Transcript

“A guy bought a new refrigerator and didn’t know what to do with his old one so he put it in his front yard with a sign that said, ‘Free to good home. You want it—you take it.’ For three days the fridge sat there without even one person looking at it.

“He eventually decided that people were too untrusting of this deal because they thought it was too good to be true. So he took the old sign off and made a new one: ‘Fridge for sale–$50.’ The next day someone stole it.

Most of us are skeptical when something seems too good to be true, especially when it has great value and we’re told that it’s free.”

Because this is true, many struggle with the gospel of grace and eternal life. It seems too good to be true that it’s free. This is the most valuable thing in the world, and people become skeptical when they hear that it’s free. Nonetheless, it’s the truth of God’s Word.

We are justified, or we are declared eternally righteous by God, and have the sure hope of heaven, all as a free gift. It is received by faith alone in Christ and what He accomplished for us by His finished work.

Beginning with this episode, we’ll begin looking at key words of our faith. The first word, we’ll examine is “Justification.”

Romans 3:21 reads, “But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets.”

Job asked the question, “…how should man be just [or righteous] with God?” (Job 9:2). In that passage, Job went on to praise God, saying,

“If he will contend with Him, he cannot answer Him one of a thousand. He is wise in heart, and mighty in strength…Which removeth the mountains….Which shaketh the earth out of her place, and the pillars thereof tremble…Which alone spreadeth out the heavens, and treadeth upon the waves of the sea.

“Which maketh Arcturus, Orion, and Pleiades, and the chambers of the south. Which doeth great things past finding out; yea, and wonders without number…Behold, He taketh away, who can hinder Him? who will say unto Him, What doest Thou?…How much less shall I answer Him, and choose out my words to reason with Him?…

“If I speak of strength, lo, He is strong: and if of judgment, who shall set me a time to plead? If I justify myself, mine own mouth shall condemn me: if I say, I am perfect, it shall also prove me perverse.”

Job lists things that are true about the power and majesty of God. In his discourse, he wonders how he, a frail, sinful, unimportant individual, could establish righteousness before such a great, glorious, and holy God.

How can a man be right with God, and particularly a God like this, Who is so vastly beyond him? How can anyone therefore escape His judgment?

Job knew he could never successfully make his case to be right with Him. He knew that, if he opened his mouth to try, he would only condemn himself.

Job asked the most important question that any person could ever ask: “How can I be right with God?” The Book of Romans gives the answer. It gives us the truth for how we can be and how we can know we are right with God.

One of the major themes of Romans is righteousness. In the first three chapters of the book, Paul shows that the only righteousness that mankind possesses or ever attains is unrighteousness. Paul has given us the bad news and has proven that all have sinned; all are unrighteous; all the world is guilty before God. Romans 3:10-12 sums it up:

“There is none righteous, no, not one: There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God. They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one.”

A great chasm lies between Romans 3:20—“Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in His sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin.”

And Romans 3:21—“But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets.”

It’s an infinitely-wide gap separating our condition from God’s character. We are sinful and God is righteous. How can we bridge the gap? How can we go from one side to the other? The answer is—we cannot. But this is where the good news begins.

After 64 verses of sin and guilt (1:18-3:20), we find the best news possible.

Years ago, the TV commercial’s answer to the question, “How do you spell relief?” was “R-O-L-A-I-D-S.” But in the Book of Romans, it is B-U-T N-O-W!

The words “But now” describe a dispensational change. These two words signify that God has inaugurated a new program. “But now” means something is different.

When Paul says, “But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested,” he is talking about something new and glorious—the fact that now, under grace, righteousness apart from the law is made known and declared openly.

“But now” means that a program and a message have been revealed, under which God now righteously saves unrighteous sinners apart from and without any relationship to the law, by faith alone in Christ.

Righteousness was never BY the law, but neither was it apart from the law. In the past, the prescribed method of approaching God was through faith, demonstrated by obedience to the law which God had given. “But now” we are not under law; we are under grace.

The Greek word, translated as “is manifested,” was often used figuratively in Greek literature to mean “shine, light up, appear,” much like someone would describe the rising of the sun.

Against the darkness and blackness of the human condition of sin and unrighteousness under the law in the past (Rom. 1:18-3:20), the “But now” signifies the dawning of grace.

It was through the gospel of the grace of God committed to the Apostle Paul, that God “manifested” and brought to light this truth of righteousness by faith in Christ alone, apart from the law, based solely in the death and resurrection of Christ.

Romans 3:22: “Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference.”

Paul explains that the righteousness he wrote of is “the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe.”

The righteousness God gives to believers today is by the faith OF Jesus Christ. Faith meets faith with the giving and receiving of God’s righteousness.

As Paul puts it in Romans 1:17, “For therein [or in the gospel of Christ] is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith.” Christ’s faith, His faithfulness in obedience to His Father, is the basis of our justification.

He has provided salvation from our sins through His Cross. The righteousness of God is available to all through Christ’s finished work.

When we place our faith in what Christ has done, by His faithfulness to His Word, we have that righteousness. Christ imputes His righteousness to our account.

God’s righteousness is from the faith of Jesus Christ unto all who believe. By Christ’s faithfulness, He gives “the gift of righteousness” (5:17), and by faith we receive it (3:22).

Philippians 3:9 demonstrates this “faith to faith” truth as well: “And be found in Him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through THE FAITH OF CHRIST, the righteousness which is of God BY FAITH.”

We receive the righteousness of God by faith. The teaching of Romans is that justification is by faith alone.

Romans 3:22: “Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe….” Romans 3:25: “Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in His blood.…”

Romans 3:26: “…that He might be just, and the Justifier of him which believeth in Jesus.” Romans 3:28: “Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith….”

Romans 4:5: “But to him that worketh not, but believeth on Him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness.”

Romans 5:1: “Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.”

Faith is only as good as its object. All people trust something. Multitudes trust in false gods and religion. Many trust themselves to be saved.

But to have the righteousness of God, we must trust God and His Word, which teaches us to trust Christ, that He died for our sins and rose again. And God and His Word are faithful.

We trust 2 Corinthians 5:21: “For He hath made Him to be sin for us, Who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him.”

Faith alone is both the hardest and easiest thing for a person to do. It is hard because it is born in desperation and humility. It is difficult because it means acknowledging in your heart that you are so guilty before God that there is nothing you can do to solve the problem or make yourself acceptable to Him.

At the same time, faith alone is so simple and profound—trusting that God in His grace and love has done everything necessary to save you from hell through Christ’s payment for your sins at the Cross.

God’s righteousness is available to all who believe, and then Paul adds, “for there is no difference.” There is no difference between all people. We’re all in the same boat. All are unrighteous, guilty sinners and in danger of God’s wrath and judgment.

All need Christ’s righteousness. All need to trust Christ to receive His righteousness. When it comes to needing salvation, there is no difference between people. There is no difference in who is lost, and there is no difference in who can be saved.

God’s righteousness is available to sinners. That’s good news! All of us are sinners, and righteousness is available to each and every person in the world.

Romans 3:23: “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.”

Romans 3:23 teaches that everyone, without exception, has sinned. The word “sin” means to miss the mark. It paints a picture of an archer whose arrows always come up short of even hitting the target, much less the bull’s-eye.

We all miss the target of righteousness. We are all sinners by nature, and we all sin in word, thought, and deed.

Also, we all continually “come short of the glory of God.” The Greek word for “come short” was used of a runner in a foot-race who fell so far behind as to never reach the finish line. We all come short of God’s glory.

God’s glory has to do with His goodness, righteousness, holiness, power, authority, standard of perfection, and really, the sum total of all He is. God’s glory is a line that we will always fall short of and never reach by our own efforts.

Romans 3:24: “Being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.”

To better understand “justification,” the scene is the courtroom of God’s justice. God is the Judge. His perfect righteousness is the standard. The time of the hearing is our lifetime, not after we die.

Because we are unrighteous sinners, and fall short of God’s standard, the verdict of judgment, wrath, and condemnation is upon each of us outside of Christ.

This verdict is sealed at death if one never trusts Christ as Savior. The final sentence comes at the Great White Throne Judgment in the future, when those who have not believed are cast into the lake of fire.

However, Paul says, “them that believe” (v. 22) are “justified freely by [God’s] grace.”

When one, during their lifetime, makes the decision to believe and trust that Christ died for them and rose again, although we don’t see it or hear it, immediately, in the court of heaven, by judicial decree, God declares us “RIGHTEOUS!”

So justification is a legal term that means to declare righteous. Based on our faith in the Cross and Christ’s full payment for sin, God declares the unjust to be just and the unrighteous to be righteous.

Though we stand guilty before God, completely devoid of righteousness, we are declared righteous by means of a transfer of righteousness to our account from Jesus Christ.

Christ took our sins upon Himself and paid for them at the Cross. When we believe, God imputes Christ’s righteousness to our account. Having Christ’s righteousness, this is how and why we are immediately declared righteous by God.

It’s important to note what justification is not. Justification is not a pardon. It’s more than a pardon. A pardon just covers sins of the past.

No judge has ever issued a pardon for future crimes. Justification deals with the sins of the past, present, and the future. They are all paid for. As the old hymn of the faith rings out, “Jesus paid it all!” Our sin-debt is gone and we are righteous in Christ.

Justification is not a return to innocence. It’s a state of righteousness, not innocence. It’s greater than innocence. We’re clothed in the very righteousness of Christ. We don’t just go back to being like Adam; we are “in Christ”! In the sight of God, we are as righteous as His Son, because we are righteous with His righteousness!

Justification is not a process. It takes place as a transaction. We’re not gradually being justified in the hope that someday we will be fully justified. The legal decision of our justification takes place at a moment in time when we believe, and it stands eternally.

Justification is both instantaneous and irreversible. The One who justifies us is the ultimate authority in the Universe, God Himself. The One we sinned against, whose law we violated, whose judgment we deserved, He justifies us. The sentence He passes, no power in the universe can reverse or invalidate.

For all eternity when God looks at you, He sees you as righteous because you are in Christ and you have His righteousness.

We are justified, declared righteous by God, “freely.” The same Greek word translated as “freely” in Romans 3:24 is used in John 15:25 where the Lord quotes Psalms, saying, “They hated Me without a cause.”

There was nothing in Christ that deserved hatred, and there is nothing in us that deserves to be declared righteous by God.

What we do deserve is judgment and condemnation because of our sins. Instead, when we trust Christ as our Savior, we are justified freely, or without a cause, by grace.

An ad for the U.S. Marines Corps pictures a sword, and beneath it the words, “Earned, never given.” If you want to become a Marine, you must be prepared to earn that title through sacrifice, hardship, and training. If you get it, you deserve it.

However, to be declared righteous by God, you must have the exact opposite attitude. The message of the gospel is “Given, never earned.”

To be declared right with God depends not on you, but on God. It is not about what you earn, but what God freely gives. This is the majesty of the gospel.

Without human merit, and not as a reward, but as a gift are we saved and justified—“freely by His grace.”

Grace is undeserved favor and unmerited kindness to those who deserve and merit the opposite. Grace is all one-sided. It’s God’s kindness to the guilty, to sinners, to those who continually fall short of His glory

When we trust God’s provision for justification through His Son, by grace He brings us across that infinitely-wide chasm that separates us from Him.

Salvation doesn’t cost us anything at all, but it came at tremendous cost to God. It is “through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus” (Rom. 3:24).

The only way our justification and the righteousness of God could come to us freely was through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus and the price Christ paid for our sins.

“Redemption” means release or setting free by the payment of a price.

Titus 2:14 teaches us that Christ “gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from all iniquity.” Christ paid for ALL our sins. When we believe, we are set free from all of them.

God’s intolerance toward sin is like the intolerance of a surgeon who insists on sterile instruments for an operation. A surgeon’s demand for a pure operating environment is an inseparable part of being a surgeon.

To expose the surgeon’s scalpel to bacteria would result in contamination, and you would not get upset that your surgeon insists on absolute cleanliness in the operating room where even a speck of dirt could lead to infection.

You would insist on absolute purity under those conditions. You would demand that your surgeon be completely intolerant of any impurity.

If you understand a surgeon’s “wrath” against contamination in a hospital operating room, you can understand God’s wrath against sin.

God is perfect and sinless in every aspect. His character demands that He deal with the slightest contamination of sin, because of its ugly, wicked, evil nature and consequences. He must judge sin.

And to dwell in His sinless, pure presence for eternity, we must be sinless and pure, our sins must be paid for, forgiven, and removed forever.

When we trust Christ as Savior, all our sins are removed in His sight. The reason God can declare ungodly sinners who trust Christ to be righteous is that the Lord Jesus Christ has fully paid the penalty for all our sins, and we have Christ’s imputed righteousness.

Romans 3:25-26: “Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in His blood, to declare His righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God; To declare, I say, at this time His righteousness: that He might be just, and the Justifier of him which believeth in Jesus.”

A propitiation is a means by which justice is satisfied, God’s wrath is averted, and mercy can be shown on the basis of an acceptable sacrifice.

The Word teaches us that God was satisfied, and satisfied eternally, with Christ’s perfect sacrifice and full payment for sin at the Cross (Isa. 53:11).

Propitiation is why God is able to declare believers righteous. It is that God’s justice against our sins was satisfied. His wrath against our sins was taken away forever. And mercy can be shown on the basis of Christ’s perfect, acceptable sacrifice for sin.

Two times in Romans 3:25-26, Paul writes, “To declare His righteousness.” The Greek word translated “declare” means an evident token, a proof, or a pointing out, as with a finger.

It’s as if God, by His Word, is pointing His finger at the Cross and saying, “If you want proof of My justice, there’s My justice! If you want proof of My righteousness, there’s My righteousness! If you want proof of My grace, there’s My grace!”

One of these declarations of God’s righteousness is for the past (v. 25), while in the other He demonstrates in the present dispensation of grace (v. 26).

In the past, from Adam to Christ, God saved those who put their faith in Him on the basis of whatever revelation He gave them for their salvation.

At that time, God did not revoke the punishment for sin; instead, He suspended the punishment by His forbearance. Prior to the Cross, believers were forgiven, given everlasting life, and permitted entrance into paradise “on credit.”

Their sins had not yet been paid for historically, but they received the merits of the Cross and were saved on the basis of a price yet to be paid.

When Christ died, He reached all the way back to Adam and paid for those sins. It was on the basis of Christ’s shed blood that believers’ sins were forgiven in the past.

God could never be accused of being unjust or unrighteous because of His forgiveness and seeming to pass over of sins in the past.

Christ came and He paid for those past sins. The Cross declares, is proof of, God’s righteousness for the forgiveness of sins that are past.

Also, “at this time,” God’s righteousness is declared by the justification of any who believe during the present dispensation of grace. God is “just” in declaring believing sinners righteous by the Cross of Christ and His shed blood.

Justice is not an external system to which God tries to adhere. His justice comes out of His very nature and Who He is. God is the very definition of what justice truly is and means (Deut. 32:4).

God’s justice and righteousness is declared through the Cross. According to God’s justice, what we deserve because of our sins is death and wrath. God is “just” because sin did not go unpunished. Christ our Substitute took our place and died for our sins.

And God’s righteous wrath was fully poured out on Christ as He paid for our sins at the Cross. God’s justice against our sins was carried out perfectly.

Thus, God is “just” and “the Justifier,” because the death of His Son and the full payment of our sin-debt clears the way for Him, in His justice, to justify and declare believing sinners righteous according to His righteousness.

When filling up at a gas station nowadays, you often get a “Word of the Day” on the screen at the pump. A word that should bring joy to our hearts is justification.

May the truth of being justified freely by God’s grace drive us to live with gratitude for the One “Who loved me, and gave Himself for me” (Gal. 2:20), and share the good news with others!