Righteous by Faith!

The Epistle Reading for Reformation Sunday (October 25th) is Romans 3: 19-28. It is the “We are declared righteous by faith” section of Romans.

Paul, by inspiration of God, writes that the law of God serves the purpose of making people “accountable” to the Lord. We are not able to save ourselves. We need rescuing.

With the phrase “But now” in verse 21 we see the concept of “justification” in full bloom.

“Justification” is a legal term, and in the realm of theology it means to be declared righteous by God because of His gift of grace in Christ – the atoning sacrifice of our sins.

Justification is accepted or “received” through faith. Paul writes that no person will be justified – “declared righteous” – through human effort – “the works of the law” (vs 20). Justification is the heart of the Reformation message.

Central to this is the righteousness of God. It is in the Cross of Jesus where we see the divine righteousness. This divine righteousness is not the uprightness of an unyielding judge who only acts in accord with the letter of the law, but a compassionate, loving righteousness that lifts up, saves and restores the sinner. God imputes (attributes) His own righteousness as the only way to save His lost children.

The cry of the Reformers like Martin Luther was SOLA GRATIA (God’s Grace Alone), SOLA FIDES (Faith In Christ Alone), and SOLA SCRIPTURA (Scripture Alone).

Grace alone! Faith alone! Scripture alone!

The Reformers held their ground on what Paul writes in Romans 3: 28 – “Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith apart from the deeds of the law.” Christ alone saves us and this by God’s grace through faith in Jesus. And as we have accepted Christ’s righteousness, good and loving deeds will be the fruit of our faith in Jesus: The Way, The Truth and The Life (cf. Galatians 5: 22, 23).

Christ Alone,
–Pastor Jim