Anonymous
Romans 3:21-26
21 But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it — 22 the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction: 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 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. 26 It was to show his righteousness at the present time, so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.
When Paul speaks of “the righteousness of God” he is describing not only God's character, but what God does for us. God's righteousness is not just an attribute of His, it is an act He carries out to secure our salvation.
Romans 3:23 says, “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God”. We are all sinners and this is a fact that should condemn us, but through God's mercy, it is actually what rescues us. God cannot overlook our sin because He is perfectly righteous and it would go against His character. However, it is that very same righteousness that leads Him to acknowledge the need to save us.
The righteousness that exposed our need for a Savior is the very same righteousness that brought about our salvation. When Scripture says God is righteous, it means He is just. So to satisfy this justice and pay for our sin, Jesus Christ was sent to absorb the full wrath of our sin on the cross. We are “justified by his grace as a gift through the redemption that is Jesus Christ”. Jesus was a gift. He was a gift to us from God to pay for our sins. Paul says that Jesus was “put forward as a propitiation” to bear the penalty we deserved. He rescued us from the punishment of our sin. He was sent to rescue us, as a result of God's righteousness. Our salvation is entirely from God. There is nothing we could have done to earn it. The same part of Him that went against our sin is the same part that saved us from it.
God is both just and the justifier as we see in verse 26. He remains perfectly righteous while simultaneously rescuing us from sin. He remains perfectly holy while declaring us righteous through faith.
Through our faith in Him we receive atonement from Christ's blood. God rescued us from our sin and declared us righteous through faith in Jesus. Faith is not the cause of our rescue, it is the result of it. We did nothing to deserve the Savior. Our faith saves us from the penalty of our sin because it connects us to Christ.
Our rescue is secure in Jesus, and we receive it through faith. We move from that which should condemn us, to that which justifies us, the moment we place faith in the Lord.
Prayer Prompts:
Practice gratitude and thank God for His righteous rescue! Thank Him for sending the gift of His son. Think of a way He is both just and the justifier and praise Him for it.
Ask God to reveal an area of your life where your faith needs deepening. Where are you still relying on your work to rescue you and not the work of Jesus on the cross?
