Romans 3:21-26

21 But now apart from the law the righteousness of God has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. 22 This righteousness is given through faith in[a] Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference between Jew and Gentile, 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. 25 God presented Christ as a sacrifice of atonement,[b] through the shedding of his blood—to be received by faith. He did this to demonstrate his righteousness, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished— 26 he did it to demonstrate his righteousness at the present time, so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus.

A righteousness from God apart from law has been made known to which the Law and the Prophets testify. It’s not that it appeared all of a sudden, but what are the law and the prophets? The Bible, the word of God, and it was already there for a long time. It was taught to the people of God and was testified. Therefore the word of God must be looked at carefully following this testimony. It was the path of salvation following this testimony that revealed a righteousness from God. It was a plan from God given to us.

24 and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus

We can say the gospel is Romans chapter 3: 21-26. Especially v24, “and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.”

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

Understanding this matter is very important. 2000 years ago, the death of Christ on the cross cleansed and washed all sin, my past, current, present, and even future sins. When you testify to the gospel, this is very difficult to explain. We need to meditate on it deeply and we need to understand it fully. When Jesus talked to Nicodemus, he declared, “I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again.” And he talked about being born again of water and the spirit. How about you? Were you born again? Being born again, we should accept the precious blood of Jesus.

So even though we are sinners, he didn’t ask of the sin, but he forgave. He didn’t make us his enemy, but he freely clothed us in his robe of righteousness and saved us. So we just accept this love. Sola fide sola scriptura sola gratia – By faith I am justified, I gain salvation. Salvation that has avenged me by grace.

Faith is the passageway to receive grace, the grace that happened 200 years ago. What is sola fide? Universally, all have sinned, and all are bound by this sin. Christ freely broke the chain of sin and freed the human race. Sin made us enemies to God. Christ became the atoning sacrifice, and through His blood we were reconciled to God.

So through his life we were already reconciled, but then saying reaching to salvation that’s in the future, Paul is trying to say it’s about reconciliation and redemption. These 2 things so reconciliation is by Christ and how can we gain redemption? It’s being fulfilled.

So Paul said in v3:23. What is the glory of God? That’s Corinthians chapter so in the restored world we can see face to face, so God of promise, so we can see face to face. So we can see face to face? After the fall of Adam, man’s conversation and relationship with God was broken. You are isolated from God you are separated from God so we have to know about this fall well there is this cut off in relationship you are cut off and separated from God, how did it happen?

“Where is your mother’s certificate of divorce with which I sent her away?” The relationship of Israel and God is love. Analogically, this is the relationship of husband and wife. “Because of your sins you were sold; because of your transgressions your mother was sent away.”

sacrificed as a fellowship offering, this is the term used for offering. And then we were redeemed and set free. Originally, Redemption is a commercial term. When a person bought a slave from the owner, he could set him free. Paul explained it well with precious words.

People who distrust God ask, “Why is our life so painful? Why did God make man to live in such painful conditions? But that is in no way true! The world God created was beautiful and full of God’s glory. Our lives were not originally meant to be painful. That pain was caused by man’s depravity. But God process the salvation of man. In the time of law, he taught men through numerous prophets and teachers of law. And dramatically he sent his son Jesus Christ and set us free from sin. Revelation 21 is the grand finale. Through Christ, he cut off the curse of sins. The Bible is the holy book God gave us, that teaches us about the history of creation, the fall, and salvation.

What is love? Love is sacrifice. We should understand well that humans have been an enemy to God. Paul emphasized penal substitution. God sent his only son to the sinful world. Where did the event of salvation happen? It happened under the shadow of death. We could not but live under the shadow of death. We were doomed to be blind and crippled from our mother’s womb. Where did our salvation come from? It came from the surprising sacrifice of Jesus, we didn’t pay for it. We have to understand this well. This is the core message of the gospel. Paul understood soteriology well. If we do not understand this well, the message of salvation in Christianity becomes vague. Even if other knowledge increases, the amazing power of Christ would not reach us.

What is the power of his precious blood? We don’t have to worry. We are born again. Was I really born again? Was I touched? How did I receive it? Even though we receive a very small amount, the power of precious blood of Jesus is great. Isaiah prophet said “Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool.” We were born sinners, but the Lord did not ask of our sins and forgave us.

1 Corinthians 6:20 you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body.

I didn’t earn salvation by my own efforts. It’s not that I performed the history of salvation by myself. What about the Asian religions? They are self-awareness religions. Where does nirvana and salvation come from? It comes from cultivating oneself morally or religiously. Is this truly possible? Christianity is really difficult for wise men to accept. It is difficult for those who try to stand by themselves to accept. In man, there is a dependency toward God. Humans were made like this. So was the creation. Man was created in the dependent relationship of love. If man is removed from God, God is still God. God can exist alone. But if God is removed from man, man cannot exist. Man is a deficient being.

When the power of the Lord comes into our heart, sins disappear. Sins are bleached. Isaiah said ‘Although you wash yourself with soda and use an abundance of soap, the stain of your guilt is still before me,” With soap, with soda, can our sins be washed? It is impossible. There is only one thing that can wash our sins. It is only possible through the love of the Lord. Though we are sinners, the Lord did not ask of our sins but he loved us conditionally. Only through this love and grace can our sins be washed away.

There is only one way to freedom from our sins, and that is through grace. Though we are sinners, he did not ask of our sins and he loved us. How can we know this grace? We cannot understand it with our heads. Christianity is not a religion of speculation. Christianity is a religion we accept through our hearts. We accept the redemption of Christ’s cross, the self-emptying, self-lowering, the revelation of the love of God. What is faith? What is sola fide? It means we accept this grace by faith.