As I’ve mentioned over and over and
over, the book of Romans is the most theologically complete book of the Bible.
It’s the most comprehensive presentation of the Good News, explaining what
Jesus did. If you want descriptions of what Jesus did, then you go to the
Gospels. But in order to truly understand why he did what he did, what exactly
he accomplished for us, and how that affects us today, then you need to turn to the epistles, especially the
book of Romans.
Here’s a question that occurred to
me: Paul’s given a pretty good explanation of what happened at the cross and
how we get saved in yesterday’s passage, the latter part of chapter three. Why
does he go on? Why is there a need for chapters four and five, where he delves
even deeper into soteriology—the ins and outs of our salvation?
Obviously he (under the inspiration
of the Spirit) believed that we need further instruction and persuasion on
this, and here’s my theory as to why: The Good News of Christ is not only
counterintuitive, it runs completely counter to our prideful sinful nature. The
natural person—apart from the illumination of the Spirit—looks at the Good News
and rejects it as too simple or leading to Antinomianism.
Of course it can’t be that simple. Of course we’re going to have to add
something to what Jesus did. So Paul spends the next chapter or so just laying
out his argument that it really is that simple, that we really are brought into
a right relationship with God, that we’re declared righteous in his
sight—simply by believing in Jesus and receiving him as Lord and Savior.
Among his audience, the people who’d
have the most trouble accepting this paradigm of salvation by grace through
faith in Christ alone would undoubtedly be the Jews. They'd had it drilled into
them from infancy the primacy of the Law of Moses, that it’d be virtually
impossible for someone to be right before God unless they were following it,
and this would seem to be contradicting all that. So he brings up two examples
to bolster his case.
First, he presents for our
consideration the Father of the Jewish people, Abraham. How was he declared
righteous before God? On what was his relationship before God based? Was it his
lifestyle, his pattern of obedience? I know—it was his circumcision!!! A
lot of Jews believed this pretty much punched your ticket into Heaven.
Was he justified by works? You might
be a little confused by a phrase in vs. 2: If he was justified by works, then “he
had something to boast about—but not before God.” What’s he talking about?
Well, if he couldn’t boast before God, then before whom could he boast?” The best answer I’ve heard to this is that our
works can “justify” us before men,
but not before God. This seems to be as good a time as any to talk about the
term “justify.”
The Bible uses it in two very
different senses. It can use it in the sense of “be declared righteous or not
guilty,” and it’s a legal term referring in this context to God’s courtroom. He’s
the Judge of every man, woman, and child who’s ever lived, along with
everything else in creation. He gives out reward and punishment based on what
we do, based on how our performance conforms to his perfect standards. Of
course, as Paul has been hammering over and over and over, none of us will be
justified (declared righteous or not guilty) in his court based on our
performance. The only way we can ever be justified is by faith in Christ.
But there’s another sense that the
Bible uses “justify,” and this is in the sense of “vindication.” The simplest
definition I’ve ever heard of vindication is to be proven right about
something. You claim to be following God, however imperfectly. This is the same word the Gospel writer
uses when he quotes Jesus as saying
that “wisdom is proved right by all her children.” He doesn’t mean that wisdom
is declared not guilty in God’s court. That’s why it’s translated the way it
is--“being proven right.”
Before God, the only way we’re ever
going to be declared righteous is by faith. But the people around us can’t see
our hearts. They can’t see our faith itself, only the actions that our faith
leads to. They can’t see our faith in Christ, but they can how we love people
in Jesus’ name. Or in Abraham’s case, people around him could see his trust in
God by his actions.
There’s some more we need to examine
in this passage, so we’ll examine it more tomorrow. In the meantime, focus on this
truth: You’re justified before God by faith alone, but you prove your faith
before people by how you act.
Lord Jesus, I’ve trusted you for my
salvation, and I trust in you alone for salvation and everything else. You
alone are worthy of absolute trust. By your grace, I want to show that.
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