We are justified by faith alone!

[Romans 3:19-31]

In our life of faith, what we must never forget is the crucifixion of Jesus Christ, which God did for our salvation. We must never forget this wonderful work of God, in which God raised us, who was dead in trespasses and sins (Eph. 2:1), back to life through the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus Christ and made us the greatest masterpiece of God. However, the problem is that we believers who have been saved by God's exclusive grace often lose focus while living a life of faith. In other words, when we first live a life of faith, we tend to focus on the grace of salvation that God has done in Jesus Christ, and later on, we tend to focus on what we have done for God. Therefore, we commit the dangerous sin of relying on human merit rather than the concept of grace. As a result, we see ourselves serving the church, the body of the Lord, for our own glory in our arrogance rather than giving glory to God. Therefore, we must live a life of faith like the lyrics and refrain of verse 1 of the hymn “When Upon Life’s Billows”: When upon life's billows you are tempest-tossed, When you are discouraged, thinking all is lost, Count your many blessings, name them one by one, And it will surprise you what the Lord hath done. Count your blessings, Name them one by one; Count your blessings, See what God hath done; Count your blessings, Name them one by one; Count your many blessings, See what God hath done.

Among the many blessings we have received from God, one that cannot be left out is “justification.” Then what does justification mean? This is a legal terminology, which means that God, the Judge, not only acquits us, who are guilty of sin, but also declares, ‘You are righteous.’ In other words, God's righteousness is imputed to us. Therefore, now that we are justified by God's grace, our relationship with God has been restored. We are no longer God's enemies, but as God's children, calling God "Abba, Father" and have fellowship with us.

‘The core of the Reformed justification theory is to emphasize that 'justification'

is 'God's legal declaration'. It is to understand the meaning of 'recognize, declare'

as righteous. Looking at justification in this way, it can be largely divided into

negative and positive aspects. The former means freedom from punishment and

wrath for sins, while the latter means recognition as a righteous person who

possesses complete righteousness’ (Internet).

In today's text Romans 3:19-31, apostle Paul teaches two core truths as he writes a letter to the saints in Rome.

The first core truth is that we cannot be justified by the work of the law.

Look at Romans 3:20 – “Therefore no one will be declared righteous in his sight by observing the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of sin.” The apostle Paul, writing a letter to the saints in Rome, explains that the reason why one cannot be justified by the work of the law is because through the law we become conscious of sin. In other words, Paul says that no one can justify by the work of the law because he and the Roman church saints realizes that “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (v. 23) through the law. Writing to the Roman saints, Paul says that both Jews and Greeks “are all under sin” (v. 9). And they realize this fact through the law. Therefore, since all are under sin, no one can be justified by God by their own works of keeping the law. In other words, it is absolutely impossible for a sinner and an enemy of God to be forgiven of his sins and restore his relationship with God through his own act of keeping the law. The reason Paul explains the law like this is because the Jews wanted to be justified by God by keeping the law given by God through Moses. The Jews were very proud of having received the law through Moses. And in this pride, they relied on the law and boasted (2:17). Even so, they themselves were committing a sin against the law (2:12ff.). They thought they knew God's will (2:18), but in their arrogance, believing themselves to be an instructor of the foolish, a teacher of infants” (v. 20), they liked to teach others, but did not teach themselves (v. 21). Rather, the Jews boasted of the law, but dishonored God by breaking the law (v. 23). Because of them, the name of God was being blasphemed among the Gentiles (v. 24). Therefore, Paul wrote a letter to these Jewish saints, clearly telling the Jews who wanted to be justified by God through their own works, and relying on their own merits, saying that they could never be justified by the works of the law. So, after he said, “Therefore no one will be declared righteous in his sight by observing the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of sin” (3:20), he said “For we maintain that a man is justified by faith apart from observing the law” (v. 28).

How, then, does Paul say we can be justified? This is the second core truth that Paul teaches the saints in Rome and us in today's text.

The second core truth is that we are justified by faith alone.

Apostle Paul, writing a letter to the saints in Rome, said that one cannot be justified by works of the law (vv. 20, 28), but only by faith in Jesus Christ. In other words, it is not that sins are forgiven and the relationship with God is restored through the works of the law, but that the relationship with God can be restored through the forgiveness of all sins through faith in the works of Jesus. So, writing to the saints in Rome, he clearly said: “For we maintain that a man is justified by faith apart from observing the law” (v. 28).

There are three truths to keep in mind here:

It is true that we are justified entirely by God's grace.

Look at Romans 3:24 – “and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.” The apostle Paul, writing a letter to the Roman saints, said that they could not be justified by the works of the law, but only by the works of God and the works of Jesus. Here, God's work means that God made Jesus as a propitiatory sacrifice to redeem us and allowed Him to shed His precious blood on the cross to die, thereby not only demonstrating His righteousness, but also justifying those who believe in Jesus (vv. 25-26). So, what was Jesus’ work? That is, Jesus Christ was crucified and shed His blood to redeem us on the cross. Therefore, justification is not possible by the works of man, but only by the works of God and of Jesus Christ. Think about it. How can a sinner justify himself? How can a sinner be justified by keeping the law? How can a sinner keep the law perfectly? How can a guilty person be acquitted by human effort? If so, surely we can boast of ourselves. If we have been forgiven of our sins through our own merits and have restored our relationship with God, then we humans certainly have something to boast about. However, Paul says that we can never boast (v. 27). He says that no one can boast (v. 27). Why? It is because we are all justified freely by His grace (v. 24).

The Bible says that we are "by grace we have been saved, through faith, and this not from you; it is the gift of God; not by works, so that no one can boast" (Eph. 2:8-9). Can those who have received God's gift as grace boast of themselves (or their deeds) because of what merits they have? Faith is a gift, salvation (eternal life) is also a gift, and all are gifts of God's grace given to undeserving sinners. What do we have to boast about? The only thing we can boast about is Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ, who justified us, was crucified, died, and rose from the grave on the third day. Because He obeyed Heavenly Father until death, we were forgiven of our sins, our relationship of enmity with God, was restored, and we became God's children and could pray while calling God, "Abba, Father." We must not forget this total grace of God.

It is true that there is no distinction in the righteousness of God that comes to all believers through faith in Jesus Christ.

Look at Romans 3:22 – “even the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all those who believe; for there is no distinction.” The community of saints in Rome receiving the apostle Paul's letters was composed of both Jews and Gentiles. But the problem was that there was discrimination among the Lord's community. The Jewish believers had a sense of spiritual superiority and differentiated themselves from the Gentiles in the idea that they were God's chosen people who received the law and circumcision from God. Paul wrote a letter with these people in mind, teaching them that they were justified freely by God's grace, not because they obeyed the law (v. 24). Also, he teaches that we are justified only by faith in Jesus Christ. He clearly states that there is no distinction in God's righteousness to all believers through faith in Jesus Christ. How can there be distinction within the church? All have been saved by the grace of God, received the remission of sins through faith in the merits of the cross of Jesus, and have become children of God. How can they differentiate ourselves from other brothers and sisters in the community while boasting of themselves? It is because they do not realize the grace of God that they are differentiated within the church. In other words, those who differentiate themselves from other brothers and sisters in Christ with a sense of spiritual superiority in the church rely on their own merits rather than the merits of the cross of Jesus. One of the characteristics of these people is that they focus on what they have done for God rather than what God has done for them. It can be a very dangerous life of faith. So, Paul is telling the saints in Rome: “Or is God the God of Jews only? Is He not the God of Gentiles also? Yes, of Gentiles also” (v. 29). The same God, both Jew and Gentile, justifies all believers, whether they are Jews or Gentiles. In this way, there is no distinction in being justified by faith and being saved by faith. What kind of distinction can there be in being justified by faith in Jesus? There can never be distinction due to such things as country, ethnicity, gender, rich and poor, and so on.

It is true that all believers who have been justified by faith in Jesus Christ must establish the Law rather than abolish it.

Look at Romans 3:31 – “Do we then nullify the Law through faith? May it never be! On the contrary, we establish the Law.” Mainly, when we say the Law, we think of legalism and despise the Old Testament law in negative prejudice. As people of the New Testament, that is, the New Covenant, we are even breaking the Law thinking that we must live by faith in Jesus Christ only. However, such a life of faith is a life of faith that has lost its balance. A true balanced life of faith is a life that establishes the Law rather than abolishing it. In other words, although we are justified and saved by believing in Jesus Christ, our responsibility as a justified and saved person is to live a righteous life. To live that righteous life is to live by keeping the Law given by God. Of course, the life of keeping the Law here is not to be justified, but to live a life worthy of being justified by faith in Jesus Christ, having already received faith as a gift through the grace of God. How should we live as those who have received grace from God? The life we must live for the glory of God is a life that firmly establishes the Law. To put it simply, it is to live while practicing the twofold commandment of Jesus: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind” and “Love your neighbor as yourself” (Mt. 22:37, 39). As those who have been saved by the grace of God and have been justified by faith in Jesus by the grace of God, we must live a faithful life, obeying Jesus' twofold commandment.

You and I have been justified by God through our faith in Jesus Christ. All of our sins have been forgiven by God's grace, and our relationship with God has been restored. We can pray to God and have fellowship while calling God “Abba, Father.” Therefore, there should be no distinction in our fellowship. How can we, who have received faith as a gift by the grace of God and have been saved and justified by the merits of the cross of Jesus, differentiate ourselves from each other with a sense of spiritual superiority? May it never be! We also have a responsibility as those who have been justified by God's total grace. If we truly realize and know this grace of God, even a little bit, we must love God more and love our neighbors more and live our lives by that grace. Let's not forget. We can be justified by God only by grace, only because of Christ, and only by faith.