In Romans 1 we read about the wrath of God – how, as a consequence of our suppressing the truth and encouraging lies and falsehood (to others, if not ourselves), the Lord ‘gives us up’ to our dishonorable passions, and our lusts – resulting in all sorts of depravity.
In Romans 2, we read about the judgment of God – of how He would judge us not merely according to our works but also our thoughts; We’ve read about how His righteous judgment judges all of us, and judges all of us.
Wait, what? I mean Paul says God judges all of us, meaning our entire being, and He judges all of us, meaning Jew and Gentile.
Just last week, with the time I had left, we looked at Romans 3… and we zeroed in on how hopeless we are as the rest of creation, and those in attendance and those watching online were sadly subjected to me breaking down and lamenting of how hopeless I’ve gotten as of late…
…and that’s where I introduced what I learned from a recent ‘symposium’ – that our privilege, rather our best option in the body of Christ when things don’t go our way, when our current circumstances don’t make any sense and are outright confusing, and/or situations have us depressed, longing and alone; our reaction, our response during these times is to worship.
We worship, just as Abraham worshipped. God told him to offer Isaac, his only son, as a sacrifice… and thought he could have argued with God the same way he argued with Him for the fate of Sodom and Gomorrah, Genesis 22:5 states that he chose to respond by way of worship.
In worship, we take our focus away from our issues and circumstances, away from ourselves, and towards our Savior. We intentionally bring ourselves to awe of the greatness of our God, instead of the gravity of our situation.
And I remember ending by saying that we shouldn’t be surprised if, in our worship, we’re being led back to remembering Christ and His finished work.
Now, for lack of time, that’s how I ended, but it wasn’t necessarily the same way Paul ended Romans 3. No, he had quite the plot twist for all who were reading:
Now we know that whatever the law says it speaks to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be stopped, and the whole world may be held accountable to God.
Now I’m at quite a quandary with this set of verses; Couldn’t afford to pass on them, but I’m having trouble with them at the same time. Paul appears to be saying that, first, whatever the law says, it says to those under the law, BUT in the same sentence he implies that in so doing, everyone (and not just those under the law) would be silenced (our mouths may be stopped), and ‘held accountable to God’. What gives?
I quickly went through the other verses the ESV points to, and also looked at the commentary offered by the eSword application. The latter does point out that the verses preceding Romans 3:19, the ones which we discussed described how hopeless we were as human beings, actually applied to just the Jews, as it was mostly derived from the Old Testament.
The commentary points this out with the purpose of emphasizing that if the Jews were in that miserable state, how much more the Gentiles! And that point sounds like the cause behind how EVERY mouth would be stopped, and how the ENTIRE WORLD will be held accountable to God – and not just those of the Jews.
For by works of the law no human being will be justified in his sight, since through the law comes knowledge of sin.
Paul goes on by saying that the works we strive to accomplish to adhere to such a law – the same law that points out how we ought to stay silent, and how all of us are accountable to God – none of our efforts to follow the law would suffice to render us ‘justified’ before the Lord.
Paul writes, through the law comes knowledge of sin, but I would expand this to say that, through the law comes knowledge of God’s absolute perfection, and our sin – that is, our imperfection and hopelessness apart from Him.
Some plot twist, you might say. Sorry, I just had to go through that before going any further. Thanks for bearing with me so far.
But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it— the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe.
And here we go. For all the talk of wrath and judgment, and for all we’ve seen, regarding how the Law renders us silent and points out our sin and hopelessness… Rejoice! For righteousness has come, according to the Law and the Prophets: Yes, the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the Law, and through faith in Jesus Christ!
It’s emphasized even further as we close the chapter… for see, I have reason to believe that the Gospel that Paul was talking about way back in Romans 1:16 can be summarized in the verses that follow: For there is no distinction: for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by (God’s) grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith.
It’s John 3:16 once again, but just arranged differently: All have sinned, all have fallen short of the glory of God, and as such, are doomed to perish into oblivion. However, those who believe (that is, those who receive redemption in Christ Jesus), shall be saved – they shall be justified by God’s grace, proclaimed righteous unto eternal life!
This was to show God’s righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins. 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.
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. For we hold that one is justified by faith apart from works of the law. Or is God the God of Jews only? Is he not the God of Gentiles also? Yes, of Gentiles also, since God is one—who will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through faith. Do we then overthrow the law by this faith? By no means! On the contrary, we uphold the law.
Through Christ and His finished work, God demonstrated the infinite superiority of His own righteousness, over what we claim to be ‘righteousness’ that we generate.
We have no reason to glory in our own works because this righteousness we have does not come from what we do, but through what Christ has done. We are righteous because we believe in Jesus Christ, who was sent by God to justify all – Not just the circumcised Jews, but the uncircumcised Gentiles as well!
And if we read those final words of the chapter, we can say that we have no reason to refuse this righteousness, because by our faith in Christ, we aren’t ‘overthrow(ing) the law’, but we’re actually upholding it!
Now I was supposed to ‘start’ Romans 4 in another article, but I think we should keep the momentum here.
1 What then shall we say was gained by Abraham, our forefather according to the flesh? 2 For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about, but not before God. 3 For what does the Scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness.”
4Now to the one who works, his wages are not counted as a gift but as his due. 5 And to the one who does not work but believes in him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted as righteousness, 6 just as David also speaks of the blessing of the one to whom God counts righteousness apart from works:
7 “Blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven, and whose sins are covered;
8 blessed is the man against whom the Lord will not count his sin.”
Friends, here’s the way I see this: If any of us were to insist that we were to ‘earn’, or even maintain our own righteousness by way of our works, then Paul says that it’s as if we’re paying our dues (the word for ‘due’ in other translations is ‘debt’, if that makes any more sense) – or, we’re be paying off a ledger, one imposed upon us by sin.
Say that we DO, by some insane claim of perfection, pay off that ledger. Say we pay off all our sin – even THAT would be a sin on its own, because you’d either be lying, and/or proud; both sins. No, let’s all follow the example of Abraham, who did not prioritize works, but believed God. For if we also believe, we would be made righteous.
And what a righteousness that is! For David foretold, this righteousness we have through Christ, and not of our works, renders our lawless deeds forgiven, our sins covered – Those who believe, are blessed, indeed!
9 Is this blessing then only for the circumcised, or also for the uncircumcised? For we say that faith was counted to Abraham as righteousness. 10 How then was it counted to him? Was it before or after he had been circumcised? It was not after, but before he was circumcised. 11 He received the sign of circumcision as a seal of the righteousness that he had by faith while he was still uncircumcised. The purpose was to make him the father of all who believe without being circumcised, so that righteousness would be counted to them as well, 12 and to make him the father of the circumcised who are not merely circumcised but who also walk in the footsteps of the faith that our father Abraham had before he was circumcised. 13 For the promise to Abraham and his offspring that he would be heir of the world did not come through the law but through the righteousness of faith.
Going back to Abraham again, Paul points out that he believed, and righteousness was counted to him BEFORE he was told to undergo circumcision. And when he WAS circumcised, it was a sign,‘a seal of the righteousness that he had by faith while he was still uncircumcised’. Furthermore, it was to indicate that he would be the father of all who were made righteous before AND after circumcision.
I’m sorry, but I think I’ve held off long enough from looking at what Abraham actually believed God for. At this point, let me pull it up:
1 After these things the word of the LORD came to Abram in a vision: “Fear not, Abram, I am your shield; your reward shall be very great.” 2 But Abram said, “O Lord GOD, what will you give me, for I continue childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?” 3 And Abram said, “Behold, you have given me no offspring, and a member of my household will be my heir.” 4 And behold, the word of the LORD came to him: “This man shall not be your heir; your very own son shall be your heir.” 5 And he brought him outside and said, “Look toward heaven, and number the stars, if you are able to number them.” Then he said to him, “So shall your offspring be.” 6 And he believed the LORD, and he counted it to him as righteousness. Genesis 15:1-6
What did Abraham believe? He believed in God, when He told him that (1) He would have his very own son as his heir (later on, this would be Isaac), and more importantly, (2) His offspring shall be as the number of the stars in heaven, ‘if (he was) able to number them’.
He believed this before his circumcision, that he would be father of the uncircumcised who would be made righteous through faith. He was then circumcised, as a sign that he would also be the father of the circumcised, also made righteous through faith.
14 For if it is the adherents of the law who are to be the heirs, faith is null and the promise is void. 15 For the law brings wrath, but where there is no law there is no transgression.
16 That is why it depends on faith, in order that the promise may rest on grace and be guaranteed to all his offspring—not only to the adherent of the law but also to the one who shares the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all, 17 as it is written, “I have made you the father of many nations”—in the presence of the God in whom he believed, who gives life to the dead and calls into existence the things that do not exist.
Paul reiterates one purpose of the law here: That is, that it ‘brings wrath’. Paul would also write to the Galatians, saying “For all who rely on works of the law are under a curse; for it is written, “Cursed be everyone who does not abide by all things written in the Book of the Law, and do them.”” (Galatians 3:10) – To those, therefore, who insist on following the Law for righteousness, justification and salvation, they are (1) cursed, (2) their faith is null, and (3) the promise made to Abraham is no longer applicable to them and is void.
Here I’m reminded of how absolutely sad it may be for anyone who intentionally suppresses the truth and welcomes falsehood, utterly rejecting faith for works; This wrath of God which is upon them leaves them alone to their own passions and debased mind, but here we see it also leaves them cursed, with any faith and consequent promises they claim to have declared null and void.
And while they are in this world, they are creations within creation, which projects the glory of God at every single moment… meaning, they intentionally suppress the truth and welcome falsehood at every single moment.
We’re already hopeless as we are without any of this slammed upon us! We ought to be thankful that our God manifested His righteousness through Jesus Christ!
18 In hope he believed against hope, that he should become the father of many nations, as he had been told, “So shall your offspring be.” 19 He did not weaken in faith when he considered his own body, which was as good as dead (since he was about a hundred years old), or when he considered the barrenness of Sarah’s womb. 20 No unbelief made him waver concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God, 21 fully convinced that God was able to do what he had promised. 22 That is why his faith was “counted to him as righteousness.”
23 But the words “it was counted to him” were not written for his sake alone, 24 but for ours also. It will be counted to us who believe in him who raised from the dead Jesus our Lord, 25 who was delivered up for our trespasses and raised for our justification.
Paul points out here that Abraham had every chance and reason to reject God’s promise, considering the state of his own physical body, and that of his wife’s as well. And, heck, we could falter too, with our own doubts about ourselves, where we’ve been, who we’ve encountered, and so on. And those who we pointed out were intentionally rejecting Christ every single day they exist in creation? Well, they’re working very well into achieving what I’d probably call the doubt of doubts…
…but what we thought was complicated, can be summarized into one sentence. What is it, to believe that it would be counted for righteousness? It is to be fully convinced that God IS able to do what he had promised…
And, folks, Paul emphasizes that for us, if we believe in God who raised Christ from the dead, we’re also saying that we are fully convinced that He delivered Him up for us trespasses, and He raised Him up for our justification!
And so, in just a few chapters we have realized our hopelessness on our own, and the hopelessness of our actions. Hopeless is as hopeless does. And it doesn’t really inspire relief to know that, even in our hopelessness, we will all be subject to judgment – that is, that God will render to us according to our works and our thoughts, pretty much all that we are.
The good news, the Gospel (which we receive through the power of the Holy Spirit and the grace of God) states that the righteousness of God apart from the Law has been revealed to us – through no less than Jesus Christ and His finished work!
While the Law only served to point out our hopelessness, we find our hope – indeed, all of us who believe in Christ find our hope AND we find Life and Salvation! As Abraham believed, so we believe, and we celebrate our hope, our life and our salvation, fully convinced that God was able to do what he had promised!
So with all of this said, let us move away from religiosity, and thinking that we could earn and should maintain our salvation through who we are and what we do.
Let us live our daily lives with confidence, moving along the faith that has been authored into us, which states that we are saved – both now and forever – because of Christ and His finished work.
Let us rejoice – oh, let us celebrate! For God IS able to do what He promised.
At this point, I just had to look through Google to see what other writers had to say about God’s promises, and I was not disappointed.
Here’s something from the good folks of Cloistered Away:
1. God always keeps His promises (Num. 23:19, Ps. 146:6)
2. God created us and knows us (Ps. 139)
3. God chose us (Ps. 33:12, 2 Pet. 2:9)
4. God is always with us (Deut. 31:8)
5. God never forgets us (Is. 49:15-16)
6. God watches over our lives and keeps us from harm (Ps. 121)
7. God has plans to prosper us and give us hope (Jer. 29:11-13)
8. God strengthens us and helps us (Is. 41:10)
9. God fights for us (Ex. 14:14, Deut. 1:30, Deut. 3:22, Neh. 4:20, 2 Cor. 10:4-5)
10. God rewards us when we love our enemies (Lk. 6:35)
11. God is kind and cares for us (Ex. 34:6-7)
12. God always teaches and guides us (Ps. 32:8)
13. God is our hiding place and refuge (Ps. 32:7, Ps. 46:1)
14. God keeps us safe while we sleep (Ps. 4:8)
15. God protects us from the Evil One (2 Thess. 3:3)
16. God provides a way out of temptation (1 Cor. 10:13)
17. God comforts us (Is. 66:13, 2 Cor. 1:3-4)
18. God keeps us in peace (Is. 26:3, 12)
19. God exalts the humble (Jam. 4:10)
20. God meets all our needs (Phil. 4:19)
21. God gives us rest (Mat. 11:28)
22. God always forgives us when we confess to Him (1 John 1:9)
23. God give us eternal life (John 3:16-17)
24. God gives us victory over death (1 Corin. 15:3-4, 54-57)
25. Jesus is “yes” to all of God’s promises (2 Corin. 1:20-22)
Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life (John 14:1-7)
Take note of that last promise. All of it is ‘yes’, and ‘amen’ in Jesus Christ. The way I see it, God’s promises have been secured – that is, they have been accomplished AND they will continue to be accomplished in our lives, through Christ and His finished work.
I’ll leave you guys to figure out for yourselves, in your own personal lives, how we know, say, 20. God meets all our need IN and THROUGH Christ, or 14. God keeps us safe while we sleep BECAUSE of Christ.
I’ll leave you guys to interpret how these promises point to Christ, and how His finished work fulfilled all these promises.
Let us rejoice – oh, let us celebrate! For God IS able to do what He promised.
Let me close by praying as the Psalmist prayed: Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart Be acceptable and pleasing in Your sight, O LORD, my [firm, immovable] rock and my Redeemer. (Psalm19:14)
Until the next post (on Romans 5, coming soon!), God bless us all, now and forever.
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