Names of God: YHVH, part 14. The righteousness of God is a gift; Rom 3:21-26.

Title: Names of God: YHVH, part 14. The righteousness of God is a gift; ROM 3:21-26.

 

 

ROM 3:21 But now apart from the Law the righteousness of God has been manifested, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets,

 

ROM 3:22 even the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all those who believe; for there is no distinction;

 

There is no distinction in God. The same righteousness and justice judges the one who rejects Christ and justifies and sanctifies the one who believes in Him.

 

ROM 3:23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,

 

ROM 3:24 being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus;

 

As we have seen many times, no one could be justified by the law. Justification, if it is going  to be of man, must come from the grace of God as a gift.

 

Justified - declared righteous by the Judge, totally acquitted of all guilt.

 

It cannot be emphasized enough that justification is not based upon anything that the believer does. If he is a believer, he is justified. This means, no matter what his condition may be, he may always stand before God as a righteous one. If he has fallen away from God, though he may be under severe discipline, he is always justified by grace. As great and as humble as Moses was, he couldn't see God's face while the church age believer with the most frequency of sin can still behold the face of God in an instant.

 

Justified as a gift [dorean - freely] = no strings.

 

Freely is the word dorean. It means to give without just cause. There was never a just cause for God to justify us. He justified His enemies. There was nothing in us or about us that made it logical. There was nothing about us to draw God toward us with forgiveness. There is nothing divinely good in man.

 

ROM 3:24 being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus;

 

"Grace" - ca,rij [charis] = favor done out the spontaneous generosity of God's heart of love with no expectation of return.

 

Classical Greek authors defined this word as favor done out of generosity of the heart, but only to one's friend and never to one's enemy. To be gracious toward an enemy was weakness and stupidity. When the word comes into the NT it takes an infinite leap forward. The favor shown at Calvary was for those who hated God. There are no strings attached to grace.

 

And the reason why all of this is true is that the believer was redeemed by Christ. The Greek word means to redeem by paying the price, which was the blood of Christ.

 

ROM 3:25 whom God displayed publicly [at Calvary in front of all] as a propitiation in His blood through faith. This was to demonstrate His righteousness, because in the forbearance of God He passed over the sins previously committed;

 

Propitiation - God is satisfied. In classical literature the word (hilasterion) meant to offer sacrifice to appease the anger of the gods. The blood of Jesus satisfies the justice of God.

 

This word is used in the Septuagint in LEV 16:14 for the mercy seat; the golden seat on top of the ark of the covenant where the high priest sprinkled the blood of the sacrifice. Yet none of these animals ever satisfied the justice of God. Christ was the propitiation in His blood.

 

This is a far cry from the pagan use of the term hilasterion. They were offering sacrifices in order to appease the anger of the gods and to buy their love.

 

The love of God is not for sale. It has been poured out into the hearts of all of those who have believed in Christ.

 

What could we possibly do to earn God's love? God loved the world, but the world doesn't comprehend that love. Is the quality of God's love different to the unbeliever than it is to the believer? God is love, so if His love can change, then so can He, but He cannot.  

 

What is the difference from the love of God for the world in JOH 3:16 that caused Him to give His only begotten Son and the love of God for the believer in ROM 5:8 and 1JO 4:19? The believer sees, understands, and possesses the love of God.

 

The love of God doesn't change. It is given to the unbeliever but the unbeliever does not recognize it though the Holy Spirit reveals the gospel to him. The unbeliever rejects the love of God. But the believer receives the love of God and through his faith in Christ, he beholds the love of God. He understands it, possesses it, learns to walk in it and to show it from within himself to others as God has shown it to him.

 

No matter what you go through, no matter what you face, the love of God will be all around you and within you. This means that you will always have hope - confident expectation of future deliverance.

 

ROM 5:1 Therefore having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,

 

ROM 5:2 through whom also we have obtained our introduction by faith into this grace in which we stand; and we exult in hope of the glory of God.

 

ROM 5:3 And not only this, but we also exult in our tribulations, knowing that tribulation brings about perseverance [hupomone];

 

ROM 5:4 and perseverance, proven character; and proven character, hope;

 

"proven character" - doki,mh [dokime] = the process of trial or proving as the result of trial. Perseverance, the ability to remain in a trial and wait for God's deliverance, means that you are testable.