As you know from previous sermon illustrations, we play games at home – Play Nine, Phase 10, Farkle, etc. One day I was playing Yahtzee with several kids – I won’t name them. But they are very cute princesses. As the dice kept rolling I was killing it. A couple yahtzees, the top section bonus of 35 points. No empty boxes. I mean I was killing it. Don’t feel sorry for them – they were talking all kinds of trash -which from previous sermon illustrations you would also know that too. (They get it from their mother).
Well as we -and by “we” I mean “I” – added up all the scores I was so far above their scores you could have added theirs together and still not come close to mine. They were a little bummed. So in an uncharacteristic moment of fatherly table-game compassion, I “found” another rule. I realized that there was a “cute” bonus in Yahtzee. As they put the brass knuckles down their faces beamed with hopeful smiles. It was clear that no matter how far ahead I was on my own merit, once their cute score was added in they both blew my score out of the water. The Yahtzee Cute Bonus was enough to beat me by a mile.
Today’s sermon is called “The Gospel Justifies.” The Gospel is all about us getting a score that we didn’t earn. We could never score high enough to be right with God and get into His kingdom. The score has to be perfect – and no one could ever score perfect. But when we put our faith in Jesus Christ, we are given that perfect score. Its not our score – its the perfect score of God Himself. When we believe the Gospel of Jesus Christ and trust in Him, it is the perfect score of God that we are GIVEN. Given – not earned. That is the massive point not only of this section, but the whole letter and the whole Bible.
“If you died today and you stood before God, and He asked you, ‘Why should I let you into my heaven?’ what would you say to Him?”
This section ending chapter 2 is absolutely powerful. Here Paul sets forth the difference between the law and the gospel. Summarize verses 15-21…..This section connects the previous section (11-14) with the next section (chapter 3). It flows out of 11-14 by showing the error of Peter and other Jews when they separated themselves from Gentile Christians. Jews and Christians are both justified before God by faith in Christ, and so Jews are not to regard Gentiles as unclean, but enter fully into fellowship with them. This section flows into chapter 3 in that Paul is going to go into a deep historical theological explanation of the Gospel where he shows justification before God has always been by faith – before,during and after the law. So in chapter 3 he will reinforce the Christian doctrine of justification by faith – always has been and always will be.
JEWS vs GENTILES (15)
First we see Jews versus Gentiles in verse 15, “…..” Paul is pointing out what Jewish Christians had come to understand: that the old view of Jews being clean and Gentiles being unclean didn’t apply anymore now that they were all Christians. Jewish Christians came to understand that they and Gentile Christians were on equal footing in Christ, and as both have faith in Christ both are equally clean before God.
Since Paul says “We who are Jews by birth…” lets explore a little more: “What is a Jew?” And, “What is a Gentile?” A Jew is synonymous with Israelite, and means someone who is a physical descendent of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. A Gentile is anyone who is not a Jew. Turn to Romans 2:17…28….then turn to 9:1-7….then turn to Romans 11:1…
First, Father Abraham. A Jew by birth is someone who has Abraham as their genealogical father. Those who are Jews by birth refer to the physical lineage they are part of: they are physical descendents of Abraham. Romans 9:7, “Nor because they are his descendants are they all Abraham’s children.” In Romans 11:1 Paul exclaims, “I am an Israelite myself, a descendent of Abraham.” That’s why Paul says, “We who are Jews by birth….”
Abraham was promised by God, “I will make you into a great nation…to your offspring I will give this land …I will make your offspring like the dust of the earth so that if anyone could count the dust then your offspring could be counted…(Gen 12:2, 7; 13:16, etc). The physical descendents of Abraham who became “a great nation” are the Israelites. These same descendents – that is those among them who are righteous and who will rise at the resurrection – are the ones who will step into possession of all the land God promised Abraham they would have. That kingdom is coming someday when Christ returns.
Someone might object: “Are you saying that merely being a physical Israelite makes someone saved? Because they are a physical descendent of Abraham they will automatically get to enter the kingdom of God and live in the land forever?” No, not at all. Some people are genuinely confused and have this misconception – others even today intentionally confuse this idea. Only those Israelites who are the remnant, who had faith, and therefore are righteous, will rise to possess the land forever. Those in Israel all throughout history who did not have faith, who were wicked and rebelled against God will rise to be condemned, and will be thrown outside the kingdom where there is weeping and gnashing of teeth. Being a descendent of Abraham and Israel does not make anyone right with God. So what did it do? That is our next point:
Secondly, to be Jewish meant having Full Advantage. Jews had Full Advantage. Being Jewish was a privileged position in humanity granted by God that offered great advantage. Moses told the Israelites about to enter the Promised Land, in Deuteronomy 7:6, “For you are a people holy to the LORD your God. The LORD your God has chosen you out of all the peoples on the face of the earth to be his people, his treasured possession.”
What kind of advantage? Does it mean that being a member of the nation of Israel, being Jewish was an automatic ticket into the kingdom of God? Not at all!
- Romans 3:1-2 says, “What advantage then is there in being a Jew, or what value is there in circumcision? Much in every way! First of all the Jews have been entrusted with the very words of God.”
- Romans 9:-53 explains the advantage given to Jews….turn there with me…
- Deuteronomy 3:32-35….
The great advantage is that God had given them great honor in choosing them out of all other nations to be His one and only nation. All other nations were identified by their false gods, but Israel was identified and to be known by the one true God, the God of Israel. He revealed Himself to them, gave them the prophets, the law, the priesthood, the temple – all of it. They were given full advantage that no other peoples on earth received.
Thirdly, we see False Assurance. We see this in verse 15 where Paul refers to Gentiles as “sinful Gentiles.” He says, “We who are Jews by birth and not sinful Gentiles…” Paul is referring to the Jewish misconception that merely being Jewish meant you were not sinful. Paul was referring to the typical Jewish view that merely being a Gentile made someone unclean and sinful – which also meant that being Jewish meant one was clean and not sinful. This was a false assurance.
Their false assurance came from their being Jewish. They felt confident that before God they were accepted on the basis of their being Jewish, and on the basis of their being circumcised physically, and that they were the people who had been given the law. But (!) – mere ethnicity, mere physical circumcision, and mere having possession of the law did not give anyone a ticket into God’s kingdom. Turn to
- Romans 2:17-24 (the law)…25-29 (circumcision)….
- Romans 9:6-7 (Israel/Jewish)….
- As a matter of fact, Romans 3:9 clearly states, “What shall we say then? Do we Jews have any advantage? Not at all! For we have already made the charge that Jews and Gentiles alike are all under the power of sin.” The false perception Jews had was that of “sinful Gentiles” – that is Gentiles are sinful because they are Gentiles. But the truth is it is “sinful JEWS, AND Gentiles.”
Within Israel is a smaller Israel. Within the physical Israel is the true Israel. The true Israel is not merely physical race, or physical circumcision, or being part of the community God chose. No, the true Israel is an Israel within Israel. It is those within Israel who have faith like Abraham had faith. Not all who are physical descendents of Abraham are spiritual children of Abraham. The true Israel, the Israel of God, is every Israelite throughout history who has faith, and on the basis of that faith is credited with righteousness, just like their father Abraham.
Which leads to the next point:
JUSTIFICATION by FAITH (16)
Justification is by faith. Verse 15 starts the sentence, but verse 16 finishes it. Verse 16 is Paul saying, “Hey, all of us Jewish Christians now understand that the law we’ve been privileged to receive from God is unable to justify us before God. Instead, just like the Gentiles we are sinners who have been justified by faith in God’s Son, Jesus Christ.”
First, what is justification? The word justification in the Greek means “to declare righteous.” The same word is translated in English as “just” or “righteous.” The word is taken from courts of law. It means that in the eyes of the law a person is righteous. The opposite of justified is “condemn,” which means “to pronounce as guilty.” So a person who is not guilty before God is someone who is justified.
Second, the failure of works of the law. The works of the law cannot justify. Paul was saying that he and all other Jewish Christians now know that works of the law cannot and could never justify them. Paul says it 3 times in this one verse that works of the law cannot justify anyone. The purpose of the law was never and will never be to justify anyone. The purpose of the Law is to expose sin. We’ll get into this in detail over the next two weeks, but consider for now the following passages:
- Romans 3:20, “No one will be declared righteous [“justified”] in God’s sight by works of the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of our sin.”
- Romans 7:7, “Nevertheless, I would not have known what sin was had it not been for the law.”
- Galatians 3:19, “Why then was the law given at all? It was added because of transgressions…” Because of transgressions – because of sin. The law was given because of all the sin of man. It was given not to be a ladder for man to climb out of sin and into righteousness. It was given to expose sin in man. It was given as the standard of righteousness to show man how unrighteous he is and his need for God to save him. It was given so as to take into account all of man’s sin (Romans 5:13) and show man how sinful he really is. Or as Romans 11:32 says, “For God has bound everyone – Jew and Gentile – over to disobedience so that he may have mercy on them all.”
APPLICATION: Understand the true purpose of the Law: to show us how sinful we really are, and how far from the righteousness of God we really are, and how desperately we need God’s grace and forgiveness. It is not a ladder, but an X-Ray.
APPLICATION: STOP! Stop trusting in the Law or your own works to be saved. Stop this very moment from believing and hoping that anything you do will be acceptable to God. STOP!
Third, where the law fails, faith succeeds! Faith alone saves. Look at how Paul says 3 times it is by faith, “….READ…..” That salvation is by faith and not by works is the consistent theme from the beginning to the end of the bible:
- Abraham BELIEVED God and it was credited to him as righteousness.” (Genesis 15:6, quoted in Galatians 3:6)
- “For it is by grace you have been saved, through FAITH – and this is not from yourselves, it is a gift from God – not by works, so that no one can boast.” (Eph. 2:8-9)
- “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, so that whoever BELIEVES in him would not perish, but have everlasting life.” (John 3:16)
- “What must I do to be saved?” cried the jailer in Acts 16. “BELIEVE on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved” was the answer.
- Philippians 3:9 says, “Being found in Christ, nto having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ – the righteousness that comes from God on the basis of FAITH.”
- Then there is Romans 3:21-22, “But now apart from the Law the righteousness (justification) of God has been made known…this righteousness (justification) is GIVEN through FAITH in Jesus Christ to ALL who believe.
Focus on that word – ALL. All Jews and all Gentiles. And you know who else is included in “all?” You. If you put your faith in Jesus Christ and believe in Him you will be given a righteousness – a justification – that you could never earn through your own works.
The law fails. Spirituality fails. Good works fails. Baptism fails. Church attendance fails. Being a good person fails. Being a better person today than you were yesterday fails. Being a better person than anyone else fails. If you are banking that what you do can save you then you will NOT be declared righteous by God in the court of heaven. Instead, you will be condemned. But right now the voice of the Creator who made heaven and earth – who is also the Judge of all the living and the dead – His very voice right now in the court of heaven will pronounce you JUST and RIGHTEOUS on one condition and one condition only: you put your faith in His Son Jesus Christ. “Therefore,” Romans 8:1 says, “there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” Or to reword that verse positively, “Therefore, there is now justification for those who are in Christ Jesus.”
Come talk to me.