Men are not set right before God from the works of the law but from the faith of Jesus Christ.
So, if not one of us is set right before God “from
the works of the law,” how are we “justified” before Him? Paul does
not leave us without hope. After his opening salutations, he declares that there
is a “righteousness of God” that is being “manifested apart from the
law.”
- “For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to every man who believes - to the Jew first, and also to the Greek. For in it is being revealed a righteousness of God from faith for faith, as it is written, But the righteous one shall live from faith.”
Arguably, this pronouncement is the theme of Paul’s
letter and goes to the heart of his message. In Christ, God has provided
salvation for all men who exercise faith in it, and it alone contains the “power”
to achieve their reconciliation with the Creator of all things.
GOD'S FAITHFULNESS
It is important to note that Paul refers to the
righteousness “of God,” to something that the Almighty possesses, and
not to some moral absolute or principle that men must attain in their own lives
or through their own efforts. Certainly, there are moral absolutes, but that is
not the subject under discussion.
In the Greek sentence, Paul uses a progressive
present tense verb - God’s “righteousness,” His faithfulness is “being
revealed” in the present wherever this gospel is proclaimed. The salvation that
commenced on Calvary continues as Jesus is proclaimed before men.
And this “salvation” is being revealed “from
faith for faith.” The two prepositions in the Greek clause are specific
– “from” (ek) and “for” (eis – or “unto faith”). There is a
source (“from”) and recipients of that faith (“for
faith”).
And the source is the “righteous one.”
Here, Paul uses a noun in the singular number accompanied by the direct article
or “the.” He is referring to a specific and known person, namely, Jesus Christ.
And, once again, he uses a very specific preposition – “from” or ek.
SET RIGHT BEFORE GOD
This is Paul’s shorthand description of what Jesus
accomplished on our behalf in his death. At this point in the letter, the
language is cryptic, but this bare framework will be filled in as the letter
progresses.
In his declaration, Paul is not talking about how
believers live a Christian life day to day. He is describing how they are set
right with God in the first place - the basis for their “justification”
before Him. Moreover, in a letter in which he stresses that “no one is
righteous, no not one,” it would be strange at this point to refer to any
man other than Jesus as “righteous.”
Unrighteous sinners who believe the gospel are put in right standing before God. And as Paul writes in the third chapter, the righteousness of God that they receive is “through the faith OF Jesus Christ” - (Romans 3:21-22).
In this last passage, we must note Paul’s use of
the genitive case in the Greek clause. If he intended to write “in Jesus,” he
would have used the dative case and inserted the preposition en or “in.”
But no Greek preposition is present in the clause, and the genitive case
signifies something that Jesus possesses.
The Apostle is referring to his faith, the
“faith” or “faithfulness of Jesus,” and most likely, he means his
faithful obedience “unto death.” And that righteousness achieved by him is
now “for [eis] all
men who believe” - faith is how they respond to the righteousness “from
the faith of Jesus” - (Romans 3:21-22).
We are set right “freely by His grace” that
is made available “through the redemption that is in Jesus.”
REDEMPTION
The term “redemption” represents the Greek
word that is formed with the preposition apo (“from”), the noun lutron
(“ransom”), and the verb luô (“loose, release”). The idea is a “ransomed-release,”
a releasing that is accomplished through a paid ransom. The language is
metaphorical, and questions about who paid what to whom do not enter Paul’s
discussion - (Romans 3:23).
God “presented Jesus.” Paul uses a verb that
means to set something forth, to “present” something or someone for public
display. And He “presented” Christ as the ‘hilastérion.’ When
we debate whether the noun means “propitiation” or “expiation” we overlook the
background from Leviticus. The Greek Septuagint version uses hilastérion
for the “mercy seat” that was in the inner sanctum of the Tabernacle.
Paul is drawing an analogy from the annual Day of
Atonement when the high priest entered the “holy of holies” with
sacrificial blood that he sprinkled before and on the “mercy seat” to “cover”
the stain of Israel’s sin - (Leviticus 16:15-17).
And
the “mercy seat” was the place where the presence of Yahweh met with the
priestly representative of Israel, where reconciliation was made by applying
the animal blood to it. In Leviticus, the blood “covered”
the stains of Israel’s sin that had polluted the “mercy seat” and the “holy
place.” The blood was not applied to the Israelites. Thus, in Romans,
Jesus is both the place and the means of reconciliation between God and man.
But there are differences between the Levitical
ritual and the sacrifice of Jesus. In the Temple, the high priest entered the “holy
of holies” alone and out of sight of the people, but God “presented”
Jesus as the place of sacrifice openly for all to see. And the high priest
applied the blood of bulls and goats to the “mercy seat,” but God
applied the blood of Jesus, the “righteous” and faithful one.
Through his faithful act, Jesus became the
“mercy seat,” the place of reconciliation, and the means for reconciling
us to God. His sacrificial death is also “proof,” the evidence of God’s
“righteousness,” of His justice and covenant faithfulness.
AN OPEN DISPLAY
In His “forbearance,” God “passed
over” our past sins. By putting off our just desserts until the “day of
wrath” He spared us from experiencing the very “wrath” that we so
richly deserve. That is, until now, for in Jesus Christ He has dealt decisively
with the problem and made provision for our justification.
But this provision has been done “for
proof in the present time,” for God has made salvation available to all men
through His Son. That is why the paragraph concludes - “To the end, his righteous
one, even the one who is being set right from the faith of Jesus.”
“To the end” translates the
clause eis to einai that Paul uses often to indicate purpose - “to the
end, for the purpose.” And here, “his righteous one” (auton dikaion,
singular) reiterates his opening proposition that the “righteous one (ho
dikaios, singular) will live from faith (ek pisteôs),” only
now, the source of that faith is specified – “from the faith of Jesus.” That
is, the (now) righteous man is being reconciled to God on the basis of
Christ’s faithful act.
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| [Photo by Andi Kleeli on Unsplash] |
This understanding is confirmed in the conclusion of chapter 3. There can be no “boasting,” no claim upon God because of our faithful law-keeping. We are not justified “from the law” of Moses, but instead, “from a law of faith,” namely, from the “faith of Jesus Christ.”
“Is
God the God of Jews only? Is He not also the God of Gentiles? Yes, of
Gentiles also, if
so be that God is one, and he shall justify the circumcision from (ek)
faith, and the uncircumcision through (dia) faith.” That is, just as
Paul stated in verses 21-26, the Gentiles are those now justified “through
the faith of Jesus,” and the Jews “from the faith of Jesus” – all men
are reconciled to God “from the faith of Jesus.”
God justifies Jew and Gentile alike “from the faith of
Jesus Christ” whether they are under the
Law or not. And He vindicated Christ’s faithful act by resurrecting him (“marked
out as the Son of God by power…through a resurrection from among the dead”).
And now, in this “present time,” men
are being set right before God by responding to that gracious act with faith in
what God has done “through the faith of Jesus.” Thus, the gospel
preached by Paul is the “power of God for salvation” to all men and
women who believe.
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