In Romans 3:21-26 it is our privilege to enter the Holy of Holies of the Bible to understand the glorious doctrine of Justification By Faith, and examine its meaning, reception, and cost.

Sinners Made Right With God!

Romans 3:21-24; 4:1-16

How can a sinful man ever be right with a holy God? Would you agree with me that there can be no greater question than that? That is the great question of the ages! If you settle that question, it doesn’t matter how little you have in this world, or how much suffering you must endure, because you are headed for eternal glory. If you never get that question settled, it doesn’t matter how much money, glory, and power you enjoy in this world, because you are destined for eternal misery. In fact, if you don’t find out the answer to this question, it would have been better for you never to have been born! Friends that is no exaggeration – that is plain truth. If you die in a state in which you are not right with God there is only a terrifying expectation of judgment and the fury of a fire which will consume the adversaries.

So, now that we’ve settled how vastly important this question is – let me tell you emphatically that our text answers it this morning! I hope that gets your attention. The Bible is going to answer the most important question in the world – “How can a sinner be made right with God?” All the religions of the world answer that question by looking to human achievement. They point to this or that thing that you must do in order to be right with God. The Bible points away from self, away from man, and points to God as the one who has accomplished all that is necessary for our salvation. All the religions of the world say “Do!”. Christianity says “Done!” So the answer to the question of how a sinner can be right with God comes to us in the Doctrine of Justification, one of the greatest doctrines in the Word of God. Martin Luther said that justification by faith alone was the article upon which the Church stands or falls. Get this wrong, and the church falls. Get this right, and the church stands. That’s how important justification is!

This morning we have the awesome privilege of entering the holy of holies of the Bible. Romans 3:21-26 is the heart of the Book of Romans. Many have claimed that it is the most important paragraph, not just in the book of Romans, but in the entire Bible, making it the most important paragraph ever written!

Now, let’s remember what Paul has taught us thus far. Remember that he spelled out the great theme of this book in Romans 1:16-17, “For 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. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith, just as it is written, ‘But the righteous man shall live by faith.’” We might have thought that Paul would have immediately plunged into a discussion of this righteousness of God that God gives in order to save us. However, from 1:18 to 3:20, Paul enters into an extended discussion, not of the gift of God’s righteousness that brings salvation, but man’s unrighteousness that brings damnation.  Paul has brought all mankind into God’s courtroom. God, the Judge, is sitting on the throne. Paul, the prosecuting attorney brings first the Heathen, then the Hebrews, then the Whole World to the stand and unequivocally proves their guilt, that they are without excuse, that they cannot justify themselves, that they will face the righteous judgment of God and if not saved must face God’s righteous wrath.

What has Paul taught about “righteousness” thus far?  In 3:5 Paul writes, “But if our unrighteousness demonstrates the righteousness of God, what shall we say? The God who inflicts wrath is not unrighteous, is He? May it never be!”  The first thing we learn with respect to “righteousness” is that God possess it. God is absolutely perfect in righteousness.  Then in 2:5 Paul tells us, “But because of your stubbornness and unrepentant heart you are storing up wrath for yourself in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God.” Because God is righteous, His judgment will be righteous. We can be sure that when we are brought before God to be judged, that His judgment of us will be right.  Then in 1:18 we find Paul saying, “For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness.” Not only does Paul teach that God is righteous, and will judge in righteousness, but men are unrighteous. Finally in 3:10 we hear Paul saying, “There is none righteous, not even one.”  So, here are the facts about righteousness.  God is righteous and will judge in righteousness. Man is unrighteous, and every man without exception is unrighteous. Paul’s summary is found in 3:19-20, “Now 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; because by the works of the Law no flesh will be justified in His sight, for through the Law comes the knowledge of sin.”

By the time we reach Romans 3:20, all is black. The storm of clouds of God’s wrath have gathered. You can hear the deafening peals of thunder and terrifying flashes of lightning. And then, when we have come to the conclusion that there is no hope, that all is lost, that we must all surely be damned, we read the words of 3:21, “But now apart from the Law the righteousness of God has been manifested, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets.”  The word “but” indicates a contrast, and what a contrast we have here! In a flash, those menacing black clouds begin to part, and we see a bright ray of sunshine begin to flood through those dark storm clouds. There is hope! All is not lost! There is a way. When we focused on man, all was hopeless. But now we are focusing on God. When we focus on man what do we see? Sin, unrighteousness, no excuse, every mouth closed, all the world accountable to God, by the deeds of the Law no flesh justified in God’s sight, God’s judgment, and God’s wrath. But when we take our eyes off of man, and put them on God what a wondrous sight we behold! In place of our unrighteousness, we see God’s righteousness, God’s grace, and God’s redemption.

So, this morning we are going to meditate on the Doctrine of Justification – that is, God’s way of making sinners right with Himself. As we do so, I want to look at 3 aspects of Justification:  the meaning of Justification, the reception of Justification, and the cost of Justification.

1.  The Meaning of Justification:  What is Justification?

It Is God Declaring the Sinner Righteous

The concept of justification is the opposite of condemnation. Both justification and condemnation are things that a Judge does. When a judge condemns a convicted criminal is he making him guilty, or pronouncing him guilty? Of course, he is pronouncing him to be guilty. The Judge’s pronouncement of condemnation does not make an innocent man into a guilty man. Rather, it is merely a pronouncement of the person’s guilt. Likewise, when a Judge justifies someone, is he making that person righteous, or declaring him righteous? He’s declaring him righteous. When God justifies a guilty sinner, He is declaring that sinner to be righteous, because He is counting His own righteousness to be his.  It’s very important that you understand that Justification is not God making you righteous; it is God declaring you righteous. The Roman Catholic church teaches that when God justifies a sinner He infuses righteousness into him, changing his character. Now, once God has justified you, He will begin to sanctify you. And when God sanctifies you, He does work in you to change your character. But we must never confuse justification with sanctification. Notice Luke 7:29, ^“And when all the people heard Him, even the tax collectors justified God, having been baptized with the baptism of John.” Now, when these tax collectors justified God, were they making God righteous? The very thought is ludicrous! Now, they were declaring God to be righteous.

The words “righteous, “just” and “justified” all have exactly the same root in the original language. So, I’m going to coin a new word this morning. To be justified is to be “righteousized.”  It is God counting you as righteous in His sight, because He puts His own righteousness to your account.

It Is The Crediting of God’s Very Righteousness to the Sinner

            Take a look at Romans 4:5-6, “But to the one who does not work, but believes in Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is credited as righteousness, just as David also speaks of the blessing on the man to whom God credits righteousness apart from works.”  Notice the word “credit” here. This word appears 10 times in chapter 4. God gives the sinner credit for being righteous, even though he isn’t. How? He takes the very righteousness of Jesus Christ, and puts it to his account. Other translations use the word “count” or “reckon.” Basically the word means “to put to your account.” Another word we could use is “impute.” God imputes His righteousness to you, while imputing your sin to Jesus. It’s as though you are miserably and hopelessly in debt, but God puts a billion dollars to your account. In one fell swoop, he has wiped out your debt, and placed a huge amount of money in your account, all at the same time.

It Includes The Removing of Our Sin

            Of course, if a man is ever to be made right with God, all his sins must be canceled and forgiven. This is exactly what David realized in Psalm 32:1-2. Paul quotes his words in Romans 4:7-8, “Blessed are those whose lawless deeds have been forgiven, and whose sins have been covered. Blessed is the man whose sin the Lord will not take into account.” Praise God, when He justifies us, He removes all our sins as far as the east is the from the west! Our sins are forgiven and the Lord refuses to take them into account.

It Is Also The Adding of Christ’s Righteousness

However, that’s not all that takes place in justification. Sometimes we say that “justified” means “just as if I’d never sinned.” And although that is an easy way to remember the meaning of justification, it only gives us ½ its meaning. It takes more to be saved than just no sin. If all it took to get into heaven was no sin, Jesus could have come down on Friday, died on the cross, been raised on Sunday and go back to heaven that very day. It would only have taken him three days to take away your sin. So, why did He live 33 years on this planet? In order to bestow upon us His own perfect righteousness to God’s Law.

To go to heaven it takes more than no sin, it takes perfect righteousness. It’s one thing not to break the Law, it’s another to keep it. It’s one thing to not do the “Thou Shalt Nots”; it’s another thing to do the “Thou Shalts.” If you are driving home and see a man in the middle of the road, it’s one thing not to run him over; it’s another to stop and do good and help him. Jesus not only had to die for His people, He had to live for His people. He not only had to die for their sins, but had to keep the Law for them.  He not only had to deal with our sins of commission, but our sins of omission. Jesus never committed an act of sin, but neither did He ever omit an act of righteousness. The Bible says in 2 Cor. 5:21, “God made Him who knew no sin, to be sin on our behalf, so that we might be brought back to zero.” No, that’s not what it says does it? It says “so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.” God has not only commanded you not to commit sin, but He has commanded you to love Him with all your heart, soul, mind and strength. Even if you didn’t actively do any evil, you have passively done evil, because you have neglected to love God with every fiber of your being.

Well, who has ever lived a perfect, righteousness life? Who has ever loved God with all of his heart, soul, mind, and strength every minute of every day of his entire life? There was a Man whose every thought, act, and word was perfect righteousness. And the wonder of justification is that He credits His perfect living to you when you believe! His death removes your debt of sin, but His life adds an infinite degree of righteousness to your account. When we are in union with Him we get credit for having lived the life Jesus lived. It’s as though you had the mind of Christ, the heart of Christ, healed those people, cast out those demons, taught the multitudes, obeyed God in every detail.

There is all the difference in the world between being forgiven and being justified. Suppose a woman were to incur a debt at a large department store over and above her means to pay. If after hearing her case the store were to cancel her debt, that would be forgiveness. Under these circumstances, the woman would no longer be liable for the debt, but would always have a feeling of personal discomfort about the whole transaction. If the store decided to sue for payment, they would be seeking justice. If, however, while she is awaiting her trial, she married the son of the store owner who personally assumed responsibility for her debt and paid it in full, there would be no legal claim against her any more. In the unlikely event that her case ever got to court, she could plead “not guilty” to all the charges on the grounds that her debts had been fully paid by her husband. The court would say that she was justified in pleading “not guilty” and her case would be dismissed.  You see, God has not just forgiven you. He has justified you. He has not just decided to cancel your debt of sin, He has paid it Himself so God can justly dismiss your case!

2.  The Reception of Justification:  How can we receive justification?

The wrong way to receive justification

            By Observing Rules:  By “rules” I’m speaking of God’s Law. Paul says in 3:21, “But now apart from the Law the righteousness of God has been manifested… even the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ.”  This flows naturally out of his statement in 3:20, “because by the works of the Law no flesh will be justified in His sight.” What does Paul mean by “apart from the Law”? Notice how he puts it in 3:28, “For we maintain that a man is justified by faith apart from works of the Law.” To be justified apart from Law is to be justified apart from works of the Law. That is, it is apart from human effort, deeds, and performance. It is entirely dependent upon what God has done, and not on what we do. Notice how Paul says in 4:1-5, especially verses 4 and 5, “Now to the one who works, his wage is not credited as a favor, but as what is due. But to the one who does not work, but believes in Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is credited as righteousness.”  Paul is emphatic. Justification does not accrue to the one who works. Rather it comes to him who does not work, but believes in Christ. Salvation is not achieved by law keeping. It is not achieved by trying harder, or pulling yourself up by your bootstraps.

By Observing Rituals:  Paul has already told us in 2:25-29 that the Jews were not justified, even though they had observed the ritual of circumcision. Notice what Paul says in 4:9-12. There we are told that Abraham received the blessing of justification before he was circumcised. Abraham was justified in Genesis 15, and he was circumcised in Genesis 17, at least 13 years later! So you can easily see, that Abraham was not justified by observing the rite of circumcision. Rather he was justified the moment he believed God. Similarly, you and I cannot be justified by keeping the 10 Commandments, or getting baptized. Rules and rituals won’t do it. So, if observing rules and rituals are the wrong way to receive justification, what is the right way?

The Right Way To Receive Justification

            Through Faith Alone:  Notice 3:22-23, “even the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all those who believe; for there is no distinction; for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”  The emphasis is placed squarely on faith, Paul mentioning it twice. Further in 3:28 we read, “For we maintain that a man is justified by faith apart from works of the Law.” It is from verses like this that we get the doctrine of justification by faith alone. Faith is all that is required to be justified. There is nothing meritorious about faith; it is merely the stretched out hand that receives the gift of salvation. Do you say, “that beggar is a very good and worthy person because he stretched out his hand to receive the money you gave him?” Of course not. Neither do we ever believe there is something worthy about sinners believing in Christ for justification.

Why Through Faith Alone? Why did God decide to grant justification to all those who believe? Because all mankind is in the same wretched, depraved condition. There is no difference between Jew and Gentile. All are under sin. All are guilty. All are without excuse, all are headed for judgment, and all will face God’s wrath if they are not saved by Jesus Christ. Because there is no difference in men all around this world, they are all in the same wretched condition, and thus all need to be justified. All have sinned and fall short of God’s glory. If we went out to the Grand Canyon and removed the guard rail we could have a contest to see which ones could jump across that canyon. We bring out Carl Lewis in his prime and Mom. Now, Mom hobbles up to the brim of the Grand Canyon with her walker, and then takes a little jump and goes out 2 feet and crashes on the rocks below. Carl Lewis sprints with all his might and leaps out over the canyon, and is able to make it 30 feet before crashing on the rocks below. Now, it must be admitted, that Carl Lewis did much better than Mom. 30 feet is much further than 2 feet. The only problem is that the Grand Canyon is more than 10 miles across! Both jumped and fell short. All have sinned and fallen short of God’s glory. Maybe the Jews were like Carl Lewis, and the Gentiles were like Mom, but the sad truth is that it is utterly impossible to achieve God’s glory through our own efforts or works of the Law. Because no one could perfectly keep the law, God ordained that those who believe in Christ would be justified. Listen to the words of this old poem,

Do this and live the Law commands

But gives me neither feet nor hands

A better word the gospel brings

It bids me fly and gives me wings.

            Now, let me give a word of explanation about the nature of true faith. There is a difference between true faith and false faith; between the faith given by God, and the faith produced by man. When God grants faith, it lasts, and it produces fruit. When man produces faith, it fails to produce fruit, and it doesn’t last. Calvin said, “We are saved by faith alone, but faith that saves is never alone.” In that statement, John Calvin was simply affirming the truth that if a man has been justified by faith, he will go on to be sanctified by faith. There is no such thing as a saved sinner, who does not grow in holiness, repent of sin, deny himself, seek the salvation of souls, or seek to glorify God. If you find someone who professes to have faith in Christ, who practices sin, you have found an imposer, a self-deceived fake.

3.  The Cost of Justification:  What is the price of justification?

It is Absolutely Free to Us

Notice 3:24, “being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus.”  Notice several things from this text.

Being justified:  Notice the verb. It is passive. In the sentence, “the boy hit the ball”, the verb “hit” is active. The boy is the one doing the acting, and the ball is the thing acted upon. But in the sentence, “the boy was hit by the ball”, the verb is passive. The ball is the thing doing the acted, and the boy is the one being acted upon. In the phrase, “being justified” are we doing the acting, or being acted upon? Of course, we are being acted upon. All of that is to simply say that we cannot justify ourselves; rather God must justify us. So, because God is the one doing the justifying, and we are merely the ones he’s doing it to, justification is free.

As a gift:  the literal rendering is “freely” or “gratuitously.”  The word “gift” is a great rendering of the original. And the last time I checked, you couldn’t pay for a gift! That is the definition of a gift; it is something that is given apart from any payment or remuneration. It is free.

By His grace:  So where does this incredible gift of God spring from? Grace! The gift of justification comes by the grace of God. Now, what is grace? Well, instead of using a dictionary definition, let’s look at how the apostle Paul would answer that question. Look with me at Romans 4:4, “Now to the one who works, his wage is not credited as a favor [grace], but as what is due. The word “favor” is the exact same word for “grace.” So what is Paul saying? He’s saying that if you work for a company, and they give you a paycheck after 2 weeks, that’s not grace. That’s what is due you. Grace is the exact opposite of a wage. If your employer doesn’t pay you after you have worked for the company, you can sue them and take them to court, because they have broken their contractual obligations to you. Your paycheck is due you. You have worked for it. You have earned it. They have no right to withhold it from you. Grace is very different from that. Grace is God’s favor to those who have not earned it, or worked for it, or have any right to it. Grace is God’s favor to undeserving and hell-deserving sinners. It is unearned, unsought, and unbought. But the wonderful thing about our God is that he is rich in grace! Notice Ephesians 1:7, “ In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace.”

There is an old story of a woman whose only daughter was very sick and in need of some fresh fruit. However, it was winter – grapes and oranges were expensive, and she was very poor. Walking the streets of the city, the woman found herself outside the royal palace. She looked through the gate and saw in the royal greenhouse great clusters of the most appetizing and tempting grapes. As she gazed at them wistfully, the princess came by and taking in the situation at a glance, cut down a magnificent basketful of fruit for the widow with her own hands. With trembling hands the widow offered the royal lady in payment the few copper coins she had in her purse, but she instead heard the princess say, “Madam, these grapes are not for sale. My father is ai king and he’s much too rich to sell, and besides, you are much too poor to buy. You can have these grapes for free or not at all.” And that is exactly how our justification comes to us – absolutely free! However, just because our justification is free to us, doesn’t mean it is free to God.

It is of Infinite Cost to God

            Verse 24 says that our justification comes to us through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus.  Although our justification is free to us, someone had to pay for it. We couldn’t pay for it, so God did. Now, what does the word “redemption” mean. It means “to set free by the payment of a ransom.” Sin has turned us all into slaves. In Romans 6 Paul will tell us over and over that we are the slaves of sin. We are under the penalty and power of sin. In order for us to be set free from slavery, a ransom price must be paid. You’ve seen the old movies, I’m sure, where someone kidnaps a millionaire’s kid, and calls him on a pay phone and tells him he’s going to kill his son, unless he coughs up the million dollar ransom. Well, that’s our situation. We were captives, slaves, and a price was required to set us free. So, what was that price? Jesus tells us in Matthew 20:28, “just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.” So, what was the ransom? His life. Jesus gave His life in exchange for ours. He laid down His life to free us from the slavery of sin. Now, answer me, how much did it cost God to provide the gift of justification? Everything! God gave everything He could possibly give. He gave His only begotten Son. He didn’t spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all. You can’t put a price tag on it. Abraham was willing to pay the ultimate price when he took the knife in his hand got ready to plunge it into the heart of his son on Mount Moriah. Even so, because Jesus Christ is infinitely valuable, God paid the ultimate price when He gave Him over to death to free us from slavery to sin.

Application: 

If you are here today, and you are not a true Christian, one who has been born again by the Spirit of God, let me direct my attention to you for a moment. As I have said before, there are only 2 kinds of lost people in the world:  good lost people, and bad lost people. If you are a good lost person, then you are religious, moral, and try to obey God’s Law. In short, in one way or another, you are trying to justify yourself. My word to you today, is stop trying to justify yourself! You can’t do it. That is the message of our text this morning. By the works of the Law no flesh will be justified in His sight.

A man rushed up to D. L. Moody, the great evangelist of the 19^th century, and said, “Mr. Moody, what must I do to be saved?” Moody said, “It’s too late.” The man said, “What do you mean it’s too late? Surely, there must be something I can do.” Moody replied, “No, I’m sorry. God has already done everything that needed to be done for your salvation. It’s too late for you to do anything, but simply receive the gift of your salvation.”  God has provided your justification freely. You can have it for free or not at all. It is not for sale. You can’t buy it, you can’t earn it, and you can’t deserve it. My advice to you is simple. Just receive the gift of Christ, and then spend the rest of eternity worshiping Him for being so good to you! Toplady said it well,

Not the labors of my hands – Can fulfill Thy law’s commands

Could my zeal no respite know – Could my tears forever flow

All for sin could not atone – Thou must save, and Thou alone

Nothing in my hands I bring – Simply to Thy cross I cling

Naked come to Thee for dress – Helpless look to Thee for grace

Foul I to the fountain fly – Wash me Savior or I die. 

Now, perhaps you’re not a good lost person. Perhaps you’re a bad lost person, and you know it. Up until this point, you have never been very religious or moral. You haven’t cared one way or another about God’s Law. But you are starting to see how evil this is in the sight of God. Perhaps you are crushed in spirit, and humbled by a true sight of your own sin before God. Your problem is the exact opposite of the good lost person. We must tell him that his good works can’t save him. We must tell you that your bad works won’t bar you from salvation. Jesus said, “any sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven” (Mt. 12:31).  In 1 John 1:7 we read, “the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin.”  Nothing you have ever done is so bad that God can’t save you. The only thing that will damn you is your own prideful, wicked heart that will keep you from trusting in Jesus Christ. You need to know that God is pleased to save great sinners. Maybe you have been a drunkard, or drug addict, a homosexual, or adulterer, a harlot or prostitute, a thief or swindler. Take heart! God will be greatly glorified in your salvation! Come to Him, and take the water of life without cost. Trust Jesus right now and you will be saved this very moment!

If you are in Christ this morning, what does this passage have to say to you? It tells you that you are perfectly accepted by God, not only for now, but for eternity. You are clothed in the very righteousness of Jesus Christ. God could not be any more pleased with you than He could be with Jesus Christ. There is nothing you can do to make God approve of you any more than He already does, and there is nothing you can do to make God disapprove of you. You are already perfectly approved and accepted in His sight. Therefore, you don’t need to go around always seeking the approval of man. You already have the approval of Almighty God! One of the 4 G’s that we must constantly remember is, “God is gracious, so we don’t have to prove ourselves.”

This text also teaches you that God’s justification of you is the only ground of your acceptance with Him. Everything else will fail you.

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

All other ground is sinking sand.

Never begin to look to anything else for your acceptance with God. Consciously and continually place all your confidence in your acceptance with God in the righteousness of Jesus Christ imputed to you through faith. “Whoever believes in Him will not be disappointed!” (Rom.10:11).  Let’s pray.

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