Message: The righteousness of God manifested
Time: Paul probably wrote Romans between A.D. 57-58 while he was at Corinth in the home of his friend and convert Gaius. He planned to go first to Jerusalem to deliver a gift of money from the Gentile churches to the poor in Jerusalem. Then he hoped to visit Rome on his way to Spain. His hopes were later realized, but not as he had expected. When he finally arrived in Rome in early A.D. 60, he was a prisoner under house arrest (Acts 28:11-31).
What the Lord is Saying:
Where we are
Paul has made it completely clear to both the Gentile and the Jew that no work of the Law can justify man before God. No work of the Law can make a person right before God. The fact that God gave the Law through the Jews and gave them a sign through circumcision does not make the Jews then righteous before God. Paul has been thorough. No one is righteous. No one does any good. The focus has not been on what man can do, but what man is incapable of doing. And the gospel is not about what man has done, but about what Christ has done for man, on behalf of man. Man's problem is he turns from this and comes up with his own ways of being righteous and in turn is unrighteous.
Romans 1:18-3:20 had a focus: Sin. Sin throws the spotlight on man to show the need for salvation. Paul appears now to shift his message to Salvation.
The greatest paragraph in the Bible
Many have stated that Romans 3:21-26 is the greatest paragraph in all of the Bible. To understand it is to understand all. I am going to break it in pieces.
Here is this section per the Message by Eugene Peterson:
God Has Set Things Right
But in our time something new has been added. What Moses and the prophets witnessed to all those years has happened. The God-setting-things-right that we read about has become Jesus-setting-things-right for us. And not only for us, but for everyone who believes in him. For there is no difference between us and them in this. Since we’ve compiled this long and sorry record as sinners (both us and them) and proved that we are utterly incapable of living the glorious lives God wills for us, God did it for us. Out of sheer generosity he put us in right standing with himself. A pure gift. He got us out of the mess we’re in and restored us to where he always wanted us to be. And he did it by means of Jesus Christ.Verse 21
God sacrificed Jesus on the altar of the world to clear that world of sin. Having faith in him sets us in the clear. God decided on this course of action in full view of the public—to set the world in the clear with himself through the sacrifice of Jesus, finally taking care of the sins he had so patiently endured. This is not only clear, but it’s now—this is current history! God sets things right. He also makes it possible for us to live in his rightness.
"But Now" - Here we have the beginning of the answer to the question, "What man must do to be saved." The sentence has been made before the accused. "But now..." The judge will now speak and tell us what man can do to be free and clear.
"Apart from the Law" - The Law now is not the subject. That has been our subject thus far. But Now we take it out of the equation because it is not part of the solution.
"The Righteousness of God" - Righteousness was last mentioned by Paul in Romans 1:17 when he gave his introduction and declared the meaning of the Gospel message of which he is not ashamed to preach. The Gospel there revealed the righteousness of God. And now he brings the message to further explanation here.The righteousness of God is our right relationship with God.
"Has been manifested" - Manifested is to make visible. It is in the present tense, so it is a revealing or uncovering of the right relationship man has with God.
"Being witness by the Law and the Prophets" - The Law and the Prophets point to the Messiah who will save people. Both testify the need for a Savior. Romans 1:2 states that the prophets promised the gospel of God. All that God said in the Old Testament is revealed here.
Verse 22a
"Even the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all those who believe." Through faith is found 16 times in the New Testament and it marks the vehicle for how the righteousness of God is achieved. It is faith. It is not any other way. Faith is the conviction of something. There is a conviction of Jesus Christ. Believe here is not simply a one time thing. Faith is a conviction, but belief infers acceptance and then living in a way that honors and displays faith.
Conclusion
This is a clear declaration. The righteousness of God is completely apart from the Law, but instead is faith in Jesus Christ as our Messiah and Savior and it is faith for those who believe and put their faith in action. Belief is not saying a prayer and then returning to life as you were living. Belief is not asking for forgiveness for your sins and then going back to living your life the way you see is best. Belief is living your life, it is having a focus, a conviction that the Messiah who saved you is now worth of our best living.
Promise: God provides Jesus as our means of obtaining His righteousness. It is through faith and our belief is not momentary, but continual.
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