INTRODUCTION TO FEBRUARY LESSONS
To justify something means you make it right—whether it is the margins of a term paper, aligning the front end of a car, or the behavior of an individual. There is no greater book than Romans to discuss being made right with God (justification). Students will learn how they are justified by grace through faith for glory in eternity.
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Unit: Romans (Part 2)
Theme: Justified
Lesson Text: Romans 3:9-31
Supplemental Text: Isaiah 53:1-3; Psalms 5:9; 140:3; Ephesians 2:8-10
Aim: Put your faith in the one who is just and the justifier of those who have faith in Jesus.
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Download a PDF of this week’s lesson material (the Study by Mark Scott, Application by David Faust, and Discovery Questions by Michael C. Mack): LOOKOUT_Feb6_2022.
Send an email to [email protected] to receive PDFs of the lesson material each month.
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By Mark Scott
Grace is a happy word. The Greek word shares a common root as the word for joy. In Greek class, Kenny Boles used to say, “Grace is God smiling at you.” Seth Wilson said, “Grace is God’s love which we don’t deserve.” The definition of grace as “unmerited favor” works so long as one understands what “merits” are. Some like the acronym, “God’s Redemption At Christ’s Expense.” Whatever way it is defined, grace is no small thing in Romans, for it appears 24 times.
If we follow the flow of Paul’s argument in Romans, we face a dilemma at this point. As the Justifier, how can God stay true to his character and punish sin (that is, how can he be “just”), and at the same time release the offender (i.e., the sinner) from punishment? Grace is the answer.
Gloomy Picture
Romans 3:9-20
Paul has been building to this point in his argument to hold the whole world (Jew and Gentile) accountable to God for its sin. Paul admitted that the Jews have some advantages (Romans 3:1; 11:1-6), but when it comes to sin, Jew and Gentile both are flatlined. Paul already made the charge (accused) that every race is under the power of sin.
Paul clustered several Old Testament texts together to prove his point. He chose to use the Hebrew text at times and the Septuagint at other times. He sometimes used a fuller quote, and at other times he merely cited a portion of text. He drew heavily from the Psalms (14:1-3; 5:9; 140:3; 10:7; 36:1) and Isaiah (53:6; 59:7-8). He seemed to weave texts together with some regard for parallelism and arranged them to make his point.
Verses 10b-12 deal with how universally guilty all people are before God. Not being righteous, not understanding God, and not seeking God all lead to turning away (being bent in the opposite direction) from God, becoming worthless, and not doing good. Verses 13-18 underline how every part of our bodies and lives are stained by this sin problem. Throats, tongues, lips, mouths, and feet are all negatively affected. Peace from God and fear of God are jettisoned.
Paul had already indicted the Gentiles (Romans 1:18–2:16), but just so no Jew would feel “left behind,” Paul gave one last judgment concerning them (Romans 3:19-20). If violating the conscience put the Gentiles at odds with God, then violating the law put the Jews at odds with God. The whole world has a dark side that it must account for to God. The law cannot “make” (or declare) a person righteous (Acts 13:39; Galatians 2:16). In fact, the law simply raised the admission of guilt (cf. Romans 7:7-13). A flashlight cannot solve a problem, it can only reveal a problem.
Bright Prospect
Romans 3:21-31
The good news about the bad news (v. 23) is that the bad news does not last forever. A new way to be right with God happened through God’s own initiative. The Law and the Prophets pointed to this all the time (Matthew 5:17). God’s gift of righteousness was given (not earned) through Jesus’ death on Calvary’s cross. Jesus was faithful to his cause; because of that, Jews and Gentiles can put their faith (used eight times in this paragraph) in him and his salvific act to be justified (made right in his sight).
Just as John pushed language to the breaking point to describe the new heaven and new earth (Revelation 21–22), so Paul used different words to describe how heaven called it “good” between God and humankind the day Jesus died. The word justified (a form of which is used 11 times in the text) is a courtroom term. The understanding of this term has undergone a paradigm shift in recent scholarship, but there still seems to be some forensic sense to it. Redemption is a marketplace term used to speak of a purchase of some kind. Sacrifice of atonement (propitiation) is a temple term meaning to cover or satisfy by way of a sacrifice. This all happened by the grace of God through Jesus and his death on the cross, and it is appropriated by faith. The cross was the pivotal point in history. Prior to the cross, God had not punished us to the point of what our sins deserved. But at the cross, God showed his justice and his ability to justify the sinner.
Paul asked five questions in the closing paragraph. The questions contain the answers within them. Boasting is out. Jews and Gentiles are equally guilty before God. Faith is the key. And the law is upheld and fulfilled. Is there any other way to be justified? Paul fell just short of an expletive. It came out nicer in English, “Not at all!”
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