Romans 3 New American
Standard Bible (NASB)
All the World Guilty
3
Then what [a]advantage has the Jew? Or what is the benefit of circumcision? 2
Great in every respect. First of all, that they were entrusted with the oracles
of God. 3 What then? If some [b]did not believe, their [c]unbelief will not
nullify the faithfulness of God, will it? 4 May it never be! Rather, let God be
found true, though every man be found a liar, as it is written,
“That
You may be justified in Your words,
And
prevail when You [d]are judged.”
5
But if our unrighteousness [e]demonstrates the righteousness of God, what shall
we say? The God who inflicts wrath is not unrighteous, is He? (I am speaking in
human terms.) 6 May it never be! For otherwise, how will God judge the world? 7
But if through my lie the truth of God abounded to His glory, why am I also
still being judged as a sinner? 8 And why not say (as we are slanderously
reported and as some claim that we say), “Let us do evil that good may come”?
[f]Their condemnation is just.
9
What then? [g]Are we better than they? Not at all; for we have already charged
that both Jews and Greeks are all under sin; 10 as it is written,
“There
is none righteous, not even one;
11
There is none who understands,
There
is none who seeks for God;
12
All have turned aside, together they have become useless;
There
is none who does good,
There
is not even one.”
13
“Their throat is an open grave,
With
their tongues they keep deceiving,”
“The
poison of asps is under their lips”;
14
“Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness”;
15
“Their feet are swift to shed blood,
16
Destruction and misery are in their paths,
17
And the path of peace they have not known.”
18
“There is no fear of God before their eyes.”
19
Now we know that whatever the Law says, it speaks to those who are [h]under the
Law, so that every mouth may be closed and all the world may become accountable
to God; 20 because by the works [i]of the Law no flesh will be justified in His
sight; for [j]through the Law comes the knowledge of sin.
Calvary Covers it all, Hillsongs
Calvary Covers it all, Hillsongs
Justification by Faith
21 But now apart [k]from
the Law the righteousness of God has been manifested, being witnessed by the
Law and the Prophets, 22 even the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus
Christ for all those [l]who believe; for there is no distinction; 23 for all
[m]have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 being justified as a gift
by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus; 25 whom God
displayed publicly as a [n]propitiation [o]in His blood through faith. This was
to demonstrate His righteousness, [p]because in the forbearance of God He
passed over the sins previously committed; 26 for the demonstration, I say, of
His righteousness at the present time, so that He would be just and the
justifier of the one who [q]has faith in Jesus.
27
Where then is boasting? It is excluded. By what kind of law? Of works? No, but
by a law of faith. 28 [r]For we maintain that a man is justified by faith apart
from works [s]of the Law. 29 Or is God the God of Jews only? Is He not the God
of Gentiles also? Yes, of Gentiles also, 30 since indeed God who will justify
the [t]circumcised [u]by faith and the [v]uncircumcised through faith is one.
31
Do we then nullify [w]the Law through faith? May it never be! On the contrary,
we establish the Law.
NIV Application
Commentary
The Righteousness of God
by Faith (3:21–22a)
In
verses 21–22a, Paul reveals the very heart of the good news: God’s
righteousness is available to all who put their faith in Jesus Christ. This
righteousness is the same as Paul already announced in 1:17. It is better
translated “the righteousness of God.” Paul refers to a definite
“righteousness”: the process by which God acts to put people in right
relationship with himself. The “but now” that opens the paragraph contrasts the
situation in the time period before Christ, which Paul has described in the
previous chapters, with the situation that now exists after his coming (see
also 1 Cor. 15:20; Eph. 2:13; Col. 1:22). In other words, Christ’s coming
announces a decisive shift in salvation history.
God’s
plan of salvation unfolds in stages—a “history”—and the coming of Jesus the
Messiah inaugurates a new stage in that plan. Paul elaborates this idea in the
two contrasting phrases “apart from law” and “to which the Law and the Prophets
testify.” Some interpreters think Paul is saying that God has made known a new
kind of righteousness—one that is “apart from law,” that is, a righteousness
not based on the law (the niv translation suggests this interpretation). But it
fits Paul’s focus on salvation history better to take the phrase with the verb
“make known”; note the nab rendering, that “the righteousness of God has been
manifested apart from the law.” “Law,” then, as usually in Paul, refers to the
Mosaic law.
Paul
beautifully captures in just a few words the continuity and discontinuity in
God’s plan of salvation. The discontinuity? God reveals his righteousness in
Christ “apart from” the law of Moses. Like the “old wineskins” of Jesus’
parable (Mark 2:22), the Mosaic covenant simply cannot contain the “new wine”
of the gospel. The continuity? The entire Old Testament (“the Law and the
Prophets”) testifies to this new work of God in Christ. The cross is no
afterthought, no “Plan B”; it has been God’s intention from the beginning to reveal
his saving righteousness by sending his Son as a sacrifice for us.
At
the beginning of verse 22, Paul reiterates another point already made in 1:17:
This righteousness of God is available only “through faith.” Now, however, Paul
is more explicit: God’s righteousness “comes through faith in Jesus Christ to
all who believe.” The translation “faith in Jesus Christ” appears in almost all
modern translations. But another translation is possible and is being supported
by a growing number of scholars: “faith of Jesus Christ.” The debated
construction is a genitive: pisteos Iesou Christou. The niv takes this genitive
to be “objective”; that is, “Jesus Christ” is the object of the noun “faith.”
But it can equally well be a “subjective” genitive, with Jesus Christ being the
subject of “faith” (note the identical construction in 4:16, pisteos Abraam,
which means “the faith Abraham exercised”).
This
alternative is particularly attractive here because it removes what otherwise
seems to be a needless repetition: “faith in Jesus Christ” and “to all who
believe.” Paul would then be making clear that our salvation comes about both
because of Christ’s “faith” or “faithfulness” to the task God gave him to do as
well as from our faith in him. This idea is theologically acceptable, and Paul
does use the noun pistis to refer to God’s faithfulness in 3:3.
Other
considerations, however, lead me to keep the usual translation here, “faith in
Jesus Christ.” In the present context Paul consistently uses pistis to denote
the response of believers to God (see, e.g., 3:25, 26, 27, 28, 30, 31; also
throughout ch. 4). Moreover, Paul’s failure ever to make Jesus the subject of
the verb pisteuo (believe, entrust) makes it difficult to think that Iesou
Christou is a subjective genitive. Adding “to all who believe” is not needless
repetition, because Paul continues to be especially concerned to show that
God’s work in Christ is for everyone. His righteousness is “activated” only for
those who believe, but it is also for all those who believe.
The Backdrop of
Universal Sinfulness (3:22b–23)
Why
does God’s righteousness need to be available for “all who believe”? Because
“all have sinned.” Paul here inserts a brief reminder of his teaching in
1:18–3:20, which we need to understand to appreciate the universal dimensions
of the gospel. As Paul has argued, there is no basic “difference” or
“distinction” (diastole; see also 10:12) between people, especially between Jew
and Gentile. All are under sin’s power, and all “fall short of the glory of
God.”
God’s
glory (doxa) in the Bible is, first of all, his own awesome presence. But the
Bible teaches that God’s people are destined to share in that glory; thus doxa
also describes the eternal destiny of believers (see esp. Rom. 8:18; Phil.
3:21; 2 Thess. 2:14). Jewish texts speak of Adam’s having lost the “glory” of
being like God at the time of the Fall, and all human beings since him share
that fate. But what the first Adam lost, the second Adam, Christ, will restore.
Matthew Henry's
Commentary
Verses 19-31
2.
But now how is this for God’s glory?
(1.)
It is for the glory of his grace (Rom. 3:24): Justified freely by his
grace—dorean te autou chariti. It is by his grace, not by the grace wrought in
us as the papists say, confounding justification and sanctification, but by the
gracious favour of God to us, without any merit in us so much as foreseen. And,
to make it the more emphatic, he says it is freely by his grace, to show that
it must be understood of grace in the most proper and genuine sense. It is said
that Joseph found grace in the sight of his master (Gen. 39:4), but there was a
reason; he saw that what he did prospered. There was something in Joseph to
invite that grace; but the grace of God communicated to us comes freely,
freely; it is free grace, mere mercy; nothing in us to deserve such favours:
no, it is all through the redemption that is in Jesus Christ. It comes freely
to us, but Christ bought it, and paid dearly for it, which yet is so ordered as
not to derogate from the honour of free grace. Christ’s purchase is no bar to
the freeness of God’s grace; for grace provided and accepted this vicarious
satisfaction.
(2.)
It is for the glory of his justice and righteousness (Rom. 3:25, 26): Whom God
hath set forth to be a propitiation, etc. Note, [1.] Jesus Christ is the great
propitiation, or propitiatory sacrifice, typified by the hilasterion, or
mercy-seat, under the law. He is our throne of grace, in and through whom
atonement is made for sin, and our persons and performances are accepted of
God, 1 John 2:2. He is all in all in our reconciliation, not only the maker,
but the matter of it—our priest, our sacrifice, our altar, our all. God was in
Christ as in his mercy-seat, reconciling the world unto himself. [2.] God hath
set him forth to be so. God, the party offended, makes the first overtures
towards a reconciliation, appoints the days-man; proetheto—fore-ordained him to
this, in the counsels of his love from eternity, appointed, anointed him to it,
qualified him for it, and has exhibited him to a guilty world as their
propitiation. See Matt. 3:17; 17:5. [3.] That by faith in his blood we become
interested in this propitiation. Christ is the propitiation; there is the
healing plaster provided. Faith is the applying of this plaster to the wounded
soul. And this faith in the business of justification hath a special regard to
the blood of Christ, as that which made the atonement; for such was the divine
appointment that without blood there should be no remission, and no blood but
his would do it effectually. Here may be an allusion to the sprinkling of the
blood of the sacrifices under the law, as Exod. 24:8. Faith is the bunch of
hyssop, and the blood of Christ is the blood of sprinkling. [4.] That all who
by faith are interested in this propitiation have the remission of their sins
that are past. It was for this that Christ was set forth to be a propitiation,
in order to remission, to which the reprieves of his patience and forbearance
were a very encouraging preface. Through the forbearance of God. Divine
patience has kept us out of hell, that we might have space to repent, and get
to heaven. Some refer the sins that are past to the sins of the Old-Testament
saints, which were pardoned for the sake of the atonement which Christ in the
fulness of time was to make, which looked backward as well as forward. Past
through the forbearance of God. It is owing to the divine forbearance that we
were not taken in the very act of sin. Several Greek copies make en te anoche
tou Theou—through the forbearance of God, to begin Rom. 3:26; and they denote two
precious fruits of Christ’s merit and God’s grace:—Remission: dia ten
paresin—for the remission; and reprieves: the forbearance of God. It is owing
to the master’s goodness and the dresser’s mediation that barren trees are let
alone in the vineyard; and in both God’s righteousness is declared, in that
without a mediator and a propitiation he would not only not pardon, but not so
much as forbear, not spare a moment; it is owning to Christ that there is ever
a sinner on this side hell. [5.] That God does in all this declare his
righteousness. This he insists upon with a great deal of emphasis: To declare,
I say, at this time his righteousness. It is repeated, as that which has in it
something surprising. He declares his righteousness, First, In the propitiation
itself. Never was there such a demonstration of the justice and holiness of God
as there was in the death of Christ. It appears that he hates sin, when nothing
less than the blood of Christ would satisfy for it. Finding sin, though but
imputed, upon his own Son, he did not spare him, because he had made himself
sin for us, 2 Cor. 5:21. The iniquities of us all being laid upon him, though
he was the Son of his love, yet it pleased the Lord to bruise him, Isa. 53:10.
Secondly, In the pardon upon that propitiation; so it follows, by way of
explication: That he might be just, and the justifier of him that believeth.
Mercy and truth are so met together, righteousness and peace have so kissed
each other, that it is now become not only an act of grace and mercy, but an
act of righteousness, in God, to pardon the sins of penitent believers, having
accepted the satisfaction that Christ by dying made to his justice for them. It
would not comport with his justice to demand the debt of the principal when the
surety has paid it and he has accepted that payment in full satisfaction. See 1
John 1:9. He is just, that is, faithful to his word.
Asbury
Bible Commentary
A.
Righteousness Through Faith (3:21-26)
Against
the background of sin and judgment, another aspect of God's righteousness is
revealed. As in the OT, the righteousness of God provides salvation for human
beings.
But
now (v. 21) marks both temporal and logical contrasts with the preceding
section. Before this time, God's righteousness in providing salvation was not
yet manifested. It was revealed only as the wrath of God. Yet the wrath of God
is not entirely in the past. There still will be a future wrath of God (5:9).
Therefore, the contrast is not merely temporal. It is logical as well.
Through
his provision of salvation, God grants to men and women the good standing of
right relationship with him. This relationship is not earned by them through
the works of the law of the OT. Yet the OT testifies to it. It is a free gift
of God. All who believe can receive it through faith in Jesus Christ.
This
provision of salvation is necessary because all have sinned and fall short of
the glory of God (v. 23). In v. 23 Paul summarizes 1:18-3:20. In 1:18-3:20 Paul
indicates that men and women refuse to acknowledge and glorify God. The Jews'
lack of obedience to the law is a manifestation of this negative attitude
toward God.
Fundamentally,
sin is not relating to God properly. The relationship between God and human
beings is estranged. As a result, they fall short of the glory God intended for
them to have—the glory Adam had before his fall (Barrett, 74). This includes
the good standing of right relationship with God, which issues in intimate
fellowship with him. When that relationship was destroyed, God made a provision
through Jesus Christ so that he could graciously grant to them the good
standing of right relationship with him. The granting of this relationship is
called justification. In this section Paul uses two concepts to explain the
provision God made in Jesus Christ.
The
first concept is redemption (v. 24), which is release of a captive by payment
of a price or ransom (Clarke, on v. 24). The redemption came by Christ Jesus.
He came to give his life as a ransom for many (Mt 20:28). The recipient of the
ransom price is not a part of this concept. God redeemed Israel from Egypt (Ex
15:13). However, God never paid any ransom to the Egyptians. The expression
merely indicates that it cost God something to bring Israel out of Egypt.
Probably this is the meaning of God's redeeming Israel with an outstretched arm
(Ex 6:6). Likewise, Paul merely indicates that it cost God a great deal, the
life of his own Son, to provide this salvation. What we are freed from is
treated later in Romans.
The
second concept is sacrifice of atonement (v. 25). This is a translation of the
Greek word hilastērion. The NIV footnote
indicates two possible interpretations: “as the one who would
turn aside his wrath” or “taking away sin.”
NASB translates it as “propitiation,” and RSV as “expiation.”
A person who is angry or offended is propitiated, i.e., appeased. Propitiation
may refer to the gift given to appease or to the act of appeasing the angry or
offended person. Sin and guilt that weigh upon the conscience of an offender
are expiated, i.e., removed or wiped away. Expiation refers to the means or the
act of removing the sin and guilt.
The Bible Panorama
Romans 3
V 1–8: ADVANTAGED? This chapter asks a
lot of questions. First, if acceptance with God is a circumcision of the heart,
and not an outward circumcision, what advantage does a Jew have in being a
member of the circumcision? Paul confirms the great privileges of being a
physical Jew. Of course, he knows this as a Jew himself. They have the
Scriptures as the ‘oracles of God’. The sinful unbelief of some of the Jews
does not negate God’s faithfulness in giving them these privileges. The very
sinfulness of the Jews demonstrates the wonder of those Scriptures and the
righteous and holy standards of God by which they are judged. That is not to
say that Jews must sin more to make God’s standards of holiness appear greater.
God loves holiness and will judge the world for being unholy.
V 9–20:
BETTER? Paul asks if Jews are better than Gentiles, and concludes, ‘Not at
all.’ Everyone is unrighteous, self-seeking not God-seeking, practising evil in
word and deed, and living without the conscious fear of God. As the whole world
is guilty, then there is no one in the world who can be justified by anything
he or she does.
V 21–26: CHRIST Only Jesus Christ can
justify a sinner, be he Gentile or Jew. Given that ‘all have sinned and fall
short of the glory of God’, it is the righteousness of God, put to our account
when we put our faith in Christ, that is seen by God as ours and justifies us
because we have no righteousness of our own. Not only that, but Christ shed His
blood as a ‘propitiation’. That means that, when Christ died on the cross for
our sins, our wicked rebellion that offended our holy God was punished by His
wrath falling on Christ in our place. Thus cleansed by His precious blood and
with His righteousness put to our account, we find that, as we put our faith in
Him, we are justified by Him who is both just and the Justifier.
V 27–31: DIFFERENCE? The six questions put
in this short section basically ask a more fundamental question: what
difference does this make? It excludes boasting because we are justified by
faith, not by our own deeds. He is the God of the Gentiles as well as of the
Jews because all can come to Him by faith. God’s law is not annulled by faith
in Christ, but rather it is fulfilled, because His just sacrifice fulfils the
law for us. We have a desire to walk in that law through Christ, not in order
to be justified, but to obey Him.
Dictionary of Bible
Themes
6677 justification,
necessity of
Sinful,
law-breaking humanity needs a means of justification because of its failure to
keep God’s law and live up to God’s requirements.
Justification
in human relationships
The
acquittal of the innocent Dt 25:1 See also Pr 17:15; Isa 43:9,26; Ro 8:33
Justification
of oneself Job 32:2 See also Lk 10:29; Lk 16:15; Lk 18:9-14
The
need for justification
The
reality of God’s righteousness Ps 11:7 See also Ps 33:5; Ps 35:28; Jer 23:6; Mt
6:33; Jn 17:25; Ro 1:17; Ro 3:22
The
reality of God’s justice Ps 9:8 See also Job 36:3; Ps 11:7; Ps 33:5; Isa 5:16;
Jer 9:24; Lk 18:7; Rev 19:11
The
reality of God’s judgment Ge 18:25 See also Jdg 11:27; Ps 51:4; Mic 6:2; Mt
12:36; Ro 2:16
The
reality of God’s law Jas 4:12 See also Ex 20:2-17 pp Dt 5:6-21; Ps 19:7; Isa
33:22; Ro 7:12,16; Ro 8:3-4; 1Ti 1:8
Human
guilt shows the need for justification
Ps
143:2 See also Ro 3:23; 1Jn 1:8,10
People
are unable to justify themselves, even through the law
Isa
64:6; Ro 3:20-21; Gal 2:15-16 See also Am 4:4; Mt 5:20; Lk 10:29; Lk 16:15; Lk
18:9-14; Ro 1:17; Ro 3:20; Gal 2:21; Gal 3:2-3; Gal 2:11 Paul opposes Peter’s
position on circumcision; Gal 5:4; Php 3:4-8
6678
justification, and Jesus Christ’s work
On
account of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, the demands of the law
of God are met, and believers are granted the status of being righteous in the
sight of God.
Justification
is grounded in the death of Jesus Christ
Jesus
Christ’s death shields believers from God’s wrath Ro 5:9 See also Ro 3:24; Ro
4:25; Ro 5:18; 1Pe 2:24
Jesus
Christ’s death fulfils the demands of the law of God Ro 8:3-4 See also Ro
3:25-26; Gal 3:13; 1Jn 2:2
Justification
is grounded in the resurrection of Jesus Christ
Ro
4:25; Ro 10:9-10 See also Ac 2:22-39; Ac 4:10-12; Ac 17:30-31; 1Pe 3:18-21
Justification
means believers are reckoned as righteous through the death of Jesus Christ
Ro
5:19; 1Co 1:30; 2Co 5:21 See also 1Co 6:9-11; Php 3:8-9 The term “imputation”
is used to refer to the process by which God treats believers as being
righteous in his sight on account of Jesus Christ’s death.
Justification
is received by faith
Ro
1:17 pp Gal 3:11 See also Hab 2:4; Ro 5:1; Eph 2:8
The
example of Abraham Ge 15:6 See also Ro 4:1-5,9-22; Gal 3:6-9,16-18
The
example of David Ro 4:6-8; Ps 32:1-2
Apostolic
teaching on the need of faith for justification Ac 13:39 See also Ro
3:22,25,27-30; Ro 4:5; Ro 5:1; Ro 9:30-32; Ro 10:10; 1Co 6:11; Gal 2:16; Gal
3:8,14; Eph 2:8
Justification
is a gift of God’s grace
Ro
3:24 See also Ro 5:15-17; Ro 8:33; Tit 3:7
Not
by works or the law Gal 3:11 See also Ro 3:20; Ro 4:5; Gal 2:16,21; Gal
3:2-5,24; Gal 5:4-6; Eph 2:8-9
Dictionary
of Bible Themes
6712
propitiation
The
satisfaction of the righteous demands of God in relation to human sin and its
punishment through the sacrificial death of Jesus Christ upon the cross, by
which the penalty of sin is cancelled and the anger of God averted. [The NIV is
distinctive at this point, in that it generally translates this term by
“atonement” and related words.].
The
need for propitiation: God’s anger against sin
Ps
7:11; Ro 2:5 See also Ex 32:11-14; Nu 32:8-15; Dt 6:14-15; 2Ki 23:26; Ps 78:38;
Isa 30:27-31; Da 9:16-19; Hos 11:8-9; Mt 25:41-46; Jn 3:36; Ro 1:18; Eph 5:6
The
provision of propitiation: Jesus Christ the atoning sacrifice
The
promise in the OT Isa 53:5-6 See also Isa 53:10-12
The
fulfilment in the NT Ro 3:21-26 See also Ro 5:9-10; Col 1:21-22; Heb 2:17; Heb
9:11-14; 1Jn 2:2
The
motivation for propitiation: God’s love
1Jn
4:10 See also Ps 85:2-3; Ps 103:8-12; Mic 7:18-19; Ro 5:6-8; 2Co 5:19
Easton’s Bible
Dictionary
Justification
a
forensic term, opposed to condemnation. As regards its nature, it is the
judicial act of God, by which he pardons all the sins of those who believe in
Christ, and accounts, accepts, and treats them as righteous in the eye of the
law, i.e., as conformed to all its demands. In addition to the pardon (q.v.) of
sin, justification declares that all the claims of the law are satisfied in
respect of the justified. It is the act of a judge and not of a sovereign. The
law is not relaxed or set aside, but is declared to be fulfilled in the
strictest sense; and so the person justified is declared to be entitled to all
the advantages and rewards arising from perfect obedience to the law (Rom.
5:1-10).
It
proceeds on the imputing or crediting to the believer by God himself of the
perfect righteousness, active and passive, of his Representative and Surety,
Jesus Christ (Rom. 10:3-9). Justification is not the forgiveness of a man
without righteousness, but a declaration that he possesses a righteousness
which perfectly and for ever satisfies the law, namely, Christ's righteousness
(2 Cor. 5:21; Rom. 4:6-8).
The
sole condition on which this righteousness is imputed or credited to the
believer is faith in or on the Lord Jesus Christ. Faith is called a
"condition," not because it possesses any merit, but only because it
is the instrument, the only instrument by which the soul appropriates or
apprehends Christ and his righteousness (Rom. 1:17; 3:25, 26; 4:20, 22; Phil.
3:8-11; Gal. 2:16).
The
act of faith which thus secures our justification secures also at the same time
our sanctification (q.v.); and thus the doctrine of justification by faith does
not lead to licentiousness (Rom. 6:2-7). Good works, while not the ground, are
the certain consequence of justification (6:14; 7:6).
Encyclopedia of The
Bible
JUSTIFICATION
(δικαίωσις, G1470, justification; δικαιοῦν, to justify). In
Christian theology justification is that act of God by which the sinner, who is
responsible for his guilt and is under condemnation but believes in Christ, is
pronounced just and righteous, or acquitted, by God the judge (Rom 3:28; 4:25;
5:16, 18; 8:28-34). In the Scriptures God justifies by grace, for Christ’s
sake, through faith.
14.
Summary of doctrine of justification. The following items or aspects may be
considered a summary of the doctrine of justification as taught in the Holy
Scriptures: (1) Justification is an act of God. In both the OT and NT, God is
the initiator and actor in the Covenant and man’s salvation. It is a
once-for-all act which is already accomplished in Christ (Rom 5:16-18). (2)
Justification is a forensic act of God. God declares the sinner or the ungodly
righteous in His sight (5:8). (3) Justification is based upon the atonement of
Christ. God justifies a sinner for Christ’s sake. Without the substitutionary
atonement of Christ God could not forgive the sinner all his sins without being
unjust (3:24). (4) Justification is objective or universal. In the Gospel God
offers the forgiveness of sins gained by Christ to the whole world (John 3:16).
Personal or subjective justification is impossible without universal
justification. (5) Justification is remission or forgiveness of sins.
Justification is the same as forgiveness of sins. God does not count man’s sins
against him but forgives them and sets him free (Rom 4:7, 8). (6) Justification
is remission of punishment. The justified believer is declared free from the
demands of the law and all condemnation resulting from sin against the law
(3:25; 6:7).
It
is more than pardon of sin, but a declaration by God. The sinner, though
guilty, is relieved of the consequences of his guilt and sin.
(7)
Justification is reconciliation of the sinner to God. Justification by faith
restores the sinner to personal relationship with God as Father. Mere acquittal
or remission of sin would be tantamount to discharging a criminal from the
court room in alienation. Justification implies that God looks upon a sinner as
if he had not sinned since he is again His child (Luke 15:1ff.; Gal 3:6; 2 Cor
5:19, 20). (8) Justification is imputation of God’s righteousness. Since the
sinner has no righteousness of his own by which to be justified in God’s
spiritual court, the salvation which Christ wrought through His life and works
is imputed to the Christian as his own righteousness (Rom 3:25, 26; 2 Cor 5:19,
20). (9) Justification excludes salvation by works. Scripture not only teaches
that man is justified without works, but also denounces any introduction of
works into God’s justification (Rom 10:2, 3; Gal 3:10-14; 5:4). (10)
Justification presupposes God’s universal grace. By grace God justified man and
not because of the influence of man on God (Eph 1:1-4). God loves and therefore
justifies all men alike (John 3:16). (11) Justification is by faith. The fact
that justification is “by faith alone” does not exclude God’s grace, Christ’s
work, or the means of grace (Word and Sacrament). Being justified by grace, for
Christ’s sake, through the Gospel, is being justified by faith alone to the
exclusion of works. Faith alone is the instrument of receiving justification so
that works are excluded (Rom 3:28; Eph 2:8-10). (12) Justification is bestowed
through the means of grace. Although God justifies man, He offers His
justification through the Word of the Gospel and the sacraments. Justification
is pronounced in the Word of the Gospel (Rom 10:5-12). (13) Just ification is
followed by good works and a life of faith. Although the presence of good works
is not the condition to receive justification, justification through the Gospel
by faith offers the power of the Holy Spirit in men’s lives so that they lead a
life of good works (James 2:14, 15; Rom 6:1-6). (14) Justification is central
to all Christian teaching. The teachings of God; the person and work of Christ,
sin, anthropology, Word and Sacrament, law and Gospel, are all involved in the
doctrine of justification. In this broad sense, “justification by faith” is
theological shorthand for the various terms and concepts of Scripture to
describe the entire action of God for man’s salvation. See Atonement.
Easton's Bible
Dictionary
Propitiation
that
by which God is rendered propitious, i.e., by which it becomes consistent with
his character and government to pardon and bless the sinner. The propitiation
does not procure his love or make him loving; it only renders it consistent for
him to execise his love towards sinners.
In
Rom. 3:25 and Heb. 9:5 (A.V., "mercy-seat") the Greek word _hilasterion_
is used. It is the word employed by the LXX. translators in Ex. 25:17 and
elsewhere as the equivalent for the Hebrew _kapporeth_, which means
"covering," and is used of the lid of the ark of the covenant (Ex.
25:21; 30:6). This Greek word (hilasterion) came to denote not only the
mercy-seat or lid of the ark, but also propitation or reconciliation by blood.
On the great day of atonement the high priest carried the blood of the
sacrifice he offered for all the people within the veil and sprinkled with it
the "mercy-seat," and so made propitiation.
In
1 John 2:2; 4:10, Christ is called the "propitiation for our sins."
Here a different Greek word is used (hilasmos). Christ is "the
propitiation," because by his becoming our substitute and assuming our
obligations he expiated our guilt, covered it, by the vicarious punishment
which he endured. (Comp. Heb. 2:17, where the expression "make
reconciliation" of the A.V. is more correctly in the R.V. "make
propitiation.")
Encyclopedia of The
Bible
PROPITIATION
(ἱλασμός, G2662, propitiation; καταλλαγή, G2903,
reconciliation). The word “propitiation”
is closely related to the word “expiation.”
The difference in meaning may be summarized as follows: a person who is angry
or offended is propitiated, i.e., appeased; whereas sin and guilt, which weigh
upon the conscience of the offender are expiated, i.e., removed or wiped away.
A significant debate in current Biblical and theological studies concerns the
question of whether or not the Bible ever speaks of God being propitiated.
Because of this difference of opinion, the same passages of Scripture are
sometimes tr. with the word “propitiation” that are rendered in other VSS by
“expiation” (see Rom 3:25; 1 John 2:2; 4:10, where the KJV has “propitiation”
and the RSV has “expiation”). In like manner, the same passages cited in an
article on propitiation are in another article cited to illumine the idea of expiation.
Behind this striking lack of concensus is a fundamental theological issue;
namely how shall one conceive of the wrath of God?
In
this context of God’s personal activity, hilaskomai and its derivatives, when
used in the NT to interpret the work of Christ, should be understood in the
sense of propitiation of the divine wrath. Perhaps the most important passage
in this regard is Romans 3:25 (KJV). Paul is saying that God has set forth
Christ as a “mercy seat” for sinners. He employs the same Gr. word, hilasterion,
that is used in the LXX to designate the cover on the Ark that was the “place
of propitiation” in the Day of Atonement ritual. Since, however, in this
passage, Paul is not discussing the details of the sacrificial system, and
since it is somewhat complicated to think of Christ as both the sacrifice and
the place where the sacrifice was offered, many scholars prefer to understand
the passage to say, Whom God set forth to be a “propitiatory sacrifice,” or a
“propitiation,” through faith in His blood. In any case, the general meaning is
that those who are out of favor are restored to favor, because of a change of
mind, not in those who by faith plead the blood, but in the One to whom it is
offered.
With
this interpretation agrees the affirmation in Hebrews 2:17, where it is said
that Christ had to share in our human nature, “in order that he might make
propitiation with reference to the sins of the people” (orig. tr.). There being
no direct reference in this passage to the divine wrath, it would be possible
to argue that the verb means “to expiate,” taking its meaning from its object,
“the sins of the people.” In the larger context of the epistle as a whole,
Christ is the High Priest “in things pertaining to God,” which gives the
passage a Godward rather than a manward reference.
John
wrote, “If any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the
righteous: and he is the propitiation for our sins” (1 John 2:1, 2 KJV). 1 John
4:10 declares that God “loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for
our sins” (KJV). Here the case for “expiation” is less plausible than in
Hebrews 2:17, for Christ is called an “advocate with the Father” (1 John 2:1).
Now if God is so related to the sinner that the latter needs an “advocate,”
this implies that Christ does more than purge guilt; He stands between the
sinner and God, which suggests propitiation. Furthermore, John alluded both to
Christ’s blood and to the fact that He is the “righteous one,” which is
reminiscent of the confluence of ideas (1:7; cf. Rom 3:25).
Note
should be taken of the important truth that this propitiation in Christ does
not originate, as in heathen worship, with the one who brings the sacrifice.
Rather it is God Himself, motivated by love, who provides the propitiation as a
free gift. In this teaching are preserved both the severity of the divine
reaction against sin, and the depths of the divine love for the sinner.
The
Atonement. The In-depth Series
Justification
by Faith, Our Righteousness is found in Christ, a look at Imputed
Righteousness, Romans 4 ESV (UK), The In-depth Series
He
is Risen, Christ is Risen, The Believer's Salvation, 1 Corinthians 15 NASB. The
In-depth Series
Read
more of the In-depth Series
The
Atonement. The In-depth Series
Justification
by Faith, Our Righteousness is found in Christ, a look at Imputed
Righteousness, Romans 4 ESV (UK), The In-depth Series
Set Free from Sin and it's power, Redeemed by the Blood of the Lamb, Romans 6 ESV (UK) , Some thoughts on Atonement and Justification, The In-depth Series
He
is Risen, Christ is Risen, The Believer's Salvation, 1 Corinthians 15 NASB. The
In-depth Series
Yours by His Grace, for the sake of His Church & Kingdom
Be Blessed & Encouraged Today
Blair Humphreys,
Southport, Merseyside, England
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