March 5, 2018
No, Not One. Wait, There Was One!
Romans 3
Andy Moon
Central Truth
As abiding Christ-followers justified by faith, we are declared righteous, not by the merit of our own actions, but we are made favorable in the eyes of God by the sacrificial death of the faultless One who died in our place.
Romans 3
God's Righteousness Upheld
1 Then what advantage has the Jew? Or what is the value of circumcision? 2 Much in every way. To begin with, the Jews were entrusted with the oracles of God. 3 What if some were unfaithful? Does their faithlessness nullify the faithfulness of God? 4 By no means! Let God be true though every one were a liar, as it is written,
“That you may be justified in your words,
and prevail when you are judged.”
5 But if our unrighteousness serves to show the righteousness of God, what shall we say? That God is unrighteous to inflict wrath on us? (I speak in a human way.) 6 By no means! For then how could God judge the world? 7 But if through my lie God's truth abounds to his glory, why am I still being condemned as a sinner? 8 And why not do evil that good may come?—as some people slanderously charge us with saying. Their condemnation is just.
No One Is Righteous
9 What then? Are we Jews 1 3:9 Greek Are we any better off? 2 3:9 Or at any disadvantage? No, not at all. For we have already charged that all, both Jews and Greeks, are under sin, 10 as it is written:
“None is righteous, no, not one;
11
no one understands;
no one seeks for God.
12
All have turned aside; together they have become worthless;
no one does good,
not even one.”
13
“Their throat is an open grave;
they use their tongues to deceive.”
“The venom of asps is under their lips.”
14
“Their mouth is full of curses and bitterness.”
15
“Their feet are swift to shed blood;
16
in their paths are ruin and misery,
17
and the way of peace they have not known.”
18
“There is no fear of God before their eyes.”
19 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. 20 For by works of the law no human being 3 3:20 Greek flesh will be justified in his sight, since through the law comes knowledge of sin.
The Righteousness of God Through Faith
21 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, 24 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. 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.
27 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.
Dive Deeper | Romans 3
For the past few weeks, we have made our way through the first three chapters of Paul’s longest epistle, a letter he wrote to the early Christians in Rome during his third missionary journey around A.D. 57. Many scholars consider this letter, the Book of Romans, to be the “Mount Everest" of Christian theology because it contains the most comprehensive collection of theological writings in a single book of the Bible. One of these concepts is the idea of propitiation.
Propitiation—a word now shown to be in steady decline from our common vernacular since the 1850s—essentially means “the act of making favorable or appeasing.” Interestingly, its Latin origin comes from a Hebrew translation of the word meaning “covering” or “mercy seat,” which was the lid of the Ark of the Covenant where the blood was placed as a sacrifice for the sins of the people (Leviticus 16:14).
Jesus is the propitiation!
In Journey entries leading up to today, we have read about the utter depravity of mankind (Romans 1:18-3:20). Particularly in verses 3:10b-12, it is clear that not a single one of us can be declared righteous apart from the sacrifice by God’s Son Jesus Christ. Thus, the inability of man to save himself through his own performance validates the central core of the gospel message: our greatest need is to be rescued by God’s love and declared righteous through His grace. Jesus came to reconcile the entire world to God by taking on our sin. That's propitiation—the satisfaction of God's righteous wrath through Jesus' sacrifice on the cross. Jesus is our propitiation, for those who believe. Furthermore, we are reminded that “He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world.” (1 John 2:2)
Undoubtedly, the theological concept of propitiation is a critical tenet of our faith. By confessing our sin and brokenness, living in an authentic community of believers, and praying for one another, we have the opportunity to affirm the beauty of the gospel message that we are nothing apart from Christ (James 5:16, John 15:5).
This month's memory verse
10 as it is written:
“None is righteous, no, not one;
11
no one understands;
no one seeks for God.
– Romans 3:10–11
Discussion Questions
1. Read Romans 5:6-8. Knowing that God initiated the propitiation for our sins, how does that change your view of His goodness and love?
2. How can you rely more fully today on Jesus Christ’s completed work on the cross rather than your own performance? Be specific.
3. Think of a particular time when you felt pursued by God. How did it feel to experience the love of the Father? Share that feeling with some close friends today. Tell them of God’s awesome love and ask them to share their own experience.