Sermon Tone Analysis

Justification by Faith

                                                  (Romans 3:21-31)

Introduction:

            The title of our lesson this morning is . . . .

and in this message we will begin a lengthy study of the doctrine of justification.

We’ve now finished a powerful section of Romans in which Paul made an unrelenting drive revealing the sinfulness of all humanity.

From Rom.1:18-3:20 Paul left no stone unturned in declaring all people–Jew and Gentile, straight-ahead sinner and hypocrite–under the wrath of God for their sin.

But now, beginning in 3:21 Paul begins to lay out for us God’s very own remedy for His fallen and sinful creatures.

And that remedy is wrapped up in what we call justification.

The doctrine of justification is not just some dry theological word, one that is best left to seminary professors and those whom we too often accuse of trying to over-intellectualize the Faith.

Justification is really at the heart of the Gospel.

I believe that the lack of understanding of this doctrine is the root cause of the weakness of the church in America and throughout the Western world.

It is vital, I think, for believers to understand why, and how, they are saved.

It is vital for us to understand why we are allowed into God’s holy presence.

It has nothing at all to do with our own goodness and everthing to do with Christ’s!

Martin Luther, whose rediscovery of the truths about justification launched the Protestant Reformation in the 16th Century, wrote, “When the article of justification has fallen, everything has fallen.”

He declared, “This is the chief article from which all other doctrines have flowed.”

He argued, “It alone begets, nourishes, builds, preserves, and defends the church of God; and without it the church of God cannot exist for one hour.”

He said that it is “the master and prince, the lord, the ruler, and the judge over all kinds of doctrines.”

Justification then is the anchor, or the hinge, of our salvation, isn’t it?

What is it, though?

What does this most vital of doctrines mean?

That is what we want to explore this morning, and for next few weeks.We not only want to understand the meaning, but we want to know how it applies to our everday life, don’t we?

Because that is what Bible study and Bible knowledge is all about!

If what we learn merely stays in our heads and never travels the road down to our hearts and never affects the direction of our feet then all the knowledge we pile up is simply useless, isn’t it?

So let’s begin.

And if you still think that a study of justification is too dry and dusty, and not one that is interesting enough, let me tell you that unless you have been justified, you cannot possibly hope to stand before a holy and righteous God!

One of the most important questions ever asked is this one: How can I, a completely unrighteous man, stand before God, who is perfectly righteous?

The sobering answer is, I can’t, can I?

I can’t unless God Himself acts!

Unless God does something for, and to, me, I am lost!

And the wonder of a study of justification is that we will discover what exactly it was that God did!

I. Righteousness Apart From the Law (Rom.

3:21)

            (1 Donald Grey Barnhouse once wrote of this passage of Romans we just read, “I am convinced today, after these many years of Bible study, that these verses are the most important in the Bible.”

They may very well be.

Their importance certainly cannot be exaggerated.

To begin with, what is that every man and woman must possess before they can enter into the presence of God? Hebrews 12:14 says it this way: Hebrews 12:14 (KJV) \\

14 Follow peace with all/ men/, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord: The words of Jesus ring out with a call for righteousness too, don’t they?

Matthew 5:48 (KJV) \\

48 Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.

Our problem as Paul has so forcefully concluded though is there are none of /us/ righteous!

We are far from perfect.

And so what we /must/ have is the one thing that we /do not/ have, isn’t it?

Habakkuk 1:13 states, Habakkuk 1:13 (KJV) \\

13 /Thou art/ of purer eyes than to behold evil, and canst not look on iniquitye : wherefore lookest thou upon them that deal treacherously,/ and/ holdest thy tongue when the wicked devoureth/ the man that is/ more righteous than he?

If God, who is pure, allows impurity in His presence unpunished, He will at that point cease to be pure and just and righteous.

But in our first verse Paul gives us a hint at the direction God took in remedying this disastrous situation for us.

He tells us that the /righteousness of God without the law is manifested./

Look at your Bibles, verse 21.

     (2 We will see in subsequent verses how God can maintain His righteousness by allowing unrighteousness men and women into His presence.

But for now, Paul is content to build up to that amazing truth.

He states clearly here in verse 21 that the righteousness of God apart from works of the law is manifested, seen, revealed.

And he also states that it was foretold in OT times by the Mosaic Law itself and by the OT prophets.

(3 And now what we always want to do is balance what Paul is saying here with what James writes in his epistle.

And also what Jesus Himself said.

We always have to be careful not to move toward a wrong interpretation of Paul’s doctrine of justification.

We’ve talked about this in past lessons.

Simply put, because we are saved by grace through faith, and not by any works of the law, that doesn’t mean we are free from any ethical considerations for our everyday life.

(4 Human righteousness is of great importance in human relations and should not be practically minimized, but it does not produce God’s salvation.

The ethical moralist and the one who observes no boundaries in their daily living both fall far short of God’s righteousness.

But James said in James 2:17 (KJV) \\

17 Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alonec .

You and I must always strive for right living!

We are not free to sin with abandon because are saved by grace, but we are free from the chains of our sinful natures to live in a manner more pleasing to the Lord who died for us.

Do we do so with perfection?

No! But we will have a change of direction in our lives after we have been justified.

(5 Turn back with me to Romans 1:16-17, to what is my pick for the two most important verses in Scripture.

Where is the righteousness of God revealed?

From OT faith to NT faith!

And that last sentence in verse 17 says it all.

/The just shall live by faith/!

This is a quote from the OT prophet, Habakkuk.

Habakkuk 2:4 (KJV) 4 Behold, his soul/ which/ is lifted up is not upright in him: but the just shall live by his faith.

The word just is another word for righteous.

So, righteous men and women live by faith!

We are, in a phrase, justified by faith!

When God justifies sinners He makes them right in His eyes!

The key word there being make!

What the prophets and and law only pointed toward has been actualized, or made real, in history.

And I want to stress that point because sometimes we get a very mystical and puffy idea of all things spiritual.

This is an actual reality here.

God has done a work on us that you and I could never do for ourselves.

(5 Notice how verse 21 begins.

It seems that most everytime God contrasts a bad thing with a good one, He begins the next sentence with the word /but./

After Paul had tod the Ephesians, in the first three verses of chapter 2, that they had been dead in their sins and as wicked as any unbeliever, God come to them and quickened them, made them alive.

Paul began verse four with the words, /But God/.

He began Rom. 3:21 with the words /But now./

So, what Paul is saying is even though we are all sinners and desperately wicked . . . .

but now, God has intervened in our lives, hasn’t He? God has done a work that was promised to the people of God, dating back even to the Garden!

II.

Righteousness by Faith (Rom.

3:22-23)

      (1 So, justification can never be achieved by human works of righteousness, can it?

And we have just read that the righteousness of God is demonstrated apart from works of the law.

You know, I bet that you guys hear this every day from preachers and teachers who come down to preach and teach!

You can’t work your way into heaven!

Right?

In our next two verses Paul launches off into how God has solved the dilemma of the imperative of divine justice with the equal imperative of God’s love, mercy, and grace.

And again, I want us to keep this thought firmly in our minds.

As I said earlier, the central problem for every man and woman is this: How can people who are unholy possibly stand before a God who is perfect in /His/ holiness?

Look at your Bibles, verses 22-23.