The Great Reversal: God's Righteousness Revealed Text: Romans 3:21-26
Introduction: The Great "But Now"
The first three chapters of Romans are a relentless drumbeat of condemnation. Paul has spent his time systematically dismantling every human claim to righteousness. He has put the whole world in the dock. The pagan Gentile, who suppresses the truth in unrighteousness, is without excuse. The moralist, who judges others while practicing the same things, is without excuse. And the religious Jew, who has the law and the covenants but does not obey from the heart, is also without excuse. Paul's conclusion is devastating and total: "every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God" (Rom. 3:19). The law has done its work. It has not saved anyone; it has silenced everyone. It has not made anyone righteous; it has revealed everyone to be a sinner. We are all standing before the holy Judge of the universe with our hands over our mouths, with nothing to say in our defense.
And it is right at this point, at the absolute nadir of human hopelessness, that Paul introduces the two greatest words in the entire Bible: "But now." These words are a hinge upon which all of human history turns. They are the announcement of a radical, divine intervention. After the bleak and suffocating darkness of human sin and divine judgment, "But now" is the sound of God throwing open the shutters to let the light of His grace flood the courtroom. What the law could not do, what human effort could never accomplish, what religious observance failed to produce, God has now done. He has done it apart from the law, apart from our works, and entirely apart from our deserving.
This passage, Romans 3:21-26, is the very heart of the gospel. Martin Luther called it "the chief point, and the very central place of the Epistle, and of the whole Bible." If you do not understand these verses, you do not understand Christianity. This is the bedrock, the foundation upon which everything else is built. Here Paul explains how God can be both a holy, just judge who must punish sin, and at the same time a merciful Savior who justifies the ungodly. This is the glorious paradox of the cross, the wisdom of God that confounds the wisdom of the world.
The Text
But now apart from the Law the righteousness of God has been manifested, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets, 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, being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus; whom God displayed publicly as a propitiation in His blood through faith, for a demonstration of His righteousness, because in the forbearance of God He passed over the sins previously committed; for the demonstration of His righteousness at the present time, so that He would be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.
(Romans 3:21-26 LSB)
A Righteousness Revealed (vv. 21-22a)
We begin with the great turn, the divine interruption.
"But now apart from the Law the righteousness of God has been manifested, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets, even the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all those who believe..." (Romans 3:21-22a)
The problem was that we needed a righteousness to stand before God, but we had none of our own. The law revealed God's standard of righteousness, but it could not produce it in us. It could only condemn us for failing to meet it. So, God has unveiled a righteousness that does not come from our law-keeping. It is "apart from the Law." This does not mean it is contrary to the law, but rather that it operates on a completely different principle. It is not a righteousness we achieve; it is a righteousness we receive.
This is the "righteousness of God." This phrase can mean two things that are both true. It is a righteousness that comes from God, and it is a righteousness that consists of God's own character. In the gospel, God gives us His own perfect righteousness. He clothes us in it. This is not a legal fiction; it is a forensic reality. In the courtroom of heaven, God the Father looks at the believer and sees the perfect righteousness of His Son, Jesus Christ.
This is not a new idea, some Plan B that God cooked up when the law failed. Paul is careful to note that this righteousness was "witnessed by the Law and the Prophets." The entire Old Testament was pointing forward to this. The sacrificial system, the prophecies, the types and shadows, they all testified that a day was coming when God would provide a righteousness for His people. Abraham was justified by faith, David sang of the man to whom God credits righteousness apart from works. This is the ancient faith, now fully and finally revealed.
And how does this righteousness become ours? "Through faith in Jesus Christ for all those who believe." Faith is the instrument. It is the empty hand that receives the gift. Faith is not a work that earns our salvation. To say that faith is the work that saves us is to simply trade one set of works for another, smaller set. No, faith saves us not because of what it is, but because of who it looks to. It is not the quality of our faith that saves, but the quality of our Savior. A man with a weak faith in a strong Christ is saved. A man with a strong faith in a weak Christ is damned. Faith is simply looking away from ourselves and our own miserable attempts at righteousness and looking to Christ and His perfect righteousness.
The Universal Problem and the Gracious Solution (vv. 22b-24)
Paul now explains why this righteousness must be a gift, and how it is given.
"...for there is no distinction; for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus;" (Romans 3:22b-24 LSB)
The ground is level at the foot of the cross. "There is no distinction." Jew, Gentile, religious, irreligious, moral, immoral, it makes no difference. When it comes to our standing before God, we are all in the same sinking boat. Why? "For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." The verb tense here is important. "All have sinned" points to a past, decisive act, our fall in Adam. And "fall short" is a present, continuous reality. We are constantly missing the mark. The "glory of God" is the standard, the weight of His infinite perfection. And we, in our sin, are lightweights. We are insubstantial. We have nothing to offer.
Because we are all equally guilty and helpless, the solution must come entirely from outside of us. And it does. We are "justified as a gift by His grace." Justification is a legal declaration. It is God, the judge, declaring us to be righteous in His sight. It is not a process of making us righteous internally; that is sanctification. Justification is an instantaneous declaration of our legal status. And it is a gift. You do not work for a gift. You do not earn a gift. If you work for it, it is wages. But this is a gift, given freely out of God's "grace", His unmerited, undeserved favor.
But this gift was not free for God. It was purchased at an infinite cost. It comes "through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus." Redemption is a marketplace term. It means to buy back, to set a slave free by paying a ransom. We were slaves to sin, under its dominion and condemnation. The price to set us free was not silver or gold, but the precious blood of Christ (1 Peter 1:18-19). Jesus paid the price to purchase us out of the slave market of sin.
The Heart of the Transaction (vv. 25-26)
Now Paul gets to the very heart of how God can be both just and the one who justifies. He explains the mechanics of the cross.
"...whom God displayed publicly as a propitiation in His blood through faith, for a demonstration of His righteousness, because in the forbearance of God He passed over the sins previously committed; for the demonstration of His righteousness at the present time, so that He would be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus." (Romans 3:25-26 LSB)
God "displayed publicly" Jesus as a "propitiation." A propitiation is a sacrifice that turns away wrath. It satisfies the just anger of God against sin. The cross was not some backroom deal. It was a public display. God put His Son forward on the central stage of human history, on a Roman cross, as the place where His holy wrath against our sin was fully and finally exhausted. The wrath that we deserved was poured out on our substitute. Jesus absorbed the curse. This happened "in His blood," meaning through His sacrificial death. And again, this is received "through faith."
But why was this public display necessary? It was "for a demonstration of His righteousness." This is a crucial point. For centuries, God had been "passing over" the sins of His people. He forgave Abraham, Moses, and David. But how could a just God do that? It looked like He was sweeping sin under the rug. It looked like He was compromising His own justice. The cross is God's answer to that problem. The cross demonstrates that God does not take sin lightly. He takes it so seriously that He would rather crush His own Son than let sin go unpunished. The cross is the ultimate display of God's perfect, unbending righteousness.
And this brings us to the glorious conclusion: "so that He would be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus." Here is the divine solution to the ultimate problem. How can God maintain His justice (which demands punishment for sin) and at the same time show mercy by justifying (declaring righteous) sinners? He does it by punishing our sin in our substitute, Jesus Christ. On the cross, justice and mercy met. God's justice was fully satisfied in the punishment of His Son. And because justice was satisfied, God is now free to justify freely, by grace, anyone who puts their faith in Jesus. He remains perfectly just, because the penalty has been paid. And He becomes the justifier of the wicked who believe. This is the heart of the gospel. This is our only hope.
Conclusion: No Boasting, All Glory
What is the result of this great salvation? Paul will go on to say in the next verse, "Where then is boasting? It is excluded." If our salvation is entirely a gift of God's grace, received through faith alone, on the basis of Christ's work alone, then we have absolutely nothing to boast about. We contributed nothing to our salvation but the sin that made it necessary.
Our pride is leveled. Our self-righteousness is shattered. All we can do is fall on our faces in gratitude and wonder. God, in His infinite wisdom, has designed salvation in such a way that all the glory goes to Him, and all the benefit comes to us. He is the just one, and He is our justifier. He is the righteous one, and He is our righteousness. He is the redeemer, and we are the redeemed. All of it is from Him, through Him, and to Him. To Him be the glory forever. Amen.