Romans: Part 4
“Justified”
2:25 – 3:31

At the risk of being redundant (and since the hearers will need to be reminded each week) we’ll review where Paul’s taken us so far:

· No one has an excuse: everyone, no matter who or where we are, has some idea of a greater power, and some idea of what is right and wrong.

· Even though we have known God, we still turn away from him.

· Our sinfulness is a result of our turning from God – he allows us the freedom to choose obedience or disobedience.

· Because we have all turned from God in some way, the quantity or quality of the sin is not for us to compare or judge – only God can give judgment. We can give only grace.

· We have failed to live up to the Law – and no matter how much we might preach, our obedience or disobedience speaks volumes about the God we worship.

Paul Drives His Point Home

Moving forward from the end of chapter 2 and into chapter 3, Paul is closing out this part of his argument:

25Circumcision has value if you observe the law, but if you break the law, you have become as though you had not been circumcised. 26If those who are not circumcised keep the law’s requirements, will they not be regarded as though they were circumcised? 27The one who is not circumcised physically and yet obeys the law will condemn you who, even though you have the written code and circumcision, are a lawbreaker.

28A man is not a Jew if he is only one outwardly, nor is circumcision merely outward and physical. 29No, a man is a Jew if he is one inwardly; and circumcision is circumcision of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the written code. Such a man’s praise is not from men, but from God.

Circumcision, you might recall, was a sign that God instituted among the Jewish people. If someone was to be a covenant-keeper with God, they had a physical sign to show for it. But like so many other things, this act that was meant to merely be a “sign” had taken on significance beyond mere symbol. The Jewish people in Paul’s time obviously believed that circumcision itself gave them righteousness – that the righteousness had taken place of the SYMBOL.

Paul stands firm – just because you obey the outward trappings of the Law does not mean you are righteous. Just because you’re circumcised, that doesn’t mean you are a Jew – the Jews’ religion was founded on a relationship of trust and love and promises kept, not simple rule-following.

Similarly, just because you come to church and practice some of the trappings of Christianity, that doesn’t mean you have given your life to God. Our “religion” is no religion at all – it’s a relationship. And if we trade the relationship for simple rule-following, we’ve lost the essence of what it means to be a follower of Jesus!

It’s kind of a trite analogy, but it makes the point: Many of you are watching the Olympics these past few days. And I think all of us have been riveted by the stories of the athletes who are competing in Beijing.

No one is more impressive than Michael Phelps. Just watching him four years ago in Athens made me want to work harder at swimming, and since then I’ve been swimming more for exercise than I ever have in my life. He can do things in the water that (obviously) no one else can do – and he makes it look like it was just a little romp down the pool!

Now I can know all about Michael Phelps. I can hang his posters in my house, can talk about him all the time. I can know his story, and know the names of all his family members. I can memorize his statistics and his race times, know all his world records. I can imitate his swimming techniques, wear the same swimwear, and even grow my hair back out to get that tousled look he has.

But all of this is only a replacement for something concrete – a REAL relationship. If Michael Phelps happened to walk down the street in Kenbridge, he wouldn’t know me from Adam. All my knowledge can be impressive, but it means NOTHING if I don’t know him personally.

Now, we’ll skip through the beginning of chapter three with only a brief pause for explanation:

1What advantage, then, is there in being a Jew, or what value is there in circumcision? 2Much in every way! First of all, they have been entrusted with the very words of God.

3What if some did not have faith? Will their lack of faith nullify God’s faithfulness? 4Not at all! Let God be true, and every man a liar. As it is written:
“So that you may be proved right when you speak
and prevail when you judge.”

5But if our unrighteousness brings out God’s righteousness more clearly, what shall we say? That God is unjust in bringing his wrath on us? (I am using a human argument.) 6Certainly not! If that were so, how could God judge the world? 7Someone might argue, “If my falsehood enhances God’s truthfulness and so increases his glory, why am I still condemned as a sinner?” 8Why not say—as we are being slanderously reported as saying and as some claim that we say—”Let us do evil that good may result”? Their condemnation is deserved.

There is NO ONE who can claim higher ground before God’s judgment stand. In the great courtroom, no one will be standing with God as bailiff or secondary judge. All of us are in the defendant’s seat – and our own actions will be the evidence against us. No matter how many or few bad things we done, no matter how “good” or “bad” the sins. As Paul says above, if God had done even ONE thing against his own Law, then there would be room for us to brag and talk about degrees. But God is perfect in his holiness – we are all guilty before a perfect God.

9What shall we conclude then? Are we any better? Not at all! We have already made the charge that Jews and Gentiles alike are all under sin. 10As it is written:
“There is no one righteous, not even one;
11there is no one who understands,
no one who seeks God.
12All have turned away,
they have together become worthless;
there is no one who does good,
not even one.”
13″Their throats are open graves;
their tongues practice deceit.”
“The poison of vipers is on their lips.”
14″Their mouths are full of cursing and bitterness.”
15″Their feet are swift to shed blood;
16ruin and misery mark their ways,
17and the way of peace they do not know.”
18″There is no fear of God before their eyes.”

19Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be silenced and the whole world held accountable to God. 20Therefore no one will be declared righteous in his sight by observing the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of sin.

The portion from v.10-18 is a collection of OT scriptures pertaining to Paul’s point. And, as Paul says, there is nothing that can make us righteous. No matter how pious we might be, no matter how many times you may pray, come to church, do good things for other people – before God’s perfect holiness, our attempts are nothing but “filthy rags” compared to God’s purity.

Paul’s Point – Guilty as Charged

Paul is driving home his point and finishing out his argument. And that point is this, which we have underscored so many times in the last few weeks:

We are ALL guilty – no matter how much good we have done, it will never outweigh the sins we have committed. We all stand condemned in the courtroom – no matter whether we’re Christians, Muslims, Hindus, atheists, or Scientologists. No matter whether we’re Ted Bundy or Mother Teresa.

NONE of us have hope. We ALL fall short of the mark.

The Big BUT…

So what can we do? Nothing, Paul says. It’s up to someone else:

21But now a righteousness from God, apart from law, has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. 22This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference, 23for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. 25God presented him as a sacrifice of atonement, through faith in his blood. He did this to demonstrate his justice, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished— 26he did it to demonstrate his justice at the present time, so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus.

Now then, we see who has to make the first move: God.

Paul uses the word “justified.” Here’s an example – an imperfect example, but maybe it will help us understand this word. Imagine you’re in a courtroom before a real judge, and you’ve been convicted of some awful crime – someone broke into your house to kill you, and you end up killing them in self defense. There’s no evidence – only your word that this is what happened.

Imagine the stigma – like OJ Simpson or any person on trial for an act, your reputation is stained. No matter how you’re declared, people will always wonder…

But imagine the judge stands up at the end of the trial, and not only declares you “not guilty,” but JUSTIFIES you. Says you were right to do what you did, and that you should be commended. It

Now the analogy is imperfect, I realize: When we stand before the Judge, we will ALL be guilty. But because of the sacrifice of Jesus on our behalf, God will look at us and declare us righteous – that is, holy enough to take our place with God in eternity.

Conclusion

Paul didn’t ask, “do you want the good news first or the bad news?” He gave us the bad news, but now we’ve heard the good news too. Just as ALL of us are condemned because of our sin, so ALL of us can also be made right before God through the sacrifice of Jesus.

This morning’s question is simple: Have YOU and I made that step of faith, followed Jesus in such a way that we can only walk by faith?

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