But This Amazing Thing Has Happened!
Today’s Scripture: Romans 3:21-31
21 But now apart from the law the righteousness of God has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify.
Paul says that the rightness of God has just come about in a surprising way—not through the Law (though the Law and the Prophets [i.e., the Old Testament] said it was going to happen). No, what is amazing is that God is doing something new by saving people through faith!
22 This righteousness is given through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference between Jew and Gentile, 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. 25 God presented Christ as a sacrifice of atonement, through the shedding of his blood—to be received by faith. He did this to demonstrate his righteousness, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished— 26 he did it to demonstrate his righteousness at the present time, so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus.
From the study guide I gave out at the Munger Romans Bible Study last week:
Righteousness – the “rightness” of God, rooted in God’s identity, also God’s “making right” the wrong things of the world, also the characteristic of someone whom God has “made right” and is conforming to God’s standard.
Paul here says that all it takes to be made right by God is to trust—”faith”—in Jesus. Gentile or Jew—it doesn’t matter: each needs to be saved from sin and each can be. God’s righteousness is such that he doesn’t hold people’s sins against them, but forgives them because of the sacrificial death of Jesus.
27 Where, then, is boasting? It is excluded. Because of what law? The law that requires works? No, because of the law that requires faith. 28 For we maintain that a person is justified by faith apart from the works of the law.29 Or is God the God of Jews only? Is he not the God of Gentiles too? Yes, of Gentiles too, 30 since there is only one God, who will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through that same faith. 31 Do we, then, nullify the law by this faith? Not at all! Rather, we uphold the law.
Paul says that none of us who is saved should boast about it because we did nothing to deserve or earn it—we only just trusted in Jesus. And again, this salvation is for both Jews and Greeks. And because Jews are saved through faith, this doesn’t mean the Law was useless; on the contrary, the Law shows that people need to be saved, because they are unable to keep it.