I love the book of Romans. This week I decided to read through Romans slowly – and out loud. Yes, I sit in my room at night and read out loud to myself. And it has been a wonderful exercise that I commend to everyone. I cannot tell you how many times I have read through Romans – again, it’s my favorite book in the entire Bible. But the other night as I was reading through Romans 3, I was overwhelmed with joy, as if I had never picked up the Bible before in my life!
I came to the end of chapter three and read these words:
Where, then, is boasting? It is excluded. On what principle? On that of observing the law? No, but on that of faith. For we maintain that a man is justified by faith apart from observing the law. Is God the God of Jews only? Is he not the God of Gentiles too? Yes, of Gentiles too, since there is only one God, who will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through that same faith. Do we, then, nullify the law by this faith? Not at all! Rather, we uphold the law. (3:27-31)
Paul has just finished demonstrating the hopelessness of our situation apart from Christ. Earlier in chapter three he reminds us that there are none who are righteous – not even one. All stand condemned before God because all have sinned. If you were to begin reading Romans and stop at 3:20, you would truly be depressed! It is a hopeless, dismal picture that he paints. But he does not stop there – in fact, he uses this very dismal picture to set us up for the truly wonderful good news that he will spend the rest of the epistle expounding – that the righteousness of God is a gift from Him, by His grace, through the redemption that comes through Christ Jesus (3:24).
Now, this is the basic message of the Gospel – something I have known (and sometimes, to my shame take for granted), but what truly gave me pause was the relationship of the law to this beautiful gospel that he is presenting.
As I read through this chapter, I saw the beauty of the law in a way I never have before. Paul said that through the law we become conscious of sin (3:20). The law -what law is he referring to? The law that God set forth for us in His Word, mainly in the Old Testament. The law is beautiful, but fearsome. It is awesome, but intimidating. Because in the law we see the perfect holiness of God – His character, His purposes. We see the standard by which we can be holy and stand before a holy God.
And…we see how we fall short. James reminds us that “whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it.” (James 2:10). If we slip up just once, we are guilty of it all. And who can say they have never slipped? Who can say they have never transgressed the law in any point? No one can say that! And this should make us all tremble. In our culture, the word “sin” is like a four-letter curse word. We prefer to talk of “mistakes” or “shortcomings” – but the Word calls it what it is – sin. And this sin puts us in emnity with God. We are lawbreakers. All of us. There is no distinction.
Now, you may ask, what is so beautiful about that? Well, on the face of it, nothing. But here is where it the beauty arises out of the ashes of our sin – the law, and our inability to keep it, points us to the One who can keep it, and who can save us from the hopelessness of being lawbreakers before a holy and righteous God.
Read these beautiful words:
But now a righteousness from God, apart from law, has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. God presented him as a sacrifice of atonement, through faith in his blood. He did this to demonstrate his justice, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished— he did it to demonstrate his justice at the present time, so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus. (3:21-26 NIV)
The law point us to Christ. It is a tutor, a guide (Galatians 3:23-25) that leads us to the only hope we have. Through His life, Christ fulfilled all righteousness; and because He was sinless, holy and blameless, He became the perfect sacrifce for we who have broken that law, because He didn’t have to offer any sacrifice for Himself (cf. Hebrews 7:26-28). His death paid the penalty for our lawbreaking – His resurrection justifies, reconciles and gives us peace with God, and the glorious gift of eternal life.
This is Gospel 101 – but how easy it is for us to forget. We cannot add anything to this – all we can do is receive it. Our lives will reflect glories of His grace – it is not what we do that commends us to God. It is what He is done for us. This is our hope, this is our sure foundation.
It is appropriate that I ponder these things as I walk through this journey toward holy, biblical womanhood (which, I have not abandoned…). It is easy for me to look at my life, look at my sin, look at my failures and lose hope. But my hope is in the One who redeemed me by His blood; who by His Spirit dwells within me. The same power with which Christ was raised now resides in me (Ephesians 1:19-20). And it is He would will complete the work He has begun in me. And is this not true of all who call on the name of the Lord? How glorious is His grace!
More later…
Grace and peace…
