Hope For The Hopeless
Notes
Transcript
21 But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets;
22 Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference:
23 For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;
24 Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus:
25 Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God;
26 To declare, I say, at this time his righteousness: that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus.
27 Where is boasting then? It is excluded. By what law? of works? Nay: but by the law of faith.
28 Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law.
29 Is he the God of the Jews only? is he not also of the Gentiles? Yes, of the Gentiles also:
30 Seeing it is one God, which shall justify the circumcision by faith, and uncircumcision through faith.
31 Do we then make void the law through faith? God forbid: yea, we establish the law.
Introduction
Introduction
A young man mockingly said to a preacher, "You say that unsaved people carry a great weight of sin. Frankly, I feel nothing. How heavy is sin? Ten pounds? Fifty pounds? Eighty pounds? A hundred pounds?" The preacher thought for a moment and gently replied, "If you laid a four hundred-pound weight on a corpse, would it feel the load?" The young man was quick to say, "Of course not; it's dead." The preacher replied, "The person who doesn't know Christ is equally dead. And though the load is great, he feels none of it."
1 And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins;
We’ve been looking through the book of Romans for a few weeks now and so far, we have seen nothing but condemnation, but a change is coming!
Man is lost…The heathen, the Jew, and the Gentile are all in the same boat…All are by nature depraved and guilty before God…That tells us if there is any help or hope to be had, it will have to come from God!
Here’s the twist, here’s the good news! There is help!
The words “But now...” introduces God’s answer to our problem.
Those are precious words of grace! Paul has taken us to the depth of depravity and shown us what miserable and hopeless sinners we are, but praise God, he does not leave us in the pit.
These words provide the most glorious transition from the judgment of Romans 3:20 to the justification of Romans 3:21.
With the words but now, new hope breaks onto the scene.
We will see today how a Holy God, by grace, can make guilty men righteous...
The first part of Romans shows the need for salvation; the second part of Romans shows the way!
We have been dealing with man’s ruin, but now we will turn to God’s remedy!
These verses today actually give us a summary of the Gospel, it’s really interesting because Paul uses the rest of the letter to explain these verses in detail…Let me show you.
V. 21 is explained in chapter 4.
V. 24 is explained in chapters 5 & 6.
Vs. 26-28 are explained in chapters 7 & 8.
V. 29 is explained in chapters 9 - 11.
V. 31 is explained in chapters 12 - 16.
This is one of the most important passages in the Bible, so let’s get right into it:
I. The Prospects of Hope
I. The Prospects of Hope
Verse 21 says, “But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested...”
Paul points out that there is a righteousness apart from the law.
Righteousness could not come by the Law. This was not the Law's purpose.
The word "Manifested" means, “to make known clearly.”
He declares that righteousness doesn't come by Behaving, but by Believing. This is imputed righteousness and it is obtained by faith in the finished work of Christ. Paul refers to it as the righteousness of God without the law.
The Law only reveals the righteousness of God.
22 Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference:
Again...Under the Old Testament Law, righteousness was demonstrated by behaving, but under the Gospel, righteousness comes by believing in Jesus Christ.
All men trust or put their faith in something, even if that faith is in themselves.
The Christian, however, puts his faith in Christ. Some say, “I believe in God!” This, however, does not save you.
James 2:19 tells us, Satan and his demons believe in God.
Faith in Christ is what saves a man or woman from Hell. Jesus Christ is the one who makes us righteous before God the Father.
21 For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.
The theme of this letter to the Romans is the righteousness of God.
God is the center of righteousness. He is the source of righteousness. He is the giver of righteousness.
God is righteousness, God demands righteousness, and God provides righteousness.
Notice in verse 22, there is emphasis on the word “all” - If all are sinners, then all must obtain righteousness by the same method - that method being faith!
This word “all” carries us right into the next verse where we see...
II. The Tragedy of Sinfulness
II. The Tragedy of Sinfulness
23 For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;
There is no difference in men (all are guilty), so there is no difference in the provision (all are invited).
God's provision is as universal as man's sin.
Everything Paul has said about man's sinfulness and depravity is driven home in this one verse. Man is lost and he does not even seek God and if he did he couldn't get to Him.
Notice the tenses here. The all have sinned is past tense while come short is present tense.
Sinners is what we are and the consequences are continual. We are sinners and we will always come short of the glory of God.
The Bible is clear that God demands perfect righteousness and He will not settle for anything less. His justice demands it.
To come short means to "come behind, be destitute, fail, lack, suffer need, be in want, be the worse." In other words, no matter how much work and effort we put into it we will never meet God's standard of perfect righteousness.
jMen do not want to come to grips with the fact that they are sinners before God and are accountable to Him. He is our judge.
Man’s view and God’s view about sin are different.
1. Man says sin an accident. God says sin an abomination.
2. Man says sin is a blunder. God says sin is blindness.
3. Man says sin is done by chance. God says sin is done by choice.
4. Man says sin is an error. God says sin is enmity.
5. Man says sin is fascination. God says sin is fatality.
6. Man says sin is liberty. God says sin is lawlessness.
7. Man says sin is a mistake. God says sin is madness.
8. Man says sin is weakness. God says sin is willfulness.
If men would see themselves as God sees them, then they would realize their need for Him.
III. The Propitiation For Sin
III. The Propitiation For Sin
24 Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus:
This verse introduces us to two great theological words and they are the words “justify” and “redemption.” The word “justify” means to “To declare one not guilty, or to make one as he ought to be.” In the biblical sense, it means that God, in His power and in His grace declares us to be righteous and worthy of a relationship with Him. The word “redemption” means “to set at liberty after the payment of a ransom price.”
To put it all together, when we received Jesus as our Savior, God applied the price that Jesus had paid on the cross to our account and declared us righteous. He thereby freed us from the condemnation and the consequences of our sins. He very literally set us free!
25 Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God;
Salvation is free, but it is not cheap.
Three words express the price God paid for our salvation: propitiation, redemption, and blood. In human terms, “propitiation” means appeasing someone who is angry, usually by a gift. But this is not what it means in the Bible.
“Propitiation” means the satisfying of God’s holy Law, the meeting of its just demands, so that God can freely forgive those who come to Christ. The word “blood” tells us what the price was.
Jesus had to die on the cross in order to satisfy the Law and justify lost sinners.
26 To declare, I say, at this time his righteousness: that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus.
God must be perfectly consistent with Himself. He cannot break His own Law or violate His own nature.
A God of love wants to forgive sinners, but a God of holiness must punish sin and uphold His righteous Law. How can God be both “just and the justifier”?
The answer is in Jesus Christ.
When Jesus suffered the wrath of God on the cross for the sins of the world, He fully met the demands of God’s Law, and also fully expressed the love of God’s heart.
IV. The Lingering Questions
IV. The Lingering Questions
27 Where is boasting then? It is excluded. By what law? of works? Nay: but by the law of faith.
28 Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law.
29 Is he the God of the Jews only? is he not also of the Gentiles? Yes, of the Gentiles also:
30 Seeing it is one God, which shall justify the circumcision by faith, and uncircumcision through faith.
31 Do we then make void the law through faith? God forbid: yea, we establish the law.
Where is our boasting? It’s out the window.
Because our salvation is through Christ and it is attained by the work of God and not of men, it eliminates man’s opportunity to boast in his achievements.
His achievements are excluded or completely shut out.
8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:
9 Not of works, lest any man should boast.
We are saved by faith, without our deeds.
These final verses are sort of a summary of the basic truths we’ve covered...
Whether you are a Jew or Gentile, we are saved by coming to Christ and trusting in Him.
Morality, religion, knowledge of the Bible, or Christian ministry will not save you.
The Law said “Try”, but Grace says “Trust” -
Justification by faith doesn’t contradict the Law, because the Law was never intended to serve as a means of justification.
The Law was given to make sin known!
Conclusion
Conclusion
David made this prayer,
7 Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean: Wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.
Because of man’s sin, he must be born again...
18 He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.
Only Christ can cleanse man from his sin…If man isn’t cleansed by Christ, he will not enter the kingdom of God...
If we confess our sins, God will forgive us from all sin...
7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.
9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.