I was reading Romans 3 recently, and I thought I would share some thoughts and commentary on the passage. Ultimately, the passage shows how God is not only just, but also the justifier at the same time. Read with me:
Romans 3:22b-26
For there is no distinction: for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God’s righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins. It was to show his righteousness at the present time, so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.
One thing that stuck out to me in this passage is the necessity but goodness of God’s justice demonstrated through His grace. The illustration of God’s justice shown in the above passage could be summed up in this dichotomy:
If you are clothed in Jesus’ righteousness through faith, you receive the justice of Christ: reward. If you are apart from Christ, you receive the justice of your sin: punishment.
There are two implications of this:
1. God does not punish those in Christ. “There is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” (Romans 8:1). Instead of the Christian receiving the wrath of God for our sin—which God hates and must destroy—those in Christ receive loving discipline. That’s a big difference. We now don’t approach God as our condemning judge but rather as a loving father who desires what is best for us. In your sin, you were once an enemy of God (Eph 2, Col 1) but now in Christ you are a son/daughter of God (Eph 1, 1 Jn 3). God’s love for you isn’t based on your moral performance, it’s based on your position as a son or daughter. Because your position before God is immovable in Christ, His love for you is unconditional in Christ.
2. In addition, it would be unjust for God to punish the Christian in the present or in the future, because the Christian’s sin for all time was justly paid for in full on the cross in the past. If God were to punish our sin now, it would be unjust because He would punishing us twice for our sin that was justified once and for all. Don’t think that God is up in the heavens with a lightening bolt ready to zap you when you fail. Who would love a God like that anyways? But because Jesus took the bolt of God’s wrath on the lightening rod of the cross for us, we instead get treated with the Fatherly love that was Jesus’. So when we mess up and fall into ‘that’ sin over and over again, He doesn’t scowl or mock or punish—He helps us up in forgiveness (1 Jn 1), He holds our hand in persistence (Heb 13), He gives us support in church community (1 Co 12), and empowers us to walk with the Spirit in a lifestyle that reflects His character (Gal 5).
God’s justice for our sin was poured out on Christ so that God’s justice for Christ’s righteousness could be poured out on us. #hallelujah
Only the piercing of His hands in our place is what will loosen our clinched hands of self-reliance to receive His grace.
BUT HOW CAN WE KNOW?
But how can we know for sure that all our sin was justly paid for? Where can we find assurance that all of God’s justice was poured on Christ, and that there isn’t any more in reserve for our sin now?
The resurrection. The resurrection proved that the sacrifice was sufficient and that it was acceptable before God to honor on our behalf. We know that Christ’s life was perfectly obedient and that it fulfilled the requirement of a sacrifice because we see God’s stamp of approval in the resurrection. The resurrection confirmed the legitimacy and sufficiency of the sacrifice.
Think about it this way: if I bought a $50 pair of shoes (no sale, etc), you would inductively conclude that I had $50 to pay for them. And the fact that I’m wearing the shoes and that you see the shoes on my feet testifies to the fact that I had the finances to buy it in the first place. The current presence of the shoes proves the past reality of the payment. In the same way, the resurrection proved that the debt of our sin was paid for in full and that justice was completely satisfied. All that is left for us is goodness and mercy, to follow us of our days (Ps 23). All we have to do is to metaphorically wear those “purchased shoes”–to actively live in what has been afforded to us and put on us: His righteousness.
Indeed, we can find great assurance in knowing that the debt was sufficiently paid for by looking at the resurrection (in fact, over 500 people testified to it). This assurance helps us to know that through our faith in Christ, God only sees us in Christ’s righteousness. All that is left for us is love, grace, and mercy found in our new position of sonship. Assurance in His work for us translates to eager confidence in our work for Him—without fear of punishment—but by His love (1 Jn 4, 2 Co 5:14).
God was just in that our sin was paid for. God justifies us by placing righteousness on us. He is just and the justifier.
