12 All Have Sinned – Part 3

Throughout chapter 3, Paul had gone into great detail, showing how unregenerate man is under the power of sin. And while he would continuing doing so at the conclusion of the chapter, he would show how God had provided a remedy for mankind’s condition.

Paul had previously shown his audience, that the purpose of the Law, was to show that it would reveal everyone’s sin guilt:

Romans 3:19-20

Paul had therefore shown man’s guilt and desperation as far as sin was concerned. However, while man is completely unrighteous, God is completely righteous:

1 God’s Righteousness Revealed

Romans 3:21

Paul was making it clear, that while the Law indeed showed man’s unrighteousness, the righteous of God was revealed throughout the entire Old Covenant, which is what he meant by the statement “the Law and Prophets”.

In the original Greek, his words were emphatic, not leaving any room for doubt.

Paul had previously alluded to the fact earlier in the epistle:

Romans 1:17

In this section, Paul was making a transition, to show how God’s righteousness was being revealed “apart from the Law”, which again was to show the Law itself was not complete, but needed to be fulfilled, which of course could only come about through Christ.

2 In Christ Alone

The entire Old Covenant showed that man is unrighteous, and therefore needed to be justified or made righteous.

On the other hand, the New Covenant points to that righteousness as coming from Christ alone:

Romans 3:22

Even while believers have been made righteous by Christ, they must remember that they have no righteousness in themselves. It doesn’t have anything to do with our personal morality, or even religious zeal.

While we are saved “by” grace, it is “through” or “by way of” faith, which shows that the faith doesn’t come from us, but has been given to us (by God).

Paul indicates that God’s gift of righteousness is “to and on all who believe. For there is no difference:” Thereby showing , that His method of salvation is the same for everyone, whether they be Jewish or a Gentile.

So, everyone is saved the same way, they must believe in the finished work of Christ:

Acts 15:10-11

3 Sinned and Fallen Short

Romans 3:23-26

That passage is one of the most important doctrinal statements in Scripture, showing that every person bears the guilt of sin, falling short of God’s standard (perfection). But then the passage also show that we may be justified (made righteous) by His grace, through the redemption provided by Jesus.

Everyone bears the guilt of sin, since it has been passed from the first man Adam, who theologians refer to as “the federal head” of the human race. Therefore, we might consider it as him passing down a “sin gene” to everyone.

After Paul asserted that we are all sinners, he then spoken of how everyone has fallen short of God’s glory.

Because only God is perfect, everyone has therefore fallen short of His standard. The Greek word which translated as “sin” is the word, <harmartia> which literally means to miss the mark.

In verse 24, Paul declares that God’s grace is freely given, which shows that it is undeserved and unmerited.

Because grace was so costly (Christ’s sacrifice at Calvary, grace has often been described as “God’s Riches at Christ’s Expense”.

The verse also states how man was redeemed by Jesus’ sacrifice.

The word “redeem” means to “purchase back” or to “regain possession of”.

Shortly after Adam and Eve’s sin, the Lord advised them that He would redeem mankind. That’s seen from the first prophetic and Messianic Scripture:

Genesis 3:15

As being slaves to sin, it’s been said that man was therefore held captive in the slave market of sin <agorazo>. However, when Jesus redeemed us, her purchased us from the slave market <exagorazo>.

But He did even more than that, as He took our sin as His own, thus there was the great transfer:

1 Corinthians 6:20

Because God so loved the world that He sent His son to redeem sinful mankind, when Jesus went to the cross, He not only paid for our ransom, but He took our sin upon Himself, thus “becoming” sin. But the passage also showed that the Father was “pleased” and “satisfied” by His Son’s sacrifice:

Romans 3:25

Paul used the word “propitiation” which literally means “satisfaction”.

The Son’s death was required, as Scripture shows, that without the shedding of blood, there cannot be remission of sins:

Hebrews 9:22

At the end of Romans 3:25, Paul referenced how God had “passed over” the sins which had been previously committed, which was without doubt aimed at his Jewish audience, since it would have reminded them of the Passover, which unbeknownst to them, was a “type” or picture of Christ.

In verse 26, once again Paul spoke of how God is the “justifier” of our faith.

4 Boasting is Excluded

In the final portion of chapter three, Paul returned to employing the question-and-answer method of teaching, which he’d previously used:

Romans 3:27-31

Paul began by rhetorically asking, “where is boasting then?” A question which directed at those moralists and religionists he’d previously addressed.

He then showed how any semblance of boasting is completely done away with. The word “excluded” literally speaks of it be “shut out”. The reason such boasting is excluded, goes back to what he’d previously discussed in verse 24, that all are justified by grace.

In verse 28, he then draws the conclusion, that “a man is justified by faith apart from the deeds of the law”.

No human works will ever be enough to warrant our justification before God. That only comes about by God’s grace, and the finished work of Christ at Calvary. However, it does require that we accept what Jesus did, as having been personally done for us.

In verse 29, he asked another rhetorical question, which would have certainly disturbed Paul’s fellow Israelites. He spoke of how God is the God of both Jews and Gentiles alike. Many rabbis of that day held to an opposing view, since they taught that Gentiles could not be saved. Yet, Paul was showing that God is not only God of everyone, but that He saves everyone in the same way.

In verse 30, Paul made it abundantly clear, that the Lord justifies in the same way (by grace) for all.

Paul closed his thoughts out masterfully, as he stated that his words didn’t undermine or “void” the Law, but rather established it.

The idea of “establishing” the Law, speaks of “affirming” it. Paul will continue showing that in subsequent chapters.