04.09. LESSON 9

LESSON 9

We now leave the sublime scripture (Romans 3:21-26), which, as a key fits its lock, meets our exceeding need, with profound gratitude that God did not take the easy way out by simply and justly committing all sinners to hell forever. That would have been no problem at all. His highly complicated problem was to judge sin in such a way as to cleanse and restore the sinner. As only God could, he solved it by the glory, mystery, and power of the cross. Since justification must be on righteous grounds, Christ had to die to make it right for God to justify sinners. A cheap justification would have been unworthy of God. An analysis of the rest of the third chapter yields three things.

First: Since condemned sinners receive justification as full, free pardon, they have no ground for boasting. Could a justly condemned convict, whose pardon had been effected by the substitutionary death of an exceptionally good friend, go back to his home town bragging about his pardon? What could so exalt God and humble man as does Christianity? Should a few choice souls climb up to heaven over a ladder of meritorious works, pride in their unique achievement would make them as unfit for heavenly society as were the angels whose pride lost them heaven. Justification is not a work for men to do, but a word about a work, already done by another on the cross, to believe. Men who try to earn heaven do but waste their effort fumbling with the wrong key about the keyhole of a door that is wide open. Only "The way of the cross leads home."

Second: Paul’s argument here, based on the absurdity of having two ways to justify sinners, since it implies two Gods, should have had much weight with the monotheistic Jews. Paul reasons that the one Cod will no more limit the blessings of Christianity to the Jews than he does the blessings of nature; reasons that it is ridiculous to think that the Maker and Father of all mankind in dispensing Christian benefits will forget the Gentiles, because for adequate reasons of his own, he did not give them a written law.

Third: To the objection that justification "apart from law" annuls the law, Paul replies somewhat brusquely and very firmly, "Nay, we establish the law." Since the law was not given as a means of justification, but for another purpose, its being useless as a means of justification does not even militate against it. How does the gospel establish the law? "Through the law cometh the knowledge of sin" (Romans 3:20). Since the chief function of the law is to make men conscious of their sins, work self-condemnation, and send them in despair to Christ for refuge, whenever it does these things, it justifies and establishes itself. Does not God’s law still speak in thunder to sinners? Moreover, Christians in fulfilling the law through love (Romans 13:10) establish the law as being "spiritual" (Romans 7:14) and Christian. The law cannot justify, but justification issues in the fulfillment of the law. Instead of teaching that the gospel means the death of law, Paul teaches that men must die to law as a means of justification before they can become Christians (Galatians 2:19). Indeed, Christianity is God’s effectual and final way of moving men to live lawful lives. Furthermore, nothing can give divine sanction to the law and uphold its authority and majesty as the cross does. That Christ had to endure the cross to pay the penalty for man’s breaking the law, certainly establishes the law as being inviolable, "holy, righteous, and good" (Romans 7:12). Does seeding a field cancel an earlier plowing? The New Testament Witnessed by the Old Testament

We have just considered some general suggestions as to how the gospel establishes the law. We are now ready to see how Paul continues the subject with express documentary evidence from the Old Testament. He illustrates his former statement that Christianity is "witnessed by the law and the prophets" with respective incidents from the lives of Abraham, the father, and David, the greatest king, of the Hebrew people. In effect Paul is saying: "If you Jews would study your Bible more honestly and deeply, you could see the unity and agreement that exists between the Old Testament and the New Testament.

While Abraham was yet childless, God told him that his seed should be as numberless as the stars. "And Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned unto him for righteousness" (Romans 4:3). That is, Abraham’s faith so pleased God that God, as a favor, counted his faith unto him for justification. Paul universalizes that principle by saying: "... to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is reckoned for righteousness. Even as David also pronounceth blessing upon the man unto whom God reckoneth righteousness apart from works" (Romans 4:5-6). After repenting of his base crimes, David’s conscience ceased to smite, and he joyously stated this truth negatively: "Blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven, and whose sins are covered (atoned for). Blessed is the man to whom the Lord will not reckon (count) sin" (Romans 4:7-8). Blessed indeed! What can "the ungodly" under law apart from grace ever do with their past?

Jews, thus forced to admit by their own scriptures that Abraham was justified by faith apart from works, would counter: "Yes, but he was circumcised." Paul’s simple, double-pointed answer that Abraham lived centuries before the law was given (Galatians 3:17), and that his circumcision was "a seal of the righteousness of the faith which he had" (Romans 4:11) years before he was so circumcised, so cleverly and so completely demolishes the position of the Jews that they become ridiculous; to get their argument, they have to invert the plain facts of history.

Paul’s shattering answer shows that Abraham was justified before there were any Jews "That he might be the father (pattern man) of all them that believe," both Jews and Gentiles. The pride of the Jews should be lowered, therefore, and the Gentiles need not despair; either can be justified by faith, but neither without it. Thus the whole Mosaic covenant of works becomes a parenthesis within the Abrahamic covenant of promise which continues in Christ. The reasoning of the Jews is turned upside down, for instead of Gentiles being justified by Jewish law, Jews, if they are to be "Abraham’s seed" and have "The righteousness which is from God by faith in Christ" (Php 3:1-9), must be justified apart from the law of Moses and circumcision as was Abraham. That partisans can be so foolish and dishonest is truly amazing!

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