5

Chapter 5

Justification By Faith
Rom. 3:21 - 31
But now apart from the law the righteousness of God... has
been disclosed — namely, the righteousness of God through
the faithfulness of Jesus Christ for all who believe.
(Rom 1:16)

“H
ow can I be right before God? What does it take to
span the chasm between me and God?” is a question
that men continually find themselves asking. Job
asked “How can a mortal be righteous before God?”
His counselor Eliphaz asked “What is a man that he could be pure,
or one born of a woman that he could be righteous?” The Philipian
jailer asked , “What must I do to be saved?” The crowd at Pentecost
simply put it, “What must we do?” …All essentially the same
question.
Men are always ready with their answers. Unfortunately, most are
wrong.
A Hindu says the answer comes through successive reincarnations
and when you’ve paid for all of your “bad Karma” and learned the
secrets of life, you’ll reach Nirvana - the state of nothingness where
you’ll melt yourself into oneness with the universe.
A Muslim’s answer is to meticulously follow a rigorous system of
prayer and fasting, abstaining from all worldly indulgence, and make
a pilgrimage to Mecca.
The Roman Catholic answer is to faithfully participate in the
sacraments prescribed by the church.
Many Protestant churches have slipped into liberalism and will
tell you that love of fellow man and seeking social justice is the
answer.
Romans In Focus

But the only right answer is the one that God gives:
But now apart from the law the righteousness of God (which is
attested by the law and the prophets) has been disclosed — namely,
the righteousness of God through the faithfulness of Jesus Christ for
all who believe. For there is no distinction, for all have sinned and
fall short of the glory of God.
Paul has slogged us through the darkness and depravity of sin. He
showed us that we can’t get away with ignoring Him and setting up
our own standards.; that trying to live a good, moral life won’t help;
and that being religious or even trying to serve God is not enough
to save us. And you can imagine Paul taking a deep breath and
sighing… “BUT NOW…”

Nature of Justification (vs. 21-24)

1. “Apart from the law” It’s impossible to become righteous

by our efforts to keep the law. That’s not what the law is for. The
purpose of the law is to reveal our sin. (Rom 7:7) It’s when we try
really hard to keep God’s commandments when we really see how
short we fall.
2. “Foretold…” The Hebrew Scriptures testify to the validity of
the Gospel. The OT system of sacrifices and priests was a “prototype
model” of the work of Christ. His death was an event that could only
happen once in time. The Levitical system was never meant to be a
permanent way of dealing with sin.
3. “By faith in Jesus Christ” Personal, intimate, dependant
faith. Not merely intellectual assent. Simple taking God at His word
and trusting Him to fulfill it.
4. “To all who believe” “You mean if Adolf Hitler turned
to Christ before he died, even he would be saved?” That’s right
“Why?” Because there’s no difference. “No difference? …between
 Chapter 5

me & Hitler?” Not really… For ALL have sinned and fall short of
the glory of God. So, Adolf Hitler is just as much a candidate for
salvation as anyone else. We actually use this verse out of context.
Paul isn’t trying to show how bad we are (he’s already done that in
previous verses) but he’s proving to us how ‘saveable’ we all are.
If God can save any one particular person, He can save anyone.
Because there’s no difference.
5. Freely by His grace.” “Freely” is translated elsewhere -
“Without cause”. God didn’t save me because He found something
in me worthy of salvation, nor because He foreknew that I’d do
something wonderful for Him after I was saved. It was completely
without cause, by His grace… because of HIS character, not mine.
6. “The redemption that came by Christ Jesus.”
Redemption: A releasing, for payment of a ransom.” Jesus paid the
debt that we rightfully owed. Without Christ paying the penalty for
sin, there’d be no justification.

Purpose of Justification (vs. 25 - 26)

1. “As a sacrifice for atonement.” (propitiation) Referring

to the mercy seat, where blood from the sacrifices was poured to
symbolically cover the sins of the people, releasing them from guilt.
The cross was a final place of atonement where all sins were dealt with.
“By his blood” Lev. 17:11 equates blood with life.. And spilt blood
(i.e. Death) was required to atone for sin. “without the shedding of
blood there is no forgiveness.” Heb. 9:22 Christ fulfilled the O.T.
requirement for an atoning sacrifice by his blood.
2. “To demonstrate his justice.” Even though He doesn’t
immediately strike a sinner down when he sins, God has shown that sin
doesn’t go unpunished. He dealt with all sin at one time on the cross.
“To be the just and the justifier” Any plans for salvation would have to
Romans In Focus

take in account both God’s justice and His love. His justice demands
that sin be punished and His love demands that people be rescued.
There seems no way to save us without violating one or the other.
The world expects God to trash His righteousness. What do people
say when someone apologizes or asks forgiveness? “Ah, that’s ok…
just forget about it. And that’s what they expect from God. This
eliminates His justice. God showed the world that He could save
men from their sins without violating His justice.

III. Results of Justification (27-31)

1. God is glorified. We are humbled. Since our part in salvation

is only to respond, we can take no credit. God deserves all of the
glory for our justification.
2. Justification is all-inclusive. Since God is the God over both
Jew and Gentile, His plan of salvation must be effective for both.
Every man- of every time- in every culture is justified by faith… or
not at all!
3. The law is upheld. All that the law requires for salvation -
righteousness, punishment for sin, vicarious atonement, salvation
acquired by faith - is met in the Gospel.
Chapter 5