The Righteousness of God

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. Then what becomes of our boasting? It is excluded. By what kind of law? By a law of works? No, but by the law of faith. For we hold that one is justified by faith apart from works of the law. Or is God the God of Jews only? Is he not the God of Gentiles also? Yes, of Gentiles also, since God is one—who will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through faith. Do we then overthrow the law by this faith? By no means! On the contrary, we uphold the law. - Romans 3:21‭-‬31 ESV

Rev. Dwight Yoo

Luther calls this passage as the center of this epistle and the main point of the bible. This is what is needed to be a Christian. But not only that, we need it to impact us more and more in our daily lives.

We are saved by faith alone, Christ alone, for God's glory alone.

How can I be right with God?

All the major religions attempt to answer this. The fine details differ between each religion. But outside of Christianity, they all say basically the same thing. There are things we must do to earn God's favor. Paul dismantles this method. We cannot gain God's approval by our performance.

If we depend on our performance, then we are continually insecure. Our performance will plague us. We must prove ourselves worthy time and time again.

Christianity says we are saved by faith. But we must understand what faith is. It is more than intellectual assent & agreement. We must throw in our lot with Jesus such that he becomes our only hope. But faith must be more than certainty, we must reach out and grasp it. It is not a strong faith that we need. A weak faith in a solid foundation is more sure than a strong faith in a weak foundation. God does not approve of us by the strength of our faith, but rather because of the object of our faith, Jesus. The resurrection power that worked in Jesus is what saves us;not the strength of our faith.

Christ is our propitiation

We seek redemption for our sin. That is our propitiation. In the old testament, the people sacrificed animals for their sins. But can this truly cover over our sins? No, it cannot. It is a foreshadow of the death of Jesus on our behalf.

Redemption

In the author's time, there were no bankruptcy laws. If someone got into debt and could not repay, they would go into slavery. Often, their families became slaves as well. If they had a rich relative, this relative could redeem them. They would go to the temple and pay their debts. Jesus is our redemption. We are slaves to sin and Jesus pays the price of our sin.

Judgment

A sin against God is more ultimate. Assault against a head of state is much more than assault against a citizen. The just punishment of a sin against an infinite God is infinite punishment. So Jesus, a person of infinite worth, absorbs the infinite punishment on our behalf.

Not only that, but Jesus also gives us the credit of a perfectly lived life. Not only are our sins wiped clean, but Jesus lived the perfect life for us as well.

We add nothing to Jesus' work on our behalf. If we added anything to this work, we would not be receiving a gift, but a paycheck. So we bring nothing to the transaction but our need. We have no grounds to boast whatsoever. The Gospel gives us no room to do so.

Boasting is good indicator of the understand of the gospel and how it grasps us. Not just proud behavior, but less obvious things. Do we compare ourselves with others? Do we look at things that set us above other people? We are seeking self worth. Road rage. Pride in our parenting. A Christian's worth comes as a gift from God through Jesus. And it results in a heart that makes much of God and boasts of Jesus, the one worthy of all glory and all honor.