The Gospel in Romans, part 9

I was extremely excited to share this wonderful passage of Scripture to study with my small group in West Philly. May God use this study to reach whomever He wills, however He wills, for His glory and praise. There really is no better news in the world than the news that Jesus Christ came to give! May God bless those of you who read this study.

Romans 4:1-8

Romans 4:1-8 ESV:

What then shall we say was gained by Abraham, our forefather according to the flesh? 2 For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about, but not before God. 3 For what does the Scripture say? "Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness." [Gen. 15:6]. 4 Now to the one who works, his wages are not counted as a gift but as his due. 5 And to the one who does not work but trusts him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted as righteousness, 6 just as David also speaks of the blessing of the one to whom God counts righteousness apart from works:

7 "Blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven,

and whose sins are covered;

8 blessed is the man against whom the Lord will not count his sin."

Study Notes:

Intorduction:

We are still talking about justification by faith. In Romans 1:17, Paul said that the gospel reveals the righteousness of God from faith to faith, "as it is written, "The righteous shall live by faith [Habakkuk 2:4]." Before we could get on this topic about justification, we had to learn what Paul taught in the first three chapters about righteousness and judgment. Remember Romans 1:18, "For the wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unright eousness suppress the truth." So God's righteous wrath is revealed from heaven against people who are unrighteous and suppress the truth about Him. That is what unrighteousness is, it is suppressing the truth about God, and turning instead to lies for satisfaction and worship. We are created to worship God, and if we do not worship Him, we worship other things besides Him. Therefore, God's wrath (His righteous anger and judgment) is revealed from heaven against people who turn away from Him as the source of their life and joy and satisfaction to lesser and more unworthy things which will not satisfy us, but cause death in the end.

We also learned that religion does not help anyone avoid this wrath and judgment, but actually makes it worse, because Romans 2:4-5 says to the self-righteous hypocrites, "Or do you presume on the riches of his kindness and forbearance and patience, not knowing that God's kindness is meant to lead you to repentance? But because of your hard and impenitent [unchanging] heart you are storing up wrath for yourself on the day of wrath when God's righteous judgment will be revealed." And in chapter three, we read about how we are all guilty, the whole world is condemned before God, because every one of us has turned aside and become worthless as far as making ourselves right. God's law shows us what sin is and reveals that we are sinners, and we all are under the righteous judgment and wrath of God. Being guilty before God of sin ultimately leads to an eternity of suffering and torment in hell, unless we are forgiven and made righteous before Him. Now, the way for anyone to be forgiven and stand righteous before God is not by our works (obedience to the law, religious ceremonies, prayers, confession, baptism, making ourselves feel bad, trying to do better, or anything else we do), but rather we are given a righteousness from God through faith in the Person and life, death and resurrection of God's Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. This righteousness is God's righteousness for us, and it is a free gift. Since He died as a propitiation for those who believe, God can forgive those who trust in Him and still be righteous in condemning their sin on the cross.

At the end of chapter three, Paul said this eliminates all boasting in what we have done. Nobody can say, "I did what I was supposed to do, now God is going to accept me and save me." No one can say that, because no one has the right to be forgiven or justified. However, through faith in Christ, we can now be completely (and I mean completely, totally) forgiven and justified because of who He is and what He has done for us if we believe (trust) in Him as our only hope.

Verse 1
What then shall we say was gained by Abraham, our forefather according to the flesh?

To understand why Paul is writing this verse, we need to remember what he wrote in the previous verses about boasting, and what kind of people he had in mind when he wrote it. Paul wrote to Jews about how they cannot be justified by the law (3:1,9,20). He said that righteousness is actually a free gift of God given to those who trust in Christ (3:24). this eliminates all forms of boasting in what they do (3:27). Now, he mentions Abraham as an example from the Old Testament to back up the things he just taught them. Who was Abraham? Abraham was the first father of the nation of Israel. He was the one God called out of his homeland, and promised that he would be a father of many nations, "And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed." (Genesis 12:2-3).

Verse 2

For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about, but not before God.

Why could Abraham have something to boast about if he was justified by works? Why not before God?

Abraham could boast if he was justified by works, because he would have something good that he had done, so all he would have to do is point to those good things he did, and boast. But not before God, because no one stands justified before God who has not kept every part of the law (Galatians 3:10).

Verse 3

But what does the Scripture say? "Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness."

Paul again goes back to the Bible, "What does the Bible say about this?" We would label someone like that "a Bible thumper" or something else, but there is an important reason for that. The Bible contains exactly what God has spoken to all people for all time in every place. When we want to know what God says or thinks, we can go to the Bible and find out exactly. So, what does it say? What does it say Abraham did? What was counted to Abraham as righteousness [being right before God]? By saying this, Paul showed the Jews that God has always justified His people by faith, rather than by works they performed.

Verses 4-5

Now to the one who works, his wages are not counted as a gift but as his due. And to the one who does not work but believes in him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted as righteousness,

If you went to work someplace for $8 an hour, and at the end of the week you get paid for all that you had done, could the person paying you say, "I'm giving this to you as a gift"? No way! Why not? Because you worked for it, you earned it! Nobody earns a gift. Nobody deserves a gift. A gift is something a person gives out of love for the person they give to, not because of anything the person has done to get it, but to show them how much the giver loves. In the case with God, God is not glorified if you deserve forgiveness and justification, and heaven and eternal life. No, rather, God is glorified when He gives those things freely to people who don't deserve them. (That is the whole reason why chapter three made it so clear we are all no good sinners, who are worthless and unrighteous and deserving of damnation from God. It is to show how great His grace and love is to freely give us forgiveness and righteousness through Jesus Christ).

In what way does verse 5 describe God? How does it describe the person who believes in Him?

Verse 6

just as David also speaks of the blessing of the one to whom God counts righteousness apart from works:

Here again is another example of an Old Testament person trusting in God to be justified. Who was David? What part of the Bible did David write? Who does Paul say David was writing about in these next veses?

Verses 7-8

"Blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven,

and whose sins are covered;

blessed is the man against whom the Lord will not count his sin."

Have you heard of people talking a lot about blessings? What kinds of blessings do they refer to most? Well, this blessing is the greatest blessing in the world! How are the people in these verses blessed? What are "lawless deeds"? What does it mean to have your "sins covered"? What does it mean for the Lord to count your sin? Notice about that those who are trusting, resting, relying on, satisfied with, Jesus Christ as their only hope and treasure and Lord and Savior, that the Lord will not count their sin against them.

Conclusion:

If you have understood what I've been teaching you, you should then be able to see how this is "good news only for bad people." Have you realized that you are totally guilty of breaking God's righteous and holy Laws, rejecting His rules and following after your own will, and that this makes you totally worthy of eternal damnation in hell from God? If you can humbly, and honestly acknowledge such things about yourself, then Jesus Christ is the best news in the world to you! Why? Because for those who do not work, but rely on Him, Jesus Christ becomes our righteuosness before God, and He will never, ever count your sin against you. Why not? Because He already counted it against His perfectly righteous and holy Son, when He was crucified for hell-deserving sinners. God raised Him from the dead, so there is hope for the unrighteous. There is hope, because there is a real, living Savior who really saves all who come to God through Him. Praise God!

The Gospel in Romans, part 8

This is the long anticipated study on the rest of the third chapter of Romans. Enjoy the Good News!

Romans 3:19-31

Text
Romans 3:19-31 ESV:

Now we know that whatever the law says it speaks to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be stopped, and the whole world may be held accountable to God. For by works of the law no flesh will be justified in his sight, since through the law comes knowledge of sin.

But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart form 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 form 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.

Study Notes:

Verses 19-20
Now we know that whatever the law says it speaks to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be stopped, and the whole world may be held accountable to God. For by works of the law no human being will be justified in his sight, since thorugh the law comes knowledge of sin.
These verses conclude everything that has been said from Romans 1:18-3:18. Which is that since the law proves everyone to be under sin, the law can never, ever, make anyone righteous or good before God. It says, "For by the works of the law no human being will be justified in [God's] sight." Do you remember what it means to be justified? From verses 19-20, what did we learn about the purpose of the law?
In those two verses, Paul effectively set aside the law as our hope for righteousness and shows us in the next verses where true salvation, justification and righteousness really can be found for guilty sinners. Hebrews 10:9 says that the law must be done away with in order to establish the second (or new covenant). That is what is going on here. The law cannot save anyone, therefore the new covenant is the only way to be justified before God (Hebrews 9:13-15; 2 Corinthians 3:4-11).

Verses 21-22
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:...
What does it mean when we say something has been manifested? In verse 20, what has been manifested? What does it mean to bear witness to something? Who bears witness? What has the righteousness of God been manifested through, and for whom is it manifested? Why?
Well, the verses tell us that God's righteousness has been manifested apart from the law. It is the Scriptures (the Law and the Prophets) that bear witness to it. God's righteousness does not come through the law, by works or by doing good. (But the law points to it and talks about it). Rather, God's righteousness is through faith in Jesus Christ, and it is for all who believe, because their is no distinction [no difference, everyone is the same in this regard]. So nobody can be saved by the law, or by being a good person (because there is none good - Rom. 3:12), but there is another way. That way is by the righteousness of God apart from works through faith in Jesus. It is the only way (John 14:6, "I am the way and the truth and the life; no one comes to the Father except through me.").


Verse 23
for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,...
Here is the proof that nobody stands right with God by the law, since all have sinned and do not glorify God. How do we fall short of the glory of God? Do you remember what Romans 1:18-32 was teaching us about that? Let's look at Romans 1:21-25 again:

"For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in thier thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Claiming to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the immortal God [YHWH - I AM] for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things.

Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts ot impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves, because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshipped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen."

From those verses, what did we learn about how people fall short of the glory of God? How did they sin?

Verse 24
and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus,...
Who are justified by God's grace as a gift? Verse 23 said "all have sinned," so those who are justified are sinners, but that's not all, they are also believers (v22). How are they justified? It says, "through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus." What does the word redemption mean? Those who are justified by God's grace as a gift, are justified by the salvation and deliverance that is in Christ Jesus. They have been bought back, recovered and freed from their previous condition.

Verses 25-26
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.
Here's how the redemption in Christ was provided. God put forward the Lord Jesus as a propitiation by his blood. Do you remember what the word propitiation means? Propitiation comes from the idea of the Mercy Seat in the Old Testament. The blood was to be sprinkled on the Mercy Seat where God would meet with the Priest when he made atonement for the sins of the people. Propitiation is a wrath appeasing sacrifice. It is a sacrifice that satisfies God's righteous wrath and also pleases Him on behalf of those for whom the sacrifice is made. It pleases God. How is this sacrifice to be received? It is not received by works, or by praying certain types of prayers, or by participating in certain ceremonies (like baptism or the mass). It is not received by all the religious inventions of man. How then is it received? The answer is, "by faith." By simple, childlike trust in God, that Jesus is the propitiation for my sins. Jesus is my Lamb, that makes atonement for my wicked, evil, vile, rebellious and hateful sinfuness. Jesus satisfied the wrath of God for me by taking it upon Himself. Believing, trusting, being satisfied with Jesus as your redeemer, is how it is received.
What does this show about God? It shows God's righteousness. Why does God's righteousness have to be shown? Because He passed over former sins and did not punish them justly. How can God be just and also justify someone who is trusting in Jesus? The only way for God to be just and also the justifier of the one who is trusting in Jesus, is by putting Jesus forward as a propitiation by his blood (so that God's justice is satisfied by the bloodshed and death of Jesus).

Verses 27-31
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.
Here Paul does the question and answer thing again. What are the questions? What are the answers? 1. What of boasting? Ans: Excluded. 2. By what law? Works? Ans: Not by works, but by faith. 3. Is God the Jew's God only? Is He also God of Gentiles? Ans: He is God of both Jews and Gentiles. Yes, even Gentiles! God is one and He justifies Jews and Gentiles one way only - through faith. 3. Do we get rid of the law then by this faith? Ans: No way! Rather, we uphold (establish, set up) the law (put the law in its rightful place. Not as something that justifies, but as something that locks us under the condemnation of sin, so that we may be justified by faith in Jesus Christ instead of by law - Gal. 3:21-26). This is not a license to keep living a sinful lifestyle, but freedom from both the curse of the law and bondage to sin, so that we may live to please God.

Conclusion:
Romans chapter three contains such a powerful and clear message on the good news of the gospel. It really is "the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes." (Rom. 1:16). What about justification by faith have you had a hard time grasping? Does the word propitiation have an especially dear and precious ring to you now when you hear it? If not, check your heart to see if you understand how far you have gone away from God into sin, and then look more closely on what Jesus did to save you by His death if you are resting in Him as your righteousness from God. What does it mean to have faith in the blood of Jesus? Do the words resting, trusting, relying, being satisfied with, treasuring, looking to Jesus help you define what it means to believe in Christ as your propitiation?