our faith in Christ Jesus that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by observing law, because by observing law [Notice: no article again, i.e., by any deeds] no one will be justified."
[Heb 10:4]:
"...it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins."
It is impossible for the acts required of an individual to keep the Law to take away one's sins. Although the Law produced in man at best a kind of human justification where one man could behave better than another by keeping the Law more faithfully, this justification falls infinitely short of being as perfect as Jesus Christ, Who kept the Law perfectly in every thought, word and deed.
[Ro 10:3-4]:
(v. 3) "Since they [the Jews] did not know the righteousness that comes from God and sought to establish their own, they did not submit [by faith] to God's righteousness.
(v. 4) Christ is the end of the Law so that there may be [God's] righteousness for everyone who believes."
[2 Cor 5:21]:
"God made Him [Jesus Christ] Who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in Him we might become the [absolutely perfect] righteousness of God."
So for a person to go to heaven he has to be as good as Jesus Christ. And when we trust in Christ as Savior we thereby receive His perfect righteousness as a free grace gift:
[Ro 4:4-5]:
(v. 4) "Now when a man works, his wages are not credited to him as a gift, but as an obligation.
(v. 5) However, to the man who does not work but trusts God Who justifies the wicked, his faith is credited as righteousness."
(cp. Eph 2:8-9).
@@@reconciliation
II cont.) [Ro 3:21 cont.]:
(v. 21) "But now a righteousness from God, apart from law, has been made known, to which the Law and Prophets testify."
["apart from law" = this righteousness is received NOT BY OBEYING THE MOSAIC LAW OR ANY LAW. Notice there is no article "the" before the word law. When the article is omitted in the Greek it signifies the quality of the noun rather than a specific concept of law like the Mosaic Law when a definite article is used. Here in Ro 3:21 the quality of law is being referred to meaning that righteousness which comes apart from any kind of law or rules of human conduct. Therefore "law" = any & all law with respect to the context of this passage = the behavior of men. God is therefore saying in His Word that man can have nothing to do with his salvation. The context refers to laws of moral conduct and therefore the term does not refer to laws of nature - of physics, for example. So the passage speaks of receiving a righteousness apart from following any kind of code of behavior, apart from any human doing. Man can do nothing to receive or achieve this righteousness which is necessary for eternal life]
II cont.) [Ro 3:21 cont.]:
(v. 21) "But now a righteousness from God, apart from law, has been made known, to which the Law and Prophets testify."
"has been made known" = has been revealed by God to man. But now an absolutely perfect righteousness which is to be received by men from God and not by obedience to any law has been revealed by God to men.
"to which the Law and the Prophets testify" = this righteousness has been testified to - written in truth about - in Old Testament Scripture which is often referred to in Scripture as "the Law and the Prophets". Compare Mt 7:12: 11:13. Even in the Old Testament we find passages which speak of how God and God alone will justify, i.e., provide His perfect righteousness to those who will be given eternal life, i.e., live in the Kingdom of God forever:
[Gen 15:6]:
"Abram believed the Lord, and He credited it to him as righteousness."
Compare the above to:
[Ro 4:1-3]:
(v. 1) "What then shall we say that Abraham, our forefather, discovered in this matter?
(v. 2) If, in fact, Abraham was justified by works, he had something to boast about - BUT NOT BEFORE GOD!".
[If Abraham justified himself by what he did, this verse is saying, it was not unto eternal life before God. But rather, Abraham justified himself in another way: before men as one whom God had favored and justified unto eternal life by faith beforehand - as the next verse states]:
(v. 3) 'Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.' "
[So Abraham was NOT justified unto eternal life before God by anything that he did. Instead, he was justified by his believing in God's plan of salvation FOR him, which the previous verse states EXCLUDED anything that he did]
[Ez 11:19-20]:
(v. 19) "I [God] will give them an undivided heart and put a new spirit in them; I will remove from them their heart of stone and give them a heart of flesh."
(v. 20a) Then they will follow My decrees and be careful to keep My laws."
[Ex 36:26-27]:
(v. 26) "I [God] will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh.
(v. 27) And I will put My Spirit in you and move you to follow My decrees and be careful to keep My laws."
So the Old Testament teaches that God will do it all. He "will give them an undivided [a righteous] heart" and "remove from them their heart of stone" so that they will then live righteously and keep all of His laws. And God said in His Word that He will provide this justification - this perfect righteousness exclusively through His Son:
[Isa 53:10-11]:
(v. 10) "Yet it was the Lord's [God the Father's] will to crush Him [Jesus Christ] and cause Him to suffer, and though the Lord makes His life a guilt offering, He will see His offspring and prolong His days, and the will of the Lord will prosper in His hand.
(v. 11) After the suffering of His soul, He will see the light of life [be resurrected] and be satisfied; [that His substitutionary work was completed] BY KNOWLEDGE OF HIM [by a person knowing Christ by faith] MY RIGHTEOUS SERVANT WILL JUSTIFY MANY, AND HE WILL BEAR THEIR INIQUITIES."
["JUSTIFY" = make righteous by paying the price for the sins of the world, (1 Jn 2:2), so that those who trust in His work on the cross will be justified as absolutely righteous as God is]
[Acts 13:38-39].
(v. 38) "Therefore, my brothers, I want you to know that through Jesus the forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you.
(v. 39) Through Him everyone who believes is justified [is declared perfectly righteous] from everything you could not be justified from by the Law of Moses."
The quotations from the Old and New Testaments just made are also testified to in Romans 3:21-31 which we are studying:
III) [Ro 3:22]:
(v. 22) "This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference."
[This absolutely perfect righteousness from God is received by each man simply by each man exercising his faith - his trust - in Jesus Christ as Savior.
"There is no difference" (among men) = neither Jew nor Gentile have it any differently - there are no differences among men that would provide God's perfect righteousness in any other way but by faith alone in Christ alone]
IV) [Ro 3:23]:
(v. 22) "This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference,
(v. 23) for all [men] have sinned and are constantly falling short of the glory of God,
["are constantly falling short" = "usterountai" = present tense stressing continuing action, i.e., keeping on falling short.
"There is no difference for all [men] have sinned and are constantly falling short of the glory of God" = There is no difference among men with respect to how men attain the perfect righteousness of God because all men, whether Jew or Gentile, outward sinner or moral individual, religious person or athiest, (Romans chapters 1 & 2), all men have sinned, (in Adam, see Ro 5:12, 18, 19 below), and will continue to sin and are constantly falling short of the glory of God by continually committing personal sins.
For the moment, let's consider a parallel passage in Romans chapter 5 which supports the doctrine that all men are sinners because of what Adam did:
[Ro 5:12-14, 18-19]:
(v. 12) "Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all men, because all sinned -
(v. 13) for before the Law was given, sin was in the world. But sin is not taken into account when there is no law.
(v. 14) Nevertheless, death reigned from the time of Adam to the time of Moses, even over those who did not sin by breaking a command, as did Adam, who was a pattern of the One [Jesus Christ to come]
(v. 18) Consequently, just as the result of one trespass was condemnation for all men, so also the result of one act of righteousness was justification that brings life for all men.
(v. 19) For just as through the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the one Man [Jesus Christ] the many will be made righteous."
(Ro 5:12 cont.) "Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man,[Adam, (v.14)] and death through sin, and in this way death came to all men, BECAUSE ALL SINNED-"
"Therefore" = 'Therefore' continues (from Ro 3:19-23) the discussion of the universality of sin which was interrupted by verses Ro 3:24-5:11 which discussed justification and its results.
"BECAUSE ALL SINNED" = Due to the past tense of the verb "sinned" this is saying and can only say, 'BECAUSE WHEN ADAM SINNED ALL MANKIND SINNED IN ADAM'. Verses 13-14 of Romans chapter 5 which follow further explain that all men are held accountable by God for what Adam did in the garden:
(Ro 5:13) "for before the [Mosaic] Law was given, sin was in the world. But sin is not taken into account when there is no law."
[Verse 13 establishes that because there was no law - no Mosaic Law or any law of human conduct which defined what was right and what was wrong and the penalties for doing wrong - because of this, personal acts of sin were not taken into account. People were actually NOT held accountable for their individual personal sins before God instituted the Mosaic Law. That's what this verse is saying, (Compare Gen 4:2-16: God indicates that Cain's murder would not be held against Cain.)]
(Ro 5:14) "Nevertheless, death reigned from the time of Adam to the time of Moses, EVEN OVER THOSE WHO DID NOT SIN BY BREAKING A COMMAND, as did Adam, who was a pattern of the one to come."
["EVEN OVER THOSE WHO DID NOT SIN BY BREAKING A COMMAND" = Inspite of the fact that people were not held accountable for their sin natures and their inevitable personal acts of sin, nevertheless, people still physically died. This is not natural, for God created man to live forever. Even if there were those who did not break a command from God before the Mosaic Law was given, they still died physically due to the mortal genetic structure they inherited from Adam which was altered due to Adam's disobedience in the garden, (Gen 2:17). So every human being is born with the moral guilt of Adam imputed to his account, as evidenced by their mortality - their inevitable physical death. Consequently we all have a nature which is sinful - a sin nature, (Ro 7:23). This sin nature is actually part of the human body. It is generated through procreation and is genetically in every cell in the body. The imputed guilt for Adam's sin has resulted in every individual being so completely contaminated that nobody who is unsaved can do one single thing in the way of divine good, i.e., that which God esteems relative to his eternal destiny - relative to his salvation. Unsaved humanity is so contaminated throughout by the sin nature that it can do no divine good. The only kind of good it can produce is human good which God completely rejects because it comes out of the contaminated sin nature, (Isa 64:6). Human good is a product of human capacity - a product of the expression of the sin nature. So it is impossible for a person to do anything to merit salvation. Each person is totally evil and totally incapable of approaching God in any way whatsoever. So it is impossible to do anything to earn salvation - to deserve it. Salvation, therefore, can only be secured as a gift from God by faith alone in Christ alone.
(Ro 5:14 cont.) "Nevertheless, death reigned from the time of Adam to the time of Moses, EVEN OVER THOSE WHO DID NOT SIN BY BREAKING A COMMAND, as did Adam, who was a pattern of the one [Jesus Christ] to come."
"COMMAND" = Before God instituted the Mosaic Law system He issued innumerable commands - for example the command to Cain and Able to offer a bloody-type of sacrifice at certain times. Able obeyed, Cain disobeyed by providing a bloodless crop offering. Cain sinned but God did not hold him accountable to the sin, He only brought the sin to Cain's attention. God also indicated that Cain's murder of Abel would not be held against Cain, Gen 4:2-16].
(Ro 5:14 cont.) Nevertheless, death reigned from the time of Adam to the time of Moses, EVEN OVER THOSE WHO DID NOT SIN BY BREAKING A COMMAND, as did Adam, who was a pattern of the One [Jesus Christ] to come."
(Ro 5:18) "Consequently, just as the result of one trespass was condemnation for all men, so also the result of one act of righteousness was justification that brings life for all men.
(Ro 5:19) For just as through the disobedience of the one man [Adam] the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the one Man the many will be made righteous."
[Verse 19 is saying, 'For through what Adam did - and not through anything that one does as a result of what Adam did - but only through what Adam did - all men, women and children - even in the womb - are automatically sinners and will die in condemnation just because they exist - even before they commit one single sin - even if they commit no sin at all']:
[Compare Ps 51:5]:
"Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me.
[Ro 5:19 cont]:
"For just as through the disobedience of the one man [Adam] the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the one Man [Jesus Christ] the many will be made righteous."
C. I. Scoffield comments on this verse as follows, (Oxford NIV Study Bible, Oxford University Press, 1984, pp. 1181-1182):
"The first sin wrought the moral ruin of the race. The demonstration is simple. (1) Death is universal (vv. 12,14); all die - little children, moral people, and religious people equally with the depraved. For a universal effect there must be a universal cause; that cause is a state of universal sin (v. 12). (2) But this universal state must have had a cause. It did. The consequence of Adam's sin was that the 'many were made sinners' (v. 19): 'the result of one trespass was condemnation for all men' (v.18). (3) Personal sins are not meant here. From Adam to Moses death reigned (v. 14) [WITHOUT THE LAW BEING IN EFFECT] although, there being no law, personal guilt was not imputed (v.13). Accordingly from Gen. 4:7 to Ex. 29:14 the sin offering is not once mentioned. Then, since physical death from Adam to Moses was not due to the sinful acts of those who die (v. 13), it follows that it was due to a universal sinful state, or nature, and that state is declared to be our inheritance from Adam. And (4) the moral state of fallen man is described in Scripture (Gen. 6:5; I Ki. 8:46; Ps. 14:1-3; 95:5; Jer 17:9; Mt. 18:11; Mk. 7:20-23; Jn 3:6; Rom 1:21; 2:1-29; 3:9-19; 7:24; 8:7; I Cor 2:14; 2 Cor. 3:14; 4:4; Gal 5:19-21: Eph 2:1-3, 11-12; 4:18-22; Col 1:21; Heb 3:13; Jas 4:4).
J. Dwight Pentecost comments on the doctrine of imputation as taught in Romans chapter 5, ("Things Which Become SOUND DOCTRINE", Revell, Westwood, N.J., 1965), p.41-42:
"When God views us in our position in Adam, God sees us as spiritually dead. We were born spiritually dead because the parents who begat us physically were themselves spiritually dead and could pass to us only that which they had. The Apostle Paul emphasizes, then, that death entered the world because sin had entered the world, and that men die because Adam's sin is set down to each man's account on the debit side of the ledger.
In order to make this very clear, the Apostle shows us that men do not die because they are sinners, but, rather, they sin because they are sinners. He shows us in verse 13, 'for before the law was given, sin was in the world. But sin is not taken into account when there is no law.
[v. 14] Nevertheless, death reigned from the time of Adam to the time of Moses, even over those who did not sin by breaking a command, as did Adam, who was a pattern of the One to come. [Christ]' Then, in the following verses, the Apostle shows that it was not the law that made men sinners; it was not breaking a law that made men sinners, because men were sinners, and men died before the law was ever given. Both physical death and personal sins had their root and origin in the sin of Adam. Because we were in Adam when Adam sinned.******* Adam's sin was set down to our account and we stand as guilty before God as though it had been our hand instead of Adam's that reached out to pluck the forbidden fruit from the forbidden tree in response to the enticements of Satan. We stand, therefore, before God, charged with Adam's sin. This is the act of imputation in which God sets down on the debit side of the ledger our indebtedness."
*******Just as Levi paid tithes to Melchizedek through Abraham generations BEFORE Levi was even born so all of humanity is responsible for the transgression of Adam before birth. For just as Levi was in the body of his ancestor Abraham before Levi was born, so humanity was in the body of Adam before the birth of one single baby:
[Heb 7:9-10 AMPLIFIED]:
(v. 9) "A person might even say that through Abraham, Levi himself, who received tithes, [who was not even born yet] paid tithes through Abraham.
(v. 10) For he was still in the loins of his forefather [Abraham] when Melchizedek met him [Abraham]."
So as Levi was in the loins of Abraham when Abraham met the High Priest Melchizedek and paid tithes to Him, so all of humanity was in the loins of Adam when he walked in the garden and when he ate of the forbidden fruit and thereby Adam and all of humanity received the altered and horrible condition of a sin nature and death and condemnation from God. The genetic structure of humanity which was contained in the loins of Adam was horribly altered at the moment that Adam sinned so that all of humanity that is born of a human father receives a sin nature and is born spiritually dead - completely separated from God. All of humanity is also hopelessly lost and under the insurmountable guilt of what it did in the garden while in the loins of Adam.
Surely each of us born into the human race needs a Savior.
IV) [Ro 3:23 cont]:
"for all [men] have sinned and ("usterountai") are constantly falling short of the glory of God,
["have sinned" = "emarton" = aorist tense which signifies that all have sinned one time for all time in the past together - IN ADAM, cp Ro 5:12, same word, same tense, same point: all men are attributed with sin through Adam's sin in the garden. Adam, ( & Eve), became a sinner by sinning, the rest of humanity became sinners by being born into the human race - of human fathers, who descended from Adam. That is except the Lord Jesus Christ Who was not born of a human father but of the Spirit of God and therefore He was not born with a sin nature or with the imputed guilt of Adam. Thus our Lord was born with the capacity to live a perfectly righteous life and take upon Himself the guilt of all men as a representative Man without fault and without the imputed guilt of Adam. One might say that it is not fair that one is attributed blame for something Adam did before one was even born. One would then be asked by God if one would not also have fallen were he Adam himself. An honest answer by every man except our Lord: Yes]
IV) [Ro 3:23 cont]:
"for all [men] have sinned and ( "usterountai") are constantly falling short of the glory of God,
["are constantly falling short of = "usterountai" =present tense which signifies that not only have all men sinned in the past through Adam - who represented all men as the federal head of the human race, (this is called inherant or imputed sin); but all men are constantly falling short of the glory of God because all men are born, as a result of Adam's original sin, with a sin nature, (this is called imparted sin). All men are constantly sinning - constantly falling short of the glory of God = all men are constantly committing sins, (these are called personal sins), as a result of our imparted sin nature. So man is obviously totally depraved and incapable of lifting one finger to save himself or even contribute to his salvation at all. Man has the inherant sin of Adam, he has an imparted sin nature and he has his own personal sins which create an impenetrable wall between himself and a holy God - man is totally lost. He needs a Savior.
["the glory of God" = refers back to the phrase "a righteousness from God" (v. 21) - the main subject of this passage. Verse 23 indicates that this righteousness from God reflects His glory = His absolutely and perfectly righteous character - which man is constantly falling short of and never able to attain on his own merits.]
(v. 23) "for all have sinned and are constantly falling short of the glory of God,
(v. 24) "and [all men] are [only] justified freely by His grace...............................
[Verse 24 as constructed in the Greek says that ALL men who are "justified" are justified in only one way - by the grace gift of God, which is a free gift in which man does nothing to receive it or keep it. Man, therefore, this verse says, is justified in no other way but by the FREE grace gift of God. To be justified is also to be saved unto eternal life, (Ro 5:9). This does not say that all men are automatically justified as some will maintain. The context does not support this conclusion nor do other Scriptural passages. Not all men will be saved. (Mt 7:13-14). Rather the phrase in Ro 3:24, "and [all men] are justified freely by His grace.." follows Ro 3:22 which states that "There is no difference" among men as to how one is justified. Jews and Gentiles, religious and non-religious, moral and immoral are all justified only in the one way. So this phrase says "and [all men] are justified [in one way only:] by His [God's] grace." If a man is justified at all he can only be justified by faith alone in Jesus Christ alone as Savior-no other way: by the grace gift of God through faith in Christ.
[Compare Jn 14:6 again]:
"Jesus answered, 'I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me [through faith alone in Christ alone, cp Jn 6:26-29]
VI) [Ro 3:24]:
"and [all men] are justified freely by His [God's] grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus."
["freely" = God declares a believer perfectly righteous without any contribution on the believer's part whatsoever. He does it "freely" = without any kind of payment required by man. But He certainly does not do this without cost, for His Son paid the price Himself, an inestimable cost!
"grace" = justification is done by grace, grace being defined as unmerited, undeserved favor. (Compare Eph 2:8-9: Grace is a gift - not to be received by merit and not so that any individual can so much as boast in the slightest about receiving the gift.) Man does not merit any kind of justification at all, rather all men deserve condemnation to the Lake of Fire, (Cp. Ro 3:10-18; Ps 14:1-3; Eccles 7:20). Nevertheless God extends His grace FREELY, WITHOUT PAYMENT FROM MEN. God gives to men this free and unmerited favor of redemption from the slavery of sin unto eternal life on the basis of what His Son did on the cross.]
VI) [Ro 3:24]:
"and [all men] are justified freely by His grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus."
["justified" = to be declared by God as being legally and perfectly righteous - having no sin, no faults on the basis of Christ having paid the penalty for ones sins and providing His perfect righteousness to the believer. This definition of justification is presented to the reader of Ro 3:24-26 as follows:
If all men who are justified are justified THROUGH THE REDEMPTION THAT CAME BY JESUS CHRIST, (Ro 3:24)..........
And if the redemption by Jesus Christ brought about the complete payment for the sins of the whole world, (I Peter 1:18-19; 1 Jn 2:2)............
And if this redemption comes only through faith in Christ to provide that remption..... And if the evidence and the object of that redemption is the reception of the gift of God's absolute and perfect righteousness apart from any human doing, (Ro 3:21-23)...........
Then justification in Scripture is defined as being declared by God as having His absolutely perfect righteousness, (Phil 3:8-9; II Cor 5:21). There is no guilt that God can hold against His child by faith.
Therefore God looks upon an individual who has trusted alone in His Son alone as being perfectly righteous even though that individual still has a sin nature and still continues to sin. This is a legal position that God puts a man in who has trusted alone in His Son alone. This is because that individual by faith has accepted the free gift of the righteousness of Jesus Christ and now Christ lives in Him via God the Holy Spirit:
[Eph 1:13-14]
(v. 13) "And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Having believed, you were marked in Him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit,
(v. 14) Who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God's possession - to the praise of His glory."
So God can now look at His perfect righteousness the Holy Spirit Who is living in that believer and God can account that believer as perfectly worthy to have eternal life with Him in heaven because of what His Son did on the cross for that believer. This is called positional truth - God has already permanently positioned the believer in heaven at the point of the believer's faith alone in Christ alone:
[Eph 2:4-6]:
(v. 4) "But because of His great love for us, God, Who is rich in mercy,
(v. 5) made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions - it is by grace you have been saved.[through faith, vv. 2:8-9]
(v. 6) And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with Him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, "
[God is saying here in His Word that He views the believer as already seated with Christ Jesus in heaven while that believer is still in his physical body on earth!! It is only a matter of living out one's life on this earth and then being finally transformed into a being of actual and perfect righteousness and then being transferred to heaven for the rest of eternity]:
[1 Cor 15:51-53]:
(v. 51) "Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed -
(v. 52) in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed.
(v. 53) For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality."
VI cont) [Ro 3:24 cont]:
"and [all men] are justified freely by His grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus."
["through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus" = God is perfectly righteous in justifying all men who trust in His Son because of what Jesus Christ did on the cross. No one can say that God has impugned His own character because He forgave any sin without exacting a payment for the penalty for that sin. God's own perfect justice is satisfied as to the sins of mankind. So now, AND ONLY NOW, is God free to express His love toward men rather than condemnation. What our Lord Jesus Christ accomplished on the cross was the "redemption" for the sins of mankind]
["redemption" = the payment for]
"God presented Him as a sacrifice of atonement, through faith, in His blood."
A) GOD PRESENTED TO MANKIND JESUS CHRIST AS A SACRIFICE OF ATONEMENT TO SATISFY GOD FOR THE SINS OF THE WHOLE WORLD
"God presented Him [Jesus Christ] as a sacrifice of atonement' = God the Father presented, i.e., put forward before the eyes of men, His Son in an act of sacrifice which was done to satisfy God for the sins of the whole world. This was specifically prophesied in the Old Testament book of Isaiah, cp Isa 53:5, 10a, and emphasized in the New Testament, especially in 1 Jn 2:2]:
1) [Compare 1 Jn 2:2]:
"And He Himself [Jesus Christ] is the propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only, but also for those of the whole world."
"propitiation" = "hilasmos" = satisfaction, satisfactory payment for. Vine's Expository Dictionary of Old and New Testament Words, (W. E. Vine, Fleming H. Revell Co., Old Tappan, N.J., 1981, p. 224):
"Hilasmos akin to hileos (merciful, propitious), signifies an expiation, a means whereby sin is covered and remitted. It is used in the N.T. of Christ Himself as "the propitiation," in 1 John 2:2 and 4:10, signifying that He Himself, through the expiatory sacrifice of His Death, is the Personal means by Whom God shows mercy to the sinner who believes on Christ as the One thus provided."
Let's examine verse 25 a bit further using the Amplified translation which amplifies the word meanings of the original Greek text:
VII cont.) [Ro 3:25 cont. Amplified]:
"Whom God put forward before the eyes of all as a mercy seat and propitiation by His blood - the cleansing and life-giving sacrifice of atonement and reconciliation - to be received through faith....
B) THE SACRIFICE OF ATONEMENT IS BEST RENDERED 'MERCY SEAT AND PROPITIATION' BY HIS BLOOD SIGNIFYING THE SATISFACTION FOR THE PENALTY FOR THE SINS OF THE WHOLE WORLD
"mercy seat" = "hilasterion" = the lid or cover of the ark of the covenant which was in the temple inside the area called the 'Holy of Holies'. It signifies the Atonement, the Propitiatory, i.e. that which satisfies for the penalty for sins - the covering or removal of sins via an atoning sacrifice. (Hence most translations like the NIV or KJV translate "mercy seat" as "sacrifice of atonement").
1) AN ANIMAL SACRIFICE WAS PERFORMED ONCE A YEAR FOR THAT YEAR'S SINS BY THE NATION ISRAEL WITH A VIEW TO THE ONCE FOR ALL TIME SACRIFICE OF JESUS CHRIST
An animal sacrifice was performed once a year for that year's sins by the nation Israel. Cp Heb 9:1-10.
In addition to the yearly setting aside of sins by the nation Israel, this yearly sacrifice was meant to look forward to and be symbolic of the Messiah Jesus Christ and His once for all time sacrifice for sins:
a) [Heb 9:13-15]:
(v. 13) "The blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer sprinkled on those who are ceremonially unclean sanctify them so that they are outwardly clean.[for that year, (v. 7)]
(v. 14) How much more, then, will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to death, so that we may serve the living God!
(v. 15) For this reason Christ is the Mediator of a new covenant, that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance - now that He has died as a ransom to set them free from the sins committed under the first covenant"
["first covenant" = meaning the first of the two covenants that the author continues to write about in chapter nine: The Mosaic Law, see verses 7:18, 28; 8:6-7; 9:1. The second covenant is the infinitely superior one: the grace gift of Christ's once for all time sacrifice for the sins of the whole world. Cp Gal 3:17-19]
2) "MERCY SEAT" DESCRIBES THE LORD JESUS CHRIST HIMSELF - HIS ONE-TIME SACRIFICE FOR ALL TIME, HIS ATONEMENT FOR THE SINS OF THE WHOLE WORLD
And in Ro 3:25, Paul uses "Hilasterion" to describe the Lord Jesus Christ Himself! Therefore "Hilasterion" in Ro 3:25 refers to Christ's one-time sacrifice for all time, His atonement, His expiatory death as the Personal means by Whom God can now show the mercy of His justifying grace to the sinner WHO BELIEVES. Compare this with Hebrews chapter nine which explains the difference between the yearly animal sacrifices and our Lord's once for all time sacrifice.
VII cont.) [Ro 3:25 cont.]:
"God presented Him as a sacrifice of atonement, [= "mercy seat"] through faith, in His blood.
C) THE SACRIFICE OF THE ATONEMENT IS STIPULATED AS IN HIS BLOOD - HENCE WE ARE TO HAVE FAITH IN THE CAPACITY OF THE ATONEMENT, NOT HIS BLOOD, TO SAVE US UNTO ETERNAL LIFE
1) IT IS NOT THE LITERAL BLOOD OF JESUS - NORMAL HUMAN BLOOD - WHICH WE ARE TO HAVE FAITH IN BUT IN HIS ATONING SACRIFICE
we are not to have faith in the literal blood of Jesus for that was human blood which functioned in our Lord's humanity as blood is to function in a man
["as a sacrifice of atonement through faith, in His blood" = through faith in the atonement which our Lord made with His life, with His blood. This atonement, which was for all of your sins and the sins of the whole world, of course involved the shedding of His blood. Note that we are not to have faith in the literal blood of Jesus for that was human blood which functioned in our Lord's humanity as blood is to function in a man. The text does not indicate that we are to have faith in His blood. As a matter of fact the grammatically correct translation is as it appears in the amplified translation]:
(v. 25 cont Amplified Bible) "Whom God put forward before the eyes of all as a mercy seat and propitiation by His blood - the cleansing and life-giving sacrifice of atonement and reconciliation - to be received through faith....
[The text says that the sacrifice of the atonement was in His blood, not that we are to have faith in His blood. Paul does not here state, nor elsewhere in Scripture does it ever say, that we are to have faith in a thing, like blood. We are to trust only in the Gospel which says to have faith in the Person of Christ - in what He did for us on the cross - His atonement for our sins. We are not to have faith in a thing like blood.
"Faith" is in the genitive case, this would make the function of the phrase containing "faith" the same as that of the one containing "blood" with respect to the fact that both phrases refer back to "atonement" ("mercy seat" = "atonement"). It is atonement with blood; and it is the atonement which we receive through faith. Therefore a comma is required to render an accurate translation in the NIV and the KJV]:
(Ro 3:25 NIV) "God presented Him as a sacrifice of atonement, through faith , in His blood.
["sacrifice of atonement" = "mercy seat" = "propitiation"]
(Ro 3:25 KJV) "Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation, through faith , in His blood.
The N.A.S. renders it better:
(Ro 3:25 NAS) "Whom God displayed publicly as a propitiation in His blood through faith"
The koine Greek, which is the language the Apostle Paul wrote in, states that the faith we are to express must be in His atoning sacrifice for our sins and not in the literal blood of Jesus. Our Lord's blood had no supernatural quality to it. Rather, we are to have faith in the result of what our Lord did which resulted in that shedding of His human blood; namely, the complete, perfect and one time for all time sacrifice for the sins of the whole world, (Heb 9:1-28).
2) CHRIST MUST DIE PHYSICALLY AND SPIRITUALLY IN ORDER FOR HIM TO PAY THE PENALTY FOR THE SINS OF THE WHOLE WORLD
In order for the Lord Jesus Christ to fulfill His mission to be a representative Man, (Romans chapter 5), and thereby qualify to receive the penalty for the sins of the whole world for mankind, He must die physically as a man as well as spiritually. Otherwise one could say that Jesus never truly was a man when the sins of the whole world were imposed upon Him. Scripture also prophesied that a physical sacrifice was to be included in Christ's atoning work for sins, (For references see *** at the end of this paragraph). There are a number of man's religions which indicate the false point of view that our Lord never died physically but was translated up into heaven before He died on or even went to the cross. Some say that someone else was crucified in His place. If any of these false points were true then God's justice would be impugned, His Word untrue and His reconciliation of mankind thwarted. Just as Adam imposed sin upon the world as a man, (Romans chapter 5), and thereby spiritually and physically died, so our Lord Jesus Christ had to have that penalty for all sin imposed upon Him as a man and thereby die spiritually and then physically also as a man. Scripture testifies that through our Lord's shedding of blood, His physical death and His spiritual death the incomprehensible was completed: the atonement for the sins of the whole world for all time. ***Compare Mt 26:26-28; Heb 10:10, 1 Jn 2:2.
3) ANIMAL SACRIFICES TEMPORARILY SET ASIDE THE PENALTY FOR SINS COMMITTED BY BELIEVERS IN THE NATION ISRAEL PICTURING OUR LORD'S ONCE FOR ALL TIME SACRIFICE
The continual animal sacrifices performed in ancient days in Israel temporarily set aside the penalty for sins committed by the believers in the nation Israel. These sacrifices were a picture of our Lord's future one time for all time - final sacrifice - for the sins of the whole world, (1 Jn 2:2). Just as the animal blood had no particular supernatural quality or significance to it other than its outflow signaled and caused the death of the animal, so it was with our Lord Jesus Christ that His blood, which was normal human blood, flowed out of Him signaling and becoming one of the causes of His physical death. Our Lord permitted His death on the cross which was specifically the result of shock due to the trauma of the physical abuse He received and His loss of tremendous amounts of blood. Before His physical death, He experienced His spiritual death, His separation from God the Father and God the Holy Spirit, (Ps 22:1; Mt 27:46). That was when the penalty of the sins of the whole world was imposed upon Him.
The phrases "through faith", and "in His blood" are therefore statements which refer in this passage to the results of what Jesus Christ accomplished on the cross - His atonement for sins. Scripture never supports anything mystical or supernatural about the actual blood of the Lord Jesus Christ.
VII cont.) [Ro 3:25 NAS cont]:
"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;
D) GOD WITHHELD PUNISHMENT FOR SINS COMMITTED BEFORE THE TIME OF CALVARY LOOKING FORWARD TO THE TIME WHEN THOSE SINS WOULD BE PAID FOR BY HIS SON
"forbearance" = "anoche" =
[Vine's Expository Dictionary ***]:
"a holding back...denotes forbearance, a delay of punishment....in the latter passage [Ro 3:25] His forbearance is the ground not of His forgiveness, but of His pretermission [suspension of the punishment] of sins, His withholding punishment. [In this passage] it is connected with the passing over of sins in times past [the times of human history in the past before our Lord died on the cross for sins and thereby paid the penalty for all sins past, present and future.] .....[In this passage] it is connected with the passing over of sins in times past, previous to the atoning work of Christ, [Cp Heb 9:9-15]."
[***Vines Expository Dictionary of Old and New Testament Words, W.E. Vine, Fleming H Revell Co, 1981,p.116]
J. Dwight Pentecost states, ("Things Which Become Sound Doctrine," Fleming H. Revell, Westwood, N.J., 1965, p.97):
"What the Apostle Paul, the author of Romans is telling us is that when Jesus Christ went to the cross, He gathered together all those notes of indebtedness which the nation Israel had renewed every year on the day of atonement, and He, by the offering up of His blood as that which propitiated a holy God, made a final and complete settlement for all of those notes. As a result there was remission, [= release from the penalty of sins], there was forgiveness of sins that are past."
So the offering up of a blood sacrifice by Israel on the day of atonement each year symbolized the actual act of postponement by God of His judgment of sins unto the Lake of Fire on old testament believers until our Lord's once for all time blood sacrifice at Calvary. Those in Old Testament times who trusted alone in God's future provision of salvation through a coming GodMan Messiah had judgment of their sin postponed even after they died. As a matter of fact, O.T. saints went to Paradise in Hades when they died, awaiting transfer to heaven. And then, once Christ died on the cross, the sins of the whole world being completely paid for, (1 Jn 2:2), they, having already received as a result of their saving faith the gift of His Perfect Righteousness, the believers were then immediately brought out of Paradise in Hades and into heaven to be with God for the rest of eternity. Such is the destiny of all believers of all ages - eternal life.
VIII) [Ro 3:25-26]:
(v. 25 NAS) "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;
(v. 26 NIV) He did it to demonstrate His justice at the present time, so as to be just and the One Who justifies those who have faith in Jesus."
A) THE QUESTION AS TO WHETHER GOD WAS A PERFECTLY JUST AND RIGHTEOUS GOD IS ANSWERED AT THE CROSS
Paul, the writer, is emphasizing in v. 25b and again in verse 26 that God is demonstrating that He is a perfectly just God. In the past there was some question as to whether God was a perfectly just and righteous God. Men like Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, David were justified - accounted righteous - by their faith in God's future plan of salvation and they were received into the Paradise compartment of Hades when they died. These men were sinners with their sins not having been paid for as indicated in Scripture:
All men have a sin problem even in times past before the cross: Ro 3:10-20, 23; Ps 14:1-3. Abraham sinned: Gen 12:10-20; 20:1-17;
Isaac sinned: 26:7-11;
Jacob sinned: 27:1-40;
Moses sinned: Ex 2:11-14;
David sinned: 2 Sam 11:2-12:13.
In the past, before the cross, God took away David's sin of murder and all the sins of men on credit - all men who trusted in His future plan of salvation.
B) GOD'S FOREMOST PURPOSE & CONCERN IN THE ATONEMENT OF THE LORD JESUS CHRIST WAS TO DEMONSTRATE TO THE UNIVERSE THAT HIS JUSTICE WAS SATISIFIED BY THE ATONEMENT WITH RESPECT TO THE SINS OF THE PAST WHICH WERE FORGIVEN ON CREDIT TO ALL THOSE WHO BELIEVED
1) [Compare Ps 50:16-23]:
a) INTRODUCTION
This passage indicates that men were accusing God of overlooking the sins of men which God forgave on credit in the past:
b) [Ps 50:21]:
"These things [sins] you have done and I [God] kept silent; you thought I was altogether like you. But I will rebuke you and accuse you to your face."
["you thought I was altogether like you" = God says to evil men 'You thought I was evil like you because men saw that I forgave some men for trusting in Me but without punishment for those sins which those men were known to have committed. Evil men thought that God was 'winking' at sins and would not really hold men accountable for any wrong doing].
c) [Ps 50:22]:
"Consider this, you who forget God, or I [God] will tear you to pieces, with none to rescue: He who sacrifices thank offerings honors Me, and he prepares the way so that I may show him the salvation of God."
[Those who sacrificed in accordance with the true significance of those sacrifices, i.e. those who trusted in God's future plan of salvation which those sacrifices represented, (Heb 9:6-15), are therefore born again believers - they are the ones who honor God]:
"and He prepares the way" = the man who trusts in the truth of what those sacrifices represent , i.e., trusting in God's once for all time future sacrifice for his sins, prepares his own way " so that I [God] may show him the salvation of God."
So God's foremost purpose in the atonement of the Lord Jesus Christ was to demonstrate to the universe that His justice is satisfied by the atonement with respect to the sins of the past which were forgiven on credit. His holiness - His perfect righteousness - is not impugned for covering the sins of believers in the past until the atonement was completed by Jesus Christ on the cross. God's justice is upheld by His fulfillment to Abraham, (Gen 12:1-3; 15:1-6) - and the world - of a plan of salvation through Abraham's seed, God's Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, (Gal 3:16).
VIII cont.) [Ro 3:25-26 NIV cont.]:
(v. 25 NAS) "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;
(v. 26 NIV) "He did it to demonstrate His justice at the present time, so as to be just and the One Who justifies those who have faith in Jesus."
C) GOD CARRIED OUT HIS PLAN OF HAVING HIS SON SACRIFICED FOR SINS TO DEMONSTRATE HIS RIGHTEOUSNESS AND JUSTICE BY NOT LETTING ONE SIN GO UNPUNISHED - IN VIEW THE SINS OF THE PAST PREVIOUSLY PASSED OVER
God "did it..." = God carried out His plan of having God the Son to be sacrificed on the cross for all sins, i.e., the atonement. God did it to demonstrate, to show to the world, that He is a Perfectly Just God by not letting one sin go unpunished - His Son will carry the punishment for all sins, even the sins of the past, before the time of the cross.
God "did it to demonstrate His justice at the present time" - as opposed to the past time. The past meaning that time when the sins were committed before the cross and yet still forgiven on credit. Even though He justified sinners in the past before the cross................................
i.e. even though He accounted believing sinners of Old Testament times perfectly righteous at the moment of their trusting in a future Messiah-Savior, (Heb 11:1-12); and when they died He even placed them in the Paradise compartment of Hades until Christ was resurrected and placed them in Heaven, (Lk 16:19-31).....................
To repeat:
Even though He justified all these sinners in the past before the cross...................... and they were all sinners, God did not make provision for the justification of anyone in the past. God waited until the "present time" - the time of the cross. In the context of this passage the word "present" refers to the times which are the those times with respect to any particular individual in history in his historical 'present time' who is considering God and whether or not He is a Perfectly Just God because of His justification of Old Testament believing sinners before the cross on credit. For He did this credit-justification in the past, in anticipation of what He promised to do at the cross in the future. God had to satisfy His Absolute Justice. Having justified believing sinners in the past and having permitted them entrance into paradise with a justified, i.e. perfectly righteous condition, He could not permit the sins which He forgave without penalty in the past to go without ever having the penalty paid for them - thus violating His Perfect Justice and being UNJUSTIFIED in transforming sinners into perfectly righteous beings. Those who lived in the past and who trusted in the Messiah-Savior, before the cross, were forgiven of their sins and justified ON CREDIT until our Lord Himself made the payment by His sacrifice on the cross.
[Compare Heb 9:15]:
"For this reason Christ is the Mediator of a new covenant, that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance--now that He has died as a ransom to set them free from the sins committed under the first covenant."
[Notice that the sins committed under the first covenant were not paid for, thus the old covenant saints had not yet received their promised eternal inheritance until it could be said, "Now that He had died as a ransom to set them free from sins committed under the first covenant."]
VIII) [Ro 3:25-26 NIV cont.]:
(v. 25 NAS) "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;
(v. 26 NIV) He did it to demonstrate His justice at the present time, so as to be just and the One Who justifies those who have faith in Jesus."
A) ALL SINS OF ALL MEN ARE PAID FOR - FORGIVENESS ON THE OTHER HAND COMES ONLY TO THOSE WHO BELIEVE
Notice that ALL the sins of ALL men are paid for, believers and unbelievers alike, but men who truly wish to be personally forgiven and justified unto eternal life must trust alone in Christ alone for this justification:
All men's sins are propitiated, believers and unbelievers alike:
1) [1 Jn 2:2]:
"and He [the Lord Jesus Christ] Himself is the propitiation [satisfaction] for our sins; and not for ours only, but also for those of the whole world."
But only those who are forgiven, (Acts 10:43) and thereuponjustified........... i.e., who have accepted by faith the gift of Christ's perfect righteousness, (Ro 3:21-31) - to be actualized after one's physical demise...................................
only those who are justified by faith will be fit to enter into the presence of Almighty God for all eternity. The end of verse 26 stipulates that the one and only way that an individual can receive this justification is by faith alone in Jesus Christ alone. The end of verse 26 also explains that God, in His justifying of a sinner is not providing forgiveness and justification without satisfactory payment of the penalty for an individual's sinful condition. Verse 26 explains that because of what Jesus Christ did on the cross in history, God is now a just God when He forgives sinners and transforms them in heaven into righteous beings.
[Ro 3:25b-27]:
(v. 25b) ""this was to demonstrate His righteousness, because in the forbearance of God He passed over the sins previously committed;
(Ro 3:26 NAS) "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."
(Ro 3:27 NAS) "Where, then is boasting? It is excluded. By what kind of law? Of works? No, but by a law of faith."
["By what kind of law" = Paul asks, 'By what kind of law, i.e. principle, is justification received that it is received on the basis of not being able to boast about it?
"Of works?" = Paul asks if the principle upon which an individual is justified by God is a principle of doing good works. Paul's answer: "No." It is received by faith - a law of faith.
"law" = a principle that repeats itself faithfully over and over again such that it is unfailingly and absolutely true. In Scripture the word law does not always refer to the Mosaic Law, (Cp Ro 3:27, (NAS); 7:21-25; 13:10; 8:1-2; I Cor 9:21; Gal 5:18; 6:2; Heb 7:12)
"law of faith" = the unfailing and absolutely true principle with respect to justification unto eternal life in the context of this passage such that an individual is declared and held to be perfectly righteous once and for all time every time by God at the moment that that individual exercises his faith alone in Jesus Christ alone. That is to say that if our Lord satisfied God the Father with respect to the penalty for the sins of the whole world by His once for all time sacrifice, (Heb 9:24-28), then surely an individual can satisfy God with respect to going to heaven by a once for all time act of faith alone in Christ alone as Savior, (Jn 3:16). Once a person exercises his faith in Jesus the "law of faith" states that that person is forever justified. He now has and is totally secured in eternal life. This is even while in his mortal body which is destined to be exchange for an immortal one:
[1 Cor 15:51-53):
(v. 51) "Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed -
(v. 52) in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed.
(v. 53) For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality."
[Ro 3:27 NAS cont.] :
"Where, then is boasting? It is excluded. By what kind of law? Of works? No, but by a law of faith."
[The Apostle Paul asks the question: Where then, in light of how an individual is justified, is an individual's opportunity to boast about being righteous in God's sight? Paul answers that boasting about one's justification is absolutely EXCLUDED AS A POSSIBILITY. Compare what Paul said in his letter to the Ephesians:
[Eph 2:8-9]:
"For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that [salvation] not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; NOT AS A RESULT OF WORKS, THAT NO ONE SHOULD BOAST."
Paul then inquires in Ro 3:27-28, 'What principle, then, is behind an individual's being justified by God'. Paul's answer, "Of works? No, but by a law of faith.". This excludes anything an individual does, (Cp Eph 2:8-9 above). And Paul's answer to what principle is behind an individual's justification unto eternal life is faith alone in Jesus Christ alone:
[Ro 3:28]:
"For we maintain that a man is justified by faith apart from works of law."
["works of law" = works of any code of behavior. Notice that here there is NO definite article signifying a general concept of a code of behavior, (which includes but is not limited to the specific Mosaic Law). Paul completes his point in verses 27 & 28, by repeating that works - any kind of thoughts, words or deeds, (v. 27), including the Mosaic Law or any law - code of behavior, (v. 28) - have NO part in an individual's justification, i.e. salvation. An individual is saved upon receiving God's gift of perfect righteousness simply by trusting in Christ as Personal Savior. (Cp. 1 Jn 5:9-13). Paul again points out in Ro 3:28 that justification is solely by the principle of faith and not by any other princple, especially not by keeping the Mosaic Law or any other law other than the law of faith. The Amplified Bible translation points this out very well:
(Ro 3:28 AMPLIFIED BIBLE): "For we hold that a man is justified and made upright by faith independent of and distinctly apart from good deeds (works of law). - The observance of the [Mosaic] Law has nothing to do with justification."
The Apostle Paul purposely points out the fact that any code of behavior, even the highly revered Mosaic Law, which many of his readers once held as indispensable to salvation, is not at all part of being saved. So now to whom does all of this which is taught in verses 27 & 28 apply to? Paul's answer is to everyone, Jew and Gentile alike. Earlier in Romans chapter three verses 22-24 Paul said:
(Ro 3:22b-24 AMPLIFIED) "For there is no distinction [among types of people] Since all have sinned and are falling short of the honor and glory which God bestows and receives. All are justified and made upright and in right standing with God, freely and gratuitously by His grace (His unmerited favor and mercy), through the redemption which is provided in Christ Jesus."
So everyone who is saved - i.e., so everyone who is justified - is saved in the same way. For there is truly only one God and only one way to eternal life: faith alone in Christ alone for Jew and Gentile alike as the next verse indicates:
[Ro 3:29-30]:
(v. 29) "Or is God the God of Jews only? Is He not the God of Gentiles also? Yes, of Gentiles also -
(v. 30) if [since] indeed God is one - and He will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through faith."
One might say, 'Well, if all one has to do is to believe in Christ as Savior in order to be justified, i.e., have eternal life, then the Law was never of any value. The next verse in Romans chapter three says differently:
[Ro 3:29-31]:
(v. 29) "Is God the God of Jews only? Is He not the God of Gentiles too? Yes, of Gentiles too,
(v. 30) since there is only one God, Who will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through that same faith.
(v. 31) Do we, then, nullify the Law by this faith? Not at all! Rather, we uphold the Law."
["we uphold the Law" = God says in His Word that the purpose of the Law is to bring us - Jew and Gentile alike - to the realization that no one can continually keep the Law perfectly without ever breaking a single statute:
[Compare Ro 3:20]:
"Therefore no one will be declared righteous in His sight by observing the Law; rather through the Law we become conscious of sin."
[and thereby we become aware of our need for a Savior outside of ourselves:
[Gal 3:21-25]:
(v. 21) "Is the Law, therefore, opposed to the promises of God? Absolutely not! For if a law [any law including the Mosaic Law] had been given that could impart life, then righteousness would certainly have come by the [Mosaic] Law.
(v. 22) But the Scripture declares that the whole world is a prisoner of sin, so that what was promised [eternal life], being given through faith in Jesus Christ, might be given to those who believe.
(v. 23) Before this faith came, we were held prisoners by the Law, locked up until faith should be revealed.
(v. 24) So the Law was put in charge to lead us to Christ that we might be justified by faith.
(v. 25) Now that faith has come, we are no longer under the supervision of the Law."
["Before this faith came, we were held prisoners by the Law, locked up until faith should be revealed." = Now that we have trusted alone in Christ alone for eternal life, the Law no longer supervises us in the sense that it no longer constantly reminds us of our accountability to God for any wrongdoing WITH RESPECT TO ETERNAL LIFE. The purpose of the Law is therefore fulfilled when one comes to faith in Christ as Personal Savior. So Paul, Peter, James and John, (and all the writers of the Bible), arrive at the same conclusion: man needs grace - unmerited favor - he needs a gift of mercy from God. And that Gift is His Son: As Paul wrote in verses 29-31 of Romans chapter three:
[Ro 3:29-31 cont.]:
(v. 29) "Is God the God of Jews only? Is He not the God of Gentiles too? Yes, of Gentiles too,
(v. 30) since there is only one God, Who will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumsized through that same faith.
(v. 31) Do we, then, nullify the Law by this faith? Not at all! Rather, we uphold the Law."
The Bible says that the only way an individual CAN uphold the Law is to receive as a "grace" gift what our Lord Jesus Christ did with His life. He was perfectly righteous, He kept the Law perfectly and continuously. And then He died in order to pay the penalty for every single infraction of the Law that every individual who ever lived and will ever live did and will commit. So by trusting in what Christ did, an individual receives as a "grace" gift: His perfect upholding of the Law and then that individual is declared justified - perfectly righteous - before an Holy God for all eternity.
[John Witmer states in The Bible Knowledge Commentary, Victor Books, John Walvoord and Roy B. Zuck, editors, 1988, (p.452)]:
"The purpose of the Mosaic Law is fulfilled and its place in God's total plan is confirmed when it leads an individual to faith in Jesus Christ (cf..[Ro 3:20]; Gal 3:23-25)." And this is what Paul said at the end of chapter three of his letter to the Christians in Rome:
(Ro 3:31): "Do we, then, nullify the Law by this faith? Not at all! Rather, we uphold the Law."
Those who have trusted in what Jesus Christ did for them by His upholding the Law and by His dying for sins for them...those Christians have thereby upheld the Law by faith through Christ.
