ROMANS 3:25-26 GOD’S DEMONSTRATION OF HIS RIGHTEOUSNESS

Ro 3:25 whom God set forth as a propitiation by His blood, through faith, to demonstrate His righteousness, because in His forbearance God had passed over the sins that were previously committed, 26 to demonstrate at the present time His righteousness, that He might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.

 The Righteousness of God v 25 -26

Forbearance... in Romans 2:4 we saw this spoke of a truce between two warring parties and that God rather than destroying us the first time we sinned he graciously and patiently holds back judgement so that we might have a chance to repent and be saved

Passed over sins: doesn't speak of God ignoring sin, but withholding judgement for a period of time since every sin requires punishment

Psalm 78:38-40 But He, being full of compassion, forgave their iniquity, And did not destroy them. Yes, many a time He turned His anger away, And did not stir up all His wrath; 39 For He remembered that they were but flesh, A breath that passes away and does not come again.40 How often they provoked Him in the wilderness, And grieved Him in the desert!

Acts 17:30  "Truly, these times of ignorance God overlooked, but now commands all men everywhere to repent,

2 Peter 3:9 The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.

In the OT sins were temporarily paid for by an animal sacrifice and It might have appeared that God did not take sin seriously, but the cross removed all doubts

To demonstrate the righteousness of God was shown by Jesus' incarnation (God taking on a human form), his sinless life, and substitutionary death

That he might be just and the justifier: God in his infinite wisdom set in place a plan that would allow Him to punish Jesus in the place of sinners and thereby justify undeserving sinners without compromising his standards of Justice

Notice in verses 25-26 that the phrase to demonstrate or declare His righteousness is repeated(emphasis)

2. The Reasoning by God v27-31

V27-28 Boasting is excluded by the law of faith

1Corinth1:28 and the base things of the world and the things which are despised God has chosen, and the things which are not, to bring to nothing the things that are, 29  that no flesh should glory in His presence. 30 But of Him you are in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God----and righteousness and sanctification and redemption---- 31 that, as it is written, "He who glories, let him glory in the LORD."

V28 Justified by faith... Nothing in my hands I bring, only to thy cross I cling

There was a certain kind of Judaism which tried to keep accounts with God and finally come to a point where they felt God owed them and then they could go to heaven

Faith is a self-emptying, self-denying and casting all our hope of Heaven on Christ and Him alone

This reasoning allows God to get all the glory which he deserves

V29-30 Prejudice is excluded

Here is Paul's answer to the Jews who might say that is okay for Gentiles since they do not know the law, but not the Jews

Deut 6:4 "Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one!

V31 through faith we establish the law Salvation by grace through faith shows the true importance of the law by

·       1. Providing a payment for the penalty of sin

·       2. By fulfilling the law's original purpose which was it was to be a tutor which showed us our inability to keep the law and drive us to Christ

·       3. It gives us the ability to obey the law

 Up to that time the Jews kept the law out of fear of God, that day is gone. Now we are to keep the law not out of a fear of punishment, but out of love for God and his amazing mercy

Many times we are stopped from doing wrong because of the fear of hurting those we love

Think, sin is not so much breaking God's law as it is breaking God's heart