Last Sunday I preached a sermon on Romans 9:1-18, entitled "God's Sovereign Choice." I borrowed the sermon title from the heading in the English Standard Version (ESV) of the Bible.
The text, while straightforward in its claims, has divided Christians over the doctrine of election. Some, after reading the text, reject it. Others take a moderate approach. Still others use it like a club in debating the first two groups. A more balanced approach is to take the passage at face value and study it with great humility. The Westminster Confession of Faith is very helpful at this point: "The doctrine of this high mystery of predestination is to be handled with special prudence and care" (WCF 3.8). Dr. Mike Horton jokingly says the people who are new to the reformed faith ought to be locked up for a couple of years so that they can study things in depth and emerge with a sense of reverence and gratitude.
If you want an excellent commentary on Romans designed for pastors and layman alike, then John Stott's book, Romans - God's Good News for the World, (InterVarsity) is for you. I found this quote (p. 269) from him that brings perspective to this doctrine:
“If God hardens some, he is not being unjust, for that is what their sin deserves. If, on the other hand, he has compassion on some, he is not being unjust, for he is dealing with them in mercy. The wonder is not that some are saved and others not, but that anybody is saved at all. For we deserve nothing at God’s hand but judgment. If we receive what we deserve (which is judgment), or if we receive what we do not deserve (which is mercy), in neither case is God unjust. If anyone is lost, the blame is theirs, but if anybody is saved, the credit is God’s.”
Showing posts with label Romans;. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Romans;. Show all posts
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
Monday, December 15, 2008
Christ the Second Adam - Romans 5:12-21
Yesterday I continued my sermon series in the book of Romans. My sermon text was Romans 5:12-21 and the title was "Christ the Second Adam." I'm sure that most people would not put this passage in their top ten list of biblical texts relating to Advent or Christmas. Nonetheless the text is wonderfully appropriate.
I introduced my sermon by asking the congregation a question: Why did Jesus have to come in the flesh? This is a basic question that often goes unanswered at Christmas. I was driving at the premise which is often overlooked -- that Jesus, the second Adam, had to come in the flesh to reverse what the first Adam messed up. According to this passage Adam's sin plunged humanity into guilt, condemnation and death. However, Christ's actions led to grace, justification and life.
I found this quote from Horatius Bonar in James Montgomery Boice's Commentaries on the book of Romans (p. 575, volume II, Baker Publishing) which says it better than I ever could:
"The first Adam dies, and we die in him; but the second Adam dies, and we live in him! The first Adam's grave proclaims only death; the second Adam's grace announces life -- "I am the resurrection and the life." We look into the grave of the one, and we see only darkness, corruption and death; we look into the grave of the other, and we find there only light, incorruption and life. We look into the grave of the one and find that he is still there, his dust still mingling with its fellow dust about it; we look into the grave of the other and find that he is not there. He is risen--risen as our forerunner into the heavenly paradise, the home of the risen and redeemed. We look into the grave of the first Adam and see in him the first-fruits of them that have died, the millions that have gone down to the prisonhouse whose gated he opened; we look into the tomb of the second Adam, and we see in him the first-fruits of that bright multitude, that glorifed band, who are to come forth from that cell, triumphing over death and rising to the immortal life; not through the tree which grew in the earthly paradise, but through him whom that tree prefigured -- through him who was dead and is alive, and who liveth evermore, and who has the keys of hell and death."
I introduced my sermon by asking the congregation a question: Why did Jesus have to come in the flesh? This is a basic question that often goes unanswered at Christmas. I was driving at the premise which is often overlooked -- that Jesus, the second Adam, had to come in the flesh to reverse what the first Adam messed up. According to this passage Adam's sin plunged humanity into guilt, condemnation and death. However, Christ's actions led to grace, justification and life.
I found this quote from Horatius Bonar in James Montgomery Boice's Commentaries on the book of Romans (p. 575, volume II, Baker Publishing) which says it better than I ever could:
"The first Adam dies, and we die in him; but the second Adam dies, and we live in him! The first Adam's grave proclaims only death; the second Adam's grace announces life -- "I am the resurrection and the life." We look into the grave of the one, and we see only darkness, corruption and death; we look into the grave of the other, and we find there only light, incorruption and life. We look into the grave of the one and find that he is still there, his dust still mingling with its fellow dust about it; we look into the grave of the other and find that he is not there. He is risen--risen as our forerunner into the heavenly paradise, the home of the risen and redeemed. We look into the grave of the first Adam and see in him the first-fruits of them that have died, the millions that have gone down to the prisonhouse whose gated he opened; we look into the tomb of the second Adam, and we see in him the first-fruits of that bright multitude, that glorifed band, who are to come forth from that cell, triumphing over death and rising to the immortal life; not through the tree which grew in the earthly paradise, but through him whom that tree prefigured -- through him who was dead and is alive, and who liveth evermore, and who has the keys of hell and death."
Monday, December 1, 2008
Romans 3:25 Propitiation
The word 'propitiation' or to 'propitiate' is an unfamilar word to most Christians. The Greek word is, 'hilasterion', and it shows up in the New Testament four times.
James Montgomery Boice refers to this as the 'forgotten doctrine' (p. 379 of Volume I of his commentary on Romans, Baker Publishing).
John Stott says this, “Many Christian people are embarrassed and even shocked by this word, however, because to ‘propitiate’ somebody means to placate his or her anger, and it seems to them an unworthy concept of God (more heathen than Christian)” (p. 113 of his commentary on Romans, InterVarsity Press).
Dr. R.C. Sproul defines propitiation this way, “In Christ’s death, God reconciled us to Himself, overcoming His own hostility that our sins provoked (Romans 5:10; 2 Cor. 5:18, 19; Col. 1:20-22). The Cross propitiated God. That is to say, it quenched His wrath against us by expiating our sins, and so removing them from His sight" (p. 1617 The Reformation Study Bible).
In recent years people have shied away from this basic teaching. Perhaps they have been embarrassed by the concept of God's wrath.
Forty or fifty years ago C.H. Dodd made a name for himself by substituting the word 'expiation' for 'propitiation.' To expiate means to cover something, and in his usage it was our guilt that was expiated by Christ's blood (Boice p. 374). Dodd went even further: “expiatory acts were felt to have the value, so to speak, of a disinfectant” (Stott p. 113). His impact was felt across denominational lines and impacted translations of the Bible so much so that the word 'propitiation' was deleted and replaced with something more palatable. Notable versions that were affected include the Revised Standard Version (RSV) and The English Bible (TEB). If you use the New International Version check out Romans 3:25 or I John 2:2: the word propitiation shows up in margin but has been translated as 'atoning sacrifice.' Maybe the translators of the NIV were impacted by Dodd's arguments. Fortunately Dodd's arguments have been shown to be fallacious in a fantastic book by Dr. Leon Morris, The Apostolic Preaching of the Cross. I highly recommend the book.
In today's setting no one less that Brian MacLaren of the Emergent Church has weighed in with his own opinion of propitiation: he likens it to 'cosmic child abuse.' Apparently he struggles with the concept of God's wrath so much so that he must recast the central event of redemptive history into new categories. Its too bad that he doesn't know the Bible that well.
I'm indebted to Dr. Boice's explanation of the Jewish Day of Atonement. Once a year the high priest entered the Holy of Holies to sprinkle blood on the ‘mercy seat’ and confess the sins of the people (see Leviticus 16). His first act was to take the blood of a sacrificed bull and sprinkle it for his own sins. He then went out and returned with the blood of one of the goats and sprinkled it on the mercy seat for the sins of the people. That blood was meant to ‘propitiate’ the wrath of God by quenching it or satisfying it.
Hebrews 10 tells us that animal blood cannot truly take away our sin. Furthermore the book of Hebrews demonstrates how Christ became the true ‘propitiation’ for sin: He was a better high priest than Aaron, he offered up his own blood which was infinitely better than the blood of bulls and goats, and he did this in the heavenly temple, not a temple made with human hands.
Dr. Boice (p. 376-7) ends his discussion of propitiation by referring to the story that Jesus told in Luke 18:9-14 of the Pharisee and tax collector who were both praying outside the temple. Pharisee prayed "God, I thankf you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I get."
The story continues with the tax collector praying: he was so aware of his sin that he couldn’t even lift his eyes to heaven. He beat his breast and prayed "God be merciful to me a sinner.”
Do you know what the Greek says? Literally the Greek reads, “God be mercy seated to me, a sinner” or, “God be propitiated towards me, a sinner.” Jesus then asks the rhetorical question, Who went away justified (declared righteous)? It was the the tax collector.
The know-it-all Pharisee likely died in his sins because he was too proud to admit that God's wrath was aroused against him. The tax-collector appealed to God's mercy and the work of the high priest precisely because he knew that he was a sinner who had offended a holy God.
Which person best describes you? Friend, take refuge in Christ. He is the one who has quenched the wrath of God once and for all. Apart from him you are lost and an object of God's wrath.
James Montgomery Boice refers to this as the 'forgotten doctrine' (p. 379 of Volume I of his commentary on Romans, Baker Publishing).
John Stott says this, “Many Christian people are embarrassed and even shocked by this word, however, because to ‘propitiate’ somebody means to placate his or her anger, and it seems to them an unworthy concept of God (more heathen than Christian)” (p. 113 of his commentary on Romans, InterVarsity Press).
Dr. R.C. Sproul defines propitiation this way, “In Christ’s death, God reconciled us to Himself, overcoming His own hostility that our sins provoked (Romans 5:10; 2 Cor. 5:18, 19; Col. 1:20-22). The Cross propitiated God. That is to say, it quenched His wrath against us by expiating our sins, and so removing them from His sight" (p. 1617 The Reformation Study Bible).
In recent years people have shied away from this basic teaching. Perhaps they have been embarrassed by the concept of God's wrath.
Forty or fifty years ago C.H. Dodd made a name for himself by substituting the word 'expiation' for 'propitiation.' To expiate means to cover something, and in his usage it was our guilt that was expiated by Christ's blood (Boice p. 374). Dodd went even further: “expiatory acts were felt to have the value, so to speak, of a disinfectant” (Stott p. 113). His impact was felt across denominational lines and impacted translations of the Bible so much so that the word 'propitiation' was deleted and replaced with something more palatable. Notable versions that were affected include the Revised Standard Version (RSV) and The English Bible (TEB). If you use the New International Version check out Romans 3:25 or I John 2:2: the word propitiation shows up in margin but has been translated as 'atoning sacrifice.' Maybe the translators of the NIV were impacted by Dodd's arguments. Fortunately Dodd's arguments have been shown to be fallacious in a fantastic book by Dr. Leon Morris, The Apostolic Preaching of the Cross. I highly recommend the book.
In today's setting no one less that Brian MacLaren of the Emergent Church has weighed in with his own opinion of propitiation: he likens it to 'cosmic child abuse.' Apparently he struggles with the concept of God's wrath so much so that he must recast the central event of redemptive history into new categories. Its too bad that he doesn't know the Bible that well.
I'm indebted to Dr. Boice's explanation of the Jewish Day of Atonement. Once a year the high priest entered the Holy of Holies to sprinkle blood on the ‘mercy seat’ and confess the sins of the people (see Leviticus 16). His first act was to take the blood of a sacrificed bull and sprinkle it for his own sins. He then went out and returned with the blood of one of the goats and sprinkled it on the mercy seat for the sins of the people. That blood was meant to ‘propitiate’ the wrath of God by quenching it or satisfying it.
Hebrews 10 tells us that animal blood cannot truly take away our sin. Furthermore the book of Hebrews demonstrates how Christ became the true ‘propitiation’ for sin: He was a better high priest than Aaron, he offered up his own blood which was infinitely better than the blood of bulls and goats, and he did this in the heavenly temple, not a temple made with human hands.
Dr. Boice (p. 376-7) ends his discussion of propitiation by referring to the story that Jesus told in Luke 18:9-14 of the Pharisee and tax collector who were both praying outside the temple. Pharisee prayed "God, I thankf you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I get."
The story continues with the tax collector praying: he was so aware of his sin that he couldn’t even lift his eyes to heaven. He beat his breast and prayed "God be merciful to me a sinner.”
Do you know what the Greek says? Literally the Greek reads, “God be mercy seated to me, a sinner” or, “God be propitiated towards me, a sinner.” Jesus then asks the rhetorical question, Who went away justified (declared righteous)? It was the the tax collector.
The know-it-all Pharisee likely died in his sins because he was too proud to admit that God's wrath was aroused against him. The tax-collector appealed to God's mercy and the work of the high priest precisely because he knew that he was a sinner who had offended a holy God.
Which person best describes you? Friend, take refuge in Christ. He is the one who has quenched the wrath of God once and for all. Apart from him you are lost and an object of God's wrath.
Friday, November 28, 2008
Romans 3:24 The redemption that is in Jesus Christ
In Romans 3:24 Paul states that (we) "are justified freely by his grace as a gift, through the redemtpion that is in Christ Jesus." In what was does Christ redeem us from our sins?
Let's begin with a basic definition. The Greek word for redemption is "apolytrosis." Bauer, Ardnt, Gingrich and Danker define this word to mean, "buying back a slave or a captive, making him free by payment of a ransom."
John Stott, in his fine commentary, Romans - God's Good News for the World (IVP), expands on with these words, “It is a commercial term borrowed from the marketplace…In the Old Testament it was used of slaves, who were purchased in order to be set free; they were said to be ‘redeemed’ (Lev. 25:47)” (p. 113). So, Paul is saying that we were slaves to sin and that Christ has paid the penalty to redeem us from that slavery. If we push the analogy further with regard to this being a commerical transaction the price that Christ paid to redeem us was his perfect keeping of God's laws. This is the first way that Christ has redeemed us.
James Montgomery Boice in his commentaries on Romans (Baker) notes that there two other complementary meanings to the term redemption that also arise from the Old Testament.
On p. 367 of volume I Dr. Boice comments on the Hebrew word, ‘kopher’, which means redemption. He cites OT law when someone's ox gored a person and killed him (Exodus 21:28-32). If the owner was found negligent his neck was on the chopping block. But the OT made an allowance that a price could be paid to the dead man’s family which would ‘redeem’ the owner’s life. That’s what Christ died for us – he paid the penalty for our sins so that we wouldn’t have to die. It was his life for ours. We were found negligent in breaking God's laws and the penalty was death. He stepped forward to give his life for the guilty so that they wouldn't have to die. This is the second definition of redemption that flows from this passage.
Dr. Boice also provides a third definition of the word redemption. On p. 367 he also explores the Hebrew word, ‘go-el’ = kinsman redeemer. OT law provided for property to remain within the family. If it was lost by means of debt or some other reason a relative acting as a kinsman redeemer could buy it back.
1) “He had to be a close relative (a stranger would not do).
2) He had to be willing to take on this responsibility (nobody could be compelled to do this work), and,
3) He had to be able to pay the ransom price (he had to have sufficient funds at his disposal)."
Dr. Boice refers to the story of Ruth and Boaz which illustrates the kinsman redeemer's role in crystal clear terms. Ruth came back to Bethlehem as a widow with her mother-in-law, Naomi. She went out to glean grain in the fields as the harvest progressed and did so in the fields of a distant relative of Naomi's, Boaz. Ruth found favor in Boaz's eyes and as the story progressed he fell in love with her. At a certain point in time a piece of property that once belonged to Naomi's husband Elimelech, is in danger of slipping out of the family's control. This comes to the attention of Boaz who seeks to fulfill the role of kinsman redeemer, but a closer relative has first right of refusal. When this closer relative learns that he must redeem not only the land but a person (Ruth), he backs out of the deal. But Boaz steps forward to redeem the land and Ruth and in the process becomes an important figure in redemptive history. From this union comes King David and eventually David's greater son, Jesus Christ.
Fast forward to Jesus' birth. The setting is Bethlehem, the place where Boaz acted as a kinsman redeemer to Ruth. But here, a greater kinsman-redeemer comes forth to do a greater work than Boaz did.
Christ fulfilled all three conditions required of a kinsman redeemer for us and our salvation. Dr. Boice points them out on p. 369,
“1) He became our kinsman by the incarnation, being born in this very town of Bethlehem,
2) he was willing to be our Redeemer, because of his great love for us; and
3) he was able to redeem us, because he alone could provide an adequate redemption price by dying.”
Stop trying to work your way to heaven and earn favor with God. You cannot redeem yourself from your sins and the more you try the deeper you dig yourself into a hole. Look to Christ alone as the one who can redeem you.
Let's begin with a basic definition. The Greek word for redemption is "apolytrosis." Bauer, Ardnt, Gingrich and Danker define this word to mean, "buying back a slave or a captive, making him free by payment of a ransom."
John Stott, in his fine commentary, Romans - God's Good News for the World (IVP), expands on with these words, “It is a commercial term borrowed from the marketplace…In the Old Testament it was used of slaves, who were purchased in order to be set free; they were said to be ‘redeemed’ (Lev. 25:47)” (p. 113). So, Paul is saying that we were slaves to sin and that Christ has paid the penalty to redeem us from that slavery. If we push the analogy further with regard to this being a commerical transaction the price that Christ paid to redeem us was his perfect keeping of God's laws. This is the first way that Christ has redeemed us.
James Montgomery Boice in his commentaries on Romans (Baker) notes that there two other complementary meanings to the term redemption that also arise from the Old Testament.
On p. 367 of volume I Dr. Boice comments on the Hebrew word, ‘kopher’, which means redemption. He cites OT law when someone's ox gored a person and killed him (Exodus 21:28-32). If the owner was found negligent his neck was on the chopping block. But the OT made an allowance that a price could be paid to the dead man’s family which would ‘redeem’ the owner’s life. That’s what Christ died for us – he paid the penalty for our sins so that we wouldn’t have to die. It was his life for ours. We were found negligent in breaking God's laws and the penalty was death. He stepped forward to give his life for the guilty so that they wouldn't have to die. This is the second definition of redemption that flows from this passage.
Dr. Boice also provides a third definition of the word redemption. On p. 367 he also explores the Hebrew word, ‘go-el’ = kinsman redeemer. OT law provided for property to remain within the family. If it was lost by means of debt or some other reason a relative acting as a kinsman redeemer could buy it back.
1) “He had to be a close relative (a stranger would not do).
2) He had to be willing to take on this responsibility (nobody could be compelled to do this work), and,
3) He had to be able to pay the ransom price (he had to have sufficient funds at his disposal)."
Dr. Boice refers to the story of Ruth and Boaz which illustrates the kinsman redeemer's role in crystal clear terms. Ruth came back to Bethlehem as a widow with her mother-in-law, Naomi. She went out to glean grain in the fields as the harvest progressed and did so in the fields of a distant relative of Naomi's, Boaz. Ruth found favor in Boaz's eyes and as the story progressed he fell in love with her. At a certain point in time a piece of property that once belonged to Naomi's husband Elimelech, is in danger of slipping out of the family's control. This comes to the attention of Boaz who seeks to fulfill the role of kinsman redeemer, but a closer relative has first right of refusal. When this closer relative learns that he must redeem not only the land but a person (Ruth), he backs out of the deal. But Boaz steps forward to redeem the land and Ruth and in the process becomes an important figure in redemptive history. From this union comes King David and eventually David's greater son, Jesus Christ.
Fast forward to Jesus' birth. The setting is Bethlehem, the place where Boaz acted as a kinsman redeemer to Ruth. But here, a greater kinsman-redeemer comes forth to do a greater work than Boaz did.
Christ fulfilled all three conditions required of a kinsman redeemer for us and our salvation. Dr. Boice points them out on p. 369,
“1) He became our kinsman by the incarnation, being born in this very town of Bethlehem,
2) he was willing to be our Redeemer, because of his great love for us; and
3) he was able to redeem us, because he alone could provide an adequate redemption price by dying.”
Stop trying to work your way to heaven and earn favor with God. You cannot redeem yourself from your sins and the more you try the deeper you dig yourself into a hole. Look to Christ alone as the one who can redeem you.
Romans 3:24 - Justified by Grace
The Greek word for justified is 'dikaioumenoi' the passive participle of 'dikaiow', which means to be declared righteous or pronounced righteous. In the context of this passage the one who justifies is God. He declares sinners to be righteous in His sight if they look by faith to the righteousness that He has provided in Christ (vv. 21-22). All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God (v. 23) so all need the righteousness that Christ provides. All can be justified (absolved, pronounced righteous, declared righteous) if they will look to Christ alone for their salvation. One's ethnicity, one's social status, one's education or income are not barriers to God: He will justify anyone who calls on His name through the merit of Christ.
This is all by "grace as a gift" (vs. 24). We cannot earn this declaration nor can we obligate God to give it to us if we meet certain conditions. It is freely offered and freely given because of his gracious nature. Psalm 103 captures this well:
"Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits, who forgives all your iniquity, who heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit, who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy, who satisfies you with good so that your youth is renewed like the eagle's...He does not deal with us according to our sins, nor repay us according to our iniquities. For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him; as far as the east is from the west, so far does he remove our trangrssions from us. As a father shows compassion to his children, so the LORD shows compassion to those who fear him. For he knows our frame; he remembers that we are dust."
Stop working to earn or merit God's approval. It is given freely to those who acknowledge that they are hopelessly sinful (Romans 3:10-20) and who look to Christ alone as the one who has done what they cannot ever hope to do: Keep God's commandments perfectly. Ask God to have mercy upon you, to cleanse you from you sins, and to give you the righteousness of Christ.
This is all by "grace as a gift" (vs. 24). We cannot earn this declaration nor can we obligate God to give it to us if we meet certain conditions. It is freely offered and freely given because of his gracious nature. Psalm 103 captures this well:
"Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits, who forgives all your iniquity, who heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit, who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy, who satisfies you with good so that your youth is renewed like the eagle's...He does not deal with us according to our sins, nor repay us according to our iniquities. For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him; as far as the east is from the west, so far does he remove our trangrssions from us. As a father shows compassion to his children, so the LORD shows compassion to those who fear him. For he knows our frame; he remembers that we are dust."
Stop working to earn or merit God's approval. It is given freely to those who acknowledge that they are hopelessly sinful (Romans 3:10-20) and who look to Christ alone as the one who has done what they cannot ever hope to do: Keep God's commandments perfectly. Ask God to have mercy upon you, to cleanse you from you sins, and to give you the righteousness of Christ.
Monday, November 24, 2008
Romans 3:21 "The Righteousness of God Has Been Manifested"
As I continue my sermon series on the book of Romans I am amazed at the doctrinal depth of this book. Yesterday I covered Romans 3:21-26. Let me unpack some of the key phrases over the next couple of blog posts.
The Righteousness of God Has Been Manifested:
In Paul's theology he is quick to show that the law (the Mosaic law) is alive and well and has an important part in the life of the Christian as well as the non-Christian. He demonstrates that the law has been given to make us aware of sin (3:20). In so doing the law reveals 'the righteousness of God', i.e. His righteous character.
In 3:21 Paul argues that the 'righteousness of God' has been revealed/manifested somewhere else outside of the law. The law and the prophets (the entire Old Testament) hint at this and give glimpses that this would come to pass. In 3:22 he reveals that this righteousness is embodied in a person: Jesus Christ. Moreover, that righteousness can be obtained by faith in Christ for all who believe without distinction.
The logical question that arises is this: "How is Christ the embodiment of the righteousness of God?" In Romans 5 and I Corinthians 15 Jesus is referred to as the Second Adam. In that sense it becomes clear how he can be called the righteousness of God: He did what the first Adam failed to do. He kept all of God's commandments perfectly during his 33 years on earth in spite of temptations that were infinitely more intense than the first Adam ever experienced. And at the end of his life he endured suffering beyond imagination and did not sin. Theologians refer to this as the active obedience of Jesus -- He actively kept God's commands with complete perfection.
You and I are like Adam -- sinners who cannot keep the commandments of God. We break them multiple times daily in thought, word and deed. The law wants to stop our mouths (3:19) with all of our excuses and rationalizations of why we do what we do. The law's purpose is to point us to a Savior who has kept God's law perfectly: Jesus Christ.
Lawbreakers, who by faith, look to Him alone for salvation, will be saved by Him. He will cleanse them from their sins. He will bestow upon them His own righteousness. They will be justified in the Father's sight. They will declared righteous in God's sight, as if they had never sinned nor been a sinner.
Look to Christ as the one whose righteousness you need.
More tomorrow.
The Righteousness of God Has Been Manifested:
In Paul's theology he is quick to show that the law (the Mosaic law) is alive and well and has an important part in the life of the Christian as well as the non-Christian. He demonstrates that the law has been given to make us aware of sin (3:20). In so doing the law reveals 'the righteousness of God', i.e. His righteous character.
In 3:21 Paul argues that the 'righteousness of God' has been revealed/manifested somewhere else outside of the law. The law and the prophets (the entire Old Testament) hint at this and give glimpses that this would come to pass. In 3:22 he reveals that this righteousness is embodied in a person: Jesus Christ. Moreover, that righteousness can be obtained by faith in Christ for all who believe without distinction.
The logical question that arises is this: "How is Christ the embodiment of the righteousness of God?" In Romans 5 and I Corinthians 15 Jesus is referred to as the Second Adam. In that sense it becomes clear how he can be called the righteousness of God: He did what the first Adam failed to do. He kept all of God's commandments perfectly during his 33 years on earth in spite of temptations that were infinitely more intense than the first Adam ever experienced. And at the end of his life he endured suffering beyond imagination and did not sin. Theologians refer to this as the active obedience of Jesus -- He actively kept God's commands with complete perfection.
You and I are like Adam -- sinners who cannot keep the commandments of God. We break them multiple times daily in thought, word and deed. The law wants to stop our mouths (3:19) with all of our excuses and rationalizations of why we do what we do. The law's purpose is to point us to a Savior who has kept God's law perfectly: Jesus Christ.
Lawbreakers, who by faith, look to Him alone for salvation, will be saved by Him. He will cleanse them from their sins. He will bestow upon them His own righteousness. They will be justified in the Father's sight. They will declared righteous in God's sight, as if they had never sinned nor been a sinner.
Look to Christ as the one whose righteousness you need.
More tomorrow.
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