Romans 3:22b-24 - Justification by Grace through Faith

Romans 3:22b-24 - 22b for there is no distinction; 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus;

Message: Justification by Grace through Faith because all have sinned

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 have come thus far
Today, I continue with looking at the greatest paragraph, namely Romans 3:21-26. Yesterday, I saw that the righteousness of God comes to the sinner, not by the Law, in fact it is completely apart from the Law. Instead the Law and the Prophets, that is, all the writings of the Old Testament, point to the answer, which is Jesus Christ, the Messiah. The answer is not simply Him, but faith or having a conviction that He is who He said He is. He is Messiah, Lord, and Savior. That is the conviction or faith and it is for all who believe. And belief is continually knowing and trusting and living for God.

The problem I see often with even religious people is they take these one time sinners prayers or repeated requests for forgiveness of sins and think just by doing those things, just by putting those coins into the vending machine that they are safe. But, belief in God goes beyond single acts, to daily living. It is not simply a knowledge, but a life of living. Good works do not precede salvation, but they do follow salvation.

Verse 22b
Paul begins with a transition or a point of exclamation. Similar to what he did in verse 21 when he said, "But Now." He turned a corner there to say the subject has been on sin, but now it is obtaining the righteousness of God. And yet though Paul has just said that in verse 21 and 22, he now comes back to remind His readers in that context that there is once again no distinction or partiality with God. Distinction hear is the meaning of drawing something into two parts. So, here, the starting point of the person, their status with God, their position before God, none of these things distinguishes them. There is no distinction.

Paul isn't saying that all sin is on equal footing, but rather that what makes a person unacceptable before God is the fact that they have sinned. There are still differences in sin. And society will and should pronounce judgment differently on sins committed. But, the fact is, whether I murder, but never lie or lie, but never murder, is of no distinction. The fact is, I sinned.

Verse 23
For all have sinned. Everyone has sinned and so everyone falls short of the glory of God. Everyone falls short of what God wants from every person. Everyone falls short of God's standard. Its interesting though because God uses a different phrase this time that he hasn't used before and that is,, "the glory of God." I think what he is saying, just in a different way, is God's glory is affirmed through righteousness. Every person falls short of this righteousness.

No matter how far a person leaps. Some people may leap a little towards God while others leap very far. Some people's lives are a picture of leaping very far, while others clearly picture very short leaps. But, again, there is no distinction. All sin. All fall short.

Verse 24
Because we fall short, our justification is by God's grace. It is a work of God. Jesus is a work of God. Jesus redeemed man. Verse 24 is not saying something different from verse 22, "The righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all those who believe" is now stated as, "justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which in Christ Jesus." Once again, Paul further clarifies the message of God.

The idea of justification means I am now right before God. I have met God's standard, not through my own leaping, but through Jesus Christ and what He has done. If I get into a fender bender with someone, I don't get out of the car, look at how I have damaged the other person's car, and then say to the person, here is $25, that should cover your damage. No, I must surrender to their standard to fix the problem. They decide based upon an estimate or what it actually will cost them to fix it what I am to pay.

This verse is similar to verse 22 because justification and righteousness are the same thought. Justification is the declaration of being righteous. Righteousness takes on different forms in scripture, but there are two primary forms. (1) A person is declared righteous because of the work of Jesus Christ. (2) A person shows oneself to be righteous by their deeds. James will speak of the latter. Here, Paul, speaks of the former. 

As a parent, I must be confident, reasonable, and firm. When my child has wronged me, I must put forth the judgment and ask them to carry it out. I can ask their insight into the situation, but ultimately I must be the judge. 

How I so appreciate the thoroughness of Paul. The exciting part of reading Romans here is the way in which he thoroughly dissects the truth, looks at it from every angle. He is writing to a people, namely the Jews, that are very equipped in their own beliefs. And so He must be clear. But, how tragic people today still get lost in this defense and get it to say something that Paul is not saying. LDS and JW do it by redefining the meaning of words. How tragic.

Also, I am justified "as a gift." Again, Paul reminds his readers that justification is not something a person can earn nor are deeds needed to show others that I am righteous in order to be declared righteous. Justification is a gift. Justification can't be earned and be a gift. I know I pick on LDS thought but it is often just because I have spoken to many LDS and so they are in my thoughts. The Book of Mormon states in 2 Nephi 25:23 that "it is by grace we are saved, after all we can do." The LDS do acknowledge the gift of grace, but what they believe is the gift only comes about after the deeds have been done. So, they combine the definitions of righteousness into one definition. They state that a person must first show oneself to be righteous and then they will receive the gift of righteousness. Now, what I believe Paul is doing here in Romans is not declaring that man can in any way be righteous, but instead is communication that man's problem is his unrighteousness. This is why I am so passionate about speaking about sin and naming sin in our life because, as I have stated before, the LDS belief is the American gospel. It is the idea that we can earn through good deeds the gift of salvation. What is on display before people is our good deeds. This is true. But, they are on display before people to show people who we are in Christ. But, the matter of the fact is our problem is not whether or not we have enough good deeds and whether are good deeds are of the right kind, our problem is we are unrighteous. And this is why I tend to flee the church I am currently attending because while sin is spoken of, it is not spoken of in the light of making us unacceptable before God, but rather unacceptable before man. The world has made blurry the relationship between the two and so, I believe, the church must constantly bring to light what is unclear and tie the two together.

[Just a note, but the other thing that LDS does is separate the Law of Moses with the Law given by Christ. They agree that one cannot be saved by the Law of Moses, but instead one must be saved by the Law of Christ which was given to Joseph Smith and mentioned in the Gospels. Their thinking is Jesus taught that men must do things, and in turn, this is where the LDS redefine words, such as repentance and baptism. The LDS believe Christians embrace Paul's teachings but not Jesus'. What is key in my life is helping the LDS person see that difference between the two teachings and not combining teachings into one.]


Promise: Christ himself is the basis for God's righteous verdict.