These verses are the heart of Paul's Gospel. First, a NEW RIGHTEOUSNESS has been revealed. Previously people had tried to be good or keep the Law, and all had failed, i.e. no one had been able to be righteous. Now, Paul says, God has revealed a new righteousness that has nothing to do with keeping the Law.

Very simply, you ARE righteous if you truly believe that Jesus Christ is God's Son and He's died for you. The Bible teaches that Jesus died as a sacrifice for sins. Now, in the Old Testament, the sacrifice bore the sins of the person presenting it; it took their place. In the same way Jesus carried OUR sins, took our guilt and shame, and died in our place. Believing that and responding to that IS righteousness.

He then says that God shows His justice by this. Every sin that is committed deserves to be punished, HAS to be punished. Justice demands sins be punished. Now Jesus has died in your place, taking the punishment for all those past, (present & future) sins you've committed. Justice has to be seen to be done. This is what atonement means, and it leaves us justified, cleared of our guilt, made right before God, clean and free to live!

D. Application?

1. Jesus has cleared our record! Before God we stand free from

condemnation, free to enjoy Him.

2. Thank, praise & worship Him for the wonder of this.

Chapter: Rom 3

Passage: Rom 3:27-31

A. Find Out:

1. What is excluded? v.27

2. How is a man justified? v.28

3. Over whom is the Lord, God? v.29

4. How will He justify the circumcised? v.30a

5. How will He justify the uncircumcised? v.30b

6. How are faith and the Law related? v.31

B. Think :

1. Why might men have had reason to boast or be proud previously?

2. Why isn't there room for boasting any longer?

3. How is the Gospel the same for all people?

C. Comment :

We saw above, that Paul had been speaking about a new form of righteousness that came from believing in Jesus instead of trying to keep the Law (which every person failed to do). He now points out some further consequences of this.

First of all, there is no room in this Gospel for anyone to feel proud about achieving salvation. Previously a person might have felt good because they kept more laws than many other people. Indeed the Pharisees had felt like this, but, says Paul, there is no room for boasting now because it's not a matter of how many rules you keep or how well you keep them, it's simply a matter of whether you have faith in Jesus.

Not only that, he continues, it's absolutely the same for a Jew as for a Gentile, there's no difference. But, someone might ask, doesn't that do away with the Law? No, replies Paul, because when you are moving in faith in respect of Jesus, you will find you are indeed upholding the Law, doing the things in it without thinking. This is a wonder of the Gospel, it takes your mind off achievement but enables you to do it! As we respond to God's love through Jesus, our love for Him will lead us to "keep His rules" anyway.

D. Application?

1. Are you still a "rule keeper" or do you keep the rules as you love Jesus?

2. Thank Him for the wonder of what He has done.

Chapter: Rom 4

Passage: Rom 4:1-8

A. Find Out:

1. What did Paul next wonder about Abraham? v.1

2. How could Abraham have boasted? v.2

3. But how does Scripture say Abraham was credited with righteousness? v.3

4. When isn't a man credited with righteousness? v.4

5. But who IS credited with righteousness? v.5

6. What man did David speak about? v.6

B. Think :

1. Why was Abraham seen as righteous?

2. What is the difference between wages and being credited with

something?

3. So how does righteousness come to us?

C. Comment :

Paul continues his argument, hammering in the point that our salvation is a free gift and NOT earned. He first uses Abraham as an example. Abraham did various things that made him outstanding. On these grounds he could perhaps boast that he was better than some other people (but never before God that he was perfect!). Was he therefore saved because he did a few good things? No! The Bible declares that his believing God was credited to him as righteousness.

Now when something is credited to you, it is just transferred to your account. If you worked you would earn wages, but when you haven't worked and it is credited to your account it is clearly a free gift.

Believing happens in the mind (and is later followed up by actions of the body) and therefore the moment the person believes in their mind (without having done ANYTHING) God says, "Right, you are now righteous". That is the wonder of the Gospel, you are credited as righteous BEFORE you have a chance to DO a thing! It's all a matter of believing.

D. Application?

1. Thank the Lord that you don't have to work or strive to achieve His

acceptance.

2. Thank Him that He accepted you the moment you said. "I believe”

Chapter: Rom 4

Passage: Rom 4:9-12

A. Find Out:

1. What possible factor does Paul next go on to investigate? v.9

2. What does he observe about Abraham? v.10

3. What therefore, was circumcision to Abraham? v.11a

4. Of whom is Abraham therefore father? v.11b

5. Of whom also is he father? v.12

B. Think :

1. What might Jews have argued, that Paul deals with here?

2. What might Gentiles have wondered?

3. How does Paul show Abraham is father of BOTH circumcised AND

uncircumcised?

C. Comment :

Now the Jews felt circumcision was very important, and without it the Jewish male was hardly a Jew. Into their minds more than once so far, must have come the thought, surely he doesn't mean that circumcision is of no importance? Well, says Paul, let's look at this logically. We've said that Abraham was credited with being righteous when he believed. Very well, when did he believe, before or after he was circumcised? Before he was circumcised! Very well that means he was declared righteous BEFORE he was circumcised and that it was just a sign of the faith that he already had.

Thus, continues Paul, Abraham is the spiritual father (first of the family of believers) of all who believe while they are uncircumcised. But he's also the father of those who are circumcised, who are already a people of faith. Faith is the issue. Jews may have gone on to be circumcised, Gentiles may not, but that's irrelevant as far as being declared righteous by God. Circumcision doesn't mean a Jew has faith, and a Gentile doesn't have to be circumcised to prove he has faith.

D. Application?

1. Thank the Lord that we don't HAVE to DO things to be justified, that it's

all a matter of faith.

2. Ask that your faith will produce fruit of action.

Chapter: Rom 4

Passage: Rom 4:13-17

A. Find Out:

1. What was the promise to Abraham? v.13b

2. How did he receive (obtain) it? v.13c

3. Why might faith be of no value? v.14

4. What does the law bring? v.15

5. How does the promise come therefore? v.16a

6. To whom does it come? v.16b

B. Think :

1. Had Abraham received his inheritance and become a great man by

keeping God's rules?

2. How had he become a great man?

3. What does that say to us therefore?

C. Comment :

Having maintained that this new righteousness wasn't received because of works or circumcision, Paul answers the Jewish readers who might still have wondered if the law guaranteed their future.

Abraham had been promised by God that he would be a great man, that he would have many descendants, that he would inherit a land and that the world would be blessed by him. That was ALL before he believed and before he had the chance to do anything (See Genesis 12:1-3). If rule-keepers are to be the inheritors of God's blessing, says Paul, then you might as well not have had the promise to start with. Trying to keep the rules, brings failure and therefore God's wrath. Complete freedom to enjoy God's world, (free from pressures of the flesh, sin, fear and Satan) doesn't come like that! It's a GIFT from God

Blessing comes simply by believing God, God who has the power to do what is humanly impossible. He can make us what we are unable to make ourselves, just like He did when He made Abraham a father in his old age.

D. Application?

1. Thank the Lord that we are simply receivers of His blessing, we cannot

earn it!

2. Thank the Lord that He is for us (Romans 8:31 ) and wants to bless us

(Galatians 3:14 ).

Chapter: Rom 4

Passage: Rom 4:18-25

A. Find Out:

1. How did Abraham become a father? v.18

2. What did he have to face? v.19

3. Yet what wasn't weakened? v.19a

4. What would wavering have been? v.20

5. About what was he fully persuaded? v.21

6. How is the result applicable to us? v.22-24

B. Think :

1. What was the crisis point of Abraham's life where his faith prevailed until

success?

2. Why was he "credited" with righteousness?

3. How was Jesus' sacrifice for us shown it was accepted and results in our

justification?

C. Comment :

Abraham had been promised offspring by God. The only problem was that Abraham hadn't had any children and he was now moving into older age. Not only that, his wife was past child bearing age BUT God had said he would have children and that was enough!

Abraham believed and not only that, he carried on believing for over twenty years! To have children you have to try to conceive and so these two elderly people, with bodies that humanly speaking were past it, continue to try to have children, until after twenty four years Sarah found she was pregnant.

It was this faith, this sure belief in what God had said, that resulted in God declaring that Abraham was righteous. A number of times Abraham did get things wrong, but he was a believer and as such he was declared "righteous". Thus, we too, when we believe, are declared righteous by God. Jesus died to take our sins and by his resurrection showed that what he had done was perfect and acceptable in God's sight, and he had therefore bought our justification.

D. Application?

1. Thank the Lord again, that when you just believed you were declared

righteous by God.

2. Thank the Lord for Abraham's example

RECAP: "Righteousness through Faith" - Rom 3:21 - 4:25

SUMMARY :

In these 6 studies we have seen:

  - a new righteousness that comes from BELIEVING

  - that Jesus died to take our sins

  - that there is no room for human pride

  - that Jew & Gentile are saved the same way

  - that Abraham was credited with righteousness because he

     believed not because he did anything

  - that circumcision came AFTER faith and isn't therefore, a

     means to salvation

  - salvation doesn't come by keeping rules, simply by believing

     just like Abraham did.

COMMENT :

These verses are devastatingly clear: salvation comes from believing in Jesus' sacrifice on the Cross for us. It doesn't come

by human effort, or
by doing good, or
by performing religious acts or
by keeping rules.

Salvation is being declared righteous by God when we believe.

LESSONS :

1. Jesus has done EVERYTHING necessary to give us salvation.

2. We are now free from any condemnation.

3. We DON'T earn God's approval by:

- keeping the rules

- working to be good or to be religious.

4. God gives His approval & declares us righteous when we believe.

PRAY :

Thank the Lord for the wonder of these truths, that you ARE accepted, just as you are, when you believed. There's nothing more you can do to win His approval, you ARE approved by God, NOW!

PART 4 : "Fruits of Justification"

In this next Part watch for the results of our justification that Paul speaks about: peace with God, a great life in the days ahead of us and eternal life when we leave this earth.