Justification by Faith

But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it—the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction: for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, 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. 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

Prior to the time of Christ, the righteousness of God was made manifest by the law. Since God is righteous, He required absolute perfection to the law. Since man is sinful, absolute perfection was impossible, so the law pointed to the inadequacy of man to uphold God’s righteous and perfect requirements. The law was never intended to save but was intended to show man’s incompetence and need for a savior. But now that Christ has instituted a new covenant, the righteousness of God is available for anyone who puts their faith in Christ, the perfect substitutionary atonement for the sin of mankind.

Next comes a hard truth. It makes no difference what ethnicity, gender, or socioeconomic status one may be, the fact is that all are guilty because all have sinned and fallen short of God’s perfect requirements. Everyone has sinned, from the moment of birth to the last second of life. There is no one who is righteous.

However, God has presented humanity with a gift. The gift of grace has been provided by Christ Jesus’ redemption of His people on the cross. This gift is received by His people through their faith, which had always been the means of salvation (Hebrews 11). Even during the Old Covenant, it was the faith of the Lord’s covenant people that saved them.

The death of Christ brings glory to the Father. In order to save His people, Christ had to give up the riches of heaven, take on human form, and live a righteous life amidst great temptation. But not only that, He had to suffer and die a humiliating and painful death on the cross to save people whose minds had been corrupted and set against Him. Because of Christ, the status of those who come to Him in faith has been changed. They are no longer guilty before God. The justice of God was placed on the shoulders of Christ on the cross. He carried our guilt as he hung there on the cross. His people have been declared “not guilty”.

God had every right to destroy Adam and Eve when they sinned. That would have been just. However, he gave mercy to them and also to their ancestors. He chose to withhold His judgment. But now that Christ has been made known, there is no excuse. The law of God has been written on the hearts of men. Those who do not believe seek only to suppress of the truth of Christ (Romans 1:18).

No One is Righteous

What then? Are we Jews any better off? No, not at all. For we have already charged that all, both Jews and Greeks, are under sin, as it is written:

None is righteous, no, not one;

no one understands;

no one seeks for God.

All have turned aside; together they have become worthless;

no one does good,

not even one.”

“Their throat is an open grave;

they use their tongues to deceive.”

“The venom of asps is under their lips.”

“Their mouth is full of curses and bitterness.”

“Their feet are swift to shed blood;

  in their paths are ruin and misery,

  and the way of peace they have not known.”

“There is no fear of God before their eyes.” 

 Romans 3:9-18

Since the Jews had distorted the Old Testament in claiming their advantage over Gentiles, Paul broke down their argument by extensively quoting the Old Testament. He uses at least six passages in Psalms to explain to the Jews that everyone is completely dominated and enslaved by sin.

Paul first cites Psalm 14:1-3 and 53:1-3. Not only is there no one who is righteous, there also is no one who is even capable of understanding the things of God. The disease of sin is so debilitating that it effects our very comprehension of truth. Because of that, there is no one who seeks after God. All other religions and value systems which seek truth apart from Scripture are merely man’s attempts to escape God, not to seek Him. The Scottish theologian John Murray notes, “As respects well-doing, there is not one; as respects evil-doing, there is no exception.” Man cannot seek after God unless enlightened by the Spirit. It is an attribute of the disability of sin which prevents any search for truth. Sin is blinding.

Paul next cites Psalm 5:9, 10:7, and 140:3 in describing how sin effects the mouth. Those who seek truth apart from Christ have throats which reveal the stench of their depravity, lying tongues, poisonous lips, and blasphemous mouths. These are people who are openly hostile toward the gospel, spewing bitterness and hate toward the things of Christ.

Not only do the mouths of the unrighteous spew bitter hate, but according to Isaiah 59:7-8 their feet quickly tread the path of violence. They leave nothing but a trail of destruction and suffering in their path. Indeed, they do not and cannot know peace. They will always be in a state of strife and conflict.

After beginning this portion of his letter describing the eyesight of the wicked, he closes this portion by quoting Psalm 36:1, “There is no fear of God before their eyes.” This is the biggest problem for the unrighteous person. This is the root of all their evilness. They do not fear God. They refuse to submit to and honor the Lord of heaven and earth.

As I read this portion of Paul’s epistle and write these words in this blog, I am reminded of what Paul told the Corinthians after listing a plethora of heinous sins of which the Corinthians had been guilty: “And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God” (I Corinthians 6:9-11). Thank the Lord for His mercy and grace, calling His elect out of enslavement in unrighteousness and into a life of freedom in sanctification and justification.