BaptistWay Bible Series for September 23: Here’s the solution

Posted: 9/13/07

BaptistWay Bible Series for September 23

Here’s the solution

• Romans 3:21-31

By Andrew Daugherty

Christ Church, Rockwall

This section of the Apostle Paul’s letter to the church at Rome marks a significant turning point. It echoes back to the opening of the letter where Paul connects the gospel of God with what had been promised “beforehand through his prophets in the holy Scriptures” (1:2).

It is important to Paul’s broader argument to maintain continuity with Israel’s prophets in the past while affirming the disclosure of God’s righteousness through the faith of Jesus Christ. Here, Paul handles the delicate balance between the content of the Torah and the character of God’s decisive action in Christ. Jesus has become the living, breathing embodiment of the whole spirit of the Torah. Keep in mind Jesus’ words in the Gospel of Matthew: “Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets; I have come not to abolish but to fulfill” (5:17).

For a printer-friendly version, click on the printer icon at bottom of page.

Paul has just addressed in chapter 2 the issue of those who are uncircumcised but keep the law and those who are circumcised and break the law. In his argument, he makes strong accusations about the failure of the Jews to uphold the covenant God established with them. He borrows some of the language of the prophets to say, “The name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you” (2:24). In fact, the sting of Paul’s argument is that many Gentiles could actually obey the law even while many Jews could boast of knowing all about the law but breaking it anyway.

Though they claimed to possess the law, they did not practice the law. Their acts of unrighteousness destroyed any positive relationship with their covenant partner. Since human beings broke this covenant with God, the bad news was God technically was no longer bound to honor the covenant. It was God’s prerogative to decide whether to persist in the relationship with human beings or put an end to it. The good news is the only One who could do anything about it decided to restore this perversely fractured relationship once and for all.

The gift of grace in Christ represents God’s decision to continue this covenant relationship. Since “all” (Jew and Gentile alike) have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, the gift of grace in Christ would have both universal appeal and universal applicability (v. 23). The righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for “all” who believe appeals to “all” who have sinned (v. 22). The terms of agreement to enter in to this restored relationship are on the basis of one’s faith in the faithfulness of Jesus.

Through Jesus, God honored the covenant created with Israel. Where Israel had failed to keep their commitment to God’s covenant, Jesus fulfilled it. What has happened through the person and actions of Jesus is consistent with what God required of Israel in order to fulfill their part in the pact. The revelation of God’s righteousness through Jesus is attested by the law and the prophets (v. 21).

However, a tension exists, because Paul says this revelation has happened apart from the law (v. 21). New Testament scholar Luke Timothy Johnson stresses two related points. First, this revelation happens apart from the law means God’s action in Christ is truly the freedom enjoyed and practiced by the human person Jesus. But not only does it happen in the life of Jesus, it also happens in the human lives of Paul’s audience. This makes God’s revelation of righteousness in Christ of more consequence than mere religious ideology or puritanical concern for the letter of the law. This means God enters into the realm of human experience in order to redeem relationships gone awry.

Second, God’s method for making human beings right is through the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus. The expected redemption looked for by Jews was anything but what Jesus looked like as the crucified Messiah. The manner of Jesus’ death was cursed by God, according to the Torah—“Cursed be everyone who hangs upon a tree” (Deuteronomy 21:23). How could the crucifixion of Jesus be compatible with the content of the Torah? For Paul, Jesus’ faith is the ultimate expression of obedience to God, even to the point of death. This is the scandalous “stumbling block” Paul will more fully address in chapter 9.

For now, Paul emphasizes that Jesus is God’s gift of grace. He is proof positive of God’s righteousness. God’s righteousness is not so much a moral quality of God’s nature as it is the action of God whereby a positive relationship is restored with human beings.

According to Paul, God is the only one who possesses the power to do anything about the cycle of sin that overwhelms our lives. To be justified by God’s grace as a gift means to receive wholeheartedly the faithfulness of Jesus as the fulfillment of our covenant with God.

To believe in Jesus in this way means more than just a set of mental beliefs we are either right or wrong about. To receive justification by God’s grace means to live in such a way that our lives conform to the sort of life Jesus lived in his own faithfulness to God. It means hearing and responding with one’s whole life to this gospel that is the power of God for salvation to everyone who has faith (1:16).

Finally, Paul uses a “question and answer” format to anticipate questions perhaps commonly posed about his gospel. He carefully handles the tension between “the law of works” and “the law of faith.” No longer can anyone claim a right to boast of possessing God’s law, because a person is made righteous by God’s gift of grace in Christ. No person can accomplish righteousness. And when it comes to enjoying a right relationship with God, God has made a level playing field possible for all people to have equal access to righteousness through the faithfulness of Jesus.

Discussion question

• Discuss possible definitions of God’s righteousness.

• If an alternate translation of “faith in Jesus Christ” is “the faith of Jesus Christ” in verse 22, discuss how this affects your understanding of being justified by God’s grace as a gift. Is this based on your faith or Jesus’ faith?

• How sympathetic do you think Paul is to the value of the Jewish religion in this passage?