THE lesson in Romans last week showed us that the knowledge of sin is by the law of God. The law reveals the sin. The law demands perfect righteousness. By the works of the law no one is justified or made righteous, because no one has kept the law. Therefore no man can be fitted to dwell in the perfectly righteous kingdom of God unless a way be found to bring him into harmony with the law of God. But a way has been found to accomplish this very thing, as is clearly set forth in the following verses which form the basis of the study this week:
"But now apart from the law a righteousness of God hath been manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets; even the righteousness of God thru faith in Jesus Christ unto all them that believe; for there is no distinction; for all have sinned, and fall short of the glory of God; being justified freely by His grace thru the redemption that is in Christ Jesus: whom God set forth to be a propitiation, thru faith, in His blood, to show His righteousness because of the passing over of the sins done aforetime, in the forbearance of God; for the showing, I say, of His righteousness at this present season: that He might Himself be just, and the Justifier of him that hath faith in Jesus. Where then is the glorying? It is excluded. By what manner of law? of works? Nay: but by a law of faith. We reckon therefore that a man is justified by faith apart from the works of the law. Or is God the God of Jews only? is He not God of Gentiles also? Yea, of Gentiles also: if so be that God is one, and He shall justify the circumcision by faith, and the uncircumcision thru faith.
"Do we then make the law of none effect thru faith? God forbid: nay, we establish the law." Rom. 3:21-31.
"Apart from the law a righteousness of God hath been manifested," and this righteousness or right-doing is witnessed by both "the law and the prophets." Here is presented a righteousness to which the law testifies that it is right; the law of God that man has violated can find no fault with this right-doing. Then this is just the righteousness that we all want to get. For if we can come into possession of it we will be brought into harmony with God's law and relieved entirely from condemnation.
But from whence does this righteousness come, and what is the character of it? The text makes that matter perfectly plain. It is "even the righteousness of God thru faith in Jesus Christ unto all them that believe." Then the sinner may come to Christ and actually receive from Him the real righteousness of God. That is just what the text says, and that is just what the Gospel is for. The Gospel is for the one purpose of taking away the sinful life that man has lived and giving in its place the perfect life that Christ has lived. Note particularly that the text expressly says that this righteousness comes thru "faith in Jesus Christ unto all them that believe."
The righteousness is God's righteousness, and therefore it will pass the inspection of the law and stand the test of the great judgment of God. And it is "unto all them that believe; for there is no distinction." "All have sinned, and fall short of the glory of God," and hence "there is no distinction." Both Jew and Gentile, he who thinks he has not sinned so very much, and he who regards himself as a great transgressor, are both alike within the promise. All may come to the great Fountain and receive as a free gift from our heavenly Father the perfect character that His own righteousness brings.
Observe how the apostle repeats and emphasizes the fact that it is the righteousness of God that is given us in the Gospel. God has set Christ forth "to be a propitiation, thru faith, in His blood, to show His righteousness because of the passing over of the sins done aforetime, in the forbearance of God; for the showing, I say, of His righteousness at this present season: that He might Himself be just, and the Justifier of him that hath faith in Jesus." The righteousness of God is made to appear by the passing over of the sins by the blood of Christ. The blood of Christ, thru faith, is made to pass over the sinner, and there is left in the place of his sins the perfect character of Christ. The text repeats and emphasizes this great, soul-satisfying truth that we may have the righteousness of God Himself by accepting His Son Jesus Christ.
This righteousness of Christ comes to us in "the passing over of the sins done aforetime." It is the sins of our past life that trouble, distress, and perplex us. And it is to wash away these sins that the Gospel of Christ brings us the righteousness of God thru the blood of the Redeemer. But observe that it is the sins done "aforetime," the sins of the past, that are thus destroyed. God provides for the sins of the past, and also provides for the life of the present, and in this way the future takes care of itself. For the future is always ahead of us. We never get beyond the present.
In thus supplying His own righteousness for the sinner, and in thus providing him with the power to live the righteous life, the Lord will come into the judgment and show that He is just in permitting a person to have eternal salvation who had done wrong but who had accepted His pardon and cleansing. The Lord Jesus Christ was born into this world a babe; He lived in human flesh among men from infancy to manhood; He lived a perfect life all the way thru, and He lived all this life for us. And having lived this life of righteousness for each and every one of us, He offers it to us freely, and we may have it if we will accept it.
Every individual, in looking over his past life, will find many things that he wishes had been different. We think that if we could only go back over the past and change this and that deed, how glad we would be. But we can not turn the wheels of time backward. And if it were possible to go back and live the life all over again we would make other mistakes that would likely be even worse than the ones we have committed. But the Lord has provided something better for us than any of this plan of living our lives over again. He sent His Son into the world to live the perfect life of God for us. Then He invites us to come to Him and accept that very life. He gives us the life of Christ freely, and from the time that we accept Christ we do not have to look any more at the imperfect life that we have lived, but we look ever at the life of Christ.
Satan may come to us and say that we have been great sinners. He may point us to the evil deeds that we have committed. We must acknowledge that such is the case, but we can tell him that the life that he is holding before us is no longer our life. We have given that all up to the Lord Jesus, and He has given us instead His own perfect life. There can be no fault found with that. Even Satan himself can not pick a flaw in it. And having accepted the life of Christ by faith, we no longer look on our past life, but we devote ourselves to "looking unto Jesus the Author and Perfecter of our faith." We thank the Lord continually that our life now is the perfect life of the Son of God. This becomes our delight and our daily strength.
Having thus received the free gift of the righteousness of God, and having been assured that this righteousness is in harmony with both the law and the prophets, the apostle concludes with these ringing words: "Do we then make the law of none effect thru faith? God forbid: nay, we establish the law." The fact that God was under the necessity of giving up His own Son to die for man in order to free him from sin is the mightiest argument that could be made for the abiding authority of the law of Jehovah.