Romans 3:21-26

By faith alone are we saved? Jesus, all God and all man, came into the world not to condemn the world but that through His birth, death and resurrection, the world might be saved. His righteousness stands in our place of unrighteousness, His holiness stands before God in place of our unholiness. Shout it to the world grace, grace....to God be all glory! Does this give us permission to sin? Not at all but that by our humility and gratitude for His gift of salvation we show His great and abounding love to all by our words and actions.

In this context the righteousness of God is not an attribute of God, but an act of God whereby He declares a sinner righteous. This is righteousness from God. Those who believe are justified, that is, “declared righteous,” freely, without cost, by God’s grace, or “favor.” Christ Jesus died to provide redemption, which means He died to pay the price required to ransom sinners. By paying the penalty of their sin through His death, Jesus can free people from their sin and transfer His righteousness to those who believe in Him. On the basis of Christ’s righteousness alone, believers can approach God’s throne with praise. Through God’s initiative, they have been restored to a proper relationship with Him. By His death, Christ satisfied the justice of God. He paid the penalty of sin in full. Paul cites two reasons why the righteousness of God comes through Christ’s death. The first is to demonstrate that God Himself is righteous, and did not judge the sins committed prior to the Cross. The second reason for the Cross is that God wanted to show that He is both righteous and at the same time the One who can declare sinners righteous. Because of Christ’s death, God does not compromise His holiness when He forgives a sinner.

Romans 3:21-26

²¹ But now the righteousness of God apart from the law is revealed, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets, ²² even the righteousness of God, through faith in Jesus Christ, to all and on all who believe. For there is no difference; ²³ for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, ²⁴ being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, ²⁵ whom God set forth as a propitiation by His blood, through faith, to demonstrate His righteousness, because in His forbearance God had passed over the sins that were previously committed, ²⁶ to demonstrate at the present time His righteousness, that He might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.