Romans 3:21-31 – Righteousness through Faith

Reverend Leo H. McCrary II

In Romans 3:21-31, Paul teaches of why righteousness can only be obtained through faith in Christ, and not in any other way.

Introduction

Anyone can become righteous, but something you must understand is that there is only one way to do so.  In this week’s Sunday School commentary, we will take a look at Paul’s writing as he touches on the one step that must be taken to be righteous in God’s eyes.  This week’s Sunday School commentary will cover scripture from Romans 3:21-31. 

What we will learn in this week’s Sunday School commentary:

1. God making a way for anyone to become righteous.
2. What sins are forgiven so we can become righteous.
3. How to become righteous in the eyes of God.

Our Need for Christ

Our lesson opens with Paul stating, “Now the righteousness of God apart from the law is revealed, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets… (Rom. 3:21).”

So, right away, let us understand that the righteousness of God cannot be obtained through the Mosaic Law because the righteousness of God is not part of the law.  This may confuse some of you because you’re likely under the impression that those who keep the Ten Commandments go to heaven.  However, Paul makes it clear that the righteousness of God cannot be obtained like a child being rewarded with a toy for following the rules.

The righteousness of God cannot be obtained through hard work and effort like one earns a promotion on a job.  The righteousness of God cannot be obtained or purchased like it is a new pair of shoes!

The lesson Paul learned about obtaining righteousness

Keep in mind, when Paul wrote this letter, there were Jews who were adamant that keeping the law was the ticket to inheriting the kingdom of heaven.  There are many today who believe that if they keep the Ten Commandments, then they will be able to enter the kingdom of heaven.  

Paul, a man who was fervent in the knowledge of the Mosaic Law (Phil. 3:6), once believed the law could make one righteous, but then he met Christ on the road to Damascus.  Before that meeting, Paul persecuted the early church, believing the early followers of Christ to be blasphemers of the law.  In his own words, Paul stated that he was the one who urged the crowd to stone Stephen to death (Acts 22:20).

It was when he met Christ on the road to Damascus that he recognized how close he was to blaspheming the Spirit.  It was when he met Christ on the road to Damascus that he learned what grace and mercy were!  Paul understood that he could have been condemned by the Lord, but was not.  So, afterwards, he desperately sought for his brethren to understand that there was only one way for them to become righteous, and it would not come through the law.  

Mankind’s weakness needs God’s grace

In Romans 3:19-20, Paul wrote, “Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God.  Therefore by the deeds of the law no flesh will be justified in His sight, for by the law is the knowledge of sin.”

Let us try to understand what Paul has stated here about the law, because what he speaks of is why Christ was needed.

When God gave the children of Israel His law, filled with commandments, statutes, and instructions, the goal was for them to be a “kingdom of priests and a holy nation (Ex. 19:6).”  However, the children of Israel ended up sinning shortly after receiving God’s law at Mount Sinai by worshiping the calf of gold.  Moses had to intercede on behalf of the people because of how quickly they broke the covenant.

So, in Romans 8:3, we’ll see Paul make an incredibly important statement about the Mosaic Law, saying that the law was “weak through the flesh”.  Now, to be clear, Paul wasn’t saying that the Law itself was weak, because, once again, the law was from God, so therefore, it was righteous.  However, the Mosaic Law was made weak (or powerless) through the flesh because of mankind’s wickedness.

Mankind has a sinful nature that we can’t get away from, no matter how desperately some of us may desire.  Our spirit is willing to live in obedience, but the flesh is weak and will give in to sin and temptation (Rom. 7:16-19).  When we give in to sin, no matter how much of the law we keep, we fail it in its entirety (Jas. 2:10).  The law will judge the most holy person you know as a transgressor because nobody is perfect.

So, what good is a law if nobody can keep it?  As Paul pointed out, the law is the knowledge of our sin, as all it will do is to find us guilty of a crime we’ve committed against God.  The law would be useless if all people were only found as lawbreakers.  

The Free Gift Provided by God

How can sinful creatures become righteous if God’s law only determines that we are unrighteous sinners?  

As the writer reminded his readers in Hebrews 10:3-4, Israel, in ancient times, offered up the blood of bulls and goats once a year on the day of atonement to atone for their sins.  They would then place all the sins of the nation onto the goat and remove it far away from the camp as the scapegoat took on all of their sins (Lev. 16).  Yet, that had to be done repeatedly, once a year, as the blood of those animals could not atone for their sins eternally.  

So, once again, we see that God had to do something drastic to atone for the sins of all of mankind, not for just one year, but for the lifetime of each individual.  God had to do something drastic so that we could become righteous.  The drastic move God made:  As He did for Abraham, He provided a Lamb in the thicket to make the way for mankind to obtain the righteousness of God.  

God gave His only begotten to help mankind meet the righteous requirement of God’s law.  Christ lived in the flesh in holy conduct and righteousness, never falling to sin.  Christ then offered up His life, becoming our propitiation to atone for our sins so that we may have victory over sin (Rom. 3:25).  

I’ll reference Romans 8:3-4, again, as Paul spoke of Christ meeting the righteous requirement of the law by condemning sin in the flesh, showing mankind that there is no victory in sinful living.  The only thing sinful living can offer is the kingdom of the world, but as Solomon said, trying to obtain the riches of this world is vanity because one day you will have to leave this world, and those riches won’t go with you (1 Tim. 6:7).

Who Can Become Righteous?

 As Jesus told Nicodemus, because God so loved the world, He was given to the world so that whoever believes in Him will not perish but have everlasting life (John 3:16).  

Paul elaborately reiterates the point by saying, “Even the righteousness of God, through faith in Jesus Christ, to all and on all who believe. For there is no difference; for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus (Rom. 3:22-24).”

I genuinely believe this scripture ought to be read daily in churches and taught so that those who profess to believe in the Lord can understand that all people have the same opportunity and access to obtaining the righteousness of God.  Rich or poor, you can become righteous.  Whether you are a Jew or of another nationality, you can become righteous.  

Paul asked in Romans 3:29-30, “Is He the God of the Jews only? Is He not also the God of the Gentiles? Yes, of the Gentiles also, since there is one God who will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through faith.”

Many convert over to Judaism, with the belief that the eternal reward is guaranteed because of this or that nationality/race.  When Jesus commissioned the apostles, He told them to go out to every nation preaching the gospel of His salvation (Matt. 28:19-20).  Don’t let anybody tell you that you are blocked from the kingdom of heaven for this reason or that – they have no authority to condemn you!

Salvation, I want you to understand, is sealed through the shed blood of Christ and the receiving of the Holy Spirit.  The message from God is clear: sincere belief and faith in the only begotten Son is the key to inheriting His kingdom. 

What Sin Is Forgiven 

Some of you may be hesitant to think that you can become righteous because of this sin or because of that sin.  Well, does the sin matter in who can or cannot become righteous?  

Let’s let Jesus answer that question, shall we?  Jesus stated, “Therefore I say to you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven men.  Anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man, it will be forgiven him; but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit, it will not be forgiven him, either in this age or in the age to come (Matt. 12:31-32).”

All sins are forgiven – lust, covetousness, greed, lying, adultery, fornication, etc.  The only sin that won’t be forgiven is one working against the Holy Spirit, who Himself works to lead mankind to God’s kingdom.  As we have seen in recent lessons, those who suppress the truth work against the Holy Spirit and therefore, won’t be forgiven, but will be condemned.

I believe that there are a great number of Christians who need to hear that “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God”.  I say that because many have professed to believe in God, but they believe their profession has made them perfect.  No, all of us need to repent!  

Consider this:  IF perfect people were dwelling in the world, it would make what God did by giving His only begotten Son pointless.  The “perfect person” wouldn’t have any need for help from God because they would meet the righteous requirement of the law on their own.  Yet, the truth of the matter is that all of us are sinners, as all of us have sinned in our thoughts and our intentions, not just in our works.

How to Become Righteous

So, how does one become righteous in the eyes of God?  Of course, you will likely answer that someone must believe and have faith.  However, let us always keep in mind that faith moves in what we believe in about God. 

In this case, if you believe that Christ became your atonement offering, then you should also believe that God is just and will justify you (Rom. 3:26).  God will pass over your sins, but I must ask this question of you: Have you acknowledged your sin and gone before the throne of grace to seek God’s mercy and forgiveness?

Believe it or not, some profess to be of faith in God, but they never go before the throne of grace to obtain God’s mercy.  How can you become righteous if you’ve never sought God’s forgiveness?

Without going to the throne of grace, the Lord said through the prophet Isaiah that mankind’s righteousness is like filthy rags (Is. 64:6).  You think God is going to use a filthy rag to help wash others?  Do you think God is going to permit a filthy mess to enter His kingdom?

 So, if you desire to become righteous, don’t be like Peter, who initially wouldn’t permit Jesus to wash his feet (John 13:2-9).  To put it bluntly:  God won’t permit an unclean thing to enter into His eternal kingdom!  One must be washed clean of one’s sins by Christ to become righteous.  

Righteousness cannot be purchased, nor can righteousness be earned through one’s good deeds.  Just being a good person with good deeds won’t get you into the kingdom because God is going to judge all those things done and thought of in secret.  We must all faithfully come before the Lord so that He may wash our feet so that we can enter into His house.

Our Righteousness Is God’s Doing

I will end this week’s Sunday School commentary by touching on Romans 3:27.  Paul asked, “Where is boasting then? It is excluded. By what law? Of works? No, but by the law of faith (Rom. 3:27).”

Paul essentially calls out the self-righteous in this statement because the self-righteous love to boast about how they are blessed and highly favored, believing themselves to be righteous because of their many possessions.  

The rich young ruler who came to Jesus is a really good example of the self-righteous boaster.  The young ruler came to Jesus, boasting that he had kept all the commandments from his youth, as he wondered what else he needed to do to inherit the kingdom of God.  Yet, when he was instructed to love the poor by selling all he had and giving the profits to the poor, he couldn’t do it, for he loved his wealth.

The self-righteous will boast about their works, their charity, and even their obedience to the word of God.  Yet, they are the ones whose faith is most questioned in the world today.

You see, the one who truly has obtained the righteousness of God is the one who humbly walks by faith.  If the one who has obtained the righteousness of God through faith boasts about anything, their boast will be about how good God has been to them (1 Cor. 10:31).  You see, they understand where they would be without the Lord, and they are grateful that God loved them and lifted them from the pit of sin.  

Righteousness through faith is truly a wonderful thing to let others know about because so many need to hear how the Lord can lift them from the pit of sin.