Romans 3- Nullify The Law?

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Where is boasting then? It is excluded. By what law? of works? Nay: but by the law of faith. Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law. Is he the God of the Jews only? is he not also of the Gentiles? Yes, of the Gentiles also: Seeing it is one God, which shall justify the circumcision by faith, and uncircumcision through faith. Do we then make void the law through faith? God forbid: yea, we establish the law. Romans 3:27-31

Who can be saved? Well as the Apostle Paul says “Everyone who calls upon the name of The Lord shall be saved” (Romans 10:13) There is only One Way to Salvation, Jesus Christ (John 14:6, Acts 4:12) And this salvation from God is offered to anyone who repents and puts their faith in The Lord Jesus Christ for salvation (John 3:16) This is The New Covenant in Christ (Luke 22, Hebrews 8) that Jew and Gentile can be a Child of God through faith in Christ (Galatians 4:4-6)

But what about The Law? Does the grace of God eliminate the moral Law of God? No, as we discussed previously, The Law reveals the nature of God and man. How do you know you are a sinner in need of a Savior? Look to The Law of God as a mirror, and the Holy Spirit will reveal your sinful nature. So are we saved then by “Keeping The Law”? No , look what the Apostle Paul says here “Where is boasting then? It is excluded. By what law? Of works? No, but by the law of faith.” You are saved by grace through faith, not by keeping The Law. (Ephesians 2:8-9) Nobody can Keep the Law and The Law will never bring you salvation. However its through The Law you are convicted of sin and in need of repentance and salvation of Christ

As the Apostle Paul states “We conclude that man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law” You can’t earn your salvation, you can’t work your way into Heaven, its only by genuine faith in Christ that you can be saved and be justified before God. Humans like to save themselves, humans like to deliver themselves, but you are completely unable to. As Jesus said “Unless you are Born Again, you will not see the Kingdom of Heaven” (John 3:3) You need to be regenerated by the Holy Spirit, you need a new heart and mind, you need The Law written on your heart, this will never happen by human works in trying the “Keep The Law”

I heard it once said “The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, is the God of Matthew, Mark , Luke, and John. There is only One God, and He is God over the Jews and Gentiles. How are they saved? The Apostle Paul states “Shall justify the circumcision (Jew) by faith, and uncircumcision (Gentile) through faith” The Jew is saved by faith in Christ, the Gentile is saved by faith in Christ. There is only one means of salvation!

So the Apostle Paul then asks the question “Does this make The Law void through faith”? Certainly not, we establish The Law” Meaning you can’t understand your depravity without The Law, You can’t understand the nature of God without The Law, you can’t understand your desperate need for Jesus Christ without The Law, repent and put your faith in Christ for salvation, Jew and Gentile, Amen!

Romans 3- Jesus our Propitiation

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Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God; To declare, I say, at this time his righteousness: that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus. Romans 3:25-26

So earlier the Apostle Paul taught us, what and why Christ is the good news for us all. Today the Apostle Paul teaches us how Christ is the good news. Jesus took your place on that cross, as Paul said “God has set forth to be a propitiation through faith in His (Christ) blood” It’s interesting when you look at the other English translations NIV states “God presented Christ as a sacrifice of atonement through the shedding of His blood” The Amplified Version says this “whom God displayed publicly [before the eyes of the world] as a [life-giving] sacrifice of atonement and reconciliation (propitiation) by His blood [to be received] through faith” As you look at the different translations, you get the understanding Christ died for your sins on the cross, and by our faith in Christ and his sacrifice we are declared righteous with God

The word propitiation is very interesting, Gotquestions.org says the word means  this “The word propitiation carries the basic idea of appeasement or satisfaction, specifically toward God. Propitiation is a two-part act that involves appeasing the wrath of an offended person and being reconciled to him.” The only way we can be reconciled or redeemed to God is by the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, this is why Jesus is the only way to salvation (John 14:6, Acts 4:12) This is what Christ has done for you, because He loved you and chosen you before the foundation of the world. (Ephesians 1:4)

Consider these scriptures about propitiation “And He Himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the whole world.” (1 John 2:2) The Apostle John states Christ is the propitiation or atoning sacrifice for us and the entire world! Remember what John the Baptist stated about Jesus “Behold The Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world” (John 1:29) 

The author of Hebrews, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, stated the same thing “Therefore, in all things He had to be made like His brethren, that He might be a merciful and faithful High Priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people.” (Hebrews 2:17) Jesus Christ, our Lord, our King, our High Priest, made the propitiation, the atoning sacrifice for our sins, the sins of the people, the world. This is a difficult concept for us to grasp, that the Son of God loves us enough to die for our sins, to redeem and forgive us

What did Christ do for guilty sinners like me and you? As the Apostle Paul says here “That He (Christ) might be Just and the Justifier of him (Us) who believes/has faith in Jesus” We are redeemed and justified by our faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, the propitiation for our sins, who has reconciled us back to our Father, and given us the Holy Spirit, to be Children of God, Amen!

Romans 3- The Good News

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But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets; Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference: For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus Romans 3:21-24

What is the gospel message? We are told to preach and share the gospel to everyone, but do you know what the gospel even is? The word “gospel” simply means good news, so what is the good news? Well you might say “Jesus died for your sins” and this is good news, but does the world understand this good news?

Well the Apostle Paul , under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, makes it clear “For ALL have sinned, and come short of the glory of God” All means all, correct? Every single person has fallen short of God, meaning we are all sinners, except The Lord Jesus Christ. Any other belief is against the Word of God. Everyone needs a Savior, everyone needs forgiveness and atonement for their sins. Everyone in the world is already condemned for their sins, headed to eternal Hell, with no hope and fully justified by our own actions. As the Apostle John said “He who doesn’t believe is condemned already” (John 3:18)

So when you start to understand all this, when you start to understand your level of depravity based from Gods moral law (The Ten Commandments) You understand that you desperately need a Savior. So how can we be forgiven? How can we be reconciled back to God? The only way is through our Lord Jesus Christ (John 14:6, Acts 4:12) This is why Christ is the only way to salvation, there is no other way except by faith in Jesus Christ as your Lord (Ephesians 2:8-9)

As the Apostle Paul says here “The righteousness of God , which is by faith of Jesus Christ,  upon all of them that believe” This is why Jesus Christ, the Son of God, became flesh and died for your sins on the cross. And on the 3rd day, He rose again and ascended at the right hand of God the Father. The only way you can be saved from eternal damnation is by faith in Jesus Christ. You can’t save yourself, there is nobody righteous, and your works will never save you, its only by faith in the works of our Lord Jesus Christ

So when you understand this, you understand why the gospel of Jesus Christ, is the greatest news ever! I’ll end with the words of the Apostle Paul “Being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus” You are saved and justified , not by your own works, but by the grace of God through our Lord Jesus Christ, the best news ever! Amen!

Romans 3- We are All Sinners

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What then? are we better than they? No, in no wise: for we have before proved both Jews and Gentiles, that they are all under sin; As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one: There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one. Their throat is an open sepulchre; with their tongues they have used deceit; the poison of asps is under their lips: Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness: Their feet are swift to shed blood: Destruction and misery are in their ways: And the way of peace have they not known: There is no fear of God before their eyes. Romans 3:12-18

So who needs to be saved? We all need to be saved, as the Apostle Paul reveals here “Jew and Gentile, that they are all under sin” As Paul tells us “there is nobody righteous” This should be a humbling revelation for us all, we are all guilty of sin, breaking Gods Law and are worthy of eternal damnation. However most of the world doesn’t see it this way, most believe they are a “good person”, most people believe they deserve to be in Heaven, however as Jesus said “Nobody is good, except God alone” (Mark 10:18)

This is the whole point of the Law of God (The Ten Commandments) As the Apostle Paul states later “through the Law comes the knowledge of sin” (Romans 3:20) If you don’t believe you are a sinner, just walk through the Ten Commandments, Have you ever lied? Have you ever stolen? Have you ever used Gods names in vain? Have you ever looked upon someone with lust? (Matthew 5:28) Have you ever hated someone? (Matthew 5:22) The reality is you are a sinner, God is holy and you have broken his holy laws, and as the Apostle Paul will reveal later “The wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23)

As the Apostle Paul continues “there is nobody who seeks God, they have all gone their own way, there is none that does good, with their tongues they have practiced deceit, whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness, their feet are swift to shed blood, and there is no fear of God before their eyes” Now that you have been beaten up by The Law, hopefully you are coming to the understanding that you need Jesus Christ

And this is the good news (gospel) that God made a solution for guilty sinners like us all. Jesus Christ, the Son of God, became flesh and died for the penalty of our sins on the cross. Then Christ rose again defeating sin and death, to give us eternal life. (1 Corinthians 15) When the Apostle Peter was preaching at Pentecost, the crowd was pricked at the heart, and they asked Peter what shall we do? Peter said ““Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.” (Acts 2:37-38)

Everyone need Jesus, including you, including myself. This is why Jesus commanded us to share the gospel to everyone (Matthew 28:19) Tell someone the good news today, that there is hope for guilty sinners like us, Amen!