I’m going to be really honest about how I felt concerning
last week’s message. About halfway through the sermon I could sense that all of
us, including myself, were becoming a bit overwhelmed by the material. I was
rushing to get through it all and I could tell that I was losing some of us in
the room. Add to that discussions on words like “propitiation” and other heavy
doctrinal considerations and it made for a really dense morning that I might
sure was altogether clear (the fault is all mine). Romans 3:19-26 is a heavy
passage that, when I have the chance to preach it again, deserves to be broken
up into two smaller passages that each deserves their own message. As I
considered how I might remedy the situation and reiterate/clarify what I said
last week, I began to read on in Romans and discovered that Paul probably felt
the same way I did after he wrote what I preached on last week. Why would I
believe this? Because in verses 3:27-31, Paul pauses to ask and answer four
questions that were probably on the hearts and minds of many in his audience
after they interacted with the heavy material just presented. Hopefully in this
passage we can obtain the clarity that Paul’s original audience sought about
justification as defined earlier.
1) Of What Can I
Boast?-3:27a
The first question that is hypothetically posed to Paul is
“Where, then, is boasting?...” (3:27a). This question betrays the tendency that
many have of believing that they ultimately drive their fate, even in spiritual
issues. Such a tendency was especially prevalent among the Jews who had
developed entire systems that were designed to measure one’s
righteousness—adhering to the law, customs, traditions, festivals, etc.
However, the Gentiles were not immune from such measures also. Even to this day
people morally judge others based on any number of outward expressions—the
quality of their family, income, material possessions, level of education, etc.
Truly all people make the mistake of assuming that they can justify themselves
on some level based on performance. If this were true, people would have
grounds for pride and be able to say something to the effect of “Look what I’ve
accomplished” or “Look how good I’m behaving” or worse “Look what I have done
to fix myself.”
If what Paul said in vv. 19-26 was true—i.e. that
justification is by faith and not by living up to some kind of standard—it was
hard to see where the room was for feeling proud of oneself. This motivates the
first question—“Where, then, is boasting?” or “What can I then be proud of?”
Paul’s answer is as short as it is sharp—“It is excluded”
(3:27b). In other words, there is no room for personal braggadocio in God’s
plan of redemption. Why? Because Jesus,
not the individual has done everything to make salvation available, apply salvation
to the individual, and see that salvation is accomplished. Jesus is the one who
perfectly upheld the law when humans could not. Jesus is the one who was
offered up as a satisfaction for sin when no other was worthy. Jesus is the one
who conquered death when all other efforts proved futile. As a result, if
anyone is able to brag, it is He!
Ephesians 2:8-9-“For by grace are you saved through
faith, and this is not of yourselves, it is a gift, not of works lest any man
should boast.”
If we want to understand justification properly we have to appreciate
that it is not designed to bolster our resume, pad our ego, or to give us any
sense of self-righteousness over others. God’s program of justification, and
therefore salvation, gives the human person no room to boast in themselves.
2) What Kind of Law should
I be most Concerned About?-3:27c-28
From the time that I 5 to when I graduated high school I
took piano lessons. During these years I was taught by four different women who
all had their own influence on my development as a musician. However, none had
a greater influence than Gayle Dobbs—my latest piano teacher. When I began
attending lessons with her, I learned that while I was already relatively
accomplished for a middle-school aged musician, I was playing the piano all
wrong. My posture was poor, fingering sub-par, and I had a nasty habit of
reading what I wanted to the music to say rather than what was actually on the
page. Needless to say, after years of endorsing bad habits, these tendencies
were not easy to break.
The same appears to be true of those to whom Paul was
writing. After believing that they had some say so in their own righteousness
through their adherence to the law or their consciences, it proved difficult
for Paul to instruct them toward a more appropriate way of living. This
lingering dependence on the law for righteousness by many in Paul’s audience is
betrayed in the next question that they pose: “What Kind of Law should I be
most concerned about?”
“By what kind of law?
Of Works?” (3:27c). Other variations of this question that would communicate
what is meant here might include the following: “What do I need to do?” “What
rules must I follow?” or “What regulations, if followed, will get me closest to
God?” However, all of these variations are more in keeping with the old, tired,
religious tradition that Jesus turned on its head. This inquiry is totally
missing the point that Paul made in verses 19-26.
In his answer, Paul plays along but then offers an entirely
new (that is new to many in his audience) paradigm to consider—“No, but by a
law of faith” (3:27d). In a brilliant example of contextualization, Paul says
“If it is a law or standard you are looking for, here it is: faith!” Paul is
hoping that his audience might learn to be as focused on their faith in God as
they were their adherence to God’s law. Why? Because ultimately faith in Jesus
is what justification/salvation is all about—not works.
Paul helps explain this by giving them the cliffs notes
version of what he already said in verses 19-26—“for we maintain that a man is
justified by faith apart from works of the Law” (3:28). The verb that Paul
uses—“maintain”—means to think about something in a detailed and logical
manner. Here, Paul calls the reader to really think about what he has been
saying for some time now logically so that he or she might reach the same
conclusion that he has on this matter.
First, God is absolutely holy and as such cannot tolerate
any sin whatsoever. Human beings, no matter how closely they follow the letter
of the law of God, fall short. Though they might work, improve, and follow
orders (the law either written or internalized) as best they can, they still
fall short of this standard. Something else, something miraculous must take
place in order for people to be made right before God. This leads to the second
consideration: Jesus Christ. Jesus came to earth as God made flesh, lived out
the law perfectly (unlike everyone before or after him) and was then offered up
as punishment for sins. God’s holiness was satisfied in punishing Christ
instead of human beings, giving imperfect people the ability to have a
relationship with a holy God. This leads to the third consideration—justification
through faith. If sinful people place faith in a perfect Christ, Christ’s
righteousness will be conferred upon them, thereby providing salvation. Works
are not involved and the law is not a major factor. In fact, as mentioned
earlier, the law only reveals sin—it doesn’t fix the problem (see 3:20).
To the question “what law should I be most concerned about?”
Paul says “be concerned about faith!”
3) Is This Program
for Me?-3:29-30
I imagine all of this talk of the law in this letter to the
church at Rome could have made it seem as though the Gentiles were left out.
After all, Gentiles had not received a formal law from God. This may have
prompted a question that Paul endorses here for the sake of clarity—“Or is God
the God of Jews only? Is He not the God of Gentile’s also?” (3:29). A crude
paraphrase of this might read “is this program for me?”
Paul answers with “Yes, of Gentiles also…” (3:29b).
Justification by faith, in other words, was not just a correction for the Jews,
but a promise for anyone who would believe—Jew and Gentile alike. The hope that
comes from Jesus alone is not reserved for a specific ethnic group—it is
available to all kinds of people.
To help make this point, Paul recalls a discussion he had
earlier about a practice that separated the Jews from the rest of the world—“…since
indeed God who will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised
through faith is one” (3:30). Remember what Paul said earlier:
Romans 2:28-29-“For he is not a Jew who is one
outwardly, nor is circumcision that which is outward in the flesh. But he is a
Jew who is one inwardly; and circumcision is that which is of the heart, by the
Spirit, not by the letter; and his praise is not from men, but from God.”
In other words, God is not as concerned about outward
symbols and genetic heritage as much as he is about the condition of one’s
heart and the direction of one’s faith. Jew and Gentile, circumcised and
uncircumcised are not the distinctions one ought to be concerned with. All are
either lost or saved and all have the opportunity to be saved through faith.
God’s program of salvation is the same for everyone. This program is for you,
for me, and for all the world.
4) Is the Law
Irrelevant?-3:31
If all people cannot boast in the law, should be more
concerned about faith, then is the law relevant anymore? This is the fourth
question that Paul entertains in this passage—“do we then nullify the Law
through faith?” (3:31a). The word “nullify” means to render ineffective or
obsolete and this question very nearly asks that if Jesus has interrupted the
paradigm of justification to this degree, can’t the law just be thrown out? I’m
sure there were some looking for license to do all kinds of things now that
following the law didn’t seem to score any points with God.
However, Paul answers “May it never be! On the Contrary, we
establish the law.”
Though Paul does not yet elaborate on how justification by
faith actually upholds the law here, he does argue very strongly that even
though following the law does not save, it should not be thrown out entirely.
After all, consider what Paul says in Romans 8:3-4.
Romans 8:3-4-“For what the Law could not do, weak as
it was through the flesh, God did: sending His own Son in the likeness of
sinful flesh and as an offering for sin, He condemned sin in the flesh, so that
the requirement of the Law might be fulfilled in us, who do not walk according
to the flesh but according to the Spirit.”
The Law is compelling as it is a standard of
righteousness—the very standard of righteousness that Jesus Himself fulfilled
perfectly. However, the Law is also compelling as it reveals just how in need
of Jesus people are. In people’s pursuit of upholding it and failing to keep
it, they learn about their need for Jesus. What could be more important than
that! Sounds like a good reason to keep it around.
To the question “Is the law Irrelevant?” Paul says, “No, it
tells us we are not perfect and points us to the one who is.” Both of these are
important uses of the law.
So What?
The questions Paul answers in this passage clarify a great
deal about the important doctrine of justification. First, because Jesus has
accomplished everything on our behalf, we cannot boast. Second, people ought to
be more concerned about faith than they are the law (after all, why worry about
something that cannot save you?). Third, justification through faith is the
same for all people everywhere. Finally, though the law cannot save us, it reminds
us that we need saving and points us to the Savior.
In response to what we’ve learned, perhaps I might conclude
by asking a few questions of us.
Have you convinced yourself that you can save yourself by
working hard and putting on a good face?
Are you more concerned about following a set of rules than
you are resting in the arms of Jesus?
If your answer is “yes” to either of these, please know that
Jesus has provided justification freely. All one must do is place their
complete faith in Him rather, not in themselves, and quit striving and know
that He is God.
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