Oct 1, 2020
Romans 3:20-26
Morning Bible study led by Matthew Butler
Friday, July 31
Tom Brady is certainly in the running as the G.O.A.T. (Greatest of All Time) in football’s quarterback position.
Before you tune me out: this is in no way an endorsement for the New England Patriots—or the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. (Go Pack! And Go LAS VEGAS Raiders!)
Brady has played in nine Super Bowls, winning six of them, both of which are the most of any player in NFL history. He has won a record four Super Bowl MVP awards as well as three NFL MVP awards for the season. Because of his numerous records and accolades, many sportswriters, commentators, and players consider Brady to be the greatest quarterback of all time.
In the midst of much of his success, Tom Brady was interviewed on 60 Minutes and asked if he was “satisfied” in life. This was his response:
“There are times where I’m not the person that I want to be. Why do I have all these Super Bowl rings, and still think there’s something greater out there for me?
“I mean, maybe a lot of people would say, ‘Hey man, this is what it is. I reached my goal, my dream, my life.’ Me? I think: it’s gotta be more than this. I mean, this can’t be what it’s all cracked up to be. I’ve done it. What else is there for me?”
For a man who seems to have so much, something is still missing. All of these accomplishments hadn’t quite added up; they simply didn’t satisfy.
In this Bible study, we’re going to see that we can do a lot of amazing things, a lot of GOOD things, but none of our accomplishments or efforts will gain us right standing with God, and nothing apart from Jesus will ultimately satisfy.
We’re going to be “Fixing Our Eyes on Jesus as Our Righteousness.” Our primary text will be Romans 3:20-26.
Before we dig into the passage, I think it’s wise to define two important terms we encounter in these verses, so dust off your dictionaries. The first word we need to define is “righteousness.”
What is righteousness? Well, to be “righteous” is to be “morally right.” And what Paul has laid out in the first two and a half chapters of Romans is that because of humanity’s sinful nature, no one is morally right (or righteous) but God Himself. Therefore, “righteousness”—this is the definition—is an attribute of God that refers directly to His right moral character, particularly manifested in His holiness and justice.
“Righteousness” is an attribute of God that refers directly to His right moral character.
The second term to understand is “justification.”
Justification is a legal term that declares one righteous. (If you will, “morally right.”) A good way to remember “justified” is to remember these two phrases:
—”Just if I’d never sinned.”
—”Just if I’d always obeyed.”
It’s an acquittal of guilt,— a declaration of righteousness: “justification.”
Now that we have our definitions in order, turn to Romans 3. Let’s start in verse 20. It reads, “For by works of the law no human being will be justified in his sight, since through the law comes knowledge of sin.”
There’s that word “justified.” “For by works of the law no human being will be justified in his sight…”
No one is going to gain “right standing” before God through “works of the law.” Why is that? Well, the last half of verse 20 tells us that that’s not one of the purposes of the law.
It says, “…SINCE through the law comes knowledge of sin.”
The First Purpose of the Law is not to justify you from sin; it is to reveal sin. One of the purposes of the Law is to give you the knowledge of what sin is.
“Well… that doesn’t sound good. So is the Law bad then?” NO!
Later on in Romans 7, verse 12, he says, “the law is holy… and righteous and good.”
Think of it like this. When I was 16 and had just gotten my driver’s license, I could clearly see the “25 MPH” speed limit sign on the side of the road. It was a good speed limit; it was right and proper for the neighborhood that I was driving in. Nothing was wrong with the sign, but it did reveal to me that I was speeding—breaking the law by going 46 mph when I should have been going 25 mph. (Made even more evident when I got two tickets for it.)
That was when I was 16. Not a good day.
Is the Law good? YES.
Is the Law good at justifying us? NO!
It’s good at showing us what sin is… and MORE.
Let’s keep going in verse 21 of Romans 3, “But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it—”
So, the “righteousness of God” (or the “right moral character” of God) has been revealed apart from the law. Something else, other than the law, has shown us God’s perfect moral character. “ALTHOUGH!” Here’s the Second Purpose of the Law in this passage.
“although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it—”
This is why we can’t unhinge the Old Testament from
Christianity. We need our whole Bibles—including the Law—to do these two things:
1. The Law reveals Sin
2. “Bears witness to” or “points us to” the
righteousness of God.
How do we gain “right standing” before God? It’s not through works of the Law. (Verse 20 showed us.) What is it? How do we become righteous? Where is our justification? It’s less about a What, How, or Where…But it’s WHO.
Verse 22 tells us, “the righteousness of God.” How do we get it? “through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe.” We must “fix our eyes on JESUS as our righteousness.”
This is good news for ALL people.
The last half of verse 22 says, “For there is no distinction…”
Paul had been going back and forth between these two groups of people: Jews and Greeks. (Basically short hand for “everybody”!)
“There’s NO distinction between people. What I’m about to say applies to ALL people.”
Verse 23, “for ALL have sinned and fall short of the glory of God…” [all of us are in the “sinner” boat] “and are justified…” [declared righteous; made to be “just if I’d never sinned; just if I’d always obeyed”] “…by his grace as a GIFT.”
On your birthday, do you EARN your gifts? Well, if you count staying alive as an accomplishment, sure. But His grace is a gift. Unearned. Undeserved.
“…through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation [an appeasement, or satisfying offering for God’s just, perfect and righteous wrath against sin] by his blood, to be received by faith.”
JESUS is Our Righteousness.
And we see from the rest of the passage, that,
“This…
[God the Father’s sending of God the Son, to justify and redeem all those who would believe in Jesus]
“THIS was to show God’s righteousness, because in his divine forbearance [His perfect patience] he had passed over former sins.”
And God’s timing is perfect.
Verse 26, “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.”
We could certainly, like Tom Brady, accrue a list of accomplishments, and work hard to gain satisfaction in life. BUT, all of it—apart from Jesus—will not gain us right standing before God.
We need to encourage one another to “Fix Our Eyes on JESUS as Our Righteousness.”
How do we have “right standing” before God? It’s JESUS.
How are we “accepted” by God? It’s JESUS.
How do we have “assurance of our salvation”? It’s JESUS.
That’s good news that we need to remember again and again. I hope that’s encouraging to you.
