Sermon by Pastor Robert Green, read by Ralph Buehler, Second Sunday after Pentecost, May 25, 2008, Yr. A, No. 683, Ascension Evangelical Lutheran Church, Harrisburg, PA, based on Romans 3:21-25, 27-28
One has to admire those ancient heroes of faith, like Daniel, Meshach, Shadrach, and Abednego. Daniel was willing to face being eaten alive by lions, rather than to prayer only to the king for thirty days. Meshach, Shadrach, and Abednego would rather face death in a fiery furnace, than to bow down in worship of a ninety foot statute. Stephan was willing to defend his faith before an angry crowd that finally stoned him to death. Paul faced imprisonment, beatings, floggings, and riots time after time as he continued to defend and spread the gospel.
Why would these men be so willing to face so much evil, pain and hardship when all of it could have been avoided simply by denying or compromising the faith? In the reading for today from Romans 3, God lays out the reason for any Christian to stand firm and bold in the face of adversity, telling usthe heart of our Christian faithis as we live in a state of sin, we also live in the state of grace; reason to stand firm in all life situations!
Hear now the words from Romans 3:21-25a; 27-28 “But now a righteousness from God, apart from law, has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. 22 This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference, 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. 25 God presented him as a sacrifice of atonement, through faith in his blood. … 27 Where, then, is boasting? It is excluded. On what principle? On that of observing the law? No, but on that of faith. 28 For we maintain that a man is justified by faith apart from observing the law.” (NIV)
The heart of our Christian faith
- Is as we live in a state of sin;
Paul says, “But now a righteousness from God, apart from law, has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify.” The little word “but” carries a tremendous meaning in this verse. The word means to present a strong adverse response to what has just been previously stated. In these verses Paul is concluding a statement he made in Romans 1:16-17 where he said, “I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile. 17 For in the gospel a righteousness from God is revealed, a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: `The righteous will live by faith.’”
In the intervening chapters, Paul explains why we need the power of the gospel for our salvation and the short answer is it is because we have no excuse for our sins. In the verses just before the reading for today, Paul sums up his thought that we have no excuse for our sin in saying, Romans 3:19-20 (NIV), “Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be silenced and the whole world held accountable to God. 20 Therefore no one will be declared righteous in his sight by observing the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of sin.”
Every mouth will be silent before God, for every person is fully guilty of sin with no excuse to offer God. Paul sums up what he had just said in saying, “There is no difference, 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, …” Whoever you are, you are no different from every single human being in the world, for you have sinned, just as all have sinned, and you fall short of the glory of God. That is the glory that belongs to God, it is his glorious standard of perfect righteousness and holiness. Where Paul says, “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” his point is that every human, except Christ, has sinned.
The word used for “to fall short” means a present on-going falling short of the glory of God. To fall short of the glory of God is an on-going state of continuing to sin or miss the mark God has established for us of perfect righteousness and holiness. Your on-going sin causes you to miss the mark of God’s approval.This means that you and I are sinners and live in that constant state of sin, for not only have we sinned already, but constantly we continue to sin by falling short of God’s standard. That is why we need the power of the gospel to save us.
Dear friend do you believe and understand that you have sinned? Do you understand that your sinful nature causes you, ever as a believer, to continually to sin and fall short of God’s glory? If not, then take a good look at your and confess your sin. If so, then know that this is the human condition this side of heaven. It is the reason why we so desperately need a Savior. The good news is though we live in a constant state of sin, so we also, as believers live in a constant state of grace!
- we also live in the state of grace;
In this reading, Paul now explains the power of the gospel to save us. This power of the gospel is the gospel message that God’s righteousness is our righteousness by faith. This thought is nothing new, for, as Paul says this is something, “to which the Law and the Prophets testify.” The Law and the Prophets was the name used before the New Testament was written to refer to the Old Testament.
Now in the Old Testament, God told the people of Israel they would be his people and he would be their God if they obeyed all he commanded. God then gave them his law, summarized in the Ten Commandments, to show them what he demanded of them. God’s standard was perfect obedience to the law, for to be he his people, the people of Israel had to be holy without sin. God commanded the people in Leviticus 19:2 (NIV), “Speak to the entire assembly of Israel and say to them: ‘Be holy because I, the LORD your God, am holy.” Under the covenant made with the people of Israel, the righteousness they were to achieved came from the law and its demands of perfection.
In this reading, Paul says, “But now a righteousness from God, apart from law, has been made known …” This righteousness is completely different from the righteousness of the law, for “This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe.” Since this righteousness comes from God through faith in Christ is not the righteousness that comes from the law. This righteousness does not come from what we do, but from what Christ has done, for it comes to us through faith in Christ Jesus. Indeed, Paul goes on to explain that righteousness saying, “There is no difference, 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.”
The word “justified” is one of the most important words in Christianity. It means “to be declared not guilty, to be declared righteous.” The word was used in the courtroom to declare a criminal not guilty of charges. It carries with it the thought of not only being not guilty, but being innocent and having, to the contrary, perfectly obeyed the law.Jesus died for all, the whole world has been declared justified. That justification is freely given. That it is free means there is not one single act, or duty, or requirement needed to receive what God had done. The word freely means to give a gift freely.
This justification was achieved by the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. That as Jesus’ work of living a perfect life to be the perfect sacrifice for sin. Jesus redeemed us, which means to back buy, from sin, death and the devil, by paying the penalty for sin, eternal damnation.Jesus did this, not because we earned or deserved it, but purely by his grace, his underserved love. God’s motive in declaring you justified is not ever to be found in you, but in his perfect love!Though Jesus paid for the sins of the whole world, and thereby declared the world justified before God, the work of Christ comes to each individual only through faith. Faith takes an object and the only faith that matters is faith in Christ, in the gospel message that he died for all your sins.
All of this explains Paul statement in Romans 1:16-17, “I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile. 17 For in the gospel a righteousness from God is revealed, a righteousness that is by faith” The gospel message is God’s power to save you because as Paul says in Romans 10:17 (NIV), “faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word of Christ.” The righteousness of God is revealed in the gospel message for it is the righteousness that is by faith! Which is why Paul says, in this reading, “This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe.”
What all this means is that though you live in a state of sin, because you have sinned and continue to fall short of the glory of God, you also live in the state of grace, for not only did Jesus justify you by dying for your sins, the moment you come to faith, he credits you with his perfect righteousness, the righteousness of God!
This state of grace is all yours by God’s work and decree to save you. That is why Paul adds the thought, to make sure we get it, “Where, then, is boasting? It is excluded. On what principle? On that of observing the law? No, but on that of faith. 28 For we maintain that a man is justified by faith apart from observing the law.” You have no boast whatsoever in your salvation, not even the boast of having decided to believe, for you are justified apart from observing the law, apart from doing anything to be right before God.
- reason to stand firm in all life situations!
What does this mean for you? It means the same thing it meant for Daniel, Meshach, Shadrach, and Abednego. These dear brothers believed in their Savior God. Each one of them were able to face horrible trials, tribulations, injustices, and violent deaths that this life can offer with peace and confidence that comes from believing the gospel message! You can do the same!
For you are now under the state of grace. At any moment in time, as you believe, you have been declared not guilty of sin, you have been declared to be perfectly righteous, for you have the righteousness of Christ. In short, you presently declared a saint, a holy one, as you live before almighty God.Because you enjoy this status before God, you can confidently believe that if you were to die this moment, heaven would be home. You can be confident that God will rescue you from all perils that assail you, for in the end, nothing will ever harm you again as God takes you from the travails of this life, to heaven forever! This gives reason to stand firm in all life situations!
What gave Daniel, Meshach, Shadrach, Abednego, Stephan, Paul and all Christians a heart that could stand firm in the face of adversity? These men knew and believed the heart of our Christian faith is as we live in a state of sin, we also live in the state of grace; reason to stand firm in all life situations! To God be all glory, amen!