ROMANS 3:26-31
25 .... God hath set forth (Christ Jesus) to be a propitiation (all sufficient sacrifice) 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.
(Vs 26.) Through Christ’s all sufficient sacrifice, God now declares that His righteousness is given to saints of the past (vs 25, Heb 9:15) and the present age (vs 22,26).
Ps 50:5 defines saints as, "those that have made a covenant (agreement) with me (God) by sacrifice." When we agree with God to trust His sacrifice to pay for our sin, we get His righteousness and become His saints. Remember Romans is addressed to saints (Rom 1:7), as are most of Paul’s letters. Are you a saint?
Through Christ’s sacrifice, God also declares that He is righteous, in that He does not ignore sin. Every sin will be paid, either by the sinner or by Christ. So God is proven just, even though He justifies some who were guilty, but because they believe in Christ, their sin debt is paid by Him.
"...at this time.." Never until Paul’s time was this known or explained, (Col 1:25,26; ICor 2:7,8)
"Believeth in Jesus" means to rely exclusively on Jesus to pay your sin debt. Do you think you have to do something in addition to what Christ did? Then are you really trusting Christ, or are you trusting that additional something that you do? Many people trust a water baptism, a salvation prayer, dedicating their life to Jesus, confessing sin, asking forgiveness, or other such works. It is critical to know precisely how to be justified by God so that (1.)you can be sure that you are justified, and so that (2.) you can accurately share the information.
(Vs 27.) Since we did nothing to earn our salvation, we have nothing to boast about, even though we now have the righteousness of God. It was a free gift. See Eph 2:8,9. Man’s pride is his biggest problem, so God has set things up so "that no flesh should glory in his presence." (ICor 1:28-31 & 3:18-21; Jer 9:23,24)
Even though we have God’s righteousness put to our account, it often doesn’t show in our daily lives. And when we do do anything good, it is Christ’s thinking doing it in us, (Gal 2:20). So boasting really is excluded!
(Vs 28.) "Therefore we conclude (from verses 19 to 27) that a man is justified (declared righteous) by faith (relying exclusively on Christ’s sin offering) without the deeds of the law (without any good works whatsoever)". This is a powerful and clear statement! Read it again and remember it. Read Gal 2:16 too. Can you say positively that you are justified by God?
Is this verse true in Israel’s program too? How about Mat 3:8,10 & 7:18-21; &19:16-21 in the past? Or James 2:14-26 in the future? In Israel’s program, "the deeds of the law" are definitely required. But it was the faith that motivated those works that justified people. God hated their religious deeds when not motivated by faith, (Amos 5:21-26; Is 1:10-14; Ps 51:17-19).
All the confusion today about how to be saved comes from mixing Israel’s program, which requires works, with ours today which prohibits works for salvation.
(Vs 29.) In time past before Paul, the Gentiles were "without Christ,...having no hope, and without God in the world:" (Eph 2:11-14) But now, Israel has been concluded in unbelief like the Gentiles, so God can offer mercy to all on equal footing, (Rom 10:12 & 11:32; Gal 3:28; I Cor 12:13). Can you find anywhere other than Paul’s letters, where God reaches out to both Jew and Gentile equally?
But what about God’s special promises for Israel? See Rom 11:12-15, 25-30. God will never break His covenant with Israel, or give their promise of an earthly kingdom to someone else, (Jer 31:35-37; Ps 89:20,28-37). God has simply interrupted their program temporarily with a new program revealed through the apostle Paul, (Eph 3:1-6). Who do you think Hebrews is written to? How about James? (See James 1:1.) After Paul’s letters, God again deals with Israel.
(Vs 30.) The circumcision means Israel. (Circumcision was the token of the covenant God had with Abraham and his decedents, the nation Israel, Gen 17:9-14). They will be justified by their faith in God’s word to them which was the law. Those who believed God, tried to keep the law and took an animal blood sacrifice to atone for their failures, (Lev 1:1-5). Later when their promised kingdom was at hand, they were told to repent and be water baptized, (Mat 3:1-8; Acts 2:37,38) But ever since Acts 7:51-53, God has considered the nation
Israel spiritually uncircumsized like the Gentiles because of their unbelief.
We today are the uncircumcision, and God tells us in Paul’s writings that we are justified through believing in Christ’s sacrifice and doing nothing, (vs 28 & Rom 4:5). Galatians 2:7 (KJV) shows that this gospel of the uncircumcision was committed to Paul, and the gospel of the circumcision was committed to Peter. Do you see how different these gospels are? But in both, believers are justified by their faith in what God told them.
(Vs 31.) Do we then make the law void (empty and meaningless) through faith? No!
The purpose of the law was not to give eternal life, but to prove guilt, (vs 19,20) so people would seek atonement through a blood sacrifice. So faith in God’s ultimate sacrifice actually establishes the law, it does not void it.
Galatians 3:21-26 says, "Is the law then against the promises of God? God forbid: for if there had been a law given which could have given life, verily righteousness should have been by the law. But the scripture hath concluded all under sin, that the promise by faith of Jesus Christ might be given to them that believe.... Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith."
"I do not frustrate the grace of God; for if righteousness come by the law, then Christ is dead in vain." Gal 2:21
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