Romans 3:21-31

 

Romans 3:21-31

Background

Paul has said that true circumcision was an inward, spiritual matter, not merely a physical one. In other words, belonging to the people and promises of God wasn’t so much a matter of “external decorum,” and more a matter of genuine, living faith that loved “the spirit of the Law,” not merely followed “the letter of the Law.” In other words, you didn’t need to be or live like a Jew in order to be a part of God’s family.

After demonstrating last week that no one is righteous on their own - neither Jewish Christian nor Gentile Christian! - and that no one will be justified by works of the Law, Paul moves on today to emphasize how we’re all justified by faith in Jesus.

DEFINITIONS

  • JUSTIFICATION: To be set right or declared righteous. A Christian’s judicial acceptance by God as not guilty because his sins are not counted against him.

  • PROPITIATION: A sacrifice that satisfies God’s wrath. Removal of wrath by the offering of a gift. To make “atonement” for sin through a sacrifice.

Righteousness Seen in GOd through Jesus

Paul says that while the law reveals the unrighteousness of man, Jesus now reveals the righteousness of God. It’s true that the Law and the Prophets (…the whole Old Testament!) point to the righteousness of God. But those things were never meant to be “the last word”; they continually pointed to a fuller, better revelation of God’s righteousness in the world, which we now know is Jesus himself.

  • Have you ever been in a situation where a boss, a judge, a parent, etc. was merciful / gracious to someone - maybe even you! - and it felt unfair? Why? Was it unfair?

    • Have you ever thought that it’s unfair for God to forgive you or someone else? How can he be a just judge and yet save sinners?

    • How is Jesus the fullest picture of how God can - once and for all! - be a just judge while also being the justifier of sinners? How is Jesus our assurance of God’s righteousness?

    • When you hear Paul talk about God’s restraint, does that shed light on Israel’s past in the Old Testament? Does it shed any light on your own past and what has - or hasn’t! - been doing over the course of your life?

    • How does the specific picture of Jesus as the mercy seat make Paul’s point that the Law is satisfied in Christ?

Righteousness Seen in US THrough faith in JESUS

Paul makes it clear that there’s not two different kinds of righteousness: the righteousness that Jewish Christians gets to embrace or embody that comes through the Law (dietary restrictions, circumcision, sabbath, etc.), and another (or lesser!) kind of righteousness that comes through faith in Jesus. The righteousness of God is through faith in Jesus to everyone who believes, because everyone has sinned and fallen short of God’s glory - and everyone who is justified is justified freely by grace and redemption in Christ.

  • How are Christians “supposed” to act? Do you have a picture in your head of how to be a “Good Christian?” …or a picture in your head of what a “Bad Christian” is?

    • To be clear, Paul isn’t saying that right and wrong / sin and evil don’t matter. He’s simply saying how we determine what makes us righteous - or how we try to tell if someone else is righteous - can’t be based on external things that actually have nothing to do with the person, work, and fruit of Jesus in someone’s life. But how do our definitions of “Good Christians” and “Bad Christians” sometimes betray that kind of thinking and relating in our own lives?

    • What’s formed what we think is Good and Bad? Where do we get those ideas? Where do others get theirs?

    • How do we combat that way of thinking and feeling in our lives? What do we have to do in our local church community to not just avoid wrong thinking in this area, but to actively build unity among a diverse group of God’s people?

    • What would it look like if we used different categories to think of people inside the church? What categories would Paul suggest in this chapter?

  • What is the doctrine of justification by faith alone? How does this shape our relationship with God? How does it change our relationships with others - inside and outside the church?

Righteousness Seen in Our Humility

Paul talks about what we shouldn’t boast in (brag about, be puffed up by, find our confidence in): ourselves! Feeling good about who we are because of what we do, how faithful we are, or how better we might be than other people is disqualified if we actually live by faith. A sense of pride, heightened “enlightenment,” or superiority based on anything to do with you is actually a sign that you live by the law of works.

  • Think about it for a minute: what does make you feel good about who you are or where you stand with God? What do you look to for confidence about yourself or your “brand” of Christianity?

  • What do you find yourself bragging about? What do you take pride in?

  • How often do you brag about Jesus? If that seems like a weird practice to you, why is it stranger than bragging about any of the others things you take pride in, get excited about, or just have to share? How can you cultivate a heart that loves to boast about the Lord’s work?

 
Not AshamedScott O'Donohoe