The Only Way to Be Right With God
By Pastor Ray Pritchard
(Part Two as Edited by RPW Sr.)
21 But now is the righteousness of God made
manifest without the Law, having witness of the
Law, and of the Prophets,
22 To wit, the righteousness of God by the faith
of Jesus Christ, unto all, and upon all that believe.
23 For there is no difference: for all have sinned,
and are deprived of the 1glory of God,
24 And are justified freely by his grace, through
the redemption that is in Christ Jesus,
25 Whom God hath set forth to be a reconciliation
through faith in his blood to declare his righteousness,
by the forgiveness of the sins that are passed,
26 Through the patience of God, to show at this
time his righteousness, that he might be just, and a
justifier of him which is of the faith of Jesus.
The Epistle to the Romans Chapter 3:21-26
RECEIVED BY FAITH
The third great fact Paul discusses in this passage is not only does the righteousness of God come apart from the law, it is received only by faith. “This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe.” This point is crucial because almost everyone trusts in something, if only in themselves. Many people say, “I trust in God,” as if that only were enough to take them to heaven. But salvation depends on more than a vague, quasi-religious confidence in “the Man upstairs.” Such secular faith saves no one. In fact, it is not faith in God that saves us. That kind of faith is too general, too generic, too mushy-sweet and non-specific. After all, James 2:19 says, “The demons believe, and tremble.” In God’s eyes, the only faith that saves is faith that is directed at his Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. It is faith which saves, not faith mixed with human works. It is faith in Jesus Christ which saves, not faith in God alone. God is maddeningly specific about what he wants, and he will accept no substitutes. But why shouldn’t he be specific? After all, he sent his own Son to die on the cross for us. It shouldn’t surprise us that he will accept nothing less than a faith that is focused entirely on Jesus Christ.
FOR SINNERS ONLY
The righteousness we need has a fourth characteristic. It is “for sinners only.” “There is no difference, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” Think for a moment about what that means:
No difference between the harlot and the debutante.
No difference between the serial killer and the social worker.
No difference between the profane and the priest.
No difference between the cruel and the kind.
No difference between the cheater and the law-abider.
How can this be? Has God lost his moral compass? How can there be “no difference?” The answer is that when it comes to needing salvation, there is truly “no difference” between people. Since all are sinners, all need salvation. In that sense, there is “no difference” between the morally bankrupt and the morally upright. Both are lost and separated from God. Perhaps harlots and murderers stand at the bottom of a mine. Perhaps morally you stand at the top of Mt. Everest. But you are as unable to touch the stars as they are. Relative location makes no difference. If you can’t do it, you can’t do it. Some are higher, some are lower, but none can touch the stars. That’s what “no difference” means.
Paul says that as sinners we all fall short of the “glory of God.” What precisely is the glory of God? In a theological sense, God’s glory is the perfection of all his attributes. But where do we see his attributes clearly displayed? We see them in the person of his Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, which is why Hebrews 1:3 calls Jesus the “radiance of God’s glory.”
All right, then, let’s apply that to Romans 3:23. “All have sinned and fall short of God’s glory in Jesus Christ.” How does your life measure up when it is compared to Jesus Christ? Consider him. He lived 33 years and never committed a sin. He never had an evil thought, never said an evil word, never committed even one evil deed. He never cheated, never lied, never procrastinated, never got bitter, never lost his temper, never lusted, never sought an easy way out of a hard situation, never bent the truth to make himself look good, never cursed, never turned his back on his friends. On top of that, he lived a life of perfect holiness, perfect purity, perfect kindness, perfect truth and perfect goodness. He was in every way the one perfect person ever to live on the earth. How do you stack up against him?
When most of us consider our sinfulness, we tend to measure ourselves against someone else who isn’t quite as good as we are, so that we end up looking pretty good in our own eyes. “Well, maybe I’m a sinner but I’m a lot better than old Jones. He’s a big-time jerk.” That may be fine for you, but that’s not how God looks at things. He says, “Stop looking at old Jones and take a look at my Son. How do you stack up next to him?”
The answer is clear. You don’t look so good next to him. That’s why there is truly “no difference” between the kidnapper and the den mother. Both are sinners when compared with Jesus Christ.
BASED ON THE GRACE OF GOD
Verse 24 tells us how God begins the salvation process. “And are justified freely by his grace.” The word “freely” literally means “without a cause.” Salvation comes “without a cause” in us. That is, God saves us despite the fact that he can’t find a reason within us to save us. Salvation is a “free gift” to the human race. There is nothing in us that causes God to want to save us. No good works, no inner beauty, no great moral attainment, no intellectual merit of any kind. When God saves, he does it despite the fact that we don’t deserve it.
That’s what the grace of God is all about. This week I read a neat definition of grace: What you need but do not deserve! God declares us righteous when we have nothing but the sewage of sin in us!
This is the doctrine of free grace. God saves people who don’t deserve it! God saves people who actually deserve condemnation! God saves people in spite of themselves and contrary to their record. It is “pure, abounding, astounding grace
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