Walking in Faith

²¹But now apart from the Law the righteousness of God has been manifested, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets,

²²even the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all those who believe; for there is no distinction;

²³for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,

²⁴being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus;

²⁵whom God displayed publicly as a propitiation in His blood through faith This was to demonstrate His righteousness, because in the forbearance of God He passed over the sins previously committed;

²⁶for the demonstration, I say, of His righteousness at the present time, so that He would be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.

• God has given the world a new covenant. His old Law is made new and His new Law is available for all the people of the earth. He has given everyone, freely, a gift of eternal salvation because He is a righteous and loving God.
• The new covenant is validated by Prophets and the Law from the past. They all point to Jesus as Christ.
• Everyone everywhere is completely buried in sin and is unable to come anywhere close to God. We are not able to come close to the Lord but we also not pleasing to the Lord in our sinful nature. He sees us as beautiful creatures of this earth and wants to be close to us – but only when we are pure of heart.
• Fortunately, He provided for us a way to draw close to Him – Jesus Christ. And this is a gift of the Lord and nothing of us. He has justified us through the blood of Christ for eternity.
• What an amazing Lord! He knew from the beginning that we would sin, he knew we would mess everything up but yet He still loves us enough to give us His only son! What an awesome God! What an awesome gift! Do I return the favor to the Lord and give Him my gifts? Do I give Him thanks for His gifts?
• He did all of this just to show us how glorious He is and how great is His majesty. This is not a mistake and this is not a “corrective action�?. God knew exactly what He was doing all the while. The question is – do we?

¹⁹Now we know that whatever the Law says, it speaks to those who are under the Law, so that every mouth may be closed and all the world may become accountable to God;

²⁰because by the works of the Law no flesh will be justified in His sight; for through the Law comes the knowledge of sin.

• The Law of the Lord is given to all people on the earth. As I think back to early studies in Romans 2:12-16 where Paul tells us that those who did not have the Law instinctively do things, this is a Law unto itself. I think more that God has revealed Himself to everyone in some fashion – His Word, His Law, His Creation, etc. He has also given all of us a heart to at least hear Him – but not necessarily to turn to Him. Everyone has the ability to see, or experience, the Lord’s Law. This is reinforced by “all the world may become accountable to God�?.
• The Law will also silence men (“so that every mouth may be closed�?). When man opens his mouth, there is usually little to no good that can come from that. We are depraved (as Romans 3:9-18 points out) and are incapable of goodness, unless directly from the Lord. He will hold each of us accountable for what we say, what we do and what we believe – am I living every day in an accountable manner?
• Paul calls out that the works will not give us justification with the Lord. The Law gives us the ability to discern right from wrong, good from bad. The Law brings forth knowledge (not wisdom) that man can apply to determine what he should or shouldn’t do. I think it is critical to point out that we must first have the wisdom from God to apply the knowledge to our life. Am I applying the Lord’s Word to my life? Am I taking scripture serious? Where am I in my memorization/meditation? I need to improve my level of commitment to the Lord in this area.

• The initial statement sets the ground for the rest of this passage: “Are we any better�??  Absolutely not.  All men are sinful in nature.  We are not worthy of coming near God because of our sin.  Thank the Lord for the incredible gift of grace!
• Paul reminds the people of the time that God is not going to some partiality to the Jews.  No, the Jews and the Gentiles will be judged alike – we are all under sin.
• Paul then quotes several Old Testament passages (mostly from Psalms).  I think it can be summed up by using the first part of the verse:

There is none righteous, not even one; there is none who understands, there is none who seeks for God; All have turned aside, together they have become useless; there is none who does good, there is not even one.  (Romans 3:10-11 NASB)

• No one.  Not even one.  I can’t think of a statement that points out our depravity any greater than that.  Without God, we are completely incapable of coming to the Lord.  Now, if God wants things different than that, it becomes a much different discussion.  On our own, with no quickening from the Lord, we, as men, are completely incapable of seeking the Lord.  At least that is what seems pretty clear to me from this passage.
• The rest of the Old Testament quotes provide more examples of our frailty and weakness.  The quotes speak of men’s mouth as open graves and our tongues are deceitful, our mouths full of bitterness and cursing, our feet always ready to fight and shed blood.  None of these qualities are admirable qualities – they are all prideful, self-centered thoughts that we are challenged with every single day.  We must keep our eyes on the Lord and be true to our faith in Him if we plan to spend eternity with Him.
• The last verse provides the clincher

There is no fear of God before their eyes. (Romans 3:18 NASB)

• Am I afraid of my Creator? He is the omniscient, omnipotent, immutable God that loves me dearly but will judge me justly.  If I am not living my life according to His Law, I may find myself reaching Heaven through the flames.  It is also important to note that in order to even reach Heaven, I must have a relationship with the Lord.  The only way to have that relationship is through Christ.  Am I living my life for the Lord?  Am I living in a way that pleases Jesus?

• If we are evil and that brings out God’s goodness, do we honestly think that we should be saved? Absolutely not. God is good because He has always been good and always will be good – regardless of us. We are simply creatures of wrath that stray from Him and do not follow His commands.
• It is interesting that Paul states (Romans 3:5)

(I am using a human argument.)

• Why does he include this in the writing? I believe he states this because he doesn’t want the Romans to think that this is an argument that God would even fathom. Only in the depraved mind of man could such a silly thought be developed.
• God cannot fairly judge the world if He has biases. He will judge the living and the dead fairly and justly, each of our own accord. Am I living each day like it is the last day? I will be judged one day and I need to be living my life every day as if it is the last day.
• Paul repeats that we, as men, say “Let us do evil that good may result�? but that simply isn’t true. These sort of things and ideas are evil in nature and do not do anything to help build a person – they are evil thoughts of evil men.
• Do I act like this, even though I don’t say these things? Does my life telling a story that is different than my words? I have to live my life the same as I speak. I shouldn’t be three different people – one at home, one at work and one at church. I should consistently be in Christ and be filled with the Spirit. Remember that the first way to show people Christ is to show them love – unconditional love.

• Why be a Jew then? What value is there in this title (or in being circumcised)? Paul tells us that it is a huge benefit! The first key is that the Lord entrusted the Jews with His words, His vision, His love. Why would they, as Jews, care about the new covenant though? It goes back to the teachings of Christ on earth. If they do not believe that Christ was sent to this world as God made flesh, the new covenant is difficult to swallow.
• Paul goes on to tell us that though there were some that did not believe, that doesn’t mean that God will go back and change His promises. He is the Promise Keeper. He does not make promises that He cannot keep. The Lord is perfect in every way. As such, He knew exactly what He was doing when He chose the Jews as His people.
• Paul quotes Psalm 51:4 to give the Jews of the time a perspective on the truth of his statements. He wants the Jew to realize that there is a new covenant with Christ at the head. The Lord is faithful to His promises and He will safe the Jews. They lack the courage, the conviction, the dedication, the faith to stand by God and be loyal to Him through all situations. This is no different than us today!
• Am I willing to remain faithful to the Lord through all situations? Am I 100% dedicated to His work?