TURNING POINT
Romans 3:21-31
Fourteenth in the sermon series, “Romans: Gospel Blueprint.”
Paul has been building a case like a prosecutor. First, he indicts the pagan world that suppressed the truth about God. Then he turns to the religious and moral Jew and says: you’re no better; you judge others while doing the same things. He dismantles the misplaced self-confidence of the Jew. Finally, he sweeps everyone in, Jew and Gentile alike, and closes the case: “None is righteous, no, not one.” The whole world stands silent and guilty before God, with no defense left. That’s the courtroom Paul has us standing in with a clear verdict: guilty. But everything is about to change.
Turning Point
Into that silent, guilty courtroom, Paul drops two words: “But now.” Something new has broken into history. God himself has provided a way to be made right with Him, not by keeping the law, though the law and prophets pointed to it all along.
Romans 3:21-23: 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,
Notice the perfect tense: this righteousness “has been revealed” and stands revealed still. It’s a settled, finished reality, not a distant hope. And it’s for everyone who believes, no exceptions, the one door out of the courtroom, opened by God.
Justified and Redeemed
Paul mentions several key phrases. First, “justified by His grace as a gift.” Second, “through redemption in Christ Jesus. Third, “propitiation by His blood to be received by faith.” Fourth, “God’s righteousness.” Fifth, “divine forbearance.”
Romans 3:24-26: 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.
How can a just God simply forgive guilty people? At the cross, God dealt with sin openly rather than sweeping it aside. So God stays completely just and still declares sinners righteous. He didn’t relax the standard. He satisfied it Himself through Christ.
No Boasting
If being made right is a gift received by faith, then boasting is finished. No one can boast. No one can take credit for a rescue that one didn’t perform. Paul pushes further: Is God only for one kind of people? No.
Romans 3:27-31: Then what becomes of our boasting? It is excluded. By what kind of law? By a law of works? No, but by the law of faith. 28 For we hold that one is justified by faith apart from works of the law. 29 Or is God the God of Jews only? Is he not the God of Gentiles also? Yes, of Gentiles also, 30 since God is one—who will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through faith. 31 Do we then overthrow the law by this faith? By no means! On the contrary, we uphold the law.
The same God makes both Jew and Gentile right through the same faith. This flattens every pecking order of race, class, and background. And far from throwing out God’s law, this faith actually honors what the law was always aiming at.
Application
1. Do not climb out of guilt by trying harder or comparing yourself to others. Do not trust in your own merit. There is one exit, and God built it. Your only move is to walk through it by faith; the same door is open to all.
2. Our forgiveness isn’t God looking the other way. It cost Him the death of the Son on the cross. His grace was not soft on sin; it came with a price. Our forgiveness comes from believing this truth.
3. Remove any source of spiritual pride like morality, religion, heritage, or race. Lay them down. Then treat the person unlike you as a full equal, because God is saving them the very same way he saved you.
Poem
TURNING POINT by Ed Pilapil Jr The court is called, the charge is read No mouth can speak, no plea is said Both near and far, both proud and base Stand guilty, silent, face to face But now a word breaks through the night God brings His righteousness to light No law we kept, no debt we paid Yet all is finished, all is made The sacrifice, the sprinkled blood Where wrath was met in crimson flood The judge is just, the standard true The guilty sinner is made new So boasting dies, its mouth is stopped Its crown of pride is bowed and dropped One faith, one Lord, one open door Only the Christ, our sins He bore
Study Guide
1. What does Paul mean by “but now,” and how is this righteousness different from the way people usually try to be right with God? (Ro 3:21-24)
2. How does the cross allow God to be both “just” and the one who justifies sinners at the same time? (Ro 3:24-26)
3. Why does Paul say boasting is “shut out,” and what does this mean for how we view people different from us? (Ro 3:27-31)
