“Jesus Declares Me Righteous”
Romans 3:19-4:8
Sermon Series: “The Cross”
Introduction: Thousands of years ago, Job asked one of the most crucial questions that has ever been asked, “But how can a man be righteous before God?” (Job 9:2). We are going to let the Bible answer that question for us today and see that the only way to be righteous is through faith in Jesus. This is the doctrine of justification. Justification is the opposite of condemnation. It includes forgiveness and acceptance but goes beyond them. It is God graciously, instantaneously, completely, and permanently declaring us righteous by His Son’s death through faith.
1. We have a need to be made right with God (3:9-19, 23).
A. Sinful
B. Guilty (Accountable)
C. Fall Short of God’s glory
2. However, we are incapable of making ourselves right with God (3:20). The Bible tells us very clearly that we can’t be justified (declared righteous) by the works of the Law. The Law only reveals our sinfulness. It does nothing to save us.
3. But, we can be made right with God through the work of Jesus on the cross (3:21-26).
A. He is the righteousness of God. He is perfect.
B. He is the gracious gift of God. Salvation is only by grace.
C. He is our redeemer. Redeem means to ransom.
D. He is the sacrifice for our sins. “Propitiation” means atoning sacrifice. His blood satisfies the holy wrath of God against us by paying the debt we owe God for our sinfulness. God has a righteous anger directed against sin (even though He still loves us). He must have this in order to be just and holy. Leviticus 17:11 says that “the life of the body is in the blood” so the spilling of Christ’s blood represents His death on our behalf as our substitute.
E. He is the only one who satisfies the righteous nature of God. God can be righteous and declare people righteous only because of what Jesus did on the cross. Charles Cranfield wrote, “God, because in his mercy he willed to forgive sinful men and being truly merciful, willed to forgive them righteously, that is, without in any way condoning their sin, purposed to direct against his own very self in the person of his son the full weight of that righteous wrath which they deserved.” P.T. Forsyth said, “God must either inflict punishment or assume it. And he chose the latter course, as honoring the law while saving the guilty. He took His own judgment.”
4. Therefore, we can only be made right with God through trusting Jesus (3:26-4:8). It is not what we do (although true faith produces good works-James 2, Ephesians 2:10) but what Christ has done for us. As a result, we can only be made right with God by trusting Jesus. John Stott writes, “Not works, but grace. Not law, but faith. Not our righteous deeds but his mercy. There is no cooperation here between God and us, only a choice between two mutually exclusive ways, his and ours. Moreover, the faith which justifies is emphatically not another work. No, to say ‘justification by faith’ is merely another way of saying ‘justification by Christ.’ Faith has absolutely no value in itself; its value lies solely in its object. Faith is the eye that looks to Christ, the hand that lays hold of him, the mouth that drinks the water of life.” Mark Hall, lead singer of Casting Crowns, said, “[Christianity] is not a religion to be tried, but a Person to be trusted.”
Conclusion: Are you right with God? Are you trying to make yourself righteous, trying to help Jesus make you righteous, or simply trusting Jesus and His finished work on the cross for your righteousness?
