“The Solution”
(Romans 3:21-31)
Series: Romans – United in the Gospel [on screen]
Rev. Matthew C. McCraw, EdD
First Baptist Church, Bartow, Florida
February 13, 2022
Introductory Comments:
Have you ever received bad news but then it is immediately followed by good news? For instance, you may hear that you’re not able to drive your dad’s old car when you get your license, but then you find out that you’re getting a new car! [show picture on screen] Or, perhaps you find out that you didn’t get the job you wanted only to find out that your current employer is giving you a great promotion. [show picture on screen] Or, perhaps, like our church, you have the news that our worship attendance is down from what it was in early 2020, but then you realize that our church is growing in every area and some areas are larger than in early 2020. [show picture on screen]
Well, Paul has spent the last several weeks giving us the bad news. He’s told us that the wrath of God is shown towards all those in humanity who reject God and His ways. It doesn’t matter if you are Jewish or non-Jewish. It doesn’t matter if you are religious or irreligious. If you reject God and His ways, you will be judged. Paul said in Romans 3:10, “There is no one righteous, not even one.”
However, Paul now has some good news for us. I want to start off where we ended last week. Look at the beginning of our passage today. Look at Romans 3:21-22:
21 But now, apart from the law, the righteousness of God has been revealed, attested by the Law and the Prophets. 22 The righteousness of God is through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe, since there is no distinction.
If you’ve hung in this long with Romans, congratulations! Now, it’s time to talk about the good news. The good news is that although the law cannot save us, Jesus can!
I’m excited and ready to get into this sermon, but before we do, let’s pray together and God to speak to us.
(prayer)
Last week, one of the weekly challenges was to determine what your solution is. What is your solution to your problem of sin? Well, today’s sermon is entitled, “The Solution” [on screen]
So, let’s look at three aspects of the solution today from our passage. First, let’s look at . . .
I. The “What?” (21-24) [on screen]
So, what is the solution? There is a great problem: our sins lead to the wrath of God being poured out on us. What is the solution?
Well, let’s look at the passage again. Let’s look at Romans 3:21-24:
21 But now, apart from the law, the righteousness of God has been revealed, attested by the Law and the Prophets. 22 The righteousness of God is through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe, since there is no distinction. 23 For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God; 24 they are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.
Ok, so Paul has just spoken in the previous verses about how the law of God is beneficial but it falls short of justifying us before God; it falls short of saving us from our sin and making us ok with God.
In verse 21, Paul says these wonderful and powerful words, “But now.” [on screen]
God has done something new and special through Jesus the Messiah.
But now, God has offered a solution to our sin problem. But now there is good news that is more powerful than the bad news. But now Jesus can do something that the law could not. But now there is hope for all humanity and that hope is Jesus!
So, Jesus accomplished what the law could not, and Paul indicates that this is not a new concept.
Paul says in verse 21 that the Law and the Prophets attested to this.
Of course, the Law and the Prophets represent the bulk of the Old Testament of the Bible. So, Paul is saying that the Scriptures have pointed to the fact that the Messiah was needed to bring us to God and Jesus the Messiah came, and did what we really needed.
Well, what is it that we really need?
We need the righteousness of God! Rather than the wrath of God, we need the righteousness of God. In our sin, we were doomed to the wrath of God, but now, through faith in Jesus Christ, we have access to the righteousness of God!
Well, who has this access? Jewish people only? Church people only? No! Paul says in verse 22, “ . . . to all who believe.”
Any and all who believe in Jesus and have faith in Jesus now have access to the righteousness of God! By the way, I did some deep theological research and I found out that the word “all” in this verse means . . . all! All who believe! What a miracle of God! In our sin, all are destined for God’s wrath. In Jesus, all who believe are destined to experience the righteousness of God!
Paul then gives us a summary in verse 23 of what he’s already said in the previous chapters.
He says “all have sinned” and the result is that we don’t measure up to the glory of God: that’s the problem.
However, Paul goes right back to the solution. He says in verse 24 that we are “ . . . justified freely by his grace!”
So, the what of the solution is that there is access to God through Jesus!
Well, how does all this work out? I’m glad that you asked; that takes us to our next point:
II. The “How?” (25-26) [on screen]
Let’s see what Paul says about how this all happens. Look at verses 25 and 26:
25 God presented him as the mercy seat by his blood, through faith, to demonstrate his righteousness, because in his restraint God passed over the sins previously committed. 26 God presented him to demonstrate his righteousness at the present time, so that he would be just and justify the one who has faith in Jesus.
First of all, notice that it says that God is the one who presented Jesus.
Some translations say God displayed or set forth Jesus. Here’s the point: God did this!
This was not something that we did on our own. The how of the solution starts with understanding that God is the one who did it.
Then we see this discussion of the mercy seat.
By the way, there are several different words used here to describe what God is doing with Jesus. We see the word propitiation used in some translations, then atoning sacrifice in others, and mercy seat here in the Christian Standard Bible.
One might wonder why the CSB translation chose to use the words mercy seat. Well, this same word that is often translated as propitiation is often used in the Old Testament to refer to the mercy seat that was part of the Ark of the Covenant. The mercy seat was the top portion of the Ark. [show picture on screen]
The mercy seat was important for two reasons in Old Testament worship. First, when the priest would come into the temple to present sacrifices, the Ark of the Covenant was present in the holy place of the temple and God’s presence was said to have rested above the mercy seat. Second, when the priest would make a sacrifice for the sins of the people, he would sprinkle blood on the mercy seat as an atoning sacrifice, or propitiation, for the people of Israel.
Watch this, church: Jesus is the mercy seat. Jesus is the presence of God, Jesus is the atoning blood sacrifice. Jesus is the new and better sacrifice to bring humanity into a loving relationship with God.
The work of Jesus accomplished all that we need to know God, experience the glory of God, and escape the wrath of God.
Paul even goes on to say in verse 25 that God restrained His wrath towards sins that were committed before Jesus came because, in Jesus, those sins also would be forgiven. This is the moment that God had planned from the very beginning. Sin would come into the world and bring the wrath of God, Jesus would come into the world and bring the righteousness of God!
Paul says in verse 26 that God presented Jesus to demonstrate His righteousness. Well, what does all that mean?
How do we see the righteousness of God in the sacrifice of Jesus?
Well, remember God’s righteousness means that He is right, fair, good, and holy. So, let us not think for a moment that God merely overlooked or excused sin. God didn’t just look at us and say, “Well, they’re not that bad.” No! We all deserve God’s wrath!
The reason that God is righteous through sending Jesus is because His wrath is satisfied in the death of Jesus for my sins and for your sins. Jesus paid the penalty for our sins. Jesus is the propitiation, Jesus is the atoning sacrifice, Jesus is the mercy seat. God didn’t excuse our sins, Jesus paid for our sins!
Because Jesus paid for our sins, God is just and we are justified.
God is still a just judge because He didn’t let sin slide without it being punished. Jesus paid the penalty.
Not only is God shown to be just, but as Paul says in verse 26, the one who has faith in Jesus is also justified. Because Jesus paid the sin penalty, we don’t have to: we are justified before God. When God looks at us and determines the guilt of our sin, He sees the work of Jesus and He says to us, “Not guilty.”
What a beautiful thing the Gospel is!
As 2 Corinthians 5:21 says, “He made the one who did not know sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” [on screen]
This is the how of the Gospel message: God sent Jesus to be our mercy seat so that we might experience the righteousness of God.
Finally, let us discover . . .
III. The “Now what?” (27-31) [on screen]
Now that we understand that there is a solution to the sin problem through the sacrifice of Jesus, now what do we do?
Well, let’s see what Paul says. Look at verses 27-31:
27 Where, then, is boasting? It is excluded. By what kind of law? By one of works? No, on the contrary, by a law of faith. 28 For we conclude that a person is justified by faith apart from the works of the law. 29 Or is God the God of Jews only? Is he not the God of Gentiles too? Yes, of Gentiles too, 30 since there is one God who will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through faith. 31 Do we then nullify the law through faith? Absolutely not! On the contrary, we uphold the law.
First of all, Paul makes it very clear in verse 27 that there is no room for boasting (or bragging) because the solution is totally from God, based on the work of Jesus! We’d be foolish to take any credit for being made right with God; it is totally God’s work! So, here’s the first now what: don’t take any credit for being saved from your sins; it’s all God!
Then, Paul asks the now what about the law.
Paul points out (in case we didn’t catch it when he said it before) that we are not justified by a law of works. Rather it is a law of faith.
Church, our salvation is all about faith in Jesus, not works by us.
Some people in this world are hard-headed; they may not understand what Paul has already said multiple times. So, Paul makes it real clear in verse 28 when he says, “ . . . a person is justified by faith apart from the works of the law.”
Paul says “a person.” Well, what person? He’s already made it clear, hasn’t he? He’s said Jew or Gentile, Jew or Greek, all people, all, all, over and over again. There are no exceptions! Any and all who are made right with God are made with right with God only by faith in Jesus Christ.
Make no mistake, as the great Reformers of the 16th century said, the salvation of God is by . . .
sola gratias = grace alone [on screen]
(through)
sola fide = faith alone
solas Christus = in Christ alone
(according to)
sola Scriptura = Scripture alone
(for the)
soli deo gloria = glory of God alone
Paul further clarifies in verses 29-30 that God is not just the God of the Jews.
He was God long before He ever called Abraham out of the land of Ur to make a great nation through Him. He was God long before He promised a blessing upon Isaac and Jacob. He was God long before He delivered His people out of Egypt. He was God long before He anointed David as King. He is the God of all the universe, He is Lord of all, and He is the loving Savior of all those who come to Him through faith in Jesus the Messiah!
Finally, Paul points out in verse 31 that the law is not erased or ignored because of our faith in Jesus. Rather, the law is upheld.
When we turn to Jesus we see that the law of God was correct all along. Remember, the law of God shows us that we need help; we need Jesus!.
Also, through Jesus, we can finally fulfill the law of God the way that God intended us to do so because we now have access to the righteousness of God.
Oh, what a miracle! Oh, how beautiful the Gospel is!
Now what? Don’t take any credit for your relationship with God, have faith in Jesus, and come to God and live in the fulfillment of all that He has for you.
What’s the solution? Let this bottom line summarize it for us:
Bottom Line: The solution to the wrath of God is the righteousness of God, revealed in Jesus. [on screen]
(repeat)
There is a solution and His name is Jesus! As verse 22 says, “The righteousness of God is through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe.”
Challenge yourself this week in the following ways:
Weekly Challenge: [on screen]
1. Seek the righteousness of God.[on screen]
Seek Jesus and His ways. You need Him desperately. I need Him desperately. Come to Jesus, remain in Jesus, never stop chasing after Jesus.
Spend some time this week and seek the righteousness of God through Jesus.
2. Share the righteousness of God.[on screen]
There is only one hope for all of humanity. There is only one solution: Jesus!
Do you know that if you know Jesus, you have the only solution for a lost and dying world? They are currently under the wrath of God but they could experience the righteousness of God. Will you share the solution with them?
Will you share the righteousness of God this week? Challenge yourself to do so.
Closing:
Jesus is the solution. Have you experienced Jesus?
(Gospel presentation)
(closing prayer)
COPYRIGHT DISCLAIMER: The text contained in this sermon is solely owned by its author. The reproduction, or distribution of this message, or any portion of it, should include the author’s name. The author intends to provide free resources in order to inspire believers and to assist preachers and teachers in Kingdom work.
