[Romans Study 8-3]
Justified Freely By His Grace Through The Redemption In Jesus Christ [Romans 3:9-26]
9 What 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. 10 As it is written: “There is no one righteous, not even one; 11 there is no one who understands, no one who seeks God. 12 All 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; 16 ruin and misery mark their ways, 17 and the way of peace they do not know.” 18 “There is no fear of God before their eyes.”
The Cross: The Cost of Grace
God justifies the unrighteous and He grants to them His unconditional love. He receives sinners into His fellowship. He says to them you are righteous in my sight. On what basis? Purely in the form of a gift, on the basis of His grace.
Does God therefore treat sin simply as if it were nothing, simply passing it over? Quite the contrary. This grace, which cost man nothing to receive, costs God His one and only Son to give. God allowed Jesus to die as a proof of his righteousness, so that forgiveness would not be misunderstood as a passing-over of guilt.
To men, unrighteous and evil, who were groaning under the bondage of sin, instead of punishing them, what alternative did God take instead? Grace! The priceless grace that cost His own Son. The heart-trembling grace that shed the precious blood of His only Son on the Cross. Grace is the only power that is big enough to take the field against sin. God knows there is nothing that can withstand the power of the reign of grace. We therefore ought to be the ones who are worthy to be reigned by the awesome grace of God.
What God Has Done For Me
So what is the essence of all of this? We can understand the core of the gospel by contrasting God’s grace to the character of the law: a man concerned with obeying the law is concerned about what he can do for himself, whereas the way of grace is concerned about what God can do and has done for man. Paul insists that nothing we can ever do can win us the forgiveness of God. This can only come from God Himself as an act of mercy. Therefore, the way to a right relationship with God lies not in a frenzied, desperate, and doomed attempt to win acquittal by our performance, but in humble, penitent acceptance of the love and grace which God offers us in Jesus Christ.
“Come and listen, all you who fear God; let me tell you what he has done for me.” (Psalm 66:16)
[Questions]
1. What do you think of this verse?; “There is no one righteous, not even one.” (3:10)
2. Through the parable of the Pharisees and the tax collector, Jesus warns us of a fatal sin that can prevent us from receiving the love of God. Read the parable and share your thoughts on the character of the Pharisees and the tax collector based on today’s message and discuss how you can avoid the sin of the Pharisee: “To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everybody else, Jesus told this parable: “Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood up and prayed about himself: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men–robbers, evildoers, adulterers–or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.’ “But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner.’ “I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.” (Luke 18:9-14)
3. “But now” in Romans 3:21 marks that a turning-point in the world’s history has come. Paul must have trembled with excitement when he uttered the phrase—“but now” on this Epistle. After doing this Bible study, what is your reaction towards this phrase?
4. Based on today’s message, share your reflection on this statement: “Paul’s ministry exemplified the wonderful truth Jesus claimed when he said, “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them” (Matthew 5:17). Until Jesus came, the law provided a strict measurement of God’s just and righteous character. With the coming of Christ, God’s mercy was also demonstrated. The law expressed the righteous requirements of God; Christ provided a way that we might be declared righteous.
5. Based on today’s message, share your reflection on this Bible verse: “Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written: “Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree.” (Galatians 3:13)
6. Based on today’s message, share your reflection on this statement: “If we fail to realize that the gospel and all it professes is primarily an activity on the part of God, and not on the part of man, we have entirely failed to understand it.”
7. The following statement is the summary of Paul’s argument in Romans 1:18-3:20: “You see how tremendous it is; how it spans the whole of time, takes within its ambit the whole story of man, deals with Jew and Gentile, the whole world, and establishes that the greatest and the best good news that has ever come into the world is the news that ‘the just by faith shall live’, because no one else shall live; because all others are under the wrath of God and are guilty before Him. Oh! It is not difficult when you look at it like this to see why Paul said, ‘I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ …’ Emperors and kings, consuls and proconsuls, prelates, senators, military men and captains – the whole world is guilty before God. He has the only message that can save anybody. It is the message about the righteousness that God Himself provides in Jesus Christ, and which is offered to Jew and Gentile alike.” What is your reflection on this important section we have studied so far?
[Prayer]
We have learned that all men fall short of God’s glory and no matter how hard we try, we can never reach righteousness, but doomed to remain in darkness. But a most wonderful thing, a most amazing news has been given to us today: that we are saved by the love of God through Christ Jesus. The love of the Cross, the love of redemption–through the blood of Jesus we are justified and declared righteous. The Lord emptied Himself, and lowered Himself to the point of death. In this kind of love, the Lord came to Matthew and to the prodigal son, and to me.
Your grace does not ask of our sin but accepts us. We have learned that receiving this love is faith. Faith is a passageway to receive grace. “Receive this surprising love then you will be saved in His grace,” proclaims Paul. Lord, we have been liberated by your love and grace. May we never forget this love and grace and preach the message of Paul to the whole world. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Republished with permission from Dr. Christy Tran, the author of “The Epistle to the Romans: Paul’s Love Letter from God.”