The Manifestation of Salvation
Romans 3:21-22a
October 21, 2007
In Romans 1:16 Paul concluded his introduction to the book of Romans, And began his first real theological theme of the book.
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; as it is written, “BUT THE RIGHTEOUS man SHALL LIVE BY FAITH.”
Of course we all love the statement that he is not ashamed of the gospel, But the real theological point there is
Why he is not ashamed of the gospel.
“For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith;”
Paul loves the gospel because it reveals
The means of achieving the righteousness of God.
Paul could have gone deeper in explaining what he meant.
Certainly you would think he would have expounded.
But he didn’t.
Instead he immediately began to explain
Why man needs the righteousness so badly.
It does little good to explain to man how to get God’s righteousness,
If he doesn’t even know why he needs it.
So instead of elaborating on that great statement of verse 17,
Paul immediately began revealing why man needs it so much.
Romans 1:18-19 “For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, because that which is known about God is evident within them; for God made it evident to them.”
The first reason man needs God’s righteousness
Is because God is angry at anyone and everyone
Who does not have His righteousness.
God requires man to be perfectly righteous.
Leviticus 19:2 “Speak to all the congregation of the sons of Israel and say to them, ‘You shall be holy, for I the LORD your God am holy.”
But man is not, and God is angry.
And of course Paul got specific when he mentioned:
Idolatry Homosexuality Apathy
The second reason man needs God’s righteousness is because
Man’s righteousness falls well below the acceptable standard.
And of course this is what Paul spent chapter 2
And the first part of chapter 3 revealing.
It doesn’t matter if you:
Know right from wrong (2:1-7)
Have a good lineage (2:8-11)
Know the Law (2:12-16)
Participate in ministry (2:17-24)
Have religious works (2:25-29)
That righteousness falls drastically short of what God requires.
AND DESPITE THE ARGUMENTS OF MAN (3:1-8)
PAUL SUMMED UP HOW GOD SEES FALLEN MAN.
Romans 3:9-18 “What then? Are we better than they? Not at all; for we have already charged that both Jews and Greeks are all under sin; as it is written, “THERE IS NONE RIGHTEOUS, NOT EVEN ONE; THERE IS NONE WHO UNDERSTANDS, THERE IS NONE WHO SEEKS FOR GOD; ALL HAVE TURNED ASIDE, TOGETHER THEY HAVE BECOME USELESS; THERE IS NONE WHO DOES GOOD, THERE IS NOT EVEN ONE.” “THEIR THROAT IS AN OPEN GRAVE, WITH THEIR TONGUES THEY KEEP DECEIVING,” “THE POISON OF ASPS IS UNDER THEIR LIPS”; “WHOSE MOUTH IS FULL OF CURSING AND BITTERNESS”; “THEIR FEET ARE SWIFT TO SHED BLOOD, DESTRUCTION AND MISERY ARE IN THEIR PATHS, AND THE PATH OF PEACE THEY HAVE NOT KNOWN.” “THERE IS NO FEAR OF GOD BEFORE THEIR EYES.”
God requires man to be righteous,
But manmade righteousness falls drastically short.
It didn’t matter if you are Jew or Gentile…
It didn’t matter is you have knowledge or ignorance…
It didn’t matter if you have the Law or not…
No man has ever achieved the righteousness of God
And thus God’s wrath is on every man.
Romans 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.”
At this point, if you know nothing else,
You should know that there is no possible way
For you to make yourself pleasing to God.
ALL MAN’S EFFORTS TO BE RIGHTEOUS HAVE BEEN FUTILE
AND BECAUSE OF THAT, MANKIND IS UNDER THE WRATH OF GOD.
AT THIS POINT WE SHOULD HAVE ALL HIT A WALL OF DESPAIR
AS WE REALIZE OUR HOPELESS SITUATION.
This reality is designed to drop man to his knees in brokenness.
This has happened to men throughout Scripture,
AND LEFT EACH ONE ASKING THE SAME QUESTION.
Job 9:2 “In truth I know that this is so; But how can a man be in the right before God?”
Job 25:4 “How then can a man be just with God? Or how can he be clean who is born of woman?”
Matthew 19:16 “And someone came to Him and said, “Teacher, what good thing shall I do that I may obtain eternal life?”
Remember when people in Jerusalem realized their spiritual bankruptcy.
Acts 2:37 “Now when they heard this, they were pierced to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Brethren, what shall we do?”
When Saul’s wickedness was confronted by Jesus:
Acts 22:10 “And I said, ‘What shall I do, Lord?’ And the Lord said to me, ‘Get up and go on into Damascus, and there you will be told of all that has been appointed for you to do.’”
Later the Philippian jailer:
Acts 16:30 “and after he brought them out, he said, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?”
EACH OF THESE MEN REALIZED THAT SALVATION HAD ELUDED THEM.
And now they are asking:
IS SALVATION EVEN POSSIBLE?
IN ORDER TO ANSWER THAT QUESTION
Paul returns to that glorious truth he began in Romans 1:16-17.
3 things
#1 SALVATION EXPOSED
Romans 3:21a
“But now apart from the Law the righteousness of God has been manifested,”
I hope you noticed 4 key words:
“apart from the Law”
That does not mean that God’s Law has no part in salvation.
We saw Sunday night, that the Law has a huge role.
God’s Law reveals to man that he is lost.
(20) “for through the Law comes knowledge of sin”
Romans 7:7 “What shall we say then? Is the Law sin? May it never be! On the contrary, I would not have come to know sin except through the Law; for I would not have known about coveting if the Law had not said, “YOU SHALL NOT COVET.”
You have to get a person lost before you can get them saved.
THAT IS WHAT THE LAW DOES
Romans 7:9-11 “I was once alive apart from the Law; but when the commandment came, sin became alive and I died; and this commandment, which was to result in life, proved to result in death for me; for sin, taking an opportunity through the commandment, deceived me and through it killed me.”
AND REALLY DEEP DOWN, MAN HAS ALWAYS KNOWN THIS
AND THE THOUGHT HAS BEEN MOST DISCOURAGING
Psalms 119:129-136 “Your testimonies are wonderful; Therefore my soul observes them. The unfolding of Your words gives light; It gives understanding to the simple. I opened my mouth wide and panted, For I longed for Your commandments. Turn to me and be gracious to me, After Your manner with those who love Your name. Establish my footsteps in Your word, And do not let any iniquity have dominion over me. Redeem me from the oppression of man, That I may keep Your precepts. Make Your face shine upon Your servant, And teach me Your statutes. My eyes shed streams of water, Because they do not keep Your law.”
John MacArthur writes:
“Whether the law of God is the Mosaic Law of the Jews or the law written in the hearts and consciences of all men, including Gentiles, obedience to it can never be perfect and therefore can never save.” (MacArthur, John: The MacArthur New Testament Commentary; Romans 1-8: Moody Press, Chicago, Ill, 1991; pg. 203)
And it is this truth that ultimately leads all men to despair.
BECAUSE NO ONE CAN KEEP THE LAW
Galatians 2:16b “since by the works of the Law no flesh will be justified.”
Even in the Old Testament.
Job 4:17 “Can mankind be just before God? Can a man be pure before his Maker?”
Psalms 143:2 “And do not enter into judgment with Your servant, For in Your sight no man living is righteous.”
Psalms 130:1-3 “Out of the depths I have cried to You, O LORD. Lord, hear my voice! Let Your ears be attentive To the voice of my supplications. If You, LORD, should mark iniquities, O Lord, who could stand?”
Ecclesiastes 7:20 “Indeed, there is not a righteous man on earth who continually does good and who never sins.”
Mankind has always been distraught when he got honest
About his inability to be good enough to please God.
No one ever got saved by completely adhering to the Law.
And that is what makes Paul’s statement here so wonderful.
“But now apart from the Law”
It doesn’t mean the Law has no purpose,
But that there is an available salvation apart from human merit.
There is a way for you to be saved
Without being “good enough” to be saved.
AND I THINK WHEN MAN GET’S HONEST
HE KNOWS HE NEEDS THIS.
I’ve certainly seen many people who think they are “good”.
But you would be surprised how many people will tell me
That if they died they would go to hell.
Although man continually tries to convince himself that he is good Deep down there is this nagging conviction that he is not.
Remember when Jesus preached the Sermon on the Mount?
Matthew 5:17 “Do not think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish but to fulfill.”
They were waiting to see which commands didn’t count.
Remember the woman at the well?
John 4:19-26 “The woman said to Him, “Sir, I perceive that You are a prophet. “Our fathers worshiped in this mountain, and you people say that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship.” Jesus said to her, “Woman, believe Me, an hour is coming when neither in this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father. “You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews. “But an hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for such people the Father seeks to be His worshipers. “God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.” The woman said to Him, “I know that Messiah is coming (He who is called Christ); when that One comes, He will declare all things to us. Jesus said to her, “I who speak to you am He.”
Obviously she was confused
“you people say that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship”
She wanted Messiah to tell her what really mattered.
“I know that Messiah is coming…He will declare all things to us.”
Now don’t get me wrong.
Mankind likes being legalistic.
But still he has always known that in order for that to happen,
The bar can’t be very high.
What Paul says here should be very encouraging.
“But now apart from the law the righteousness of God has been manifested”
There is a way for you to be righteous
Apart from being perfectly obedient to every command of the Law.
That ought to cause every ear in the place to perk up.
Salvation Exposed
#2 SALVATION ENDORSED
Romans 3:21b
“being witnessed by the Law and the prophets,”
The fact that there is salvation apart from the Law should make us happy,
But Paul was smarter than that.
He knew some people are eternal skeptics
And so they were not yet ready to believe this wonderful piece of news.
I imagine he could already hear some of the Jews
“Don’t go inventing some “supposed” way of salvation apart from the Word of God. If it’s not in the Bible, we aren’t buying it.”
And indeed that is a good attitude to have.
But Paul wants them to know is that this “New” way of salvation
IS NOT NEW, IT IS IN THE BIBLE
It is “witnessed by the Law and the prophets”
“witnessed” translates MARTUREO (mar-too-reh-o)
To be a witness, to testify.
The noun form of that word is MARTUS
Acts 1:8 “but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth.”
It is not just as though the Law and the prophets saw it coming (which they did).
It means that they pronounced this same truth back then.
EVEN THE LAW WAS SAYING
THAT THERE IS SALATION APART FROM THE LAW.
Of course the first.
Genesis 15:6 “Then he believed in the LORD; and He reckoned it to him as righteousness.”
Habakkuk 2:4 “Behold, as for the proud one, His soul is not right within him; But the righteous will live by his faith.”
Isaiah 53:4-6 “Surely our griefs He Himself bore, And our sorrows He carried; Yet we ourselves esteemed Him stricken, Smitten of God, and afflicted. But He was pierced through for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; The chastening for our well-being fell upon Him, And by His scourging we are healed. All of us like sheep have gone astray, Each of us has turned to his own way; But the LORD has caused the iniquity of us all To fall on Him.”
Isaiah 42:1-4 “Behold, My Servant, whom I uphold; My chosen one in whom My soul delights. I have put My Spirit upon Him; He will bring forth justice to the nations. “He will not cry out or raise His voice, Nor make His voice heard in the street. “A bruised reed He will not break And a dimly burning wick He will not extinguish; He will faithfully bring forth justice. “He will not be disheartened or crushed Until He has established justice in the earth; And the coastlands will wait expectantly for His law.”
The Old Testament taught over and over
That you would not be saved by keeping the Law.
THE SACRIFICIAL SYSTEM ITSELF
SHOULD HAVE CAUSED PEOPLE TO UNDERSTAND THIS.
If God was expecting man to be saved by adherence to the Law,
Why did He even institute a sacrificial system at all?
There is a salvation apart from the Law,
What Paul is doing here is giving credibility to that statement
By saying this is what the Bible has always said.
1 Peter 1:10-12 “As to this salvation, the prophets who prophesied of the grace that would come to you made careful searches and inquiries, seeking to know what person or time the Spirit of Christ within them was indicating as He predicted the sufferings of Christ and the glories to follow. It was revealed to them that they were not serving themselves, but you, in these things which now have been announced to you through those who preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven — things into which angels long to look.”
And so thus far we see that SALVATION IS EXPOSED, SALVATION IS ENDORSED
#3 SALVATION EXPLAINED
Romans 3:22a
“even the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ”
I know that we are leaving a lot of good stuff out (we’ll get it tonight)
BUT I DON’T WANT YOU TO MISS THIS VITAL POINT.
Paul again states “the righteousness of God”
Not some “knock off” righteousness.
Not man’s best attempt at righteousness.
The very righteousness of holy God can be yours.
The very holiness of God can be yours.
YOU CAN HAVE THE RIGHTEOUSNESS OF GOD!
HOW?
“through faith in Jesus Christ”
AND TWO THINGS SHOULD POP OUT AT YOU THERE
1) THE REQUIREMENT
“faith”
PISTIS (pis-tis)
It is an assurance, a conviction
And in the Bible it is always accompanied with action.
Hebrews 11 is the faith chapter,
Where each person’s faith is revealed by what they did.
“Abel offered a better sacrifice than Cain”
“Noah built an ark”
“Abraham offered Isaac”
The point is that in order to achieve this salvation,
You must have a faith that is so real that it dictates your life.
If it doesn’t change your action,
Then it is well short of the faith that Bible requires.
Many think they can believe without it changing their actions.
THIS IS NOT SO.
James 2:14-17 “What use is it, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but he has no works? Can that faith save him? If a brother or sister is without clothing and in need of daily food, and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and be filled,” and yet you do not give them what is necessary for their body, what use is that? Even so faith, if it has no works, is dead, being by itself.”
James 2:20-26 “But are you willing to recognize, you foolish fellow, that faith without works is useless? Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered up Isaac his son on the altar? You see that faith was working with his works, and as a result of the works, faith was perfected; and the Scripture was fulfilled which says, “AND ABRAHAM BELIEVED GOD, AND IT WAS RECKONED TO HIM AS RIGHTEOUSNESS,” and he was called the friend of God. You see that a man is justified by works and not by faith alone. In the same way, was not Rahab the harlot also justified by works when she received the messengers and sent them out by another way? For just as the body without the spirit is dead, so also faith without works is dead.”
A.W. Tozer wrote:
“Something has happened to the doctrine of justification…The faith of Paul and Luther was a revolutionizing thing. It upset the whole life of the individual and made him into another person altogether. It laid hold on the life and brought it unto obedience to Christ. It took up its cross and followed along after Jesus with no intention of going back. It said good-bye to its old friends as certainly as Elijah when he stepped into the fiery chariot and went away in the whirlwind. It had a finality about it. It snapped shut on a man’s heart like a trap; it captured the man and made him from that moment forward a happy love-servant of his Lord.” (ibid. pg. 205)
It is a life altering, continuous, all or nothing conviction that God requires.
He wants faith.
The Requirement
2) THE RECIPIENT
“in Jesus Christ’
God is not looking for faith in your own goodness.
God is not looking for faith in what you did.
God is not looking for faith in faith.
There is a recipient of the faith that God requires and His name is Jesus.
In order to be saved,
You must place the kind of faith in Jesus that changes your life.
Joseph Alleine said: (in your bulletin)
“All of Christ is accepted by the sincere convert; he loves not only the wages but the work of Christ; not only the benefits, but the burden of Christ; he is willing not only to tread out the corn, but to draw under the yoke; he takes up the command of Christ, yea, the cross of Christ.
The unsound closeth by halves with Christ: he is all for the salvation of Christ, but he is not for sanctification; he is for the privileges, but appropriates not the person of Christ; he divides the offices and benefits of Christ. This is an error in the foundation. Whoso loveth life, let him beware here; it is an undoing mistake, of which you have been often warned, and yet none is more common.
Jesus is a sweet name, but men “love not the Lord Jesus in sincerity.” They will not have him as God offers, “to be a Prince and a Saviour.” They divide what God has joined, the king and the priest; yea, they will not accept the salvation of Christ as he intends it; they divide it here.
Every man’s vote is for salvation from suffering; but they desire not to be saved from sinning; they would have their lives saved, but withal would have their lusts. Yea, many divide here again; they would be content to have some of their sins destroyed, but they cannot leave the lap of Delilah, or divorce the beloved Herodias; they cannot be cruel to the right eye or right hand; the Lord must pardon them in this thing. O be carefully scrupulous here; your soul depends upon it.
The sound convert takes a whole Christ, and takes him for all intents and purposes, without exceptions, without limitations, without reserve. He is willing to have Christ upon any terms; he is willing to have the dominion of Christ, as well as deliverance by Christ; he said, with Paul, “Lord, what wilt thou have me do?” Any thing, Lord. He sends the blank to Christ, to set down his own conditions.” (The Alarm to Unconverted Sinners [Grand Rapids: Baker, 1980 reprint], pp.46-48)
There is a way to be saved apart from the Law.
It is to give your life fully to Jesus Christ.
It is to fully trust that He can save you.
Titus 3:5-6 “He saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but according to His mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out upon us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior,”
Galatians 2:16 “nevertheless knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the Law but through faith in Christ Jesus, even we have believed in Christ Jesus, so that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the Law; since by the works of the Law no flesh will be justified.”
YOU HAVE NOTICED BY NOW THAT THIS MORNING
WE ARE OBSERVING THE LORD’S SUPPER
And this is what the Lord’s Supper is all about.
It is a time of celebration!
We are not saved by the Law.
We are saved because of the sacrifice of Jesus Christ.
This morning we partake in rejoicing
That salvation is possible through faith in Him.
WE WILL FIRST HAVE A TIME OF PREPARATION
1 Corinthians 11:27-31 “Therefore whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner, shall be guilty of the body and the blood of the Lord. But a man must examine himself, and in so doing he is to eat of the bread and drink of the cup. For he who eats and drinks, eats and drinks judgment to himself if he does not judge the body rightly. For this reason many among you are weak and sick, and a number sleep. But if we judged ourselves rightly, we would not be judged.”
Paul commanded that we first examine ourselves.
And judge ourselves rightly.
THE QUESTION IS
Have I placed my faith in the Lord Jesus Christ?
Is it true faith? (as evidenced by obedience)
Is it in Jesus? (as evidenced by devotion to Him)
If not this time is for you to get that corrected.
Pray
DEACONS COME AND FOLD BLANKET
Isaiah 53:4-6 “Surely our griefs He Himself bore, And our sorrows He carried; Yet we ourselves esteemed Him stricken, Smitten of God, and afflicted. But He was pierced through for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; The chastening for our well-being fell upon Him, And by His scourging we are healed. All of us like sheep have gone astray, Each of us has turned to his own way; But the LORD has caused the iniquity of us all To fall on Him.”
GIVE BREAD TO DEACONS
PRAYER
DEACONS PASS OUT BREAD
1 Corinthians 11:23-24 “For I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus in the night in which He was betrayed took bread; and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, “This is My body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of Me.”
TAKE BREAD
Romans 3:21-24 “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;”
GIVE JUICE TO DEACONS
PRAYER
DEACONS PASS OUT JUICE
1 Corinthians 11:25 “In the same way He took the cup also after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood; do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.”
PARTING CHORUS
