Romans 3:25,26 - The one who has faith in Christ Jesus

3:25,26

So how are we justified in Christ Jesus? Because God presented Him as “ a propitiation by His blood”. The word translated here as “propitiation” is translated “expiation” in some translations. The Greek word can encompass both meanings. “Propitiation” means a turning aside of wrath. Many object to this idea, mainly because they don’t like the idea of God’s wrath! However, the Bible isn’t afraid to speak of the wrath of God, and whether or not we like the idea is neither here nor there.  Actually, we should like the idea, because it is the truth and because in Christ there is the perfect solution. Suppose we compare it to cancer. No one likes the idea of cancer. Suppose someone has an inoperable cancer, one for which there is no cure. Then in such a case denying the existence of the cancer may well be a sensible approach. At least you can enjoy life until the effects of the cancer become unavoidable. However, if there is a perfect cure, then to deny the existence of the cancer is the height of stupidity. So it is with the wrath of God. Christ’s blood has completely paid the price of our sin, in the words of the hymn “the wrath of God is satisfied”. However, sin is also expiated. We are cleansed of sin. Sin is destructive, and makes us dirty. The blood of Christ cleanses us perfectly.

“This was to show God’s righteousness”. For God had “passed over former sins”. Many sins had not received their due punishment. How could a just God do this? It was because He knew that in Christ the price of sin would be paid in full, so He was patient, as He is today when sins are not immediately punished. He is patient with the hope of leading us to repentance, and so to receive forgiveness. God’s aim was to be both just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus. God is just, and it is important that we realise that our forgiveness is not just an emotional act on God’s part (though it is that), but is also a just act. In 1 John 1:9 it says that if we confess our sins God is “faithful and just” to forgive us. The cross reveals the mystery of how a just God can pour out blessings upon a sinful people. 

Exodus 34:4-7 - Slow to anger

34:4,5

So Moses did as he had been commanded, chiselling out the tablets, and going up the mountain. The Lord came down in the cloud and proclaimed His name, the LORD. Moses had seen the sin of the people and was appalled by it. He needed to know that God was the same, yesterday, today and forever. We too may well be dismayed at many of things we see going on around us, but the Lord is the same, He has not changed.

34:6,7

The Lord passed before Moses and proclaimed who He was (and is). He is “compassionate and gracious”, “slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness”. So we have the compassion of the Lord. Then God says “He does not leave the guilty unpunished”. Justice and mercy go together. If we focus on just one of these aspects we do not have the truth. They go together. We see this supremely on the cross, which was a judgement on our sin, but the greatest act of mercy, for Christ took the judgement upon Himself. “Third and fourth generation” is an idiomatic statement, meaning the long term effects of sin. We can see the truth of this at the individual and national level. The sins of one person can affect their family for several generations, the sins of one generation can affect a nation for many years.

Romans 3:3,24 - For all have sinned

3:23

“For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God”. Every single human being has sinned. The Jews talked about “Gentile sinners”, but the Jews were also sinners. When we say something or someone is sinful we are often accused of being bigoted or judgemental, or  “haters”. This is complete nonsense. The gospel enables us to talk freely about sin, rather than ignoring the realities. For all have sinned, that includes me and you. “Fall short of the glory of God”. We were created in God’s image, if man had never sinned the world would be unbelievably different from what we see around us. We would have lived in the glory that God gave us. And, in Christ, we will enjoy the glory of God again. But the point here is that all fall short of the glory of God. The Jews were not living the life that God created them for, and neither were the Gentiles.

3:24

Having outlined how all, without distinction, are guilty and therefore by nature “objects of wrath” (Col 2:3), we now get to the solution. All “are justified by His grace as a gift”. The “all” here applies to all who have faith, as the next verse will make clear, and as did Rom 1:17 and the rest of the book! Justified means “acquitted” or “declared righteous”, it is a legal term. Our salvation in Christ is both a legal matter and an emotional or love matter. Here it is the legal side that is being focused on, though it is inherently linked with the love of God. It is a bit like the adoption of a child. For the adoption to work there are two aspects that are essential. On the one hand all the legal processes have to have been properly gone through, on the other the new parents need to love the child. Either one of these on its own is not enough for the adoption to work, it requires both. Likewise with our salvation. 

Paul also uses the concept of redemption. This is used with the idea of a slave’s freedom being bought, or his manumission. It is important here to use analogies properly. The emphasis is on the release of the slave, the winning of his freedom. It is futile and fruitless to start asking, as many have done, “to whom was the ransom paid?”. “That is in Christ Jesus”. We are free if we are in Christ. Without Christ there is no redemption.

Exodus 34:1-3 - Chisel out two stone tablets

34:1

Having broken the tablets of stone when he saw what was going on in the camp, Moses now gets a replacement set. Moses has to chisel out the stones, and God makes the pointed remark “which you broke”. God here says He will write the words on them, as on the first set. There could be a conflict with 34:27,28 where it says that God tells Moses to write the words on the tablets. However, one can look at it as the words are God’s and so God is actually writing the words, even if Moses was the instrument. In many of the New Testament letters the words were, for the most part, written by a “secretary” dictated by Paul, it was still Paul who wrote them. So any conflict is really non-existent.

34:2,3

Moses was to be ready early in the morning. He was to meet God on Mount Sinai. So despite man’s rebellion, God’s ways and His plans had not changed. This does not mean the sin of Israelites did not matter, it most certainly did matter, but man’s sin does not change God’s plans. No one, not even flocks and herds were to be allowed on the mountain. 

Romans 3:22 - There is no distinction

3:22

We are now told how this righteousness works, it is through faith. Now the Greek actually reads “faith of Jesus Christ” and this could be taken in two ways. It could be talking about Christ’s faithfulness, or about our faith in Jesus Christ. Now in the overall picture both of these are essential and true. Jesus was completely obedient to the Father, if He had not been, if He had not gone to the cross, we would still be completely lost. And without faith in Christ, there is no hope for us. Which of the two is to be preferred depends upon the wider context, upon whether Paul is focusing on the work of Christ, or whether the focus is our right response. Generally it is preferred that it is our faith in Christ that is the primary issue here. However, it could be that all this is missing the point, that trying to work out which of these two readings is correct really isn’t that helpful. Our salvation, our righteousness, is absolutely dependent upon two things. One is the work of Christ, and the other is our putting our trust in that work, in Jesus, in who He is and what He has done. So the two are inextricably bound together.

“For there is no distinction.” We are back to the issue of Jews and Gentiles. Both are in the same boat, and the next verses will say why in a very succinct manner.

Exodus 33:18-23 - Now show me your glory

33:18-20

Moses now asks for God to show him His glory. God declares that Moses cannot see His full glory, cannot see His face, for then he would die. However, the Lord will give him something. All his goodness would pass in front of Moses, and He would declare His name in the presence of Moses. I.e. He would reveal more of His character to Moses. Then it says “I will have mercy ....”, this was quoted by Paul in Rom 9:15. God having mercy on people whom we are sure don’t deserve it is what often causes problems for people! Especially religious people, possibly even including you and me. Yet the gospel is all about mercy, about God’s favour to those who in no way deserve it.

33:21-23

God then prepares the way for Moses to see something of the glory of God, but not in all its fullness. So God will put Moses in the cleft of a rock so that he will only see the back of God, not His face. Anthropomorphic language is, of course, being used here. However, what Moses would see is part of the whole of God, it was not something that was separated off.

Romans 3:21 - The righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the Law

3:21

“But now apart from the Law the righteousness of God has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify.” So far Paul has made two primary points. The first is that all have sinned and are therefore subject to the wrath of God. This applies to both Jews and Gentiles. The second point is that no one could be made righteous through the Law. The Jews thought that because they had the Law they could be righteous with God. This didn’t mean that they didn’t think how someone lived didn’t matter, for that was why the religious leaders had come up with so many rules over the years. It is a common trait in mankind. We see something of this when a problem arises in society. The problem is identified, as is the way things should be. We then think that we will now do things the way they ought to be done and the problem is solved. Except, this neglects the reality of sin, and things continue to go wrong. 

So with these two primary points ( all have sinned, and the Law cannot justify us) it seems that we are in a hopeless situation. This is where the “but now ...” comes in. The gospel has made known the righteousness of God. This is new in the sense that it had not been fully revealed until Christ came, died and rose again, but it was not new in the sense that it was a completely new innovation that had never been thought of before. The Law and the Prophets testified to this righteousness of God that is revealed in the gospel.