Justified by Faith

After two and a half chapters of bad news — that all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, that there is none righteous, no, not one — Paul finally gets to the good news. Verses 21 through 26 are arguably the densest paragraph in the New Testament. Every word matters.

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… (Romans 3:21–22)

The “but now” is a pivot. Everything before it has been preparing the ground. Everything after it builds on what these six verses establish.

The puzzle Paul is solving

How can God forgive sinners without compromising his justice? A judge who pardons the guilty without grounds is not a just judge — he’s a corrupt one. If God simply waved away our sin, he would not be holy. But if he punishes our sin in full, none of us survive. The cross is God’s solution to a puzzle he set himself: how to be both perfectly just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.

How the cross solves it

Christ stands in our place. Our sin is reckoned to him; his righteousness is reckoned to us. The transaction is sometimes called “double imputation” — our debt becomes his to pay; his obedience becomes ours to inherit. God’s justice is satisfied (the sin is punished, in Christ), and God’s love is displayed (the sinner is forgiven, in Christ). Both at once.

What faith adds

Faith is not a meritorious act that earns this exchange. Faith is the empty hand that receives it. Paul will spend chapter 4 driving that point home with the example of Abraham. For now, the simplest possible summary: justification is by grace alone (God’s free gift), through faith alone (the receiving instrument), in Christ alone (the only ground), to the glory of God alone.

The same gospel that saved Abraham, that converted Augustine, that warmed Wesley’s heart, is the gospel preached to you this morning. There is no other.