The Cross of the Christ

Romans 3:25b-31. "The Cross of the Christ" Safe Haven Community Church. Sunday September 18th, 2022. Romans 3:25b-31. 25 (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. 26 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. 27 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. 28 For we hold that one is justified by faith apart from works of the law. 29 Or is God the God of Jews only? Is he not the God of Gentiles also? Yes, of Gentiles also, 30 since God is one-who will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through faith. 31 Do we then overthrow the law by this faith? By no means! On the contrary, we uphold the law. (ESV) In the summer of 1865, Hudson Taylor became tremendously burdened for the land of China. His biographer reports that he also became greatly troubled about the church he was attending in Brighton, England. As he looked around the congregation he saw pew upon pew of prosperous bearded merchants, shopkeepers, visitors; demure wives in bonnets and crinolines, scrubbed children trained to hide their impatience; the atmosphere of smug piety sickened him. He seized his hat and left. "Unable to bear the sight of a congregation of a thousand or more Christian people rejoicing in their own security, while millions were perishing for lack of knowledge, I wandered out on the sands alone, in great spiritual agony." And there on the beach he prayed for "twenty-four willing skillful laborers." Out of that prayer eventually came the China Inland Mission. Due to that ministry and others like it, there are reportedly twenty-five million to perhaps fifty million believers in China today, despite its officially atheistic government. God could use someone like Hudson Taylor because his attention was not focused on his own interests but on God's. (John Stott. Our Guilty Silence. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1969, p. 24) If there is anything that defines modern life, it is self-centeredness. It's one dominated by self-ism, manifested in self-centeredness, selfishness, self-gratification, and self-fulfillment. People tend to be absorbed in their own feelings, their own desires, their own possessions, and their own welfare. Sadly, self-ism has found its way into Christianity. It you listen to the overwhelming public call in Christian circles, it's a call to come to Jesus who will make everything better. They say: "Come to Jesus to have everything you could possibly desire". The shocking thing about this message, is that it's the same one Satan used to tempt Jesus. If we would just compromise a little, we can have the whole world. But the call that we heard about last week, embedded in the Gospel, is first one of self-denial, to take up our Cross and follow Him. Salvation is first and foremost a way of glorifying God. The fact that it saves people from hell and gives them eternal life, marvelous and wonderful as that is, is secondary to the glory of God. The cross of Jesus Christ has the most dramatic effect on humanity in providing the way of redemption. But Jesus' death on the cross was primarily to glorify God. He glorified God during His earthly ministry, enabling Him to say to His heavenly Father, "I glorified Thee on earth, having accomplished the work which Thou hast given Me to do" (John 17:4). There will, of course, be bliss beyond description in heaven, but even that bliss will itself be an eternal testimony to the grace and glory of God. The theme of the book of Romans, and the heart of the gospel message, is the doctrine of justification by faith alone in response to God's grace. It is a doctrine that has been lost and found again and again throughout the history of the church. It has suffered from understatement, from overstatement, and, perhaps most often, simply from neglect. It was the central message of the early church and the central message of the Protestant Reformation, under the godly leadership of men such as Martin Luther and John Calvin. It is still today the central message of every church and believer that is faithful to God's Word. Only when believers understand and proclaim justification by faith can we truly present the gospel of Jesus Christ. One of the most significant passages that teaches that truth is the present text (Rom. 3:25b-31). At first reading this passage seems terribly intricate, complicated, and baffling. But its basic truth is simple, while also being the most profound truth in all of Scripture: Justification for sinful people is made possible by God's grace through the death of His Son Jesus Christ on the cross, and it is appropriated by people when they place their trust in Him as Lord and Savior. Justification is indeed God's answer to the most important of all human questions: How can a man or a woman become right with God? We are not right with God in ourselves. We are under God's wrath. Justification is vital, because we must become right with God or perish eternally (Boice, J. M. (1991-). Romans: Justification by Faith (Vol. 1, p. 380). Baker Book House.). In Romans 3:25b-31, Paul directs our thought specifically to four ways in which the cross of Jesus Christ glorifies God-by 1) Revealing God's righteousness (Romans 3:25b-26), by 2) Exalting God's grace (Romans 3:27-28), by 3) Revealing God's universality (Romans 3:29-30), and by 4) Confirming God's law (Romans 3:31). The Cross of the Christ Glorifies God because: 1) The Cross Reveals God's Righteousness (Romans 3:25b-26) Romans 3:25b-26. 25 (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. 26 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. (ESV) Righteousness, justification, and their verb and adjective forms are from the same Greek root. As those two English words indicate, the basic meaning relates to what is right and just. Apart from the Holy Spirit enabling us to understand God's actions here, there is great confusion on this point. Unbelievers frequently point to what they consider capricious, unjust, and even brutal acts on God's part. "If your God is so holy and just," they ask, "why does He let His own people suffer so much and let wicked people, including the enemies and persecutors of His people, get by with terrible sins? And why does He let innocent people suffer because of the wickedness of others?" Anticipating such questions, the Holy Spirit led Paul to declare that, through the cross, God not only allowed but planned before the foundation of the world what would be the most unjust act that people could commit-the putting to death of His own sinless Son. But through that heinous act on people's part, God not only manifested His divine righteousness by offering His own Son but also used that act of divine grace to show/demonstrate His divine righteousness. Through that incomparable sacrifice, God provided punishment for sin sufficient to forgive and blot out every sin that would ever be committed by His people-including the supreme sin of crucifying His own Son, for which every unregenerate person shares the guilt (Heb. 6:6). God would not be righteous, if He neglected to show Himself to be righteous: it is essential to His being the righteous, the loving and merciful God, that He should show that He is righteous (Cranfield, C. E. B. (2004). A critical and exegetical commentary on the Epistle to the Romans (p. 213). T&T Clark International.). That greatest of all acts of God's grace was further demonstrated by His divine forbearance, as He had passed over former sins/the sins previously committed. God is not unaware of nor does He condone even the smallest sin. His forbearance is therefore not a sign of injustice but of His patient and loving grace. "The Lord is not slow about His promise," Peter assures us, "but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance" (2 Pet. 3:9). God's justice and grace are on a perfect and infinitely grander scale than human wisdom can perceive or comprehend. Because of His justice, no sin will ever go unpunished; yet because of His grace, no sin is beyond forgiveness. Therefore, every sin will be paid for by the sinner themselves in the form of eternal death and punishment in hell or it will be paid for them because they have placed their faith in the sacrifice of Jesus Christ on their behalf. The only basis upon which sins may be forgiven is the propitiatory sacrifice of Jesus Christ, and it was upon this basis that God forgave sins even in the OT era, even before the historical event of the atonement had occurred. It was absolutely certain that the cross would occur (Acts 2:23); thus God freely dispensed its benefits before the fact. An analogy is a person who knows his paycheck is going to be deposited tomorrow, so he writes checks on it today, knowing the funds will be there when the checks reach the bank. The problem was not God's ability to forgive pre-cross sins as such, but the appearance this gave as to God's violating his own righteousness or justice in doing so. But, says Paul, any doubts concerning the integrity of God's justice that were thus raised are completely dispelled by the actual event of the cross, which was a public event presented before the whole world (Cottrell, J. (1996). Romans (Vol. 1, Ro 3:25). College Press Pub. Co.). Please turn to Acts 17 Paresis (passed over) does not carry the idea of remission, as the King James Version renders it, but refers to passing by or overlooking. In the context of God's forbearance, the meaning is therefore that of a temporary passing over sin and of withholding judgment on it for a certain period of time. The psalmist Asaph understood something of why God allows many wicked people to live and thrive, often at the expense of those who are less sinful. He wrote that God, "being compassionate, forgave their iniquity, and did not destroy them; and often He restrained His anger, and did not arouse all His wrath. Thus, He remembered that they were but flesh, a wind that passes and does not return" (Ps. 78:38-39). Likewise, in his discourse before the Epicurean and Stoic philosophers on the Areopagus (Mars Hill) just outside Athens, Paul said in Acts 17, beginning in verse 22 Acts 17:22-31. 22 So Paul, standing in the midst of the Areopagus, said: "Men of Athens, I perceive that in every way you are very religious. 23 For as I passed along and observed the objects of your worship, I found also an altar with this inscription: 'To the unknown god.' What therefore you worship as unknown, this I proclaim to you. 24 The God who made the world and everything in it, being Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in temples made by man, 25 nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all mankind life and breath and everything. 26 And he made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place, 27 that they should seek God, and perhaps feel their way toward him and find him. Yet he is actually not far from each one of us, 28 for " 'In him we live and move and have our being'; as even some of your own poets have said, " 'For we are indeed his offspring.' 29 Being then God's offspring, we ought not to think that the divine being is like gold or silver or stone, an image formed by the art and imagination of man. 30 The times of ignorance God overlooked, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent, 31 because he has fixed a day on which he will judge the world in righteousness by a man whom he has appointed; and of this he has given assurance to all by raising him from the dead." (ESV) * People are naturally religious. We naturally worship either ourselves or a god of our own making. Paul states here as he does in Romans, how God has revealed Himself and the proper response is worship of Him alone. This is no mere invitation and presents this in v.30 as a command to repent because, v.31 there is a day coming of righteous judgement. The only escape is through Jesus Christ, the one who died and the Father raised from the dead, validating Jesus' atonement for those who would trust in Him. From the beginning, God had demonstrated "His eternal power and divine nature" for all to see (Rom. 1:20). Through the incarnation, death, and resurrection of Christ, God gave humanity the ultimate revelation of Himself-as we see now back in Romans 3:26, the ultimate showing/demonstration ... of His righteousness at the present time. Christ has become the meeting place of God and His people where the mercy of God is available because of the sacrifice of the Son (Harrison, E. F. (1976). Romans. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor's Bible Commentary: Romans through Galatians (Vol. 10, p. 43). Zondervan Publishing House.) That is why the God of perfect holiness could be both just as well as the justifier of the sinful and unworthy one who has faith in Jesus. The ancient psalmist beautifully pictured Jesus' sacrifice on the cross: "Loving-kindness and truth have met together; righteousness and peace have kissed each other" (Ps. 85:10). The real "problem," as it were, with salvation was not the matter of getting sinful people to a holy God but of getting a holy God to accept sinful people without violating His justice. It was only through the cross that God could provide a just redemption for those He came to save. But of immeasurably more importance was that the cross demonstrates forever that God is both supremely just and supremely gracious. First and foremost, Christ died that the world might see that neither God's holiness nor His justice have been abrogated. God has perfect and absolute integrity. The cross was the ultimate vindication of God's justice and righteousness. The most unfathomable of all spiritual mysteries is that of the holy and just God providing redemption for sinful people and in that gracious act, not violating any attribute of His nature, but bringing supreme glory to Himself. Therefore, faith in this sense is not a kind of work that is specially meritorious in God's sight; it is that simple and open-hearted attitude to God which takes Him at his word and gratefully accepts his grace (Bruce, F. F. (1985). Romans: an introduction and commentary (Vol. 6, p. 113). InterVarsity Press.). Hymn: Many beautiful and beloved hymns express something of the faithful believer's awesome awareness of God's justice, righteousness, and grace. Isaac Watts wrote in his famous hymn: "When I survey the wondrous cross, On which the Prince of glory died, My richest gain I count but loss, And pour contempt on all my pride. Were the whole realm of nature mine, That were an offering far too small; Love so amazing, so divine, Demands my soul, my life, my all". The Cross of the Christ Glorifies God because: 2) The Cross Exalts God's Grace (Romans 3:27-28) Romans 3:27-28. 27 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. 28 For we hold that one is justified by faith apart from works of the law. (ESV) The cross proves the utter futility of people coming to God in their own way and power. Because of the Cross, Paul rhetorically asks "what becomes of our boasting? In answer to his own question, he declares unequivocally, It is excluded. Because the power of salvation is in the cross of Christ alone, people have no cause for self-congratulation or self-satisfaction-much less for the self-exaltation that is now so widely proclaimed under the guise of the gospel. Paul reminded the Corinthian believers: "Consider your calling, brethren, that there were not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble. But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to shame the things which are strong, and the base things of the world and the despised, God has chosen the things that are not, that He might nullify the things that are, that no one should boast before God"" (1 Cor. 1:26-29). Only those who will, by faith, accept justification from the hand of a just God who made it all possible will enjoy its eternal benefits. Receiving something you could never earn and do not deserve is grounds for humility, not arrogance. Gratitude, not boasting, is the language of the redeemed (Briscoe, D. S., & Ogilvie, L. J. (1982). Romans (Vol. 29, p. 94). Thomas Nelson Inc.). Since boasting is excluded, Paul challenges us to find anywhere in the law that we can say we met the standard. That why he rhetorically asks: By what kind of law? By a law of works? Again, answering his own question, he declares: No, but by a law of faith. Not even Abraham, the father of God's chosen people, was justified by works (Rom. 4:2). As we previous saw in Ephesians 2: "For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, that no one should boast" (Eph. 2:8-9). The attitude of true faith is exemplified by the tax-gatherer in the Temple, who "was even unwilling to lift up his eyes to heaven, but was beating his breast, saying, 'God be merciful to me, the sinner!' " (Luke 18:13). The greatest lie in the world, and the lie common to all false religions and cults, is that, by certain works of their own doing, people are able to make themselves acceptable to God. The greatest error in that belief is its sheer impossibility. But the greatest evil of that belief is that it robs God of His glory. The opposite of trying to do enough to earn God's righteousness is faith. As Spurgeon so aptly said: "Faith is believing that Christ is what he is said to be. and that he will do what he has promised to do, and then to expect this of him." (Boice, J. M. (1991-). Romans: Justification by Faith (Vol. 1, p. 388). Baker Book House.) Paul now completely cuts the ground out from under works righteousness in verse 28 by declaring: For we hold/maintain that one is justified by faith apart from works, even the good works done in response to God's own Law. What, then, is this saving faith that is completely apart from works? Justification is not based on outward morality (Matt. 19:16-22)., intellectual knowledge (Rom. 2:17, 23-24; cf. Ezek. 36:20-23)., religious achievement (Matt. 7:21-23; 25:1-13), simple acknowledgement of sin (Matt. 12:43-45) or a misguided false assurance of salvation (Matt. 7:21-23; James 1:22). Hymn writers have caught the true meaning of Rom. 3:28 when they wrote: "My hope is built on nothing less Than Jesus' blood and righteousness; I dare not trust the sweetest frame, But wholly lean on Jesus' name. On Christ, the solid Rock, I stand; All other ground is sinking sand". (Hendriksen, W., & Kistemaker, S. J. (1953-2001). Exposition of Paul's Epistle to the Romans (Vols. 12-13, p. 136). Baker Book House.). Please turn to the Epistle of first John, 1 John 2 The book of 1 John, as a test of true faith. Genuine faith can be seen in a love for God (Ps. 1:2; 42:1-2; 73:25; Mt. 10:37; Rom. 8:7; 1 Pt. 2:7); genuine repentance from and a hatred of sin (Prov. 28:13; Matt. 6:24), genuine humility (Mt. 5:3; 16:24; Lk 15:17-21), devotion to God's glory (Phil. 1:20) prayer (Gal. 4:6), selfless love (1 Jn. 2:9-10; 3:14; 4:7-8); separation from the world (Jn. 17:15-18), and spiritual growth (Mt. 13:3-23; Eph. 4:13: Phil. 1:6). We can sum it all up, that genuine faith will be seen in obedient living. John states this in 1 Jn. 2, beginning in verse 3 1 John 2:3-6. 3 And by this we know that we have come to know him, if we keep his commandments. 4 Whoever says "I know him" but does not keep his commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him, 5 but whoever keeps his word, in him truly the love of God is perfected. By this we may know that we are in him: 6 whoever says he abides in him ought to walk in the same way in which he walked. (ESV) (cf. 1 Jn. 3:10) * Although no one is saved by their good works, those who are truly saved will produce good works, because "we are [God's] workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them" (Eph. 2:10). Poem: God's people are saved by grace through faith, which itself is a gift of God. Horatius Bonar beautifully summed it up: "Not what my hands have done Can save my guilty soul; Not what my toiling flesh has borne Can make my spirit whole. Not what I feel or do Can give me peace with God; Not all my prayers and sighs and tears Can bear my awful load. Thy grace alone, O God, To me can pardon speak; Thy power alone, O Son of God, Can this sore bondage break. No other work save thine, No other blood will do; No strength save that which is divine Can bear me safely through. (Horatius Bonar as cited in Hendriksen, W., & Kistemaker, S. J. (1953-2001). Exposition of Paul's Epistle to the Romans (Vols. 12-13, p. 133). Baker Book House.) The Cross of the Christ Glorifies God because: 3) The Cross Reveals God's Universality (Romans 3:29-30) Romans 3:29-30. 29 Or is God the God of Jews only? Is he not the God of Gentiles also? Yes, of Gentiles also, 30 since God is one-who will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through faith. (ESV) Paul anticipated the question many Jews would now ask in regard to justification by faith. He therefore asked rhetorically, Or is God the God of Jews only? Is He not the God of Gentiles also? The obvious answer, even for a prejudiced Jew, would have to be, Yes, of Gentiles also. If there is only one God, then He had to be the God of Gentiles as well as of Jews. If there is only one God, He has to be the God of everyone who believes in Him. (1 Cor. 8:5-6). Since the Jew is just as guilty of sin as the Gentile (2:1-3:8), all stand equally before the judgment seat of God, and the atoning sacrifice of Christ is just as efficacious for both groups (Osborne, G. R. (2004). Romans (pp. 102-103). InterVarsity Press.). Having established that the Jews had God's law given through Moses, that the Gentiles have His law written on their hearts and consciences (Rom. 2:11-15), and that there is only one true God, Paul makes his argument irrefutable in verse 30: God is one who will justify the circumcised, that is, Jews, by faith and the uncircumcised, that is, Gentiles, through faith. Just as there is only one God, there is only one way of salvation-faith in Jesus Christ. This identical truth applies to all other distinctions, whether of race, nationality, class, sex or age. Not that all such distinctions are actually obliterated, for men remain men and women women, Jews are still circumcised and Gentiles uncircumcised, our skin pigmentation does not change, and we still have the same passport. But these continuing distinctions are rendered of no significant account. They neither affect our relationship with God, nor hinder our fellowship with one another. At the foot of Christ's cross and through faith in him, we are all on exactly the same level, indeed sisters and brothers in Christ (Stott, J. R. W. (2001). The message of Romans: God's good news for the world (p. 120). InterVarsity Press.). Please turn to 1 Timothy 2 The most offensive thing to the modern self-righteous, is an exclusive means of salvation. In one way, the self-righteous see no need for salvation but the greatest hostility to the modern moralist is to proclaim an exclusive way of salvation. As evident to the true believer in God, God clearly specified that there is only one way, because only one person, His Son, Jesus Christ, enabled the way and perfectly fulfilled the requirement of salvation. The Apostle Paul explained this to Timothy, in 1 Timothy 2: 1 Timothy 2:3-6. 3 This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior, 4 who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. 5 For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, 6 who gave himself as a ransom for all, which is the testimony given at the proper time. (ESV). * Just as everyone is equally condemned by God for their sin (Rom. 3:19), they are equally offered God's gracious salvation through faith in His Son. As the apostle declared near the opening of the letter, "I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek [the Gentile]" (Rom. 1:16). (cf. Jn. 14:6; Rom. 4:1-3; Heb. 11) Illustration: 386 Niagara Crowd's Mental Assent How does what another has done for us show itself in belief? In 1860 a huge crowd was watching the famous tightrope walker, Blondin, cross Niagara Falls. He crossed it numerous times-a 1,000 foot trip, 160 feet above the raging waters. He asked the crowd if they believed he could take one person across. All assented. Then he approached one man and asked him to get on his back and go with him. The man refused! Mental assent or even verbal assent is not real belief. (Tan, P. L. (1996). Encyclopedia of 7700 Illustrations: Signs of the Times (p. 185). Bible Communications, Inc.) Finally, the Cross of the Christ Glorifies God because: 4) The Cross Confirms God's Law (Romans 3:31) Romans 3:31. 31 Do we then overthrow the law by this faith? By no means! On the contrary, we uphold the law. (ESV) The final question addressed here that Paul knew his readers would ask was, Do we then overthrow/nullify the Law by/through this faith? He is countering the assertion that "If people have never been saved on any other basis than faith in God," they would argue, "then the law not only is useless now but was always useless." Again, Paul responds with the powerful repudiation, By no means/May it never be! (cf. Rom. 3:4, 6). "A thousand times no," is the idea. The cross of Jesus Christ, through which justification by faith was made possible, not only does not overthrow/nullify the Law but confirms it. On the contrary, Paul says, we uphold/establish the Law. Faith working itself out through love" (Gal 5:6) enables a human being to fulfill the law, because "love is the fulfillment of the law" (Rom 13:10) (Fitzmyer, J. A., S. J. (2008). Romans: a new translation with introduction and commentary (Vol. 33, p. 366). Yale University Press.) Please turn to Matthew 5 As far as salvation is concerned, the gospel does not replace the law, because the law was never a means of salvation. The law was given to show people the perfect standards of God's righteousness and to show that those standards are impossible to meet in people's own power. The purpose of the law is to drive people to faith in God. In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus declared God's perfect standards to be higher even than those of the Old Covenant. A person breaks God's law, He said, not only by killing but even by hating (Matt. 5:21-22), not only by committing adultery but by having lustful thoughts (Mt. 5:27-28). If it is impossible to fulfill perfectly the Mosaic law, how much more impossible is it to keep the standards set forth by Christ in His earthly ministry. After showing that the New Testament explains that the standard of righteousness that God expects is more than just outward religious actions, Jesus explains His relationship to the Law. He says in Matthew 5, beginning inv verse 17 Matthew 5:17-20. 17 "Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. 18 For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished. 19 Therefore whoever relaxes one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. 20 For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. (ESV) * In the Cross, Jesus came to fulfill the Old Testament sacrifices and other ceremonial laws which in themselves, predicted or foreshadowed events that would be accomplished in Jesus' ministry... kingdom righteousness works from the inside out because it first produces changed hearts and new motivations (Rom. 6:17; 2 Cor. 5:17; Gal. 5:22-23; Phil. 2:12; Heb. 8:10), so that the actual conduct of Jesus' followers does in fact "[exceed] the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees." (Crossway Bibles. (2008). The ESV Study Bible (pp. 1828-1829). Crossway Bibles.) The cross establishes the law by paying the penalty of death, which the law demanded for failing to fulfill perfectly and completely its righteous requirements. The cross establishes the law by fulfilling its purpose of driving people to faith in Jesus Christ. Paul had already declared that "by the works of the Law no flesh will be justified" (Rom. 3:20). "Whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles in one point," James says, "he has become guilty of all" (James 2:10). "The Law has become our tutor," Paul told the Galatians, "to lead us to Christ, that we may be justified by faith" (Gal. 3:24). Finally, the cross establishes the law by providing believers the potential for fulfilling it. "For what the Law could not do, weak as it was through the flesh, God did: sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and as an offering for sin, He condemned sin in the flesh, in order that the requirements of the Law might be fulfilled in us" (Rom. 8:3-4). The doctrines of (a) justification, hence salvation, by faith and (b) that of the usefulness of God's law, coincide beautifully; for "through law comes consciousness of sin." And this very consciousness, when it is sanctified by the Holy Spirit, causes one to cry out for help and deliverance. That deliverance is fully supplied whenever a sinner surrenders thier life to God; that is, when by genuine God-given faith one welcomes into their heart and life the Lord Jesus Christ, with the word of committal: "Nothing in my hand I bring, Simply to thy cross I cling". It is in this way that the Scriptures-hence also Paul and his companions-uphold the law while teaching and insisting on the doctrine about faith (Hendriksen, W., & Kistemaker, S. J. (1953-2001). Exposition of Paul's Epistle to the Romans (Vols. 12-13, pp. 137-138). Baker Book House.). (Format Note: Outline & some base commentary from MacArthur, J. F., Jr. (1991). Romans (Vol. 1, pp. 211-229). Moody Press).