Tuesday Romans 3:21-26

The solution to sin is faith in Christ.

Click here for an online Bible Romans 3:21-26

This section of Romans is packed with importance. Martin Luther called this paragraph the central message of the whole Bible. Paul has been arguing that all people are guilty before God. Now, he gives the solution to the problem.

The problem is that because of sin, we are unrighteous. The solution is the righteousness of God. It did not come through the Law of Moses. The Law showed our sin and our need for righteousness. Paul says that the Law and Prophets attest to God’s righteousness through faith. By “the Law and Prophets”, Paul means the whole Old Testament. The criterion for salvation has always been faith. The Old Testament looked ahead to a time when God would do something more. Now, that time is here. The righteousness of God, which we need, is available through Christ.

Verse 24 is full of key terms: justification, grace, and redemption. Justified is the act of declaring one innocent. We are guilty of sin. God justifies us in which he declares that we are now innocent. The guilt is removed, not by something we did, but by God’s decree. Grace refers to a gift. We don’t earn justification. God gives it away. Redemption is the price which is paid. Justification is a gift to us, but there is a price. The price was paid by Jesus Christ on the cross. His death is the price of redemption for our justification which God freely gives as a gift. As Paul said in verse 22, this is applied to our lives when we have faith in Jesus Christ.

Verses 25 and 26 can be difficult because it is full of language that we don’t use much. What about sin before Jesus? Was God soft on sin? Paul says, “No!” God delayed dealing with the sin of those who lived by faith prior to Jesus. Christ’s death provides the redemption for the sins of those who lived prior to Christ as well as those who follow.

Jesus’ death provides atonement for sin. It sets things right. Paul uses a Greek word “hilastorion” which carries a dual meaning. Those with a Greek background would recognize this word as meaning propitiation. It means the turning aside of divine wrath. In this application it means that what Jesus did on the cross turns aside the wrath of God which is what we deserve because of our sinfulness. To the Jews, this word has an additional meaning. Hilastorian is the Greek word used in the Septuagint (the Greek translation of the Old Testament) for the mercy seat. That was the cover of the ark of the covenant. Each year the High Priest would sprinkle the blood of the sacrifice on the mercy seat to atone for the sins of the people. This was done on the Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur). [Hebrew – kippur = Greek – hilastorian] The blood of Jesus provides atonement for his people one and for all.

The key is faith. The free gift of justification comes through faith – faith in Jesus Christ. Faith means more than just belief. It means belief to the point of trust. I can believe that something is true, but it takes trust in the source to make me act on that belief. If I told you that I had an investment that would give you a 100% return immediately, you might believe me, but you would only give me ALL of your money if you had faith. God wants you to believe in the truth of the gospel, but he also wants you to trust him with your life and your eternity.