But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it— the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction: for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. (Romans 3:21-25)
With the
proliferation of influencers trying to tell us what the Bible does and does not
mean, and the ongoing controversies over every topic of the Bible, one thing is
standing out very clearly: some people show what the Bible says and means and
use Scripture to interpret Scripture, while others show what they believe the
Bible means and then treat their opinions like that’s what the Bible says.
Sometimes these
contrasts are evident simply because a topic is popular and we can tell which sides
use “the whole counsel of God”, and which sides add and remove without regard
for what God breathed out in his own words.
And no one seems to
spend more time at center stage than Paul. And Romans? Well, let’s just say
that the government’s hatred of Romans speaks for itself!
All that to say
that, as I journey through Romans 3 and consider what Paul teaches about
justification by grace through faith, I have this very sad marveling feeling
that people can “tamper” with God’s word so freely as they do. Yes, Paul’s
teachings in Romans can feel like trying to hold a fist full of sand without
anything falling out. No sooner do we think we got the last thought straight when
the next one sends sand flying everywhere!
Okay, long introduction,
sorry (kinda), but I think that happens when we hang around Paul. Some
thoughts are just not ready for a period, if you know what I mean. Anyway…
What stands out is
how clear God’s word is when we let it speak for itself. And when we pay
attention to the relational dynamic of what stands out any given time we are in
the word, we discover that the Holy Spirit is teaching us the very things God
has in mind for us in our walk with him.
Which brings us to
this focus on “the righteousness of God”. It has helped me for a long time to
consider that holiness relates to nature and righteousness to character.
Holiness is God’s nature, who he is, while righteousness is about his
character, how he expresses himself. The two cannot be separated, but keep that
in mind as we go through this. God is holy. He expresses his holiness in righteousness.
And apart from redemption in Jesus Christ, that would be a terrifying reality!
However, the main
point has to do with our experience of the righteousness of God. It shines out
from God whether we see it or not. It “has been manifested apart from the law”
in the work of Christ and the preaching of the gospel. The Law and the Prophets
bore witness to the righteousness of God, including its distinction in the new covenant
in Jesus’ blood. And it is experienced by sinners “through faith in Jesus Christ”.
The addition of “for
all who believe” is a huge theme in Romans. There is no distinction in how
sinful we are, both Jews and Gentiles, and there is no distinction in how
people are saved. This is why Paul already said,
For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, “The righteous shall live by faith.” (Romans 1:16-17)
Do you see that?
Paul says that in the gospel “the righteousness of God is revealed”. In Romans
3 he is getting back to this, that it is about the righteousness of God, how it
is revealed, how it is manifested, how it is experienced. And our starting
point is that it must deal with the fact that “all have sinned and fall short
of the glory of God”.
We will get to this explanation shortly, and all through Romans, but this is the wonder we should consider,
that Paul is talking about a gospel he is not ashamed of because it is all
about how the holy God has acted in righteousness to make it real that his
righteousness can become ours.
To the Ephesians he would write,
For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast (Ephesians 2:8-9).
To the Corinthians he would write,
For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God (II Corinthians 5:21).
But this isn’t just
theology, or doctrine, or correcting all those tamperers who mess with God’s
words. It’s about whether you and I know that we have become the righteousness
of God through faith in the good news that God has given us a Savior who is
Christ the Lord.
Because, with all
God did to provide redemption in Jesus’ blood, and communicate all about the
new covenant in his word, it would be awful if we missed the wonders of the gift
because the haters and hecklers don’t have it.
So, how’s your faith-attachment
to Jesus doing?
© 2026
Monte Vigh ~ Box 517, Merritt, BC, V1K 1B8
Email: in2freedom@gmail.com
Unless otherwise noted, Scriptures are from the
English Standard Version (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text
Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of
Good News Publishers.)
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