A SHOWCASE OF RIGHTEOUSNESS Romans 3:21-31

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1 A SHOWCASE OF RIGHTEOUSNESS Romans 3:21-31 March 15, 2015 Providence p941 INTRODUCTION: A couple of years ago, Cathy and I were in New York City over Thanksgiving weekend. We had heard all about the huge Christmas displays in the store windows but had never seen them. What we saw was amazing! Brilliant lights and colors and ornate decorations up and down the city blocks! Oddly enough, most of the displays did not showcase the products sold by the stores just window-dressing to capture attention. I love it when I read here in Romans 3 that God chooses to showcase something for us to see something brilliant and beautiful to draw our eyes and compel us to gaze upon it in order to take in all that is before us. Paul tells us that the righteousness of God is on display in the gospel. ILLUS. Yet the display is hidden from our eyes. All that Paul has been describing in Romans 1:18-3:18 effectively blocks our view so that apart from the grace of God and His mercy toward us, we would never be able to see either His righteousness or His glory. If you have ever been to a place of scenic beauty only to be frustrated by the fog that seems to have engulfed the splendor and covered it up to keep it from view, you get some slight idea of what happens when God s righteousness is on display but sin hides it like a pea-soup fog and we are blinded, unable to see the magnificence of God as He really is! Only when the Holy Spirit blows the fog away, opens up the view, and shows us the glory and righteousness of God can we understand can we come under conviction for allowing our sin to cloud the perspective that will draw us to Him. John 16:8, 10 And when he comes, he will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment 10 concerning righteousness, because I go to the Father, and you will see me no longer The Holy Spirit allows us to see Jesus, the Righteous One, and behold the beauty of all that is holy, glorious and righteous about the Great God and Creator! THESIS: God wants to make you a showcase for His righteousness and sent Jesus to get you ready to do it right! Paul has now taken a critical interlude as he paints a vivid portrait of the gospel from 1:17 to 3:21 he has interrupted his thoughts about the gospel to make sure that everyone knows how essential the gospel is, given the dreadfully sinful nature of sinful man. Rom. 1:17 For in it [the gospel] the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, The righteous shall live by faith. --He then resumes his explanation of the key doctrine of justification by grace through faith in 3:21 by returning to the same wording the righteousness of God. --He even speaks of it as revealed in 1:17 and then in 3:21-26 talks of it being manifested, demonstrated, shown, made clear, on display for all to see! all words that communicate that God wants people to see the true picture of a comprehensive righteousness found no where else but in God Himself. NOTE: Righteousness/Justification word groups occur more than 800 times in the Old and New Testaments translating various forms of the Hebrew word family tsdq and the Greek word family dikaiosune )צדק( (δικαιοσύνη). Obviously, these are critical concerns in the heart and mind of God because sin has destroyed all that in those He created to be His image-bearers those through whom His glory and righteousness might be made known in all the earth! I. THE RIGHTEOUSNESS OF GOD ON DISPLAY THROUGH THE WITNESS OF THE WORD Rom. 3:21 But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it. --The Word of God the Law and the Prophets, but also the history and the wisdom literature have long born witness to the righteousness of God. Psalm 19:9 The fear of the LORD is clean, enduring forever; The judgments of the LORD are true; they are righteous altogether. Psa. 119:137 Righteous art Thou, O LORD, and upright are Thy judgments. --God s Word has faithfully represented Him as righteous in all His ways:

2 Deut. 32:4 The Rock! His work is perfect, for all His ways are just; a God of faithfulness and without injustice, righteous and upright is He. --Clearly, then, from the Scriptures the righteousness of God has been made visible for all to see. NOTE: But with all that noted, you may not be clear on what righteousness actually is. What does it mean to say God is righteous, or to speak of the righteousness of God? Three words must be taken into consideration to understand the one concept: righteousness, holiness, justice. Holiness is to be set apart, separate from all else, but it also means to be pure, undefiled, with nothing to mar one s character. Righteousness means to do what is right literally, to follow a straight course [as when we speak of someone following the straight and narrow way, meaning the right way]. Justice measures attitudes and actions according to a standard of righteousness, and weighed against the character of God Himself who is perfectly righteous in all His ways. Now, just to be clear, let s review what Paul has already said about the human race: None righteous, not even one 3:10 None who does good, not even one 3:12 All have sinned, fallen short 3:23 God is righteous and we are not even close! He is pure and undefiled in holiness, just in all His ways, righteous at the core of His nature and we are sinners, unrighteous, ungodly, unholy and without any claim against His justice! --The Law helps us understand that, but now Paul goes back to an understanding of the righteousness of God that is revealed apart from the Law. II. THE RIGHTEOUSNESS OF GOD ON DISPLAY APART FROM JUST THE WITNESS OF THE WORD --Now, Paul tells us, apart from the Law, righteousness of God is revealed. Rom. 3:21 But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law --That plan has now run its course and now well, now, God has chosen to manifest His righteousness apart from the Law in a personal way through the gospel! --As we walk through the next several verses of Romans 3, Paul answers three questions: To whom will His righteousness be displayed? Why does He show off His righteousness? Is there any room for human boasting? --This glorious display of the righteousness of God comes into a human predicament, a world marred by deep depravity in the human heart, a people with no fear for God, no respect for His righteousness, no interest in His good opinion. Roman 3:22b-23 There is no distinction; for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. ILLUS. The flood of sin in our lives cannot be alleviated by human effort. D.G. Barnhouse said it is like putting a one inch pipe on a pump and trying to contain the sewage flowing in from a six inch pipe every minute the pollution gets worse! John Donne, 17 th century English poet: Be the seas water and the land all soap, yet if Thy blood not wash me there s no hope. But now the remedy has come! Cleansing and forgiveness have been offered to all who have sinned not by any human means but by the power of the gospel of Jesus Christ! --God gladly makes all things new and shows His righteousness through faith in Jesus Christ for all those who believe (3:22). To whom will His righteousness be displayed? A. ON DISPLAY FOR ALL WHO BELIEVE --What a great encouragement from the heart of the God who is impartial in the distribution of His gracious gifts! --Jews and Gentiles alike, religious veterans and secular novices, the self-righteous and the proudly wicked a close look at the beauty of eternal righteousness is available to every man or woman who dares to face his or her sin and seek forgiveness in the grace of Jesus Christ.

3 --You who will admit your sin and unrighteousness may come and put your faith in Jesus Christ, believing on His name for the forgiveness of sins. Come ye sinners, poor and needy, weak and wounded, sick and sore; Jesus ready stands to save you, full of pity, love and power I will arise and go to Jesus, He will embrace me in His arms In the arms of my dear Savior, O there are ten thousand charms! (Joseph Hart, 1759) 1. Justified by His grace Romans 3:24 and are justified by his grace as a gift, [ justified freely ] through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, --What does it mean to be justified? NOTE: It is far more than just as if you had never sinned! Justification means that there is both a forensic/legal and ethical/moral dimension as God sees the standard of His perfect righteousness applied to those who place their faith in Christ forensic declared to be righteous as in a court of law, that no charges remain to be brought against you; ethical/moral made righteous as a transformative re-ordering of the way you are and the things you do! When you are justified by faith in Jesus Christ, God renders His legal judgment that you are now declared righteous by the grace of Jesus. When you are justified by faith Jesus Christ, God views you as one who is now righteous, clothed with a righteousness you never had, but a righteous life that has been given to you by Jesus. 2. Redeemed by His blood Romans 3:24 and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, 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. --What sin had stolen from God, Jesus buys back, purchasing your pardon, redeeming you for Himself paying the price for you with His own blood shed on the cross as your penalty for sin was paid in full. a. A propitiation for sin --This is a word you need to know and understand! --Because of our sin, God s wrath is stored up against the unforgiven, against the unrighteous. Propitiation means a sacrifice that bears God s wrath to the end and in so doing changes God s wrath toward us into favor At the cross the fury of all that stored-up wrath against sin was unleashed against God s own Son. (Grudem, p. 575) NOTE: Because some theologians refuse to acknowledge the wrath of God, when the RSV was translated, this word was changed to expiation which refers to cleansing and washing us from the stain of sin, but says nothing to relieve the sinner of the wrath of God. Expiation is gloriously true! But it is incomplete without propitiation which is gloriously accomplished at the cross. b. A passing over of sin --Because the blood had been shed, the sin washed away, the wrath replaced by favor, the power of sin canceled putting our faith in Jesus Christ as Savior makes it possible for a Just and Righteous God to pass over our sin. ILLUS. When God was just about the set the Israelites free from slavery in Egypt, one last plague remained. The first-born of every house would die. But God told the Israelites how to save their first-born. They were to take the blood of a lamb, place it on the doorposts of their homes and when the angel of death came, he would pass over every door covered by the blood of the lamb. In the same way, God s wrath is turned away and His judgment is averted when He sees the blood of the Lamb, Jesus, over the doorposts of our hearts! He passes over former sins, sins previously committed and declares that those who by faith trusted in the Lamb of God are considered clear, clean and He sees only the righteousness of His Son when He looks at us from now on and forever!!

4 --Therefore God puts His righteousness on display through those who have been justified by faith in the name of Jesus Christ. Why does He show off His righteousness? B. ON DISPLAY TO SHOW HIS RIGHTEOUSNESS --God not only wants the world to behold His glory, but to understand that He is righteous in all His ways. 1. In His forbearance for former sins --How can He put up with such offenses as our sins provoke unless He demonstrates His perfect righteousness in doing the right thing waiting patiently until the way of righteousness has been secured for everyone who will believe and trust in the name of His Son, Jesus. --The world needed to see how the One True God handled sin, how He did what was right in every way judging the sin and sinner while bestowing mercy and making the sinner righteous! --So Jesus bore the fury of God s wrath, stored up since the beginning of the world, and by His holding back, forbearing His ultimate judgment against all sin, He proved for all the world to see what righteous judgment looks like! 2. By His justification for all sins right now! --In the fullness of time, when everything was just right, God provided for justification for our sins by sending Jesus Christ for us. a. He is Just --Perfect righteousness can be found only in Him therefore His justice can only be satisfied when the debt of sin has been paid, and the stain of sin has been washed away! b. He is the Justifier --He Himself, the Just One, became the One to justify us, to declare us righteous legally and to make us righteous practically. --What an amazing vision of the way God does things right and does the right thing! --The titles of Just and Justifier belong to One person, Jesus Christ, the Savior of sinners who made the unrighteous righteous by the power of a holy life and a perfect sacrifice! Is there any room for human boasting? C. ON DISPLAY TO EXCLUDE ALL BOASTING Rom. 3:27-28 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. 1. All of grace --Since we could do nothing to deserve His righteousness or lay claim to any part of it through our own merit, any righteousness we have came to us by an act of Sovereign Grace God justifying us freely as a gift! 2. All by faith --The Law could not make us righteous it served us best by proving that all of us are completely unrighteous! Eph. 2:8-9 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast. 3. All to showcase the righteousness of God --In every believing heart clothed in His righteousness, our lives demonstrate as living proofs that God alone can make sinful people into righteous ones! --Through every glimpse of glory in a transformed life whenever someone can see Jesus in you because something about you cannot be explained in human terms, they get to see God s righteousness on display up close and personal!

5 CONCLUSION: Only by grace can we share His righteousness. Only by faith can be experience that grace. Only in Jesus Christ can we be justified by the faith which saves us from God s wrath and clothes us in God s righteousness! So why would God want to display, or manifest, His righteousness to us? Four reasons come to mind: 1. To open our eyes to the potential of what we were meant to be 2. To make us realize how far we are from that possibility 3. To awaken our hearts to worship the Righteous One 4. To show the world around us what the righteousness of God looks like and draw them to the Savior. Then His purpose becomes clear we must be changed by putting our faith in Christ alone so that we can put on the robes of His perfect righteousness. God now sees us as completely righteous because of Jesus Christ. He doesn t just tolerate us but rejoices and delights in us because when He sees us, He sees the radiant glory of His Son shining from us as the light of righteousness brightens the darkness all around us, inviting whosoever will to come to the Just and Justifier and be made righteous in standing and righteous in practice. May Jesus Christ be praised and all boasting from mankind be excluded!