Part 1 [1:18-4:35] Justification by Faith

In part 1, Paul deals with the topic of the need of every human being for salvation. He shows that none of us are able to save ourselves and then he describes God's free gift of salvation by faith in Jesus Christ.

Part 1a - All are Guilty of Sin [1:18-2:5]

  1. [1:18-4:25] Justification by Faith
    1. [1:18-3:20] We cannot gain righteousness from the law
      1. [1:18-32] Sin is Universal
      2. [2:1-5] You are just as much under judgement as those you condemn
  1. For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of people who suppress the truth by their unrighteousness,
  2. because what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them.
  3. For since the creation of the world his invisible attributes—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, because they are understood through what has been made. So people are without excuse.
  • [1:18]In what sense do all unbelievers know God?
    • “General Revelation” (creation & providence)
    • “Special Revelation” (Scripture, direct revelation through a vision)
    • Both are only through Jesus—he is the revelation of God
  • Humans supresses it
    • The stars on a clear night are “shouting” that there is a God, a creator

Downward Spiral

  v.21-24 v.25-27 v.28 (summary)
God
reveals:		 For although they knew God, They exchanged the truth of God (knowledge of God)
Man
rejects:		 they did not glorify him as God or give him thanks, but they became futile in their thoughts and their senseless hearts were darkened.
Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for an image resembling mortal human beings or birds or four-footed animals or reptiles.		 for a lie and worshiped and served the creation rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen. And just as they did not see fit to acknowledge God,
God
“gives
over”:		 Therefore God gave them over in the desires of their hearts to impurity, to dishonour their bodies among themselves. For this reason God gave them over to dishonourable passions.
For their women exchanged the natural sexual relations for unnatural ones,
and likewise the men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed in their passions for one another. Men committed shameless acts with men and received in themselves the due penalty for their error.		 God gave them over to a depraved mind, to do what should not be done.
  1. They are filled with every kind of unrighteousness, wickedness, covetousness, malice. They are rife with envy, murder, strife, deceit, hostility. They are gossips,
  2. slanderers, haters of God, insolent, arrogant, boastful, contrivers of all sorts of evil, disobedient to parents,
  3. senseless, covenant-breakers, heartless, ruthless.
  • Is homosexual sin the worst?
  • Does everyone fit into the category of [1:29-32]?
  • So what is Paul doing here?
    • The key is [2:1]
  1. Although they fully know God’s righteous decree that those who practice such things deserve to die, they not only do them but also approve of those who practice them.
  • Summary: they knew and they rejected
  • Remember the story of David’s sin and the Prophet Nathan’s trick into getting him to condemn himself
  • Paul is picking homosexuality as an example they would strongly agree with
    • Imagine a synagogue full of self-righteous Jews who are tut-tuting against these terrible Gentiles.
    • “Amen, brother Paul! Preach it!”
  • They once they are in “condemning mode” he gets them with [2:1] and they are caught
  1. Therefore you are without excuse, whoever you are, when you judge someone else. For on whatever grounds you judge another, you condemn yourself, because you who judge practice the same things.
  • See from [2:17] that this passage is directed against Jews
  • Do the Jews practice the very “same things” ?
    • look at v.29-31 —they are pretty universal
  1. Now we know that God’s judgment is in accordance with truth against those who practice such things.
  2. And do you think, whoever you are, when you judge those who practice such things and yet do them yourself, that you will escape God’s judgment?
  • What standard does God use to judge?
    • he is impartial—it is according to truth
  1. Or do you have contempt for the wealth of his kindness, forbearance, and patience, and yet do not know that God’s kindness leads you to repentance?
  2. But because of your stubbornness and your unrepentant heart, you are storing up wrath for yourselves in the day of wrath, when God’s righteous judgment is revealed!
  • “God has not judged me yet, even though I am sinning. In fact things are going very well for me!
  • Complete misunderstanding of why God has not judged them. Why not?
    • to encourage them to turn to him because of his kindness

Part 1b - No Righteousness by the Law [2:6-3:20]

  1. [1:18-4:25] Justification by Faith
    1. [1:18-3:20] We cannot gain righteousness from the law
      1. [1:18-32] Sin is Universal
      2. [2:1-5] You are just as much under judgement as those you condemn
        • [2:1] If you judge others, you automatically condemn yourself
        • [2:2] God has a standard of judgement
        • [2:3] Do you think that the fact that God has not judged you yet, means he has forgotten?
        • [2:4-5] Whereas actually he is giving you time to repent, else you will be punished in the end
      3. [2:6-11] God’s judgement is according to his standards and impartial for both Jews and Gentiles
      4. [2:12-3:8] Having the law does not give Jews a special status
        • [2:12-16] On the Day of Judgement will not be about what law you have, but how well you do what the law requires
        • [2:17-29] The limitations of the Old Covenant
          • [2:17-24] You may think you have a very special relationship with God because you have the law, but if you don’t keep it, the opposite is true—you dishonour God.
          • [2:25-29] Your status as a Jew through circumcision is worth nothing unless you keep the law. A Gentile who obeys the law is more Jewish than you!
        • [3:1-8] Problems
          • [3:1-4] Problem 1: What advantage is it to be a Jew? —there are many advantages
          • [3:5-8] Problem 2: Is God unjust to condemn actions that bring him glory —no, else he couldn’t judge anyone
      5. [3:9-18] Jews can be as evil as Gentiles
      6. [3:19-20] Therefore no-one can make themselves righteous by the law

Structure of [2:6-11]

  1. He will reward each one according to his works:
    1. eternal life to those who by perseverance in good works seek glory and honour and immortality,
      1. but wrath and anger to those who live in selfish ambition and do not obey the truth but follow unrighteousness.
      2. There will be affliction and distress on everyone who does evil, on the Jew first and also the Greek,
    1. but glory and honour and peace for everyone who does good, for the Jew first and also the Greek.
  1. For there is no partiality with God.
  • Is this teachine we are saved by works?
    • Is the Justification by works in [v.6]
      1. Hypothetical?
      2. Fulfilled by Christians through the Spirit?
      3. We really are saved by works?
    • in the context here, the purpose is [v.11] to establish God’s impartiality
    • but later, in [8:4] we see that in fact the Christian does fulfill the law


  1. [2:12-3:8] Having the law does not give Jews a special status
    • [2:12-16] On the Day of Judgement will not be about what law you have, but how well you do what the law requires
      • Two laws?
        • Paul is “leveling the playing field between Jew and Gentile” (Moo, p.127)
      • [2:15] “the work of the law written on our hearts”
        • this is an important concept
          • Adam
          • defaced in the fall
          • New Covenant
        • relationship with conscience
    • [2:17-29] The limitations of the Old Covenant
      • [2:17-24] You may think you have a very special relationship with God because you have the law, but if you don’t keep it, the opposite is true—you dishonour God.
      • [2:25-29] Your status as a Jew through circumcision is worth nothing unless you keep the law. A Gentile who obeys the law is more Jewish than you!
    • [3:1-8] Problems
      • [3:1-4] Problem 1: What advantage is it to be a Jew? —there are many advantages
      • [3:5-8] Problem 2: Is God unjust to condemn actions that bring him glory —no, else he couldn’t judge anyone
  2. [3:9-18] Jews can be as evil as Gentiles
  3. [3:19-20] Therefore no-one can make themselves righteous by the law

Part 1c - Righteousness by Faith [3:21-4:25]

  1. [3:21-4:25] Righteousness by faith
    1. [3:21-26] Justification and the Righteousness of God
    2. [3:27-31] By Faith Alone: initial statement
    3. [4:1-25] Proof from Abraham
      • [4:1-8] Faith & Works
      • [4:9-12] Faith & Circumcision
      • [4:13-22] Faith, Promise and the Law
      • [4:23-25] Abraham’s faith related to ours

Justification and the Righteousness of God [3:21-26]

  1. But now apart from the law the righteousness of God (which is attested by the law and the prophets) has been disclosed—
  2. namely, the righteousness of God through the faithfulness of Jesus Christ for all who believe.
  • Introduction
  1. For there is no distinction, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.
  2. But they are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.
  • Statement of Justification by faith
  1. God publicly displayed him at his death as the mercy seat accessible through faith.
  • What God did and why
  1. This was to demonstrate his righteousness, because God in his forbearance had passed over the sins previously committed.
  • Reason 1 (the past)
  1. This was also to demonstrate his righteousness in the present time, so that he would be just and the justifier of the one who lives because of Jesus’ faithfulness.
  • Reason 2 (present and future)
  • Demonstrates God can forgive sin without being unjust
  1. [3:27-31] By Faith Alone: initial statement
    • read verses

There are three views of how this Justification actually works

  1. [4:1-25] Proof from Abraham
    • [4:1-8] Faith & Works
    • [4:9-12] Faith & Circumcision
    • [4:13-22] Faith, Promise and the Law
    • [4:23-25] Abraham’s faith related to ours

Part 1d - Justification: Three Views

1. Martin Luther

  • The word “justify” does not mean actually make us righteous, but declare that we are righteous
    • (Luther is absolutely correct here)
  • But the problem is that we are still sinners
  • So how can we be sinners and yet righteous at the same time
  • His answer is that in justification, it is as if there is a mirror in front of us.
  • “Legal fiction”

2. Catholic church at the time:

  • What Christ does for you is just the starting point
    • Start off with a clean robe (at baptism) but then you have to keep washing it.
    • Any failure to wash it is paid for:
      • purgatory
      • indulgences
      • penance

Indulgences

  • Arose from the concepts that -
    • The punishment for a sin could be converted to a monetary value (as originally set forth in the Mosaic law for civil crimes)
    • The church had a treasury of grace (from its good works) and accumulated suffering of the saints
    • The extension of forgiveness of past sins to forgiveness of future sins
      • a realization that the only place that the forgiveness made a difference was after this life anyway
  • Selling Indulgences in Luther’s time:
    • “At the very instant,” continues Tetzel, “that the money rattles in the bottom of the chest, the soul escapes from purgatory, and flies liberated to heaven. [15] Now you can ransom so many souls, stiff-necked and thoughtless man; with twelve groats you can deliver your father from purgatory, and you are ungrateful enough not to save him! I shall be justified in the Day of Judgment; but you—you will be punished so much the more severely for having neglected so great salvation. I declare to you, though you have but a single coat, you ought to strip it off and sell it, in order to obtain this grace. . . . . The Lord our God no longer reigns, he has resigned all power to the Pope.”
  • Story of the weathly Barron who wanted to buy forgiveness for all future sins...


3. What Paul is teaching

  • Relational, not “a cold legal thing”
    • This is because the law we have broken is about a relationship (a covenant)
  • Real transformation by redemption
  • Much of Paul’s concern is to show that God is not unjust to freely pardon people
  • The basis is union with Christ, as we shall see later

Good explanation on Catholic website: www.whartono.ca/salvation18.htm

  • The simplest way to explain the differences between Catholic and Protestant [Luther’s] Justification is using analogy.
    • Suppose our state before justification is like wearing a dirty robe, which does not entitle us to enter heaven.
    • We cannot clean our robe using our own efforts.
  • In Protestant’s [Luther’s] Justification, Christ will give us His spotless robe to cover up ours at the time we accept Him as our Lord and Saviour.
    • Christ needs to do it only once.
    • We still wear our dirty robe, but it is now covered with Christ’s.
    • When God look at us He will see us wearing the spotless robe of Christ and declares us clean.
    • Note that with the robe from Christ we are renewed outwardly but inside we still have our dirty robe.
  • In Catholic justification, on the other hand, God through Christ will help us to wash our dirty robe.
    • At our conversion, Christ makes it clean for the first time through Baptism (if we have the chance to have it).
    • After this whenever we dirty our robe through sinning, Christ will again help us to wash it (through sacrament of penance). -The process is continued through out our life.
    • When we die with our robe still stained with venial sins, it will be cleansed in purgatory because nothing unclean can enter heaven (Revelation 21:27).
    • At the end of Justification, we enter heaven wearing our clean robe. Obviously what is made clean is also declared clean.

Paul teaches that we are united with Christ

  • so our dirty robe is washed in his blood, not merely covered up
    • and we are truly clean and acceptable to God
  • Also we enter a new relationship in which our faith is counted as righteousness
    • so he takes joy in our faith and our sins are truly washed away


Summary of Paul’s teaching

  1. Enemies [5:10]
    • as an unbeliver, we have a broken relationship with God
    • we are guilty of sin
      • living self-centred lives and breaking God’s perfect standards
      • rejecting the love he has shown us which was designed to draw us to himself [2:4]
  2. The “faithfulness of Jesus” in dying for all who believe [3:22]
    • His death satisfies God’s justice [3:25]
    • It makes it possible for God to forgive people without being unjust [3:25-26]
  3. Redemption, forgiveness of sins [3:24]
    • On the basis of Jesus shed blood, God give us the free gift of forgiveness
    • God gives this gift to those who trust him, not by merit, but as a free gift
    • Our sins are really cleansed and put as far as the east is from the west [Ps 103:12]
    • and we become white as snow [Is 1:18]
    • Jesus promises to continually intercede for us [Heb 7:25] and provide us ongoing purification [Heb 9:12-14]
  4. Justification: God then declares the verdict that we are “not guilty”
    • Justification does not do anything to us, it just declares our status as a result of what has already been done
    • It is not a fiction, but on the basis of redemption [3:24]
  • Note that Paul often speaks of “justification by faith” as a shorthand for “justification through redemption by the blood of Christ which is a free gift given to those who have faith”
  • There are three important implications of Justification
    1. We walk in freedom from condemnation [8:1].
    2. We walk in a restored relationship with the Father. Our sin was personal against God, resulting in a broken relationship, and so justification is a statement that the relationship is restored and we are part of his family in good standing.
    3. Justification is an action as well as a statement:
      • A judge speaks the words “not guilty”, but he also commands the removal of chains and setting free
        • Justification is both of these and both are required
      • Romans [4:25] says Jesus was “raised for our justification”
        • Jesus’ resurrection was the action of justifying Jesus, and us as well (through our unity with him)
      • So, Justification brings us freedom at a deep and fundamental level, and releases us from the authority and power of darkness and the grave
        • The importance of this for the Christian life cannot be understated!
        • It is clearly expressed in Romans [6:8-11] where it says that “death no longer has dominion” over Jesus
        1. Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him.
        2. We know that since Christ has been raised from the dead, he is never going to die again; death no longer has dominion over him.
        3. For the death he died, he died to sin once for all, but the life he lives, he lives to God.
        4. So you too consider yourselves dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus.