God’s Righteousness Through Faith
Romans 3:21-23 (NKJV)
21 But now the righteousness of God apart from the law is revealed, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets,
22 even the righteousness of God, through faith in Jesus Christ, to all and on all who believe. For there is no difference;
23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
In verse 21 we reach a very important section of the apostle Paul’s letter to the saints in Rome. Leading up to this section Paul is explaining the sinful state of all men, both Jew and Gentile, and their inevitable accountability to God. He begins with the transitional phrase “but now” giving the audience a reason to be optimistic. Paul said “But now (at this present time) the righteousness of God apart from the law is revealed.”
The “righteousness” of God, according to W.E. Vine is “His faithfulness, or truthfulness, that which is consistent with His own nature or promises.” Six hundred years before the birth of Jesus, God made a promise through the prophet Jeremiah that a day was coming when He would make a new covenant with His people that would be different from the law of Moses. He promised that the new law would be in the minds and written on the hearts of His people. Those who would follow Him under the new law would have their iniquities forgiven and their sins would be remembered no more. (Jer. 31:31-34)
We need to be very careful not to misunderstand what Paul is trying to convey. He is not saying that the hope that lies in Jesus Christ is apart from any law. When Jesus died on the cross, he fulfilled the old law and removed it, becoming the Mediator of a better covenant, which was established on better promises. (Heb. 8:6) Therefore, the righteousness of God apart from the law of Moses is available through faith in Jesus Christ (v. 22). Faith in Jesus is proven by our willingness to submit to His law by obedience to the gospel and living a life in pursuit of His likeness.
Paul’s objective, beginning in chapter 2, is uniting Jew and Gentile converts, people who had been sharply divided for centuries. In verse 22 he explains that the righteousness of God through Jesus Christ is “to all and on all who believe.” Now, because of the atoning blood of the Messiah, all nations would be blessed and could be united with God the Father only by the blood of Jesus. It no longer matters who you are. “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus.” (Gal. 3:28)
“There is no difference,” because whether you are Jew or Gentile, male or female, “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” For this reason we ALL need the blood of Jesus. We have no purpose without Jesus, we have no direction without a Master, we have no healing without the Great Physician, and we have no hope without the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End, the First and the Last, our Lord and our Savior Jesus Christ.
As the song goes, “If I had one song to sing only Jesus, if I had one word to speak only Him.” If you are willing, live your life for Jesus. There is no better life to live. If we surrender to Him daily, we can sing His praises with the saints throughout eternity.
Are you interested in serving the Master? You can only do that if you come into contact with His redeeming blood. I can help you with that! If you would like to have a Bible study or if you are interested in taking a free Bible correspondence course, please contact me any time!
- Eric Bullock, Evangelist
