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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 (Romans 3.21-26).[1] Memory Verse: Romans 3.23 – “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” Yesterday we began our discussion about the righteousness of God; how God’s righteousness is given to anyone, no matter who you are, where you come from, no matter what you might have done, Jesus Christ has paid the price, satisfied our debt with God. ‘For there is no distinction’ God does not look at anyone any differently. He does not care about our money, our status, our homes, our cars, our job, the color of our skin, how smart we are or are not. What He cares about is if we have said yes to Jesus Christ, to His free gift, to His sacrifice on the cross, to His resurrection, to His authority, to His Lordship in our lives. ‘For there is no distinction: for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.’ There it is; no matter where we might think we are, good or bad, we all miss the mark. There is no one good, no not one. We all need a Savior; we all need someone to help us cross over the great divide which separates us from God. It is Jesus Christ and the Cross which gets us to the other side to God’s righteousness. ‘For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,’ if we stopped here there would surely be no hope for us, ever. But thanks be to God Almighty He did not stop there, therefore we do not have to either. ‘and all are justified freely by His grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.’ There it is, ‘and’ the connection of God’s righteousness and our justification, how we are able to get from ‘all have fallen short’ to ‘the glory of God.’ This little word ‘and’ brings us hope, a Living Hope, which can only be found in Jesus Christ (I Peter 1.3). We are ‘justified’ ‘freely’ by His grace. Upon closer inspection notice this word ‘justified’ it means to cause someone to be in a proper or right relation with someone else. God put us into a right relationship with Himself through His Son Jesus Christ, by His sacrifice on the cross and His burial, and resurrection. But before we get too excited pay close attention to the next word after justified, ‘freely.’ What God did for us did not cost us anything, He did not demand we give Him anything in return for this gift, nor are we required to do anything. It was by God’s grace that He extended His righteousness unto us, allowing us to come under His protection and glory. God’s greatest of all gifts is that of salvation through His Son, given completely out of His divine grace. “If righteousness comes through the Law,” that is, through human fulfillment of God’s divine standard, Paul declares, “then Christ died needlessly” (Galatians 2.21).[2] His grace for us is enough that we should say ‘Yes to this gift, His righteousness, His Son sacrifice, and ask Jesus Christ to come in our life and be our Lord and Savior. For when we are justified, we are made right in the sight of God; our record is made clean, and we are washed of all guilt and shame; “there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death” (Romans 8.1-2, NIV).[3] One final word for us to look at is ‘redemption,’ God’s grace caused Him to redeem us from our filth and shame and bring us into His eternal kingdom. How, by the blood of His only Son, Jesus Christ. What is ‘redemption’? By definition it means delivering, by means of paying a price. Most commonly by paying a ransom to free a prisoner from their captors or paying the price to free a slave from their masters (John 8.34; Romans 7.14, 8.2). When we are born, we are slaves to sin, owned by sin but Jesus Christ came to earth and paid our sin debt on the cross. By shedding His blood, He has made a way for each of us to get out from under the ownership of sin and become a child of God, this is redemption, Christ has ransomed us, paid our price and set us free from sin (Galatians 4.5; Ephesians 1.7, 14; Colossians 1.14; Hebrews 9.12). “For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all, which is the testimony given at the proper time” (I Timothy 2.5-6, ESV).[4] “God’s love was revealed among us in this way: God sent his one and only Son into the world so that we might live through him. 10 Love consists in this: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the atoning sacrifice, for our sins” (I John 4.9-10, CSB).[5] Application
Prayer Our righteous and gracious God, Lord of All and King of Heaven and earth. You are worthy of all glory and praise. May Your will be done here on earth as it is in heaven. And Lord may Your will be done in my life as You see fit. Lord I look forward to each day, especially today as I go out into Your world and share Your love to others. Give me the right words to say, the courage to say them, and the opportunity to share. Lord help me to recognize those opportunities and not waste any of them. Lord thank You for Your Son Who gave His life for me, because without Him there would be no reason for this prayer or any of the things You have called me to do. Lord I look forward to Your guidance and directions each and every day, may today be no different. In Jesus Name I pray, Amen. [1] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. (2016). (Ro 3:21–26). Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles. [2] MacArthur, J. F., Jr. (1991). Romans (Vol. 1, p. 208). Chicago: Moody Press. [3] The New International Version. (2011). (Ro 8:1–2). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan. [4] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. (2016). (1 Ti 2:5–6). Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles. [5] Christian Standard Bible. (2020). (1 Jn 4:9–10). Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers. You Can Download This Blog Here - October 23 - Rom. 3.21-26 Pt 3
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