Romans 3:19-26 • Gospel Explanation

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(This transcript was prepared using software tools and has not been reviewed for complete accuracy.)

 How we're all connected is a great blessing of God. And I mention that to you as a way of introducing you to Romans chapter 3, which is where we will turn today, as we've been thinking about through the Bible in a year, now getting to that point where the great sling of the Holy Spirit is being wound up. I will make you my witnesses in Jerusalem and Judea and Samaria to the ends of the earth.



 Last week we saw how Paul would express that ministry to a city that did not understand the gospel so well, a Greek city named Colossae.



 But the gospel is going further than that. It actually goes to the center of ancient civilization, power, and persecution known as Rome.



 And there in the city of Rome, there are people coming together in little churches, and some of them are Jews who have been converted to faith in Jesus Christ.



 But some of them are Romans who have been the persecutors of Christians and Jews. And they're both coming together and sitting down in the same church to hear the Word of God. And you know that must be difficult. So how is the Apostle Paul going to explain the gospel to people who are so different from one another?



 Let's see, let's stand and honor God's Word and look at Romans 3, Romans 3, verses 19 through 26, as the Apostle is speaking to very different people about their sameness before God.



 He writes in verse 19, "Now we know that whatever the law says, it speaks to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be stopped and the whole world may be held accountable to God. For by works of the law no human being will be justified in His sight, since through the law comes knowledge of sin.



 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.



 This was to show God's righteousness because in His divine forbearance He had passed over former sins.



 It was to show His righteousness at the present time so that He might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus." Let's pray together.



 Heavenly Father, You have already given us glorious blessing this day by showing us those who show forth Jesus by their own testimony of being saved from sin by a Savior who loves them.



 Now we would celebrate that and ourselves rejoice in it, learn more about it, dive deep into it as we again remember the one who makes us right with You, not by our works, but by His.



 Teach us the good news of the gospel again, that our hearts might rejoice and be made strong by the work of Christ on our behalf. We pray this in Jesus' name. Amen. Please be seated.



 News that I'm sure will be important to some of you in the room.



 The latest James Bond movie has been delayed.



 And the reason that it has been delayed is because of the closing of so many movie theaters in China.



 Second greatest movie market in the world with theaters closed so they can't show the film, nor by the way in Italy, nor in South Korea.



 Nation after nation taking into account the coronavirus and its spread.



 At this point, the virus has spread as far as Israel, Egypt, Japan, Iraq, South Africa,



 actually a third of the nations of the world at this point.



 The governors of California, Florida, Hawaii, and Washington State have declared a state of emergency because of the coronavirus. The stock market has taken its biggest dip since the Great Recession and in only two weeks, faster than at any time previous than the Great Depression.



 As Kathy and I witnessed last week as we were returning from both Eastern and Western Europe, no matter where you go, travel is being challenged.



 And in those same nations where you were asked all the questions at the airports, entertainment venues are being closed and schools and sports events and business conferences and worship patterns are changing worldwide as churches, synagogues, cathedrals adjust to the news of the virus. Congress just this week agreed to pay $8.3 billion for dealing with the epidemic that could soon be declared a pandemic.



 Where did it all originate?



 Some of you know a small relative to the rest of China, to us, big city in central China, over 10,000 miles from us.



 And what happened there to start the spread? Not everybody knows for sure something, it was infections from a bat.



 Others believe it was from an anteater that is used in traditional Chinese medicine. Could this all have started with an ant?



 We don't know for sure, but what we do know for sure is that history turns on small hinges.



 We think that we are isolated, we think that we are independent, we think that we are disconnected, and suddenly something like this happens that reminds us that we are far more connected than we might ever have imagined. The Apostle Paul is actually bringing that to bear upon his message of the gospel to those who think they are very different in the church.



 Romans who think by their power and glory they are distinct from the rest of the world are gathering in churches, and they are gathering with Jews who think by their covenant promises and being God's chosen people. They are different from other people.



 And the Apostle is simply saying, "No one's got a leg up on anybody else. No one is worse off, no one is better than."



 Before the Lord there has been this leveling, and what has leveled and connected everyone is an infection of the heart that connects them all.



 What is that infection of the heart?



 It is the sin and the weakness that we all share.



 A universal connection that is a spiritual infection.



 Why does the Apostle talk that way?



 Ultimately his reason is to unite our hearts in the Savior, but there is a path, a path that he needs us to understand. Why do we need to know, and how do we know of a sin infection that touches everybody in the world? Verse 19.



 Now we know that whatever the law says, it speaks to those who are under the law so that



 every mouth may be stopped and the whole world may be held accountable to God. There is, if you will, in the Bible a test kit of the infection that has spread across the world, and that test kit is the law of God. The same God, whom the Bible says loves all that he has made, has given a law to teach us how to take care of one another and even take care of ourselves and take care of our relationship with Him.



 But when we look at our lives with our selfishness and our negligence and our distraction, we begin to recognize that we might not have taken care of everyone as well as we should.



 That self-hatred at times may have made us negligent of the care God intends for us, and we may not have worshiped Him as is necessary for those who would enjoy the goodness and the blessings He intends for all that He has made and loves.



 Because He loves us, He has given us that law, which is not just a set of rules from a frowning God to mess up our lives and our parties, but is actually a way to make us understand that the one who loves us has a better path than we would make for ourselves.



 And if we would actually look at that path in the light of His Word and His love, we would recognize that we have fallen short of all that He requires.



 Not everybody wants to recognize that. The basketball player Mark Cahill writes of sharing his faith with a friend who wasn't quite ready to acknowledge that he hasn't measured up to all of God's standards. So Cahill asked him one time, "When you die, what do you think is on the other side?"



 He replied, "The friend, well, there's heaven and there's hell, and I'm going to heaven



 because I have kept the Ten Commandments."



 Well, Cahill thought there might be a little bit more to understand for a law that makes us all accountable to God. And so he said, "Okay, well, if you think you're right with God because of keeping the Ten Commandments, let's just see how you're doing. Have you ever told a lie?" said the friend, "No."



 Well, Cahill said, "Well, that was an obvious lie." So he said, "What do you mean no?" said their friend, "Well, I've only stretched the truth a little bit."



 So Cahill said, "How far do you have to stretch the truth before it becomes a lie?" said their friend, "Well, okay. I guess I've told some lies."



 Said Cahill, "Then what does that make you before God?" said their friend, "A liar."



 Said Cahill, "Have you ever stolen anything?" The friend, not wanting to be caught, said, "Well, all right, little stuff."



 Okay, little stuff you've stolen. What does that make you if you have stolen little stuff before God?



 A thief.



 Have you ever lusted for a girl?



 No way said the friend whose girlfriend was sitting right beside him.



 She said, "You've lusted for me," which made him swear.



 Said Cahill, "You're 0 for 4 and we got six more to go."



 What does that mean when you stand before God? Will you be innocent or will you be guilty?



 Said the friend with a shrug, "Guilty."



 What Paul is doing is making sure we do not shrug that off.



 What would it mean to be guilty before a holy God? Right there in the middle of verse 19, when you realize it, every mouth must be stopped. Not my claim on my accomplishment, not my claim on my achievement, not my claim on my goodness before a holy God, his tasket of my heart, which is his own law, has revealed.



 There is an infection in me.



 And it is that infection of sin against the holiness of God that not only recognizes that we are accountable to God, but unacceptable to Him on the basis of our works. Verse 20, "For by the works of the law, no human being will be justified in his sight." Since through law comes knowledge of sin. If I actually look at the standards and examine them with honesty and integrity in my own life, I will say, "I haven't quite measured up."



 Now that sounds like bad news, but in fact it's good news for most people to say, "I haven't measured up, but I recognize others have not either." Verse 23, "For all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God."



 If we recognize the law is the test kit that is revealing sin in every one of us, what that is ultimately saying is this good news, whatever struggles in there, whatever weakness, whatever infraction, transgression you see, you are not alone.



 All around you are people who struggle too.



 Paul said in 1 Corinthians chapter 10, "No temptation has taken you, but such as is common." Everybody has struggled.



 We understand sin because we share. It's the common contagion. It is the pandemic of all pandemics. It is the infection of the soul that we all share. And what that is allowing us to do is to first sit together. Just imagine, Romans and Jews, Jews so proud. We're the chosen people. We have the heritage to make us distinct. Romans, we are the powerful and glorious people of the greatest empire ever. We stand above and beyond all others.



 And Paul says, "Look at your hearts.



 All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." That's actually why you can come together because there is no distinction. You're actually the same. I want to make the point, and I'm just going to ask the cooperation of the Christians in the room if you're not a believer, not put you on the spot at all. But just Christians for the moment.



 What does it mean for you to recognize that before the law of God there is none righteous, no not one? What does that mean?



 Well, here's what I'll ask. Again, those of you who are Christians, I'm going to ask you to participate. All of you who believe you have totally measured up and met all the requirements of the law of God, and I'm going to close my eyes not to embarrass you, okay? All of you who believe you've totally measured up to the law of God by your work alone, raise your hand.



 No hands.



 Christians, just you.



 All of you who believe on the basis of the law of God that you have fallen short of what God requires, that when you look at God's Word and you recognize His requirement of what it means to love others, properly care for you, properly love God, if you look at the Word of God, you recognize that you are a sinner before a holy God. If that's what you believe, would you hold up your hand? Keep it up for just a moment.



 Now if you're not a believer, recognize that these are not all hypocrites, they're just being honest.



 And what they're saying is, here in a church where only the good people come, every single one of them has said, "I'm a sinner before a holy God." Okay, what does that mean?



 It means if you think you don't deserve being here, you're not alone.



 Every person here is not right in being here except by the provision of Jesus Christ. If all they do is stand on their own righteousness and goodness, they would be in deep trouble, as you are. But here's the good news against the bad news. Good news, you're not alone. Bad news, you can't fix it.



 You can't fix the problem, not on your own, you can't. After all, verse 20 again, what did it say? By the works of the law, no human being will be justified in his life. Do all the good that you can, do the best you can, accomplish whatever you think it needs. You're going to be up against at some point the words of Jesus Himself in Luke 17.10 where He says, "When you have done all that you should do, you are still an unworthy servant of the Most High and Holy God." Wait, I did all that I should do. But what you do is so tainted with the infection of sin, you're not even objective enough to evaluate the holiness of your own actions. Because if you were, you would be saying what the Apostle Paul says, "There is none righteous, no not one, all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God." And that acknowledgement means that no more than a man with dirty hands can clean a shirt white.



 So you cannot fix the problem.



 No matter how good or glorious your works.



 There's a new preacher in this denomination. He's starting a new church in Michigan. And it's not Stephen Lawrence who we're sending to Springfield.



 But a new preacher.



 You may recognize his name, Dan Nolte.



 Dan Nolte is recognizable because he was a pitcher for the twins and the Yankees in the 1990s. In fact, he pitched a winning game in the 1999 World Series that the Yankees won. And on that night of the great glory of his whole career, he asked the limousine driver taking him home to stop on the Washington Bridge so that he could throw himself off.



 All this glory, all this accomplishment, all this compensation for the rest of my life. And it does not fill the hole. It does not make me right with myself, much right with my relationships with others and my relationship with God. And in hopelessness, he wanted to kill himself rather than continue to experience the emptiness of being wrong before God and others that he could not fix and he knew it despite all his accomplishment.



 The limousine driver did not stop on the bridge sensing the desperation in the young man.



 A few weeks later, the young man was in a church and he heard these words of verse 24.



 After verse 23, "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. I can be made right, not by what I do, not by my accomplishment, but by a gift from God where I can't fix it. He is offering me a gift which is in the redemption that is making me right with God through the work of Jesus Christ." How can that possibly be?



 Well it's going to be explaining, saying you need to know that this righteousness of God that you fear because it makes you feel so bad is actually the very thing that is making you acceptable to God, even as the law makes us accountable to God.



 So the righteousness of God perceived in the scope of Scripture is revealing to us how we are made acceptable to God. This word of God is not just the frown of God. It's not just the rule book to make you feel bad.



 Whether it's revealing not just the standards of God, it is revealing the heart of God. You want to see it? Verse 21, "But now the righteousness of God for these people who are all sinners has been manifested, made known, shown, this righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the law and the prophets bear witness to it." Now those of you who have been going with us through the Bible in a year, what did we learn from the very first page on what was God teaching us by His standards? One very simple message, "You are not your Redeemer."



 From beginning to it, "You are not your Redeemer." That's what the law said. You can't fix it.



 But what did the prophets say? You are not your Redeemer, but what?



 He's coming.



 There is a Redeemer who is coming and He will make a way that you cannot make for yourself. And all the law and the prophets have not been saying, "You fix it." They have been saying, "He must fix it because you cannot." And those scriptures who were affirming that were telling us how this would occur. Verse 22, "The righteousness of God, this heart as well as the standards of God, this heart that comes to us apart from the law that would condemn by itself, this message of needed redemption and a Redeemer, the righteousness of God is through faith in Jesus Christ.



 For all who believe, there is no distinction."



 What's the good news?



 You can rely on Jesus rather than on you.



 What's the better news?



 You're no different than anybody else.



 You're not alone.



 Everybody who would know what God is offering has to receive a gift that's not of their doing. You're not your Redeemer, but God has provided a Redeemer. Why did He do that? Verse 24, right in the middle.



 "We are justified by grace as a gift through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward," verse 25, "as a propitiation by His blood." Now there's a hard word for us, a propitiation. God says, "You can't fix the problem, but I'm going to put forward Jesus as a propitiation." Now that means a sacrifice from one for the needs of another. Did you catch that? It's the sacrifice of one for the needs of another. God put forward Jesus as a propitiation, a sacrifice that we would need because we had fallen short of the glory of God. Now just imagine it this way. Imagine that you had gone to traffic court, you'd gone too fast, or you'd been on your cell phone when you shouldn't have been on your cell phone, and the judge justly, rightly, issues a fine, a penalty. All right? That'll be $100.



 And so you reach into your wallet for all the Ben Franklin's that you have, and you take out and you offer it to the judge, and you, uh-oh, that's not a Ben Franklin.



 That's a George Washington.



 I got a problem here, judge.



 I can't fix this problem.



 This is all I have.



 And what God did, the one who requires more than Ben Franklin, for your George Washington, is He says, "Listen, I'm going to put forward Jesus Christ, and He'll cover you.



 I go to the clerk of the court.



 I can't pay.



 I can't make it up. I've fallen short of the glory of God."



 And Jesus Himself says, "I'll cover you."



 And in that glory and wonder and goodness of the gospel, we all rejoice. It's what we celebrated this day when those young and old acknowledged before God, there's no distinction.



 All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.



 But the gift of God that is in Christ Jesus is my hope, is my assurance. I'm not going to stand before God and say, "Look what I did. Every mouth has been stopped. No bragging, no claim.



 Lord, I don't even have George Washington.



 I got nothing."



 And then Jesus says, "Then I'll cover you completely.



 I will make up what you cannot make up for yourself." Why does God do this?



 Why does He tell us how hurtful, damaging, desperate our situation? And then He says, "I'm going to take care of it."



 We actually know why that is. Remember verse 25, "God put forward Jesus as a propitiation to be received by faith. This was to show God's righteousness because in His divine forbearance He'd passed over former sins. It was to show His righteousness at the present time." I mean the theologians will debate, why did Jesus have to die on a cross for our sin? Why the sacrifice of one for the needs of another? And you know, is there some other way? Listen, why did God do it this way?



 To show to the human heart the righteousness, the goodness, the reality of one who would provide for those who cannot provide for themselves. And in ways that God knows more than we know, that makes sense to people. When I actually look at my life, the hurt that has happened to me, the hurt that others have received from me, the distance from God, and I say, "I don't know how I'm ever going to make this up." And God points to His Word and says, "Apart from your performance, look at what I provided for you."



 That would begin to sink in as His holy sphere is working. That will begin to make sense to people.



 As Kathy and I were coming back from Poland last week, we ended up having to transfer airlines and get new tickets in Frankfurt, an airport, by the way, that shut down this week. But we got through last week. But they were asking all kinds of questions.



 Where have you been?



 Eastern Europe.



 What were you doing there? I was attending a conference.



 What is your profession?



 I'm a pastor.



 What kind of conference was it?



 Well, it was a marriage conference.



 And the young woman who was the ticket agent on the other side wouldn't stop. She pressed further.



 What did you say?



 Now I recognize what she was doing was testing whether or not I was really a pastor.



 But it gave me an opportunity totally unexpected. What did I say? I said, "Well, the way Jesus sacrificed for our sin when we did not deserve it, so when we love each other in our marriages sacrificially, even when the other person does not deserve it, it's the place where we will find healing for our marriages and for our souls."



 Now I was totally unprepared.



 And so I said to the woman, "Nobody has ever asked me those questions before in an airport."



 And she said, "No, but it's important to know."



 And I'm glad you told me.



 I walked away and as we were walking away, I said to Kathy, "I'm not sure I did that very well at all." And she said, "No, you did fine." Thank you, Kathy.



 But what I know is if it went fine at all, that was the Holy Spirit who opens hearts



 to whom it makes sense to say when you could not make it right. The righteousness of God who tells you His standards and at the same time tells you of the quality of His love is saying, "I will help you and I will provide for you through Jesus Christ what you cannot provide for yourself." It's the great wonder of the gospel that by God's word both tells us how deep is our sin need and tells us how great is our sin answer. And it's happening at the very same moment as we see all that God has provided in the work of His Son. Verse 26, "Why did God work this way? It was to show His righteousness at the present time so that He might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus." God would say, "Listen, I care for all that I have made. I love them and I want you to love them and I want you to love me and I want you to love yourself whom I love and I want you to get that message." But when we mess it up, God doesn't say, "I'm done with you." He says, "I'm still going to make a way for you and I'm going to provide it through what is dearest to me.



 I'm going to provide my own heart's affection in Christ Jesus, His sacrifice for your sin. He will make the way that you need." And in doing so, God becomes just. He shows us what's needed to take care of one another and justifier.



 He takes care of those who haven't been able to take care of others or themselves as He requires.



 Some years ago, I ended up in traffic court because of my son.



 I don't remember the infraction, but I do remember that we had to wait a long time in the courtroom with this line of people in front of us that had to meet the judge and explain their case. And several people in front of us, there was a woman that went before the judge who by her demeanor, by her clothing, showed a certain desperation of life.



 And when the judge issued the fine as the penalty for whatever her infraction was, I remember her response vividly as she began to weep and say, "Judge, I'm not denying



 that I did this, but I cannot pay that fine.



 And if you impound my car until I can pay the fine, then I can't go to work. And if I can't go to work, then I cannot take care of my children.



 Judge, please don't do this."



 And you just kind of watch the eyes of the judge kind of look at the long line of people behind her and recognize the mayhem that would occur if there was no penalty for traffic transgression.



 Instead what he did was he reached into his own back pocket and took out his wallet, issued



 the fine, and then said, "Here it is. Take it to the clerk and pay it."



 In which case he became it right the same moment, just there was a penalty for your sin and just fire. He would make it right by what he himself would give. And that is what God does for us when he is saying, "I know your sin. I know your... Nobody's hiding that from me. There has to be a penalty or I am not just, but I will be the justifier through the provision of those for the provision of those for whom Christ died."



 If that's the provision, how do we receive it? It's right there at the end of verse 26. This is so that God might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.



 The judge is offering the payment to the woman. What must she do in order to be justified? What does she have to do?



 She has to receive it. She has to receive what he is providing for her. And it's the very thing that God says to his people throughout the world, "There is none different, no, not one. Not one righteous person. All before me have fallen short of the glory and the holiness that's in me. But through Jesus Christ, I provided the redemption that you need. I am just and the justifier. And if you will receive by faith his provision for you, you and I are going to be just fine," says the Lord for eternity.



 What does that look like?



 Those of you who are believers, I'm just going to ask for your participation one more time.



 Others of you, you don't need to participate, but you could if you wanted.



 Here's the question. Those of you in this church who believe that you are a sinner, made right before God by the work of Jesus Christ and nothing in yourself, that your total faith is in his provision for you, if that's what you believe, you are a believer in Jesus Christ as your Savior, because you're a sinner. If that's what you believe, would you raise your hand?



 Now just for a second, keep it up.



 If you're wondering if that's what you should believe, let me just say, to be a sinner, saved by Jesus, means that you are not alone if you're wondering in this church if you should hold up your hand.



 All right.



 If you are a sinner who believes that you are saved by the work of Jesus Christ, what did you just see?



 You are not alone.



 Rather, because of the work of Jesus Christ, you can know forgiveness and his pardon and his presence forever. Praise God he has you covered. Father, I thank you for the goodness of your gospel that we have seen in such brilliant display this day by those who have committed themselves to you and show the world what they believe. I'm not made right by what I do, but by the blood of Jesus Christ who washes away my sin. God made a sacrifice for what I needed, and I have received it by faith. I could not earn it. I could not deserve it, but I receive it by believing in what Christ has done. My faith is that I am a sinner saved by grace made possible by the sacrifice of Jesus. Thank you, Lord, for sending Jesus for my soul. I praise you and claim Jesus in Jesus' name. Amen.