August 21, 2000

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Sept. 24 Lesson

Paul shares four little words that pack a wallop ___Romans 3:21-4:12 ___3:21But now a righteousness from God, apart from law, has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. 22This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference, 23for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. 25God presented him as a sacrifice of atonement, through faith in his blood. He did this to demonstrate his justice, because in his forebearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished--26he did it to demonstrate his justice at the present time, so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus. ___27Where, then, is boasting? It is excluded. On what principle? On that of observing the law? No, but on that of faith. 28For we maintain that a man is justified by faith apart from observing the law. 29Is God the God of Jews only? Is he not the God of Gentiles too? Yes, of Gentiles, too, 30since there is only one God, who will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through that same faith. 31Do we, then, nullify the law by this faith? Not at all! Rather we uphold the law. ___4:1What then shall we say that Abraham, our forefather, discovered in this matter? 2If, in fact, Abraham was justified by works, he had something to boast about--but not before God. 3What does the Scripture say? "Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness." ___4Now when a man works, his wages are not credited to him as a gift, but as an obligation. 5However, to the man who does not work but trusts God who justifies the wicked, his faith is credited as righteousness. 6David says the same thing when he speaks of the blessedness of the man to whom God credits righteousness apart from works: ___7"Blessed are they whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered. ___8Blessed is the man whose sin the Lord will never count against him." ___9Is this blessedness only for the circumcised, or also for the uncircumcised? We have been saying that Abraham's faith was credited to him as righteousness. 10Under what circumstances was it credited? Was it after he was circumcised, or before? It was not after, but before! 11And he received the sign of circumcision, a seal of righteousness that he had by faith while he was still uncircumcised. So then, he is the father of all who believe but have not been circumcised, in order that righteousness might be credited to them. 12And he is also the father of the circumcised who not only are circumcised but who also walk in the footsteps of the faith that our father Abraham had before he was circumcised.

___By Charles Walton
___Several years ago I arrived at my office at church with so many burdens that I was utterly discouraged. An unsigned note greeted me. Without introduction the writer began: "Just a quick note to let you know what a blessing you have been to me. I often come to church with the weight of the world on my shoulders. Your words of greeting lift my spirits and warm my soul. I know God sent you here, if for no other reason, then just for me. God bless you."
___Wow! Double wow! My heart was lifted to heaven. My discouragement disappeared. "Thank you, Lord," I celebrated. In the middle of my "revival" I happened to turn over the little envelope. That is when I saw that the note was addressed to my wife! Wounded at first, I lifted my voice to heaven once again. "I don't care if this is for somebody else, I'm taking it. I need encouragement. I found this note and I'm keeping it. She'll just have to get her own blessing." Of course I eventually gave the note to its rightful recipient, but not for a few days. I needed those simple words.
___Today's text focuses on a few simple words, too. They are "Jesus," "faith," "gift" and "walk." These words are for everyone.
___Jesus
___References to Jesus fill this section of our text. Notice how Paul declares that God's power over our sin flows through Jesus. He presents this idea from several different perspectives. In verse 22 we learn that our righteousness (right standing) before God comes through our personal faith in Jesus. In verse 24 we see that our redemption (God's plan to reclaim us after our sinfulness) is through Jesus. Next, in verse 25, Jesus is presented as God's atoning sacrifice for our sins (Hebrews 9:22). Finally, in verse 26, Jesus is the demonstration of God's justice and the reason we are justified (without guilt) before God.
___The reason so much attention is given to God's power to save through Jesus is that "all have sinned and fall short of God's glory." This parenthetical thought serves two purposes. First, it is a reminder of what has already been stated earlier regarding the universality of sin. Second, it addresses the problem of Jewish pride in their attitude of superior morality. Jewish "converts" to Christ, even godly church leaders, had difficulty accepting the idea that Jews and Gentiles were equal before God (Galatians 2:11-12).
___When Paul says our righteousness in Jesus comes "apart from law," he means without our keeping even the smallest ordinance as a means of accruing merit worthy of salvation (Ephesians 2:9). However, Paul does not mean that Jesus has no relation to Judaism (Romans 1:2-3). Notice the apostle's references to "the law and the Prophets," to Abraham (4:1), and to David (4:6). The Old and New Testaments are not separate approaches to God but one continuous story of God's love which has been fully revealed in the cross (v. 25).
___The cross of Christ is seen as completely satisfying God's holy requirements regarding the punishment for sin. Paul indicates the full execution of justice was delayed until now because of God's "forbearance." References to God's holy patience with sinful humanity are also found in Acts 14:16 and 17:30.
___The words of the old hymn sung in our churches for nearly 100 years come to mind: "What can wash away my sin? Nothing but the blood of Jesus. What can make me whole again? Nothing but the blood of Jesus. Oh! Precious is the flow, that makes me white as snow; no other fount I know. Nothing but the blood of Jesus."
___When Jesus began his earthly ministry, he was identified as "the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world" (John 1:29). Paul reminds us that God's holy purpose in Jesus still remains.
___Faith
___What is important to God when it comes to the means by which we are saved? The first word is "Jesus" and the second word is "faith." What does Paul mean by "faith," and what does faith have to do with Old Test-ament law? Is there an example?
___Paul answers these questions by pointing to the choice of two separate systems we might use to gain a right standing before God and be found "not guilty" before his throne of judgment. The first system is that of "works." This system forces us to appeal to our own goodness and the virtue in our hearts. The testimony we offer in God's courtroom is, "I am a good person, and I have kept the rules." The other system is that of "faith." The faith system renounces self and looks only to what God has done to obtain our salvation. Our testimony would be: "I have no goodness of my own to offer. I am counting only on that which God has already done for me in the sacrifice of Jesus." Notice that one system excludes the other.
___Paul's next emphasis is to point out that there is only one God (Dueteronomy 6:4) and, therefore, only one way (system) of salvation (Romans 5:15). "What can wash away my sin? Nothing but the blood of Jesus." Faith in Jesus unleashes the power of God's grace in our lives.
___As an example of "faith" as opposed to "work," Paul uses the great patriarch Abraham. If Abraham was righteous only by faith (v. 3), then the whole of Judaism must acknowledge this way of salvation. God obviously counted Abraham as righteous, but on what grounds? Paul appeals to Scripture. Abraham believed (had faith in) God and it (his faith toward God) was "placed to his account" as righteousness (Genesis 15:6).
___God honors our faith in Jesus because such faith honors his Son and refuses to glory in our deeds of the flesh or anything else.
___Gift
___Paul wants to be certain his readers understand salvation is a "gift," not the result of any effort on our part. God is under no obligation whatsoever to offer salvation to anyone of any race, culture or religion (v.4).
___The apostle's choice of words to describe God's grace in verse 5 has deep meaning. When Paul uses the phrase "God who justifies the wicked ...," he means God's grace in justifying sinful humanity is available not just to the unrighteous (as merciful as that is) but to the completely "ungodly." This strong emphasis means that few of us realize the depth of God's overwhelming grace. No one is exempt from the opportunity of salvation.
___The quote from Psalm 32 is another attempt to show that salvation by grace through faith was part of the very fabric of the Old Testament and not contrary to it. Paul uses this psalm to say that David recognized long ago that we are blessed not by good works being credited to us but by our sins being removed from us. This distinction, in the matter of salvation, cannot be overlooked.
___A busy mom found her muddy shoes cleaned and placed neatly in her closet. She knew her 7-year-old son had done it. She wrote a thank you note, placed a dollar bill in it, and put the note in his room. Later she found the money returned to her room, accompanied by a note that read, "I done it for love." God's redemptive work is through Jesus. We receive it by faith. It is all a gift. And it was done for love.
___Walk
___This section concludes with the phrase "who also walk in the footsteps of the faith. ..." This expression helps us understand the Christian life of faith is to be lived out in concrete experiences not merely religious observances.
___Abraham is again our example. Paul says we should notice that Abraham lived a life of faith long before he received the "sign" (circumcision) that he had a faith relationship with God. The sign did not make Abraham right with God; his faith put him in right standing. The sign came after the faith.
___Paul's negation of circumcision as a method of righteousness does not mean such signs were unimportant. The apostle's appreciation of Judaism cannot be denied (3:31). However, the outer sign is feckless. It is the inner decision to trust God that empowers those who choose righteousness. "For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified ..." (Romans 10:10).
___Our relationship with God is a "Jesus thing," as our youth would say, and a "faith thing" and a "gift thing," all to be part of our daily "walk" with Christ.
___Eugene Peterson, in his translation of Ephesians 1:7-10 in "The Message," beautifully summarizes what Paul has written to the Romans: "Because of the sacrifice of the Messiah, his blood poured out on the altar of the cross, we're a free people--free of penalties and punishments chalked up by all our misdeeds. And not just barely free, either. Abundantly free! He thought of everything, provided for everything we could possibly need, letting us in on the plans he took such delight in making. He set it all out before us in Christ, a long-range plan in which everything would be brought together and summed up in him, everything in deepest heaven, everything on planet earth."
___This is God's encouraging note addressed to all of us.

For thought and discussion
___ The cross of Christ is portrayed as completely satisfying the need for justice. Does this concept cause problems for today's Christians who often hear a heavy emphasis on God's love and forgiveness?
___ Paul alludes to the temptation for "godly" people to have feelings of superiority when thinking of the "ungodly." How can we fight against this?
___ One of Paul's purposes is to show that salvation in Jesus cannot be diluted with other "systems" of righteousness. In what ways do we diminish the concept of salvation by grace through faith?
___ Have you ever received a "gift" you had no hope of ever repaying? How did you feel? Does the inability to repay help you understand the "gift" of salvation?
___ Paul's emphasis on Psalm 32 regarding the forgiveness of sins is important. Discuss the meaning of having our sins removed from our account verses having "goodness" credited to our account, as we think of our salvation.
___ What are the outward signs of believers today?
___ Read aloud Ephesians 1:7-10 from "The Message" (Eugene Peterson's translation of the Bible) as you conclude today's study.
___ Look at your class prayer if your wrote one for this study in Romans. Does your prayer need to be changed again?


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