Romans Part 2 - FaithSample

GOD'S PLAN

From a human standpoint, God’s plan for our salvation is radical. It excludes anything, and everything we think will acquire righteousness. If we can earn our righteousness, we will surely brag about it; we are prideful like that!

But, salvation is received, not earned. It depends upon faith, not activity.

Paul, in what may be the most theologically important segment of the New Testament, declares no one will be declared righteous by keeping the law. Well, we are all up a creek, then! But this is the fantastic gospel - God has a solution. God’s way of providing a right standing with His Holy Self has nothing to do with human performance. It’s “apart from the law.” Yet, both the Law and the Prophets testify to it. The Old Testament actually points to a future way of atonement. The righteousness of God comes to us through faith in Jesus Christ. The future way, the future event, was the cross.

Verses 25-26, in the original Greek, are relative clauses. They set up God’s redemptive work in and through Christ. Through the centuries, many have struggled with the term translated as “propitiation.” It evokes the pagan concept of appeasing the gods. But, the word propitiation means “the removal of wrath,” and in the context, Paul shows that, without the propitiation provided by the atoning sacrifice of Christ, we would remain under God’s wrath. The confusion arises because we cannot separate the idea of wrath from the idea of anger. Human anger often has negative connotations. But God is perfect. God is just. God’s wrath, then, cannot be sinful.

Because God is holy, there must be an atonement for sin. This is His justice. Christ’s blood provides the required atonement. Some would argue that it was unjust for God to wait so long for Christ to come. His forbearance and patience are displayed in history: “But at the perfect time, in the fullness of time, Christ came.” The redemptive work of God, through His Son Jesus Christ, is the most amazing event in the history of the universe.

Never would this plan have risen in the human mind!

God required a perfect sacrifice for sin. All have sinned. God provided a sinless sacrifice. From God’s standpoint, forgiveness has been offered. All that remains is for people like us to accept that forgiveness. The Father is waiting…

-Brian Mott

Family Corner Questions

What does it mean to be justified?

How do we become Justified in Jesus?