RIGHTEOUSNESS BY FAITH
(Romans Bible Study Series Tape Five)
Recommended reading - Romans 3:21- 23.
A common mistake that mankind has made throughout
history is, he believes he can live his life without God. Paul says that
when man turns his back on God, the result is unrighteousness. A knowledge
of the law does not make us righteous, as some have said; rather, we are
all under sin. We are by nature sold to sin. No person can, of themselves,
produce a righteousness that qualifies them for the Kingdom of God. The
purpose of the Law is to silence us. All mankind is under the Law and all
are guilty under the Law; therefore, all deserve the punishment of the
Law. The whole world is guilty before God. We must get to the point where
we can say, along with the Apostle Paul, "There is nothing good in
me."
I. The Law has a glorious part in the Gospel.
· The Law shows
us that we are not righteous.
· God did not
give the Law to save us! It was not given as a means of salvation or as
an added requirement for salvation. Galatians 3:17, points out
that God gave the Law, 430 years, after He promised salvation to Abraham
and to his seed.
· The Law was
used as a school master that would lead us to Jesus Christ and would
enable us to be justified by faith. If there was no Law, we would not
need to be justified because we would not be unjust.
II. Paul introduces and defines the Gospel in this very crucial
section of scripture.
· Paul defines
how mankind is saved, and how salvation becomes effective.
· Paul introduces
the Gospel in Romans 3:21, by using two very important words -
"But now". The words "But now," are very important
to us for the following reasons:
1.) These words introduce the Gospel in contrast to
the dark, dismal, and hopeless picture that has been previously
painted about the human race. Paul immediately shows the Good News. He
shows what happens, after the Law has done its' work. We see what
occurs, after we have been placed on death row with no escape. God
shows us that we can say, "But now the righteousness of God is
available to us;"
2.) The two words come to us as a time factor.
Salvation was not an after thought. God promised salvation from the
moment that Adam had sinned. Salvation was a promise to Adam, to Noah,
and to Abraham. Paul makes it clear that Abraham was saved by a
promise. Now it is no longer just a promise; it is manifested; it is a
historic reality. We are not living in the period of BC; we are living
in the time period of AD. The time factor has to be applied not only
in historic terms but also in terms of each believer's life. Every
believer can divide his own personal life into two periods - BC and
AD. Before Christ, we were under condemnation; there was no hope. Now
that you have accepted Christ, you do not live in the BC period of
your life; you now live in the AD period. Christ has now become our
righteousness;
3.) The words are a tool for us as Christians, in
terms of our assurance of salvation. Notice King David in Psalm 51.
David did not go before God saying he was righteous, holy, and
good. He Knew he had violated the Law. If there had not been a Law in
existence, he would not have known that he had broken the Law. David
had a beautiful attitude before God. God was justified in condemning
David. God is not only justified in condemning us, He is also
justified for forgiving us. David was born in sin (in Adam), as we all
have been. God could not remove the sin from David, as if the sin
simply did not exist.
· God was
creating in David, and is creating in us, a clean heart. He is
accomplishing this, as He puts His Law and His nature into man. We must
realize that we can not do this by ourselves.
III. Some may struggle and disagree with what is being taught.
· Please study
this whole series. Don't take small parts and apply them out of the
context of the whole.
· The study will
turn your life around! It will make you different. We will have a
better understanding of the Great God. We receive on our account, as the
free gift of God, the perfect record of Jesus Christ. That is a precious
thought. Place this in our heart and in your mind.
· The enemy of
God does not want us to understand this. We do not have to slink around
guilty all of the time. We have the righteousness of God on our account.
This has been imputed through Jesus Christ. The secret of victorious
living is to be rooted in and grounded in the righteousness of Christ.
The ground is justification by faith; the fruit is sanctification. We
will never produce the fruit unless, we are secure about our salvation.
IV. The first thing God gives us is - "But now the
righteousness of God".
· It is a
righteousness planned by God. God planned this long before we were born.
It was planned before Adam was created. Ephesians 1:4, explains
this fact. There were no surprises to God; He knew exactly what was
going to happen.
· Once it was
planned, God immediately promised salvation to the human race, after
Adam sinned. Once Adam and Eve sinned, God came to visit the garden.
Adam and Eve felt God came immediately to punish them, and to execute
judgment. God came to give them the promise of salvation!
V. The proper understanding of the priesthood is important.
· The Logos and
Melchizedek are the same Beings. Christ is the incarnation of the Logos.
The High Priest was in the garden with Adam.
· Immediately,
after the sin of mankind, an animal was killed. The hide was used for
the covering of Adam and Eve, and the animal also was used as a
sacrifice pointing to Jesus Christ.
· It is a
righteousness, planned by God, promised by God, and a righteousness
provided by God.
VI. Apart from (or without) the Law.
· The Bible is a
unified book. There is only one way that God saves mankind; that is
through His righteousness, and as a gift to us through Jesus Christ.
· Salvation by
grace is not an after thought because the Law failed. The Law did not
fail. Paul, in reference to that thought, said certainly not, God
forbid! What Paul means when he states "Apart from the Law,"
is the righteousness of God is entirely from God. We have not
contributed to our Law keeping.
· We are
justified by faith apart from the deeds of the Law. We are given a
heavenly robe often known as the righteousness of Christ. A heavenly
garment without a thread of human devising; it is entirely from God.
· There is no
boasting in righteousness by faith because it is entirely a gift from
God. How can we have this righteousness; what must we do for this
righteousness to be ours? We do not get righteousness by faith by doing
something. Paul answers this question in Romans 3:22. The
righteousness of God is ours through faith in Jesus Christ. This applies
to all mankind. There is only one way in which man can be saved, and
that is through faith alone. We do not contribute; it is all from God.
VII. The prerequisite for faith is a knowledge of the Gospel.
· Romans
10:17, explains that faith comes by the hearing of the Word of God.
We must understand the awesome power of God. His Gospel will be
proclaimed.
· No man should
ever think that it is through Him alone that the Gospel message will be
taught. No man should exalt himself, or place himself, in some perceived
great position within an organization.
· We should serve
and divest ourselves of perceived honor, glory, and praise; and we
should become humble servants of the Almighty God.
· God will not
send condemnation to the world until one of two things occur: the world
will have a chance to thank God for His unspeakable gift; or the world
will have the opportunity to utterly reject Him. Eventually all will
have an opportunity.
· Faith means to
believe in the truth. We must know the truth and believe the truth. This
is difficult, because faith is a contradiction to human nature and
reason. God offers us salvation in the Gospel which is impossible for us
to obtain, without the direct intervention of God. When you accept
Christ, God looks at you as if you had never sinned.
· It is simply
not enough to have a mental thought of the truth. There is a heart
obedience required. Paul explains this in Romans 1:5, Romans 6:17,
Romans 10:16. To obey the Gospel means we must surrender our will to
the truth, as it is in Christ.
VIII. God put us in Christ and rewrote our history.
· Since we are
sinners something essential had to take place; we had to die. No one can
take our place. The wages of sin is death.
· Jesus did not
come to change the death sentence. He did not come to substitute for the
death sentence. Jesus came to fulfill the death sentence. In Christ it
was fulfilled. In Christ's death, it was not one man dying instead of
all men, or in place of all men. In Christ all men died, in one man. We
all died; II Corinthians 5:14, when one died all died.
· To obey the
Gospel we must say, as Paul said in Galatians 2:20, (paraphrased)
that, "I am crucified with Christ yet I am still living. It is no
longer I, but Christ who lives in me. The life that I now live I live by
faith in the son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me."
· When we
understand the true meaning of faith, the fruit is always holiness of
living; because Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever. The
life Christ lived 2000 years ago, He can live in us. Christ does this as
evidence of righteousness by faith. Obedience to the Gospel is saying,
not I, not my life, not my will, but Christ in me. This righteousness is
effective through faith alone.
We have all sinned in Adam and we continue to sin; all
fall short of the glory of God. The only way to be saved is in Christ.
The only way to be in the Kingdom of God is through righteousness by
faith; the righteousness of God, that comes to us by faith. It is no
longer just a promise; it is a reality. Our hope is built on nothing less
than Jesus Christ and His righteousness. We can have hope! We walk the
Christian life with hope and assurance. May God bless us so that we,
having been silenced by the Law, can say - "But now - the
righteousness of God" !
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Righteousness By Faith 